Download Who`s Who in the Company - Beck Center for the Arts

Who’s Who in the Company
Scott Spence (Artistic
Director / Director) is
now in his 25th season
at Beck Center! Since
1990, he has produced
over 200 productions,
directing over 75 himself.
The list of favorites
grows every season, and
includes Parade, A Man
of No Importance, Sweeney Todd, Hair, Picasso
at the Lapin Agile, The Farnsworth Invention,
Reefer Madness, The Fix, Zombie Prom, Bloody
Bloody Andrew Jackson, Evil Dead The Musical,
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,
and the box office smash hits The Producers
and Altar Boyz. Last season Scott added to
those favorites with productions of She Loves
Me and The New Mel Brooks Musical Young
Frankenstein. He is very proud of the awards and
acclamations Beck Center has received over
the past decade, and is especially grateful for
having won the Northern Ohio Live Award for
Achievement in Theatre in 2006. Outside of
these walls, Scott’s directorial assignments have
included a remounting of Beck Center’s hit
production of Altar Boyz at PlayhouseSquare’s
beautiful Hanna Theatre, Das Barbecü at
Opera Cleveland, The Last Night of Ballyhoo
at Case Western Reserve University’s Eldred
Theatre, Oh Dad Poor Dad....at Cleveland State
University Summer Stages and Noises Off at
both Weathervane Playhouse in Akron and
Berea Summer Theatre. An adjunct faculty
member at Cleveland State University, Scott has
also had the privilege to direct Satre’s No Exit
and Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Occasionally on the
other side of the footlights, Scott has appeared
in Dick Deadeye (Berea Summer Theatre), Man
of La Mancha (Jewish Community Center), The
Secret Rapture (Dobama) and closer to home at
Beck Center in Big River, The Boys Next Door
and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. He also had the
privilege of joining the cast of Passion, directed
by Victoria Bussert, in his only onstage stint
in the Studio Theater. Scott holds an MFA in
Directing from Western Illinois University and
is a trained stage fight choreographer, having
studied extensively with the SAFD. As always,
he dedicates all the work he does to his two
extraordinarily talented leading ladies, Rachel
and Carleigh. You both amaze me every day.
**William Roudebush
(Director) (SDC) returns
to Beck Center after
directing The Marvelous
Wonderettes, as well as the
critically acclaimed Equus.
He has been directing
for over thirty years at
theaters such as Actors
Theatre of Louisville,
Cleveland Play House, Syracuse Stage
Company, Theatre Virginia, GeVa Theatre,
Walnut Street Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre,
Fulton Theatre, Miami and Palm Beach Opera
Guilds, and many others. In New York, he
was Artistic Director for the Ten More By
Noonan series at the John Houseman Theatre
as well as directing for Ensemble Studio
Theatre, American Folk Theatre, Mint Theatre
Company, Actors Outlet, Pulse Ensemble
Theatre, Samuel Beckett Theatre, and Village
Gate where he researched his musical, Village
Gate Follies. Bill is based in New York City
where he works as a freelance director/
writer with his wife, actress Terri Garber. In
Philidelphia, his 2002 revival of Equus was
nominated for eight Barrymore awards and
won five including Best Overall Production of
a Play, Best Ensemble, and Best Director. He
adapted and directed a new musical based on
the works of singer/songwriter Harry Chapin
called Remember When The Music which played
at the Barter Theatre. Bill is also an educator
having taught at the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York, University of
Memphis, University of the Arts, Virginia
Commonwealth University, along with being
Theatre School Director for the Walnut Street
Theatre. His book entitled Acting By Mistake
is available online and at select bookstores.
Larry Goodpaster (Musical
Director) is excited for his
18th season opener. The
Spitfire Grill is destined to
become a favorite amongst
the 70+ shows Larry has
musically directed at
Beck Center. An awardwinning pianist in high
school, Larry went on to
follow quite a different path by obtaining degrees
in biology, chemistry, veterinary medicine, and
business over the next 20 years. Upon receiving
his MBA in 1997, Larry decided to return to
musical theater in his recreational time. Larry’s
love and passion for the arts soon became
an obsession. Beginning in January 2008, he
spent his days at Beck Center as a volunteer
business consultant with Cindy Einhouse,
President and CEO. In fall 2009, Larry was
hired as the Director of Business Operations.
He is currently the Director of Finance and
Administration at Beck Center. Sharing both
his artistic talent and business acumen with
Beck Center has finally allowed his circuitous
career path to come together. Larry would like
to thank Bill Roudebush for carefully guiding
this journey of hope. And he cannot thank our
audiences and donors enough for supporting
the theater and education programming so
generously.
Jamie R. Benetto (Stage
Manager) returns to Beck
Center after recently
stage managing Dogfight
last season. She has
been working with Beck
Center Youth Theater
since 2009. Jamie has
also worked at Cleveland
Play House off and on
since 2002 as an Assistant Stage Manager
and a Production Assistant. Her Cleveland
Play House productions include: Rabbit
Hole, Vincent in Brixton, Pride and Prejudice,
Dream a Little Dream, and Crowns and Good
People. Other area credits include Ntozake
Shange’s Why I Had To Dance at Oberlin
College and PlayhouseSquare Center,
The Sound of Music and Annie at Carousel
Dinner Theatre, The Secret Garden at Cain
Park, and Into the Woods and The Seagull at
Great Lakes Theater. Thanks to Scott and
Bill for this opportunity.
Hayley Baran (Assistant Stage Manager)
is excited to be starting off the season here
at Beck Center with this production of The
Spitfire Grill. She has done almost every job
backstage and most recently was the Assistant
Stage Manager for Lend Me a Tenor. Some of
her other favorite shows she’s been a part of
include Mary Poppins, Forever Plaid, She Loves
Me, and Altar Boyz. Thank you to the rest
of the cast and crew of The Spitfire Grill for
making this such an enjoyable show.
Andrew Nemec (Assistant
Stage Manager) is delighted
to be a part of The
Spitfire Grill. A native of
Seville, this is his first
foray outside of Medina
County. His background
includes stage managing
with Medina County Show
Biz (Miracle on 34th Street),
Buckeye Community Theatre (Alice in Wonderland),
Fred Hargrove Young Artists (Willy Wonka, Jr.), and
their collaboration of Beauty and the Beast, Jr. He
prefers stage managing, compared to his one time
on stage in The Music Man (Ensemble) with The
Medina Collaborative. In his “free time”, Andrew
enjoys trying new beers from around the world, and
winning money off his friends in fantasy football.
Joseph Virgo (Assistant
Stage Manager) recently
made his Beck Center
debut in Green Day’s
American Idiot (St. Jimmy).
Currently a senior at
Cleveland State University,
Joseph studies theatre
and has performed in
their productions of
Lysistrata (Men’s Chorus), The Dybbuk (Chanon),
and Tale of a West Texas Marsupial Girl (Dr. Pouch).
Other: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Aide
Williams) and HAIR (Tribe) at Blank Canvas
Theatre, and Fire On The Water at Cleveland
Public Theatre.
(Cast in alphabetical order)
*Dan Folino (Caleb Thorpe)
is an accomplished, albeit
veteran actor. He isn’t
returning to Beck Center
because he’s been here
all along. Dan recently
appeared as the “token
old guy playing someone
young” in Green Day’s
American Idiot. Happy
to have survived that performance, he decided
to roll the dice again and is thrilled to appear
in one of his favorite shows, The Spitfire Grill.
When not on stage, Dan enjoys making blood,
drinking at The Rush, obsessing over his hair,
and petting Ralph. In the future, he’d like
more roles with nudity. #everythingsfine
Neely Gevaart (Percy
Talbott) is very excited
to be back at Beck
Center after appearing
in The Producers! Some
of her favorite past
shows include Violet
(Violet) and The Light
in the Piazza (Franca) at
Lakeland Civic Theatre,
Hair (Crissy) and The Texas Chainsaw Musical!
(Kristy) at Blank Canvas Theatre, and The
Boy Friend (Adult Ensemble) at The Cassidy
Theatre. Thanks to her friends and family for
all of their support.
Lissy
Gulick
(Effy
Krayneck) delightedly
returns to Beck Center,
where she got her “restart” on the Cleveland
professional stage in
1993, appearing first
in Nunsense (Mother
Superior), then Sweeney
Todd (Mrs. Lovett),
Auntie Mame (Mame), Something’s Afoot (Miss
Tweed), Is He Dead? (Mme. Bathilde), Jerry
Springer: the Opera (Irene), Mary Poppins (Mrs.
Brill), and most recently Lend Me A Tenor (Julia).
Lissy has appeared in most of this area’s bestknown venues, including PlayhouseSquare: We
Gotta Bingo (Helga) and Shear Madness (Mrs.
Shubert); Dobama Theatre: The Receptionist (title
role); Cain Park: The Music Man (Mrs. Shinn) and
Violet (Old Lady); Porthouse Theatre: Oklahoma!
(Aunt Eller), Bye Bye Birdie (Mae Peterson), The
Sound of Music (Sister Margarethe), Fiddler on
the Roof (Yente), and Oliver! (Widow Corney).
She played pivotal five-line roles in three films:
Welcome to Collinwood (mean nun), Antwone
Fisher (nice social-worker), and Jack Reacher (sassy
waitress) with Tom Cruise.
Kate Leigh Michalski
(Shelby Thorpe) is so
excited to be a part of
this production! Past
favorite roles include:
The Texas Chainsaw Musical!
(Lucretia), Godspell, High
Fidelity (Liz), Triassic Parq
(Kaitlyn), and Hair at
Blank Canvas Theatre;
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Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown) at The Cassidy
Theatre; Twelfth Night (Maria/Feste) at
Ensemble Theatre; The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee (Olive) at TrueNorth
Cultural Arts. She holds a BFA in Musical
Theatre from Point Park University. Thank you
to Bill and Larry for allowing her to be a part of
this beautiful show. For Twan. #goFanchergo
Love you, Mom! Love you, Dad.
Shane Patrick O’Neill
(Sheriff Joe Sutter) is
thrilled to be returning
to Beck Center after
making his debut in
last year’s production of
Forever Plaid (Frankie).
Shane is a proud
graduate of the musical
theatre programs of
New York University (MM) and Ashland
University (BA). His recent local credits
include The Light in the Piazza (Fabrizio) at
Lakeland Civic Theatre, and High Fidelity
(Rob) and Godspell (We Beseech Thee) at
Blank Canvas Theatre. Regional: Legally
Blond The Musical (Emmett) and Songs
for a New World (Man 2) at White Plains
Performing Arts Center, The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip) and I Love
You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Man 2) at
The Palace Theatre. Shane has served as an
adjunct professor at Ashland University and
currently teaches voice and theatre at Olmsted
Performing Arts. Shane sends love and thanks
to his wife, Alicia, and their new daughter,
Riley. www.shanepatrickoneill.com
*Lenne Snively (Hannah
Ferguson) is grateful
to be back at Beck
Center where she was
last seen in Annie (Miss
Hannigan). Other Beck
Center Main Stage
appearances: Urinetown
(Penelope Pennywise),
Equus (Dora Strang),
and The Full Monty (Jeannette Burmeister).
Studio Theater productions: A Man of No
Importance (Lily) and Grey Gardens (Big Edie).
Lenne has also appeared at Dobama in Kin
(Linda), one of her favorite roles. Regional
theater appearances include Richard III
(Duchess of York) at Idaho Shakespeare
Festival and Great Lakes Theater, Guys
and Dolls (General Cartwright) at Great
Lake Theater, and The Sound of Music
(Sister Berthe), Damn Yankees (Sister), Our
Town (Mrs. Soames), The Sunshine Boys
(R.N.) at Porthouse Theater. Porthouse
Theater is also where Lenne first discovered
Hannah and The Spitfire Grill ten years ago
(time flies!), and where she most recently
appeared in A Little Night Music (Madame
Armfledt). Lenne lives in Cleveland with
her husband retired police officer and
songwriter/singer/guitarist Jim Snively, an
Irish Setter, a Bluetick Coonhound, and a
very loud, very loquacious, very green bird
they call Peabody. Thank you to Bill for
another go around with this complicated
woman who is Hannah.
Derrick Winger (The
Visitor) is thrilled to
be back on stage at
Beck Center where he
last appeared in She
Loves Me (Maitre’D).
Most
recently
he
performed in Henry V
(Exeter) with the Ohio
Shakespeare Festival at
Stan Hywet. Some favorite credits include
Working (Man 3 Track) at Blank Canvas
Theatre, Les Miserablés: SE (Jean Val Jean)
at Springville Center for the Arts, Monty
Python’s SPAMALOT (Sir Galahad) with
Hudson Players, and Pirates of Penzance
(Pirate King) at Grove City College. He has
also directed Children of Eden, Urinetown,
and Bye Bye Birdie for youth theatre and
high school programs in New York and
Pennsylvania. He’d like to thank his wife,
Justine, and his new daughter, Cassandra,
for their support and a special thanks to
you for supporting local theatre!
*Actor appears courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association
(AEA), the union of actors and stage managers.
** Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
Aaron Benson (Technical Director) is a
freelance designer and theatre educator
who recently served as the Scene Shop
Supervisor for Cleveland State University.
Recent Designs include Dobama Theatre’s
The Aliens and Cleveland Public Theatre’s
Santaland Diaries, as well as many Cleveland
State University productions. He also
served as the Producer, Director, Scenic
Designer and Technical Director for Little
Vikings Children’s Theater at Cleveland
State University. Before arriving to Ohio,
Aaron was the Faculty Scene Designer and
Technical Director for Fullerton College
in Fullerton, California. His designs for
Fullerton included Julius Caesar, Hair and
Cyrano de Bergerac. He has also worked at
the Utah Shakespeare Festival in many
capacities between the 2004-2009 seasons
and was awarded the Bruce Brisson Award
for Excellence in Assistant Scenic Design.
Aaron holds his M.F.A. in Scenic Design
from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
Trad A Burns (Lighting Designer) has a
career that spans theatre, dance, amusement
parks, as well as architectural and retail
lighting. His extensive credits include
designs for New York Theatre Workshop
(NYC), La Mama ETC (NYC), HERE
(NYC), Classic Stage Company (NYC),
The Public Theatre (NYC), Cleveland
Play House, PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland
Public Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre,
Cain Park, Lakeland Civic Theatre,
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Beck
Center, Dobama Theatre, New York City
Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston
Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, National Ballet of
Canada, The Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street,
BalletMet, Kansas City Ballet, Pittsburgh
Ballet Theatre, Ballet British Columbia,
Washington Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet,
Dayton Ballet, Kansas City Dance Festival,
Des Moines Ballet, Ballet Hawaii, Lafayette
Ballet, Verb Ballets, Inlet Dance Theatre,
Cedar Point, Valley Fair, Knott’s Berry
Farm, Kings Island, Carowinds, California’s
Great America, Worlds of Fun, Walt Disney
World, Disneyland, Disneyland Japan,
Disney Sea, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival
Cruise Lines, Universal Studios Florida &
Japan, Woodstock Ice Productions, and The
Family of Charles M. Schulz.
Carlton Guc (Sound Designer) is pleased to
be part of another exciting production at Beck
Center. Recently, his 2014 sound designs
have been heard at Beck Center (Young
Frankenstein; Forever Plaid; Mary Poppins) and
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Hathaway Brown (Rent; Oklahoma). When
not designing sound for theatre, Carlton
works on theatrical related software which is
used on Broadway, the West End, in schools,
and in theatres all over the world. You can
also find him playing guitar or teaching
skiing on the slopes.
Aimee Kluiber (Costume Designer) is
a costume designer from Lakewood. She
studied theatre and music at Wittenberg
University and Cleveland Institute of
Music, and fashion and millinery design at
Virginia Marti College of Art and Design.
Her theatrical associations include Lyric
Opera Cleveland, Cleveland Play House,
Cleveland Institute of Music, Cain Park,
Case Western Reserve University, Cesear’s
Forum, Red Hen Productions, Dobama
Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Beck Center,
Willoughby Fine Arts Association, and the
Cleveland Jewish Community Center.
Fred Alley (Lyrics and Book) (1962–2001)
was an American musical theatre lyricist
and librettist who died unexpectedly just as
his work gained national recognition. His
collaboration on the musical The Spitfire
Grill with composer James Valcq won the
American Academy of Arts and Letters’
prestigious Richard Rodgers Production
Award for 2001. Premiered at the George
Street Playhouse in New Jersey and produced
Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons, it
received Best Musical nominations from the
Outer Critics Circle and Drama League, as
well as two Drama Desk nominations. The
cast album was released on Triangle Road
Records. The Spitfire Grill has become one
of the most frequently performed recent
musicals with more than 350 productions to
date, not only in every major American city
but in Canada, Germany, South Korea, and
Japan as well. In 2008 the show had its UK
premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
James Valcq (Music and Book) is a musical
theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist,
best known for his contributions to The
Spitfire Grill, which won the Richard
Rodgers Production Award presented by the
American Academy of Arts and Letters and
recieved Best Musical nominations from the
Outer Critics Circle and Drama League, as
26
well as two Drama Desk nominations. Also
Off-Broadway, Valcq wrote the book, music,
and lyrics for Zombies from The Beyond, which
opened to great critical acclaim in 1995. Both
The Spitfire Grill and Zombies from The Beyond
have become staples in regional theatres,
particularly The Spitfire Grill, one of the most
frequently performed recent musicals with
more than 350 productions to date, not only
in every major American city but in Canada,
Germany, South Korea, Australia, and Japan
as well. Other New York credits include Fallout
Follies at the York Theatre, Songs I Never Sang
For My Father at the Village Theatre, and The
Last Leaf, a collaboration with Tony-nominee
Mary Bracken Phillips. He holds an MFA from
NYU’s Musical Theatre Program and a BFA
(on full scholarship) from the University of
Wisconsin–Madison. In addition to musicals,
Valcq has composed song cycles and choral
pieces which have been performed in the U.S.
and Europe.
Lee David Zlotoff (Writer and Director of
the film The Spitfire Grill) is a producer,
director and screenwriter best known as the
creator of the TV series MacGyver, which ran
on ABC between 1985 and 1992 and was sold
throughout the world. He then produced the
television series The Man from Snowy River,
loosely based on the Banjo Patterson poem
“The Man from Snowy River”. Additionally,
he wrote and directed the 1996 film The Spitfire
Grill, which won the Audience Award at the
Sundance Film Festival and was nominated
for the Grand Jury Prize. Zlotoff graduated
from Brooklyn Technical High School in
1970. He then went on to St. John’s College
in Annapolis, Maryland.