Mary Close (Raynelle) has been active in local theatre since 1989. Last seen on Civic’s stage in The Hardy Boys and The Uninvited, she has appeared with virtually every local theatre past and present! Mary completed The Crucible with Heritage Theatre Group and her most memorable roles include Emma in Over the River and Through Woods with Circle Theatre, Sr. Laurentia in Best of Friends for LLC Classical Theatre and Angela in Who’s Better Than Us with Actors’ Theatre.
		Richard Mulligan (Bud Turpin, Norval, Clyder) returns to GRCT after first appearing in Arsenic and Old Lace. While in high school, Richard performed in Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, The Butler Did It, M is for Millions, and Two on a Bench as well as Master Arts Theatre's A Christmas Carol. A father of two, Richard is currently the head of the Drama department at the Genesis United Methodist Church.
		Bernice Anne Houseward (Marguerite) A Library Media Specialist at Rosewood Elementary (Jenison), last appeared on the Civic Stage as Marmee in Little Women (’98). Among her other credits are Summer and Smoke, and The Sisters Rosensweig for Civic; Kindertransport, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, and When a Nightengale Sang for Actors; I Hate Hamlet for Circle, Anne Frank and Me for Jewish Theatre; and Glass Menagerie and The Runner Stumbles for Calvin Alumni as well as several productions for Muskegon Civic Theatre. She was also an extra for an episode of Northern Exposure. Verna Aardema’s Reading Rainbow book, Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain is dedicated to Bernice.
		Jay Brooks (Royce) owns and operates Affinity Marketing and was last heard in Civic Theatre’s 2002 production of Winnie-the-Pooh as the Narrator. He also appeared in Anne of Green Gables and Peter Pan. Jay started acting at the tender age of 9 as Oliver Twist in Oliver! with Omaha Playhouse and appeared in several productions while growing up. Locally he has also appeared in Tom Sawyer, 2002 and Muff Potter with Master Arts and Raucous Romance in Saugatuck’s 3rd Coast Theatre Company. Jay is a member of the Grand Rapids School of Theatre Arts and the Director of Drama Ministry at Cornerstone Church.
		Mary C. Brown (Lucille) portrayed Frau Fahrenkopf in last season’s Night of the Iguana. She recently performed in Vagina Monologues for Grand Valley State. A native of Rockford, IL, Mary performed in Strider and I’m Not Rappaport with its New American Theatre; as Liesl in Sound of Music for Rockford College and as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun for Boylan Catholic Central HS. “I dedicate all these performances to the memory of my late husband, Jeffrey Brown.”
		Rob Thomasma (Ray-Bud) is a self-employed cosmetologist and make-up artist. 43 years ago, Rob made his stage debut at Civic Theatre in The Wizard of Oz with Norma Brink as Glenda. Rob was a Munchkin. Since then he has appeared on or behind the scenes of every venue in West Michigan. His credits for Actors, Jewish Theatre, Heritage Theatre, Circle Theatre, Opera Grand Rapids and GVSU include: Pippin, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Hello, Dolly!, The Philadelphia Story, Jeffrey, Wit, Noah’s Flood, Man of La Mancha, Carousel, and Assassins. In 1988, Rob was honored with Circle Theatre’s Norma Brink Award for Community Service, and after 40 years—life came full-circle when he appeared on the Civic Stage with Norma again in Arsenic and Old Lace. Rob says, “In another 40 years, I might just get it right.”
		Sherryl Després (Suzanne) has performed for Civic in Jack and the Giant Beanstalk, The Real Thing and Amadeus (’85). She has also appeared in The Three Musketeers, Twelfth Night, and How He Lied To Her Husband for Heritage Theatre Group; Sylvia and Sound of Music for Flat River Players; Soar, Sor Juana for Actors as well as several industrial films, infomercials and indie films. Sherryl is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Grand Valley and is on the Board of Heritage Theatre Group. She would like to thank her husband, Michael, and sons Christopher and Kyler for “letting me out to play.”
		Tom Ferrat (Junior) makes his Civic debut in Dearly Departed. Recently, he performed in Our Town for Aquinas Theatre Program’s first production in their new performing arts center. He works with information technology at Aquinas College. Tom and his girlfriend, Anne Marie are expecting their first child in April.
		Rosalie Shemanski (Delightful) makes her Civic debut in Dearly Departed. She was very active in dramatics at Lapeer West HS and performed the title role in Coralie Lansdown says NO at the University of Stirling, Scotland. While a student at Grand Valley State, Rosalie appeared in Letters to a Student Revolutionary. She has a BBA in Marketing and Management and is a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration.
		Kim E. Ruyle (Reverend Hooker) makes his theatre debut in Dearly Departed. He obtained a PhD from Oregon State University and an MBA from University of Wisconsin. He is the Director of Learning and Development at Siemens Dematic. Kim wishes to thank his kids, Benjamin, Emily, Nathanael, Christopher, Daniel, Rebecca, Jonathan, Tad, Maggie, and Maddie, for the inspiration.
		Elly Stevens (Veda) is making her Civic debut with Dearly Departed. Her favorite roles include Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, and Mother Child in Crazy for You at the Old Towne Playhouse in Traverse City. Elly moved to Grand Rapids four months ago and is happy to have found another theatre family.
		Mary T. Fischer (Nadine) is also appearing on Civic’s stage for the first time. After graduating from West Catholic High School, she went on to earn her B.A. in English with a minor in Theatre and Italian at the University of San Diego. Mary also attended the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York and is currently applying to grad schools.
		Teresa Newmarch (Juanita) is new to Civic. She has performed as Miss Maudie in To Kill a Mockingbird with the Oaks Theatre in Olivet and as Sandy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing. She is Associate Director of Philanthropy at The Nature Conservancy, an international, non-profit conservation organization. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Grand Valley State University.