Holly T. Cerney
| Holly has worked as an actor and company member at Trap Door Theater since 2004 and has been the company’s Grant Manager since fall of 2007. Trap Door credits include The Sheep in The Garden of Delights, Emma in Amerikafka, Babushka in The Fourth Sister, Eva in Eva Peron, the “wife” in the Chicago run of Horses at the Window and the production’s subsequent debuts in Lexington Virginia, and throughout Romania, Genevieve in Me Too, I am Catherine Deneuve in the Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and French tours, and also the “wife” in They are Dying Out. Holly is also playing the “wife” in real life; you might have seen her as a “Thomas” previously. An accomplished cellist, Holly and her wooden side kick have appeared in three of Trap’s productions and two staged readings. After an Alaskan migration across the wild tundra, Holly became a Chicago resident in 1999. She has since had the pleasure of working with many progressive theatre companies in the region, examples include, Redmoon, Defiant, The Factory, The Griffin, Chicago Dramatists and several others. She is a committed advocate for our vibrant arts community: thank you for participating! Education credits include a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon and a Masters in Library Science from Domincan University. Holly works by day as an adjunct reference librarian at DePaul University and Harper College. |  |
“a gutter-regal central performance by Holly Thomas as Eva”
-Time Out Chicago
“Holly Thomas’ Eva is a regally demanding, humorously wicked creation…she anchors the production with a statuesque grace and haughty sense of amusement”
-Chicago Free Press
“Beata Pilch, Nicole Wiesner, Carolyn Shoemaker and Holly Thomas anchor and carry the frantic absurdist farce…Trap Door Theatre’s ensemble has so much fun it becomes contagious.”
(The Fourth Sister)
-Tom Williams, Chicago Critic
“the third one—featuring tour de force performances by Trap Door company members Holly Thomas and John Kahara—comes closest to conveying some emotional stakes”
- Fabrizio O. Almeida, New City Chicago
“In a play full-to-bursting with striking visual metaphors, the pas de trois among Kahara, Thomas and a cello is first among equals”
- Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
Holly Thomas’s inclusion of live cello music to her characterization renders lovely additional depth and melancholy
- Venus Zarris, Chicago Stage Review
“A counterpoint to all of them is wan, delicate Holly Thomas, half naked and bowing her rich-toned cello while John Kahara’s husband raves about the creative power of war”
- Tony Adler, Chicago Reader
Thomas captures Genevieve’s implacable belief that she can only find herself by pretending to be somebody else.
-Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune
The entire cast is sharp, but Holly Thomas shows exceptional comic style as a mogul’s wife
Tony Adler, Chicago Reader
