The Lightning Thief
TYA Edition
Book by joe Tracz
Music & Lyrics by Rob Rokicki
Adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Run time: 75 minutes with no intermission
Thank you to our sponsors!
Kafoury McDougal: Lawyers for the People
Oregon Arts Commission
Oregon Cultural Trust
NWCT’s Donor Families
Media sponsors:
PDX Parent
NW Kids
Cast
PERCY JACKSON: Elena Valdovinos
ANNABETH: Celia Castillo-Torres
GROVER: Delia Graham
SALLY JACKON & OTHERS: Tia Lempert
CLARISSE & OTHERS: Riley Suzuki
LUKE & OTHERS: Charlotte Sanders
MR. D & OTHERS: Henry Martin
CHIRON & OTHERS: Max O’Hare
Creative Team
DIRECTOR & COSTUME DESIGNER: Emma Sanders
SCENIC & PROPERTIES DESIGNER: John Ellingson
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Maggie Stanton
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER & CHOREOGRAPHER: Annabel Cantor
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Clara King
SOUND DESIGNERS: Jason Nuesa
COSTUME LEAD: Gowri Ganesh
STAGE MANAGER: Lorelei Klohr
ASST. STAGE MANAGER: Jayna Cloud
Production & Support
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Sarah Jane Hardy
ALUMNI SHOW PRODUCER: Max O’Hare
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: John Ellingson
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Steve Hambrick
MASTER CARPENTER: Paul Brown
BOARD OPERATOR: Jason Nuesa
SPOTLIGHT OPERATORS:
Jayna Cloud and Ryder Thompson
PHOTOGRAPHY: David Kinder
POSTER ART: Lea Zawada
GRAPHIC DESIGN: SUCHa Production
Meet the Cast
Elena Valdovinos (Percy Jackson) couldn’t be more excited to return to NWCT for her first alumni show!
She has previously appeared on the Mainstage as Hermey in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and as a Squirelle in Elephant & Piggie.
Elena is a rising sophomore at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, where she is pursuing her BFA in musical theater. She’d like to thank the entire cast and creative team for filling her summer with laughter and epicness.
If Elena had to choose one item to take on a quest, she’d choose “a Nintendo DS and some games to keep me busy on the cross-country bus rides.”
And if she could have just one mythical creature for a pet? “I would choose a dragon for a pet. Preferably Toothless from How to Train your Dragon, but I heard he’s taken…”
Celia Castillo-Torres (Annabeth) is so incredibly excited to return to the NWCT stage for her first alumni show! At her time at NWCT, Celia played a Squirelle in their 2018 production of Elephant & Piggie: We Are In a Play, a Bird Girl in Suessical the Musical, and Estrella in Desvelado.
She is currently entering her senior year at the Hartt School of Music where she is obtaining her BFA in Musical Theatre, and where she has most recently been seen as Fighting Prawn in Peter and the Starcatcher, Ensemble in Something Rotten, and Ashlee in Dance Nation at the Hartt School.
She is so excited to join everyone on this quest and wants to thank her mom, professors, and friends for preparing her for it!
What would be Celia’s favorite snack from the Lotus Hotel & Casino? “I’m going straight for the chocolate fountain with a strawberry!”
If Celia could only take one item on a quest, she’d take headphones. “If I’m fighting monsters I have to make sure I have epic music hyping me up for battle!”
Delia Graham (Grover) is so excited to return to NWCT with The Lightning Thief!
Delia is currently a junior at Sarah Lawrence College where she studies Theatre Arts, Production, Puppetry, Film History, and Literature.
Previously at NWCT, she appeared in the Catalyst production of Cinderella in 2023, and participated in Studio NW. She has had such an amazing time getting to know the alumni in the cast and crew and can’t wait for you all to see the show!
If Delia were heading out on a quest, she would pack “a really fun pair of sunglasses because you can’t go wrong with that. Or perhaps a map because that could maybe be more helpful than sunglasses.”
Tia Lempert (Sally Jackson & Others) is an actor and classically trained soprano from Portland with a Bachelors in Music from Oregon State University and a background in both musical theatre and opera.
Tia has competed in musical theatre performance several times (NATS & CS Music), most notably placing second in her division on the national level.
Some of her biggest accomplishments are playing Adele in Fledermaus and singing the National Anthem at the OSU commencement.
You may have seen her around town this year in Groundhog Day at the Lakewood Center for the Arts, and Marvin’s Rescue at Bridgetown Conservatory. She is so excited to be back at NWCT for this production of the Lightning Thief!
If Tia could take one mortal celebrity with her on a quest, she’d take Taylor Swift. “She is smart, can sing us songs to pass the time, and maybe she would even write her next album about our quest!”
And if anything went wrong on their quest, Tia’s demigod catchphrase would be, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming!”
Riley Suzuki (Clarisse & Others) is so excited to be back performing at NWCT this summer!
Previously, she has appeared in shows like Cinderella and The Wizard of Oz at NWCT.
Riley is now living in New York where she will soon be a senior at Ithaca College, majoring in Acting.
Riley is so honored to be back working with the company that introduced her to theater, and can not wait for you to watch the world of the show come to life.
If Riley could only choose one item to bring on a quest, she’d choose a flashlight. And her mythical bet of choice? “A UNICORN!”
Charlotte Sanders (Luke & Others) has been performing at NWCT for as long as she’s loved the Percy Jackson series (which is a very long time), and she has enjoyed every second of it!
On break from her psychology degree at Illinois Tech, Charlie is absolutely thrilled to be performing such a fun show with such a wonderful group of people. She’d like to give a special thank you to Emma, who is as amazing a director as she is a sister.
If Charlie were to take one mortal celebrity with her on a quest, she’d take Keanu Reeves. “I think he would be an incredible traveling companion.”
Her mythical creature pet of choice would be a pet griffin. “I love birds and cats, so best of both worlds!”
Henry Martin (Mr. D & Others) is excited to be part of The Lightning Thief!
Previous roles include the White Rabbit in Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Pete in Pete the Cat, and Cowboy Hank in Halloween Ball. He loves exploring characters and telling stories alongside such a talented cast and creative team.
Henry is grateful for the support of his parents, Sarah Jane, John, and the irreplaceable Max O’Hare.
Henry would take John Cena on a quest as his celebrity quest companion. “The fact that you can’t see him makes for a powerful and stealthy comrade. Plus our quest would almost certainly be made into a feature film.”
And Henry’s demigod catchphrase when things go wrong? “Even Odysseus would turn back now!”
Max O’Hare (Chiron & Others) is an actor, stage manager, and lighting/sound designer based in Portland, OR. He has been apart of all 3 iterations of the alumni show and is incredibly excited to be back! His previous performance credits include Boy in Waiting for Godot (Corrib Theatre), Snake in The Little Prince (NWCT), and the titular role in Everybody (Wesleyan University).
Max is a graduate from Wesleyan University with a double major in the College of Social Studies and Theater. Max currently works as NWCT’s Production Coordinator. He is excited to attend Stanford Law School in the fall and wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to NWCT for being an incredible organization that shaped him into who he is today. He hopes the alumni show tradition will continue for years to come!
Max’s item of choice for a quest is a whetstone. “Quests can be dangerous, and you wouldn’t want your sword to go unsharpened when faced with the possibility of running into a terrifying monster!”
If Max could have a mythical creature as a pet, he’d choose a pegasus. “They are incredibly majestic, and who could pass up on the opportunity to fly around on their very own pegasus?”
Meet the Creative Team
Emma Sanders (Director & Costume Designer) is back behind the scenes at NWCT! Previously, Emma appeared as Fox in last year’s alumni production of The Little Prince, and she ran crew for the Mainstage production of Matilda. She was also Tinkerbell’s spotlight in Peter Pan.
“I actually started out in the booth as a spotlight operator for The Starlings Present: Dinosaurs! But when one of our cast members had to leave for closing weekend, I filled in at the last minute as Emma Bird. That was the only time I was on the tech team and in the show at the same time.”
Recently, Emma graduated from Liverpool Hope University, where she directed and costume designed 9 to 5. At LHU, she was also the sound operator and costume, lighting, scenic, and properties designer for Shrek the Musical. Prior to university, she also did costume, hair, and makeup design for Franklin High School’s production of Bye Bye Birdie.
John Ellingson (Scenic & Properties Designer) is Northwest Children’s Theater’s Associate Artistic Director. He’s been designing sets and props for NWCT for more than 10 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 & 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.
Maggie Stanton (Music Director) is thrilled to return to NWCT for another alumni show after appearing in last year’s alumni show, The Little Prince (2024), as the Aviator.
An Intern from 2015-2020, Maggie’s NWCT performance credits include Cinderella (2017), Tenali: The Royal Trickster (2019), and Seussical (2020). While pursuing a BA in Music and English, she fell in love with music directing, and since graduating, she has music directed several shows including Company, Les Miserables, Falsettos, A Chorus Line and Shrek, many of which were for NWCT’s Summer Intensives!
If Maggie could choose one item to pack for a quest, she’d choose “root beer, the best soda, to quench my thirst.”
And if she could have one mythical creature as a pet? “A leprechaun because they would make an excellent minion for mischief!!”
Annabel Cantor (Fight Choreographer & Choreographer) is a designer, director, performer, and educator, concerned with making performance that is highly collaborative, sensory-rich and immediate.
Last summer they appeared on this stage as The Men on Planets in The Little Prince. Other recent credits include Precipice: re-membering, forgetting, and claiming home (Lighting Design) at Third Rail Repertory, as well as Horseplay (Performer/Deviser) and Ubu America: Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Emily), both at Shaking The Tree.
Up next they will be designing lights for NWCT and Corrib Theatre’s revival of From a Hole in the Ground, coming to The Judy this September.
Annabelle’s Camp Half-Blood moto of choice would be, “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” And they’d choose a sphinx for a pet, “for the riddles and immaculate vibes.”
Big thanks to the cast and creative team for their collaboration and trust.
Clara King (Lighting Designer) is so excited to be back at Northwest Children’s Theater, this time as a designer! Clara was last seen on the NWCT Mainstage in 2018 for Peter Pan. Today, she is an AEA Stage Manager and freelance theatre artist, based in Seattle, Washington.
Clara has recently worked professionally with Seattle Opera, LA Opera, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, La Mirada Theater, New London Barn Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, and The Bourbon Room Hollywood.
Clara would bring along a flashlight as her one item on a quest. Her demigod catchphrase when things go wrong would be: “I’m sure something could be worse!”
MFA in Stage Management, California Institute of the Arts. “All my love to Ella.”
www.ckingsm.com
Jason Nuesa (Sound Designer) is thrilled to return to The Judy as part of the crew for The Lightning Thief. He was last seen as Jack Kelly in Catalyst’s production of Newsies.
Jason recently finished his first year at Portland State University as a Psychology Major and Theatre Arts Minor, where he also performed as Ricky Potts in their production of Ride the Cyclone.
Jason’s item of choice to take on a quest would be, “Anything that can play a good playlist. Having your music to pump you up for the road ahead is the best way to get through a quest!”
And his mortal celebrity quest companion? “Pedro Pascal’s soothing but steadfast and commanding presence would be the natural calm within the storm amongst any and all treacherous demigod ventures, so he’s an easy pick.”
Enjoy the show!
Gowri Ganesh (Costume Lead) is so excited to be back at NWCT after finishing her first year studying biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota.
She has been involved in various Mainstage and second stage productions at NWCT since she was 11, including The Jungle Book and Elephant & Piggie. She also remembers hanging around the costume shop a lot with her mom during her shows, so doing costumes for The Lightning Thief feels very full circle!
Gowri’s item of choice for a quest? “LOTS of trail mix.” And for a pet, she would choose a dragon!
Lorelei Klohr (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be the stage manager for The Lightning Thief. She was most recently seen at NWCT working as stage crew for the alumni production of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Before that, she was a member of Catalyst for six years, taking on roles both on and off stage.
Lorelei thrives on the collaborative nature of theater, enjoying the process of working with others to bring a production to life.
Outside of theater, Lorelei enjoys reading, puzzles, and playing board games with friends. Her favorite Greek god is Athena.
“If I could pack one item for a quest, it would be a multitool. Having a combination screwdriver, scissors, and pair of pliers would come in handy. Plus, it fits in my pocket.”
And her mythical pet of choice? “A Jackalope, which looks like a rabbit with antlers. Legend says they can mimic human voices and sing. Maybe we could sing a duet!”
Jayna Cloud (Asst. Stage Manager) is a recent high school graduate excited to be participating in her first NWCT alumni show. Northwest Children’s Theater has been a second home to her, as she grew up attending summer camp playlabs and has been a Catalyst student for many years.
You may have seen her as Clarice in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Green Dog in Go, Dog, Go! Most recently she made her creative team debut as the assistant director for Catalyst’s A Chorus Line.
In the fall, Jayna will be attending Roosevelt Chicago College of Performing Arts for a BFA in musical theatre.
Jayna would take along an iPod with her on a quest.
Which mythical creatures would she choose as a pet? “I would like to have a little fairy friend.”
