KATIE VAN CLEAVE (President) is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, majoring in Atmospheric Science. She has served as Stage Manager for MTC’s productions of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as well as Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party and served as General Manager for The Last Five Years, Songs For a New World, Cabaret, and I Love You Because. Candide marks her seventh season with the MTC. She would like to thank her ever-supportive family and friends. Congratulations to a wonderfully talented and dedicated cast and crew!

RACHEL MAYER (General Manager, Stage Manager) is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, majoring in Biology and Society and Education. This is her fifth season with MTC, and her third as stage manager. She made that choice when she realized that being super organized (read OCD) could be put to great use! Rachel is a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, of which she was the philanthropy chair last year. She is very excited to be with the company, and would like to thank the cast and crew for their stupendous efforts this semester on this gargantuan show!

JULI KLEIST-MENDEZ (Director), a native of Iowa City, Iowa, is a sophomore at Cornell, double majoring in Theatre and the College Scholars Program (creating a Peace Studies curriculum). This is Juli's second season with MTC, having first served as the Assistant Director for I Love You Because. She would like to thank the cast for their unwavering poker faces in dealing with her somewhat eccentric directing style. Un grand merci y muchisimas gracias to her family and friends, you keep me grounded!

TIM DYSTER (Assistant Director) is a sophomore biology major with pre-med in Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences. Candide is Tim's second production with MTC. Last semester, he played the role of Jeff Bennett in the MTC's production of I Love You Because. Tim is so grateful to be assisting an incredible director and working with such a brilliant cast. He would like to thank his family and friends for their endless support and encouragement. He would also like to thank the cast of Candide for their dedication to their performances and one another.

BRENDON SHAPIRO (Music Director) is a senior piano major at Ithaca College who focuses on collaboration and hopes to attend graduate school in Boston next fall to continue his studies in collaborative piano. He's worked on two Ithaca College Mainstage productions: Children of Eden and The Little Prince. In addition, he's played for four IC Triple Threat productions, and served as Music Director for two of them: The Fantasticks and Once on This Island. With the MTC, he has played for The Wild Party, Songs For a New World, and The Last Five Years. This is his first time musically directing for the company, and he's been having a blast working with this outstanding cast and crew!

CHRIS TOLBERT (Orchestra Director, Conductor) is currently a senior at Ithaca College majoring in Music Education. As a trumpet player, he is on the substitute list with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the brass quintet Five Cents Sharp. Conducting has become one of his prevailing interests since his first production with the MTC in the spring of 2007. Since then, his involvement in musical theatre has extended not only to conducting and playing in semi-pro and professional orchestras, but also to arranging and composing for Cornell’s Schwartz Center and other private theater projects. Special thanks to the outstanding MTC staff, looking forward to another year of making great music!

MELINDA ZOEPHEL (Technical Director, Scenic Designer)

CHRIS WOOD (Director of Marketing)

BETH SPERGEL (Director of Photography) is a Senior at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences studying a Natural Resources and Photography and a senior photographer for the Cornell Daily Sun.

ELIZABETH WHEELER (Costume Designer)

LAU OWENS (Makeup Designer)

ANDRE VALEZQUEZ (Assistant Graphic Designer, Scenic Artist)

TIM FASANO (Property Master), originally from North Haven, CT, is currently a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, majoring in English and Psychology, with a concentration in biopsychology. MTC credits include The Wild Party (Eddie), Little Shop Of Horrors (Mushnik), Cabaret (Ernst Ludwig), Songs For a New World (Stage Manager) and I Love You Because (Production Assistant). Past credits include Rumors (Ernie), Twelfth Night (Toby Belch), and The Tempest (Caliban). Tim can currently be seen in Romeo and Juliet (Paris) at Cornell University’s Schwartz Center. He would like to thank all MTC members, new and old, for their enthusiasm and dedication.