The Company

Sam Sherburne - the Artistic Director of The Acorn Asylum. He is an actor, writer, and director from Indiana, PA. Sam attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in playing an old man and corrupting young people. Some of his favorite roles were Richard in Fuddy Meers, the Nurse and Tybalt in Shakespeare’s R and J, Dr. Finache in A Flea in Her Ear, Serebryakov in Uncle Vanya, and Mr. G in Standing Up V and E. In 2005, he appeared as Daniel Webster in the outdoor drama Unto These Hills in Cherokee, NC. Sam is new to the independent theater scene in Philadelphia, and hopes to bring a fresh voice and style to the city and the Fringe Festival.

Lauren McCaffrey - has been actively pursuing acting for over 10 years. She is a recent graduate from the University of Indiana, PA with a BA in theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Dolly Levi, in "Hello Dolly", Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire", Mrs.Barker in "The American Dream", Bertha, in "Hedda Gabler", Titiania in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and Asaka in "Once on This Island. She looks forward to going back to school to pursue a Masters degree in Musical Theatre and Education. Other activities include: singing, acting, watching movies and plays, reading and hanging out with friends and family!

D.C. Fisher - has been writing and acting in sketch comedy for seven years. His influences include the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, The Kids in the Hall and essentially any British comedy program in the past 50 years. Outside of sketch comedy, he also enjoys baseball, blues music, Samuel Beckett and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He is a Senior at IUP and an English Major.

Zac Ross - has just graduated IUP with a BA in Theater specialization in performance. He worked on over 16 productions at IUP which were such roles as; Harry the Horse-Guys and Dolls, Tournel- A Flea in Her Ear, Zac Ross- The Company, Man Ray- Interrrogating the Nude, Joey- Dumbo, Quince, Egeus- A Mid-Summer's Night Dream. Work around the South Jersey Area includes the SNJAPA, Mainstage Center for the Arts, and Delsea Regional High School. You may remember seeing him as; Armado- Love's Labour's Lost, Dr.Gibbs- Our Town, Mr. Mushnik- Little Shop of Horrors, Buffalo Bill- Annie Get Your Gun.

Johnny Smith - Recently graduated with a BA in Theater fom IUP. While at IUP, Johnny took on numerous roles in the studio, and also performed in eight mainstage productions. These mainstage roles include: Seymour Krelbourn in "Little Shop of Horrors", Voltaire in "Candide", Benny Southstreet in "Guys & Dolls", Mr. Bungee in "A New Brain", Kenny in "Fuddy Meers", Kenny Simmonds in "Minor Demons", Neoptolemus in "Philoctetes", and Plakir in "Grizula". Johnny most recently played Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Rachel Nelson - is the Production Stage Manager for Acorn Asylum. She will be graduating in May of 2008 from IUP with a degree in theater and hopes to eventually attend graduate school and earn a degree in directing. She has a wide array of experiences in theater but most enjoys stage managing and directing. Most recently she stage managed Theater-by-the-Grove’s production of Hedda Gabler.

Kayla Dempsey- A recent graduate with a BFA in Theater from The University of the Arts in Philadelpha. She was most recently seen in the Mad Women of Chaillot and the short film The Rocker. She is thirlled to be reuninted with some of her closest childhood friends.

Ryan Hetrick-Running from the law the press and the parents.

Brandon Beale- is one of two resident designers with the company and attends Indiana University of Pennsylvania majoring in Theater focusing on the technical aspect of the art and enjoys working as a freelance electrican in the pittsburgh theater/event production scene. Recent credits include Pittsburgh's first annual pride in the streets, The University of Pittsburghs annual Fundraising Gala, Pittburgh Musical Theaters recnt productions Aristocats and High School Musical as for IUP's productions of Philoctetes, Hedda Gabler, Minor Demons and A Flea in Her Ear.

Dave Hunter-The other resident designer, Designing Lighting and Sound Designer (Last Afternoon) Recent Credits: Sound Designer for 365 Plays/365 Days: The Second Constant (produced at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center). Assistant sound designer for National Playwrights Conference and Cabaret & Performance Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Assistant sound engineer for The Taming of the Shrew and sound board operator for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Lighting Designer for Dance Explosion! 2007, IUP Dance Explosion. Studio Theatre technical director, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Dave is a recent graduate of IUP with degrees in Theater and Journalism. Collegiate design credits include: A Streetcar
Named Desire, You Can't Take it With You, Uncle Vanya, A Flea In Her Ear, and Philoctetes. He is honored to have been twice recognized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his work on Uncle Vanya (2006) and Philoctetes, for which he received the 2007 national Sound Design Award.