Meet the players.
Cole Marshall is an avid Shakespeare enthusiast and semi-academic. He majored as a BFA Acting student at The Florida State University, where he garnered extensive training in Shakespeare. He also appeared as Capulet in their 2014 production of Romeo and Juliet. In 2013, he had the privilege of studying in London for 3 months under the tutelage of several professionally recognized Shakespeare experts and educators. As part of this education, he was lucky enough to take classes on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and at the Tower of London. Cole has had a passion for Shakespeare ever since his first exposure to the Bard in middle school and wants nothing more than to bring that passion to Jacksonville through Pursued by a Bear. His favorite Shakespeare plays include Hamlet, The Tempest, Cymbeline, and Richard III. .
Cole Marshall, Artistic Director
Jonathan O’Leary, Technical Director
Jonathan O’Leary is thrilled to be a part of PBAB. He has always had a love and passion for Shakespeare. Having worked in the Theatre for over 20 years he can trace his passion back to his freshman year of High school when he performed a monologue from Henry V for his English class. Today, when he is not working with local community theaters he gets to enjoy the monologues of his students as the Drama teacher for Atlantic Coast High School. Favorite Shakespeare plays include Othello, Hamlet, and Much Ado About Nothing.
Emily Layt, Marketing Director
Emily Layt is a Shakespeare lover, through and through, and she is elated to be a part of such an exciting venture with such exceptional people! Emily is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri BFA Theatre Performance Program, where she had the opportunity to study Shakespeare in depth. While there, she performed in several Shakespeare projects, most notably including Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In 2021, she was awarded with a Recognition in Classical Acting at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for her Hermione monologue from A Winter’s Tale. She is thrilled to get started with this exciting project to bring Shakespeare to the St. Augustine & Jacksonville area!
Danielle Dobies, Finance & Operations Manager
Danielle is ecstatic to join Pursued by a Bear as a founding member to bring the Bard to the region. As English major in college, Danielle studied and enjoyed performing Shakespeare’s works and how the themes have transcended time periods to remain just as relevant and entertaining now as they were then. Her Shakespeare performance experience includes Hypolita in a modern adaptation of Midsummer, various intoxicated scenes for Suds & Shakespeare at Creative Veins, and studying dramatic monologues with Julia Carey of the National Theatre in the UK.