Leo K. Theatre Opus By Michael Hollinger Directed by Braden Abraham October 30 - December 6, 2009
CAST BIOS
Charles Leggett* Carl At Seattle Repertory Theatre: Sir Toby Belch, Twelfe Night (Seattle Times “Footlight” Award); Mortimer Durham, The Constant Wife; Brighella, The King Stag; Sturdyvant, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Charles will return to the Rep in January to play Lingck in Glengarry Glen Ross. Other work: ACT (“Footlight” Award for Joe Foster in the world premiere of Steven Dietz’s Becky’s New Car), Seattle Shakespeare Company, Intiman, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre and numerous smaller companies. His voice-over work is featured in a number of video games and in 11 audio book recordings for Seattle’s Cedar House Audio. Charles’ film work includes the locally made features The Spy and the Sparrow, Evergreen and Urban Scarecrow.
Allen Fitzpatrick* Elliot Allen’s local appearances include Private Lives (Seattle Rep), The Clean House and A Christmas Carol (ACT), Uncle Vanya and Richard III (Intiman), Proof (TAG), and Sweeney Todd (as Sweeney), Sunday in the Park, Cabaret, Memphis, and Into The Woods (5th Avenue). His Broadway roles include Les Misérables (Thénardier), 42nd Street, Sweet Smell of Success, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Damn Yankees, Scarlet Pimpernel, and Passion. National tours include Six Degrees of Separation, Aspects of Love, Guys and Dolls, Whistle Down the Wind, and Sunset Boulevard (as Max). His films include Kissing Jessica Stein, and he’s often seen on Law & Order. Allen created roles in 12 Off-Broadway plays, and has appeared in over 160 roles in regional theatres. He is artistic director of the Icicle Creek Theatre Festival (www.iciclecreekact.com).
Shawn Belyea* Alan Shawn Belyea is a proud a local actor, director, and producer. Shawn is executive producer of 14/48, the world’s quickest theater festival, which won the 2008 Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award. Mr. Belyea is company manager for One World Theatre, a member of the board at Live Girls!, a company member at Balagan Theatre, and ensemble president of The Sandbox Artist Collective. Last season Shawn was seen in Henry IV and Servant of Two Masters at Seattle Shakespeare Company. Mr. Belyea has acted and directed with many companies here in Seattle including ACT, On The Boards, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, Consolidated Works, CHAC, and Theater Schmeater, just to name a few. Shawn would like to thank Megan for all the wonderful sandwiches.
Chelsey Rives* Grace Chelsey Rives is thrilled to be back at Seattle Rep where she performed in boom and The Lady from Dubuque. Ms. Rives has performed locally in A Tale of Two Cities at Seattle Children’s Theatre and A Streetcar Named Desire, Prayer for My Enemy, and The Skin of Our Teeth at Intiman Theatre. Other regional credits include Jesus Hates Me at Denver Center, Hazard County and Moot the Messenger at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Lady Windermere’s Fan at Baltimore Center Stage, Splendour at the Old Globe, and Lysistrata, Marat/Sade, Othello, and Three Farces and a Funeral at American Repertory Theatre. Ms. Rives also works in the commercial, voice-over, video game, television and film industries. Ms. Rives earned her MFA from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University and the Moscow Art Theatre School.
Todd Jefferson Moore* Dorian Todd is pleased to return to Seattle Repertory Theatre. Other Rep productions include Gem of the Ocean, Thom Pain (based on nothing), In the Heart of the Wood, Eye of God, Marvin’s Room, and As You Like It. Other productions include UP (Syracuse Stage); Crime and Punishment, Uncle Vanya, The Grapes of Wrath, The Weir (Intiman); Pericles, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, As You Like It (Seattle Shakespeare Company); and The Wizard of Oz (Seattle Children’s Theatre). He is also a part-time instructor at Cornish College of the Arts and for ACT’s Young Playwriting Program in area middle and high schools.
ARTISTIC TEAM BIOS
Braden Abraham Director For Seattle Rep: Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names by Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin (world premiere); Betrayal by Harold Pinter; My Name is Rachel Corrie by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner (US regional premiere). Additional directing credits include The K of D by Laura Schellhardt (west coast premiere; Pistol Cat Productions, FringeNYC Encore Series); The Ten Thousand Things by Paul Mullin (world premiere, Washington Ensemble Theatre); Kuwait by Vincent Delaney (world premiere, Theatre Schmeater); True West (Spokane Interplayers); The Underpants (Spokane Interplayers); Prometheus Bound (The Lincoln Center Directors Lab); and Vacation by Ki Gottberg as part of Postcard Plays (The Empty Space). Mr. Abraham has helmed readings or workshops for Seattle Rep, Capitol Hill Arts Center, Seattle Dramatists, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, and Freehold. He is the co-artistic director of Assemblage, a unique collective dedicated to new experiments incorporating media and performance. Assemblage’s ongoing project Way Stations, a series of interactive walking tours in urban landscapes, was recently featured at the ‘08 Northwest New Works Festival (On the Boards) and at Bumbershoot ‘09. Mr. Abraham has been a guest artist at Gonzaga, the University of Idaho, and Seattle University where he directed dark play or stories for boys by Carlos Murillo. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and he has been a member of Seattle Repertory Theatre’s artistic staff for seven seasons where he is currently associate artistic director.
Etta Lilienthal Scene Designer Etta Lilienthal is a scenographer, production designer and visual designer residing in Seattle. Her most recent projects as scene designer have been for theatrical and dance performances staged across the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Book-It, The Empty Space, Madison Repertory Theatre, Bridges International Repertory Theatre, Theater Schmeater, Youth Theatre Northwest, Printer’s Devil Theatre, Maureen Whiting Dance Company, 33 Fainting Spells, Spectrum Dance Theater and the UMO Ensemble. Feature film credits include Production Design for Cthulhu (Regents Releasing 2008) and Police Beat (Sundance Film Festival, SIFF 2005). Short film and music video credits include production design for C.C. 2010, Rainbow (SIFF Fly Film), Diggers (IFP Spotlight Winner), The Sidewalk Never Ends, and music video for The Blakes and The Saturday Knights. Etta studied scene design at Smith College in Massachusetts, Textile Design at the Glasgow School of Arts in Scotland and holds a Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts in Scene Design from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in California. She was a participant of the 2OO3-2005 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers, as well as the recipient of a 2OOO Artist Trust Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship and a 1998 Princess Grace Foundation Scholarship Award for Scene Design. She has had her work featured in City Arts Magazine, Entertainment Design, Arts Patron, American Theatre, The Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, and the Seattle Times Magazine.
Frances Kenny Costume Designer Frances is delighted to have the opportunity to work on Opus and collaborate with the director and actors in creating personalities wearing contemporary clothing. Her last plays at the Rep include Betrayal, You Can’t Take It With You, Birdie Blue, Twelfe Night and Doubt. Frances has designed in Seattle for Intiman, ACT, Seattle Children's Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare, On the Boards and Pat Graney Dance Company. Regionally her work has been seen at the Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Rep, San Jose Rep, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Honolulu Theater for Youth, The Long Wharf, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, and a brief stint on Broadway. When not doing theater, Frances styles wardrobe for commercials and print.
L.B. Morse Lighting Designer L.B. Morse is a lighting, scenic and multimedia designer for theatre and dance. Previous designs at Seattle Rep include lighting and sets for Breakin' Hearts and Takin' Names; lighting for Betrayal, My Name is Rachel Corrie and Thom Pain (based on nothing); and multimedia for Twelfe Night. Recent local work includes lighting for Abe Lincoln in Illinois and The Year of Magical Thinking at Intiman, sets and multimedia for The Tempest at Seattle Shakespeare Company, and multimedia for The Wizard of Oz at Seattle Children's Theatre. L.B. is a company member of Assemblage, a unique collective dedicated to new experiments incorporating media and performance. Assemblage’s ongoing project Way Stations, a series of interactive walking tours in urban landscapes, debuted at the 2008 Northwest New Works Festival and completed a recent tour at the 2009 Bumbershoot festival. L.B. holds a BA in Theatre Arts and a Graduate Certificate in Scenic Design from University of California, Santa Cruz, and is the Lighting Design Associate here at Seattle Rep.
Matt Starritt Sound Designer Matt Starritt is a freelance sound designer and writer from Seattle. He designs sound for both theater and dance and was a founder of the Washington Ensemble Theatre where he was also the resident sound designer for the company’s first four seasons. He is returning to the Rep where he designed the sound for Breakin’ Hearts & Takin’ Names, The Seafarer, boom and The Imaginary Invalid. Other recent designs: Washington Ensemble Theatre’s BlahBlahBlah:BANG! at On the Boards, pro re nata for LAUNCH dance theatre, as well as Waxie Moon’s Extreme Boylesque at the OTB Northwest New Works Festival 2008, The K of D for Pistol Cat Productions, Swansong for Seattle Shakespeare Company, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Persuasion for Book-It Repertory, Iphigenia in Aulis, Crumbs Are Also Bread, Museum Play, CRAVE, and Finer Noble Gases at The Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Ring Round the Moon for the UW School of Drama.
Michael Jinsoo Lim Music Consultant Praised by Gramophone for playing with “delicious abandon,” and described as “bewitching” by the Seattle Times, violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim enjoys a dynamic musical career as concertmaster, soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and teacher. Recently named concertmaster of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, Lim is also widely known for his work as co-founder of the renowned Corigliano Quartet. In demand as a chamber musician and as a performer of new and experimental music, he is a member of Open End, a New York City-based ensemble specializing in contemporary music and improvisation. Lim appears on numerous television and film soundtracks, including the Oscar-winning score to Brokeback Mountain. He currently teaches violin and chamber music at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.
Melia Watras Music Consultant Described as “staggeringly virtuosic” by The Strad, violist Melia Watras has appeared in the nation’s leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her expanding discography has garnered considerable attention and praise from the media. Watras’s recently released solo CD, Prestidigitation, features world-premiere recordings of five works written especially for her and was described by Strings as “astounding, and both challenging and addictive to listen to.” As the violist and co-founder of the renowned Corigliano Quartet, she has recorded for Naxos, Albany, Bayer, CRI, Riax, and Aguava and has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Performance Today and WFMT-Chicago’s Live from Studio One. Watras currently serves as Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of Washington.
Anne Kearson* Stage Manager Anne Kearson is thrilled to be joining SRT this season. Previous SRT credits include The Beauty Queen of Leenane, An Ideal Husband, and Seven Guitars. Other local and regional theatre credits include The 5th Avenue Theatre (White Christmas, Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon), ACT (Born Yesterday, Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, Big Love), South Coast Repertory (Night and Her Stars, Intimate Exchanges, The Extra Man), Seattle Theatre Group’s DANCE This!, and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Anne’s live events producing credits include the Latino Laugh Festival Hollywood, Jazz Port Townsend, and the Los Angeles Festival of the Arts. Anne is proud to be the third generation of Kearsons in the entertainment industry.
