Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today:Carl Lundergaard

Divorced dad of two, Carl Lundergaard is a rookie at WilliamWorld. After decades away from theatre, he figured a summer at the faire would be a good way to re-connect with his Shakespearean root -- and to stop his daughter Viola from nagging him to do it. Two birds, one stone. Carl will be playing Richard the Third and attending the pony rides at the My Kingdom For A Pony stable.


Carl Lundergaard is played by David Otto Simanek.

David has been in the following films: Dear White People, Written, Produced and Directed by Justin Simien, To Say Goodbye, Written and Directed by Tim Tarabpour, Produced by Hamid Tarabpour, and Problem Solving America, by The Diviney Brothers, Produced by DivineyPictures.com. Commercial work includes: Best Buy/Intel’s Dragon Assistant, Produced by Dan Orozco with Canary Inc. and Sound Check Inc., First Dakota National Bank Commercial, Directed by Greg Kiesow-Knutson, Produced by Fresh Produce. 

And on the stage he has been seen in: Lorca In The Green Dress, by Nilo Cruz with Teatro del Pueblo/Pangea World Around The World In Eighty Days, by Mark Brown and The Hobbit, by Patricia Gray with Open Window Theatre, Chickens on the Freeway; film at11…the musical, written by J.B. Eckert with music by J. Roth with Walking Boxes Theatre.

Apparently, the dead don't cough! Stuff People at a Shakespeare Festival Say

I came across this on Youtube. I relate to it far more than I'm willing to admit. 

That is all.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today:Viola Lundergaard

Viola Lundergaard is a WilliamWorld regular, having graced the faire with her lovely presence for three years now. This summer she’ll be playing Kate and serving as the troubadour with lute in hand. If her lute looks suspiciously like a ukulele, Viola wants us to understand that ukuleles look enough like lutes to fool most people and seriously does anybody have any idea how expensive a lute is?

Viola Lundergaard is played by Aimee Chenal.

Aimee Chenal grew up acting, painting and making home movies in a small town just across the Wisconsin border. She acts, directs and produces movies. She currently lives in the woods where she is currently working on a music video and writing a feature comedy to be shot in Minnesota.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Cassie Rowlands

Faire manager Cassie Rowlands is new to WilliamWorld. Her background is in the corporate world where she climbed to the top of the ladder with hard work and what she calls “a pit bull’s sense of empathy.” 

She looks forward to the opportunity to replace our beloved Craig (still recovering from his Crystal Meth addiction. Third time’s a charm, Craig!) and introducing the WilliamWorld staff to a more professionally run way of life.  While she’s not as well-versed in theatre as most WilliamWorlders, she claims a big love of Shakespeare, “especially that Oliver Twist thing.” Yes, she actually said that.

Cassie is played by Dawn Brodey.

Dawn Brodey is a full-time, freelance actress and writer living in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has appeared in such productions as Tony and Tina’s wedding, We Gotta Bingo, Romeo and Juliet on the Moon and King Lear. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Lily Stockbridge

This summer marks Lily's third year as a WilliamWorld performer and concessionaire. She's proud to play the role of Ophelia while selling her homemade organic, gluten-free, dolphin-safe, non-animal tested, fair trade kelp cookies. Here's hoping she sells one this year!

Lily Stockbridge is played by Ali Close.

Ali is originally from the Madison, Wisconsin area. She received her BA in Theatre Performance from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. She moved to the Twin Cities in 2011 for a change of pace. Since then, she's worked with several companies, including playing "Celia" in As You Like It with Public Theatre of Minnesota, "Lucy" in Dracula with Lyric Arts of Anoka and "Helena Landless" in The Mystery of Edwin Drood with Chameleon Theatre Circle. 

Other favorite roles include: "Ophelia" in Hamlet (Open Spaces), "Hodel" in Fiddler on the Roof (Stoughton Village Players), "Alcyone/Pomona" in Metamorphoses (UW La Crosse), "Isabella" in The Glorious Ones (Music Theatre of Madison), "Abigail Williams" in The Crucible and "Lola" in Damn Yankees (both with Saint Bernard Players). 

She was also a ballerina for over 18 years and helped to created the role of "Lucy" in a ballet version of Dracula, entitled "Drakula: The Performance" with Stoughton Center for the Performing Arts, playing the role three years.
In 2007, she was an Acting Apprentice for Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, MN, where she understudied the role of "Celia" in As You Like It. 

She currently lives in Saint Paul with her fiancée Mike and their two cats and will be getting married in November of this year.

Take a look at Lily's audition video:

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Desmond Farah

Desmond Farah makes his WilliamWorld debut this summer while playing Aaron the Moor and serving as WilliamWorld’s traveling juggler. The Somalian born, British reared Desmond makes no effort to mask his disdain for the Americanization of The Bard. He recently suffered a detached retina from rolling his eyes at the mispronunciation of the word visage. 

Desmond Farah is played by Sadeeq Ali.

Sadeeq Ali is a British, American-Somali actor. Most recently Sadeeq depicted "Elijah" in Mission Theatre Company's production of "Modern Prophet." Sadeeq performs with the Murder Mystery Company on a regular basis, and can be seen in various student film, and live theatre productions. Sadeeq is a freshman at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, and graduated from a Saint Paul public high school in June of 2013. 

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Doris Lundergaard

Doris Lundergaard is a WilliamWorld virgin, making her debut as Queen Gertrude and concessionaire at the cupcake table in this year’s faire after a lengthy absence from the theatre, Shakespeare and anything else that doesn’t involve loading up a minivan and driving one of her kids to somewhere just east of Golden Valley. 

Despite her break from acting, she is an avid fan of theatre when they don’t use the f-word too much. 

Doris Lundergaard is played by Holly Windle.

Holly started acting in community theatre at the age of seven in Arlington, Virginia.  Now a voice actor with Voicebox Talent, she also is part of the acting troupe for the Barbara Schneider Foundation’s crisis intervention training program.  She has a master’s degree in Speech-Communication from the University of Minnesota, where she has participated in educational role-playing for the Dept. of Mortuary Science and the Law School.  She has worked with Theatre Terra Firma, Gadfly Theatre Productions, Eat Street Players, Flower Shop Project, Bedlam, and Rosetown Playhouse, as well as singing with The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.  

More than 100 of her limericks have been approved for the on-lineOmnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form, and her book about an Iraqi-Armenian woman pianist,Baghdad Barcarolle, was published in 2008.

Meet the WilliamWorld Players! Today: Erin Falklander

Erin Falklander is a self-professed Bard rat and a mainstay at WilliamWorld. This year she’s playing Desdemona while working concessions at the handkerchief stand. 

Noted for her sarcastic demeanor and fiery temper, Erin’s string of four consecutive appearances at WilliamWorld was nearly ended after an ugly incident at the archery field in last year's faire. She was given a two week unpaid suspension for something she’d rather not talk about. Ever.

Erin is played by Taylor Van Denburgh.

Taylor has been working as a freelance performer in the Twin Cities since completing her BAs in Vocal Performance and Sociology at The College of St Benedict/St John’s University in 2009. Recent credits include, The Lower Depths with Nimbus Theatre, Guys and Dolls with Rooftop Theatre Company, Hamlet with the Minnesota Opera, and The Nark-A World Premiere with Freshwater Theatre Company-winner of an Ivey for best playwriting in 2013. Taylor’s newest adventure has been delving into the world of circus performing. 

She takes classes in aerial arts at Xelias in NE Minneapolis, and recently tried her hand at the flying trapeze with Twin Cities Trapeze in St Paul. If you ask, she will proudly show you her most recent bruises! 

Find out more at taylorevandenburgh.webs.com and like her on Facebook! 

RadioBard: Shakespeare does Radiohead's Creep

When last thou grac’d this lonely land with glee
Thine eyes, in faith, I could not gaze upon 
An angel from above thou art in truth
A weeping most sincere thy skin inspires
Thou doth recall a feather as thy float 
In lands most pleasing to the maker’s eye
Devoutly I would cast my soul so special
As art thou

I am but a rogue! 
I am a libertine!

I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not

If pain usurps my soul I shudder not
I seek but to design my very fate
And in this fate I seek a flawless form
A form to match a soul most without spot
And when I dwell here not I would thy mark it
For thou art special as the act of coupling

I am but a rascal!
I am a lecher!

I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not

She doth flee from the entrance!
She doth flee! She doth flee! O’ she doth flee!

All which pleaseth thou
All which thou doth desire
Would I were special

As art thou

I am but a knave!
I am a debaucher!
I know not wherefore I dwell in this place
But in this land I fear I belong not


In this land I fear I belong not

How now, Bard Geeks!

Do you love Shakespeare?

Have you ever been temped to order a pizza in iambic pentameter?

Did you manage to stay awake through Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet?

Have you ever voluntarily worn a doublet?

Do you own a lute?

Sounds to me like you love Shakespeare! Then behold a new web series Adventures at WilliamWorld!

This bold and raucous comedy takes you behind the scenes at a Bard-themed faire! The romantic! The comedic! The awkward!

Coming this summer!