Directed by August Scarpelli :: Marinello Little Theatre
Fridays & Saturdays @7:30 :: Sundays @ 2:00

On the eve of her birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all:
How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?

:: MEET THE CAST ::

Richard Perloff* (Robert) (he/him) is delighted to be making his Ensemble Theatre debut with “Proof.” A long-time actor, director, and teacher of Theatre, Richard counts among his favorite roles: Salieri (Amadeus), Iago (Othello), King Richard (Richard II), Leonard (Seminar), Jerry (Betrayal), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Hamm (Endgame), Garry Lejeune (Noises Of), Alchonon/ Hurmizah (Teibele and Her Demon), and the title role in Friedrich Durrenmatt’s seldom-seen The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi. Richard spent five years as the primary teacher of undergraduate acting at Ohio University (Athens, OH), and recently concluded a 22-year run as a full-time broadcaster with TVG/FanDuel Television. (*Denotes Member of Actors’ Equity Association)

Celeste Cosentino (Catherine) (she/her) has served in one capacity or another for local Cleveland theater's her entire life. She is a graduate of the Ohio University School of Theatre and returned to Cleveland in 2008, after living and working in New York City. Some of her favorite acting credits are Marela in Anna in the Tropics, Alice in Closer, Desdemona in Othello, and Kayleen in Gruesome Playground Injuries. Favorite directing credits include The Gospel According to James, Death of a Salesman, Lower Ninth, Animals out of Paper, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The North Pool both parts of Tony Kushner's epic Angels in America and most recently Describe The Night which won the Cleveland Critics Circles 2022 Award for Best Production. She served as the Director of Theatre Studies at Notre Dame College (Ohio) where she taught everything from Acting to Theatre History and more!! She is honored to have recently joined the Fine Arts Faculty, teaching Acting & Directing for 25/26 academic year here at John Carroll!! She is so very thankful for every artist she has worked with to get her here, the amazing cast and crew of this show, Ian for everything, Becca for all the things, and you the audience for taking this brave journey with us! Support the Arts!!

Joe Pine (Hal) (he/him) Proof will be Joe's third show with Ensemble and he is thrilled to get to collaborate with these artists on this classic play. Other Ensemble credits include Isaac Babel (Describe the Night) and John (The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail). Other recent credits include Gollum (The Hobbit) and Caliban (The Tempest) with Ohio Shakespeare Festival, and Jekyll and Hyde (Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical) at Player's Guild. As a playwright, Joe has written four adaptations of classic literature that have been professionally produced: Dracula, The Three Musketeers, Frankenstein* and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow* (*co-written with wife Sarah). Every performance from this day to the ending of the world are for Henry and Sarah, who have his whole heart.

Claudia Lief Zalevsky (Claire) (she/her) is delighted to be back with Ensemble after the 2024 production of The Prospect of Equality (Kagan). She has appeared locally in Mercury Theatre’s Clue (Mrs. White) and in a recent staged reading of V-E Day (Evie). Claudia has also been featured in numerous Zalevsky Halloween Films-though this year’s may be postponed thanks to the incredible opportunity to perform in Proof. (Stay tuned for a possible winter holiday film!). Next up on the Ensemble stage is her incredibly talented and supportive husband, Dan. Offstage, Claudia works in Development at Laurel School and cheers on her two extraordinary kids, Liam and Claire, who are not only gifted musicians but also all-around amazing humans. Claudia serves as casting director for Hank and the family's newest scene-stealing pup, Twyla. With gratitude to August, Becca, Celeste, and the entire cast and crew for their support and collaboration.

:: MEET THE CREW

August Scarpelli (Director) (he/him) is proud to return to his first home at Ensemble theatre. To work again with the folks that raised him as an artist and a worker is a joy that is second to none. Some of August's favorite ensemble credits both on and off stage include Death of a Salesman, The Hairy Ape, East of Eden, Jerusalem, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. August is currently the Artistic Director at Western Reserve Playhouse where he has worked on stage and off in more productions than he can count!

Rebecca Moseley (Production Manager/Sound/Props/Performance Stage Manager) (she/her) is happy to be back for her 12th season with Ensemble Theatre, and working on their second season at John Carroll University! Rebecca wears many hats at Ensemble, but you would know her best as Ensemble's General Manager and Production Stage Manager. Rebecca has served as the SM for most Ensemble shows since 2013, including Describe the Night, both parts of Angels in America, Moon for the Misbegotten, The Iceman Cometh, Anna Christie, Death of a Salesman, and many, many more. She was onstage previously at Ensemble as The Woman in The River, Pea in Jerusalem, and as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. Other favorite credits not at Ensemble include Rosalind (As You Like It), Dorine (Tartuffe), Maggie (A Chorus Line), and Ophelia (Hamlet.) Most recently, Rebecca had the privilege to direct Ensemble's very first show in the Marinello Little Theatre, Enemy of the People: A Rust Belt Adaptation. She previously directed Ensemble's awardd winning production of Lungs, and co-directed Mother Courage and Her Children with Ian Wolfgang Hinz. She thanks Ian and Celeste for nurturing a theater that provides a constant supply of great scripts and people to bring them to life, Jacob, Amelia, and Amy for welcoming Ensemble to JCU with warmth and collaboration, her family for their love and support, and her husband Kyle for always believing in the magic

Kari Barclay (Intimacy Director) (they/them) is a writer, director, and intimacy choreographer glad to be be working with Ensemble for the first time. Kari has directed intimacy for over twenty productions in Northeast Ohio, and they published a book on the topic, Directing Desire, with Palgrave Macmillan in 2023. They teach at Oberlin College and have another life as a playwright and director. PhD Stanford 2021. kari-barclay.com.

Ariana Starkman (Rehearsal Stage Manager)(she/her) a 216 native, is delighted to be involved in another production at Ensemble, where she has been an actor, AD, ASM, and intimacy consultant. Select recent acting credits include: A View from the Bridge (Catherine), Mother Courage and Her Children (ensemble), and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Lydia). She will next be seen in The Hobbit at Dobama Theatre. She has a BA in Theatre and Social Change and spent time studying acting in Arezzo, Moscow, and London. A heartfelt thank you to all who support her — including you, the audience. arianastarkman.com; @ariana.starkman

Jill Kenderes (Costumes) (she/her) is thrilled to return to Ensemble after previously costuming shows such as Enemy of the People, The Prospect of Equality, Lungs, The Island and more. Her design work has been seen onstage at theaters across the area including Blank Canvas Theatre, Cain Park, Brecksville Theatre and Broadview Heights Spotlights. She is also a performer and has been acting locally for the past twenty years. Thank you to Joe, Anthony and Samantha!

Ian Hinz (Set & Lighting 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 currently serves as the General Manager of Cain Park in Cleveland Heights.