Isaac Conner 012 8x10 (1) Isaac Conner (Tom) is the child of hippie travelers, and has been exploring, expressing, and performing since the time he could crawl. Settling in San Diego, Isaac worked as an entertainer/server at the rude-to-the-patrons themed Dick’s Last Resort, sang in bands, and started a radio show before moving to the East Coast to be closer to his family. Since then, he helped build WXPI Radio as station manager, formed Billtown Burlesque, and has been in dozens of straight plays and musicals. He anticipates a move in the near future to continue pursuing his love for theatre and is honored to be back with RiverStage Community Theatre, and to be working with and learning from such a fine cast!
IMG_3417 Jessica Paquin (Beth) was born and raised in Austin, Texas and has always been fascinated with the arts. Her professional life has taken her from NASA employee to stand-up comedienne. She has producing credits from several short films, music videos, commercial pieces and, most recently, two feature films with her production company Fist In Post Films. In addition, she has appeared in several community theater productions including Riverstage Theatre’s All My Sons, Gypsy and Picasso as well as Gaspipe Theatre’s One-Act Play Festivals. Jessica is also currently the Director of Outreach & Fundraising at The Campus Theatre in Lewisburg.
Jove Graham (Gabe) received his B.A. in Theatre from Swarthmore College and is a graduate of the Arden Theatre Company’s professional apprentice program (Philadelphia). He has worked onstage or backstage at the Arden, People’s Light & Theatre, Montgomery Playhouse and Bucknell University and has directed several RiverStage productions (Fools, All My Sons, Musical Comedy Murders…).  He will direct Of Thee I Sing later this season, and he has appeared onstage as various (usually mustachioed) characters over the years. He loves this play, he hopes you will love it, too, and oh yes, he also almost forgot to thank his wife, Donna, which is something Gabe would probably do.
VZ 2014 head shot Virginia Zimmerman (Karen) is a Professor of English at Bucknell University. She also writes novels for young readers and is excited for the December release of her novel, The Rosemary Spell (from Clarion Books). In the misty past, she appeared frequently on the stage at Carleton College, where she starred in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Antigone, and Extremities. She also directed a number of plays, including A Lie of the Mind and Much Ado About Nothing. She was thrilled to return to the theatre earlier this year as Marjorie Baverstock in the RiverStage production of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and is very grateful for the opportunity to play Karen in Dinner with Friends. She extends special thanks to her friends and family for their love and support, but most of all to Jordi for twenty-five years of chopping garlic together.
Dennis Merkle (Set Design & Construction) is a Physician Assistant in the ER at Evangelical Community Hospital. Past credits include serving as M.C. and technical director for the Broadway Bistro at Lewisburg High School, designing many LAHS musical productions, and building sets for almost every RiverStage show to date. He lives in Winfield with his wife, Deb.
Emily Gibson (Production Manager) moved to Lewisburg, PA in 2013 hoping to become involved in the artsy, quaint, adorable town that she had come to love while visiting family. After a brief 10 year hiatus from theatre, she returned to the stage with Gaspipe Theatre Company for their Halloween special, a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe short stories. She then came to participate in two years of One Act Play Festivals, their summer production of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as RiverStage Theatre’s Gypsy. She knew that she had stolen the heart of RiverStage when after multiple failed attempts to find a “rear-end” for a cow costume that a fellow actor had to jump onto, she agreed to fill the role without question. Emily was also the special effects/makeup artist for The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 and recently accepted the position of production manager for RiverStage. She is incredibly excited to become more involved in the “behind the scenes” of theatre.
Steve Gibson (Director) began his professional career in media production nearly 30 years ago as a volunteer director, producer and camera operator at a Maryland-based cable TV access station. He has worked on national music videos, concerts, television commercials and web series for multiple video production companies as well as a freelancer. He is the Video and New Media Developer for Bucknell University, and co-founded Fist In Post Films where he has written and directed two feature films, The Feed (2010) and The Lost Within (2015, currently in post-production). Steve volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Montandon Community Days, Transitions of Central PA, The Campus Theatre LTD, and in his downtime enjoys painting, sculpting, creating special effects, andperforming with his blues-rock band, The Dark Country.