12 minute read
BIOGRAPHIES
from DANCE NATION Program
by recroomarts
Callina Anderson
Lisa Fairchild
Anjana Menon Elizabeth Marshall Black Greg Cote
Elizabeth Keel Avery Vonn Kenyatta
Sophia Mobbs Shannon Uphold
CALLINA ANDERSON (Zuzu) is thrilled to make her Rec Room debut! Ms. Anderson’s previous onstage credits include:The Revolutionists, Grand Concourse, The Hard Problem (Main Street Theater), To Kill A Mockingbird (A.D. Players), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Classical Theater Company), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Freeda Peoples, Platanos y Collard Greens (The Ensemble Theater); Come and Go, Well, Dollface (Mildred’s Umbrella), The Judgment of Fools, The Sonic Life of a Giant Tortoise… (Horse Head Theater); The Landing Theater: Gambrels of the Sky (Dog); The Effect (Houston Equity Festival). Ms. Anderson holds a B.A. in Theater from the University of Houston.
ELIZABETH MARSHALL BLACK (Dance Mom) is happy to be making her debut at Rec Room. Other local acting credits include A.D. Players: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Christina Drayton), Harvey (Betty Chumley), You Can’t Take it With You (Gay Wellington), The Miracle Worker (Kate Keller) and O Little Town of Bagels, Teacakes and Hamburger Buns (Inez); Catastrophic Theatre: Tragedy, A Tragedy (Constance at the Home), Trevor (Morgan Fairchild), The Blackest Shore (Mel); Main Street Theatre: Private Lives (Amanda), The Secretary (Janelle), The Book of Will (Elizabeth/Emilia/Anne), Silent Sky (Annie Cannon), Peace in Our Time (Lyia), Fallen Angels (Saunders), Heartbreak House (Lady Utterword); Mildred’s Umbrella: The Hunchback of Seville (Queen Isabella), Becky’s New Car (Ginger), Carnival ‘Round The Central Figure (Becky); Celebration Theatre: The Divine Sister (Sister Acacius), The Beebo Brinker Chronicles (Beebo Brinker); Classical Theatre Company: The Government Inspector (Luka/Merchant); Ensemble Theatre: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Gloria Mitchell). Elizabeth holds a B.S. and M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and also studied acting at SUNY Purchase.
GREG COTE (Dance Teacher Pat) is a puppet maker, puppeteer, actor, musician, artist and proud citizen of Houston, TX. He has worked with The Catastrophic Theatre, Thunderclap Productions, Horse Head Theatre Co. (RIP), Classical Theatre Company, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Main Street Theatre, Rec Room, Unity Theatre, Cape Rep., The Queens Theatre, The Landing Theatre Co., Wordsmyth Theatre, and has participated in other various readings, workshops and collaborations around Houston and is also a regular Voice Actor with Sentai Filmworks. Greg is the founder and Primary Maker of Stuff for lo-fi puppets. Follow them on Instagram @lofipuppets or go to lofipuppets.com.
LISA FAIRCHILD (Sofia) is a critically acclaimed actor in the North Texas area. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Rec Room in Houston!! She has recently performed in two festivals since theatres began to re-open. She appeared in Close to Home at Amphibian Stage’s Sparkfest and Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer for the Fort Worth Fringe Festival. Pre-pandemic she performed as Hazel in The Children at Stage West, Siobhan in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Oklahoma CityRep, Caroline in Luna Gale at Circle Theatre, A in Precious Little at Echo Theatre and Marmee in Little Women for Stolen Shakespeare Guild. Lisa received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Otterbein University and completed her acting apprenticeship at Actors Theatre of Louisville. www.lisafairchild. net
ELIZABETH KEEL (Mave) is a Houstonian actress, director, teacher, novelist, and playwright. She is a proud member of the Rec Room Writers Group, the Resident Playwright and Literary Manager for Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company, the Artistic & Community Engagement Administrator at Stages, a teaching artist at Grackle & Grackle, and a two-time almuna of the University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance. Thank you to Sophia Watt, Rec Room, Greg Cote, and the dear cast and crew, for bringing Dance back into her life. Upcoming projects may be found at www.elizabethamkeel. com
AVERY VONN KENYATTA (Luke) is a Houston based actor and Intimacy Director. Select acting credits include Teresa Rebeck’s The Nest (Barry), Titus Andronicus (Aaron the Moor), The Colored Museum (Miss Roj), Angels in America (Belize), and The Crucible (Danforth). He has a passion for actor advocacy and is extremely grateful to use his gift of storytelling in multiple ways. He is a certified Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors and has studied with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. He holds a BFA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Houston’s Professional Actor Training Program. Avery is delighted to be making his Rec Room debut!
ANJANA MENON (Connie) is thrilled to bits to be back performing in the Houston area after a two year hiatus on the East Coast. Her most recent theatre credits in the city include dramatized readings We, the Invisibles (#6), Queen (Sanam Shah), Shiv (Shiv) and Open Carry (Omelette) at Next Iteration Theatre Company; Talk Radio (Denise) with Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. She began her Houston career with Shunya Theatre’s The Prophet and the Poet (Narrator). She also served as assistant director for their critically acclaimed production of Art and hit children’s musical The Adventures of Hanuman. An architect by training, Anjana got her start in theatre in Chennai, India with the company Masquerade, where she stayed on as a core member from 2009-2011. During this time she co-scripted and performed the monologue Incestuous Bastard, and wrote Sitayana, a play for elementary school students.
SOPHIA MOBBS (Amina) feels very lucky to be a part of Rec Room’s opening play for the season. This past summer she was an acting apprentice at Theatre at Monmouth in Maine where she played Jerusha Abbott in the musical Daddy Long Legs and Queen Isabel in the world premiere of Sofonisba. Sophia also apprenticed at the Houston Shakespeare Festival in 2020. Sophia attends the University of Houston where she is an acting major. Her favorite role thus far at the University of Houston was Electra in The Oresteia. She is excited to see what opportunities are in store for her in the years to come.
SHANNON UPHOLD (Ashlee) is delighted to be making her Rec Room debut. She is a classically trained actor that has worked in theaters regionally and off-Broadway. Favorite theater roles include Horatio/Ophelia in Hamlet (Houston Shakespeare Festival), David Turner in ART HEIST (Right Angle Entertainment) and Katherine in Taming of the Shrew (NSE, Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey). She received her MFA from the University of Houston PATP in 2020. Shannon is represented by Boysen Talent Agency.
SOPHIA WATT (Director/Associate Artistic Director) is the associate artistic director at Rec Room Arts and a freelance director in Houston, Texas. Directing credits include: Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Hangar Theatre/ Wedge), Jack and the Beanstalk (Hangar Theater), The Diaries of Adam and Eve (Unity Theatre), The Nest (University of Houston- Guest Artist), The Effect (MATCH), Oleanna, The Visit and Creatures of Habit (The Landing Theatre Company), Hedda Gabler (part of Rec Room’s artist residency), Three Sisters (University of Houston- Guest Artist). She has assistant directed for Theresa Rebeck at the Alley Theatre as well as James Bohnen and Bill Brown at the University of Houston. She is an alumni of Barn Arts Residency, the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and SDCF observership class 2016-2018. Sophia is a 2019 Drama League Directing Fellow. BFA : The Hartt School. MFA: University of Houston. Sophiawatt.com
CLARE BARRON (Playwright) is a New York based playwright. Her play Dance Nation was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize, the recipient of the 2017 Susan Smith Blackburn award, and previously received the inaugural Relentless Award (2015); the play received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in 2018 and ran at the Almeida Theatre in London. Barron’s play You Got Older (2015 Obie award for Playwriting; nominee for 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play; finalist for the 2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize) received its
world premiere through P73 under the direction of Anne Kauffman and recently ran at Steppenwolf. Her play Baby Screams Miracle was recently produced at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, after having premiered as part of Clubbed Thumb’s 2013 SummerWorks Festival. Her play I’ll Never Love Again was produced at the Bushwick Starr in 2016 and was a New York Times Critics’ Pick. She is the recipient of the 2014-2015 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award (Vineyard Theater), the 2014 P73 Playwriting Fellowship; she has received Sloan commissions from MTC and EST, and is also under commission to Lincoln Center Theater, and Playwrights Horizons. She was recently staffed on Maria Semple’s upcoming show on HBO, Today Will Be Different, starring Julia Roberts, and is currently developing a project with Gran Via Productions attached for AMC.
STEFAN AZIZI (Scenic/Lighting Design and Managing Director) is the Managing Director for Rec Room Arts. Previous Rec Room designs include: The Children, Woyzeck, The Royale, On the Exhale, Hansel and Gretel, Exit Strategy, and Sender. He has worked professionally in positions ranging from Technical Director to Associate Scenic Designer for the MUNY, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New Jewish Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Shawnee Summer Theatre, and Variety Children’s Theatre. After leaving St. Louis, he became the Technical Director at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth as well as designing Big Fish and Godspell for them. He graduated with departmental honors in Scene Design and Technical Direction from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. He is currently a freelance designer based and Project Manager for Caspian Enterprises based in Houston. @stefan_azizi
GAGE BAKER (Sound Design) is a sound designer and mixer from Houston. An alum of UH, he is currently pursuing an MFA in Sound Design at Boston University. Credits include Alley Theatre, Stages, and Rec Room. gagebaker.com JUAN SARACAY (Costume Design) is a Houston home grown Costume Designer/ Cutter Draper. Juan received his MFA in costume design from the University of Houston. Aside from creating fabulous costumes for local productions, Juan is an art teacher, working on training the next generation artists. Juan would like to thank his friends, family and other BIPOC artist for their constant support and inspiration.
SKYE BRONFENBRENNER (Choreographer/ Intimacy Direction) is thrilled to be working with this amazing team! She has an MFA in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Houston and has been fight directing, intimacy directing, and choreographing in Houston since graduating. Recent credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Assistant Fight and Intimacy director) with the Alley Theatre, Picnic (Fight Director, Intimacy Director, and Choreographer) and The Carrier (Fight Director) both at the University of Houston, and She Kills Monsters (Fight Director) at Summer Creek High School. She taught Movement/Stage combat to the advanced students at the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts and currently teaches at Rice University where she is choreographing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A huge thank you to the incredible team of artists on this production and to Adam Noble, Sophia Watt, and Matt Hune for trusting me with such wonderful opportunities!
MADISON SUTTON (Production Stage Manager) is a recent graduate of the University of Houston’s BFA Stage Management program and the current Production Manager for ROCO. Some of her favorite credits include The Quarantine Series, From White Plains (Thunderclap Productions) The Nest (Quintero), Twitch (Canteen Series), the Ten Minute Play Festival (2019 & 2020) She would like to thank her roommates, father, sisters, and cats for their continual love and support.
BRANDON CHO (Assistant Sound Design) is a junior at UH currently working towards his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts. He specializes
in sound and has recently worked on shows around Houston such as: Pipeline, School Girls, and Picnic.
JUAN SARACAY (Costume Design) is a Houston home grown Costume Designer/ Cutter Draper. Juan received his MFA in costume design from the University of Houston. Aside from creating fabulous costumes for local productions, Juan is an art teacher, working on training the next generation artists. Juan would like to thank his friends, family and other BIPOC artist for their constant support and inspiration.
MATT HUNE (Artistic Director) is co-founder and Artistic Director of Rec Room Arts where he is dedicated to energizing a new generation of theatre artists and audiences. In Rec Room’s short history, Hune and staff have produced plays, opera, dance, and concerts. Before cofounding Rec Room, Hune developed the Living Room Series, where he converted a Montrose living room into a 22-seat black box theater. In addition to Rec Room Arts, he has been involved in the founding of The Inconvenience in Chicago and Loring Theatre in Minneapolis. As a director, his original works or adaptations include: Woyzeck, Hansel and Gretel, The Rite of Spring, The Bald Soprano, Dead Rock Star, Not Mad, Inherited, and Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Other directing credits include: Ike Holter’s Exit Strategy, Put Your House in Order at the Alley Theatre’s All New Festival, Hansel and Gretel, Blackbird, The Lesson, Three Sisters, and Tis Pity She’s a Whore, among others. As an actor, he made his professional debut in the regional premiere of Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia at the Alley Theatre. Other acting credits include Hamlet, Macbeth, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, This is Our Youth, Dead Man Walking, American Buffalo, Good Worker, Merchant of Venice, and A Number. He currently is a faculty member in the acting program at HSPVA. He also teaches acting in the graduate Opera Studies program at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is an alumnus of The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and a recipient of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts award for Theatre. He is a member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society).
SUMMER|Starts July 14
-New York Magazine
IS GOD IS
written by
Aleshea Harris
directed by
Destyne Miller
A modern myth about twin sisters who sojourn from the Dirty South to the California desert to exact righeous revenge. This Obie Award winning play collides the ancient, the modern, the tragic, the Spaghetti Western, and Afropunk in this darkly funny and unapologetic Houston premiere play.
FALL|Starts October 20
-Chicago Tribune
PUT YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER
written by
Ike Holter
directed by
Matt Hune
A romantic-comedy/horror/thriller about a first date that spirals into a race against an invading force. This Houston premiere from playwright Ike Holter (Exit Strategy, Sender) explores new beginnings at the end of the world.
