Will Braithwaite is a Philadelphia-born comedian, writer, and guitarist who currently lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He's performed in New York Comedy Fest, Upright Citizen's Brigade, Second City, and is currently on a House Team (Go Dummy) at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. He's seen My Chemical Romance live six times and plans to make that seven or die trying.
Will Braithwaite (Riley Wheeler)
Maggie Olmsted (Cameron)
Maggie Olmsted is a very good stand-up comedian, improviser, and actress. She had the pleasure of playing Cameron in last fall's staging of Mourning Wood and was pleased when Will asked her to reprise the role. You may recognize her from Kay Scinto’s surreal horror-comedy short Hen House or Jess Zeidman’s feature Human Theories, but both of those projects are yet to be released, so it would be difficult to recognize her from them. You can see Maggie performing at her many shows, and rather than lay out exactly when those will be, we recommend you simply imagine them happening all the time and check social media for more details. Maggie would like to thank Tej Khanna for driving her home from rehearsal. She is currently represented by CESD.
JESSIE LEE (ANGELA KILLSHOT)
Jessie Lee is a Florida born (sorry) turned Brooklyn-based comedian, singer, actor, writer, and content creator (@jessicaleejessie). Jessie can be seen performing all around New York at venues such as Caveat, Union Hall, Littlefield and etc! She is a theatre kid at heart (probably because her parents let her watch Glee too young) and is ecstatic to make her return to musical theater as Angela in Mourning Wood! Jessie would like to thank the amazing Mourning Wood cast and crew for all their hard work on this amazing show. Jessie would also like to thank her room mates for not getting annoyed at her when she practiced her solo for the 100th time in the living room.
DREW REILLY (ENSEMBLE)
Drew Reilly trained at the Second City Conservatory in Chicago where he also performed on several iO Harold teams. As part of the two-person sketch group Jim and Melissa he has written and performed original sketch revues that went on to Austin SketchFest, Portland Fringe, NYC SketchFest, Miami Improv Festival and others. He is a teaching artist at the Institute of Collaborative Education in the East Village. OFF-BROADWAY: Capt. Lombard in And Then There Were None, Callum in Ectoplasm. OFF-OFF BROADWAY: John Wilkes Booth, The Brutes; Antipholus of Ephesus, Comedy of Errors; Male Actor #3 And Away We Go. You can find him on social media @puffeebaen.
Drew Scheid is an actor who grew up in Lancaster Pennsylvania. His listed height is 6’1 but come on, no one is buying that, you’ll see him and think “weird he’s trying to lie about that, like we wouldn’t notice?” Please be kind about his delusion if he approaches you after the show. Drew is thrilled to be returning as “SHAY” in Mourning Wood as this show is a joy to watch and be part of. Drew Scheid also highly recommends you check out his work in the hit film “The War With Grandpa” where he shines as the “Eighth Grade Monster”.
Drew Scheid (Shay / Grudge)
Chris St. Clair (Band - Drums)
Chris started playing drums in utero (his mom loves Gipsy Kings). With over two decades of experience behind the kit, Chris has recorded and toured with household names like Our Own Invention, Sweet Mojo, and Will Braithwaite. Outside of this show, Chris plays the calculator for a Fortune 5000 company and lives in Nashville with his wife Kathleen.
Dylan is a mahogany hollow-body acoustic-electric guitar, with dual hum-bucker pickups, blue sunburst finish, and a couple of aquatic themed stickers. His hobbies include rocking, rolling, and gardening. He is honored to be part of such an amazing cast of instruments. Thanks to my luther, to the music, and to everyone who’s got a dream.
Dylan Freedman (Band - Guitar)
Mick Szal is an actor whose recent credits include Joker, The Resident, Red Oaks, and Law & Order SVU. She also produces the shows 'And Scene' and 'Drunk Planet Earth' at Caveat Theater. She's in love with Brian Morabito and their two cats Coconut Ratbones and Peanut Allergy.
Mick Szal (Courtney Johnson)
Aakash Kesavarapu (JC)
Aakash is a writer and performer based in New York. He performs improv at UCB and Second City and performs stand up around.
Ashley Leisten Blair is a cast member of the first ever Second City New York Mainstage. Originally a trained ballerina and classical singer from Texas, Blair is a graduate of Second City Chicago’s Severn Darden Program and Columbia College’s Comedy Studies Program. She’s a proud long-time student & performer of the Annoyance Theatre and former producer of Holy F*ck Comedy Hour. She has composed and written two comedy musicals: “Boyband the Musical,” and “How To Win An EGOT.” She is half of the hyperpop hardcore band, MEGASQUIRT. Follow Ashley on all socials @ashblairxoxo and @m3gasq1rt
Ashley Leisten Blair (Ensemble)
Owen is a Brooklyn-based musician who’s worked his butt off to be cast in this show as “punk bass player”. Sure, he’s the younger brother of the writer/creator/star of the show Will Braithwaite, but I made sure that I wasn’t nepo-ed into this role. I auditioned under a pseudonym so he wouldn’t know it was me. The pseudonym was good too - “Buckets O’Hoolihan”. He had no clue. Owen releases his own music under another pseudonym, “Momo Chapin”. It’s like pop punk without any of the punk. And not that poppy. But check him out on all streaming sites. Enjoy the show!
Owen Braithwaite (Band - Bass)
Alan Kliffer - Director
Alan Kliffer has been directing and producing theater and comedy for over twenty years, with work profiled in Time Out NY. Beginning in Canada, Kliffer created various sketch troupes and began producing comedy shows at the age of 15. In Toronto, he established Kliffer Entertainment, and developed award-winning comedy shows, musicals and plays. In New York, Kliffer served as the Artistic Director of Asylum NYC in Chelsea, and helped to launch the global sensation Titanique. Kliffer produced audition showcases for SNL, JFL and The Tonight Show, and subsequently served as the Inaugural Artistic Director for The Second City New York. Alan is currently an independent Director and Producer, and has many shows in various stages of development. @klif
Carsen Smith - Producer
Carsen Smith is a screenwriter, satirist, and former zookeeper (yes, really) from Jacksonville, FL. Since graduating from Vanderbilt University, she’s contributed segments to truTV’s Impractical Jokers, headlines for Reductress, sketches for the Upright Citizens Brigade, and participated in The Onion’s 2023 Satire Workshop. After receiving the 2022 Scholarship from the Alliance for Women in Media, Carsen began pursuing her MFA in Screenwriting at Columbia University.