Nat Brautigam * made his debut on our mainstage playing Templeton, the Rat, in the children’s show Charlotte’s Web.  Since then he has gone on to appear in a number of other productions, playing a variety of roles. So many to list, not nearly enough space!  Nat is an avid White Sox fan and enjoys being in the spotlight!
Pat Blake, A.C.T. is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, was also active in their theatre group. September of 2023 marked 30 years as a Kirk Player member starting as a guest performer in “But Why Bump Off Barnaby?”. He has performed or led Tech in over 75 Kirk Player shows. Patrick has organized and taught in KP's Children and Adult Summer Workshops. Over the  course of four years, Patrick had served on Kirk Player's board, as Membership Director, Sales Director, Vice President and most recently as Artistic Director. He would like to thank his wife, Kathy, for her love and support throughout the years.
Chris Brouton has been doing theater in the northern Illinois/ southern Wisconsin area since ~1992. Over 100 shows! He loves and has been involved in all aspects of theater, but prefers on stage. He's been involved in Kirk Players shows including acting in And Then There Were None, The Diary of Anne Frank and Chasing Charming, running lights for Mornings at Seven, and Stage Manager for ​Murdered to Death.  His most recent role with KP was as Thomas Rogers in And Then There Were None.  
He would like to thank his awesome wife, Julie, for her tremendous support! 
Julie Dietrich Brouton has been involved with theatre since her freshman year of high school, when her school choir director suggested that, since she loved singing so much, she should audition for the spring musical. She later earned her BA in theatre from The University of Indianapolis and has been involved in numerous community theatre performances in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois. While she prefers acting, Julie has volunteered in just about every aspect of theatre production, both technically and administratively. She has co-directed several plays with her husband, Chris, and has even written a few short scripts! Julie's Kirk Players credits include Edith Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, ​Mama Bear in Chasing Charming, and Ida Swanson in Morning's at Seven. She has also appeared in the Kirk Players and Mundelein Arts Commission collaboration of Sounds and Sweet Aires and volunteered with the Kirk Players Children's Summer Workshop. 
Jeanna Daebelliehn * is thrilled to be a member of the Kirk Players. Kirk Player credits include choreography for several productions, Sister Monica in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, and Director for Seussical Jr. and Chasing Charming. Jeanna has extensive experience performing, directing and choreographing productions in the Chicago area. When not working in the theatre, Jeanna teaches for the Waukegan School District. She is grateful for any chance to create and perform on stage.
Ben Fenton After a long hiatus from the Kirk Players, Ben was very happy to make his return debut in his role as William Blore in And Then There Were None. Ben’s first Kirk Players show was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2004, where he played an Oompa Loompa. Over the next several years, he was involved in more than twenty productions in some capacity. Ben has also appeared on stage in performances at Mundelein High School and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he studied lighting design and radio broadcasting and appeared in a number of short films. As a classically trained chef and professional brewer, Ben is currently working on starting a new brewery in Mundelein with plans on opening sometime in 2025.
Vidal Gonzalez grew up in Mundelein, having had my first taste of theater at West Oak Middle School, as the boat captain in The King and I. Then again at Mundelein High School took a theater class and was part of the ensemble for Fiddler on the Roof  my senior year. After a long hiatus and wanting to jump into acting, I auditioned for A Christmas Carol Musical  at the Mundelein Village Hall where I met a few Kirk Players that encouraged me to audition for Kirk Players productions, I did. I was cast as Sheriff of Nottingham and I have never looked back.
Tom Gorham debuted with the Kirk Players as Carl in Mornings at Seven. He has since played Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes Radio Play and Officer O’Hara in Arsenic and Old Lace. His acting credits include Ebenezer Scrooge in Cricket Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol and Millet in VTP of Libertyville’s production of Fuddy Meers. Tom has also had the pleasure of playing many roles with Village Theatre of Palatine and Antioch’s PM&L Theatre. He also helmed a Chicago improv troupe called Mouth Full of Wheat for several years. If you’re paying attention, you may see him in 2001’s Road to Perdition starring Tom Hanks, or in 2004’s Heaven’s Fall starring Timothy Hutton. Tom lives in Lake Zurich with his wife, Liz, and his three children: Nora, Liam and Tiernan.
Gretchen Grassl, A.C.T. has performed in many plays and musicals beginning at a young age.  Since joining the Kirk Players, Gretchen has performed in The Glass Slipper, Enchanted April, David & Lisa, The Hollow, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily and I Remember Mama. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike marked Gretchen’s KP Directorial debut. Other directing credit include Assistant Director for The Happiest Millionaire, Jack and the Magic Beans, The Mousetrap and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? and Co-Director for Velveteen Rabbit and Becky’s New Car.
Peter Grassl * and his wife Gretchen have been with the Kirk Players since 2009.  Peter served as the Membership Director and Strategic Planning lead for several years.  He has directed, performed in and provided backstage support for multiple productions including Arsenic and Old Lace, The Dining Room; Clue: The Stay-at-Home Version; Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike; The God Committee; Actor's Nightmare; Enchanted April and The Night of January 16th.  He met his wife, Gretchen, many years ago in a community college production of Tartuffe.
Fran Hansen, A.C.T. only had line in high school, which was "Duh, what's up doc?" Her love for the theatre developed in college. Her first Kirk Players' Summer Workshop was in 1999 and in 2000 she won the "Mary Pearson" award; in 2002 and 2004 she earned the O.D. Award for directing in Workshops.  Her favorite technical assignment developed in props. She earned our "Carter" Golden Hammer award for her work as Property Mistress for Blithe Spirit. She has artfully provided props for many of our productions. She also appeared on main stage as Ida in The Cemetery Club for which she received a "Leslie" Best Actress nomination, and as Elizabeth in Angel Street earning her a "Leslie" Best supporting actress nomination. She earned her status of A.C.T. in 2011.
Vicki Herrick ​* has been passionate about theater ever since sixth grade when she played Fern in Charlotte’s Web. During her teaching career, she has directed high school, middle school and elementary students in a variety of plays.
For the Kirk Players, she loves teaching the youngest actors each summer at the children’s workshop. Over the years, she’s acted in a wide range of comedic productions. Her acting debut with the Kirk Players was in the role of Philippa in the Zoom production of A Murder is Announced. Vicki’s most recent role with KP was as Alice in Matchmaker. She particularly enjoys writing and adapting skits for many different situations. Her backstage work has included props and makeup.​
Martin Hill, A.C.T. has been a Kirk Players member since 2013.  He has dabbled in theater ever since high school and is at home both on stage and in the light booth. Recent roles include Hathi the Elephant in Jungle Book and Homer in Morning’s at Seven.  He is also active in the violin sections of Waukegan Symphony and Lake County Symphony Orchestra and has many other interests ranging from video editing to the care and feeding of vintage British cars. He is also our resident videographer and editor.
Susie Hill, A.C.T. was born and raised in central Pennsylvania. During her high school years she worked backstage and in the house for several shows. She continued her work in the theatre at Susquehanna University where she studied voice, movement and diction with Pamela Chabora. While living in a small Illinois town she found herself cast in The Sound of Music with Forreston High School. Susie found Kirk Players during the Mundelein Arts Festival in 2012, working stage crew for Mousetrap, as the female understudy and Production Assistant for Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?  and that was only the beginning!
Henry Hogan * (they/her) first appeared onstage as a Wickersham Brother in Suessical Jr. The Musical and as John in Peter Pan and Wendy. Henry has worked backstage for several productions including light crew for Postmortem, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Red Herring, and has been active in Summer Workshop, most recently taking the helm facilitating last year's children's workshop. Henry was excited to return back onstage as Czar Albert and as a Wild Duck in Fairy Tales and Fables.  With their preference being behind the scenes, Henry's designed and ran lights for many shows since then!
Bev Karns * came to the Kirk Players in 2011 through Adult Summer Workshop. Her on stage credits include Widow Douglas in Tom Sawyer, Tilly in It’s a Wonderful Life, Nurse Bev in I Remember Mama, and Parsons in 1984. She has worked numerous productions backstage running props, assisting with costumes, and helping run lights. Bev also worked as one of the writers for the KP adaptation of 1984 for Reader’s Theatre. Bev has been a continual fixture for the Adult Summer Workshop and an enthusiastic assistant for the Children’s Summer Workshop.
Anna Lieberman, A.C.T. and her husband have had the pleasure of being Kirk Players since 2006. She has been
an Assistant Director for the Kirk Player productions of The Hollow, Christmas Belles, 37 Postcards, and
The Ladies Man. Also, has directed a One-Act Play, Tete-a-Tetes, Carbon-based Life Form Seeks
Similar. Anna was also Assistant Director for Kirk Player’s first Virtual/Zoom production of An Evening
of Mystery. Anna has appeared on stage in Philadelphia Story, The Glass Slipper and as an Italian-
speaking Costanza in Enchanted April for which she won a “Leslie” for Best Supporting Actress. Anna
has also held various tech positions as Props Mistress, Costume Mistress. Most recent as Costume
Mistress for The Diary of Anne Frank. She is also a huge Agatha Christie fan and wrote the script for a
fictional Agatha Christie interview that was performed by the Kirk Players at the Fremont Public Library.
Anna was delighted to kick off Season 58 directing Murdered to Death – an Agatha Christie spoof and carries that excitement into ending the 59th season as the Director for The Wisdom of Eve. She
is honored and excited to be a member of this great theater group. 
Mike Lieberman, A.C.T. has been an active member of the Kirk Players since 2006, had served on the board for many years and has appeared in numerous Kirk Player productions. Some of which include: Richard Johnson in the One-Act production of Diagnosis: Flirter, performed at Tighthead Brewery, Lt. Rooney in Arsenic and Old Lace and as Sir Lawrence Wargrave in And Then There Were None.  He and his wife Anna have been Mundelein residents for over 30 years.
Randy Margison * made his Kirk Players debut in 2017 as Lars “Papa” Hansen in I Remember Mama, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He has appeared as Winston Smith in the Kirk Players Special Event Staged Reading of 1984 and as Major Hartwell in Red Herring. Outside of Kirk Players, Randy has been privileged to play some of the great roles in American theater including: The Stage Manager in Our Town, Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came To Dinner, Weller Martin in The Gin Game, and John Barrymore in the one-man play Barrymore’s Ghost.  ​He will be making his Directorial debut opening KP's 6oth season with 12 Angry Jurors.  Randy looks forward to entertaining Kirk Players audiences for many years to come.
Jessica Motyka, A.C.T. graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance. She joined up with Kirk Players in 2010 and is thrilled to have found such a welcoming and talented group to continue exploring her passion. Jess has had many memorable onstage roles that will always be a part of her heart. Despite acting being her first predilection, she revels in the offstage skills as well, particularly stage managing. Jess is excited to see what the future holds with Kirk Players and she feels proud of the community work they do to keep the arts alive.
Terry O'Brien began his journey with the Kirk Players began with a captivating portrayal of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. Since then, he has graced the stage in numerous productions, including The Night of January 16th and the virtual performances of Clue: Stay-At-Home Version, and An Evening of Mystery.  He was most recently seen onstage in Murdered to Death. A talented writer as well, Terry is excited to announce the release of his debut book Quest for the Lost Amber Room in April 2025, marking a thrilling new 'chapter' in his creative journey.​
Ron Otrembiak * began his involvement with the Kirk Players during the 51st Season, portraying various supporting characters in all three shows. In the fall of 2017, he was awarded the honor of Player at Large. In addition to his on stage work, Ron has also worked the sound board. Ron is particularly proud that his daughter Gina has worked backstage with make-up, his wife has run the sound board, and his son Ed was a fixture at set builds and strike.
​Luke Rush did a solo song in a church Christmas play called Baa Baa Bethlehem when he was a kid. Then he took a few years off, because all of the adulation during the potluck after the show was slightly disconcerting and caused him to realize that everyone was watching. So, he needed some time to think about it. About a decade later, he did some shows in college, like Pride and Prejudice and Footloose (not the same show, and certainly not separately at the same time, because that's silly), then he needed some more time away, because musicals, right? About 20 years after that, he met some different people who did theater things, and decided, "what the heck, why not?", because making new friends as an adult is complicated. After taking part in a couple of shows, Kirk Players then decided to do a production of one of his favorite entertainments of all time, Arsenic and Old Lace (of which he played the role of Mortimer Brewster and was nominated for Best Actor). A longtime family favorite, because his family is totally normal. The rest is history. History that probably hasn't happened yet, depending on when you're reading this. If it was a good show and you saw it, thank you for coming. The nervous energy is real. Though he is and always will be an introvert, so he will need some time to recharge.
Barb Selvaggio * (she/her) was in Kirk Players casts of Black Comedy, The Trials of Robin Hood, The Enchanted Bookshop and Arsenic and Old Lace. She was in A Night of Mystery, Sherlock: The Radio Show Version, and three one-act productions, as Anne Boleyn’s Head in The Real Problem, Rory in Gene-Sisters and Lesly Presley in Genie-Ology. She was the on the costume crew for Red Herring, the Assistant Stage Manager for Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and the Stage Manager for Comedy Capers. Most recently, she was the set decorator for And Then There Were None.

She also belongs to two improv troupes, Picard Players and The Collective, and has been in productions in the city and suburbs before discovering Kirk Players. She’s so happy she did!
Lisa Soare * first joined the Kirk Players more than a decade ago, and was happy to return after a brief time away. Whether behind the scenes with costumes, props, set, lights, or in front of an audience, Lisa enjoys all aspects of the creative process and bringing plays to life. 
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Mandy Stebbins, A.C.T.'s first time onstage was in KP's production of The Clown Prince of Wonderlust when she was 11 years old. She joined the Kirk Players in May 2003 after being active in many shows both onstage and behind the scenes. Recently she worked behind the scenes as assistant stage manager in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Red Herring where she also appeared as a sassy counter clerk. Her performance as Carol Melket in A Black Comedy earned her a Best Actress "Leslie" award. She's adapted to the times along with the Kirk Players in the Zoom performances of Tidings and Traditions and as Yvette in Clue: Stay-at-Home Version. 

James Torbeck * is a native to Mundelein. James got his start in theatre at Mundelein High School under the direction of Jon Leslie Lynn, being the third of three brothers to do so. He got his start with Kirk Players working sound on Christmas Belle's and primarily works behind the scenes. He made his first Kirk stage appearance in The Happiest Millionaire as Joe, a delivery driver who was accepted into this eccentric family and never left.
Rebby VanSickel * (he/they) fell in love with the theatre when he was introduced to it at the age of 5 by his amazing grandma, Bobbi. He loved it so much he decided to audition for his first ever play with the Kirk Players, Charlotte’s Web at the age of 6 where he played one of the narrators. This kickstarted everything for him and he went on to continue doing kids shows every year up until he got into high school where junior year he had the pleasure of playing Dinah in A Philadelphia Story and then right after graduation had the honor of playing Cordy in The Happiest Millionaire. Other roles included Cinderella in The Glass Slipper and one of his absolute dream roles he had the pleasure of playing was as the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland where he also worked on make-up on the show. A few other honorable mentions: he played Barbara in the Lakeside Player's production of Night of the Living Dead, then MaryJo in A Piece of my Heart. After a ten-year hiatus, Rebby is back and ready to make a splash.
Shara Wright * may have been crafting, singing, and wrangling animals and kids during her hiatus, but Shara's back in action! First sharing the stage with her talented offspring, Audrey "Rey" and Greyson, in The Enchanted Bookshop and now in ​The Jungle Book.  Who knew raising the next generation of thespians could be so... enchanting? Shara most recently played Emily Brent in And Then There Were None.  By day, Shara keeps things organized as a Client Delivery Lead at Alight. When she's not working or cheering her four kids on in their various activities, she might be getting lost in a good book, creating something beautiful with yarn or embroidery needles or singing with the worship band at Fierce Church in Grayslake. Fun fact: Shara's no stranger to the stage, having been in numerous Kirk Players productions, from Comedy Tonight to Christmas Belles and many MANY more.  

Honorary Players

An Honorary Player is a special membership status bestowed on Kirk Players who have given outstanding service but are unable to continue active participation. This status is our sincere expression of love and appreciation for their past contributions.
* - denotes Master Player, with 5 years of dedication.
A.C.T. - denotes Artist in Community Theatre, with 10 years of dedication and 20 acting and/ or crew chief assignments.