Quinlyn Black (Bumble, Baby Rudolph, Elf, Fireball, Doll) has been involved with NWCT since the fourth grade! Past memorable roles include Madame Tatyana in Cinderella, Moonface Martin in Summer Days’ production of Anything Goes, Pinocchio in Shrek JR, and Meg/Gloria in Catalyst’s one-week intensive of Damn Yankees. 

“My favorite roles are the silliest characters!” Quinlyn shares. 

This is her SIXTH holiday show with NWCT. “Personally, I think winter shows are the best, because they become a part of your very own holiday traditions – and you know all the words to the Christmas songs on the radio!” she says.

Every year, Quinlyn’s grandpa invites all of his grandchildren over to make lefse, a Norwegian potato-pancake that’s been passed down in the family for generations. 

As for snow days? Quinlyn recommends grabbing a sled, a warm winter coat, and heading out to Hamilton Park. 

Signe Larsen (Mrs. Claus, Reindeer, King Moonracer) previously appeared in another NWCT holiday show, the “practically perfect” Mary Poppins! 

“(Mary) still has a very special place in my heart!” she shares. “And I hope Rudolph brings you laughter and joy!” 

Signe graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts in 2013 with a BFA in Acting. Other memorable roles include Madge in The Game’s Afoot (Bag&Baggage) and Meredith in Bat Boy. Offstage, they’re also a seamstress and fight choreographer! 

During the holiday season, Signe celebrates Yule and attends many different festivals that focus on bringing light and warmth to the darkest time of the year. 

Fun Fact: When it comes to wintertime snacks, Signe’s one serious cookie fan! “Any kind of cookie! Gingerbread, molasses, spice, snickerdoodles, even sugar cookies!” 

Stella Mackay (Sam the Snowman u/s) hopes audiences will get a full day of family, friends, music, laughter, and dancing out of this production! 

Stella trains with Catalyst: NWCT’s Youth Company. She was most recently seen as the Narrator in Miss Electricity. Some of her past favorite roles include Michael in Elf, a Squirelle in Elephant and Piggie, and Orcus in She Kills Monsters. 

Fun Fact: Stella’s favorite wintertime snack is her grammy’s molasses cookies. She would like to thank her friends, family, and all the delightful people who made this show possible!

Taylor Dearinger (Rudolph and Hermey Swing) hopes you get plenty of holiday tunes from RUDOLPH stuck in your head! 

Dancing since the age of three, Taylor now studies musical theater with Catalyst: NWCT’s Youth Program. Her favorite roles to date are Lola in Damn Yankees and Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda. 

Every winter, Taylor likes to sit by the fire in her Christmas pajamas and watch White Christmas with her family. She would like to thank her friend, Elena Valdovinos. 

“We met through NWCT and quickly discovered our shared love for dance and all-things musical theater!” Taylor shares. “And we don’t mind giving up our summers to rehearse and appear in as many shows as possible. I am so honored to share the role of Hermey with this amazing girl!” 

John Ellingson (Scenic, Puppet, Properties, and Costume Designer) is Northwest Children’s Theater’s Associate Artistic Director. He’s been designing sets and props for NWCT for the last 8 years.

John’s designs have won multiple awards, including Drammys for he BFG (2013) and James and the Giant Peach (2014). In 2015, he designed the set for NWCT’s Mary Poppins, which won both the Drammy and Portland Area Musical Theater Awards for Outstanding Set Design—the PAMTAs also awarded John’s prop design for the same production.

His proudest design achievements include Matilda the Musical, The Cat in the Hat, James and the Giant Peach, Elephant and Piggie’s: “We Are in a Play!”, and The Little Mermaid.

John studied puppetry in the U.K after being the recipient of the Portland Civic Theater Guild’s Leslie O. Fulton Fellowship which led to creating NWCT’s Starling series, for which he designed and fabricated over 50 original puppets, and took home another Drammy for outstanding puppetry.

Nancy Christy (Costume Designer) has been working at NWCT for 14 years. She is thrilled to be back making costumes for live theater. What could be more fun? She has designed shows for the Mainstage, most recently, How I Became A Pirate. She also collaborates on the design and construction of costumes for NWCT’s Catalyst program.

Nancy loves working at NWCT because she gets to collaborate with so many fun, creative people. 

Paul Brown (Lighting Designer & Master Carpenter) has been with NWCT for more than 20 years! Past holiday show highlights include dancing onstage with his fellow pirates in Peter Pan.  

In the wintertime, Paul enjoys driving around with his family to see the holiday lights and decorations. He also likes to stand outside and listen to the quiet hush of snowfall. 

Paul’s first bike was the best gift he ever received. “Presents didn’t get any bigger or better than that!” he remembers. 

Paul would like to thank his wife. “We make each other laugh every day, and appreciate each other’s weird!” he says. 

Roger Monroe (Stage Manager) can’t wait to bring back the joy of a public holiday show!  “I love the sense of comradery developed from a production with a long run like this one,” he shares. RUDOLPH marks Roger’s 25th year with NWCT. 

Fun Facts: Every year, Roger looks forward to a “first snow” snowball fight. His favorite wintertime treat is eggnog. He also enjoys going outside and listening to the quiet only snow can bring.