The Chance Theater - The Laramie Project

Moises Kaufman (Playwright)

Born in Venezuela in 1964, Moisés Kaufman moved to New York City in the early 1980s to pursue a career in edgy theatre. He received a BFA in drama from New York University. In 1992, Kaufman founded the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project. He still serves as artistic director of Tectonic, where he wrote and directed Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde in 1997, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award and a GLAAD Media Award. He also oversaw the development of and was the main writer for The Laramie Project, named one of Time magazine’s best plays of 2000. He directed the 2002 HBO television adaptation which received four Emmy nominations, include best made for television movie and best director. Other directing credits include Women in Beckett, In the Winter of Cities, The Nest, and Marlowe’s Eye. Kaufman was a Guggenheim fellow and directed the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife, for which he was nominated for a Tony in direction. [top]

Oanh Nguyen (Director)

In 1999, Oanh co-founded The Chance Theater, where he is currently Artistic Director. His most cherished projects as a director are Undeclared..., Is Pepperoni a Vegetable? and other mysteries of love, The Stroop Report, But I Don’t Feel Grown up, Three Days of Rain, Bash, Lee Miller: The Angel and The Fiend at the Getty Museum, The Fantasticks, Lord of the Screen..., Goodnight Children Everywhere, Tape, Closer Than Ever, Porcelain and Cabaret. Among a number of national commercials, Oanh’s television and film credits include "American Dreams", “Saved by the Bell”, “Hang Time”, “Kenan and Kel”, “Party of Five”, “The Beast”, “Andy Richter Controls the Universe”, "The Closer", "Clockstoppers”, Jean Jacques Annaud’s “Two Brothers”, and will be appearing in the feature film "All In". He would like to thank his cast and crew for their tremendous talent and hard work. [top]

John Robinson (Set Designer)

This is John's third production with The Chance. He is an architect who has done set design in LA and New York. He most recently designed the sets for Cabaret and Big Love here at The Chance. He thanks Oanh for the opportunity and Kelly for her support and inspiration. [top]

James Jones III (Lighting Designer)

James is very excited at this opportunity to work with The Chance Theater. He has just recently graduated from UCLA's School of Theater specializing in Lighting Design. A lover of lighting since the age of 13, James' short career ranges from small 99 seat houses, to churches, to large concert halls, with credits including: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Cinderella Stories, and the original stage musical Keep Movin' On. James also served as an Assistant Lighting Designer on the award-winning original musical, Ephraim's Song, produced by Cedric the Entertainer and Bruce Willis. James is so grateful to The Chance company for yet another opportunity to improve his craft and hopes to continue with The Chance in the future. [top]

Dave Mickey (Sound Designer)

Graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in Technical Theatre Design, Dave will start his MFA in sound design at CalArts in the fall of 2005. In February of 1999 Caltech hired Dave as their Senior Audio Technician. Simultaneously working as a sound and lighting designer in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. Design credits include the west coast premiere of The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer and world premiere of Wicked City Blues. [top]

Kristy Baltezore (Projection Designer)

Kristy has designed projection for Invisible Glass (director: Janie Geiser - REDCAT 05), A Toy in Blood (director: Josh Chambers - CALARTS 04). Kristy has assisted on WET (director: Nataki Garrett - premieres REDCAT '06), The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (playwright/director Ben Katchor - The Kitchen '04). As a Lighting Designer, Kristy has had productions in LA, NYC and Boston. Current projects include a 3-part video installation and a series of mixed-media shorts. [top]

Alisa Haase (Stage Manager)

As a Company Member and Resident Stage Manager, Alisa is happy to be back working on a show after her two slot hiatus. Previous stage managing credits at The Chance include Diary of Anne Frank, Tape, and The Cherry Orchard. Alisa is a graduate of Concordia University, Irvine with a B.A. in Theater. She would like to thank Jay and her roommates for sharing her with the theater and Oanh for his guidance and for not using any beds in the show. Myrna, enjoy the show! This one’s for you. [top]

Brian Boone (Dramaturge)

Brian Boone is a professional writer and aspiring dramaturge. He has contributed research and assistance to productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the University of Oregon, and Lord Leebrick Theatre Company (Eugene, Ore.). This is his third production at the Chance, having proffered dramaturgy to The Diary of Anne Frank and Cabaret. He was written for several regional and national publications; written and produced plays, musicals, and films and lives in Ashland, Ore., where he works as a trivia and pop culture writer. [top]

Ashley Rhodes (Costume Designer)

Ashley holds a BFA in Theatre Production from Penn State University. Currently, she is working towards an MFA in Costume Design at UC Irvine, where she is designing both The Seagull and Nine the Musical this year. Other designs include Psalms of a Questionable Nature for Lucid by Proxy Productions, Mad Forest for UCI, The Dining Room, House of Yes, The Laramie Project, and A Charlie Brown Christmas for Penn State School of Theatre. [top]

The Tectonic Theater Project (Playwright)

The Tectonic Theater Project was started in 1992 by Moisés Kaufman (artistic director) and Jeffrey LaHoste (managing director) as an outlet for theatre about social and political issues that endure through history. The troupe has carved itself a niche for presenting theatre derived from reality. Tectonic's first major production, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, is based on court transcripts, while The Laramie Project was assembled from over 200 interviews conducted with citizens of Laramie, Wyoming, after Matthew Shepard's murder. Other productions include And Yet it Moves, based on Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, and One Arm, based on an unpublished Tennessee Williams script. [top]

Dimas Diaz (Stephen Belber)

Dimas is just ecstatic to be back at The Chance and part of such a great cast. He has appeared in several shows at CTRC including Porcelain, Tape, and most recently in Big Love. He would like to thank all of his fellow Company Members for their inspiration. Most of all, thanks to Oanh for letting me be a part of your Purple Rain. For more information on Dimas please visit his website www.dimasdiaz.com. [top]

Annie Mezzacappa (Amanda Gronich)

It is an honor for Annie to be part of this extraordinary production, and she thanks director Oanh Nguyen for the opportunity. Last seen at The Chance in Big Love, Annie’s recent credits include The Diary of Anne Frank, Six Degrees of Separation, and You Can’t Take it With You (Ethel Case Award Winner). She thanks her wonderful family for their unconditional love and support, and dedicates her performance in memory of Company Member Myrna Niles. [top]

Keri Safran (Leigh Fondakowski)

Keri most recently played "Lydia" in Big Love at The Chance. Notable theatre credits include the world premiere of Tennesee Williams' Spring Storm, with the Actors Repertory of Texas; "Juliet" in Romeo and Juliet at Huntington Theatre's Studio 210; and various plays at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. At Williamstown, Ms. Safran is best known for her original one-woman show, Spare Me All the Charms. Film & TV: Richard Linklater's "$5.15/hr."(HBO); "McCartney's Genes" and "Entity: 9". Training: Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, Shakespeare & Company, The Groundlings, and Northwestern University's "Cherubs" Program, where she also taught in 2001. Keri received her B.A. in Italian Studies from the University of Texas @ Austin, and is an accomplished singer and dancer. "Many thanks to my lovely new friends at The Chance." [top]

Richard Comeau (Moises Kaufman)

Richard first arrived at The Chance in late 2000 and has been a proud Company Member since 2003. He was most recently seen here as Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. His favorite roles here and at other theaters include Victor in A History of the American Film, Juror No. 8 in Twelve Angry Men, Jake in Jake's Women and Donner in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. He is especially proud to be on stage with this wonderful cast. (Confidential to Myrna: I love you, too.) [top]

Bill Elverman (Andy Paris)

Bill is excited to work at The Chance again after appearing earlier this year as Constantine in Big Love. Favorite stage credits include Athos in The Three Musketeers, Renfield in Dracula and Will Scarlet in Robin Hood. When not working on stage or trying to bust into independent film, Bill works as a freelance writer from his home in Long Beach – where you’ll also find his amazing wife, Natalie. [top]

Casey Long (Greg Pierotti)

Casey is very proud and excited to be a part of such a truly remarkable ensemble in this show. As The Chance's Managing Director, Casey has been a proud Company Member since 1999. Recent Chance Theater credits include Cliff in Cabaret, Voice 4 in Porcelain, and Vince in Tape (all directed by Oanh Nguyen). Casey would like to thank Oanh for working with him again for the tenth time, Alex for her endless love and support, and his parents for always being there for him. He would like to dedicate his performance to Myrna, his "grandma." [top]

Alex Bueno (Barbara Pitts)

Alex has been a Company Member for 3 years and she feels lucky to constantly be surrounded by such talent. Some of her past roles include Florinda in The Rover, Morse in One Flea Spare, Blitzen in The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, and Thyona in Big Love. She also made her television debut on "Storefront Theater Live." Alex would like to thank her friends and family for their support, Casey for his constant love, the cast and crew for all their talent and friendship, and finally to Oanh for his constant inspiration. [top]

Peri Baker (Kelli Simpkins)

Peri is ecstatic to make her Chance debut in such amazing company. A recent graduate of South Coast Repertory’s Professional Conservatory, she began acting at the age of six and has appeared in over thirty shows in Southern California. A UCLA graduate in Business-Economics, she currently works as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche. Thanks to Oanh for this opportunity, David for making her audition, and her mom, brothers, and friends for their constant support. [top]