Digital Program
Twelfth Night
Director's Note
So much of what we do in theatre is practicing “empathic imagination,” a term used in the social and psychological sciences, which means imagining oneself in a particular role or perspective to better understand someone else’s experience. An actor’s job is to imagine what a character’s life is like, to put on unfamiliar clothes, and speak words that they wouldn’t normally. In Twelfth Night, not only are the student actors exercising their empathic imaginations to bring this play to life, but the characters within the play are doing this as well.
Just like you and I, all the characters contained on this fictional island of Illyria have their endearing qualities and dark underbellies. Our tendency is to focus on one or the other when deciding if we like or trust someone, instead of trying to understand the why behind a particular personality. Shakespeare and psychologists assert that when we imagine the lived experience of someone else we will not be so quick to judge or reject others, and our compassion and patience will grow. In other words, and hopefully ones you will be singing on the way out: “If we see through the eyes of another, what a better world it could be”.
Community Involvement
This musical version of Twelfth Night is a product of The Public Theatre’s Public Works program in New York City. This program casts professional and non-professional performers across all five boroughs of New York City in order to enact their core belief that theatre is an essential cultural force, and art and culture belong to everyone. The original cast of this musical included about 100 residents to authentically represent the mammoth community that is NYC. Creators Shaina Taub and Kwame Kwei-Armah state, “Yes, we originally performed it . . . with a gigantic cast, but we also wanted to make sure we created a vibrant and robust adaptation that could be performed with a cast as small as 15 in a black box.” Here at Gordon, we went for the latter but wanted to invite the broader community to take part as “buskers”, sharing their talents while the audience is being seated. Many thanks to: Debrah Hernandez, Hannah and Noah Spangler, Aaron Wardwell, Nolan and Adam Costa, Bianca Russo, Nathan Seavey, Gianna Hallam, and The Quadrivium.
Elizabeth Flynn '29 (Viola)
Major: Theatre Arts
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Fall Shorts '25
Emanuelle De Oliveira '26 (Olivia)
Major: Communication Arts
Gordon Theatre: Fall Shorts '25, Fall Shorts '26
Dan Young '26 (Orsino/Lighting Apprentice
Major: Psychology and Theatre Arts
Gordon Theatre: Into the Woods '25, Fall Shorts '24, Godspell '24, Fall Shorts '23, Little Women '23, 24 Hour Play Festival '23
Gordon Tech: Fall Shorts '25, Melancholy Play '25, Fall Shorts '24, Our Town '24, Senior Showcases '24, Senior Showcases '23
Ginny Crimp '26 (Feste)
Major: Music Performance
Gordon Theatre: Into the Woods '25, Godspell '24
Terrence Fevrier '28 (Malvolio)
Major: Psychology and Social Welfare
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: 24 Hour Play Festival, Little Women
Gordon Tech: Fall Shorts '24
Johnny Paul-Faina '26 (Sir Toby Belch)
Major: Art
Minor: English
Gordon Theatre: The Claim '23
Sarah Bollacke '28 (Maria/Props Master)
Major: English and Theatre Arts
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Fall Shorts '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24
Gordon Tech: Our Town '24
Brian/Jason Lewis '26 (Sir Andrew)
Major: Theatre Arts and Psychology
Gordon Theatre: Senior Showcase '25, Fall Shorts '24, Our Town '24, Godspell '24, Word Play '23, Little Women '23, 24 Hour Play Festival '23
Gordon Tech: Melancholy '25, Fall Shorts '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24, Godspell '24, Word Play '23, Little Women '23, Fringe Festival '23, Fantasticks '22, The Tempest' 22
Emily Raine '26 (Antonio/Costume Apprentice)
Major: Theatre Arts
Minor: Music
Gordon Theatre: Hebrews 13:3 ‘25, Into the Woods ‘25, Our Town ‘24, A Walk With Emily ‘24, The Invisible Transformation ‘24, The Claim ‘23, The Tempest ‘22
Gordon Tech: Melancholy Play ‘25, Godspell ‘24, Little Women ‘23, Hitler’s Tasters ‘23, The Fantasticks ‘23, Men on Boats ‘22
Malachi Dowdell '26 (Sebastian)
Major: Communication Arts and Theatre Arts
Gordon Theatre: Melancholy Play '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24, Godspell '24, Little Women '23, Fringe Festival '23, The Fantasticks '23
Keri Andersen '28 (Fabian)
Major: Communication Arts
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Debut
Jerica Knickerbocker '26 (Officiant)
Major: Theatre Arts
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Senior Showcases '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24, Senior Showcases '24, Godspell '24, Fringe Festival '23, Men on Boats '22
Gordon Tech: Fall Shorts '25, Melancholy Play '25, Into the Woods '25), Fall Shorts '24, Our Town '24, 24 Hour Play Festival '24, Senior Showcases '24, Little Women '23, Fringe Festival '23, The Fantasticks '23, Fall Shorts '22, The Tempest '22
Isabella Di Salvo '28 (First Officer)
Major: Elementary Education
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Debut
Carter Horne '29 (Second Officer)
Major: Music Education
Gordon Theatre: Debut
Annie Ketcham '28 (Illyrian Horn Player)
Major: Theatre Arts and Music
Minor: Musical Theatre
Gordon Theatre: Melancholy Play '25, Into the Woods '25, This is my Body '25, Our Town '24
Aidan Venckus '28 (Assistant Music Director and Illyrian Horn Player)
Major: Music Education and Music Performance
Gordon Theatre: Debut
Hannah Jennings '27 (Illyrian Horn Player)
Major: Theatre Arts and Communication and Culture
Gordon Theatre: Senior Showcase '25, Into The Woods '25, Our Town '24, Senior Showcase '24, Fall Shorts '23, 24 Hour Play Festival '23
Gordon Tech: Fall Shorts '25, Melancholy Play '25, This Is My Body '25, Fall Shorts '24, Our Town '24, 24 Hour Play Festival 24', Little Women '23
Morgan Forest '29 (Illyrian Townsfolk)
Major: English and Theatre Arts
Gordon Theatre: Debut
Gordon Tech: Melancholy Play '25 and Fall Shorts '25
Jamila-Ashanti Scales' 26 (Illyrian Townsfolk)
Major: International Affairs and Political Science
Gordon Theatre: This Is My Body '25
Gordon Tech: Into The Woods '25
Joanna Graves '29 (Illyrian Townsfolk)
Major: Communication Arts and Music
Gordon Theatre: Fall Shorts '25
Karis Nussbaum '28 (Illyrian Townsfolk)
Major: Theatre Arts and Music
Gordon Theatre: Fall Shorts '25, Into the Woods '25
Pit Musicians
Jess Modaff, Keyboard/Conductor
Aidan Venckus, Assistant Conductor
Robert Bekkers, Guitar
Aaron Goodro, Drums
Don Moultrop, Bass
Miqueas Pita, Saxophone
Production Team
Tommy Brennan '26 (Production Manager Apprentice)
Major: Theatre Arts and Business Management
Gordon Theatre: Melancholy Play '25
Gordon Tech: Into the Woods '25, Godspell '24
Kate Coburn '27 (Assistant Stage Manager/ Carpentry Apprentice)
Major: Theatre Arts and English
Gordon Theatre: Senior Showcases '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24, Senior Showcases '24, Little Women '23
Gordon Tech: Fall Shorts '25, Melancholy Play '25, Senior Showcases '25, Fall Shorts '24
Joy Cassidy '29 (Assistant Stage Manager)
Major: Theatre Arts
Gordon Tech: Debut
Karis Duck '26 (Sound Mixer)
Major: Communication Arts and Linguistics
Gordon Tech: Senior Showcases '24, Fall Shorts '25, Into the Woods '25
Abi Eisner '26 (Stage Manager)
Major: Theatre Ministry
Gordon Theatre: Silent Sky '25, Our Town '24, The Little Prince '24, Arabian Nights '23
Gordon Tech: Loons '25, Into the Woods '25, This is My Body '25, Romeo Revised '24, Hitler's Tasters '23, And Tomorrow and Tomorrow '22, Men on Boats '22, Tempest '22
Jay Long '27 (Accessibility Apprentice)
Major: Theatre Arts
Minor: Music
Gordon Theatre: Into the Woods '25, 24 Hour Play Festival '23-24
Gordon Tech: Fall shorts '24-25, Senior Showcases '25, Melancholy '25
Gretchen Munter '26 (Carpentry Resident)
Major: Theatre Arts
Minor: English
Gordon Theatre: Melancholy Play '25, Our Town '24, Fall Shorts '23, 24 Hour Play Festival '23, Hitler's Taster's '23, Fall Shorts '22
Gordon Tech: Melancholy Play '25, Silent Sky '25, Into the Woods '25, Our Town '24, 24 Hour Play Festival '24, Senior Showcases '24, Fall Shorts '23, Fringe Festival '23, Fantasticks '23
Creative Team
Jill Rogati
Jill, ’07 Gordon alumni, is a mover and a shaker in the literal sense that she received her masters degree in physical theatre (more formally an MFA in Lecoq-Based, Actor-Created, Physical Theatre from LISPA in conjunction with Naropa University, but my goodness that’s a mouthful). As a college adjunct professor and director she teaches actors how to move their bodies and their audiences. Most recently she directed The Miser, Men on Boats, and Melancholy (guess I have a thing for M’s) was the movement director for Godspell and Into the Woods, and co-directed Our Town. Outside of academia she works art department on film sets, consumes and critiques movies with her spouse, and creates plays with her theatre company Soap & Rope. Her most recent show (for babies!) went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in ’23 with a sold out run.
Jess Modaff
Jess Modaff, Assistant Professor of Music, is a collaborative pianist, pedagogue, music director, and vocal coach. Her professional work includes performances at Avery Fisher Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, United Nations Headquarters, and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. She has appeared on stage as pianist for concerts with ACDA, ILMEA, MMEA, MICCA, and NATS at the local, regional, and national level.
Jess brings stylistic versatility, expressive musicianship, and supportive leadership to her work at the piano, with a particular strength in building ensembles, mentoring individual performers, and working effectively with musicians across a wide range of experience levels. Whether collaborating with emerging artists or seasoned professionals, she emphasizes clarity, depth, musical connection, and transferable musicianship skills.
These strengths directly inform her teaching at Gordon College. Since 2008, Dr. Modaff has taught various courses including music theory, chamber music, song lit, and aural skills. Her pedagogical and scholarly work focuses on the intersection of aural skills and practical musicianship, emphasizing musicians’ ability to hear, read, process, and interpret music in real time. She speaks and writes on these topics, with recent presentations for the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society and the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association. In 2025, she received Gordon College’s Junior Distinguished Faculty Award in recognition of her work as a master teacher and collaborative artist.
A passionate musical theatre artist, Dr. Modaff is an active music director and piano-conductor. Favorite theatre credits include Into the Woods, The Last Five Years, Titanic, The Addams Family, and Urinetown. Her collaborative work also extends into church music, where she currently serves as Director of Worship Arts at Anchor Bay Church in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Dr. Modaff holds Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Collaborative Piano from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.
Chloe Agyare
Chloe Agyare is a Boston based actress, choreographer, and designer. She is a Gordon alum ('24) with bachelor degrees in Kinesiology and Theatre Arts. While at Gordon, Chloe acted in plays (This is My Body, The Miser, The Tempest, Steel Magnolias) as well as costume designed for others (Into the Woods, Senior Showcases '25). Chloe has choreographed at Faith Center for the Arts Theatre Camp in New Jersey and is excited to return to Gordon choreograph her first college main stage production. She hopes to continue her education in both theatre and health to better educate artists on holistic health and how it affects their artistry.
Jessica Algard
Jessica is thrilled to be in her seventh year as the Technical Director and Production Manager at Gordon! Along with this position, she has designed the lights for Our Town and the sets for The Tempest, The Fantasticks, Little Women, and Melancholy Play. Outside of Gordon, she has designed the set for Red with Boutcher Productions and A Loss Like This with Emby productions. As well, she designed the rooms for The Witches Hour, an escape room at Stained Hourglass Escapes. This spring, Jessica will also be designing the set for Translations with The Longwood Players. She is currently getting her MFA in Theatre Education through the Mississippi University for Women, which she will complete in May 2027. She would like to thank her husband and parents for their endless love and support.
PJ Strachman (Lighting Designer)
PJ Strachman (Lighting Designer) previous designs for Gordon College: Titanic, Steel Magnolias, The Fantasticks, Godspell. Other recent designs include Liars And Believers' A Story Beyond and Yellow Bird Chase; Blue Spruce's Pandora and The OK Diaries; Umbrella Arts' Full Monty. PJ is also the regular designer for Merrimack College and Gann Academy, as well as designing for several other area colleges, high schools, and middle schools. In addition, PJ is the coproducer/lyricist at Blue Spruce Theatre. Upcoming shows: L.A.B.'s The End Is Nigh and Merrimack's Alice By Heart.
Seth Bodie, Costume Designer
Adams School of Music and the Arts Support Staff
Jessica Algard, Technical Director and Production Manager, Theatre Arts Program
Rachel Bovee, Administrative Manager
Sarita Kwok, Dean of the Adams School of Music and the Arts, Adams Endowed Chair in Music, Professor of Music
Cordelia Schirer-Suter, Director of Admissions
Sarah Zahorodni, Operations Manager
Princeton Review Top 20 Best College Theaters
The Gordon College Theatre Arts program is thrilled to share that The Princeton Review recently named Gordon in its top 20 Best College Theater list, based on the rankings of fellow students. We share this honor with all of you who made these productions possible by your participation and attendance. Thank you!
Gordon Theatre Mission Statement
Everyone tells stories to understand and to be understood, to reflect, praise and question. Theatre uniquely develops empathy and community by embodying diverse stories. Gordon Theatre approaches learning holistically, helping students discover new passions and cultivate skills that benefit all aspects of life. Whether onstage, backstage or in the classroom, our students thrive in an environment defined by collaberation and curiosity. Graduate with the courage to explore and experiment and the ability to flourish as an artist and Christian.
A Christian Perspective on the Performings Arts
As a Christian liberal arts college, Gordon College is committed to producing a wide variety of plays that assess the human condition, raise moral questions and acquaint students with the history of theatre. The words and views expressed in the plays do not necessarily represent the positions or opinions of Gordon College, its faculty, staff, or student body. They are, however, carefully vetted for their power to engage the imagination, challenge assumptions, reflect culture, encourage dialogue, raise questions, and affirm truth.
About the Margaret Jensen Theatre
The Margaret Jensen Theatre, affectionately known as The Black Box, was designed by Iain Mackintosh, one of the world’s preeminent designers of theatres. Some of his notable theatre designs are The Cottesloe Theatre for The Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, The Tina Packer Theatre for Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts, and the Tricycle Theatre in London. He has remodeled many other theatres, including The Edinburgh Festival Theatre and London’s Royal Court Theatre. He is a graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, and is the author of Architecture, Actor and Audience.
About the Adams School of Music and the Arts
Gordon College is the preeminent Christian college in the global hub of higher education—widely respected for its commitment to bold intellectual inquiry, personal mentoring and academic rigor. Through a broad spectrum of liberal arts and sciences, students develop the intellectual scope and leadership skills to address the increasingly complex challenges of a global society. Just north of Boston and only a few hours from the financial and political capitals of the Western world (New York and Washington, D.C.), the College is ideally situated to offer students extraordinary access to leading-edge opportunities for professional and leadership development. Gordon stands apart from other outstanding institutions in New England by combining an exceptional education with an informed Christian faith.
Formed in 2024, the Adams School of Music and the Arts houses the Music, Art, Theatre arts and Communication aarts programs. The Adams School strives to graduate students fully equipped for success in today’s complex and ever-changing world. Each of the School’s music degree programs combines a performance-oriented, nationally accredited education with real-world experience, graduating young adults who possess not only exceptional skill and knowledge, but also the experience required to have a crucial impact in their communities.
One of only 19 schools in New England fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, the Adams School offers undergraduate degrees (B.M., B.A.) in which students may specialize in music performance, music education or a liberal arts degree in which they can pursue concentrations in Music in Worship and Composition. Minors in Music and Musical Theatre are also offered. Upon successful completion of all program requirements, music education graduates are eligible for licensure in 48 states through the NASDTEC Interstate Contract. An innovative summers-only Master of Music Education degree combines intense research and classroom study with concrete improvement in teaching ability and technique. Across campus, almost 120 students in these music degree programs benefit from the expertise of 35 full-time and part-time faculty and instructors, many of whom are recognized leaders in their fields. All students, regardless of major, are welcomed into music ensembles and core music classes. Numerous community music initiatives in the summer season and throughout the academic year bring the joy of music to the local community. The Gordon Symphonic Band and other College performing ensembles incorporate community members in a truly intergenerational approach to music-making. There are also varied programs at Gordon which instill a love of music in local children, whether it’s singing in the Children’s Choir, spending time on campus during popular music camps, making music with a parent in an early childhood music class, or learning how to play an instrument for the first time in private lessons.
Interested in Supporting the Arts?
Thank you for coming to see Twelfth Night. We are grateful for your support. If you would like to further support the Theatre Arts program here at Gordon consider making a gift online.