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).

Vera Ryan Cremeans
Outreach 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.