DIRECTOR

Kate Posey (she / they) is an operatic stage director, theater producer, and arts administrator whose varied work focuses on imagining a better world through art. Kate holds a BM in Applied Voice (Baylor University, 2015) and an MM in Voice Performance (the University of Washington, 2017). She is the Operations and Administrative Associate at Seattle Pro Musica, and serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Lowbrow Opera Collective, where she also frequently stage directs and serves on the New Works Search Committee. Notable performance credits include the titular role of La Calisto (UW, 2015), Orphée in Orphée et Eurydice (UW and Pacific MusicWorks, 2016), Judith in Red Lake (Deseret Experimental Opera Company, 2016), Genovieffa in Suor Angelica (Seattle Modern Opera Company, 2019), Siri in #adulting, a new opera (LOC, 2019 & 2020), and Gretta in Breakfast (LOC, 2020). Notable stage directing credits include #adulting, a new opera (LOC, 2019 & 2020), WINDOWS (LOC 2021), Amahl and the Night Visitors (Music on Site, Inc., 2022), #adulting2, here we go again (LOC 2022), and Achilles & Patroclus, part of LOC’s 2023 production of MORE THAN FRIENDS: a triptych on queer love through the ages, and Sweets by Kate (LOC 2024).

STAGE MANAGER

Mike Powers is a composer, arranger, and scholar. His musical influences include Darius Milhaud, Caroline Shaw, and Björk; his scholarly pursuits focus on timbre and the contemporary branding practices of bands and artists.

Mike is a frequent collaborator of Seattle artists Townsend’s Solitaire and Alison Banchero, arranging for the former’s 2023 EP 'When We Were Faraway' and co-producing the latter’s 2021 EP 'It Ain’t Love.' His 2023 operetta 'The Lost Genital Department,' written with librettist Althea Rao, was funded by Seattle Opera’s Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab. 2024 will see the premiere of a new opera written with librettist Ozzy Wagner, also funded by the Jane Lang Davis Creation Lab.

Mike’s ongoing research investigates the commercial brand of Stevie Nicks and its successful reliance on mysticism, femininity, and her idiosyncratic vocal timbre. He presented his paper, “Branding the Witch: Mysticism, Femininity, Timbre, and Stevie Nicks,” at the 2021 American Musicological Society’s Pacific Northwest chapter meeting.

Mike holds a B.A. in Integrated Music & Film Studies from Central Washington University, where he studied composition with Martin Kennedy, piano and music theory with Maria Roditeleva-Wibe, and clarinet with Joseph Brooks.

COLLABORATIVE PIANIST

Sam Peters (he/him) is a pianist, music director, composer, and arranger working in the greater Seattle area. Recent MD highlights include Reboot Theatre's Jesus Christ Superstar and Centerstage Theatre’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He has also arranged music for Centerstage’s Pantos Sleeping Beauty and Puss in Boots. Favorite collaborative pianist credits include Lowbrow Opera Collective’s MORE THAN FRIENDS: a triptych on queer love and #Adulting2. Sam also acts as the music minister for Admiral UCC in West Seattle and enjoys playing the viola in various chamber groups.

Kate

Ashley Biehl, soprano, has lived in Seattle long enough that she says she is from here. They are thrilled to be on stage again after being behind the scenes directing Lowbrow's production of "Emily and Sue" last year. Local credits include Queen of the Night/First lady with NOISE, Gretel in "Hansel & Gretel" with Engage Opera, and Soprano Soloist in Harry Partch's "King Oedipus" with the Partch Ensemble. Ashley is a frequent performer of Czech art song, as well as songs written by women specifically during the period between the First and Second World Wars, and in 2021 was declared winner of the Northwest region's NATSAA Competition. When not singing, ze can be found doing something related to fiber arts, watching too much television, or working at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

Elizabeth (Olivia Kerr, cover, appearing June 13)

Sarah Larkworthy (she/her) is a mezzo-soprano and software engineer in Seattle, Washington. She is a student of José Luis Muñoz. Prior to moving to Seattle, she lived in the Washington, DC area, where she sang Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Baltimore Concert Opera and performed with the Potomac Vocal Institute. She has a BM in music and a BA in Physics from Oberlin College and Conservatory. Other notable credits include: La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro and Micaela in La Tragédie de Carmen with Seagle Music Festival, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Oberlin in Italy, and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with Oberlin Conservatory. She can also be heard singing with the Seattle Symphony Chorale.

Outside of singing and staring at computer screens, she likes to cook, knit, roller skate badly, and make up new nicknames for her partner and cat.

Carl (Cary Lee, cover, appearing June 14)

Adam Womack (Carl) is ecstatic to make his Lowbrow Opera Collective debut. Some favorite Regional Credits include Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (D'ysquith Family), I Do, I Do (Michael), Oklahoma (Judd), Billy Elliot (Mr. Braithwaite) and Man of La Mancha (Sancho.) Local Credits include: Season 7 and 8 of Let's All Drink and Do Broadway in Belltown.

Doofey (Olivia Sutherland, cover, appearing June 8)

Karen Dunstan (she/he/they) is a soprano hailing from Ypsilanti, Michigan. Karen performs in the Seattle area, most recently in the University of Washington’s production of Haydn’s Philemon und Baucis, and upcoming in Tacoma Opera’s production of The Tales of Hoffman. They also had the privilege to perform with Lowbrow in their 2023 production more than friends. Karen is passionate about inclusivity and broad access to opera, particularly with regard to queer representation, and examined the history of queer representation in opera in their project “Someone Will Remember Us: Queer Narratives in Opera and Art Song”. They are thrilled to once again be a part of Lowbrow’s mission to bring queer, modern opera to the Puget Sound.

Mrs. Webster

Praised for her transcendent vocals (NWTheatre) and excellent soprano voice (Drama in the Hood), Christine Oshiki (she/they) is a well-rounded performer and early childhood educator in the Seattle area. A preschool teacher by day and a vocalist by night, she holds a BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Washington and a MEd in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Washington University. Christine is serving their fourth year as President on the Lowbrow Board of Directors and most recently performed in Lowbrow's more than friends: a triptych on queer love through the ages as well as Ruth in Lowbrow's #adulting and #adulting2: here we go again. In addition to Lowbrow's endeavors, Christine can be found singing with Choral Arts Northwest, Let's All Drink and Do Broadway, MUSING, and as a freelance soloist in the Seattle area. She enjoys spending her free time with her partner, Alex, and their three fur babies (Ollie, Otis, and Luna), trying new things, cooking, and enjoying a good IPA.

Golf Man / Man 2

Terence Mejos is a Seattle based singer whose performances span from from classical to contemporary genres. Mejos graduated from Western Washington University in 2019 with a B.A in Music, vocal performance emphasis. He later moved to Seattle and proceeded work with several theatre companies along the Sound, including Tacoma Opera, Vashon Opera, and Seattle Rep Theatre. Last March concluded his run as Roger in Tacoma Little Theatre's production of Rent. Sweets by Kate marks Mejos's first performance with Lowbrow Opera.

Woman 3 / Souffle Lady / Denise cover (appearing June 13)

Cassidy Cheong is delighted to be making her Lowbrow Opera Collective debut! She is currently completing her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Washington where she is studying with Dr. Carrie Shaw. Cassidy recently graduated with honors from Swarthmore College with a BA in Music and Political Science, received the 2022 Boyd Barnard Prize, 2023 Peter Gram Swing Prize in Music, and the 2023 Lucretia Mott Award. In March 2024, Cassidy performed the role of La Poësie in Charpentier’s Les arts florissants with the University of Washington Opera Workshop, and in 2023 she was a featured soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Magnolia Chorale, performed scenes as Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with the University of Washington Opera Workshop, and performed in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen at the Baroque Opera Workshop in 2023.

Chorus / Carl cover (appearing June 14)

Cary Lee (he/him) is thrilled to make his debut with Lowbrow Opera Collective in this production of Sweets by Kate. An emerging lyric tenor in the Seattle opera community, Cary has recently been featured as a Studio Artist with Puget Sound Concert Opera, performing in their Season Preview concerts and covering roles Tom and Dominique in Amy Beach’s Cabildo, Jaquino in Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Le Comte Barigoule in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon. Cary’s recent concert highlights include a recital with his collaborator Andrew Brandon-Rumman, an appearance in Opera on the Hill presented by upnext arts, a premiere with the Ladies Musical Club's composers' group, and a performance of Alf Hurum’s octet Lilja with Northwest Edvard Grieg Society. He is a longtime soloist at First United Methodist Church of Seattle and sings as a professional chorister with various groups, including the Kirkland Choral Society, Sound City Singers, and BelPres’ Sanctuary Choir, among others. A lover of wine, Cary can occasionally be seen blending his interests performing on Cabaret nights at Footprint Wine Tap on Capitol Hill. Originally from Orlando, Cary holds a voice performance degree from Northwestern University and currently studies under the guidance of Stephen Wall. More info at caryleetenor.com.

Woman 1 / Souffle Lady / Denise / Elizabeth cover (appearing June 13)
(Cassidy Cheong, cover for Souffle Lady / Denise, appearing June 13)

Olivia Kerr is a Seattle-based singer who is originally from Ohio. Sweets by Kate is her third collaboration with Lowbrow Opera Collective. She performed as Bucket in John Ervin Brooks' #adulting2: Here We Go Again and was a featured soloist in Zach Redler's Windows.

Other roles Olivia has performed include Suor Genovieffa and La Novizie in Puccini's Suor Angelica, L'écureuil/La Chatte in Ravel's L'enfant et lest Sortiléges, Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Isabel/Madeline in Henry Mollicone's The Face on the Barroom Floor, Laetitia in G.C. Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, Laurie Moss in Aaron Copland's The Tender Land, Ninfa in Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, and Monica in G.C. Menotti's The Medium.

As a soloist she has performed works such as Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Johannes Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem and Zigeunerlieder, and Gioachino Rossini's Stabat Mater.

She received her M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Washington while studying under Cyndia Sieden, and she received her B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Toledo while studying under Denise Ritter-Bernardini.

Man 1

A Capitol Hill-based baritone, Robin is a chorister with Seattle Opera and has sung with Emerald Ensemble, Evergreen Ensemble, Byrd Ensemble, Radiance, and Opus 7. Robin enjoys tabletop RPGs, practicing bodywork, and hanging out with his cat Millie.

Joe

John (he/him) is a baritone from Maryland making his Seattle opera debut with the Lowbrow Opera Collective. John holds a BM in Voice Performance (Peabody Institute, 2016) where he studied with Dr. Steve Rainbolt. His previous roles include Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Peabody Opera Theater 2014), Richard Winthrop in Ghost Train (Peabody Chamber Opera 2016), and Bassa Selim in Abduction from the Seraglio (Peabody Opera Theater 2015). In his free time he enjoys gaming and spending time with his cats.

Woman 2

Katrina Finder, soprano, hails from the Seattle area. She recently competed in the regional NATS Artist Awards and was awarded 2nd runner-up. Favorite roles include Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. Katrina also enjoys performing rare and/or contemporary works. This is her first time performing with Lowbrow, and she's thrilled to be a part of Sweets by Kate!

Chorus & Doofey Cover (appearing June 8)

Olivia is a Seattle based singer and vocal coach excited to be in their first Low Brow Opera production! While classical music wasn’t what originally drew her to singing, Olivia spent her college years training classically and performing in Western Washington University’s annual opera productions. Since graduating college in 2021 Olivia has been in a number of musical theater productions, the most recent being with the talented cast of Miss You Like Hell at 12th Ave Arts, but has yet to return to the operatic genre in their professional career. She is so grateful to the Low Brow Opera Collective for giving her the opportunity to collaborate with such wonderful creatives on this moving piece.