This Almost Joy
Cast Bios
John Helding As Prof. Steven Hart-Meadows
John is returning for a second season with LOT after playing Reginald in last year’s Re:. A 20-year resident of Lopez, John has acted in a number of local productions, including the roles of Motel the Tailor in Fiddler on the Roof and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. John will play Prof. Steven Hart-Meadows in This Almost Joy and is thrilled by the new energy and creativity LOT has brought to our community and the Lopez stage.
Kimberly Vora as Margaret Hart-Meadows
Kimberly made her stage debut in 1993 as the Page in a church production of The Mouse That Roared. After a few more decades of life experience, her return to the stage last fall with LOT as “Barbara” in Barbara’s Always Asking was personally transformative - and a ton of fun. She is delighted to join the LOT team once again as Margaret in This Almost Joy to make more theater magic. Kimberly seeks to understand the meaning and complexity beneath the surface of human behavior in all its mess and glory. She has visited Cloud 8 a number of times but lives on Lopez with her two sons and four cats.
MARTHA MARTIN As Sylvia Hart-Johns
Martha is relatively new to community theater, and she is loving it! In 2023, she was cast as Nanette in Winds in the Morning, a Community Shakespeare Company musical; and with Lopez Original Theater, she has been Mother in Cry and Jaqueline in Re:. Martha is honored to play the role of Sylvia this year in the beautifully tragic This Almost Joy.
Paul Porath as Bradley Johns
Paul resumed his acting career in 2023, 50 years after playing Bert in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. His return to the stage began as HL Sutherland, opposite the beautiful Nanette, in the musical Winds in the Morning. Paul debuted with Lopez Original Theatre in 2024 as Park Worker in The Bench. The year 2025 brought even more opportunities, including playing Man in Re:, the dead body in Surprise, Surprise!, and serving as Assistant Director to the lovely Rosie Sumner in Conversations with Gabriel. Paul is excited to play Bradley this year in This Almost Joy and looks forward to future endeavors.
Crew Bios
Directed by JACK TRonsdal
Jack Tronsdal is a playwright and writing editor. Two years ago, Lopez Original Theater staged a play he'd written, and in response, Jack began his non-stop efforts to become a part of their very cool club. His latest effort -- moving to the island with his stage manager Grace. He enjoys his job at The Lopez Island School District, and doesn't miss sleeping in at all. He thanks all the people in his life: his parents, his best friends, and specifically his kid brother Kenn, whom he shouts out in every program.
Stage Managed by Grace Selvig
This is Grace’s first show with Lopez Original Theater and her first time stage managing a play! Her previous theater experience comes from acting in several Missoula Children’s Theater Productions in elementary school and more recently a production of Taylor Pedroza’s “Feedback” produced by Skagit Passage last spring.