The Artistic Team

Stephen Legawiec

Director
Stephen Legawiec (Director) has curated over 100 professional productions as well as directing over 75. He was artist-in-residence at Teatr Stary in Krakow, Poland and is a member of the International School of Theatre Anthropology. He launched Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble to explore the relevance of myth and ritual to a contemporary audience, and for which he wrote and directed every play. Legawiec is the author of 35 plays, including the award-winning Aquitania and the critically acclaimed Red Thread, which won the Garland Award for Los Angeles Production of the year. Outside of the U.S., his work has been seen in Trois-Rivieres, Canada, at the Micro-festival of Unfinished Puppetry and at the Season of Unusual Theatre. He most recently wrote, directed and produced Caravan of Dreams, a site -specific piece performed in the Desert of Maine. He is also the Artistic Director of Camden Shakespeare Festival, a theatre he founded.

German Cardenas

Scenic Designer
German is from Mexico City, where he studied architecture, then transitioned to scenic design and painting. In 2019, he joined the Theater and Dance Department at Bowdoin College. This is his first collaboration with USM. He has taught and served as resident scenic designer previously at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. He continues to work locally in Maine for Theater at Monmouth and Portland Stage Company. Bowdoin College design credits include Henry VI part II, Cows of War and The Wolves. Other design credits are: Last ship to Proxima Centauri, The age of Bees, Sofonisba, Anthony and Cleopatra, Amphitryon, These seven sicknesses, Assassins, L’enfant et les sortilèges, Jelly’s last Jam and Eclipsed.

Remy Dickinson
Lighting Designer

Remy graduated from the USM theatre department in 2020, and is very excited to be returning for this design. Remy is the department’s master electrician this semester, and he works with a number of local organizations including IATSE Local 114, High Output, and more.

Shaughnessey is a second year theater major with a concentration in design from Lebanon, ME. Her previous USM experiences are: actor in R & G Are Dead as part of An Evening of Theater & Dance, Assistant Costume Designer for Urinetown, and shop assistant for She Kills Monsters. She is very excited to be making her costume designer debut on the USM stage.

Ryan is in his final semester at USM, being a theatre major with a concentration in design. Besides attending USM, Ryan also works full-time at the Heartwood Regional Theater Company in Damariscotta Maine, where he works as the Technical Director for their productions.

Ciara Harriman
Choreographer

Ciara Harriman, in her choreographic debut in Mr. Burns’ Post Electric Play, is a tourism/hospitality major with a concentration in health sciences. Additionally she is a fourth-year dance minor currently teaching in the Bridgton, Maine area. She hails from Sebago, Maine. “Ten plus years of experience in competitive dance has given me great opportunities,” says Ciara, “This challenge has been truly rewarding. I am extremely proud of these talented artist’s professionalism and dedication to their craft.”

Dana Wieluns Legawiec

Mask Coach

Dana Wieluns Legawiec (Mask Coach) is physical theatre artist, teaching artist, and arts educator. Selected directing credits: Balloonacy (Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine); Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom (USM Dept of Theatre), Taming of the Shrew (Camden Shakespeare). Dana has taught Movement and Mask at the University of Southern Maine and at Colby College. She is Co-Artistic Director of Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble, Artistic Associate for Bath & Camden Shakespeare Festivals, and Executive Director of the Maine Alliance for Arts Education. Education: Princeton (BA), Harvard (M.Ed), Dell’Arte International. Next up: Bess Welden’s Death Wings Project (deathwingsproject.org).

Andrew Johns

Technical Director

Andrew holds MFA in Technical Production from The University of Delaware. He had started his professional career as a Staff Carpenter at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. After serving as a Technical Director at Kenyon College for six years, he started at Denison in the Fall of 2001 as the Technical Director for the Theatre Department. He has also designed Lighting and Sound for various productions and provided support for Denison’s Music and Dance Departments. He has taught Stagecraft for Lighting, Scenery, and Sound production.

Andrew has also worked for Wolf Trap Opera Company, Brevard Music Center, Illinois Shakespearean Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Weathervane Playhouse, Actor’s Theatre of Columbus, MTVArts, The Bruce Jacklin Company, Available Light Theatre, and The Central Ohio Youth Ballet In 2018 he was named the Technical Director for the Michael D. Eisner Center for the Performing Arts at Denison, providing support for the Theatre, Music, and Dance Departments in 6 performance spaces. The Eisner Center opened in the Fall of 2019. Andrew was an integral member of the Denison design team and helped to coordinate the construction, implementation, and commissioning of all Technical Performance elements within the Center.

He is a member of The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT).

Sage Bartlett

Props Master

Sage is a third-year theatre design/tech student from Eastport, ME. Previous USM experience: props assistant for Urinetown and Clue, set design and construction for R & G Are Dead as part of An Evening of Theater & Dance, and puppet master for She Kills Monsters. This summer Sage was also the props designer for Away Downeast, an original musical at the Eastport Arts Center.

Kevin is currently the Costume Director at USM. His work was recently seen in USM's production of She Kills Monsters. Kevin has worked as a costume designer for over five years in the New England area and specializes in children's theatre and theatre for young audiences. He holds a BFA in Musical Theater from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and an MFA in Costume Design from Boston University, where he received the Virgil C. Johnson award for excellence in costume design. Kevin has worked for many theatre companies, including The Children's Theatre of Maine, Wheelock Family Theatre, Greater Boston Stage Company, and Boston Playwright's Theater. In addition, Kevin was a founding member of the CIC Theater Company and was the Production Manager and Resident Costume Designer for over five years, bringing theatre education to underserved youth in the Boston area. Kevin's favorite costume design credits include Peter Pan, Anyone Can Whistle, and The Wizard of Oz.