Directed by Jeannine Gaskin :: Cleveland Premiere!! :: May 22nd-June 7th, 2026
Marinello Litte Theatre :: Fridays & Saturdays @7:30 :: Sundays @ 2:00
They bring mouse traps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike discover their breaking points. Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers’ previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he’s compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead-- But does he actually have any idea what he’s doing? Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, EXIT STRATEGY is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other.
“… Ike Holter's new play is by turns energetic, optimistic, and bittersweet.”
-The Philadephia
“Each character in EXIT STRATEGY comes quickly into clear focus. And while the play serves as a stinging indictment of the state of public schools in Chicago and, more broadly, the country, Mr. Holter deftly embeds his finger-pointing in the drama itself. We see beyond the surface dysfunction to the toll it takes on the lives, and careers, of the teachers, whose dedication to their students comes across movingly, even when they are complaining about them.”
—The New York Times.
Meet the Ensemble Cast & Crew of “Exit Strategy”
Andrew Knode* (Ricky)(he/him) is excited to make his debut with Ensemble Theatre. Previous work with Seat of the Pants, Cleveland Play House, Oberlin Summer Theater Festival, Magical Theatre Company, and others. Select credits include Amerikin, Trouble in Mind, The Play That Goes Wrong, When We Were Young and Unafraid, That Championship Season, Picnic, Measure for Measure, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, Little Women, and Sleepy Hollow (Ichabod Crane). Film/TV credits include hosting six seasons of Entertainment Pix, as well as appearances on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, and in White Noise and Alto Knights (with Robert De Niro). Andy is a member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) and SAG-AFTRA. All his love and thanks to his wife, MaryBeth, and daughter, Marlo. www.andyknode.com
Jacki Dietz (Pam) (she/her) Jacki was last seen in the area as Tess in The First Snow of Summer with Seat Of The Pants. She hope you enjoy the show and would like to thank this amazing cast and production team. Also Oliver and The Viv for their love and support.
Craig Joseph (Arnold)(he/him) is pleased to return to the Ensemble stage where he's previously been seen in productions of Well, Angels in America, Alabama Story, and Intimate Apparel. In addition, he's directed and acted onstage at theaters across the Midwest, including Dobama, TimeLine Theatre, Resonance Works, White Horse Theatre Company, Strawdog Theatre, Players Guild Theatre, Clague Playhouse, Blank Canvas, Playwrights Local, Weathervane Playhouse, and more. In addition to serving as the former Literary Director at Cleveland Play House, he's the proud founder and Artistic Director of Seat of the Pants (www.seatofthepants.org). Many thanks to you for your support of live theatre!
Alejandro Martinez Jr. (Luce) (he/him/el) is excited to work with Ensemble Theatre for the first time! Alejandro is a Chicano actor, producer, and tech theatre enthusiast hailing from the Chicagoland area. Alejandro has appeared locally in La versión infinita at LatinUs, El Coqui Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom and ¡Obras en Evolución! 2023 & 2025 at Cleveland Public Theatre, and Dobama’s Kids Playwriting Festival 2023 & 2024. Prior to choosing his major in undergrad, Alejandro had a goal of becoming a high school English teacher… and now he’s playing a high school math teacher onstage. Go figure. Thanks for supporting live theatre!
Sydney Smith (Sadie)(she/her) is extremely excited to be working with Ensemble Theatre on this wonderful production! Sydney is a graduate from Kent State University with a B.A. in Theatre. She will be playing Sadie in today’s performance. She was last seen on stage at Seat of the Pants in their production of Elephant’s Graveyard (Hungry Townsperson) . Past theatre credits include Not for Profit (Alkanna), Insurrection: Holding History (Octavia/Katie-Lynn), The Nanny Project: You Can’t Over Love Anything (Woman 1), It Happened in Atlanta (Reven). She would like to thank this extremely talented cast and crew for making this such a great experience and her family and friends for their constant support. Instagram: @sydd.s
Bridgett Martinez (Jania) (she/her) is an actor, director, and teaching artist born and raised in Cleveland. Recent acting credits include Witch (Dobama Theatre), Hellfire (Salon Series reading at Seat of the Pants), Merrily We Roll Along (French Creek Theatre), A Gentleman’s Guide… (Ohio Shakespeare Festival), What I Remember (Do Process Theatre), Hair (Skokie Theatre), Refuge (Theo Ubique - Jeff Award for Best Ensemble). She has worked as a teaching artist and director for theaters such as Near West Theatre, Pocket Theatre, Dobama, Cleveland Public Theatre/Teatro Público de Cleveland, and Playhouse Square. Bridgett is the owner of Drama Club Coffee and Books, a mobile drama bookshop/cafe inspiring a love for theatre and community. She is also a co-collaborator of Teatrista Lab, a new collective of BIPOC theatre artists in the Cleveland area. This year, Bridgett was part of the inaugural cohort of the Latinx Actor Training Laboratorio, hosted by the Latinx Theatre Commons. She is passionate about uplifting local theatre and its artists through social media @bridgettm.thtr. She earned her BFA in Musical Theatre from Kent State University. She would like to thank her husband, family, and friends for their support!
Drew Pope (Donnie) is a 2019 graduate of the B.F.A. Acting and Directing program from Baldwin Wallace University. He is a 2x winner (2023, 2024) of the "Best Performer" award for "Broadwayworld's Cleveland Region". He taught Drama at Dike School of the Arts, and now teaches 5th Grade ELA at Breakthrough Midtown. He has performed at Karamu House, Ensemble Theatre, Dobama Theater, GLT, Beck Center and CPT. You can see what he’s up to on Instagram, @dta_drew
Jeannine Gaskin (Director) (She/Her) is a director, producer, actor, cultural organizer, and co-founder of The Assembly Room, an organization that cultivates connection, creativity, and cultural impact through storytelling, history, and collective action. Her work lives at the intersection of justice, memory, and community, blending devised work, ensemble-driven processes, and physical storytelling to uplift marginalized voices and spark dialogue. She has directed productions across Northeast Ohio including Cleveland Public Theatre, LatinUs Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Liminis Theatre, Cain Park and Seat of the Pants which she is also a proud ensemble member. She is excited to be back at Ensemble directing Exit Strategy. Beyond the stage, Jeannine has been writing and performing historical women with the nonprofit organization Women in History Ohio for over 3 years. She produced Salsa Across Borders at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a citywide cultural event. She lives to create work that challenges assumptions, honors cultural memory, and builds bridges across difference.
Rebecca Moseley (Production Stage Manager/General Manager/Sound & Props Design) (she/her) is excited to return for her 13th season with Ensemble Theatre, and to celebrate their second season in their new home at John Carroll University! A longtime member of the company, she has worn and will continue to wear many artistic hats. She currently serves as Ensemble’s General Manager and has stage managed numerous productions since 2013, including Describe the Night, Angels in America, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Intimate Apparel, The Iceman Cometh, Anna Christie, and Death of a Salesman. She has appeared on the Ensemble stage in roles such as Catherine (Proof), The Woman (The River), Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby), and Pea (Jerusalem), with additional favorite credits elsewhere including Rosalind (As You Like It), Opehlia (The Horatio Project), Dorine (Tartuffe), and Maggie (A Chorus Line). As a director, Rebecca recently helmed Ensemble’s productions of Lungs, An Enemy of the People: A Rustbelt Adaptation, and co-directed Mother Courage and Her Children and Long Days Journey Into Night with Ian Wolfgang Hinz. She also assistant directed She Kills Monsters at Notre Dame College. She is grateful to Ian and Celeste for their steadfast vision and commitment to beautiful scripts, to her family for their support, and to her husband Kyle for always believing in the magic.
Ian Hinz (Light & Set Design)(he/him) is a graduate of Ohio University. Ian has worked professionally as a producer, award winning director, Light, Set, & Projection designer, director of operations and theater educator for over twenty years in Ohio and New York. He is co-founder of the Ensemble Stage-Wrights’ workshop, two-time winner of the Cleveland Critics’ Circle Best Director award and served as Artistic Director and Operations Manager for the city of Cleveland Heights’ historic Cain Park Amphitheater. He has worked in operations for The Ohio State University Jerome Schottenstein Center and the Cleveland State University Department of Music as a stage production specialist. He has produced off-off-broadway at the Gene Frankel Theater and worked in business development in the tech startup industry in New York City. He recently served for 4 years as the Executive Director for Raise the Roof for the Arts, in charge of program creation, scheduling and major capital renovations to The Historic Sidney Theatre in Sidney, OH. He also recently served as the General Manager of Cain Park in Cleveland Heights for two record breaking seasons.
Mia Jones (Costume Design) Headshot and Bio to come!!
