VTC POTUS PROGRAM

potus or, behind every dumbass are seven women trying to keep him alive

by selina fillinger

MARCH 6-24 VEGAS THEATRE COMPANY Presents

POTUS:

OR, BEHIND EVERY DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE.

By Selina Fillinger

STEPHANIE: WHICH ONE SHALL I DO FIRST MAM? HARRIET: ALL OF THEM, STEPHANIE! I NEED ALL OF THEM FIRST! - Harriet and Stephanie POTUS, Act 1 This performance runs Act 1 - 45 mins Act - 45 mins There is a 10 minute intermission between acts POTUS is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

WRITER / Selina Fillinger DIRECTORS / Maythinee Washington and Daz Weller CAST /

Heidi Brucker Morgan- Stephanie Valerie Carpenter Bernstein - Harriet Sabrina Cofield - Margaret Kim Forest - Bernadette Amanda Guardado - Dusty Diamond Landrun - Chris Gabrielle Silveroli - Jean Jana Wimer - Stephanie Understudy SCENIC DESIGN / Whitney Lehn Meltz and Daz Weller LIGHTING DESIGN / Paige Borak COSTUME DESIGN / Abbie Stroot SOUND DESIGN / Constance Taschner COMBAT AND INTIMACY DIRECTOR / Sean Critchfield DRAMATURGY / Alexia Vernon PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Nichole Killion REHEARSAL STAGE MANAGER / Amanda Peterson ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER / Christine Steele SCENIC CONSTRUCTION / Daz Weller Jake Harrell Gary Parlani Jana Wimer

HEIDI BRUCKER MORGAN Stephanie

VALERIE CARPENTER BERNSTIEN Harriet

Heidi Brucker Morgan is absolutely thrilled to be making her official Vegas Theatre Company debut in such an incredible show with such an amazing cast! She was last seen onstage at VTC with Shotspeare in their productions of Macbeth and Othello. Heidi is an actress, clown, comedienne and variety artist who has performed extensively in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Internationally. She is the co-founder of the Nevada Shakespeare Festival and recently appeared in their adaptations of Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, and The Tempest and will be performing in Titus Andronicus this Spring. Heidi has performed with Spiegelworld in their productions of Absinthe, Opium, Empire, and Atomic Saloon Show. Heidi headlined The Princess Wendy Late Night Tease Room with runs in Salt Lake City, Rochester, Charleston, and at Hooters in Las Vegas. She is a founding member of Shotspeare and has toured nationally and internationally with companies in Los Angeles, New York, and Las Vegas. Heidi was a member of the Troubadour Theatre Company and has performed at The Geffen, The Slipper Room, the La Mirada Playhouse, and The Garry Marshall Theatre. She has also appeared on screen, most notably in the feature film, Valentine’s Day. Heidi studied extensively with The Groundlings and holds a BA from the University of Washington’s School of Drama. Heidi is also the very proud mama of Parker and Rhys. She would like to give a huge thank you to Daz and Maythineeand to her husband Matt.

Valerie lived in LA and worked in film and television, seen regularly as Sally Woodbridge on GENERAL HOSPITAL. She1st appeared in VTC (formerly Cockroach) as Linda Loman in DEATH OF A SALESMAN, and was later honored

by LVVTA for Best supporting Actress in VTC’s THE WOLVES as The Mother She has performed in other VTC productions, MEN ON BOATS and ON GOLDEN POND. Valerie was awarded Best Actress

by NPR and Vegas Magazine for Violet in APF’s production of AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY, and was seen last year in Majestic Repertory’s ANGRY FAGS, a hit with audiences.

This play, cast, crew, directors and designers have been top tier and I am THRILLED to have the opportunity to work with each and everyone of you!

Thank you Richard for your unwavering support. One of my favorite quotes-“Comedy is a defiance.It’s a snort of contempt in the face of fear and anxiety. And it’s the laughter that allows hope to creep back on the inhale.” Without you, THE AUDIENCE, none of this would be possible. THANK YOU

SABRINA COFIELD Margaret

KIM FOREST Bernadette

Sabrina Cofield is an Emmy Award winning Afro-Latina actress,host, singer, filmmaker and journalist. She spends most of her time in front of the camera, so she is absolutely thrilled to be back on stage with Vegas Theatre Company where she began her Vegas theatre career starring as Agnes in the production BUG nearly nine years ago!

Sabrina can be seen in dozens of regional and national commercials, television shows, and films, her most recent projects include: One Big Happy Family (Fall 2024), The Holiday Stocking (Hallmark Channel), Darkest of Lies (now streaming), and Recipe For Love (Summer 2024). Sabrina’s first love has always been the stage, and some of her favorite roles to date include: Nya (Pipeline), Nina (The Royale), Titana (A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Concert Fantastic), and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth). Sabrina sits on the boards of The Nevada Shakespeare Theatre Company and The LabLV Theatre Company, and is the founder of Blk Butterfly Media Group.

Kim Forest is excited to be in VTC’s production of POTUS. Kim has enjoyed working all around the community and was last seen in Hunchback of Notre Dame at Summerlin Library. You may have seen her as Hall in Men On Boats and Sarah Daniels in Spinning Into Butter at VTC. Other credits include Gloria, The Proletariat, Outside Mullingar, Desdemona, Sister Act, Doonesbury, Into the Woods and Lizzie. She would like to thank her husband Jonathan for supporting her and for taking care of their new puppy Birdie while she was at rehearsals.

AMANDA GUARDADO Dusty

DIAMOND LANDRUN Chris

Amanda Guardado is a Cuban-American actor based in Las Vegas, NV. She received a BFA from UNLV’s department of Theatre and has appeared in numerous productions throughout the city including Majestic Repertory Theatre’s Empanada Loca, for which she was nominated for best actor by Broadway World. Her more recent credits include Miranda in The Tempest (Nevada Shakespeare Festival) and Sonia in Life Sucks (Vegas Theatre Company). She is honored to be in a cast of such strong, talented women and is grateful to have the privilege of sharing the stage with and learning from them each night!

Diamond is excited to be performing in her first VTC show! She is happy to be jumping back into the Vegas acting community after a break. She previously starred in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Palms Casino. This performance is dedicated to all the strong women in her life: Tracie, Cece, Margaret, and Ashley.

GABRIELLE SILVEROLI Jean

Gabrielle Silveroli is a Filipino-Italian actress based out of Las Vegas, NV. She is a graduate of University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Stage and Screen Acting program. She is thrilled to make her Vegas Theatre Company debut with some hilarious women! Some of her theatre credits include Tony and Tina’s Wedding (Bally’s Hotel), Legally Blonde the Musical (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), and Treasure Island (Majestic Repertory Theatre). She would like to thank her family and friends for their continued support.

JANA WIMER Stephanie Understudy

MAYTHINEE WASHINGTON Co-Director

DAZ WELLER Co- Director

Maythinee Washington is a neurodivergent actor, director, and educator based in Las Vegas. She is proud to be an Artistic Associate here at VTC and to collaborate with Daz Weller and the entire cast and crew of POTUS. Her work is practitioner-centered and rooted in identity, with a focus on remixing classics and devising. She has developed six solo shows—including WHITE GIRL, inspired by the Gordon Parks doll test, presented at fringe festivals and at TEDxFremontEastWomen. She is an affiliate of Pacific Performance Project/east founded by master teachers Robyn Hunt and Steve Pearson, and has been a guest artist at the University of South Carolina and the UNLV MFA Acting program. Maythinee was the Associate Director/Resident Director for the VIP immersive experience for 8x Grammy award winner Usher (Backstory Pass, Caesars Palace) and developed A Devil in Memphis: a Black Southern Gothic, an adaptation of Faust, for the University of Memphis. She has a BA in Social Art from Brown University, an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington, and an MA in Acting for Screen from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Daz Weller is an actor and director who moved from Australia to Las Vegas in 2010 and is currently the Executive Artistic Director of Vegas Theatre Company (VTC). He graduated with a BA in Acting from the Queensland University of Technology and has worked extensively as an actor throughout Las Vegas and with most of Australia’s major theatre companies. His U.S. directing credits include: Macbeth, Good Kids, The Crucible and The Human Comedy (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), CLUElesque, Life Sucks, On Golden Pond, The Thanksgiving Play, Sweat, Spinning into Butter, Seven Deadly Sins, The Father (Vegas Theatre Company), Gianni Schicchi (Vegas City Opera), The Ghosts of Gatsby, 27 and Cooperstown (Opera Las Vegas), Piano’s to the Death (The Space), The Piff the Magic Dragon Show (The Flamingo), The Small Space Festival (Emergency Arts), and Resident Director of Human Nature’s The Motown Show (The Venetian) and Spiegelworld’s Vegas Nocturne (The Cosmopolitan). In 2019 he received the award for Best Director at the Vegas Valley Theatre Awards for his production of Lynn Nottage’s play Sweat.

Maythinee would like to dedicate this production to her parents who would be shocked to know that she knows any of these four-letter words at all.

All my love to Toby, Harvey and Roxane who patiently give me all love and support (and many hours spent waiting in a dark theatre)to be with my theatre family.

WHITNEY LEHN MELTZ Scenic

PAIGE BORAK Lighting

Paige Borak (Lighting Designer) is a Las Vegas-based lighting designer and a second year Lighting Design MFA student at University of Nevada Las Vegas. She also teaches Lighting Design and studies the interplay between sensory processing difficulties and theatrical lighting.

Recent credits include American La Ronde (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Circus Intensive Showcase (Joffrey Ballet Company), After Dark (dir. Lea Hinz).

For more information or to contact, visit www.paigeborak.com.

ABBY STROOT Costume

CONSTANCE TASCHNER Sound

Constance Taschner is a native to Cave Creek, Arizona. Constance earned her associate degree in fine arts from Scottsdale Community College and her bachelor’s at UNLV in theatre design and technology. Her most recent credits (as a sound designer) include Alabaster, The Lifespan of a fact, Indecent, and X with A Public Fit and Young Frankenstein with UNLV Second Stage. Potus is Constance’s first sound design with Vegas Theatre Company. And she hopes to continue her sound journey in Las Vegas.

ALEXIA VERNON Dramaturg

NICHOLE MOREY Production Stage Manager

Alexia Vernon is the founder and CEO of Step into Your Moxie, a coaching and training company that supports organizational leaders and entrepreneurs to speak up for the ideas and issues that matter to them and their companies. An in-demand keynote speaker and author of the award-winning book, Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice, Visibility, and Influence in the World, Alexia was dubbed a “Moxie Maven” by the White House Office of Public Engagement for her unique and effective approach to women’s leadership. Alexia is a former adjunct theatre and women’s studies professor for multiple universities, was the Director of Professional Development for the Creative Arts Team’s Paul A. Kaplan Center for Educational Drama, and served as Artistic Director of the New York City Student Shakespeare Festival.

Alexia received an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from NYU and holds a BA in Women’s Studies and a minor in Theatre from UNLV.

Nichole Morey is a Colorado born stage manager who has worked professionally in many fields of the performing arts including theatre, concerts, dance, fashion shows, and events. Her VTC credits include “The Father”, “Every Brilliant Thing”, “Sweat”, and “Satango” and “Men on Boats”. Nichole would like to thank Daz, Maythinee, Amanda, and the entire cast for making this final (for now) Vegas experience so memorable.

Executive Artistic Director / Daz Weller Associate Artistic Director/ Simone FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Jessica Scheitler and the Financial Groove team MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Social Media Manager/ Juliana Renee Martin Season Photographer / Taylor Pendelton Production Photographer / Richard Brusky Graphic Design / Daz Weller TICKETING & BOX OFFICE Box Office Manager / Roxanne Farrar PRODUCTION Technical Director/ Jake Harrell Construction and Maintenance/ Gary Parlanti Special Events Stage Manager / Amanda Peterson

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