Break The Mold Productions
Karen Shields
Producer, Break The Mold
Charlotte Cushman in The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman
Karen Shields is a veteran performer and educator. She has been seen on New Orleans area stages in productions of Baby with the Bathwater, Talking With…and The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Her performance as Gertrude Stein in Gertrude Stein and a Companion earned her Storer Boone and Marquee Award nominations. She has been heard on WRBH radio productions of The Women, Pygmalian and A Streetcar Named Desire. Karen is the former director of The Masque theatre of La Salle University in Philadelphia., PA.
Karen served as a student affairs administrator for more than 20 years, working at major colleges/universities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. She has taught courses in student leadership development, peer counseling and college success. She has conducted workshops and training sessions at regional and national conferences. She also teaches courses in college success skills and student leadership devlopment.
Karen served as a student affairs administrator for more than 20 years, working at major colleges/universities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. She has taught courses in student leadership development, peer counseling and college success. She has conducted workshops and training sessions at regional and national conferences. She also teaches courses in college success skills and student leadership devlopment.
Glenn Meche
Artistic Director, Break the Mold Productions
Director, The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman
Glenn Meche is an award-winning director, whose critically-acclaimed productions include The Glass Menagerie, Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story, Valhalla, and others. Glenn is an accomplished photographer and theatrical graphic designer; as well as the former artistic director of To Do Productions, a groundbreaking GLB theatre company in New Orleans. He holds a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and is a life-long student/scholar of theatre history.
Veronica Russell
Author and Performer
Gertrude Beasley, A Different Woman: a True Story of a Texas Childhood
Veronica Russell grew up in Texas and graduated with a BFA in theatre from Stephen F. Austin State University. Upon graduation she worked professionally in Dallas until moving to New Orleans. She is an award-winning costume designer and actress, and standout performances have included Jill Mason in Equus, Bonnie in Hurlyburly, and Violet in Tennessee Williams' Small Craft Warnings. In 2005 she adapted Gertrude Beasley's banned and almost lost 1926 memoir, My First Thirty Years into a one-woman show titled A Different Woman: a True Story of a Texas Childhood, with successful runs in New Orleans and New York. In addition, she is a member of the Screen Actor's Guild and has numerous film and television credits to her name.
Frederick Mead
Actor
Butch, Out Comes Butch
Nominated "Best Actorin a Comedy" by the New OrleansBig Easy Theatre Awards, Frederick Mead has appeared on numerous San Francisco and New Orleans stagesas an actor, sketch comic, and storyteller. Gay son of a New Orleansdeacon, Frederick learned the art of storytelling from Sunday school teachers, and honed his craft as Captain of the Sunday Joy Bus! Frederick's eclectic performance and writing experience include Reader for the Blind on WRBH 88.3 FM New Orleans, lead writer for sketch comedy group"The Buttinskis", and showcased fiction author at the San Francisco Litquake Festival. Every Spring, Frederick also operates a giant, illuminated butterfly puppet in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades.
