Octavia Reohr, she/her (Scenic Assistant) is thrilled to be working on this production of Next to Normal. Her passion for theatre has given her opportunities to work as an actor as well as in production. She recently wrote, directed, and performed in her own sketch comedy show Props with Legs. Recent onstage credits include Jo March (Little Women), Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde (Chemical Imbalance), Adult Kate (Make Believe), Maria (Twelfth Night: The Musical), and Montebank Wolfe (The Thaumatrope Game). Recent design credits include Assistant Scenic Design for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (New London Barn Playhouse) and Lighting Design for Much Ado About Nothing (King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe). Octavia is studying Drama at NYU.
Archives
Katie Bickford
Katie Bickford, they/them/theirs (Voice and Music Director) (Katie (or KB) is making their Central Square Theater debut as Music Director. Previous credits include Spring Awakening (Brandeis University; Music Director), Sweeney Todd, Legally Blonde, The Music Man (Andover High School), Children of Eden (Voices of Hope; Music Director); The Colored Museum (Umbrella Stage Company; Percussion Consultant) and Prayer for the French Republic (Huntington Theatre; Music Coach). KB is the PreK-12 Adaptive Music Teacher for Waltham Public Schools as well as an instructor for the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education. M.M. Music Education (Autism Concentration), Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music; B.M. Music Education, Ithaca College. KB also plays keyboard and sings in Jean-Michelle @jeanmichelleofficial
Richard J. Knecht
RJ (Richard) Knecht is a paleobiologist and evolutionary ecologist that focuses primarily on terrestrial systems of the Paleozoic with a primary emphasis on early hexapods and the evolution of flight in insects (pterygota). He earned a BS in Geology from Tufts University where he worked on several research projects including the paleoecology of a Late Carboniferous intermontane basin, paleoecology and paleobiogeography of Pleistocene glaciolacustrine fossils using varve chronostratigraphy, and the paleobiology of a Carboniferous sponge forest before spending the next several years working in the collections of the Invertebrate and Vertebrate Paleontology Departments at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. He took a break before resuming his education and completed a MS in Geology from the University of New Hampshire, Durham. Knecht’s research at UNH used resurrection ecology and the recovery of subfossil ephippia (resting eggs) of freshwater zooplankton to examine the structure, drivers, and limits of competition and coexistence in natural systems. Knecht earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship before earning a MA in Biology at Harvard University. He is now in the final year of his PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University where he has been focusing on the paleoecology of a 320 million year old site in Massachusetts and Rhode Island among other projects.
Samuel Hackett
Samuel Hackett (Assistant Director) is incredibly excited to be part of this process. They are a Boston based playwright and director currently studying Theater at Suffolk University. Previous credits include Career Man at Suffolk University (Playwright), A Nickel at Suffolk University (Playwright & Director).
Jeff Song
Jeff Song (Co-Liaison for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) (he/him) has been a passionate advocate for social justice and EDI in both corporate and performing arts spaces. In 2024 he completed his EDI training certification with Inclusive Stages. A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, Jeff has been a professional theater artist since 2010 and has performed with several theater companies across the greater Boston area. A musician and composer, Jeff received his MM from New England Conservatory, has performed around the globe, toured as bassist for Ute Lemper, played sideman to dozens of singers/songwriters, performed in musical theater pits, and appears on over a dozen recordings. Credits as Composer/Music Director include work with theater companies in Boston, DC and Baltimore. A 30+ year veteran of the biotech world, Jeff is also co-author on four scientific patents, and more than fifteen peer-reviewed scientific papers.
Jeff Song Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.