The Importance of Being Earnest

Cast (in order of appearance)

  • Justin Genna* (he/him)

    (ALGERNON MONCRIEFF) is an actor, director and dancer and Co-Artistic Director of Lanes Coven with Lily. LOCAL THEATER: Macbeth (Director), Monkey (Sound Design), The Dumb Waiter, Taming of the Shrew, and 21 Plays, all with Lanes Coven; Mauritius, which he also sound designed, and helped creative-produce with Fishtown Players. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Justin worked with Milwaukee Ballet for 8 years, and trained at Houston Ballet and Virginia School of the Arts. He holds an MFA from American Conservatory Theater. OFF BROADWAY: Novenas for a Lost Hospital (Rattlestick Theater). REGIONAL THEATER: Marie, Dancing Still (5th Avenue Theater Seattle), Boy From Oz (Rhinoceros), Cyrano (Livermore Shakespeare Festival), Little Dog Laughed & Rock of Ages (Santa Rosa Rep), A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater). TV/FILM: Law & Order SVU, “Little Women.” Thank you Lily, the Narbonnes, Mom, and love to all those back in Madison, WI. justingenna.com

  • Max McNamara (he/him)

    (LANE / MERRIMAN) With Lanes Coven: upcoming, Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet. Past: Banquo/Murderer 3/Young Siward in Macbeth; Gus in The Dumb Waiter; 21 Plays, and Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew. Max is originally from, and currently resides here in Gloucester. Max is a Film, TV, and stage actor and has worked in Los Angeles, NYC, Boston and Austin, Texas. He is a proud member of Fishtown Players, with whom he produced and acted in Mauritius at the Rogers Street Theatre, and Port Authority. Film/TV: Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood,” “Equalizer 2” (Columbia Pictures), “The Possession of Hannah Grace” (Screen Gems) and “The Good Cop” (Netflix) among others.

  • Patrick Andrew Jones* (he/him)

    (JOHN “JACK” WORTHING) is a New York City based actor, writer and producer. He received his MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and has worked extensively in theater, commercials and film. Select credits: ART/NY, The Lark, Hudson Stage, The Brick, The Kraine, SF Playhouse, Capital Rep, Pacific Rep, Berkeley Rep, ACT, Livermore Shakes, Teatro Delle Due (Italian tour), “Diarra is from Detroit,” “The Food That Built America,” “Empires.” He is the co-founder of production company Studio 9A and has co-written, produced and acted in three films “Dispatchment” (alongside Emmy-nominee Robert Picardo), "The Brandon Tree,” and "Eleven Eleven". Read more about him at patrickandrewjones.com. Special thanks to Justin and Lily!

  • Ms. Derrière (she/they/he)

    (LADY BRACKNELL) is excited to be returning to Lanes Coven, after appearing in their first season’s production of Taming of the Shrew. Derrière is a singer, actor, drag performer, and teaching artist hailing from Northeast Ohio. They have appeared in the 1st national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s: Love Never Dies, and can also be seen on Netflix in Ryan Murphy’s “Pose” as well as Amazon Prime’s “The Tick.” Derriere has performed across the US at theaters including American Conservatory Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, White Plains PAC, Arkansas Rep, Northern Stage, Playhouse Square, and Porthouse Theatre. Derrière is a proud graduate of the Baldwin Wallace Music Theater program and American Conservatory Theater’s MFA program. Currently they are in school studying to be a Speech Language Pathologist.

  • Eryn O'Sullivan (she/her)

    (GWENDOLYN FAIRFAX) With Lanes Coven: upcoming, Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet. Past, Witch 1/Malcomb/Murderer 1 in Macbeth; and Rosalind in As You Like It: Reading & Listening Party. Eryn is an actor, artist and audiobook narrator originally from Georgia, now living in Gloucester. She is a graduate of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, as well as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where she majored in Acting. She has played Bianca in Taming of the Shrew (National Players Tour), Valerie in The Weir, and Buckingham in Richard III. In 2018, she formed an all-female, multi-disciplinary theater company called Don, Pat & Tom, and together they brought their inaugural show, “leaves,” to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Their most recent project, a film entitled “Epinephrine,” is in post-production.

  • Mia Contilli (she/her)

    (CECILY CARDEW) is a recent high school graduate who splits her time between Beverly and Gloucester. Throughout high school Mia directed and performed in a variety of plays and festival pieces including The Importance of Being Earnest during which she won an METG award for the role of Gwendolen Fairfax. Mia will head to New England College in August where she will major in secondary English education. This is her first production with Lanes Coven and she is delighted to bring this trivial comedy to some very serious people.

  • Laura Crook Waxdal (she/her)

    (MISS PRISM) is an actor, writer, director. This is her first show with Lanes Coven! Recently she appeared as Alice Vanderbilt for the Live The Drama ad campaign. Locally she voiced Athena for Brian King’s Medusa Reclaimed. She has performed at North Shore Music Theater, Boston Center for The Arts, Merrimack Rep, Huntington Theater, Worcester Forum, Salem Theater, Champlain Shakespeare, and Gloucester Stage. She directed the critically acclaimed Queen of Wyoming for the NYC East to Edinburgh Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her first play But for the Grace of God has been produced multiple times and is published in The Boston Theater Marathon 2009 Anthology. Currently Laura is working on licensing and producing her musical adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s When Santa Fell to Earth. She is also a contributing artist with Exiled Theatre Company and member of the creative team for the fall ’23 production.

  • Michael McNamara (he/him)

    (REVEREND CANON CHASUBLE) With Lanes Coven: Duncan/Porter/Siward in Macbeth. Michael McNamara has been seen on local area stages for over forty years as an actor, producer and director. He founded several community groups, of which Fishtown Players was the latest. In 2019 he produced and acted in Mauritius at the Rogers Street Theater. Recent credits incle Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Mugford Street Players), Port Authority, The Weir, Antigone, and The Seafarer. Michael is a resident of Gloucester, and was born in Rockport.

Production Team

  • Lily Narbonne (she/her)

    (DIRECTOR) | is an actor, dialect coach and director, Co-Artistic Director of Lanes Coven and the youngest member of the Gloucester Cultural Council. In theater, she has directed The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, and The Insurgents by Lucy Thurber. On film, she directed “Sophie’s Choices,” a comedy about an unlikeable roommate and the lengths one will go to for revenge. As a dialect coach, Funnyhouse of a Negro & Movie Star at Barnard College, DASH AWARD - Winning Translations with Marblehead Little Theater; among others, see website lilynarbonne.com or insta (@dialectarts). As actor, LOCAL THEATER: Macbeth, Monkey, Taming of the Shrew, 21 Plays, all with Lanes Coven; Mauritius with Fishtown Players, readings with Gloucester Stage, and TV/FILM: “Julia”, HBO Max. REGIONAL & NYC THEATER: American Conservatory Theater, Livermore Shakespeare Festival, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Allentown Shakespeare in the Park, Bushwick Starr. MFA, American Conservatory Theater. BFA, BU School of Theatre. Thank you to all the classy female director/actor/teachers I’ve had, who have inspired me to this point, and Mom, Dad, Mimi, Giuls; and Justin for almost always answering my calls, I love you! IG: @lilynarbonne

  • Tara Hightower* (she/her)

    (STAGE MANAGER) Tara is a Connecticut Native and Central Connecticut State University alumni who holds a BFA in Theatre Technology, Design, and Production. She is excited to be returning to Gloucester this summer for a second season with Lanes Coven! Select Stage Management credits include: Lanes Coven Theater Co - Macbeth | Gloucester Stage - A Midsummer Night's Dream | Central Connecticut State University - Next to Normal, Constellations, & Island Song. Later this year, Tara will be the Stage Manager for Sam & Jim in Hell at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier, VT. Proud member of the Stage Managers’ Association of the United States and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. IG: @ tarahightowersm

  • Ariane Grossi

    (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER) is thrilled to be a part of Lanes Coven summer season having been the AEA Stage Manager on Monkey this past November. Previous shows Ariane has stage managed have included Carousel, Oliver!, Peter Pan, Annie, Sunshine Boys and Bye Bye Birdie to name a few. She has performed in productions such as Godpsell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Twelfth Night and The Crucible. She has directed The Taffetas, A Taffetas Christmas, Cinderella, All Night Strut and Terezin, Children of the Holocaust. She hopes you enjoy the show!

  • Viva Vidalia (she/her)

    (COSTUME DESIGNER for LADY BRACKNELL) is an internationally known, multi-talented drag performer residing in Houston, TX. She had made a name for herself with her high energy dancing, bewitching live vocals, and wildly colorful wardrobe. You can also see her fashion designs on many performers around the world as well on popular tv shows such as RuPauls Drag Race, Dragula and Camp Wannakiki. Follow her @vivavidalia on Instagram.