Cast & Crew of "Isn't It Romantic" in Alphabetical Order

Carrie Ankerstein

Director

Carrie grew up in Sussex, Wisconsin and moved to Germany after having completed her doctorate and a postdoc in psycholinguistics in the UK. She is now a senior lecturer of English Language and Linguistics at the university and is "always delighted to still be taken for a student." Prior to ACT, Carrie worked with the German as a Foreign Language Theatre Group in Freiburg and with the Stannington Players in Sheffield, England. In 2010, she made her ACT debut as Assistant Director for All in the Timing by David Ives and for Shakespeare in Hollywood by Ken Ludwig. This is Carrie's third year with ACT.

---

Daniel Büffel

Assistant Technical Director

Daniel is from Zweibrücken and is currently working as an mechanical engineer for Ford in Saarlouis. He had his first active encounter with ACT while working as stage photographer for Shakespeare in Hollywood. Daniel wants to thank his girlfriend and the cast and crew of ACT for letting him enjoy the time with them. This is Daniel's first year with ACT.

---

Irena Dotcheva

Front of House

Irena is originally from Gabrovo, Bulgaria. She has recently finished her studies in the Anglistik Department and is working as a translator. Future goals for Irena include winning the lottery and sailing around the world, taking care of tiger cubs in South Africa, and going climbing in Yosemite. You may recognize Irena from An Evening of Scenes where she appeared in "Poof!" and The Mousetrap where she played Mollie. She would like to thank “everybody involved in ACT.” This is Irena’s fourth year with ACT.

---

Jan Hanzelka

Production Assistant, Vladimir

Jan is from Nový Jičín, North Moravia, Czech Republic and is currently studying Computer Science. Finally defeating the demon of a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, he still hasn't learned from his mistakes and has taken on fighting the monster of a Master's degree. And so he continues battling course work, decapitating project heads and cutting off the claws of exams and is slowly but surely falling into his future. Jan made his ACT debut by playing Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest and appeared as Milton in All in the Timing. In 2011, he returned to stage again for Shakespeare in Hollywood and Enigma Variations. This is Jan's fourth year with ACT.

---

Lynn Hatto

Janie Blumberg

Lynn was born in Luxembourg and currently resides in Saarbrücken. Upon finishing her studies, Lynn wants to become a translator. She has previously acted in high school productions and also with an alternative theatre group in Luxembourg and made her ACT debut in 2010 by playing Dawn in All in the Timing. She would like to thank "my boyfriend Jeff for learning the text with me." This is Lynn's third year with ACT.

---

Simone Kölbl

Stage Manager, Tajlei Kaplan Singleberry (Voice)

Simone is from Bad Sooden-Allendorf in Hessen. She studied History Oriented Cultural Studies where she graduated this semester. You may recognize Simone from An Evening of Scenes where she appeared in Camping. She started working with props and costumes backstage and served as an assistant to Front of House for All in the Timing and has been ACT’s Stage Manager since Shakespeare in Hollywood and Enigma Variations. Simone would like to thank all the talented people who enriched the ACT-Family over the past few years. Special thanks go to everyone who was brave enough to join the backstage crew and, of course, to Sandra "who saved me a thousand times from loosing my mind." This is Simone's fourth year with ACT.

---

Sandra Kolimbatović

Production Assistant, Schlomo (Voice)

Sandra is originally from Sögel, Emsland and is studying Philology at the university. You may recognize Sandra from The Mousetrap where she played Chris Wren. In 2010, she was mainly responsible for all set and props changes as stage manager for All in the Timing and resumed her role backstage while also making an appearance onstage as Louella Parsons in Shakespeare in Hollywood.  Sandra would like to thank "Simone for the fun times backstage and Louis whom I miss." This is Sandra's fifth year with ACT.

---

Torsten Kopp

Production Assistant

Torsten is originally from St. Ingbert. He is a student in History Oriented Cultural Studies and also works as a Library Assistant. Upon finishing his studies, Torsten hopes to become an archivist or “pursue a career in organized crime.” Previously, Torsten appeared as Major Metcalf in The Mousetrap and Reverend Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest. He would like to thank “all the people who make this possible.” This is Torsten’s fourth year with ACT.

---

Achim Loch

Technical Director, Simon Blumberg

Achim is from Friedrichsthal and has a degree in North American Literature and Culture, English Linguistics, and Historical Theology. He works as a church organist, ESL instructor, and as and adjunct faculty member for the Department of English. For many years, he was a member of a local cabaret group. Previously, Achim has appeared onstage with the Hillsdale College Tower Players as the Priest in Oedipus Rex and as a Pirate in The Island Princess, as well as in ACT's productions of An Evening of Scenes, appearing as Swift in All in the Timing, and playing Max Reinhardt in Shakespeare in Hollywood. In addition to these numerous duties, Achim has also taken on the enormous responsibility of Technical Director and Publicity Management. This is Achim's sixth year with ACT.

---

Laurel E. Loch

Announcements, Julie Stern (Voice), Operator (Voice)

Laurel is originally from the United States and moved to Germany after marrying ACT’s Technical Director in 2006. She has a degree in Theatre from Hillsdale College and numerous years of acting, directing, and design experience. She is a two-time Irene Ryan Acting Award nominee, an award- winning make-up and wig designer, and was chosen as the “Best Actress in the State of Indiana” in 2005 for her role as Pidge in Cabin Fever. Other favorite roles include Catherine in Proof, Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Adriana in The Comedy of Errors, Lorraine Sheldon in The Man Who Came to Dinner and Sunny in The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Laurel has acted on stages in America, Scotland, and Germany. Between 2008 and 2010, Laurel served backstage as ACT’s Artistic Director as well as appearing onstage in The Real Inspector Hound and An Evening of Scenes. She would like to thank “the cast and production staff for all of their hard work.” This is Laurel’s sixth with ACT.

---

Meike Pälmke

Tasha Blumberg

Meike is from Duisburg. She has finished her degree in Psychology and a doctorate in Medical Sciences. In 2010, she opened her own practice for child and adolescent psychotherapy in Saarbrücken. She made her ACT debut in All in the Timing, yet Meike has been active in theatre groups for several years. In Trier, she was a member of the English drama group C:SAP! and also acted onstage in Münster. Some of her favorite roles include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Eva in Kindertransport. Meike resumed her favorite role of playing Puck again in Shakespeare in Hollywood. She would like to thank "my family and boyfriend for always helping me, C:SAP! for having a wonderful time, and ACT for letting me be a part of the group and finding such wonderful friends." This is Meike's third year with ACT.

---

Alexis Palmer

Lillian Cornwall

Alexis is from Gaylord, a small town in northern Michigan (USA) whose greatest distinction may be that it's also the hometown of Claude Shannon, the father of information theory. While finishing her PhD in Linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin, Alexis moved to Saarbrücken in 2009 to work as a postdoctoral researcher in Computational Linguistics, with particular interests in semantics, discourse, and low-resource languages. She also plays French Horn with the UdS big band. Alexis's last theatrical performance happened many years ago, at the age of twelve, when she played both Buffy and Monkey 2 in an utterly unknown, local, new-agey production called Monkey Consciousness. She is thrilled to be on stage again and thanks ACT for giving her the opportunity. She is also thankful for technology, life and the chance to make choices about it, and needlepoint. This is Alexis's first year with ACT.

---

Martin Paskulov

Paul Stuart

Martin is originally from Ruse, Bulgaria. He is currently studying English and pursuing a career as a professional wannabe. After completing his studies, Martin wants to kick off a career in acting and singing (to make 'the big bucks'). He already pretends to be an active singer-songwriter with his very own YouTube channel. Martin’s theatre experience includes a part in Mihal Mishkoed while he attended school. He would like to thank “The Academy, James Lipton, my loving laptop, and all the genuine people in my life - you know who you are.” This is Martin’s first year with ACT.

---

Valentin Popov

Marty Sterling

Valentin is originally from Stara Zagora, Bulgaria and is a PhD student at the university. After finishing his studies, Valentin wants to explore the beauty of life. Valentin has been doing theatre for basically his whole life. Some of his previous ACT roles include: Mr Paravicini in The Mousetrap, Lane and Merriman in The Importance of Being Earnest. Valentin appeared onstage again in All in the Timing and in ACT's recent production of Shakespeare in Hollywood. He would like to thank the "ACT people for the great time preparing, performing, and celebrating the shows." This is Valentin's sixth year with ACT.

---

Peter Rullmann

Production Assistant, Milty Sterling (Voice)

Peter is from somewhere between Germany and Holland. He is a Computer Science student and also works part-time as a programmer. When he is done with his studies, Peter plans to celebrate and be happy. You may recognize him from All in the Timing where he appeared as Trotsky's assassin and from Shakespeare In Hollywood, where he appeared as Jack Warner of Warner Bros. Pictures. This is Peter's third year with ACT.

---

Sven-Eric Schelhorn

Co-Director

Sven-Eric is originally from Hamburg. Sven is pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics. Upon finishing his studies, he hopes to pursue a research career in bioinformatics. Sven appeared onstage as Sgt. Trotter in The Mousetrap and was the Co-Director for An Evening of Scenes, in addition to appearing in one of the scenes, Drive Angry. In the past twelve months, he directed both All in the Timing by David Ives and Shakespeare in Hollywood by Ken Ludwig. This is Sven's fifth year with ACT.

---

Silke von Sehlen

University Liaison, Cynthia Peterson (Voice)

Silke is from Saarbrücken and currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant at the university. Upon finishing her PhD in the field of Comparative Literatures, Silke hopes to continue working at a university. Silke is truly one of ACT's veterans: She joined ACT in 2004 and has been active ever since. Prior to ACT, Silke was a member of the Tower Players at Hillsdale College and acted in high school as well. Silke would like to thank "all the wonderful people of ACT, my friends and most of all my parents for their continuous support."

---

Beata Turońová

Technical Assistant

Beata is from Třinec in the Czech Republic. She is a student of Visual Computing and Computer Science and does not know for sure what the future might bring. Beata would like to thank one truly special person in her life who encouraged her to try out auditions. This is Beata's third year with ACT.

---

Dénise S. H. Zobiak

Harriet Cornwall

Dénise is from Wedel in Schleswig-Holstein and is studying English and Comparative Literature. Upon completing her Bachelor, she is looking forward to start a Master's degree in any field that has to do with words and their interpretation. Ideally, she hopes to able to make a living off her creativity, and publish at least one book, but who knows what real life will bring. Her favorite roles include the parts of Tituba in The Crucible and Medea in Euripides version. She would like to thank "all her wonderful people in the Saarland and elsewhere." This is Dénise's third year with ACT.

---