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Our Setting
In 1607, sailors aboard the English ship Dragon perform Hamlet off the coast of Africa.

During long voyages, sailors were encouraged to use music, craft, and theater to distract themselves from long days and tedious work. With limited props and sets, and only
rehearsing in their rare downtime, they performed for themselves and their fellow
sailors, here represented by our audience.

Historical records of this specific performance do exist, which would have been the first performance of Hamlet outside Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. However, since only a fragment of the ship captain’s journal survives, historians debate the authenticity and
accuracy of the account.

We leave that debate to the historians. Our aim is to imagine how this play might have lived in its rawest form, showcasing the power of storytelling—even when stripped down to its bare essentials.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Elsinore, the Castle of Denmark

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Trevor Buda 

Claudius, his uncle and new King of Denmark
Jonathan Heidenreich

Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and new wife of Claudius
Kaitlin A. Kerr-Heidenreich

Ghost of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father
Robert Scott

Polonius, Claudius’s chief advisor
John Henry Steelman

Laertes, his elder daughter
Tonya Lynn

Ophelia, his younger daughter
Stacia Paglieri

Horatio, Hamlet’s close friend
Bob Colbert

Rosencrantz, Hamlet’s childhood friend
Cameron Nickel

Guildenstern, Hamlet’s childhood friend
Nathan Wagner

The First Player, leader of a travelling acting troupe
Adam Rutledge

Player King, a player in the troupe
Grant Jones

Player Queen, a player in the troupe
Jillian Thomas

Two Gravediggers
Adam Rutledge
John Henry Steelman

Marcellus, an officer of the watch
Grant Jones

Osric, a courtly lady
Jillian Thomas

Priest
Robert Scott

ABOUT THE SHOW

Prince Hamlet of Denmark is devastated by the sudden death of his father, King Hamlet. His sorrow deepens when his mother, Queen Gertrude, quickly marries his uncle Claudius, who has taken the throne.

Soon after, Hamlet sees the Ghost of his father, who accuses Claudius of his murder and demands revenge. Haunted by the weight of his vow and paralyzed by doubt, Hamlet spirals into deep introspection.

Determined to confirm Claudius’s guilt, and disturbed by what he has seen, Hamlet withdraws from those closest to him, including Ophelia, with whom he had a blossoming relationship. He puts on an antic disposition, keeping his true intentions hidden, confiding only in his loyal friend Horatio.

Polonius, Ophelia’s father and Claudius’ advisor, believes Hamlet’s strange behavior stems from his love for Ophelia—a relationship Polonius has explicitly forbidden. Claudius, sensing Hamlet’s unease, sends two of Hamlet’s childhood friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on him.

Travelling Players arrive and Hamlet arranges a play that mirrors the murder, watching Claudius’s reaction closely. After the play confirms his suspicion, Hamlet confronts Gertrude and, in a heated moment, kills Polonius, who was hiding behind a curtain.

Claudius sends Hamlet away to England with a secret order for his death, but Hamlet quickly escapes, making his way back to Denmark.

Laertes, Polonius’ elder daughter, returns home demanding justice for her
father’s death. She finds her father already buried and her sister Ophelia fallen into madness. Claudius takes advantage of her grief and skill with a sword to plot the death of Hamlet upon his return.

Drowning, duels, poison, Yorick, and revenge follow. The rest is silence.

THE PLAYERS

Trevor Buda (Hamlet) Trevor is thrilled to return to Yorick after appearing as Trinculo in The Tempest. He has previously worked with Saltworks Theatre Company, Prime Stage Theatre, Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Steel City Shakespeare, Great Lakes Theater, Advice to the Players, Little Lake Theater, and Stargazers Theatre Ensemble. This show marks a decade of Trevor performing the works of Shakespeare and he is immensely grateful for this opportunity. The readiness is all.

Bob Colbert (Horatio): Bob is thrilled to be taking part in another production with Poor Yorick’s Players, having appeared in The Tempest, Timon of Athens, Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Love’s Labour’s Lost,  and As You Like It. Bob has also performed with such Pittsburgh theater companies as Steel City Shakespeare Center (where he has begun a tradition of performing a one-man Christmas Carol each December), Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, and Gemini Children’s Theatre. At Gemini, Bob performs in both their mainstage shows and their field trip/school outreach program. Enjoy the show!

Jonathan Heidenreich (Claudius): Jonathan is overjoyed to be returning to Tall Trees this summer to complete his seventh production with the wonderful artists that are Poor Yorick’s Players. Jonathan is a classical actor, director, published poet, and English educator from Pittsburgh, PA. Jonathan has been performing/directing Shakespeare exclusively for over 13 years with many of the classical companies of the region. Some notable roles for Yorick have included Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), King Lear (Edmund), and As You Like It (Touchstone). Jonathan most recently performed in The Heritage Player’s production of Macbeth (Macduff). Jonathan is the founder of the regional Shakespeare co. Food for Groundlings which he manages alongside his brilliant wife (and castmate) Kaitlin A. Kerr-Heidenreich. Jonathan would like to thank the phenomenal cast, crew, and director for their support and art, and his wife Kaitlin whom he met on this very stage 7 years ago. 

Grant Jones (Marcellus / Player King / Music Director) ; Grant is excited to be making his Poor Yorick’s Players debut. Grant was an active member of the Duquesne University Red Masquers and graduated with a degree in Music Education in 2019. He has been active in the local community theater and music scenes since then. Some recent credits include Bob Enright in 9 to 5 – The Musical (Little Lake Theatre), Lysander & Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hobnob Theatre) and Patrick O’Reilly in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (The Theatre Factory). Grant will be returning to Yorick’s stage later this summer in Two Gentleman of Verona. Grant would like to thank his family and partner for their support, and Dana and everyone at Yorick for this opportunity.

Kaitlin A. Kerr-Heidenreich (Gertrude): Kaitlin is a Pittsburgh native actor, director, intimacy director, and poet. A disabled artist-activist and nurse educator, she holds degrees in English Literature and Nursing. Kaitlin’s primary theatre passion is Shakespeare which she lives out by serving as Co-President of the Shakespeare Company Food for Groundlings, founded by her Renaissance man husband, Jonathan Heidenreich, who just so happens to be her on-stage-husband in this production! Kaitlin is always happy to be back with the wonderful people of Poor Yorick’s Players and considers them her first home in theatre. She has recently been spending more time in the director’s chair, directing Macbeth for The Heritage Players, and audio dramas of Hamlet and Richard III for Food for Groundlings. Favorite intimacy directing/choreography credits include: Radium Girls (The Heritage Players), Romeo and Juliet (Youth Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh), and The Wedding Singer (East Allegheny High School). Favorite acting roles include: Othello (Emilia), The Mousetrap (Mollie Ralston), and King Lear (Goneril), among many others (mostly in Shakespeare). Otherwise, Kaitlin enjoys resting and reading at home with her husband and their four cats, two of whom are named after characters in Hamlet!

Tonya Lynn (Laertes / Fight Director): Tonya has a love for statistical data, so here are some numbers she’d like to share: This 2025 production of Hamlet marks her 21st production with Poor Yorick’s Players, her 10th production of Hamlet, and her 75th Shakespeare production overall.  Some of Tonya’s prior on-stage appearances as an actor include King Lear (the Fool), Henry IV, Part 1 (Falstaff), and The Winter’s Tale (Paulina). A frequent Fight Director for Yorick, Tonya’s resume features over 160 credits as Fight and/or Intimacy Director. She teaches as a theatre faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, Point Park University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Community College of Allegheny County. She is recognized as a Fight Director and Certified Teacher of stage combat by the Society of American Fight Directors. Coming up, you can see her reprise the role of the mysterious adventurer Squall in To Battle with Big Storm Performance Company.

Cameron Nickel (Rosencrantz): Cameron is a native Pittsburgh actor, writer, director, and educator who recently returned to his hometown after receiving an MFA in Theatre Performance & Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.  Cameron’s regional credits include: Quantum Theatre’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Uli), Virginia Repertory Theater’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Bingley), City Theater Company’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (u/s Arthur, Darcy, Bingley), Curse of the Starving Class (Wesley), 24th Annual Young Playwright’s Festival (Various); PICT’s What Do I Wear Gala (Dorimant, Richard II), Isle of Noises (Ariel), Kinetic Theatre’s A Life in the Theatre (The SM, u/s John).  Additional Pittsburgh performance credits include South Park Theater’s A Rock Sails By, Seasonal Allergies, Alone Together; Little Lake Theatre’s Our Town, A Little Hotel on the Side; Poor Yorick’s Players’ Love’s Labour’s Lost (Berowne), and Food For Groundlings’ audio productions of Richard III (Clarence) and Hamlet (Horatio). Cameron also received his B.A. Theatre Performance from Seton Hill University, where he performed in a wide variety of mainstage productions including Medea (Jason), The Drowsy Chaperone (Man in Chair), The Rivals (Faulkland), Clybourne Park (Karl/Steve), The Hollow (Edward Angkatell), and Company (Peter).

Stacia Paglieri (Ophelia): Stacia is honored to perform with Yorick for the first time! She was last seen at City Theatre, in a staged reading of Opus, and in The Young Playwrights Festival. Other recent credits include The Ruby Bridges Story (Mrs. Henry), The Miracle Worker (Kate Keller), and the world premiere of Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) with Prime Stage Theatre. Stacia is also a filmmaker and holds a BFA in acting with a minor in musical theater from Point Park University. She would like to thank the cast and crew for their dedication, and her loved ones, whose support always means the world!

Adam Rutledge (First Player / First Gravedigger): Adam is very excited to return to the stage for his…call it “umpteenth” performance with Poor Yorick’s Players, including roles in King Lear (Gloucester), King Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, (King Henry and Falstaff, respectively), and The Winter’s Tale (Polixenes); Adam will direct Yorick’s next production, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He has also appeared with numerous other Pittsburgh companies, including Prime Stage Theater (Twelfth Night, Twelve Angry Men, and others) Brawling Bard Theater (at the first five Pittsburgh Fringe Festivals, including the Best-Ensemble-Award-winning A Dream of Midsummer), Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks (including Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Twelfth Night and others) and as a company member of The New Renaissance Theatre Company (performances and direction in Unrehearsed Shakespeare Project tours since 2014 as well as 2018’s Pittsburgh premiere of David Davalos’ Wittenberg). Adam is also a fight choreographer and stage combatant consistently training under the Society of American Fight Directors since 2004. Thank you to Tonya: there but for the grace of you, go I.

Robert Scott (Ghost / Priest): Robert has been active in the local theatre and film scenes for over 25 years as an actor, writer, director and producer. This is his sixth appearance with Poor Yorick’s Players, previously appearing in As You Like It, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Tempest, Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has worked with South Park Theatre, Shakespeare in South Park, Old Schoolhouse Players, Heritage Players, Little Lake Theatre, South Hills Players, Mon River Arts, Open Stage Theatre, PICT and numerous other groups. Robert is a founding member and past president of the Carnegie Screenwriters. Many thanks to Dana and the talented cast and crew.

John Henry Steelman (Polonius / 2nd Gravedigger): John Henry has appeared in ten previous Poor Yorick’s Players productions, including the title roles of King Lear and Henry IV, Part 2. He is pleased to return as Polonius, a role he’s played before but only in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It’s actually the fourth role that he’s played in two completely different plays. The others were Merlyn in Camelot and Sword in the Stone, Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge, and Clarence, the angel, in It’s a Wonderful Life and Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s …

Jillian Thomas (Player Queen / Osric): Jillian is an actor, designer, and stage manager from Pittsburgh, PA, and she recently received her BFA in Theatre Arts from Palm Beach Atlantic University. Within the past year, Jillian has worked at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy for Musical Theater as both scenic designer for multiple productions and as stage manager for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Some of her other favorite stage credits include Baskerville (Actor 2), Tartuffe (Damis), and The Comedy of Errors (Stage Manager) with PBA Theatre, Death of a Salesman (Letta) with Split Stage Productions, and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Rosaline) with Poor Yorick’s Players. Jillian can also be seen in Steel City Shakespeare’s production of The Comedy of Errors as well as Poor Yorick’s Players production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona later this summer! She hopes you enjoy the show!

Nathan Wagner (Guildenstern): Nathan is a Pittsburgh born actor and playwright performing in his fourth show with Yorick. He previously appeared Twelfth Night (Antonio), The Tempest (Gonzalo), and As You Like It (Silvius). He has also had several of his plays performed across the country, including his full-length play, Perdita, which was produced at the New Hazlett Theater. When not onstage, he can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons, wandering aimlessly through the woods, or staring at a blank screen waiting for words to appear. He wants to wish the cast and crew a
wonderful run and hopes you will enjoy the show! 

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Dana Babal (Director): This spring, Dana celebrates his 47th full production of
Shakespeare as he continues his quest to direct or act in every Shakespearean play (23 down, 14 to go)! Favorite theatrical productions include Hamlet, Man of La Mancha, Henry V, Sweeney Todd, R&G are Dead, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Winter’s Tale, and Jesus Christ Superstar. You can also find him across PA and OH hosting Broadway
karaoke shows with his company, NonStop Broadway. Dana wishes to thank Julie for her constant support and the cast and crew for their hard work.

Mars Hallman (Stage Manager): Mars is proud to stage manage his third production with Poor Yorick’s Players. He studied theatre production and stage management with Valdosta State University Theatre & Dance and the Tift Theatre for Performing Arts where he stage managed and crewed Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, Lanford Wilson’s Book of Days, and Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty ballet. He thanks the wonderful cast of Hamlet and his family for their support.

Betsy Novotny (Costumer): Betsy is pleased as punch to return Poor Yorick’s Players! She is a BFA graduate of Clarion University. Her previous Yorick credits include The Comedy of Errors (Dromio of Syracuse), The Merchant of Venice (Nerissa), Twelfth Night (Clown), and As You Like It (Phebe). Love to the Fam, the cats, and Darling.

Thank you to Yorick’s 2025 Patrons!
Aaron H
Brad K
Brandon M
Christine K
Ginny B
Jay S
Katrina K
Kevin A S
Sarah S
Valerie N
Tim & Erin Z
and our many Anonymous Donors!

Special Thanks
Monroeville Recreation and Parks
The Build and Paint Crew
Beth Hallman
Dan Morgan
Too many Red Dragon researchers to count