My Ohio Cast & Crew
Matthew Carlson (Neil)
is a New York based actor and writer. His New York credits include: Roadshow by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman and Hamlet (The Public), DR.C: Or How I Learned to Act in 8 Steps (Mitu/3 Legged Dog), and Waters of the Moon (TACT). Regional: Picnic (Triad Stage), The Miracle Worker (St. Louis Rep), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre, DC), Singing Forest (Long Wharf), Kind Hearts and Coronets (Sundance Theater Lab), The Just and Much Ado About Nothing (Chautauqua). As a playwright, he is the author of These Northern Stars, Inside the Hand and home, sweet. His play home, sweet is now a finalist for the 2010 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. Current projects include a collaborative adaptation of The Odyssey for The Internationalists and We Outran the Sun, a song cycle of portraits. Matthew has a BS from Northwestern University and an MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Trisha Rapier (Bonnie)
is honored to be a part of My Ohio and to be making her debut here at Vermont Stage Company. Her credits include: Broadway: The Boy From Oz (Liza Minnelli u/s and performed). Off-Broadway: Sessions (Mary), For Lovers Only, Her Song at Birdland, Shout! The Mod Musical, Nerds: A Musical Software Satire (Myrtle), NEWSical (Trisha), Golf: The Musical (Trisha), Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Forbidden Broadway (Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, etc.). Tours: The Who's Tommy (Mrs. Walker u/s and performed), Forbidden Hollywood (Marlene Dietrich, Nicole Kidman, etc.). Regional: Caroline, or Change (Rose Stopnick), The Full Monty (Vicki), Evita (Eva), Cabaret (Sally Bowles) Miss Saigon (Ellen), Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey), Guys and Dolls (Sarah), Agnes of God (Agnes). Opera: The Magic Flute (Pamina), The Combat of Tancredi and Clorinda (Clorinda). Television: Delocated, Season 2 on Adult Swim. Numerous workshops and recordings. Awards: Carol Burnett Award, Spotlight Award of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bachelor of Music degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. This performance is dedicated to my daughter, Olivia, the light of my life! www.TrishaRapier.com
Dana Yeaton (Playwright)
My Ohio is Dana's fourth world premier with Vermont Stage Company, dating back to the 1996 production of his one-man show, Jump Cut, and including Mad River Rising, which went on to receive the Moss Hart Award. His adaptation of Chris Bohjalian's best-selling novel, Midwives, was the inaugural production for VSC at FlynnSpace and has been produced frequently at professional and university theatres across the country. His most recent VSC premiere was The Big Random, later produced by Bald Mountain Stage of Rochester, Vermont, and then by Sight Unseen Theatre in Los Angeles. Dana is the recipient of the Heideman Award from the Actor's Theatre of Louisville and the "New Voice in American Theatre" award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. His last full-length play, Redshirts, was co-produced by Penumbra Theatre in Minneapolis, and Round House Theatre in Washington, DC, where it was nominated for a Charles MacArthur Outstanding New Play Award. He was founding director of the Vermont Young Playwrights Project and teaches playwriting at Middlebury College.
Andy Mitton (Composer)
a native of Boston and a graduate of Middlebury College, has lived and worked in Los Angeles for nearly a decade as a playwright, director, composer, and performing musician. He has written instrumental scores for several plays and short films, but this marks his first full score for musical theater as a composer. Recently, he co-wrote and co-directed the independent feature film Yellowbrickroad, which was an Official Selection at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival and the 2010 Atlanta International Film Festival. He has had several of his original plays produced on both coasts, including Lucid Sound, The Graves of San Andreas, and Eggs Over Albuquerque (published by Bakers Plays). He has also directed the Los Angeles premieres of Neil Bell's Monster, Jess Lacher's adaptation of Mark Twain's The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and many more. He is thrilled to be working with VSC and thanks the cast and crew for their efforts, and especially his great friend and mentor Dana Yeaton, who convinced him he could actually do this...and what a pleasure it's been.
Lisa Rothe (Director)
recently joined the staff of the Lark Play Development Center as the Director of Offsite Programs and Partnerships, where she deals with providing expanded opportunities for playwrights "off campus" and strategic multi-lateral partnerships aimed at advancing new work to production nationally and globally. She has workshopped, developed and directed many new plays. Recent directing credits include: Eyepiece by Rinde Eckert (Hancher, U of Iowa); Interpreting William by James Still (Indiana Repertory); Looking for the Pony by Andrea Lepcio (Synchronicity Performance Group @ Seven Stages in Atlanta); Penelope by Ellen McLaughlin and composer Sarah Kirkland Snider (Getty Villa, Gallatin School in NYC, Princeton University); Ah, Wilderness! (Chautauqua Theatre Company); Couldn't Say by Christopher Wall (MITF - Best Director Award) as well as productions for NYMF and SPF. She also received an EST/Sloan Foundation grant with composer Kim Sherman and librettist Margaret Vandenburg for work on Ada, a new chamber opera. Member: Women's Project Director's Lab Alum, Epic Theatre Center, Drama League alum, Fox Fellow. Guest Director: NYU Graduate Acting, Juilliard and Yale School of Drama. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting.
Travis Sullivan (Musical Director and Piano)
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Travis Sullivan is the leader of the "Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra", a jazz orchestra that performs the works of pop artist Bjork, arranged and conducted by Sullivan. He has delighted audiences worldwide performing at The Montreal International Jazz Festival, The SF Jazz Festival, The Jarasum Jazz Festival (South Korea), and as conductor for the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (Germany), the Sicilian Jazz Orchestra (Italy), and the Reykjavik Big Band (Iceland). This is Travis' first time as musical director for the Vermont Stage Company, and he is thrilled to be part of this exciting new production!
Peter B Schmitz (Choreographer)
has been involved in the creative and performing arts for over 25 years. As a professional modern dancer he has taught, performed and choreographed through-out the U.S, Europe, New Zealand, and the Middle East. His choreographic work for theater has recently been seen in New York productions of : Oh Those Beautiful Weimar Girls (New World Theatre), Arcadia, Camille, Mad Forest (Potomac Theater Project/Olney Theater), and Count of Monte Cristo (Out of Sight Theater, Santa Monica, CA). He is extremely fortunate to be working with such a fantastic group of artists.
Catherine Vigne (Costume Designer)
is from Monkton, Vermont. She has worked on many shows in many theaters, including the Goodspeed Opera House, North Shore Music Theater, and the Breadloaf School of English. Her previous designs include the Waterbury Festival Players 2009 season, No End of Blame (PTP/NYC), The Five Hysterical Girls Theorem, In the Blood, In a Pig's Valise, Vampire (Middlebury College), and associate design for The Bewitched (Middlebury College). She is excited to be working with Vermont Stage again, after designing costumes for My Ohio and last season's Sylvia.
Jeff Modereger (Scenic Designer)
is currently chair of the UVM Department of Theatre; 2012 marks Jeff's nineteenth year at UVM and tenth as chair. With 400 professional productions to his credits, his work as scenic designer/painter has been seen across the country in regional theatres, operas, national and international tours, educational institutions, as well as Broadway and Off-Broadway and the silver screen. Jeff is currently represented by the National Holocaust Museum's exhibit: Remember the Children: Daniel's Story. Jeff is a proud to be an original family member of the Vermont Stage Company: The Drawer Boy, Sylvia, Proof, Art, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Last Station, The Tempest, Amadeus, Glass Menagerie, Jacques Brel..., I Am My Own Wife, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Inspecting Carol, Souvenir and My Ohio. Jeff was also scenic artist for Opus, Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, and Sylvia.
John B. Forbes (Lighting Designer)
has previously designed the lighting for Photograph 51, Oliver Twist, The Glass Menagerie, Opus, My Ohio, King Lear, Inspecting Carol, Woody Guthrie's American Song, True West, Copenhagen, The Foreigner and The Drawer Boy at Vermont Stage Company. In addition he has designed the lighting for productions at the Old Globe Theatre, the San Diego Repertory Theatre, the Center Repertory Company, and the Ensemble Theatre Company, all in California. He has also designed lighting for Theatre Aspen in Colorado; the Riverside Shakespeare Company and Theatre Matrix in New York; the Arizona Theatre Company, and Saint Michael's Playhouse, the Big APE Dance Company and Lost Nation Theatre in Vermont. He is the winner of three L. A. Dramalogue awards for his designs at the Old Globe Theatre and three Shelley Awards for his designs with the Center Repertory Company. He is the faculty lighting designer at the University of Vermont in the Department of Theatre, and his lighting design for UVM's production of Metamorphoses was displayed in the Gallery Exhibit at the World Stage Design Exhibition in Toronto. He has also taught at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego, and while at U.S.D., he also managed Shiley Theatre. In that capacity he served as the technical liaison between the University and the Presidential Debate Commission for the final Presidential Debate of 1996 held there.
Joel Abbott (Sound Designer)
is happy to be making noise in FlynnSpace once again. Vermont credits include Underneath the Lintel, The Glass Menagerie, Cloud Nine, Shipwrecked, Souvenir, Opus, Prelude To A Kiss, Well, Always Patsy Cline, Blithe Spirit, Around the World in 80 Days, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Dames at Sea. He recently returned from a four month tour as musical director with The Second City, performing sketch and improv comedy shows. Prior to moving to Vermont, Joel was a member of the improv comedy ensemble with Dad's Garage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. This is Joel's eleventh show with Vermont Stage Company. Special thanks to Mark Nash for everything.
Jennifer Moulton (Stage Manager)
is thrilled to be working on My Ohio, her 13th production with VSC. Jen
graduated from the University of Vermont in '06 with a degree in Theatre.
She then spent the 2006/2007 season working as the Stage Management
Apprentice at Round House Theatre in Bethesda MD. Jen would like to thank
Mark, Lisa and the cast for a great show, her family for their constant
support, and Evan for always believing in her, much love!
Emily Pici (Assistant Stage Manager)
graduated from Niagara University with a BFA in Performing Arts and a minor in Design/Tech. Recently she relocated from Albany where she directed Alice in Wonderland and Happily Never After at DragonFly Performing Arts. She was also costume and makeup designer for their production of Cats. When not backstage she loves to perform. Her favorite role was for the one women show, Laughing Wild. Currently she can be seen touring NY in her vocal group, TLC and the Lipstix.
Stacey Benben (Cello)
is an active performer, composer, and teacher in New England and beyond. She trained and studied at The Boston Conservatory where she earned her Bachelors Degree in Music Performance and also at Pennsylvania State University where she earned a Masters Degree in Music/Cello Performance. Some of her esteemed teachers have included Rhonda Rider, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Steve Doane, Robert Jesselson, and Kim Cook. She has participated in a variety of master classes, chamber music festivals, and other events including First Night Providence, RI, Boston Honors Chamber Ensemble Concert, the Brandeis Summer Music Festival and the Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival. She has performed in a variety of venues and ensembles including The Ocean State Light Opera Company, Musa Piano Trio, Amaryllis Flute Trio, Marlborough Symphony Orchestra, Altoona Symphony Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, Bedford Chorale Orchestra, Central Pennsylvania Chorale Society Orchestra, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of Northern New York, The Tim Janus Ensemble which was featured in a PBS Special entitled "Beautiful America", and most recently, the Mahler Festival Orchestra - Haiti Relief Benefit Concert.
Jeffrey Basiliere (Guitar)
Starting in grade five, Jeff has spent the years focusing his practices wherever a whim dost nudge. He has recently graduated from Bishop's University, where he studied Composition and Technical Theatre. He leaves you with this thought: Think of every sound on the Planet happening simultaneously each moment. Imagine it as a four-dimensional interconnected web of sounds. This web is called the Timbrescape. Jeff exists-as should all musicians-on this planet to reweave as much of the Timbrescape as possible, lest life and everything be cleaved in twain by war and destruction. As Composers, Conductors, and Performers this is our mission.