Actors in Order of Appearance

Frederick P. Dodge (Tom Rogers) This is Frederick’s second appearance for TAP. He first graced this stage in ‘Noises Off’ as Lloyd Dallas, with as fine a crew of seasoned actors that he could be with after 30 years absence from performing. He has since performed with State Ballet of Rhode Island in ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’, and most recently in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. He also performed with the RISE group in Woonsocket in ‘My Three Angels’. He studied acting in California at Monterey Peninsula College, and at the Bennet Theatre Lab of San Francisco working in the Stanislavski discipline. Fred is grateful to be working under David Jepson’s direction with yet another fine group of Rhode Island Actors in the Wheezy Whee (West Warwick, ya know!) where he lives happily with Phyllis and their cat Netop. Thanks for coming to this classic whodunit!

Karen Gail Kessler (Mrs. Ethel Rogers) - Karen is happy to return to The Arctic Playhouse, after making her TAP debut as Connie in Exit Laughing (2022). She was most recently seen as Roz in 9 to 5 the Musical with The Community Players. Other favorites include Inherit the Wind (Mrs. Sarah Brady) and The Diary of Anne Frank (Mrs. Frank) with Ocean State Theatre Company; Calendar Girls (Chris), Nunsense 2 (Sister Hubert), Deathtrap (Helga Ten Dorp), Fiddler on the Roof (Yente), Crimes of the Heart (Chick), Dancing at Lughnasa (Rose), and

Steel Magnolias (M’Lynn) with The Community Players; The Game’s Afoot (Inspector Goring) at The Granite Theatre; Lost in Yonkers (Bella) and The Sisters Rosensweig (Gorgeous) with the Jewish Theatre Ensemble; and Lend Me a Tenor (Julia) and Fast Girls (Mitzi) at City Nights Dinner Theatre. Karen would like to thank David, Vicki, and Bryan for the opportunity and sends much love to Jordan and Austin, her two greatest productions!

Andrew DaSilva (Fred Narracott) - Andrew is excited to be joining the cast of And Then There Were None. This is Andrew’s first role on stage, but not his first time performing or in a theater environment. Previously he has done stand-up comedy shows and hosted comedy events in various locations throughout RI and was an Assistant Stage Manager for The Attleboro Community Theater’s production of A Viewing Room.

Carolyn Coughlin (Vera Claythorne) - Carolyn returns to The Arctic Playhouse having previously performed in Love, Sex, and the IRS, All my Sons and The Diary of Anne Frank. She has been acting since the age of five in various roles and shows. She enjoyed acting so much that in addition to her M.Ed., she also acquired her BFA in acting. She lived in Los Angeles for two years pursuing film before realizing the stage is where she is most comfortable. Some favorite roles include her Arctic Playhouse roles as Mrs. Frank and Ann Deever, as well as Bunny from House of Blue Leaves, and as Masha in Vanya, Sonia, Masha, and Spike. She wants to thank The Arctic Playhouse and especially David Jepson for this wonderful opportunity. Look for her in upcoming theater productions across RI in 2024.

Mark Gallagher (Philip Lombard) - Mark Gallagher has been an actor for over half a century. He received acting degrees from Syracuse University and Rutgers University. Moving to Manhattan he appeared in several Off-Broadway productions, and a brief but memorable role in the long running daytime soap drama, Another World. Regional theaters provided opportunities to appear in classics such as the first ever 20th century production of The Dutch Courtesan, the original American premiere of Christmas on Mars, as well as musicals including The Fantasticks and Anything Goes. His recent work in Community Theater includes 12 Angry Men, Inherit The Wind, and Moon Over Buffalo. Mark is honored to be a part of this talented cast, and excited to debut at The Arctic Playhouse as Captain Philip Lombard in David Jepson's masterfully directed And Then There Were None. 

Daniel J. Holmes (Anthony Marston) - Dan has appeared at The Arctic Playhouse once or twice before, (typically sporting an accent - or, for his most recent appearance in The Brothers Grimm, a series of 14 different accents and character voices). In addition to acting, Holmes has recently started writing for the stage, with credits here at The Arctic Playhouse and at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket. His academic work has explored topics ranging from horror literature to the religious history of Rhode Island, with an upcoming publication (August 2023) tracing the influence of local author HP Lovecraft on electronic gaming. Big thanks to everyone in the Arctic community - castmates, volunteers, and (of course) our lovely audience members!

Paul Koczwanski (William Blore) - Paul started acting in 2010. He took acting classes related to screen acting. He has been in various movies, television shows and commercials filmed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Recently he was in “Goodburger 2” and “Federal Hill, The Beginning”. Paul loves challenges and likes to experience new things, so he started stage acting. Paul is a frequent actor in a local murder mystery dinner theatre. This is Paul's fourth production with The Arctic Playhouse. Paul speaks six languages to date. Paul is a stand- up comedian and performs in several comedy venues in New England. A special thanks to my family for putting up with my various impressions, accents, languages, and characters, they never quite know who they are talking to. This is dedicated to his late wife Lori Koczwanski.

Michael Jepson (General Mackenzie) - Michael has a BFA in Theatre from URI. Michael has been performing and directing for over 60 years. He has performed for Academy Players, Trinity, Orleans Arena Theater, Parish House Players, City Nights Dinner Theater and Granite Theater. He is very excited to work with The Arctic Playhouse and his brother David. 

Beth Jepson (Emily Brent) - Beth is happy to be making her debut at The Arctic Playhouse! It’s been 4 years since her last performance at The Granite Theatre in Westerly where she and her husband David were the Artistic Directors for almost 20 years! Some of her favorite shows include The Curious Savage, On Golden Pond, Dixie Swim Club, Calendar Girls and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to name a few. Retired now and still enjoy “treading the boards”! She loves meeting new people and reuniting with many from the past! Put on your deerstalker hat and try to solve the mystery! Look forward to seeing you all after the show!

Paul Nolette (Dr. Lawrence Wargrave) - Paul began his acting career as teenager at The Pawtucket Community Player’s Boathouse. There, he starred as Pippin and Sancho Panza before moving to Los Angeles, where he earned a degree in Illustration. He returned to RI in 2011 and has since played Bud in Academy Players’ Bridges of Madison County, as well as Harry in Mamma Mia and Henry in Play On! at The Community Players. He earned Best Lead Actor Nominations from MOTIF and EMACT for his role as Henry Drummond in Attleboro Community Theater’s Inherit the Wind. He has also Directed many plays and Musicals, including Wait Until Dark, Kennedy’s Children and BIG! The Musical. He is happy to be making his debut at The Arctic Playhouse!

Dave Almeida (Dr Armstrong) - Dave is happy for this theatrical hat trick with And Then There Were None, first: working back with The Arctic Playhouse. Second, working with his longtime friends David, Beth, and Michael Jepson, and third: working on this Agatha Christie play. He played Fred Narracot in the RAF Lakenheath production of And Then There Were None in 1990. Dave has previously appeared in A Christmas Carol as Scrooge and Fezziwig in separate productions, Dave Moss in Glengarry Glen Ross, comic book royalty Jack Kirby, William Gaines and Jerry Bails in Daydream Theatre's comic book trilogy of Ditko, Seduction of the Innocent and Co-Creator (The Bill Finger Story), which he later co-directed with Jeanne Smith at The Attleboro Community Theatre. He thanks his friends Carolyn Coughlin, Karen Kessler, Mark Gallagher and Paul Nolette for their previous encouragement in his previous shows, and his new friends in this cast to which he looks forward to sharing the stage. Dave also thanks his wife Nancy for all her love and support.

David Jepson (Director) - David has been involved in theatre for over 60 years. He was producing artistic director of the City Nights Theatre for 20 years and served in the same capacity at The Granite Theatre for another two decades before retiring four years ago. He’s delighted to come out of retirement to direct this Agatha Christie classic for this absolute gem of a playhouse. Over his 50-year career Mr. Jepson has produced over 300 plays, directing a major portion of them. He has also directed the late David Black (Broadway producer/director) in the premiere production of Mr. Black’s one-man show. Mr. Jepson’s favorite achievements are not the roles he’s performed or the shows he’s directed, but watching his actors grow, some moving on to careers in stage and film. In the near future, he hopes to form a scene development workshop to help actors break through their inhibitions and immerse themselves totally in the acting experience. Audiences may remember his performance in last season’s production of Noises Off.       

Vicki Yates (Stage Manager): Vicki is excited to be starting her 17th production as a Stage Manager for The Arctic Playhouse. Recent Credits Include: Miracle on the 34th Street, The Games Afoot, 39 Steps, Bedroom Farce, Noises Off, and Exit Laughing. Vicki also assists with event production and stage management for many community organizations and events. At times, Vicki puts her creative skills to the test by designing props and helping our set team with painting and detail work. Ms. Yates also serves as the House Stage Manager and the Assistant Technical Director to The Arctic Playhouse. In this role, Vicki assists with ensuring the success of all productions put on by The Arctic Playhouse. In her “day time” job, Vicki is a MET Team Supervisor at The Home Depot. Vicki is delighted to be a part of this amazing production, with Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. She is grateful to David for his trust and support throughout this process. Vicki would also like to thank her husband Michael and daughter Makayla for their continued support.