MEET THE CAST:
Jaylin Brown
as Julie D'Aubigny
Ms. Jaylin Brown is a Richmond native whose passions lie in helping people, and are reflected through her music and performances. At All Saints Episcopal Church, Jaylin has organized, assisted, and participated in musical events including 2019 recital series An Evening of Spirituals, the 120th Choir Anniversary Celebration at All Saints. She has given many solo performances along the East Coast. Jaylin truly believes that anything is possible; as Julie d'Aubigny, she emanates that message.
Diana Carver
as Father Cartier
Diana has worked in theatre and film. She was trained in NYC's Harlem Jazz Theatre, RVA's Ernie McClintock Jass Actors' Theatre. Theatre credits include The Amen Corner, Dessa Rose, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Steel Magnolias, and more. Film credits include Black Wall Street, The Money, The Music & The People, Sinners Wanted, and I've Cried the Blues. Love conquers all. To God Be The Glory!
Valerie Chinn
as Madame Bortigali, Entertainer, Messenger
Valerie has played many previous roles, including the Empress of Mars, Witchy Spice of the Spice Ghouls, and can be seen as a headless zombie in A Sweet and Vicious Beauty.
Ambrose Clark
as Thévenard
Ambrose Oisín Clark, countertenor, is a transgender classical singer with experience across the spectrum of classical and choral music. When he's not onstage, he is a self-published author and poet, a visual artist, and an avid reader of queer fantasy fiction. They like their coffee iced, their music loud, and their art earnest, honest, and vulnerable. He received his Bachelor's in Vocal Performance from the UNC School of the Arts in 2015, where he studied under Dr. Marilyn Taylor and Marion Pratnicki. Under the baton of James Allbritten, he sang the roles of Ida in Die Fledermaus and Mrs. Anderssen in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, as well as choral performances of Bernstein's Kaddish, Mahler’s Second Symphony, and selections from Rachmaninoff's Vespers. Ambrose is based in Richmond and sings alongside their fellow choral scholars weekly with Saints Episcopal Church, directed by Scott Hayes.
Keydron Dunn
as Gaultier, Entertainer, Constable
Keydron has a BA in Theater from UNCG. He is a singer at Paul's Episcopal Church and has held roles in local shows such as Once on this Island, The Top of Bravery: an Evening with Bert Williams at Triangle Players; and Hair at the Firehouse. Keydron is also known as Barnabus Beverly Burnside (Burlesque RVA).
E.W. Ross Fleming
as Grande Duchess
Earl "Christmas Snow" Fleming is a renowned makeup artist, beauty consultant, drag performer, and LGBTQ advocate. After running fashion shows, Earl took to the drag stage and founded the first African American drag house in Virginia. A prolific vocalist, Earl has produced or performed many productions and created the musical revue 7 Divas Standing, which is planning a 2022 reprise.
Jarene Fleming
as Landlady, Father Cartier's Conscience
Jarene expresses her creativity as a singer, dancer, percussionist, and actor. Her dance repertoire includes folk, salsa, swing, ballroom, zydeco, and West African styles. She performed with the Richmond based world music group the Ululating Mummies, the world renowned Urban Bushwomen Dance Company. Jarene dances for joy; her motto is "never stop dancing and you'll never grow old."
Tim Herrmann
as Corbetta
Tim is a prolific self-produced singer-songwriter and a dancer who hasn't met a style of movement he wouldn't try once. He writes queer protest music under the name Ruckus Aquinas, re-contextualizes dance styles (sometimes in a sturdy 6" platform heel), debates the ethics of data science. Julie, Monster's theme of simultaneously embodying seemingly incompatible things is one that Time understands intimately.
James Lynn
as Doctor Bortigali, Entertainer
James has sung with Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland, and San Francisco Opera's Western Opera Theater, performing in The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, The Elixir of Love, and in world premieres of Tobias Picker's Emmeline and Harold Blumenfeld's Seasons in Hell. He is an agent and Account Manager for McArdle & Associates Insurance Agency in Ashland.
Levi Meerovich
as Sérannes
Award-winning actor, singer, playwright, composer, and music director. Firehouse Theater credits include Wrong Chopped or Preludes. Other credits include The 39 Steps, Shakespeare in Love, The Rocky Horror Show, The Bottom Show, Urinetown, and many more. Their queer holiday musical, A Christmas Kaddish, premiered at Richmond Triangle Players until December 18, 2021.
Erin Foster
as Arrogant Young Man, Constable, Jacquet de la Guerre
"Rin" Foster studied theatre at the University of Mary Washington, but has been performing and creating her entire life. Julie, Monster is her first professional show, her first show in Richmond, and her first opera! As she describes herself, "You'll know her as soon as you see her grooving down the streets, seeming to have just come from both Shakespearean times and the seventies."
Margaret Taylor Woods
Margaret has a master's from Westminster Choir College, extensive festival and workshop experience, and credits in productions worldwide, yet she shares her talent generously with Richmond audiences. She recently performed at the Richmond Public Library. Next year she will play the title role in Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea with Capitol Opera Richmond and RVA Baroque.
James Brown
James M. Brown [they/them], a Maine native and artist known for diverse repertoire, "remains a definite asset in a cast as they sing and play remarkably well" (atuvu.ca). They have been seen portraying “a well controlled cold menace” (Le Devoir) and having a “pleasingly warm, and powerful tone” (Portland Press Herald). They returned to The Oratorio Society of Richmond in Handel's Susanna and later this year will premiere Niccolo Selgimann's Julie, Monster with RVA Baroque. During the closures due to COVID-19 they have found a place in Barn Opera's Social Distance Opera while narrating Bel Cantanti Opera's video production of Hansel & Gretel. Summer 2021, pursuing their love of new works, James performed works by John Cage, Joshua Scheid, and premiered Danni Song's Brood X at the Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. As a recitalist, James was a featured artist in the Apple Tree Art Song Pride Concert Series and will be an Encore Young Artist with Ars Musica Chorale for the 2021-2022 season. Mx. Brown holds degrees from McGill University and the University of Southern Maine.
DeVonté Saunders
DeVonté attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he performed roles in La Cambiale di Matrimonio, The Gondoliers, and Gianni Schicchi. He was a soloist in Dan Forrest's Requiem for the Living and Mozart's Requiem. He is a member of the Common Times Quartet, a soloist at River Road Presbyterian Church, and performs with the Richmond Symphony Chorus.
Kenneth Putnam
as Buzzy
Kenneth has been a costume designer for dance and colorguard for years. As an opera singer, he performed with RVA Baroque in Dido and Aeneas (2018) and MINERVA Times Change (2019). Besides performing as a baritone and clarinetist, he is also an actor, having performed with VA Repertory Theatre, Quill Theatre, Dogwood Dell, and Swift Creek Mill.
Libby Mullins
as Wayfarer, Boy
Libby is a senior studying musical theater at the Henrico Center for the Arts. She has been in productions through SPARC, Weinstein Jewish Family Theater, The Center Players, and was in the Snow Choir for the Richmond Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. Libby enjoys playing bass guitar and singing in her rock band, Fluoride, and singing in the choir at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Lindy Pokorny
as Missy
Lindy Pokorny makes her professional debut in Julie, Monster. She recently received her BA in Theatre Performance from Wagner College in New York City. Credits from her time there include Celebration (Major-Domo/U/S Potemkin), Litmus Test (Dominique), and All Shook Up (Miss Sandra). She was cast as Brooklyn in the Illuminated Stage's production of BKLYN the Musical.
Paige Reisenfeld
as Cécelia
Paige is an audiobook narrator, actor, and singer with a Vocal Performance degree from VCU. Stage credits include The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Talk Radio, Boeing, Boeing, and The Musical of Musicals, the Musical. She has narrated The Secret of the Grand Hotel du Lac and Afterlife, and is contracted for more. Love and gratitude to my family, friends, three cats, and PJ, whose support knows no bounds.
Jaylin Brown (She/Her) as Julie d'Aubigny
James Brown (They/Them) as King Louis XIV
Diana Carver (She/Her) as Father Cartier
Valerie Chinn (She/Her) as Madame Bortigali & Messenger
Ambrose Clark (He/They) as Thevenard
Keydron Dunn (He/Him) as Gaultier
Earl Fleming as Grande Duchesse
Jarene Fleming (She/Her) as Priest’s Conscience
Erin Foster (She/Her) as Constable
Tim Herrmann as (He/Him) Corbetta
James Lynn (He/Him) as Doctor Bortigali
Levi Meerovich (They/Them) as Sérranes
Libby Mullins as Boy and Announcer
Lindy Pokorny (She/Her) as Missy
Kenny Putnam (He/Him) as Buzzy
Paige Reisenfeld as Cécilia
DeVonté Saunders as Luynes
Margaret Taylor Woods (She/Her) as Marie-Thérèse