William Shakespeare, Esquire

Presenters & Presentations

Annie Sabel

Mistress of Ceremonies/Performer

Annie Sabel - is an actor, theatre manager and yoga instructor with a specialty in classical theatre and physical acting. Annie studied at the Orange County School of the Arts and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of Southern California. While at USC, Annie traveled to London to study at the British American Drama Academy. Her many stage credits include various classical and contemporary works across Southern California and Southern Oregon, such as Rosalind in "As You Like It" and Lady Anne in "Richard III" (Redlands Shakespeare Festival), Ophelia in "Hamlet" (Theatricum Botanicum) and Lizzie Borden in "The Trial of Lizzie Borden" (ZJU Underground Theatre).

Annie served as a founding member and resident manager of the Archway Theatre Company in Los Angeles, where she played such roles as Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth," Andromache in "Trojan Women," Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Mephistopholis in "Faustus," the title role in "Salome," Antigone in "Oedipus/Antigone" and Mary Haines in "The Women."

As a resident member of Rogue Valley Shakespeare Company, Annie has performed as Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing." She will perform as Kate in this season's production of "Taming of the Shrew."
Annie is a certified yoga instructor and has been teaching multiple styles for more than a decade. Annie fused her theatre, yoga and education passions by developing Yoga for Actors classes at the Archway Studio.

Eric C. Castro

Presenter/Performer

Eric Castro is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Corporate, Business Practices, and Franchise & Distribution Practices. He was the former Chair of the Corporate Practice and has been a partner since 1990. Mr. Castro has extensive experience managing all forms of corporate and business transactions, including business entity formations, mergers and acquisitions, financing and securities transactions (underwritten public offerings and Regulation D private placements), negotiating and drafting complex LLC operating agreements, partnership agreements, and executive employment agreements.

Eric received his bachelor's degree from Yale University and his law degree from University of Southern California. He served a Judicial Externship, with Hon. Shirley M. Hufstedler

and Judicial Clerkship, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, with Hon. Herbert Y.C. Choy. Additional accomplishments include: Order of the Coif, Law Review, Ranked First in Class after First Year, Carl Mason Franklin Prize (First in International Law), Four American Jurisprudence Awards (First in Class), Four First in Class Awards (Non-Am Jur Courses), Honorary Fraternity: Phi Kappa Phi.

Eric also an accomplished opera baritone and Shakespearean actor with a long list of Los Angeles area and regional stage credits, including Claudius in "Hamlet," Oberon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Friar Lawrence in "Romeo and Juliet," and major operatic productions of "Tosca," "Rigoletto," "La Boheme," "Nozze de Figaro," and "Don Giovanni," to name a few.

Christopher Karbo

Performer

Christopher Karbo returns to the Twin Cites as a performer for “William Shakespeare, Esquire.” Christopher is an accomplished stage and film actor with notable credits, including the title roles in "Hamlet," "Macbeth," "Richard III," and "Cyrano de Bergerac." He has also performed Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar," Diomedes and Antony in performances of "Antony & Cleopatra," John Wilkes Booth in "Assassins," and Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha," to name a few others. In between his work in film and television during the past several years Christopher has been a member of the Downtown Los Angeles Repertory’s thrilling, immersive theatre productions, which are performed to sold out houses every season. Follow him on Instagram, @christopherkarbo, and check out www.karbo.net

Shakespeare's Treason

Feature Presentation

In 1609, six years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, during the early reign of King James, a certain book was secretly being published in England. This book was a sort of diary. It read like a series of letters between three prominent characters involved in a secret triangle of love, deceit, authoritarian rule, and treasonous plots.

The book was Shake-Speare's Sonnets. More than 1,000 copies were printed and nearly all of them disappeared in an instant. There is not one authentic record of anyone ever having purchased, read, or even mentioning the book at the time. It went underground for more than a century.

To this day, only 13 original copies of Shake-Speare's Sonnets have ever been discovered - all of them in pristine condition as if they were hidden away in secret. Afterall, this book talked extensively about matters of the law - most specifically, Treason.

"Shake-Speare's Treason" examines the Sonnets, with their 462 legal references, and seeks to explain why this book was so controversial when it was published, the messages it contains, and the true story it reveals.

Steven Sabel

Presenter/Performer

Steven Sabel is an award-winning producer and director who has produced/directed more than 170 productions from Greek tragedies to Broadway musicals. His many credits include the works of classical writers from across the centuries, contemporary classics, modern works, and original adaptations. He has directed more than 60 Shakespearean productions covering 24 different Shakespeare plays and a staged version of “Venus and Adonis.”

On the stage, Steven has played such coveted Shakespeare roles as Hamlet, Henry IV, Iago, Petruchio, Oberon, and Julius Caesar. Other favorite roles he has played include Dr. Lyman Hall in “1776,” Danny in “Grease,” Dracula, Oedipus, Frankenstein’s Creature, Black ‘n Red in “Deadwood Dick,” and Tom Kerwood in “Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Most recently, Steven has appeared on regional stages as the title role in "Don Quixote," William Gillette in “Postmortem” (which he also directed), and as Professor Henry Higgins in “Pygmalion.”

Steven has also served as the coproducer and host of the popular podcast series, "Don't Quill The Messenger," for more than five years, producing more than 125 episodes.

John Eddings

Performer

John Eddings is an actor, animator, and artist with a long list of animated film and television credits, including several major commercial appearances.

He is also, that rarest of creatures, a native Southern Californian who has appeared on regional stages from Santa Barbara to Pomona, Los Angeles to Burbank. He is particularly drawn to the works of Shakespeare and has appeared in productions of “Measure For Measure,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Romeo & Juliet,” “Richard III,” ”Henry V,” ”The Winter’s Tale,” and multiple productions of “The Taming of The Shrew,” “Macbeth,” “Hamlet," and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

John has also performed what he calls "the Falstaff Trifecta," having appeared in the famous role in productions of "Henry IV, parts 1 & 2," and "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

Connor Bennett

Performer

Connor Bennett is an actor and classically trained vocalist, with many years of theater training and experience. He has performed on regional stages from coast to coast, including New York and Southern Oregon. His most recent Shakespeare credits include Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing," and Demetrius in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." Later this year, he will be appearing productions of "Macbeth" and "The Taming of the Shrew."

As a trained vocalist, Connor has also starred in many Broadway musicals throughout his theater career, and musical theater remains one of his true loves, but he says that nothing is more challenging or rewarding as performing the works of Shakespeare.