Free
Shakespeare
for Everyone
Staff & Board
Artistic Staff
Dusten creates productions that are imaginative, powerful and poignant. Artistic director for Cleveland Shakespeare Festival (CSF), Dusten is an award-winning director and fight choreographer. First appearing on the stage as Hamlet, Dusten has either acted, directed or choreographed for CSF since 2008, and his directorial debut production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM won Cleveland’s Best Outdoor Arts Experience with Cleveland Scene Magazine in 2015. Some of his favorite freelance Shakespearean work includes fight choreography for THE TEMPEST (Great Lakes Theater), RICHARD III (Idaho Shakespeare Festival), TITUS ADRONICUS: A GRAND AND GORY ROCK MUSICAL (Cleveland Public Theatre), as well as TWO NOBLE KINSMEN (Baldwin Wallace University), which won him an achievement award for fight choreography through the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival. In addition to being Artistic Director of Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Dusten teaches stage combat and serves as the resident fight choreographer for Baldwin Wallace University. Dusten earned his BA from Ashland University and is a Member and Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors.
Dusten believes that Shakespeare has the power to enlighten, inspire, unite and restore the human consciousness. Shakespeare's words have a magical way of touching the vastness of our soul, and transforming the essence of humanity into poetic beauty. Through this belief, Dusten is fervent that no matter the color of our skin, how we worship, whom we love, where we grew up, or the size of our bank account, we all deserves to experience the beauty of Shakespeare performed live.
RACHEL GOLD
Associate Artistic Director
Rachel Gold is a teacher, director, fight choreographer, and actor from Columbus, OH. Rachel earned her BFA in acting from Baldwin Wallace University. She is thrilled to be on the CSF team, bringing classic works to the communities of Northeast Ohio!
Directing credits include STOP KISS, the world premiere of ATROPOS, and she has directed several projects with Radio on the Lake. Teaching credits include Great Lakes Theater, Beck Center for the Arts, Baldwin Wallace University, and the Regional Junior Thespian conference. Past violence choreography credits include MISERY (French Creek Theatre), ROMEO & JULIET (Chagrin Arts), BURIAL AT THEBES (Baldwin Wallace University) and JULIUS CAESAR (BWU). Acting credits include Great Lakes Theater’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, DRACULA: THE BLOODY TRUTH, AS YOU LIKE IT, Cleveland Shakespeare Festival's MEASURE FOR MEASURE (Lucio), HAMLET (Rosencrantz), KIDShakes’ A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Puck), and Frantic Theatre Company’s world premiere of BALLAD OF BLANK METER (Emma).
CODY SWANSON
Director of Operations
Cody Swanson is an actor, teacher, stage manager, and fight choreographer, who is ecstatic to be working with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival! He is a proud graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA and of the Academy for the Performing Arts in Chagrin Falls, OH, where he taught theatre for over 5 years.
Favorite regional credits include YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Igor) at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, ROMEO & JULIET (Mercutio) and MEASURE FOR MEASURE (Duke Vicentio) both with The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, ASSASSINS (Sam Byck) at Lakeland Civic Theatre, and BUS STOP (Carl) at Big Dog Theatre. In addition, Cody has performance credits with Shadow of the Run and The Cleveland Play House. Cody has staged violence for Lake Erie College’s FOOL FOR LOVE, The Access Theatre Project’s ORDINARY PEOPLE, and for The Philadelphia Fringe Festival’s 2014 production of WE'RE PROUD TO PRESENT...He also had sound design credits for Baldwin Wallace University, Mayfield High School, and Beachwood Community Theatre.
Board of Trustees
ROGER M. GOVEA
President/Chair
Rodger is the Board Chair of CSF. He is Chair of the Department of Political Science at Cleveland State University. He received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1979. His acting experience at the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival includes roles in Richard III and in All’s Well that Ends Well . He has also performed at Dobama, Cleveland State University , Solon Community Theater, and in Bishkek , Kyrgyzstan.
KEITH KORNAJCIK
Vice Chair
Keith, the board Vice-Chair, is a veteran performer with CSF. Keith has performed in CSF productions of “The Merchant of Venice”, “Henry IV”, “Twelfth Night”, “The Tempest”, “All’s Well That Ends Well”, “Richard III”, “Anthony & Cleopatra”, “Titus Andronicus”, “Henry VIII”, and probably one or two that have slipped his mind. Around town, he has played with Bad Epitaph, Beck Center, Charenton, Clague Playhouse, Cleveland Public Theatre, CSU’s late-lamented Factory Theatre, Karamu, and others. When not treading the boards spouting verse, Keith fronts storied CLE avant-rock band Home and Garden.
LYNN MCLAUGHLIN MURRAY
Treasurer
The Honorable Magistrate Lynn McLaughlin Murray has served as a Magistrate with Cleveland Municipal Court from 1999 to the present.
Magistrate McLaughlin Murray is a 1986 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace University and a 1989 graduate of Case Western Reserve School of Law. She is the current Treasurer of the Board for Tremont West and serves on the Board of the Cleveland Veterans Court Advisory Committee, Greater Cleveland Drug Court Advisory Committee, the Cleveland Mental Health Specialized Docket Advisory Committee and on the Flats Forward Board as Chair of the Economic Development Committee. She has served since 1997 as the Chapter Advisor for the Delta Upsilon chapter of Alpha Phi Fraternity at Baldwin Wallace University.
AUSTIN BARNES
Member
Austin is an attorney with the law firm of Morris I. Hardwick and Schneider. He has over 17 years of legal experience in foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction, tax and real estate. He is an Ohio University graduate with a BBA in Finance. He received his JD from the University of Akron Law School and Masters in Tax degrees from the University of Akron School of Accountancy. He has served on the board of CSF for five years. He is also President of the Goodfriendship Chapter #63 of the AHEPA in Akron , Ohio .
AMELIA BLONSKY
Member
Bio to come...
CELESTE COSENTINO
Member
Celeste Cosentino has served on the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival board for over three years now. She is currently the Executive Artistic Director for Ensemble Theatre. She has served in one capacity or another for local Cleveland theatre's her entire life, spending many formative years "in the house" while her mother, Lucia Colombi, was interim Artistic Director for Karamu in the early to mid 80's, the same years her mother spent founding Ensemble Theatre. She has worked with The Cleveland Play House, Dobama Theatre, Clague Play House, Cain Park, Bang & Clatter, Willoughby Fine Arts, The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival and Weathervane Playhouse. She is a graduate of the Ohio University School of Theatre and returned to Cleveland in 2008, after living and working in New York City. Some of her favorite acting credits are Marela in Anna in the Tropics, Alice in Closer, Desdemona in Othello, and Kayleen in Gruesome Playgound Injuries. Favorite directing credits include The Gospel According to James, Death of a Salesman, Lower Ninth, Animals out of Paper, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and both part of Angels in America. Celeste is the daughter of Ensemble Founder, Lucia Colombi and has returned home to support her mother's mission by providing a fresh perspective as the next Artistic Director. She has a great fondness for the classics and thinks FREE Shakespeare for Northeast Ohio is a very noble cause.
TYSON DOUGLAS RAND
Member
Tyson is a 36-year veteran of the performing arts. He has been working as a professional theatre artist since 1982, acting, directing and designing productions for academic, community and regional/professional theatres. He joined CSF as an actor in 2005 and has since served as Props Master, Designer, Director, Production Manager, Managing Director and prior Artistic Director.
