Once Upon A Mattress

WINNIFRED

Rhijja Jansen is a dutchie and works as a freelance journalist and writer. She followed musical lessons at MusicAllFactory and performed in several music productions of LIZ Utrechts Ensemble voor Muziektheater, including Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Rent (Maureen), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), The Wild Party (Queenie) and Spamalot (Lady of the Lake). Her first show with HEA she had the honor to perform as Velma Kelly in Chicago. This is her third show with HEA- she most recently performed as Judy in A Chorus Line.

WINNIFRED

First getting involved in Musical Theatre at the age of six, Aoife has performed in such roles as Mayzie la Bird in Seussical the Musical, Velma von Tussle in Hairspray, Miss Sandra in All Shook Up, and Brooke Wyndham in Legally Blonde in the National Folk Theatre of Ireland 'Siamsa Tíre' in Kerry where she grew up. After taking a break to travel, Aoife has returned to community theatre and has recently performed as Tanya in Mamma Mia (in Leeuwarden, Frylsân) and Margaret in 9 to 5 as part of Cauldron Performing Arts' Confidential Musical Theatre Project in Amsterdam. Aoife is delighted to make her debut in a Happily Ever After production as Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress.

PRINCE DAUNTLESS

By day, Philippe works in Marketing. His passion for musical theatre started in 2016 when he played the role of Jamie in The Last 5 Years. After this, he was fortunate to join several productions: Allegro (as part of the Ensemble), Cabaret (as the Emcee), Into the Woods (as the Baker), Working (several characters), Little Shop of Horrors (as Seymour), Ordinary Days (as Warren), Avenue Q (as Rod), Monstersongs (as Igor), Be More Chill (as the Squip), Chicago (as Amos), Spamalot (as Herbert) and Blood Brothers (as the Narrator). He is thrilled to join Happily Ever After again for this fun show!

PRINCE DAUNTLESS

Currently studying Musical Theatre at Deltion in Zwolle, Mats has been a big musical fan since he was just 3 years old. He’s had the honour of playing beautiful roles such as: Jake (Be More Chill), Collins (RENT), Billy Nolan (Carrie) and also a background actor in 40-45 (Studio 100).

QUEEN AGGRAVAIN

Shiro has been acting professionally since 2013. She started out in Nairobi, Kenya where she was born. While there she worked in several TV shows, short films, Made-For-TV films and adverts. She then went on to study theatre in Paris at Cours Florent. Since moving to the Netherlands she has been active in the English speaking theatre scene and later decided to take the plunge into musicals having done HEAP’s Cinderella (Madame) Blood Brothers (Linda) and A Chorus Line (Zach). Safe to say, she has fully caught the musical theatre bug! She has also delved into Intimacy Direction and Coordination. She speaks English, Swahili, Dutch and has forgotten most of her French.

QUEEN AGGRAVAIN

Alex Mukmanova is a seasoned musical theatre actor with over a decade of on-stage experience. She played lead roles in Moscow's all-female theatre for seven seasons, guest-starred in a rock opera, and held solo concerts before moving to Amsterdam in 2022. In Amsterdam, she continued her stage career with roles such as Morticia in "The Addams Family" (Cauldron), Lord Pinkleton in HEA's "Cinderella", the Lady of the Lake in HEA's "Spamalot", and most recently - Diana Morales in HEA's "A Chorus Line".

KING SEXTIMUS THE SILENT

A simple fellow who got dragged kicking and screaming into musical theater when he designed the set for HEA Productions' first show, Into The Woods. Since then he's designed sets for shows such as Avenue Q, Chicago, Be More Chill and Cinderella. He also occasionally appears on stage, most notably as Trekkie Monster in Avenue Q. During the day he works as a freelance animator and illustrator, and works on his own animated series, which can be found on Youtube/Instagram/Tiktok under @cracklewoodforest.

KING SEXTIMUS THE SILENT

Nick is a dancer from Portland, Oregon, USA. He trained at the University of Oregon and worked professionally in London, UK for 3 years. After a 7 year break from performing Nick was recently Mr. Tinsworthy in The Confidential Musical Theater Project (The Cauldron), and can be seen as Carrot in Guards! Guards! (English Theater Utrecht). He loves improvisation and is currently training at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam.

MINSTREL

Originally hailing from North Carolina, Wesley is a seasoned performer who's past credits include several first place awards in statewide vocal competitions and a handful of stage performances including the role of "Curly" in "Oklahoma!". Since moving to the Netherlands he has participated in stage musicals as various characters in "Working", Seymour in "Little Shop of Horrors", Jason in "Ordinary Days", his favorite lead role, Billy Flynn in "Chicago", and as Sir Galahad/Brother Maynard in "Spamalot!" A competitor on both "Holland's Got Talent" and "The Voice" he also landed a role as an on camera correspondence narrator in the Netflix documentary "Voices of Liberation".

MINSTREL

An Amsterdam based entertainer with a background in theatre, comedy and drama.

JESTER

Lin Schalken is a Dutch composer, singer-songwriter and music teacher with occasionally some voice acting gigs for fun. They’ve been on the stage many times since childhood; dancing semi-professionally until 15 years old and singing regularly at open stages with their own songs. Acting is an itch they’ve always had, but really started scratching through improv as a teen and with a theatre company as a young adult until 2019. Lin graduated as Music Performance Artist at the Utrecht Conservatory in the same year, where they specialized as composer and singer-songwriter for small musical theatre shows. After a couple of shows (Wonderwinkel, Alice in Wonderland, Brughuis) and being invited as singer-songwriter for multiple stages, they decided to focus on their Post-Bachelor Teaching degree and teaching kids music. It’s been some time since their last musical performance and their voice has grown quite a bit stronger due to teaching. They can’t wait to discover what else they’ve learned in the past few years and show it all to you as the Jester for HEA’s Once Upon A Mattress!

JESTER

Rozemarijn Balemans is a 28 year old Dutchie originally from Utrecht. In her daily life, she is working as a corporate event planner for a consultancy in Amsterdam. Next to her job as an event planner, you can also find her organising other projects, like the USC Leiden Dance Show. This is her third production with HEA, she has been in the ensemble for Bloodbrothers & Spamelot and is excited to add a fairytale to that list.

SIR HARRY

From visual to performing arts, António De Souza has always been connected to their creative side. Graduated in Musical Theatre at the Institute of the Arts of Barcelona, where they got to star in productions like Cats (as Mungojerrie), Seussical (as Horton) and Pippin (as Pippin). On the year after graduating, António got the opportunity to work as a Singer/Dancer/Presenter for TAG Live, in a resort from TUI BLUE Sensatori in Rhodos, Greece. At the moment, based in Amsterdam and looking for a way back into performing, António is thrilled to work with HEA Productions, where he’ll get the chance to give life to Sir Harry and Ram Sweeney, in their next productions of Once Upon a Matress! and Heathers: The Musical.

SIR HARRY

Blace is an American/Swedish actor musician and teacher. After teaching music in Stockholm for 6 years he moved to the Netherlands and returned to theatre. Active in the Amsterdam area theatre scene, he has previously been seen in shows with Happily Ever After (Cinderella) Cauldron Performing Arts (Spelling Bee, Addams Family), QETC (Cabaret), and will be performing as Sir Robin in Spamalot (HEAP) this May, and as Boland in Dogfight (MAE) in September. An avid D&D player, he loves to tell stories, and sincerely hopes you enjoy this classic. Thanks to his friends and family in the US and Europe for always supporting him!

LADY LARKIN

Natalie is a big fan of fairytales and storytelling and has been envolved in both professional and community theater since she was 9 years old. Her previous experiences include portraying Mdm. Armfeldt in a Little Night Music, Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Fairy Godmother in Mickey et Le Magicien, Meg in Little Women, Ella in Cinderella and Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Natalie is honoured to work with such a hardworking and supportive team full of international talent!

LADY LARKIN

Rosemary Lloyd is a Luxembourgish-American actor with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a distinction in Opera from the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. They taught Musical Theatre in Luxembourg and are working towards being a vocal coach and photographer in Amsterdam.

Credits: Aida, Peter Pan, And Go To Inesfree, Oliver! The Musical, Harlem Hotel, Handel's Messiah, Showtime, Lost in the Stars, Young Frankenstein, Melusina the Pantomime, The Best of Men-The Worst of Men, Coronavirus Chronicles, We Happy Few, Di and Viv and Rose, Addams Family, Dogfight, Cinderella, Spamalot and Chorus Line

SIR STUDLEY

Raphael is a Exhibitions Manager by trade, working with international photojournalism discussing human rights via the lens of culture. By heart, he is a complete theater geek loving all things drama and performance. Most recently seen on stage in HEA's productions of A Chorus Line, as Gregory Gardner, and in Chicago as ensemble.

WIZARD

Roos Dros studied theatre at the HKU Utrecht. After that she studied jazz singing at the Djam Amsterdam. Meanwhile she was a part of the theatrical dancegroup Danslab choreographed by Gianni Grot. She was a backing vocal/dancer with Dutch artiest Eefje de Visser and performed on mainstages like Carré. She has her own jazzcombo the Blue Bird Collective. She is also part of a educational theatregroup Sterrenstof and acted in a lot of plays of the badhuistheatregroup by Michael Manicardi, like “Entaining mr. Sloane” by Joe Corton. She starred in HEA production's "Chicago" as Go-To-Hell-Kitty.

WIZARD

Michael comes to the Amsterdam stage by way of many years in community theatre in his home country of Canada. Having immigrated in 2022, he has eagerly joined the vibrant theatre community in the Netherlands. Past roles here include Sebastian in HEA’s last production of Cinderella, the father in Be More Chill, and smaller supporting roles in both of HEA’s productions of Chicago. Other favourite roles from Canada include Bill in Mamma Mia, Robbie the Stockfish in Urinetown, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, and an understudy for Horse in The Fully Monty.

PRINCESS NO. 12

Cinzia is a full time student and a fuller time musical theatre fan. She was previously seen as ensemble in Spamalot and Cinderella, an Ancestor in the Addams Family, Teen Zombie in Monstersongs, and Bad Idea Bear #1 in Avenue Q. She is very excited to be a part of Once Upon a Matress as Princess No. 12

PRINCESS NO. 12

Cheryl is an English dancer, event photographer and digital analyst. Formerly a dance teacher and choreographer, 2024 marked her return to the stage as a featured dancer in Happily Ever After's 'Cinderella'. Cheryl made her acting and singing debut in HEA's production of 'A Chorus Line' in November 2024 in the dream roles of Sheila and Laura, while supporting behind the scenes as the dance captain.
In her spare time she can be found photographing theater productions, dancing, modelling and travelling. She is delighted to play Princess Number 12 in HEA's 'Once Upon a Mattress', as there's nothing quite like being part of a fairy tale and being able to delight audiences with children, not least her own.

LADY LUCILLE

Jordan Campbell is a singer-songwriter and English teacher who loves languages and stories. She performed as a solo artist while living in China for five years before moving to Amsterdam, and now she is excited to venture onto a different kind of stage in her second production with Happily Ever After!

ENSEMBLE

Elyan is thrilled to return to the stage in Once Upon a Mattress! Growing up, she performed in a variety of plays and the occasional musical in Maastricht. Since then, she has mostly performed in the shower. Now a PhD student at the University of Amsterdam studying forensic psychology, Elyan loves the light-hearted, fun, and romantic nature of this musical and hopes you enjoy the show as much as she does!

LADY MERRILL

Juami is originally from Amsterdam, and works as a computational biologist as well as a fitness instructor. Nonetheless, she finds plenty of time to spend on singing, dancing and acting. She completed the professional one-year acting program at Mulholland Academy in Amsterdam in 2023 and starred in several student films. After having done several musical bootcamps with HEA, this will be her first full production.

LADY MABELLE

Aleksandra, known as Ola, is a vibrant and enthusiastic performer with a love for the stage. By day, she works in marketing within the fashion industry, but in her spare time, her true passion shines through in musical theatre.

Originally from Poland, Ola has been involved in productions such as Monty Python’s Spamalot, Grease, and Aladdin. A dancer since the age of six, she’s explored a wide range of styles, always seeking new ways to express herself. This journey eventually led her to musical theatre, where she found the perfect outlet for her love of variety, creativity, and performance.

With her infectious energy and passion, Ola promises an unforgettable evening full of fun and positive vibes in Once Upon a Mattress. See you soon!

LADY ROWENA

Anoek spends most of her time as a scientist doing her PhD studies in Cardiovascular sciences at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. Her biggest passions are music, dance and theater, making the musical theater stage her ultimate happy place! After playing in various shows during high school and university, she is now very excited to be part of her first HEA production in Amsterdam!

ENSEMBLE / KITCHEN WENCH

Claudia knew she loved singing when she first saw Mary Poppins, and that she loved musical theater when she first saw Chicago. In the last few years she's tried her hand at producing with Addams Family, and generally helping around in amateur musical theater, loving the atmosphere of collaboration and creativity that surrounds theater productions. With a background in modern and contemporary dancing, as well as solo singing and choir singing, she is very excited for her first ensemble role.

ENSEMBLE

Once Upon A Mattress is Keira’s second performance at HEA Productions, having participated in last year’s performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. However, you may have also recently seen her in The Addams Family Musical and The Confidential Musical Theatre Project (Cauldron Performing Arts). Primarily a dancer, she has enjoyed broadening her horizons with musical theatre, and is looking forward to the opportunity to further develop her skills. When she’s not dancing or singing, Keira studies Artificial Intelligence - and enjoys wearing hats and doing fish impressions.

ENSEMBLE

Miya (15 y.o. at the time of performances) has been pursuing acting and singing since her early childhood. Her very first drama classes for kids were in the US in Washington D.C. (2013-2015, from age 3 to 5). From 2017 to 2021 she was in a Dutch-based Russian-speaking youth theater group called The Robinsons where she played a variety of roles in the children's plays, including leads. During the pandemic in 2020 Miya auditioned for The Voice Kids and got to the 6th (pre-final) round. In 2021, she was selected for one of the three lead roles and performed in a play Eleemosynary, directed by Jon Geenen in Amsterdam (6 shows). Her most recent acting/musical theater experiences (2023-2024) have been participating in 3 Heaproductions Musical Bootcamps (Wicked, Disney and Six).

ENSEMBLE

Anna is a veterinary student and a big fan of musical theatre. After 9 years of doing theatre on the side she took a gap year to fully focus on a musical theatre preporatory program and volunteering at a local cat shelter. Now she's ready to dance through life and make people happy either through song or by curing their cats.

ENSEMBLE

By day, Swati works as an IT consultant in Amsterdam. She discovered her love for musicals in college when she first performed in RENT, which remains one of her favorite shows. Musicals have since become her creative outlet and a source of joy in her life. Outside of the theater, she enjoys singing and is a big fan of cats. After a long hiatus, Swati is thrilled to be performing in her first HEA production!

ENSEMBLE

Spanish - Translator - Mother of three - Knitter - Crocheter - (Comedy) writer - Novelist wannabe - Learning to sew and to play the ukelele - Singer - Part of the easylaughs musical cast - Likes to repair things - Used to dance flamenco - All her life singing in choirs - Improviser - Scriptwriter - Nice person - Getting tested for ADHD

ENSEMBLE

Helga is a Dutch producer in the media industry but has a true love for musicals theater.
When she was young she always loved to sing and dance but never pursued a career out of it. At her day to day job to loves to be backstage but in her free time she loves to be on the other side of it.

ENSEMBLE

Lilea Tirza is 18 years old. She is an actor and a musical theater performer. At The Musical Academy she has learned to be a confident performer and develop her dance, singing and acting. Her vocal lessons by Corinne van Wijk taught her to strengthen and control her voice.

ENSEMBLE

At 8 years old, Sutton has already discovered a passion for performing. She has previously worked with Happily Ever After Productions and Orange Theatre Company in Amsterdam, appearing in the bootcamps of All Things Oz, Disney on Broadway, High School Musical, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Legally Blonde. Sutton also brings voice acting experience and has trained in modern jazz dance, singing, and piano. She’s super thankful to her family, teachers, and directors for all their support and hopes you enjoy the show!

ENSEMBLE

Sean grew up in a musical theater household and--much to the joy of his children and neighbors--has never stopped singing. After a brief 30 year hiatus from the stage to work in logistics in the US and Luxembourg, he retired in 2019 and moved with his family to Amsterdam. He found the English language theater community in 2020 and has been in many productions since. Fun fact: Sean once performed in the famed Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC for Willard Scott on the Today Show.

KNIGHT

A software engineer and public speaker by trade, Lian is no stranger to the stage. After years of working in Silicon Valley startups, she has found her calling: Introducing the beauty and impermanence of performance art to the tech industry. As Chief Karaoke Officer, she is the creator of “Kuberoke” a one-of-a-kind social event, bringing the joy of Karaoke to technology conferences.

Previously, Lian understudied as Lancelot in Monty Python's Spamalot (HEA) and appeared as ensemble member in Rodger & Hammerstein's Cinderella (HEA).

She can also be seen performing at various Standup Comedy Open Mics in and around Amsterdam.

KNIGHT / SIR LUCE

Antonio is Portuguese born in Brazil and has been on stage since he was 4. In the past 8 years has grown in his Musical Theatre career after studying Professional Musical theatre based on Trinity College. He played in several musical productions including Hairspray, Chicago, Cinderella and A Chorus Line!

ENSEMBLE

Based in Haarlem, and originally from Portugal, Márcio’s love for musical theater began with a pivotal moment: watching the movie Chicago. Though always a fan from the audience, his passion for the stage truly ignited when he landed the role of Joe in Waitress. As an amateur performer without formal training, Márcio brings a fresh enthusiasm to his performances, driven purely by his love for the art.
Outside of musical theater, Márcio leads a dynamic life as an engineer in the tech industry. His main hobby is playing volleyball, and when he's not on stage or at work, he's spending time with his two beloved schnauzers. He is inspired by musical theater names like Julie Andrews, Sara Bareilles, and Bob Fosse, and his goal in theater is simple: to have fun and share his joy with the audience.