PRODUCTION BIOGRAPHIES

KATIE BENDER (PLAYWRIGHT, SHE/HER) is a playwright, performer, and theater maker. Her plays Still Now, The Fault and The Survivors/Los Sobrevivientes are filled with games, physical exertion, and a poetic delight in the mundane, each an unflinching examination of women facing impossible circumstances. Working with Underbelly, she co-created Slip River, Church of the Passionate Cat and an immersive adaptation of Alice in Wonderland commissioned by ZACH. With Mars and Reisman, she co-created NEXT YEAR PEOPLE which premiered at Fusebox 2019. Solo work includes Instructions for a Séance and Judith. Katie’s work has been developed and produced around the country at places like The Alley, Hyde Park Theater, Kitchen Dog, Icicle Creek and ZACH as well as The New Harmony Project, The Orchard Project, Shrewd Productions, The Hangar, EST, The Playwrights’ Center, The Orcas Center and UCSB’s LAUNCH PAD to name a few. On the Kilroys List and a finalist for the inaugural Shakespeare’s Sister Fellowship, she has her M.F.A. from The University of Texas and was a 2016/2017 Jerome Fellow and current AffiliatedWriter at The Playwrights’ Center. She is over the moon to be back at LAUNCH PAD working on SHE WOLF.

RISA BRAININ (DIRECTOR, SHE/HER) is a freelance director and Founder/Artistic Director of LAUNCH PAD at UCSB. Brainin served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Associate Artistic Director for both Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Resident Director at the Guthrie Theater. Other directorial credits include plays at American Players Theatre, Actors’ Theatre of Louisville, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Clarence Brown Theatre, Denver Center Theatre, Elements Theatre Collective, Ensemble Theatre, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, History Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Illusion Theatre, Kansas City Actors’ Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Mixed Blood, New Harmony Project, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Playmakers Repertory Company, Portland Stage Company, Red Bull Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seven Devils New Play Foundry, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, Skylight Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Ten Thousand Things and TheatreSquared. A graduate of the Carnegie-Mellon University Drama Program, Brainin is past President of the Board of Trustees of the National Theatre Conference and a member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

GREG MITCHELL (SCENIC DESIGNER, HE/HIM)

is thrilled to be working with Launchpad again where he has designed scenery for The Talented Ones and the digital space for Shanghai. A professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, he has created designs for a number of productions on campus over the past several years including Middletown, The Importance of Being Earnest, Death of Kings, Cabaret, The World of Extreme Happiness, and The Bones of Contention. Greg’s work has been seen around the world in the creation of theatre sets, lighting for productions, video-media designs, and large scale installation art. Some favorites from the last few years include Everest for Chicago Opera Theatre, Someone Else’s House for the Geffen in Los Angeles, Tosca in Anchorage, Lady Namaster and the Synaptic Room in Dublin, Singularity for Burning Man in Nevada, Clinton the Musical in New York City, Arjuna’s Dilemma in Kathmandu, and Verdi’s Macbeth in Panama. His work has been nominated for several awards including the Helen Hayes Award for Oustanding Design. He earned a MFA in Lighting and Scenic Design from New York Universitys’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a proud member of IATSE / United Scenic Artists local 829.

KIM

KRUMM SORENSON (COSTUME

DESIGNER, SHE/HER) is pleased to be reunited with Risa Brainin and friends, having worked with Risa on several projects in the past. She is a resident designer for Great Lakes Theater and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and has designed too many Shakespearean plays to count, several of them multiple times. Kim is excited to use her knowledge of Shakespeare while delving into the female perspective of Henry VI in SHE WOLF. In addition to designing for regional theaters throughout the country, Kim is currently an Assistant Costume Designer for Hamilton. She lives in Queens, NY with her husband Scott, and is the proud mother of Carly and Gem, and their new cat Chester.

MICHAEL KLAERS (LIGHTING DESIGNER, HE/HIM) regional theatre credits include the Guthrie Theater, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pacific

Conservatory Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company and more. Michael was the lighting designer for Triple Espresso – A Highly Caffeinated Comedy, which played in 50 cities in the US and Europe. He has been the lighting designer for UCSB’s Santa Barbara Dance Theater since 2014. SHE WOLF marks Michael’s 13th preview production for LAUNCH PAD.

MICHAEL KECK (MUSIC, HE/HIM) music has accompanied productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Mark Taper Forum, Arena Stage, TheatreWorks - Silicon Valley, Syracuse Stage, Rep St Louis, Seattle Rep, Indiana Rep, Portland Center Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Playhouse, and many others. His international credits include the Market Theatre Johannesburg South Africa, National Theater of Croatia–Zagreb, the Barbican Theatre Center, and Bristol Old Vic. His acting credits include the McCarter Theatre, Pacific Conservatory, Berkeley Rep, Portland Center Stage, the Alliance Theatre, and various stages in New York, where he currently resides. Excerpts from his solo play: Voices in the Rain are published by Temple University Press and Alta Mira Press. Michael received three Barrymore Award nominations for his work in Philadelphia. He is a member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, ASCAP, PEN and the Dramatists Guild.

GRACE KIMBALL (DRAMATURG, SHE/HER/PER) is a third-year Ph.D. student in UCSB’s Department of Theater and Dance. She studies the religions, affects, and performance behaviors of early modern England, and is working on her prospectus for her candidacy exams. Grace is currently an artistic director for The Public Domain Players (PDP), a student-run theater company on campus, and is the adapting playwright and director for the company’s adaptation of Elizabeth Cary’s Mariam. She is also a Resident Assistant for UCSB’s graduate apartments, a dramaturg for LAUNCH PAD’s SHE WOLF, Margaret of Anjou, a teaching assistant/associate for her department, and a fellow in the IHC Public Humanities graduate program.

CASSIE ARCHER (DRAMATURG, SHE/HER) is a second year MA student in Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at UCSB. So far at UCSB, she has been the dramaturg for the Fall 2021 production of Seagull and the 2022 LAUNCH PAD Summer Reading Series.

Cassie graduated from Chapman University with a BA in Theatre and English in 2020. Her dramaturgy credits at Chapman include Ellen McLaughlin’s adaptation of Lysistrata, and Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. Additionally, she was the dramaturgy intern for Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors in 2019.

SOPHIA PAPALIA (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SHE/HER) is a fourth year theater major in the directing concentration. She has recently finished directing her first One Act on campus in November. Sophia has been involved with LAUNCH PAD several times during her time at UCSB including the Amplify Reading Series Festival, A Medusa Thread preview production this past spring, and One Month Along over the summer. She is excited to be Assistant Directing a mainstage for the first time at UCSB!

AFREEN SEN CHATTERJI (ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER, SHE/ HER) is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Theater and Dance. Before moving to California, she worked as a ballet teacher and theatre practitioner in New Delhi, India. Her interests in performance, post-colonial politics and realms of cultural narratives as shaped by structures of power have brought her to UCSB.

LESLIE COHRT (ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER, ANY PRONOUNS) is a third-year Theater Design and Communication double major. So far this school year, Leslie has worked on various productions with UCSB, LAUNCH PAD, and the Amplify Initiative as an actor, stitcher, wardrobe supervisor, and stage manager. She is thrilled to now step into a design role under Kim’s tutelage.

ELIJAH FRANKLE (ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER, HE/THEY) is a second year Computer Science and Theatre Design student in the College of Creative Studies. UCSB: Spectral Frequencies (Assistant Projection and Sound Designer), The 25th Annual Putnam... (Assistant Lighting Designer), A Medusa Thread (Assistant Projection Designer), Amplify’s 24 Hour Play Festival (Lighting and Sound Designer), DOUBLE2 (Lighting and Sound Designer). Other productions include Roe (Lighting and Projection Designer) at California Lutheran University. His art has been shown at Fresno State during CSU Summer Arts and the UCSB Glass Box Gallery in Error 404: A Glitch Art Exhibition.

JAELLA HARDAWAY (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER, SHE/HER)

is a fourth year Sociology and Theater double major from Boulder, Colorado. She has stage managed many performances at UCSB including Seagull, Hookman and most recently The Government Inspector. She would like to thank her family and friends for their constant support and many adventures.

BELLA PORTER (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER, SHE/HER) is a thirdyear Theater Design major. Most recently she stage managed Dash Climbs A Rope during the fall one acts, and assistant stage managed Replaced for the Launch Pad Amplify series. She is very excited to be a part of this process and hopes you enjoy the show!

EMILY ZHANG (ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER, SHE/HER) is a fourthyear Theater major and this is her second year after transferring to Theater. SHE WOLF is the first LAUNCH PAD play she participated in. She previously worked in the crew of The Government Inspector and 2022 Spring Dance Concert, and participated as a stage manager in the 24-Hour Play Festival.

Cast Biographies

KIRSTEN HØJ (MARGARET, SHE/HER) is a fourth-year BFA acting student at UCSB. Originally from Ojai, California, she has worked in theater and film in and around LA and Santa Barbara. Recent UCSB credits include Nina in Seagull and Olivia in Twelfth Night. This past summer she made her New York debut as an actor in the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Kirsten has also had the privilege of performing in multiple LAUNCH PAD readings in her time at UCSB, and has fallen in love with new play development. She is thrilled to be a part of SHE WOLF.

MILO MARSDEN (ELENA, THEY/THEM) is a third year in the BFA acting program at UCSB. Recent credits include The Mayor in The Government Inspector, Leaf in 25th Annual, Sorin in Seagull and Sebastian in Twelfth Night. They can often be found on their couch, tensely gripping a glass of sparkling water, rewatching Fleabag for the tenth time .

ANGEL VILLALOBOS (HENRY, HE/HIM) is an actor, director and teaching artist, currently a senior in the BFA Acting program. Some of his recent acting credits include Orsino in Twelfth Night, Orgon in Tartuffe, and John in Baby With the Bathwater. He is the Artistic Director of Amplify (@ucsbamplify), an initiative in the theater department. He has produced and directed several short films and webisodes in LA and Santa Barbara. He likes trees. Besitos! ig: @villaslowbos

BRIANNA MUNGO (ALICE, SHE/HER) is a junior BFA Acting major and transfer student from the Bay Area. She’s performed in various film and theatrical productions, appearing last season as Mitch Mahoney in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and earlier this season as Anna Andreyevna in The Government Inspector. Off-stage, she enjoys reading tarot cards, giving her cat, Clove, lots of scratches, and sipping on a nice cold kombucha.

LUCAS CHENG (WILLIAM, HE/HIM) is a senior in the BFA Acting Program. Lucas has performed in multiple shows here at UCSB, including 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Chip Tolentino, and Seagull as Dorn. He is participating in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this year and is excited to be working with Risa Brainin again to bring you this production of SHE WOLF.

ERIN DONOHUE (BLANCHE, SHE/HER) is in her third year as a student at UCSB pursuing her BFA in acting. Her recent works at UCSB include acting in Spectral Frequencies (Ms. Madam), You See Them Out of the Corners of Your Eyes (Charlie), Romeo and Juliet (Lady Capulet), and Reunion (R) as well as assistant directing aside director Risa Brainin for Seagull. She is more than excited to be invited into this world of a play!

ALEXANDRA MARTIN (MOSE, SHE/HER) is a senior in UCSB’s BFA acting program. Alex’s most recent work includes playing Bobchinsky in UCSB’s The Government Inspector and the Nurse in Naked Shakes production of Romeo and Juliet. Alex is so thrilled to be acting for a LAUNCH PAD production and helping bring such an exciting new work to audiences. In her free time, you can probably find Alex working on a crochet project, reading high fantasy, or snuggling with her dog. Special thanks to Risa Brainin, Trinity Wicklund, and the LAUNCH PAD team for all their hard work and dedication. Enjoy the show!

VIVIAN OXLEY (CAITLIN, SHE/HER) is a first-year theater major. SHE WOLF, Margaret of Anjou will be Vivian’s second production at UCSB. The last UCSB production Vivian performed in was The Government Inspector in the fall of 2022. Outside of UCSB, Vivian’s recent performances include School of Rock as a gender-bended Dewey Finn and Mrs. Peacock in Clue. Vivian is honored to work alongside this wonderful cast and crew in her first LAUNCH PAD production. She would like to thank her friends and family for their love and support. Enjoy the show!

NETTA NAKASH (FAYE, SHE/HER) is a second-year transfer from Los Angeles pursuing her BFA in Acting. She has worked in theater and film all around the LA area, and being brand new to UCSB, she is very excited to jump into the work here as well! She hopes you enjoy the show and sends love to all! :)

ANGELO SANTOS (RICHARD, HE/HIM) is a third-year BFA Acting student. Angelo has worked on various productions as an actor such as Oedipus Rex, Fuenteovejuna, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. He has also worked on readings and festivals in UCSB such as the One Acts, LAUNCH PAD: Amplify Reading Series Festival, Solo Festival, 24Hour Play Festival, and many more. He was last seen on a 2022 Winter main-stage production, The Bones of Contention. He hopes you enjoy the show!

MICHAEL SEITZ (HUMPHREY, HE/HIM) is a senior in the BFA acting program. He was seen as Hlestakov (The Government Inspector), Panch (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Mr.Nightmare (Spectral Frequencies), D Vicious ( Airness), and in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind for UC Santa Barbara. He has also performed as Trigorin (Stupid F@#!ing Bird ), and Andrew Jackson (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) at College of the Sequoias, and Jaime (The Last Five Years), Mortimer ( Arsenic and Old Lace), and Bernstein (Dogfight). He would like to thank his friends and family for their love and support, pushing him to where he is today.

HOLDEN OVERBECK (KARL, HE/HIM) is a first-year Theatre major. Holden has acted in several UCSB productions this year, most recently in the Fall One Act production of James Still’s Dash Climbs a Rope, playing the role of Coach. He hopes you enjoy the show!! :)

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Jan Ruskin for making me feel at home, to Risa Brainin for creating such an incredible program for new work. Thanks to Liz Fisher for introducing me to Margaret. To Megan Thornton for all her dramaturgical support on early drafts. Thanks to Pat Shaw, Isabel Salazar and Raul Garza, Rachel Mars and Gab Reisman for being such an incredible playwright cohort during the pandemic. As always to Fiore Tedesco, Lucinda Tedesco, Leilah Stewart and Celeste Debardelaben.

Katie Bender

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