KATHLEEN PULS ANDRADE (Put the Nuns in Charge!) has been a professional actor/ voiceover/ improviser in Chicago for the past fifteen years. She has a degree in Theatre from Northern Illinois University and a "Masters" in comedy from The Second City Conservatory, ImprovOlympic and The Annoyance improvisation programs. She is a member of SAG, AFTRA, and has several on-camera credits, plus numerous voiceovers for radio and television. She has performed with Apple Tree Theatre, Strawdog, Lifeline, Chicago and Minneapolis Improv Festivals, Chicago Comedy Company, Playground Improv Theatre, Hiatus in New York City, and with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also created and produced the National Funny Women Fest 2000. In addition to teaching at Second City in Chicago, she has taught improv workshops for Baylor University, The University of Illinois, The University of North Florida, In Forte, and many others.
LISA BRAATZ (Late Nite Catechism and Put the Nuns in Charge!) is a theatre graduate from St. Louis University. She has been performing in the Chicagoland area for over 10 years. Recently Lisa portrayed the Reverend Mother in the Chicago Comedy Company production of Nunsense and Aunt Alma in the world premiere musical Retail. She works performing in private parties with Get Away With Murder and Murder Mystery Players where she gets shot, poisoned and stabbed on a regular basis. Lisa attended Catholic schools and remembers Sister Paul Mary as the toughest nun she has ever run across, but of course she was always the good girl and never got whacked
ELAINE CARLSON (Put the Nuns in Charge! and Sunday School Cinema) has been acting in Chicago theatre for over twenty five years. Some of her recent roles include Mrs. Pearce in Apple Tree Theatre's Pygmalion, Evelyn in Eclipse Theatre's The Rimers of Eldrich, and Helen in the Stage Left Leapfest production of Dan Noonan's Out Among the Dragons. She's also appeared in American Blues Theatre's Monsters II: Visiting Hours, Claudia Allen's Hannah Free at Bailiwick Rep, BNC's Don Juan Comes Back from the War and Famous Door's Two Planks and a Passion. Elaine has been honored with three Joseph Jefferson Citations: as both an actress in a leading role and also as an ensemble member in Famous Door's Salt of the Earth, and again as an ensemble member in Pegasus Players' Noises Off. Elaine was a long-time member of the Absolute Theatre Company. She appeared in many Chicago productions under the ATC banner including: The Crucifer of Blood, The Devils, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Reckless, Merry Wives of Windsor, Come Back to the 5 and Dime and others. You may have heard her voice on corporate voice-mail services, reading The Poky Little Puppy for Golden Books or narrating industrial films about aromatherapy, waste management or nail fungus. She also can be heard every week as our "Moral Guide to the Movies" on the Jerry Agar show on WLS, 890-AM.
LIZ CLOUD (Late Nite Catechism) has also appeared in the comedy parody The Spew at the Comedy Shrine in Naperville. She received an After Dark Award and a Joseph Jefferson citation nomination for her performance of Charlotte Bronte in the one-woman show Bronte at The Free Associates. She is a founding member of The Free Associates where she performed in sixteen shows including Cast on a Hot Tin Roof (Chicago and New Orleans productions) and BS. Recently she was in Flanagan's Wake and Mirandolina, both at The Noble Fool Theater. Her face and hands have been featured in commercials for McDonalds, Budweiser, Parkay Margarine and many others. Liz has appeared in the independent films The Opera Lover and How U Like Me Now.
CeCe KLINGER (Put the Nuns in Charge!) is an ensemble member of and has performed with Eclipse Theatre Company's “One Playwright One Season” for over nine years where she has been the recipient of two Best Actress Jeff Citation nominations. Some of her work there includes: Boy Gets Girl, Moonshot Tape, Lost in Yonkers and Childe Byron all directed by Steve Scott, Talley and Son directed by Lou Contey, Sextet directed by Cecilie Keenan, Woman without a Name directed by Steven Fedoruk and Confessional directed by Jenny McKnight. Some of the other theatres around town where she's had the pleasure of working are Timeline, Stage Left, Prop Theatre, Redmoon, The Organic, Tinfish, Oak Park Festival Theatre and Bailiwick among others. CeCe is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf, has an MFA in Acting and is a Feldenkrais Practitioner. She teaches Acting, Voice and Awareness Through Movement® and has taught at Steppenwolf, Center Theatre, Act One Studios, The Artistic Home, Northeastern, Columbia and presently at Victory Gardens Theatre. You can see CeCe this coming year in Alien Hand, an independent film coming to festivals near you!
MARGARET KUSTERMANN (Late Nite Catechism) attended Catholic schools through college. Margaret has worked at Lyric Opera, Victory Gardens, Artistic Home, About Face, Live Bait, and Center Theater. She has appeared at Northern Stage in Vermont as Mag in Beauty Queen of Leenane and Madame Arcate in Blithe Spirit. She played Tina's mother in Tony n'Tina's Wedding. Margaret was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Lola in Come Back Little Sheba. She has worked in commercials, films and television. Other works include No Place Like Home at Steppenwolf Studio, Merry Jewish Christmas at Bailiwick, Apocalyptic Butterflies in Collaboraction, The Credeux Canvas at the Smash Theatre and Seven Moves at About Face Theatre.
PAT MUSKER (Late Nite Catechism and Put the Nuns in Charge!) is also a founding member of The Noble Fool Theater Company. She has appeared as the goddess Freya, in the world premiere of Vikings! A Musical in Two Axe, and as Gina Oswald in the past four productions of Noble Fool's holiday parody, Roasting Chestnuts. She is a co-creator and original cast member of the long-running Flanagan's Wake. She can sometimes be seen in The Noble Fool Cabaret in the guise of improvisational chanteuse Roxy Bellows. In addition to being a professional educator, she is an improv instructor for The Second City Training Center.
ROSIE NEWTON (Late Nite Catechism and Sunday School Cinema) has been performing as Sister for nine years, first in Late Nite Catechism and now also in Sunday School Cinema. She first performed the role of Sister at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago, and has been traveling with the show ever since. Rosie also appeared in the Jeff-nominated production of Living Out by Lisa Loomer, a co-production of the American Theater Company and Teatro Vista, and in the Babes With Blades production of The Girl in the Iron Mask. Rosie is a product of the Catholic school system in Chicago, and would like to thank Srs. Rogeria, Paulina and Benigna for their inspiration and above all, their discipline.
MARY ZENTMYER (Late Nite Catechism) is happy to be traveling all over the USA, performing in the Chicago phenomenon, Late Nite Catechism. Mary first appeared as Sister at the Ivanhoe Theatre in Chicago and made her Off-Broadway debut at the Theatre at St. Luke's in New York City. She then was on the national tour of Late Nite Catechism and has appeared in numerous productions throughout the country. Mary was born and raised (Catholic) on the Northwest Side of Chicago, and was taught by the School Sisters of St. Francis at Alvernia H.S. She also received her B.A. in Speech & Performing Arts from Northeastern IL University. Old habits are hard to break: Mary portrayed Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music and Sister Catherine in Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (while it was in its formative Reader's Theatre stage, still being written by John Powers at Northeastern). She has performed at such Chicago theatres as the Candlelight-Forum Dinner Playhouse, Pheasant Run Dinner Theatre, the Sabre Room, Victory Gardens Theatre, Bailiwick, The Theatre Building and the Chicago Dramatists Workshop. Some of her favorite roles include: Blanche, in A Streetcar Named Desire, Eleanor of Acquitane in A Lion in Winter; the Defenseless Creature in Neil Simon's The Good Doctor, and Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy. Now, sit up straight and pay attention!
CECILIE D. KEENAN (Director) is a freelance director and producer who has been active in the Chicago Theater Community for over 20 years. Cecilie most recently directed Another Part of the House for Teatro Vista, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow for Collaboraction and Living Out for Teatro Vista/ ATC . She has been a frequent director at ATC where she was a company member some years ago and directed Toys in the Attic and Bus Stop. Cecilie also directs in Minneapolis for Theater Mu where she directed 99 Histories and Falling Flowers. Other recent work includes adapting the novel “The Messenger” by Mayra Montero for Teatro Vista presented at the International Latino Festival at the Goodman Theater. Cecilie has worked on staff with many theaters in Chicago including Producing Director at Chicago's Apple Tree Theater where she directed Anna Christie, The Birthday Party and Private Eyes and as Assistant Artistic Director for Northlight Theater. At Bailiwick she served as Artistic Director and she started the Director's Festival, 11 Minutes Max, and with David Zak, the Deaf Artists Program. Her directing work at Bailiwick includes: Our Town (a deaf/hearing/movement version), Nagasaki Dust, Shanghai Gesture, Dark of the Moon and Prometheus Bound/UnBound. In the past Cecilie has received many awards for directing and ensemble work as well as a TCG Observership to Mexico and several NEA & Foundation Grants to develop or produce new plays. Cecilie is a frequent teacher at area acting centers including Victory Gardens, Actor's Center, and Center Theater and others and even happily portrayed Sister in Late Nite Catechism in 1997.
VICKI QUADE has
written and produced a lot of theater in Chicago, including comedies, bluegrass
musicals, improv, and magic. She is best known for co-creating the one-woman
show, Late Nite Catechism, which opened in 1993 in Chicago and
holds the record for the longest running religious comedy in the city's
history. Her sequel, Put the Nuns in Charge!, opened in 2005 and is still running strong. Her new comedy, Sunday
School Cinema (where Sister reviews
movies), opened in 2007 at the Royal George to rave reviews.
Some of her other plays include Room for Advancement (1994), Mr. Nanny (1997), and Here Come the Famous Brothers (2001). She also has produced the mentalist
Christopher Carter (2002-05), the musical Forever Plaid (2003), the improv comedy Cast on a Hot
Tin Roof (2004), and the political spoken
word piece Verbatim Verboten
(2004).
As a performer, she recently appeared in Portraits:
Stories of Hope and Survival as part of the
Chicago Foundation for Women's 2007 anti-violence campaign:What Will It Take?
She also appeared in the All the Women You Want comedy festival at Los Manos Gallery, in Chicago,
delivered political rants in Verbatim Verboten at the Royal George, and appeared in a benefit
performance of Vagina Monologues
at the Apollo Theater. In habit as her character, Sister, she did a guest
appearance in Scarrie, the Musical,
at the Theatre Building in Chicago, and also chased WGN's Dean Richards on
stage as part of the Dance for Life
fundraiser at the Harris Theatre in Chicago's Millenium Park.
Vicki grew up in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and
started her career in journalism, working for daily newspapers, national
magazines, and writing for just about every publication in Chicago. She also
spent 10 years as a correspondent for Newsweek.
In 1999, she contributed to the Chicago Sun-Times millennium
book, 20th Century Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Voices. She also wrote the biography, I Remember Bob Collins, about the WGN-Radio legend who was killed in a
plane crash in February 2000.
Vicki has three children, Michael, David, and Catherine, who
keep her sane.