The cast and crew of
Grand Family Foods
Read an interview with our actors about their characters and their roles
Mac Hillocks
MAC (KILROY) is happy to be back on stage after a long hiatus. He received his BA in Theater at the College of Wooster and worked in Chicago where he was in Measure for Measure as Angelo. He performed in Gallimaufry; as Rodrigo in Othello, and Jimmy in The Gingerbread Lady. He recently completed studies at Acting Studio Chicago and is very excited to be working as an actor again.
Jason La Combe
JASON (RICK ERICKSON) is a Chicago-based actor who is overjoyed to be bringing the character of Rick to life. He was mostly recently seen at Michigan Shakespeare Festival in various roles. Other credits include, Snout/Egeus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Big Noise Theater), Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet, Citadel and Center Stage), Lodovico (Othello, Hoosier Shakespeare Festival), Laertes (Hamlet, Janus) and various roles at Three Brothers Theatre. Warm and heartfelt thanks go out to his family for always being supportive.
Mary Mikva
MARY (JEAN CARLETON) has been acting in Chicago theatre for many many years, beginning at the age of 6 with Jack and Jill Players. She appeared in Chicago Dramatists’ Jeff nominated production of Water and many Collaboraction productions. She understudied Amanda and did a number of performances in the Jeff award winning production of The Glass Menagerie at Mary-Arrchie. She has worked with Poetic Forum Collective, Adapt Theatre, Artistic Home, Rendition Theatre, and Walkabout Theatre, among others.
Troy Peterson
TROY (ROBERT HODGSON) is a Chicagoland actor who studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, two Second City Chicago conservatories, and with the Groundlings in Los Angeles. Along the way, he’s performed in Christmas national tours, musical improv montages, and three different productions of Romeo and Juliet. You can find him at @tmpprod on Instagram and at @TroyMP94 on Twitter to see what’s next!
Nooshig Luz Salvador
NOOSHIG (KIM GRAND) has performed as Pomponia, the deaconess of the Christian Church, in the film The Diary of Perpetua (2022), and as Mother Mary in the theatrical performance and film The Thorn (2023). She has performed in indie films, two musical plays, and two VoiceOver projects. While she is trained in Medical Improv, she also studies comedic improv with Well Versed Comedy, a Christian improv group. She is thrilled to be a part of the Grand Family Foods project!
Jill Thiel
JILL (CINDY CRAYTON) most recently appeared onstage in the World Premiere production of The Wonder by Maggie Lou Rader (Eclectic Full Contact Theatre). Favorite theatre roles include: Titania/Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Odd’s Bodkins), The White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Theatre-Hikes), Lola in Damn Yankees (North Riverside), and Hunyak in Chicago (North Shore Theatre). Jill is a classically trained actor and a graduate of The Second City Conservatory.
Phil Troyk
PHIL (CHARLES WOODMAN) has played Sonny in New Year’s Eve at Grandma’s House, Tad in A Matter of Gender, Larry in Intentions, Stanley in A Prayer for the Sandinistas, and Dr. Trausant in Now, Then, Again. His theatre training was at Act One Studios and Acting Studios Chicago. For his day job he is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Jean Waller
JEAN (LINDA WOLFF) is excited to be working for the first time with Midwest Players. Favorite past roles include Pert in London Assurance, Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Nettie in The Subject Was Roses, Sister Aloysius in Doubt, Iphis in the world premier of Rites and Sacrifices, Juror #8 in 12 Angry Men (mixed gender cast), and Lizzie Curry in The Rainmaker. She has worked with Chicago theater companies Invictus, CityLit, TimeLine, Remy Bumppo, The Artistic Home, Dandelion Theatre, Idle Muse, Oil Lamp, Independent Stars, Fury Theater, and 2nd Act Players.
John Frank
JOHN co-founded Evanston 2nd Act Players in 2013. He’s written 14 plays, acting in four of his own works. He began writing plays after a nearly 40-year career as a business journalist, focusing his theater stories on ordinary people confronting extraordinary situations. He directed his first play with 2nd Act Players in 2016 and directed three online shows during the pandemic years. More recently, he directed a radio play for the Whiskey Radio Hour in Chicago and a one-woman show which recently previewed in Evanston before a planned production in New York this spring.
Kurt Peters
KURT is THE AUTHOR OF Grand Family Foods and founder of Midwest Players Theater. He is a veteran journalist, with 40 years’ experience covering business, society and culture. He started his career as a newspaper reporter in Harvard, Ill. (pop. 5,000), and from there moved to the Rockford, Ill., Morning Star. He spent the last half of his career as editor of Internet Retailer magazine, a business publication that covered the rise of e-commerce. Read Kurt’s interview about the origins of the play.
Anna Walker
ANNA (Stage Manager) is a Chicago-based stage and production manager. Previous credits include This Bitter Earth (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre); La Liberazione d’Ruggiero… (Haymarket Opera); Oliver!, Gentleman’s Guide…, Aida (Utah Festival Opera); Marys Seacole (Griffin Theatre). Anna is the Facilities and Production Manager for Piven Theatre Workshop and stage manager for Piven’s advanced Young People’s Company and Performance Project youth ensembles. Otterbein University graduate. Congratulations to the cast and creative team!
Kate Lass
KATE (Fight Choreographer and Intimacy Director) holds a BA from Columbia College, in Acting and a double minor in Stage Combat and English Literature. She has worked all over Chicago, including at Kokandy Productions, Strawdog Theatre, Teatro Vista, The Barrens Theatre Company, and the Unrehearsed Shakespeare Company. Outside of Chicago, she has choreographed for Nashville Repertory Theatre, Act I Theatre, and Berry College Theatre Company. Kate is founder of a stage combat training studio, Strike & Reason.
Read an interview with our cast about how they view their characters and the role each character plays in Grand Family Foods https://midwestplayerstheater.com/hear-from-our-actors/
Midwest Players Theater 