MICHAEL BEHRENS (MIKE/KERMIT ROOSEVELT) Michael is very happy to be returning to SLAC. Previous SLAC appearances have been in the NPSS reading of PROPHETS OF NATURE, as Tom in SIX YEARS, Michael in ROUNDING THIRD, Jaisu in POLISH JOKE and Bill in LOBBY HERO, as well as two SATURDAY'S VOYEURS. You may have seen him in PRIDE & PREJUDICE at Pioneer Theatre Company as well as HENRY V, THREE MUSKETEERS, COMEDY OF ERRORS, PEER GYNT, ST. JOAN and THE MISER. Other favorite roles include Hamlet for TheaterWorks West, Lloyd in NOISES OFF, Sydney in LIGHT UP THE SKY, Froggy in THE FOREIGNER, Jane/Lord Edgar in THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, Durdles in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, and Clotaldo in LIFE IS A DREAM all for Creede Repertory Theater. Michael can be seen and heard in countless radio and television spots as well as film. Michael is a graduate of The University of Utah's Actor Training Program and is a proud member of the Actor's Equity Association.
BIJAN HOSSEINI (RUMI/IRANIAN POOL ATTENDANT) is excited to be back at SLAC, and very thankful to both Kathleen and Andra for the opportunity to be a part of this piece. He is currently understudying and crewing CHARM (which you all should see!) and was last seen here as Barnes in TOO MUCH MEMORY also directed by Meg Gibson. Other previous roles on stage include: Jason in MEDEA, the Duke of Cornwall in KING LEAR, Hamlet in Tom Stoppard's 15-MINUTE HAMLET, several voices for the Utah Theatre Artists Company's GOLDEN AGE OF WIRELESS Radio Show, and a rambunctious five-year-old in UTAC's FIRST ANNUAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR. He acts in film, and is represented by Talent Management Group. *He also, somewhat, shamelessly suggests you see UTAC's production of Burn This (April 23- May 8) for which he did the music design.
DEENA MARIE MANZANARES (SHIRIN/AZADEH) is a graduate of the Atlantic Theater Co. Acting School in NYC. Training also includes NYC's CAP21 and Juilliard. Local credits include Plan B, Egyptian Theatre Co., Pioneer Theatre Co, Pygmalion Productions, Meat and Potato and others. Recent highlights include Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz in the world premiere of AMERIGO with Plan B, Blue dog in GO, DOG. GO! and Ida in SKIN IN FLAMES both at SLAC and Oliva in INFANTRY MONOLOGUES with Meat & Potato. May first, Deena Marie will appear in Plan B's annual fundraiser BANNED/SLAMMED and this summer she'll be playing Sheila in HAIR at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City. You may have also seen her as various characters or filling in as a feature reporter on KUTV2 Morning show. Deena Marie writes and performs sketch comedy on the web and has been featured on G4TV's "Attack of the Show: Hottest Women on the Web" and MTV's "It's on with Alexa Chung". Recipient, Salt Lake Magazine's Best of the Beehive (The Comedienne) and City Weekly's Best of Utah (Media/Politics). www.deenamarie.biz
MELANIE NELSON (ANN/EMILY) Melanie Nelson received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Utah University and performed as a member of the Utah Shakespearean Festival acting company. She went on to receive her Master of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University where she performed at the Dallas Theater Center and Fort Worth Shakespeare in the Park, among other venues. In addition to her degrees, she has trained with voice coach Patsy Rodenburg (Head of Voice at The National Theatre, author: The Right to Speak) and is a recognized actor/combatant by the SAFD. Melanie is a founder and the Managing Director of Pinnacle Acting Company where she has performed Catherine in PROOF, Elvira in BLITHE SPIRIT, Hanna in ARCADIA, Mary in THE MEMORY OF WATER and Becca in RABBIT HOLE. Some of her favorite roles include Portia in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Greer Garson Theater), Annelle in STEEL MAGNOLIAS (Provo Theatre Company), and Ophelia in HAMLET (Fort Worth Shakespeare in the Park).
APRIL FOSSEN (Reader) April holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts from UC Berkeley. She performed in the San Francisco Bay Area for a decade, working with theatres such as the California Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Climate Theatre, and Central Works Theatre Ensemble. Local credits include Miasma and 4 years of SLAM with Plan-B Theatre Company, Living Out with Pygmalion Theatre Company, Romeo and Juliet and Three Days of Rain with Pinnacle Acting Company, See How They Run, The Man With the Pointed Toes, and As You Like It with Hale Center Theater, Orem, The Rocky Horror Show with Bacchus Productions, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Sundance Summer Theatre.
KATHLEEN CAHILL (Playwright) Ms. Cahill has received many awards for her work, including the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, a Connecticut Commission on the Arts Playwriting Award (twice), a Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award, a Rockefeller Grant, a National Endowment for the Arts New American Works Grant, and a Drama League Award. Her plays include THE STILL TIME (Georgia Rep/Porchlight Theatre, Chicago), WOMEN WHO LOVE SCIENCE TOO MUCH (Porchlight), HENRI LOUISE AND HENRY (Cleveland Public), SLAM (Plan-B Theatre, UT), and the screenplay DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, a film for David Grubin Productions in NY. With composer Michael Wartofsky she wrote the book and lyrics for THE NAVIGATOR and FRIENDSHIP OF THE SEA; with Deborah Wicks LaPuma she wrote DAKOTA SKY (Olney Theatre), WATER ON THE MOON (Signature Theatre readings), and CAPTIVATED (Kennedy Center New Works Festival). Other musical works include the opera CLARA, FATAL SONG, and A TALE OF TWO CITIES: PARIS AND BERLIN IN THE TWENTIES (all Maryland Center for the Performing Arts).
ALEXANDRA HARBOLD (Director) At Salt Lake Acting Company, Andra directed the recent New Play Sounding Series reading of PROPHETS OF NATURE; she acted in SIX YEARS and ICE GLEN and is a member of SLAC's Communications & Audience Development team. Recent directing credits include SELF-STORAGE (Plan-B Theatre's Script-in-Hand Series), THREE DAYS OF RAIN, RABBIT HOLE, ROMEO & JULIET (Pinnacle Acting Company), BLACK AND WHITE (Plan-B's 2009 And the Banned Slammed On) and POETRY OF INTERIORS (Dance Theatre Coalition's Proving Ground Concert). She is currently participating in Plan-B and Meat & Potato Theatres' Directors' Lab. Upcoming projects include directing staged readings of Matthew Ivan Bennett's IN THE OPEN and OVER and for Plan-B's 2010 BANNED/SLAMMED.
