March 26 – May 10, 2026
In This Program
- About the Show
- A Welcome from the Artistic Director
- Themes
- Cast and Creative
- Print Edition
- More About Seattle Children’s Theatre
About the Show
Seattle Children’s Theatre is grateful to our community and those who made this production of Robin Hood possible.
Supporting Season Sponsors:
ArtsFund
Microsoft
The Shubert Foundation
4Culture
Show Sponsors:
Laura Buckland & Doug Young
Nesholm Family Foundation
Seattle Children’s Theatre Presents...
Robin Hood
March 26 – May 10, 2026
By Greg Banks
Directed by Johamy Morales
CAST
Evan Whitfield Actor #1
ML Roberts* Actor #2
Amy Danneker Actor #3
Arjun Pande* Actor #4
Carter Thompson Understudy, Actors #1 & #2
Chelsey Sheppard Understudy, Actors #3 & #4
CREATIVE
Johamy Morales Director
Greg Banks Playwright
Ian Bond** Fight & Intimacy Director
Parmida Ziaei Scenic Designer
Anna Bowen Co-Costume Designer
Janessa Styck Co-Costume Designer
Andrew D. Smith^ Lighting Designer
Natalie Mayo Sound Designer
Melissa Y. Hamasaki* Stage Manager
Elizabeth Stasio Assistant Stage Manager
Additional Production Staff
Damon T.R. Reany Lead Stage Carpenter
Katy Morrison Lead Dresser
PJ Sheehy Lead Wardrobe
Beth Peterson Scenic Painter
Holland Johnson Electrician
David Baack Electrician
Brenna Holkins Costume Fabricator
Robert Millard Carpenter
Sean Baker Carpenter
Damien Larsen,Carpenter
*Actors Equity Association Member
^United Scene Artists Member, Local 829
**Stage Directors and Choreographers Society Member
A Welcome from the Artistic Director
Johamy Morales
In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben reveals the forest as a living community — trees sharing nutrients through underground networks, protecting their young, sustaining the sick, even nourishing the stumps of those long fallen. He reminds us that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” In the forest, survival is collective.
As we dive into the mythical Sherwood Forest of Greg Banks’ Robin Hood, we see it not simply as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing organism. Sherwood shelters outcasts and disrupts hierarchies. It becomes a place where power is questioned, wealth is redistributed, and justice grows from the community. The struggles at the heart of this play, power and justice, authority and resistance, wealth and poverty echo the delicate interdependence Wohlleben describes. No one survives alone.
Robin Hood has endured since the late Middle Ages because this story is larger than one heroic outlaw. It is about a band, a collective bound not only by rebellion, but by care. Their strength lies not just in a bow or a daring act, but in solidarity. Much like the forest, their resilience depends on shared resources, shared risk, and shared hope.
Greg Banks’ adaptation feels both folkloric and startlingly modern. Its inequalities are familiar. Its courage feels urgent. Its hope feels necessary. The play invites us to examine who holds power, who is silenced, and what it truly means to stand together against injustice.
This production celebrates the communal act of storytelling. An ensemble of players conjures forests, castles, and legends using their bodies and voices. The audience is not a passive observer, but an active participant, asked to imagine alongside us, to complete the world. In gathering to tell this story together, we breathe life into an age-old tale of rebellion, justice, and freedom — and perhaps a glimpse of the kind of world we might grow into if we choose to stand together and share with one another.
Johamy Morales
Artistic Director
Themes
COMMUNITY
In the play we see the important role community plays in a person’s life. While some, like Marian, are born into one community, she also discovers a community in Robin’s band. Robin and his merrymen represent a found family; a community built by like-minded people who care about the wellbeing of the people in it. Seeing the group welcome Marian with open arms and work together against the tyranny of Prince John serves as a lesson on the power of community and the strength it provides to those within it.
STANDING UP AND SPEAKING UP
Doing what is right can be a very hard and scary thing to do. Even when it seems like a daunting task, Robin Hood teaches that when we use our power to stand for what is right, and use our voice to speak out against tyranny, justice can be achieved.
RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility can mean many things; something you are required to do, or the commitments and values to which you hold yourself and others. In Robin Hood, we see the different layers of responsibility, Robin’s responsibility to those in need, The Sheriff’s responsibility to his Prince, and Marian’s responsibility to her own values. All of these layers teach us the complexity of responsibility, and how our actions can yield both good and bad outcomes.
JUSTICE
Robin Hood is a conversation on what is right versus what is just. Though The Sheriff and Prince John are technically right that Robin Hood is a thief who steals money, Robin’s theft is for a just cause, helping those in need. Robin’s story is not about his means, but about his mission in bringing justice to those who prey upon the defenseless. The play is a call to action, pushing us to look deeper into what justice means, and fight against the systems that keep us from achieving it.
HEROISM
What is a hero? Can it only be the main character; can it be someone else? While Robin Hood is the hero in his own story, the play shows us that heroism lives within every one of us. Whether it is Marian’s fight against the corruption of her father, Much’s willingness to defend the helpless, or the Friar’s selflessness to protect Marian from The Sheriff, Robin Hood shows us what is possible when we believe in our own power; our own capacity to be a hero.
Cast and Creative
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Johamy Morales
Director – (she/her)
Johamy is an award-winning director and a 25-year veteran of Theatre for Young Audiences. She has held leadership roles with Seattle Children’s Theatre since 2019 and has serves as a Trustee for Red Eagle Soaring and Theatre Communication Group. Johamy previously served as the Education Director for Creede Repertory Theatre and directed the Comparative Arts Department at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her artistry and teachings have taken her to South Africa, Mexico, and India with the U.S. State Department. Johamy holds an MFA from The Ohio State University, with a specialization in devising new works and a BA in Theatre from San Diego State University.
Ian Bond**
Fight & Intimacy Director – (he/him)
Ian Bond is a Seattle based storyteller. At SCT, he most recently choreographed Luchadora! He has also fight and intimacy directed for the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Rep, Village Theatre, The Seagull Project, University of Washington, Washington Ensemble, Sound Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Seattle Pacific University, Book-It Repertory, Seattle Shakespeare, ACT Theatre, and Union Arts Center. As an actor, Ian recently performed as Jonathan in The Play That Goes Wrong (Seattle Rep/Portland Center Stage). Ian is a co-founder of PNW Theatrical Intimacy, a member of Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, educator, and a motion capture artist (“Ghost of Tsushima,” “Ghost of Yotei.”)
Parmida Ziaei
Scenic Designer – (she/her)
Parmida Ziaei is an Iranian multidisciplinary artist, designer, and co-founder of Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble. She has contributed to a diverse range of interior, architectural, immersive, and entertainment projects, and has worked as a scenic and production designer with numerous Seattle theatres, including Seattle Children’s Theatre (The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen), Union Arts Center, The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Village Theatre, and Seattle Public Theater. In addition to her design practice, she performs, choreographs, and teaches as a movement artist. parmidaziaei.com | @parmidaziaei
Anna Bowen
Co-Costume Designer – (she/they)
Anna is thrilled to be co-designing her first production at SCT! A Seattle-based artist, they have worked in local theater as a costume designer, wardrobe manager, dresser, stitcher, educator, and costumer-of-all-trades. By day, they build costumes in SCT’s shop as charge fabricator. In her spare time, she moonlights as an award-winning cosplayer. Previous designs include Last Days of the Tsars (Witness Immersive), Romeo and Juliet (Seattle Shakespeare Company touring production), and Sagittarius Ponderosa (Albatross Theater Lab).
Janessa Styck
Co-Costume Designer – (she/her)
In her 20 year career, Janessa Jayne Styck has designed costumes for over 100 productions of stage and screen. A mid-west native, Styck attended Illinois Wesleyan University. She graduated in 2006 and relocated to Seattle where she began designing for Pacific Northwest theatres. 2010 saw her first venture into film. Styck’s first feature film, “The Gamers: Hands of Fate,” debuted at GenCon 2013 in Indianapolis, IN and took home the prize for Best Feature Film. Styck continues to expand her career. Most recently she has entered the commercial industry, working with major brands including ASICS, Microsoft, New Balance, and Amazon.
Andrew D. Smith^
Lighting Designer – (he/him)
Andrew is thrilled to return to Seattle Children’s Theatre with Robin Hood. He believes in the power of theatre to humanize, empathize, and understand one another, no matter how we arrived here. Nationally: Arizona Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Flint Youth Theatre, & Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Seattle: Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, New Century Theatre Company, Washington Ensemble, Azeotrope, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Seattle Public Theatre, Theater Off Jackson, ArtsWest, & On The Boards. BA from Duke University and MFA from University of Washington. All love to the Smush clan.
Natalie Mayo
Sound Designer – (she/her)
Natalie Mayo comes from a small town in Texas. After graduating from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and a minor in Music, Natalie spent time in various jobs in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and on the road. She has experience in stage management, audio engineering, safety, and production management. She’s currently based in Madison, WI where she works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Natalie has previously worked with SCT as the sound designer for Luchadora! and The Snow Queen. She’s excited to be back for Robin Hood!
Melissa Y. Hamasaki*
Stage Manager – (she/her)
Melissa Y. Hamasaki is pleased to return to SCT! Favorite credits include: The Women, The Ramayana, Intimate Exchanges, Assisted Living (ACT); Waitress, Memphis (5th Avenue Theatre); The Heart Sellers, Primary Trust (Seattle Rep); Carmen, Tales of Hoffman (Seattle Opera); The Thin Place (Intiman); Of Mice And Men (Arena Stage, DC). She is a Seattle Public Theatre Board Member and a proud AEA member. Many thanks to the Phinn Support Team. Kim and Linda Vacchiery – thanks for letting me tag along. Training: Allen Lee Hughes Stage Management Fellow at Arena Stage, Washington, DC; Technical Apprentice, Santa Fe Opera, NM.
Elizabeth Stasio
Assistant Stage Manager – (she/her)
Liz is a Seattle-local stage manager and theatre artist who grew up attending shows at SCT. She is so pleased to return for this show. Previous SCT credits include The Lamp Is The Moon, Carmela Full of Wishes, Luchadora!, and The Snow Queen. Other stage management and backstage credits include work with Seattle Rep (As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, Mr. Dickens and His Carol, The Tempest), ACT (Shrew, The Lehman Trilogy, POTUS), Seattle Shakespeare Company (Drum & Colours, Twelfth Night the Musical), 5th Avenue Theatre (Afterwords), 14/48 Projects, and others.
Special Thanks
Village Theatre
R90 Lighting
Union Arts Center
THE CAST
Evan Whitfield Actor #1 – (he/him) Evan has performed on Seattle stages for over 25 years. He was seen in SCT’s production of The Boy at the Edge of Everything. Evan has also performed with ACT, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, New Century Theatre Company (company member), 14/48: The World’s Quickest Theater Festival, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, and many others. Favorite roles include Matt Prior in The Financial Lives of the Poets with Book-It, Jeff in Lobby Hero, and Walker/Ned in Three Days of Rain, both at Seattle Public Theater, and Paul in The Christians with Pony World Theatre.
ML Roberts* Actor #2 – (he/him) ML Roberts is the son of a Navy veteran and descendant of the Gullah Geechee of the Carolinas. He has performed with ArtsWest, ACT Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare, Unicorn Theatre (UK), The Williams Project, Folger Shakespeare, and Santa Cruz Shakespeare. MFA Playwriting-Yale School of Drama; BFA Acting-North Carolina School of the Arts (Home of the Fighting Pickles!) marceselorenzo.com
Amy Danneker Actor #3 – (she/her) Amy is overjoyed to return to SCT, where she was last seen as Sally in The Cat in the Hat. Other Seattle-area credits include A View from the Bridge, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Seattle Repertory Theatre), How I Learned to Drive (Strawberry Theatre Workshop), Pride and Prejudice (Book-It Repertory Theatre), POTUS (Harlequin Productions), Pygmalion (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Undo (Annex Theatre), and 14/48: TWQTF. Amy received her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University. Offstage, she can be found in the garden, reading Tarot, and embracing her favorite role of all: being a parent to Brody, Avery. XOXO#10.
Arjun Pande* Actor #4 – (he/him) Arjun Pande has been acting professionally for over a decade now. He’s performed new works and old, indoors and out, with words and without, for children and adults, small audiences and large. You may have seen him onstage in Seattle, or in a show on the other side of the country. If you’d like to know specific credits, ask him - he’ll give you the run-down. He’s a lover of games and thunderstorms, and when he isn’t acting he enjoys exploring the mysteries of the universe. Arjun is a graduate of Brown University and his favorite animal is the dragon.
Carter Thompson Understudy, Actors #1 & #2 – (they/them) Carter Thompson is an actor and fight director based in Seattle. Previous roles include Hamlet/Macbeth in Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth (InD Theatre), Jebediah in A Christmas Tree Ship (Blue Gate Musicals), and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Nashville Shakespeare Festival). They’re also a co-coordinator for the Seattle Sockeye Stage Combat Workshop, an annual intensive dedicated to training in staged violence. Along with the cast, crew, and creative team, they would also like to thank you, the wonderful folks enjoying live theatre, for keeping the arts thriving! Your participation is worth more than you’ll ever know!
Chelsey Sheppard Understudy, Actors #3 & #4 – (she/they/he) Chelsey Sheppard is a Seattle based actor and stage combatant. Recent credits include Men on Boats (inD Theatre) Macbeth: The Educational Tour (Seattle Shakespeare); Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Village Theatre), Athena (Strawberry Workshop) and POTUS (Harlequin Productions). Chelsey holds a B.F.A in Theatre Performance from Central Washington University and is an Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. Chelsey is a proud substitute paraeducator with Seattle Public Schools. Endless to love Tom, Jodi, Jeryn, and Cash for their unwavering support.
Seattle Children’s Theatre is a member of TYA/USA, the national center of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People.
SCT is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for the nonprofit professional theatre.
SCT is a proud member of International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY).
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the U.S. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. Equity seeks to foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. www.actorsequity.org.
Lighting, sound, staging, property, scenery, scenic art, and costume work at Seattle Children’s Theatre is performed by employees represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists, and Allied Crafts of the US and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC.
Seattle Children’s Theatre works with the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
The designers at this theatre are represented by United Scenic Artists (Local USA 829) of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
- Indicates members of the Actors’ Equity Association
Print Edition
More About Seattle Children’s Theatre
Seattle Children’s Theatre
SCT's Equity and Community Agreements
Land Acknowledgement
SCT's Board of Trustees
SCT's Staff
