Alexa Berkowitz (Stage Manager)

Alexa has worked with a number of theatre companies in Chicago including City Lit Theater, Promethean Theatre Ensemble, Linchpin Theatre, Strawdog Theatre Company, The Factory Theater, and Black Button Eyes Productions. She graduated from the University at Buffalo, SUNY with a B.A. in Dance and a B.A. in Theatre (specializing in technical theatre). Alexa is the executive director with Promethean Theatre Ensemble. She is excited to be back working with Black Button Eyes again.

Liz Cooper (Lighting Designer)

Liz is excited to be a part of another Black Button Eyes show! Some of her recent lighting design credits include Evil Dead the Musical, Nightmares & Nightcaps, Nevermore, Shockheaded Peter (Black Button Eyes), The Sundial, Bloodhound Law, Father Ruffian and Peyton Place (City Lit), Bard Fiction (Commedia Beauregard), Marisol, Winter's Tale, A Study in Scarlet and Henry V (Promethean).

Adrian Hadlock (Props Designer)

Adrian is thrilled to be working on his first show with Black Button Eyes Productions! He has designed props for The Grelley Duvall Show (2018 & 2019), as well as productions with Brown Paper Box Co. including Little Women: The Musical, and numerous plays with Hell in a Handbag Productions including The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Poseidon: An Upside-Down Musical, Artificial Jungle, and L'Imitation of Life. Adrian has also designed props for several shows at The Annoyance Theatre, various films, and assisted in building puppets for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Seussical: The Musical.

Jeremy Hollis (Set Designer)

Jeremy Hollis is a Chicago-based scenic designer. He is incredibly excited to work with Black Button Eyes again, having previously designed Nevermore! Recent credits include Holmes and Watson (CATCO), Gypsy and Merrily We Roll Along (Weathervane Playhouse), Snowgirls (Hell in a Handbag), The Mousetrap and Boeing Boeing (Metropolis), Fuente Ovejuna (City Lit), and The Liar (Promethean Theatre Ensemble). Upcoming: The Fantasticks and Born Yesterday. He is a company member with Brown Paper Box Co. Much love to the company, the Wignall lab and Jason Heyward. jeremyhollisdesign.com

Robert Hornbostel (Sound Designer)

Robert is a human male, Sound Designer, Composer, and Engineer based out of Chicago. Superpowers include: making sound travel through wires, eating many tacos, making and sharing memes, biking very quickly on Damen, and drinking. Robert enjoys telling big stories in small spaces through the power of sound design...and pyrotechnics. Scratch this part of your screen to hear some of his previous works, or check them out at TechMagicDesigns.com. Thanks and enjoy the show!

William Kerpan (Assistant Sound Designer)

William is currently studying sound design at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Credits at The Theatre School include Henry VI, Dryland, Anna Karenina, and Versace Antigone. Next spring, as a sophomore, William will be designing the New Plays Series in DePaul's Sondra & Denis Healy Theatre. William is from Illinois, and if you wish to find him it should be easy enough, as he is confined to the midwest and will dissolve if he ever leaves the great lakes basin.

Andrew Littleton (Sound Engineer)

Andrew is a current computer science student at Loyola University Chicago and is an active member of the school’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts as a sound and electrics technician. Primarily, Andrew works in video game design and computer science research in digital sound design for video games while using theatrical sound design as a medium for his research and practice. He is incredibly excited to be a part of this production team and would like to thank them for being so welcoming and amazing to work with.

G. "Max" Martin IV (Projection Designer)

G. "Max" Maxin IV is a full-time Instructor at Northeastern Illinois University and a two-time Jeff Nominated Freelance Production Designer in Chicago. He holds an MFA in Theatrical Production Design from Michigan State University. Favorite Credits: Head Over Heels (Kokandy); Bright Star, 110 in the Shade, Cyrano (Jeff Nomination Lighting), Urinetown (Jeff Nomination Lighting), Next to Normal (BoHo); Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (American Blues); Pippin, Avenue Q (Mercury); Miracle on 34th Street, Forever Plaid (Theatre at the Center); For the Record, Y.A.G.M. Charlie Brown (Northwestern); The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre); Homos, Angry Fags (Pride); Chorus Line, Little Women, Bare (Another Door) www.ivMaxin.com

Anthony Pacheco (Assistant Projection Designer)

Anthony is an undergraduate student studying Communication, Media, and Theatre at Northeastern Illinois University. He is a writer, director, film-maker, prop, and costume maker who enjoys working in the creative community. He has worked on the following productions: Antigone (Actor, Stage Center Theatre), The Pillowman (Puppeteer, Stage Center Theatre), Lucifer's Ballad (Director/Writer, Stage Center Theatre). He is the creator and writer for Bebo, an online comedy-series launching in August.

Ed Rutherford (Director)

Directing for Black Button Eyes: Evil Dead the Musical (Jeff Nomination, Best Director) Nevermore (Chicago premiere), Shockheaded Peter, Amour (Chicago premiere), Goblin Market, and Coraline (Midwest Premiere). He is an artistic associate with Promethean Theatre Ensemble, where he directed The Liar, his own adaptation of the Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the company's inaugural production, Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. Directing with Brown Paper Box Co: The Baltimore Waltz. As an actor, he's performed with Drury Lane Oakbrook, Porchlight, Theater Wit and many others. A graduate of Northwestern's theater program, he recently completed his MBA at Kellogg.

Nick Sula (Music Director)

Nick is a pianist, arranger and award-winning music director for theater and cabaret. He is proud to return to Black Button Eyes Productions, where he was music director for Coraline, Amour and Nevermore. Other music direction credits include productions with Porchlight Music Theatre, Bohemian Theatre Ensemble, Pride Films and Plays, Chicago Theatre Workshop, and the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival. Nick performs with vocalists at theaters and cabaret venues such as Davenport's, Petterino's, Drew's on Halsted, Stage 773, Victory Gardens, and the Park West. He is an instructor, music director and vocal coach at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

Rachel M. Sypniewski (Costume Designer)

Rachel is grateful to be back with BBEP, previously designing Evil Dead: The Musical. She has designed at the Goodman, Strawdog,The New Colony, Jackalope, Red Tape, Trap Door, Emerald City, Lifeline, Haven,16th Street Theater, Griffin,CityLit, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Promethean, Strawdog, Vitalist, Rasaka, the Factory, Redtwist, Wheaton College, North Central College, St. Patrick's High School, Indiana University Northwest, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. She is an Artistic Associate with 16th Street Theatre, Trap Door, the Factory and Griffin. Rachel is a 6 time Non-Equity Jeff Award Nominee and has been awarded one. More info at www.rachelsyp.com

Derek Van Barham (Choreographer)

Derek is the Producing Artistic Director of Kokandy Productions, and a member of the Red Tape Theatre ensemble. He previously served as Associate Artistic Director of Pride Films & Plays. For PFP, he directed Perfect Arrangement, Angry Fags (Steppenwolf Garage), Songs from an Unmade Bed (Jeff nomination), and (co-directing) PRISCILLA, Queen of the Desert. Choreography credits include The CiviliTy of Albert Cashier and BITE (PFP), all Black Button Eyes productions, and Salonathon. Other directing credits include The View Upstairs (Circle Theatre), Three Days of Rain (Boho), and Miracle! by Dan Savage and Poseidon (Hell in a Handbag). He was named one of Windy City Times 30 Under 30, recognizing Chicago's LGBTQ+ community.