ABOUT ETC

Paul Lockwood 
Founder / Artistic Director
A native of the Chicago area, Paul began acting in musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate (Lucentio), The Boy Friend (Bobby) and Under Papa’s Picture (Fabrizio). He then moved to New York City, where he worked as a writer, actor, and singer for 19 years. He attended the Actor’s Conservatory under the instruction of Eileen Akin and Lily Lodge. During that time he appeared in scores of Off-Off Broadway productions and originated the roles of Hector in Goliath in Love (Wings Theatre) and the ex-convict-turned hustler in Ten Naked Men (New York Playhouse).

Paul was also active in educational outreach theatre and was an early member of the AIDS Theatre Project, an award-winning troupe that wrote and performed works dealing with HIV and AIDS education and prevention. He co-authored and performed on Broadway in their celebrated production, Moment to Moment. Other companies he was actively involved with included Ten-to-One Productions, Theatre of the Elephant and his own Ice Theatre. In film, Paul appeared in a number of independent productions including Stephen Frears’ Hero (with Dustin Hoffman) and Jim Fall’s Trick, now a gay film classic.

Paul also studied voice for eight years and worked as a back-up and session singer for many years in New York. Among others, he has performed and/or recorded with Taka Boom, Sharon Redd, Ryo Kawasaki, Camilla Benson, Frank Grimaldi, The City Singers, Fall Out, and was half of the 80s dance duo MadStuff. His 2000 solo release, Positive, raised money for AIDS organizations and garnered a #1 single on the GLBT national charts.

While in Pittsburgh, Paul performed with Gemini Theater (as Sterling in Jeffrey) and VV Theatre (Fran in Gemini and Lew Bagatelle in Night Life) and directed for his own Pushpin Productions (The Reindeer Monologues). In Columbus, Paul founded Evolution Theatre Company in January 2008 and directed ETC’s premiere production, Stone Cold Dead Serious by Adam Rapp.

As a writer, Paul has authored a novel (A Hill Without Reason), film scripts (On High, The State of a Union, Soul Searchers), stage plays (Running From Paramus, hungry/angry/lonely/tired), sit-com pilots and episodes (Hell’s Kitchen, Second Chance) as well as many short stories.

Paul has a B.A in Journalism/Communications from the University of St. Francis, an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Theatre at OSU. Like most of the guys from The Sopranos, he is a member of the Guild of Italian-American Actors (GIAA).

Mark Phillips Schwamberger Executive Director
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Mark began his theatrical career during his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville. He earned his BA with a major in Theatre from The Ohio State University.

After working in Summer Stock at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, Mark moved to New York City. While in New York, he worked on shows such as Let My People Come and The Charles Pierce Show at the famed Village Gate and with Christopher and Amanda Plummer at Town Hall and The Me Nobody Knows at The Cherry Lane. In addition to taking many acting, voice and dance lessons, he performed in shows at the Thirteenth Street Theatre and other Off–Off and Off Broadway venues as well as producing and directing cabaret shows at The Top of the Gate.

During his corporate career working for Bank One/Chase, SunTrust Corp. and Metavante Corp., in the information technology, business development and marketing fields, he continued to pursue his interest in theatre. In addition to working and performing in New York and Michigan, he has also been in various musicals and plays in Florida and Ohio. Since leaving the corporate world, Mark has been able to focus fulltime on his theatrical interests. He originated the role of Major Vadim in the play White Russian as well as Morton Silkline in the movie The Funeral and Henry Krueger in the movie Oni.

In his role as Executive Director, Mark looks forward to assisting in Evolution Theatre Company’s commitment to present professional productions of the highest quality to Columbus audiences.
 

Ray Conrad
Development Director
Ray recently relocated to Westerville, Ohio by way of West Palm Beach Florida where he had been working as professional actor and teacher at the prestigious G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Television. He was recruited and instrumental in developing G-Stars current curriculum, helping to lead them to their present status as the largest High School acting program in the nation. Ray has performed, directed, and produced over 50 professional shows. Ray also has extensive training and experience in both television and film, performing in various industrials, commercials and independent features, including Palm Beach International film festival award winning films. In 2004 Ray was instrumental in the formation of Rude Mechanical Productions a South Florida theatre company, were he served for three years as Executive Director in charge of Production.  Ray earned his BA in Theatre from Michigan State University and as MFA in Acting from Florida Atlantic University.

Vera Ryan Cremeans
Development Director
Vera is a student at the Ohio State University and will be receiving her degrees in Music Education and Vocal performance. Vera had intensive vocal and acting study while she participated in the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca in Lucca, Italy in the summer of 2008.  In 2009 Vera was a member of the summer season cast at Weathervane Playhouse.  She is very active in the theatre community of Central Ohio and has held many roles at several companies.  Some of her favorite roles include: Irene Molloy in Hello Dolly, Woman 2 in Songs For A New World, Lucy in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and Rose Hoffman in Working: The Musical.  Vera is very excited to be with Evolution Theatre Company in her role as development director.