The CORONA VIRUS CHRONICLES had its first full readthrough on Sunday October 11th.
Present at the reading were (from left to right)
BACK: Eloise Heger-Hedloy, Helena O'Hare, Bjørn Clasen, Johan Maggiore, Lindsay Wegleitner
FRONT: Elizabeth Adams, June Lowery, Sabrina Fernandez
Missing were: Cassandra Köhler, RachelKathryn Lloyd & Tessy Stein
Elizabeth Adams teaches Upper School English at the International School of Luxembourg. She has published numerous short stories and essays. This is her third play. Her background includes a BA in Acting from Case Western Reserve University and a Doctor of Arts in English from the State University of New York at Albany, where she worked as a research assistant to Toni Morrison. Elizabeth (Betsy) has appeared in numerous BGT productions, as well as in productions in Ethiopia and in the United States. Her favourite roles include Aunt March, in “Little Women”, Mistress Quickly, in “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, and Lenny, in “Crimes of the Heart”. She has also directed three plays at the International School
Infected by the incurable theatre virus in 2007, Bjørn has been on stage in a dozen BGT productions — starting as Oberon in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, going via Mr.Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, to Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and then playing Dickens himself in June Lowery’s biographical Best Of Men, Worst Of Men. Bjørn has also played a handful roles for other companies and will feature in New World Theatre Club’s production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest next March. Next to his day job in human resources, he is currently studying Stage Directing at the Theaterakademie Mannheim. He is also a co-organiser of the Festival of English-Language School Theatre (FEST)
Sabrina Fernandez is a former Lycée classique de Diekirch student who took the English Drama Classes there for three consecutive years. Her favourite role there was the character 'Leah' in Dennis Kelly's play 'DNA' in 2019. In January 2020, she played the roles of Maria and Queen Victoria in BGT's 'The Best of Men, the Worst of Men'. She is currently studying English at the University of Luxembourg.
A university student, Rachel has lived in Luxembourg for 10 years. She is currently training in Opera at the Conservatoire and Creative Writing at Open University. Aside from performing, she also enjoys participating in the behind-the-scenes aspects of theater productions and experiencing the workings of building a production from the beginning to end. She has been involved in English theatre in Luxembourg since 2015 with her most recent shows being Melusina with Pirate Productions and June Lowery’s The Best of Men, The Worst of Men with BGT.
Johan is in his final year at the European School of Luxembourg (Mamer). He was in the English Drama Group for 5 years, playing in "Ali Baba and the Thieves", "The Last Gateway", "Split" - which also played at the Festival of English-Language Theatre (FEST) 2018 - and "Thirteen Ways to Mess Up Your College Interview". He was also due to appear in “Witch Hunt” in March this year, but the production was cancelled due to COVID. In 2016 he appeared as “Young Scrooge” in the BGT’s adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" and this is his second show with the group.
Tessy Stein is a physiotherapist who started acting in 2e year of the Lycée Michel Rodange, Luxembourg. She performed with the English Drama option-class of Tony Kingston performing in “Witch Hunt” and “Selfie”. The “Corona Virus Chronicles” is her first BGT production.
Cassandra Regina Köhler was born in Luxembourg and is currently in the fifth semester of her Bachelor in “Cultures Européennes- English Studies" at the University of Luxembourg. She also works at the University in the LUCET Team and is the director of a children’s choir in Rodange.
She has been passionate about theatre since her first year of high-school during which she participated in the school musical, She joined Tony Kingston’s English Drama Option at the LMRL and participated for four years. Shows she did with this class include "Dracula- The Final Countdown", "War at Home" (also perfomed at FEST 2018) and "The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note" performed at the Theatre Ouvert in 2019. It is through him that she was included in the BGT-Group and was able to perform in ‘The Last Word in Murder – A Murder Mystery’ in 2019 and ‘Charles Dickens: The Best of Men, The Worst of Men’ in 2020.
Cassandra writes: “Covid-19 put all our lives on a hold, so I am really glad that the ‘Coronavirus Chronicles’ has been called into life (I never thought I would combine the word happy and coronavirus in one sentence) and that we can all meet once again to talk about something that has affected everyone in the world. I am also surprised, but nonetheless proud, that I was able to contribute to this project – both as a writer and an actor. I really hope you will enjoy it and maybe even take something away with you”.
Eloise is currently a student at the International School of Luxembourg. Where she has played numerous roles in various school plays and musicals. She has studied drama for several years with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Last year she portrayed Ellen “Nelly” Ternan in “The Best of Men, the Worst of Men” with the BGT English Theatre Company.
Lindsay immersed herself in preforming arts from a young age, playing regularly in school theatre pieces, and studying acting at the local conservatory. After university and a brief career in Architecture, she moved from Canada to Luxembourg and happily joined the BGT. Her first role was playing Blanche Ingram in BGT's “Jane Eyre”. Since then, she has appeared in a number of BGT productions including "Opera Comique”, “Little Women”, “Blithe Spirit”, and most recently in “Charles Dickens: The Best of Men, the Worst of Men”. Like many others performers in the midst of pandemic, she is eager to get back on stage and more than excited to take part in a work that addresses the current moods related to Covid-19.
Always cast in male roles at her all-girls school, Helena played Stanley Kowalski, Shylock, Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice, Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius, and Cassius in Julius Caesar. She was overjoyed to be cast as a woman in her university’s production of Lorca's Yerma and then did no more theatre until 2014 when she joined the BGT cast for Little Women. Since then she has enjoyed being in several productions, has forged some lasting friendships and had a "lorra lorra laughs". Helena is also on the organising committee for FEST.
