PRE SHOW
RUNNING ORDER
MONOLOGUE COLD OPEN Ted
THE INSTITUTE
V.O Evelyn
“Jeremy” Marvin “Sydney” Tess “The Weber Party” Brock, Brick, Molly, Lindsey
A.I. Helpers Greg, Ted
JOURNALISM 101
“Boss” Ted “Lila” Lindsey “Jenny” Molly
BIG MUSICAL NUMBER
Entire Cast
INTROVERTS ANONYMOUS
“Luke” Brock “Becca” Evelyn “Nathan” Greg “Stacy” Tess “Dan” - Brick “Kyle” Marvin “Amy” Molly
THE SWEENEY (TODD) SISTERS
“Roger” Ted “Liz” and “Candy” Celebrity Guest Stars Entire Cast
FINALE
Jonah Adae (Brandon) Jonah is a full-time marketer, and a former broadcaster who made his return to theater with The Story Collective in 2021. He is so excited to be involved in a TSC original production with his wife, Marianne. His hobbies include listening to music, exercising, and spending quality time with his family and friends.
Marianne Adae (Lindsay) Marianne is so excited to continue on her journey with The Story Collective! She was recently seen as Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Variety! is particularly sentimental to her, bringing to life stories Marianne's mother told her about her life growing up in the seventies. Marianne hopes to pay a proper tribute to the era, and those who experienced it.
Will Ellis (Al Paxton/Co-Writer) Will is very excited to be a part of this original production, a love letter to the classic comedy shows he grew up with! Will was most recently seen as Billy in The Story Collective’s performance of The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!, Chip in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and this December, will be playing Gabe in ootlighter’s production of Next to Normal. While not onstage, Will is also the Development Director for TSC, Development Assistant yhouse in the Park, murder mystery actor for Murder and Merriement, and bartender at Pennifold’s Pub. Will would like to especially thank Susan, Gabe, Carter, the cast and crew of Variety!, and his better half, Harrison.
Justin Hanks (Brick Michael) Justin Hanks is a web developer, writer, and self-proclaimed Pokémon master. His stage credits include Seussical the Musical (Horton), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Wizard of Oz (Cowardly Lion), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Gaston), Children of Eden (Father), Little Shop of Horrors (Orin Scrivello), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), Rumors (Ken Gorman), FantasticLand (Travis Barnes), and The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Norbert). In recent months, Justin has eland Stage Company’s productions of Curtains (Bobby Pepper) and Mission: Possible (Maxwell Sharp). Up next, you can catch him in Queen City Vaudevillian’s Halloween Spectacular, as well as Mariemont Players’ production of
Dearly Departed (Royce Turpin). Justin is honored to be performing with the talented cast and crew of The Story Collective’s Variety!, and as the infamous Ted Neuman Carol Show song goes: “you’ve made his life better.”
Gabe Hoyer (Brock Turner) Gabe serves as Managing Director for The Story Collective, and is excited to share this next chapter with you! Previous credits with TSC include The Epic Story (Janitor) and The Musical of Musicals: The Musical! (Jitter). Gabe earned his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Belmont University, and is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois with a Master’s of Science in Management. He hopes you enjoy the show, and thanks you for making The Story Collective part of your Cincinnati arts world! Special thanks to Susan Jung and Will Ellis for being impeccable teammates during this whole process. Love and prayers sent out to Emily McLean.
S n Jung (Rachel McPherson / Co-Writer / ctor) Susan is the Director and Choreographer for the ard winning Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy Theatre Department and the director of the CHCA improv team, Off the
. With over 20 years in the business, she has directed over 60 full length productions, taught musical theater dance and acting for CCM prep, led/taught over 30 musical theater camps, and taught acting, musical theatre, and dance at the Tony award winning Playhouse in the Park. Susan was one of the stage directors for the Christmas show, Awaited. She is also a mentor for the Jumpstart Theatre Program (pioneered in Cincinnati) through EDTA where she works with underserved middle school educators to help them start and maintain a theatre program. She has won a Theatre Educator Acclaim Award and was an Overture Finalist for Theatre Education as well as several local acting and choreography awards. As a playwright, several of her original plays have been produced in Cincinnati, Arizona, and Utah. Susan maintains her professional acting career with regional and national commercials, print ads, and voice-overs while performing nationally and internationally with Friends of the Groom and regionally with Murder and Merriment. Susan has also performed professionally with local theatres, TCTC and WFIT, and holds a B.A. in theatre from Northern Kentucky University.
avid Karsner (Greg) David hopes you have a great time tonight watching the show. He grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky but currently lives in Erlanger, Kentucky. He has been in several productions around the area as well as around Frankfort and Louisville. Most recently he has been involved with playing characters from murder mysteries. The roles that he enjoyed
(David Karsner bio continued) the most were: The Pastor in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, The Butler/Levi in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Robert in The Drowsy Chaperone. David appreciates the fact that you choose to spend your evening with The Story Collective.
Knizner (Tess) Ally graduated from Xavier University y with her degree in Theatre Education. While at Xavier as a member of Toolbox Improv Comedy Troupe and has continued this passion by taking classes at Improv Cincinnati and is a proud new member of their house team, Hambrosia. She now teaches theatre as an Arts Educator at the Greenacres oundation. Ally also is a Red Nose Doc with Healthy Humor, working at Children’s Hospital where she performs for patients and their families. Ally loves to hang out with her delightful roommates, hike, bike, and skate, try new recipes, see improv shows, be with her family, and watch “The Golden Girls”. She wants to thank The Story Collective for their kind welcome. Ally thanks her family for loving her, the gift of her education, and for their willingness to support show after show. Thanks to those who taught her to be a proud artist and teacher: Katie Geckle, Elizabeth Harris, Dave Powell, Eileen Earnest, Regina Pugh, and Jeremy Dubin. Here’s to living the life we dream!
m Long (Ted Neuman Carol) Tom Long has been the director, playwright, and chief storyteller for Friends of the Groom Inc. since 1980 – Cincinnati’s most successful unknown professional theater company – performing and leading workshops at thousands of locations from Anchorage to Beijing.
He has studied improv at I.O. theater in Chicago as well as taking classes and performing for the past five years at Improv Cincinnati; and was once voted “Best Scottish Brogue in a Southern Dialect Play” by fellow cast members during a production on the Showboat Majestic. Tom has been a performer for Public Educational Television, and has served as a consultant in youth work and theater for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, the Cincinnati Library, and a number of schools and social agencies throughout Ohio. His religious plays and musicals have been published by Baker's Plays, Chorister’s Guild, Hal Leonard Publishing, Hope Publishing, and the National Christian Education Council of Great Britain. His work has won the Christians in Theatre Arts sketch writing and one-act play writing competitions, two Telly Awards, and a Dove Award nomination. Tom has an M.A. in Theatre from the University of Cincinnati. He is married and is the proud father of two grown daughters. Tom has also performed on Broadway...on a traffic island in Time Square with the Salvation Army.
y Mann (Marvin) Tony would like to welcome everyone to the show tonight. He is originally from Muncie Indiana and has only been performing for the past three years. Beginning his acting career as a student under Susan Jung, Tony would like to arn: “If I do terrible tonight, it’s all her fault!”. Tony has been a part of The Story Collective onstage in performances of The Epic Story and Christmas at the Barn as well as a student in their previous Acting and Improv classes. He would like to thank the audience of Variety! “We are excited to bring this vision to light for you! Please enjoy it because we enjoyed getting it ready for you!”
Caroline Rakestraw (Molly) Caroline is so excited to be a part of Variety! She has been a part of The Story Collective since its beginning and her favorite show to be in was The Epic Story. Other favorite performances include Matilda at The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, Awaited with Crossroads Community Church, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Northern Kentucky University. She recently graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a degree in Musical Theatre and is excited to continue performing in and around Cincinnati. Caroline would like to dedicate this show to her family and her fearless director Susan. She hopes you enjoy the show!
Jocelyn Sluka (Evelyn Lewis Carol) Jocelyn Sluka is a principal actress and Managing Director for Friends of the Groom Theater Company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her over thirty five years as a professional actor and singer, she has worked with a variety of regional and educational theaters, and in touring productions for US troops stationed in Germany, as well as serving for 10 years as the Drama Director for First Christian Assembly Church. She also taught acting classes for Curtains Up, a conservatory for young actors which she co-founded in 2005. As an educator, she has taught throughout the U.S. as well as in Greece, Uganda, England, Israel and Jordan – most recently creating week-long theater and team-building workshops for exploited women in East Asia – work which started from designing and teaching children and adolescents at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Behavioral Care Unit. As a member of SAG/AFTRA, she appears in regional and national commercials, films, television and print ads, as well as doing voiceover work and performing with Improv Cincinnati. Jocelyn has a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Kentucky.
Terry Webb (Wes) Terry Webb is excited to be performing in The Story Collective's Variety! He loves the fun and creativity of an original show. His previous experience with The Story Collective was as an assistant set constructor for The Musical of Musicals:the Musical! Terry currently performs as Sammy Davis Jr. in Murder and Merriment's Rat Pack & Poison show. Growing up in Cincinnati Ohio, Terry began his interest in performing at age of 4 with both acting and singing. While attending Princeton High School, Terry not only performed in the concert orchestra and acapella choir but also performed in many theatrical productions including Coffee House Theater, Oedipus, Almost Maine, Into The Woods,Twelfth Night, and Tarzan: the Musical. After graduating from high school, Terry attended Wright State University as a Theatre Design/Technology major specializing in Prop Making. Terry worked as a Prop Master/Prop Run Crew Member/Prop Run Crew Head on many Wright State productions including No No Nanette, 9 to 5, Fiddler on the Roof, Urinetown, The Grapes of Wrath, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Crazy for You, Mother Courage and her Children, Peter and the Starcatcher, and The Addams Family. Terry credits the Man upstairs as well as the love and support of his family and friends for his talents and success. Terry wants to thank Susan Jung, Gabe Hoyer, Will Ellis and everyone involved with Variety! and The Story Collective for this incredible opportunity!
Sophia Gamble (Stage Manager) This is Sophia's first production with The Story Collective! She is super excited to have the opportunity to be a part of this community! Sophia is a second-year Stage Management major at University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Her past credits include being the Production Assistant for CCM's production of Our Town and the Production Assistant for CCM's production of Sunday in the Park with George. She would like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her!
Carter is excited to finally be involved in a TSC show! He’s been behind the scenes with local theaters and schools for years but also loves composing music with Susan Jung. Carter currently music directs for local churches, runs audio for live theater and band events, records and mixes various groups, and scores some films in his downtime. He graduated from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy where he loved to perform in the theater, help on crew with audio and video editing, and performed with CHCA’s Off the Cuff improv team. He hopes you enjoy the show!
The Story Collective of Cincinnati is an artist driven professional and authentic company committed to sharing stories and opportunities that connect performers and the surrounding community to meaningful human experiences.
Our Vision:
We strive to blend artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility in creating experiences which honor the past, celebrate the present, and imagine the future.
Northminster Church
McSwain Carpets and Floors
Liberty Farm Market
Carrie Bolander
Jim Jung
Friends of the Groom Malcolm Vanderwoude
Maria Huey Carter Jackson
Sophia Gamble
Brendon and Christine Hansford
Jim and Shelley Hoyer
TSC Volunteers
Our Donors!
