Staff & Creative Contributors
Direction
RANA STRAZZA (Artistic Director and Executive Producer, The Birdhouse Players, Aerie Rep) Direction: Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Our Town as well as BHP Benefit and Holiday revues. Choreography: Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, The Son of Dr. Caligari. Executive Producer, Scenic and Set Design and Direction, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Properties, Styling, all shows. Executive Producer/Production/Design/Set Design credits include industry-acclaimed, nationally televised events for Bravo Media, Time Inc., MLB, The WEBBY’s, The Public Theater, Tribeca Film Festival, DirecTV, among countless other corporate functions as well as large-scale concerts/galas featuring dozens of Reality TV stars and celebrated talents Alicia Keys, Sting, Bono, Janet Jackson, Prince, Gwen Stefani, Kathleen Battle, the Jonas Brothers, Diana Ross, John Legend, Andy Samberg, Rob Cordry, Natasha Bedingfield, David Bowie, Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, as well as the First Lady Michelle Obama and President Bill Clinton. Performance: Off-Broadway, Opera/Operettas, tours, IJE’s International Vocal Award. Some favorites among many opera/recital/dramatic/musical theater productions: Frankenstein (Theater for New City), Guys and Dolls (Sergeant Sarah Brown, NY/Denver, Tour), Cloud Nine (Ms. Saunders, Atrium Theater, NY), Baby (Arlene, Mitchell Theater, DC), Speed the Plow, (Karen, NY), The Bartered Bride (Marenka), Our Town, (Emily, NY), Manny and Jake (Manny, Lisner Auditorium), Peter Pan (Peter, NY), The Pajama Game (Babe), Cinderella (Cinderella), You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (Lucy), The Odd Couple (Vera), Aria da Capo (Corydon, NY), Annie (Annie, NY), Grease, and the Son of Dr. Caligari (Nurse) by award-winning playwright, Crystal Skillman, which Rana also choreographed. Fronted a Washington DC-based Big Band, playing in multiple venues including The Duke Ellington Club and Lisner Auditorium as well as State dinners (receiving a kiss from Czech President Vaclav Havel after a televised, solo performance). Singer/ songwriter: NYC music clubs, discography, corporately-contracted engagements/compositions in all musical genres. Modeling/print: Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and many others. Trained with Travis Preston at the New School, Sundance Films Directors Lab, workshops with Carlin Glynn, and master classes with the esteemed, Emmy-Award winning director Joan Darling (San Francisco Opera/Victory Theater, Los Angeles).
ALICIA FRANK (Associate Director: Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Alicia is an actor, playwright, director and teaching artist. Of her many theatre credits, favorite productions include the NY premiere of John Lahr’s The Manchurian Candidate (Forty Second St. Theatre), Joel Shatsky’s Lessons In Flying (One Dream Theatre), the revival of Lanford Wilson’s Balm In Gilead (West Beth Theatre), Christopher Durang’s Baby With the Bathwater (Synchronicity Space Theatre) and Bill Rutkowski’s Grief Relief (Hudson Guild Theatre). She performs her original characters in a one-woman show at many venues in NYC and on Bonnie Graham’s television show, “What’s So Funny?” She can be seen in the cult film, We Who Are Not Others, which won the Certificate of Merit at the Chicago Film Festival. She also appears in Rick Balian’s award winning short film, Station Break, James Georgiades’ film First Breath, Angelika Monning’s The Thrill, and in Eirick Larsen’s film The Way, playing a She-Devil, Alicia drove a 1200cc Harley Davidson chopper through The Valley of the Gods in Utah. Alicia has done Stand Up, sketch comedy and Improv with several comedy troupes. Ms. Frank has also voiced commercials and characters on several animated CD-ROMS for children. Her favorite is The Sunbuddies series in which she voiced a Calypso sing- ing bird named Cassie. As a playwright she has written numerous one act plays, seven of which have had productions in NYC. Her full length play, Trailer Park Special: a white trash, black comedy was work shopped by I Can’t Believe It’s Not Shakespeare Theatre Co. and will hopefully be in production in the near future! Her directing credits include Fred Stropel’s Fresh Start, her own play Snowdrift and Different Beats by the theatre group at Cascades H.S. She also really enjoyed directing five and six year olds in songs from The Wizard of Oz! As a teaching artist Alicia has taught middle and high school students for Women’s Project, and the L.E.S. Mommy Camp for two summers. She also worked with children playwrights in the Bardavon’s Young Playwrights Festival for ten years. Alicia is a member of Aching Dogs Theatre Company and SAG-AFTRA. She is thrilled her daughter Lily made her BHP debut in West Side Story!
ALICIA FRANK (Associate Director: Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Alicia is an actor, playwright, director and teaching artist. Of her many theatre credits, favorite productions include the NY premiere of John Lahr’s The Manchurian Candidate (Forty Second St. Theatre), Joel Shatsky’s Lessons In Flying (One Dream Theatre), the revival of Lanford Wilson’s Balm In Gilead (West Beth Theatre), Christopher Durang’s Baby With the Bathwater (Synchronicity Space Theatre) and Bill Rutkowski’s Grief Relief (Hudson Guild Theatre). She performs her original characters in a one-woman show at many venues in NYC and on Bonnie Graham’s television show, “What’s So Funny?” She can be seen in the cult film, We Who Are Not Others, which won the Certificate of Merit at the Chicago Film Festival. She also appears in Rick Balian’s award winning short film, Station Break, James Georgiades’ film First Breath, Angelika Monning’s The Thrill, and in Eirick Larsen’s film The Way, playing a She-Devil, Alicia drove a 1200cc Harley Davidson chopper through The Valley of the Gods in Utah. Alicia has done Stand Up, sketch comedy and Improv with several comedy troupes. Ms. Frank has also voiced commercials and characters on several animated CD-ROMS for children. Her favorite is The Sunbuddies series in which she voiced a Calypso sing- ing bird named Cassie. As a playwright she has written numerous one act plays, seven of which have had productions in NYC. Her full length play, Trailer Park Special: a white trash, black comedy was work shopped by I Can’t Believe It’s Not Shakespeare Theatre Co. and will hopefully be in production in the near future! Her directing credits include Fred Stropel’s Fresh Start, her own play Snowdrift and Different Beats by the theatre group at Cascades H.S. She also really enjoyed directing five and six year olds in songs from The Wizard of Oz! As a teaching artist Alicia has taught middle and high school students for Women’s Project, and the L.E.S. Mommy Camp for two summers. She also worked with children playwrights in the Bardavon’s Young Playwrights Festival for ten years. Alicia is a member of Aching Dogs Theatre Company and SAG-AFTRA. She is thrilled her daughter Lily made her BHP debut in West Side Story!
Choreography
LAURA DANETTE (Choreographer: Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I. Associate Choreographer: Once on This Island). NYC Educational Programs Faculty: New York City Center's Encores Educational Program (since 2006), TADA! (since 1996), The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute’s Young Actors at Strasberg, Coupe Studio Theatre (Nanuet, NY), Salvation Army Arts Conservatory (since 2002), Beginnings Workshop, Diller Quaile School of Music. NYC Musicals: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Way Off Broadway-L.I.), The Fantasticks, Footloose, Grease, Once Upon A Mattress, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, American Beauty, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Snow White (The Hewitt School). Off Broadway productions: Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labours Lost (American Globe Theatre), Aladdin, Jr., Dear Edwina, Jr., Honk, Jr., Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jr., (Theater 315’s Young Broadway Experience with NYC’s Professional Performing Arts School), L'Histoire du Soldat (choreographed and performed with George Merritt). Nationally: Curtains, Beauty and the Beast, Bye Bye Birdie, Seussical, and The Next Step (Camp Broadway), Chicago (Regional Tour), The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Crazy For You (Jacksonville State Univ-AL), Phantom (Helen Hayes Theater), Once Upon A Mattress (L.A. Children's Civic Light Opera), Change Reaction (Friendship Ambassadors of the UN, Peekskill’s Children’s Theater Company), Oklahoma (Depot Theater), Damn Yankees, Pippin (Mt. St. Vincent's College), Footloose (Tyler, TX), Theater Works (Young Audiences-Abilene, TX). Industrials: New York Life’s 150th Birthday Celebration (Madison Square Garden with Marvin Hamlisch, Liza Minelli), Glamour Magazine’s Glamour A-Go-Go, DK Publishing and AXA Financial. Awards: Kool & the Gang's MTV video VICTORY; American Music Award winner. CD: Pre-Ballet for Beginners (Kimbo Educational CD with Dennis Buck). Performing Credits: Chicago (Hunyak-National Tour), My One and Only (with Georgia Engel-Atlantic City), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (with Morgan Fairchild-Regional Tour), Radio City’s Disney Summer Magic (with The Rockettes), Tribute to Hollywood’s Showgirls (Avery Fisher Hall), The Promised Land (Off-Broadway), Damn Yankees,West Side Story, Can Can, Teddy and Alice, South Pacific, Funny Girl, Mame, Oliver (Artpark), Funny Girl, Sugar Babies (Carlton Davis Tours-New England), Hello Dolly (Carousel DT-OH), Sugar Babies, The King and I (Darien DT-CT). Education: BFA Dance/French (cum laude) from UNC-Greensboro, L'Universite de Toulouse, France. Actors Equity Association proud member since 1983.
CARA GOODWIN (Choreographer: Oliver!) Cara Goodwin is originally from Virginia Beach, VA, where she trained and later taught at the nationally renowned dance studio, Denise Wall’s Dance Energy. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Dance from James Madison University. While there, Cara helped formulate and set up a dance program at a multidimensional studio in Virginia, where she choreographed both dance pieces and musicals. She then went on to work with Stiletto Entertainment and Holland America Cruise Line, dancing onboard their five-star cruise ships and traveling throughout South and Central America, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Hawaii and Alaska. After completing her contracts, she was featured in various commercials, was a dancer with Keen Dance Theatre in NYC and was cast twice to perform with Cirque du Soleil. Cara now directs her New York based dance company, Beyond Lines Contemporary Dance Company, which was founded in 2011. With her company, she has been invited to present her choreography in a number of shows, most recently the :pushing progress Showcase Series and the New York Jazz Choreography Project. Cara was the director and choreographer of Behind Painted Lines, an evening length Contemporary Dance Concert at Symphony Space in NYC which benefitted the Wounded Warrior Project. She was on faculty at Broadway Dance Center in NYC and is currently teaching and choreographing for the Governor’s School for the Arts. Cara is very excited to be choreographing for the Birdhouse Players.
MICHAELA MCGOWAN (Choreographer: West Side Story; Associate Choreographer: The Sound of Music, Oliver!) began her dance training at the age of five in Northern Virginia. Focusing only on ballet training until age 14, she didn’t consider a professional dance career until jazz and contemporary became part of her dance vocabu- lary just before high school (thanks to the encourage- ment of her parents). Michaela spent her summers studying at Boston Ballet and Point Park University. She was an apprentice with Loudoun Ballet Company under the direction of Maureen Miller, performing such roles as Dewdrop, Arabian Soloist, and Snowflake (Nutcracker) and Odile (Swan Lake). In New York University’s Tisch dance program (where she graduated with honors in May of 2012), Michaela has per- formed works by resident faculty members Cherylyn Lavagnino and Pamela Pietro and guest choreographer Aszure Barton. She also had the pleasure of perform- ing in the 2010 Tisch Gala (choreographed by Josh Bergasse) and the 2012 Tisch Gala (choreographed by Greg Graham). Outside of Tisch, Michaela has worked with and performed works by Calen Kurka at the 2012 Capezio A.C.E. awards and Cara Goodwin, performing in the :pushing progress Showcase Series, the Jazz Choreography Enterprises, Inc.’s Choreography Showcase, and in “Behind Painted Lines,” an evening- length performance benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project, and danced for Phish at Madison Square Garden at their 2013 New Year’s Eve concert and in the 2013 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, both choreographed by Lisa Shriver. Michaela is currently on faculty at Broadway Dance Center as a ballet and jazz teacher in the Children and Teen Program. She is also a resident choreographer for the Birdhouse Players, dancing in and choreographing for solWEST Dance Collaborative and performs along the east coast with the LMproject under the direction of Alisa Claire.
RANA STRAZZA (See Direction)
CARA GOODWIN (Choreographer: Oliver!) Cara Goodwin is originally from Virginia Beach, VA, where she trained and later taught at the nationally renowned dance studio, Denise Wall’s Dance Energy. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Dance from James Madison University. While there, Cara helped formulate and set up a dance program at a multidimensional studio in Virginia, where she choreographed both dance pieces and musicals. She then went on to work with Stiletto Entertainment and Holland America Cruise Line, dancing onboard their five-star cruise ships and traveling throughout South and Central America, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Hawaii and Alaska. After completing her contracts, she was featured in various commercials, was a dancer with Keen Dance Theatre in NYC and was cast twice to perform with Cirque du Soleil. Cara now directs her New York based dance company, Beyond Lines Contemporary Dance Company, which was founded in 2011. With her company, she has been invited to present her choreography in a number of shows, most recently the :pushing progress Showcase Series and the New York Jazz Choreography Project. Cara was the director and choreographer of Behind Painted Lines, an evening length Contemporary Dance Concert at Symphony Space in NYC which benefitted the Wounded Warrior Project. She was on faculty at Broadway Dance Center in NYC and is currently teaching and choreographing for the Governor’s School for the Arts. Cara is very excited to be choreographing for the Birdhouse Players.
MICHAELA MCGOWAN (Choreographer: West Side Story; Associate Choreographer: The Sound of Music, Oliver!) began her dance training at the age of five in Northern Virginia. Focusing only on ballet training until age 14, she didn’t consider a professional dance career until jazz and contemporary became part of her dance vocabu- lary just before high school (thanks to the encourage- ment of her parents). Michaela spent her summers studying at Boston Ballet and Point Park University. She was an apprentice with Loudoun Ballet Company under the direction of Maureen Miller, performing such roles as Dewdrop, Arabian Soloist, and Snowflake (Nutcracker) and Odile (Swan Lake). In New York University’s Tisch dance program (where she graduated with honors in May of 2012), Michaela has per- formed works by resident faculty members Cherylyn Lavagnino and Pamela Pietro and guest choreographer Aszure Barton. She also had the pleasure of perform- ing in the 2010 Tisch Gala (choreographed by Josh Bergasse) and the 2012 Tisch Gala (choreographed by Greg Graham). Outside of Tisch, Michaela has worked with and performed works by Calen Kurka at the 2012 Capezio A.C.E. awards and Cara Goodwin, performing in the :pushing progress Showcase Series, the Jazz Choreography Enterprises, Inc.’s Choreography Showcase, and in “Behind Painted Lines,” an evening- length performance benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project, and danced for Phish at Madison Square Garden at their 2013 New Year’s Eve concert and in the 2013 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, both choreographed by Lisa Shriver. Michaela is currently on faculty at Broadway Dance Center as a ballet and jazz teacher in the Children and Teen Program. She is also a resident choreographer for the Birdhouse Players, dancing in and choreographing for solWEST Dance Collaborative and performs along the east coast with the LMproject under the direction of Alisa Claire.
RANA STRAZZA (See Direction)
Music Direction
ROB COOKMAN (Musical Director) Rob is happy to be working with the Birdhouse Players. He is a keyboardist/musical director and composer in New York City. Most recently, Rob could be heard in the pit of Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show. Rob also keeps busy as a composer. Recently he scored his first film, The Magic of the Green Mountains, featuring all bluegrass and traditional Appalachian instruments and music. Rob toured the United States, Canada, and Japan for 6 straight years as a musical director and keyboardist. In 2011 Rob received a Ticket Holder’s Award for best musical direction for his work on Come Fly Away’s 1st National Tour at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles where he lead a 13-piece big band accompanying original Frank Sinatra recordings. Rob is a member of the pop group, Knee Deep Shag. With Knee Deep Shag Rob has written, recorded, and made national TV appearances. Knee Deep Shag has won three Detroit Music Awards and one Chicago’s Independent Music Award. Rob has been a soloist with the Dearborn Symphony (with grammy award winner Rhonda Larson), Mt Lebanon Percussion (Rhapsody in Blue), Western Michigan University Orchestra (Ravel’s Concerto in G), and the West Virginia University Orchestra (Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F). Other Musical Director Credits include: Legally Blonde the Musical (2nd National Tour), Menopause the Musical (Chicago), Mamma Mia! (2nd National Tour, AMD), Movin’ Out (2nd National Tour), Swing! ((Japan Tour), Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel (bandleader/ arranger/composer), and Catch Me if You Can (1st National Tour/AMD).
GERALDINE BOYER-CUSSAC (Music Director, Oliver!, Once on This Island): Geraldine Boyer-Cussac is a successful NYC-based music director, pianist, vocal coach, big band and orchestra conductor. She performs internationally and across America, playing with a wide range of performers, from Broadway, TV, and the Met Opera. Born/raised in France, she studied music at the Conservatories of Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon, and in the US at Conservatory and Kalamazoo College, Western Michigan University (Masters in piano performance) and Boston University (Doctorate in Musical Arts in collaborative piano). She is the co-founder and regular writer on Theatre Music Directors.com (www.geraldineboyercussac.com).
SCOTT ETHIER (Music Director, Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I) Scott Ethier is a composer and pianist who writes and performs musical theater, concert works, and jazz. His musical Rosa Parks (book and lyrics by Jeff Hughes) was commissioned by Theaterworks/USA and kicks off a tour of the United States at New York City’s Town Hall in February of 2009. In 2002, Scott was named composer-in-res- idence of the Macon Symphony Orchestra thanks to the American Composers Forum’s Continental Harmony Program. His orchestra works have been performed and commissioned by the Melrose Symphony, the Cape Ann Symphony, the Quincy Symphony, and by choreographer Martita Goshen’s company Earthworks (to write the score for her piece Breathing Water, Breathing Eye at the Danspace Project). Man Near the Moon, a short musical written with playwright Trista Baldwin, was staged as part of Dreams this Way: The Best of Raw Impressions Musical Theater at TADA! Theater and later at the Beckett Theater as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival. Other theater scores include I Am Star Trek (Rick Vorndran, book; Clay Zambo, lyrics) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and incidental music for Sarah Ruhl’s play Eurydice (Williamstown Theater Festival). He is currently at work on an adaptation of the novel The Third Miracle (book and original novel by Richard Vetere, lyrics by Jeff Hughes), excerpts of which were staged at Manhattan Theatre Club. Scott has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and a par- ticipant in the Nautilus Music Theater/ New Dramatists Composer-Librettists Studio. He was also named a Dramatists Guild Musical Theater Fellow in 2005-6, and is an alum of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Active as a pianist and music director in theater and dance, Scott has played for Forestburgh Playhouse, Mark Morris Dance Group, the New York Finge Festival, St. Bart's Players, and Broadway Classroom amongothers, and has worked as pianist, pit musi- cian, and music assistant for Ahren’s and Flaherty’s The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center Theater, and recording a podcast with Neil Patrick Harris. Scott has written on music and theatre for the magazine Humanities and taught at Berklee College of Music and Hunter College, CUNY. He is a member the Dramatists Guild, BMI, the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum, and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802. While a teenager, Ethier studied with jazz legend Jackie McLean and South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta. He later studied composition with Larry Bell, Richard Danielpour, and David del Tredici.
GERALDINE BOYER-CUSSAC (Music Director, Oliver!, Once on This Island): Geraldine Boyer-Cussac is a successful NYC-based music director, pianist, vocal coach, big band and orchestra conductor. She performs internationally and across America, playing with a wide range of performers, from Broadway, TV, and the Met Opera. Born/raised in France, she studied music at the Conservatories of Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon, and in the US at Conservatory and Kalamazoo College, Western Michigan University (Masters in piano performance) and Boston University (Doctorate in Musical Arts in collaborative piano). She is the co-founder and regular writer on Theatre Music Directors.com (www.geraldineboyercussac.com).
SCOTT ETHIER (Music Director, Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I) Scott Ethier is a composer and pianist who writes and performs musical theater, concert works, and jazz. His musical Rosa Parks (book and lyrics by Jeff Hughes) was commissioned by Theaterworks/USA and kicks off a tour of the United States at New York City’s Town Hall in February of 2009. In 2002, Scott was named composer-in-res- idence of the Macon Symphony Orchestra thanks to the American Composers Forum’s Continental Harmony Program. His orchestra works have been performed and commissioned by the Melrose Symphony, the Cape Ann Symphony, the Quincy Symphony, and by choreographer Martita Goshen’s company Earthworks (to write the score for her piece Breathing Water, Breathing Eye at the Danspace Project). Man Near the Moon, a short musical written with playwright Trista Baldwin, was staged as part of Dreams this Way: The Best of Raw Impressions Musical Theater at TADA! Theater and later at the Beckett Theater as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival. Other theater scores include I Am Star Trek (Rick Vorndran, book; Clay Zambo, lyrics) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and incidental music for Sarah Ruhl’s play Eurydice (Williamstown Theater Festival). He is currently at work on an adaptation of the novel The Third Miracle (book and original novel by Richard Vetere, lyrics by Jeff Hughes), excerpts of which were staged at Manhattan Theatre Club. Scott has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and a par- ticipant in the Nautilus Music Theater/ New Dramatists Composer-Librettists Studio. He was also named a Dramatists Guild Musical Theater Fellow in 2005-6, and is an alum of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Active as a pianist and music director in theater and dance, Scott has played for Forestburgh Playhouse, Mark Morris Dance Group, the New York Finge Festival, St. Bart's Players, and Broadway Classroom amongothers, and has worked as pianist, pit musi- cian, and music assistant for Ahren’s and Flaherty’s The Glorious Ones at Lincoln Center Theater, and recording a podcast with Neil Patrick Harris. Scott has written on music and theatre for the magazine Humanities and taught at Berklee College of Music and Hunter College, CUNY. He is a member the Dramatists Guild, BMI, the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum, and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802. While a teenager, Ethier studied with jazz legend Jackie McLean and South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta. He later studied composition with Larry Bell, Richard Danielpour, and David del Tredici.
Music Production, Composition, & Orchestration
MICAH BURGESS (Guitar, The Sound of Music) Micah Burgess is a versatile guitarist whose credits include the Broadway productions of “Newsies”, “Soul Doctor”, and “Mary Poppins”, Cirque Du Soleil’s “Banana Shpeel”, and the first national tour of “Come Fly Away." Micah has shared the stage with Matthew Broderick, Ian McKellan, Chris Meloni, Stephen Schwartz, Ahrens and Flaherty to name a few. http://micahburgessonline.com/
JON EPCAR (Percussion, West Side Story, The Sound of Music) Jon Epcar was most recently the drummer for Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark on Broadway, performing on the original cast album along with Bono, The Edge and others. As a member of the band CARNEY (Interscope Records) he recorded several records and toured the world for over half a decade. He has recorded with artists such as John Legend, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Natasha Bedingfield, Matt Morris, Carney, Coyol, Jay Ferguson (Spirit), Ghost Writers and others. He has toured/performed with Cristian Castro, Carney, Katie Melua, Jessie James, Pistol Star, Shut Up Stella, Darren Barrett, George Porter Jr., Teddy Kumpel Loopestra, The Jazz Hip-Hop Orchestra, Boomkat with Taryn Manning, and is a founding member of the Left Coast Funk Orchestra. www.jonepcar.org
ERICA KAPLAN (Pianist, Birdhouse Benefit) has a private vocal coaching practice and frequently appears as musical director and accompanist at clubs, restaurants, and theatres in and around the city. Her class Performance Singing, now in its fifteenth year, continues to attract amateurs who love to sing, as well as actors and dancers who are terrified of singing auditions and need a safe place to blossom. Erica is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment and Who's Who of American Women.
JOSH MARGOLIS (Music Recording and Production, Songwriting/Recording Workshop)
www.gowanusmusicclub.com
PETER MILLROSE (Music Production, Jingle Birds Holiday CD)
www.millrosemusic.com
LYNDON ACHEE, PAUL RINGENBACK (Percussionist, Once on This Island)
JON EPCAR (Percussion, West Side Story, The Sound of Music) Jon Epcar was most recently the drummer for Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark on Broadway, performing on the original cast album along with Bono, The Edge and others. As a member of the band CARNEY (Interscope Records) he recorded several records and toured the world for over half a decade. He has recorded with artists such as John Legend, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Natasha Bedingfield, Matt Morris, Carney, Coyol, Jay Ferguson (Spirit), Ghost Writers and others. He has toured/performed with Cristian Castro, Carney, Katie Melua, Jessie James, Pistol Star, Shut Up Stella, Darren Barrett, George Porter Jr., Teddy Kumpel Loopestra, The Jazz Hip-Hop Orchestra, Boomkat with Taryn Manning, and is a founding member of the Left Coast Funk Orchestra. www.jonepcar.org
ERICA KAPLAN (Pianist, Birdhouse Benefit) has a private vocal coaching practice and frequently appears as musical director and accompanist at clubs, restaurants, and theatres in and around the city. Her class Performance Singing, now in its fifteenth year, continues to attract amateurs who love to sing, as well as actors and dancers who are terrified of singing auditions and need a safe place to blossom. Erica is listed in Who's Who in Entertainment and Who's Who of American Women.
JOSH MARGOLIS (Music Recording and Production, Songwriting/Recording Workshop)
www.gowanusmusicclub.com
PETER MILLROSE (Music Production, Jingle Birds Holiday CD)
www.millrosemusic.com
LYNDON ACHEE, PAUL RINGENBACK (Percussionist, Once on This Island)
Costume / Make-up
HOPE LANDRY (Make-Up Design) Hope Landry is a New York-based Make-up Artist. Her work has been featured countless times in Martha Stewart’s Weddings, Fitness, and Manhattan Bride magazines. Her television credits include numerous episodes for Martha Stewart, Maury Povich, a Windows 7 Launch broadcast, Bravo Media, as well as work for Playboy Enterprises and several books (including Steve Forbe’s last cover and Colin Cowrie’s Weddings). For a decade, she has done make-up for several prestigious weddings at prominent venues across the tri-state area and abroad, and is a specialist in basic and special effects as well as post-surgical/reconstructive make-up, teaching doctors from New York to Beverly Hills how to cover scarring from plastic surgery.
ALLISON PEARCE (Assoc. Costume Designer, Oliver!) was raised in Philadelphia and studied in New York City at Parsons: The New School for Design. She has costume designed and styled for a diverse range of feature films, short films and other projects including Milkshake (Sundance Film Festival 2013), A Little Game (Michael Mailer Films), Teaching Parents 2 Rock for Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Perfectly normal directed by Jim McMahon. Allison has a background in design production and vintage buying. She has wardrobe styled for various editorial publications and hosts her own radio show. Currently, she is costuming a short film for director Assal Ghawami.
COZBI CABRERA (Wardrobe Technician, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Cozbi A. Cabrera is the principal and founder of Cozbi Inc., a company that produces and sells handmade specialty items and a line of women and children’s clothing and accessories. She is committed to quality and employ- ing a local workforce. Her eponymous shop is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. She has over 16 years experience in design with a background in music pack- aging and assembling creative teams. Cozbi developed a line of one-of-a-kind cloth dolls (Muñecas) that have garnered the attention of collectors around the world and have been featured in Crain’s New York Business, Martha Stewart Living TV, The Oprah Winfrey Show, O Magazine, Oxygen Media and various local networks. Wholesale clients have included Martha-By-Mail and Barneys New York. www.cozbi.com
DEBBIE LEE COHEN (Costume/Prop Design, The King and I) Debby has designed scenery for Meredith Monk and other multi-media directors for over 20 years (BAM, Lincoln Center, Houston Grand Opera). Her HBO credits include set designer/story advisor for the Emmy award winning special, “Classical Baby.” She designed giant puppets for the Village Halloween Parade for 8 years, a children’s parade in the center of Paris, and her animation has been shown on PBS, Showtime/The Movie Channel, and MTV. She is a recipient of grants from NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, and the Henson Foundation and has applied her design/collaborative skills to eliminating Styrofoam in NYC schools amd to achieving Zero Waste cafeterias (SOSnyc.org & CafeteriaCulture.org).
YVETTE ORTIZ (Wardrobe Technician) Yvette has integrally worked behind the scenes on every BHP production since its founding. A fulltime physician, Yvette is a 2012 recipient of the Robin Hood Hero’s Award, given annually to several New Yorkers whose extraordinary efforts have enhanced their community.
RANA STRAZZA (Costume Designer, All productions) See Direction.
ALLISON PEARCE (Assoc. Costume Designer, Oliver!) was raised in Philadelphia and studied in New York City at Parsons: The New School for Design. She has costume designed and styled for a diverse range of feature films, short films and other projects including Milkshake (Sundance Film Festival 2013), A Little Game (Michael Mailer Films), Teaching Parents 2 Rock for Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Perfectly normal directed by Jim McMahon. Allison has a background in design production and vintage buying. She has wardrobe styled for various editorial publications and hosts her own radio show. Currently, she is costuming a short film for director Assal Ghawami.
COZBI CABRERA (Wardrobe Technician, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Cozbi A. Cabrera is the principal and founder of Cozbi Inc., a company that produces and sells handmade specialty items and a line of women and children’s clothing and accessories. She is committed to quality and employ- ing a local workforce. Her eponymous shop is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. She has over 16 years experience in design with a background in music pack- aging and assembling creative teams. Cozbi developed a line of one-of-a-kind cloth dolls (Muñecas) that have garnered the attention of collectors around the world and have been featured in Crain’s New York Business, Martha Stewart Living TV, The Oprah Winfrey Show, O Magazine, Oxygen Media and various local networks. Wholesale clients have included Martha-By-Mail and Barneys New York. www.cozbi.com
DEBBIE LEE COHEN (Costume/Prop Design, The King and I) Debby has designed scenery for Meredith Monk and other multi-media directors for over 20 years (BAM, Lincoln Center, Houston Grand Opera). Her HBO credits include set designer/story advisor for the Emmy award winning special, “Classical Baby.” She designed giant puppets for the Village Halloween Parade for 8 years, a children’s parade in the center of Paris, and her animation has been shown on PBS, Showtime/The Movie Channel, and MTV. She is a recipient of grants from NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, and the Henson Foundation and has applied her design/collaborative skills to eliminating Styrofoam in NYC schools amd to achieving Zero Waste cafeterias (SOSnyc.org & CafeteriaCulture.org).
YVETTE ORTIZ (Wardrobe Technician) Yvette has integrally worked behind the scenes on every BHP production since its founding. A fulltime physician, Yvette is a 2012 recipient of the Robin Hood Hero’s Award, given annually to several New Yorkers whose extraordinary efforts have enhanced their community.
RANA STRAZZA (Costume Designer, All productions) See Direction.
Technical
DAVID BENDER (Set Design and Direction: Annie, Guys and Dolls,Oliver; Stage Manager: Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Oliver!, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) David Bender is a professional fine artist maintaining a studio in Brooklyn. He has overseen the set production of BHP’s Annie, Guys and Dolls, and The King and I and his collection of works can be seen at www.BenderStudio.com. He is represented by galleries in New York City, Sag Harbor, Hudson and Martha’s Vineyard.
CAPITAL SCENIC, INC. (Set Direction, The Sound of Music, West Sider Story) Capital Scenic, Inc. is a scenic design, engineering and manufacturing firm in Garnerville, NY. Since 1994, Richard Harrison and Neil Shubert personally oversee, construct or paint all the scenery produced to support the- ater, TV, film and corporate clientele. Their work has been showcased on some of the most renowned stages in New York.
JAKE CHESSUM (Cast photographer, The King and I, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music). www.jakechessum.com
LISA SEALE CRUZ (Playbill Designer) Lisa has a MS from Pratt Institute and was a designer and web manager in financial services for over ten years. She is a freelance graphic designer and founder/editor of shopalicious.com
WIL CRUZ (Jingle Birds CD Design)
FAIRFIELD PRO, SAM LINARES (Audio and Lighting Design: Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Fairfield Pro is a full service lighting production company powering specialty events and performanc- es throughout the city and surrounding areas. For decades, Fairfield Pro has illuminated A-List artists at renowned venues at events televised and recognized throughout the world.
ELI KABILLIO (Film Production: Once on This Island, Cast Videographer, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Award-winning writer, director, producer and the President of Mad Dog Films, Inc. Directing/Directing and Producing/Writing credits include: (for Travel Channel or with Lonely Planet) 1000 Ultimate Experiences, pilot episode of Hotel Impossible, two short form projects featuring guitar master Gary Lucas and award winning textile designer John Robshaw, Samantha Brown's Long Island (wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited); (for Discovery Home/Science Channels) Dream Science Classroom and Coolest Science Museums, (Planet Green) 10 episode series, Building America’s Home, FIRST Robotics, Elle Decor: Behind The Design; several episodes of Al Roker's Cooking Channel series, My Life In Food and MTV’s Room Raiders, and the HBO special Assume The Position 201 with Robert Wuhl. Commercials: national spots/PSAs for Amex, Triscuit, GE, Bank of America, Kraft, KFC, Gaiam, Autism Speaks, The Coalition for the Homeless, TWC, Cingular, CBS Radio, Long John Silver’s, over forty national spots for Pepsi, and an Opie & Anthony spot for CBS selected by Advertising Age as one of its "Spots of the Week." Features/Documentary/Shorts/Animation: Relax, It's Just Sex, starring Jennifer Tilly, Lori Petty and Cynda Williams (exec prod), Paranoia, starring Larry Drake, Brigitte Bako and Sally Kirkland (prod), the Miramax Films Lie Down With Dogs (assoc prod), Boris The Dog, aired on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and the animated series The Bill Johnson Show, both for Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival and video compilation (both dir/prod), Try to Remember: The Fantasticks, (recently aired on the Ovation Network and available on DVD/iTunes), Saving Sheba (Lime TV), F*@% The Disabled (dir, starring Greg Walloch, Stephen Baldwin and Anne Meara), First Down (co-dir/prod, Best Documentary award at the IndieVision Film Festival and broadcast on The Chronicle Network and IFC Canada), A Hole In The Head (dir/prod, Best Documentary award at the Atlantic City and Brooklyn International Film Festivals and broadcast on Discovery, TLC and the BBC), and the award-winning documentary, Urine: Good Health, available through Spectacle Films. Graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, he was an all-conference place kicker and played 3 yrs of semi-pro ball for the Frederick Falcons and Baltimore Bears where he was co-captain and earned all-conference honors, while attending the University of Maryland School of Law. As an entertainment lawyer with own practice, represented numerous award-winning films, including Laws of Gravity, Jesus' Son and Living Proof.
LAUREN SIEGELSTEIN (Cast photographer, Annie, Guys and Dolls, Oliver!, West Side Story). www.laurenfaithphoto1.com
MIKE STICKLE (Playbill Design: Oliver!, Once on This Island) Mike Stickle is an Emmy Award winning writer and producer with a smattering of design skills. He is also a coach of the nationally ranked Rutgers University Dance Team, for whom he produces an annual Spring show that raises money for the Robin Hood Foundation. For more information, visit www.spiritofrutgers.com/rudtgala2013
AKIRA YASUDA (Scenic Design, logo designer) Akira is a freelance graphic designer based in San Francisco, with expertise in branding, packaging, and identity design. Akira's creative experience spans 11 years and over 200 projects, the focus having been delivering design solutions to a diverse list of multinational clients. He has won numerous awards including the HBA International Package Design Award and the Pentawards Platinum Awards which were both awarded during his time at branding and design consultancy Wallace Church in New York City. More recently Akira worked for brand design firm united*dsn in San Francisco. Born and educated in Tokyo, Akira holds an BA from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Akira was delighted to be part of the Once on this Island production and looks forward to the creative challenges and different avenues of design the future holds.
CAPITAL SCENIC, INC. (Set Direction, The Sound of Music, West Sider Story) Capital Scenic, Inc. is a scenic design, engineering and manufacturing firm in Garnerville, NY. Since 1994, Richard Harrison and Neil Shubert personally oversee, construct or paint all the scenery produced to support the- ater, TV, film and corporate clientele. Their work has been showcased on some of the most renowned stages in New York.
JAKE CHESSUM (Cast photographer, The King and I, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music). www.jakechessum.com
LISA SEALE CRUZ (Playbill Designer) Lisa has a MS from Pratt Institute and was a designer and web manager in financial services for over ten years. She is a freelance graphic designer and founder/editor of shopalicious.com
WIL CRUZ (Jingle Birds CD Design)
FAIRFIELD PRO, SAM LINARES (Audio and Lighting Design: Annie, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Fairfield Pro is a full service lighting production company powering specialty events and performanc- es throughout the city and surrounding areas. For decades, Fairfield Pro has illuminated A-List artists at renowned venues at events televised and recognized throughout the world.
ELI KABILLIO (Film Production: Once on This Island, Cast Videographer, Oliver!, Once on This Island, The Sound of Music, West Side Story) Award-winning writer, director, producer and the President of Mad Dog Films, Inc. Directing/Directing and Producing/Writing credits include: (for Travel Channel or with Lonely Planet) 1000 Ultimate Experiences, pilot episode of Hotel Impossible, two short form projects featuring guitar master Gary Lucas and award winning textile designer John Robshaw, Samantha Brown's Long Island (wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited); (for Discovery Home/Science Channels) Dream Science Classroom and Coolest Science Museums, (Planet Green) 10 episode series, Building America’s Home, FIRST Robotics, Elle Decor: Behind The Design; several episodes of Al Roker's Cooking Channel series, My Life In Food and MTV’s Room Raiders, and the HBO special Assume The Position 201 with Robert Wuhl. Commercials: national spots/PSAs for Amex, Triscuit, GE, Bank of America, Kraft, KFC, Gaiam, Autism Speaks, The Coalition for the Homeless, TWC, Cingular, CBS Radio, Long John Silver’s, over forty national spots for Pepsi, and an Opie & Anthony spot for CBS selected by Advertising Age as one of its "Spots of the Week." Features/Documentary/Shorts/Animation: Relax, It's Just Sex, starring Jennifer Tilly, Lori Petty and Cynda Williams (exec prod), Paranoia, starring Larry Drake, Brigitte Bako and Sally Kirkland (prod), the Miramax Films Lie Down With Dogs (assoc prod), Boris The Dog, aired on MTV's Cartoon Sushi and the animated series The Bill Johnson Show, both for Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Animation Festival and video compilation (both dir/prod), Try to Remember: The Fantasticks, (recently aired on the Ovation Network and available on DVD/iTunes), Saving Sheba (Lime TV), F*@% The Disabled (dir, starring Greg Walloch, Stephen Baldwin and Anne Meara), First Down (co-dir/prod, Best Documentary award at the IndieVision Film Festival and broadcast on The Chronicle Network and IFC Canada), A Hole In The Head (dir/prod, Best Documentary award at the Atlantic City and Brooklyn International Film Festivals and broadcast on Discovery, TLC and the BBC), and the award-winning documentary, Urine: Good Health, available through Spectacle Films. Graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, he was an all-conference place kicker and played 3 yrs of semi-pro ball for the Frederick Falcons and Baltimore Bears where he was co-captain and earned all-conference honors, while attending the University of Maryland School of Law. As an entertainment lawyer with own practice, represented numerous award-winning films, including Laws of Gravity, Jesus' Son and Living Proof.
LAUREN SIEGELSTEIN (Cast photographer, Annie, Guys and Dolls, Oliver!, West Side Story). www.laurenfaithphoto1.com
MIKE STICKLE (Playbill Design: Oliver!, Once on This Island) Mike Stickle is an Emmy Award winning writer and producer with a smattering of design skills. He is also a coach of the nationally ranked Rutgers University Dance Team, for whom he produces an annual Spring show that raises money for the Robin Hood Foundation. For more information, visit www.spiritofrutgers.com/rudtgala2013
AKIRA YASUDA (Scenic Design, logo designer) Akira is a freelance graphic designer based in San Francisco, with expertise in branding, packaging, and identity design. Akira's creative experience spans 11 years and over 200 projects, the focus having been delivering design solutions to a diverse list of multinational clients. He has won numerous awards including the HBA International Package Design Award and the Pentawards Platinum Awards which were both awarded during his time at branding and design consultancy Wallace Church in New York City. More recently Akira worked for brand design firm united*dsn in San Francisco. Born and educated in Tokyo, Akira holds an BA from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Akira was delighted to be part of the Once on this Island production and looks forward to the creative challenges and different avenues of design the future holds.