DEBORAH ABRAMSON (Musical Director) is delighted to be taking up the baton for POPE JOAN, having just returned from Milwaukee Rep, where she served as Co-Musical Director and Pianist for SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON. Previous shows include HANS BRINKER (world premiere), TABLOID TUNERS, and numerous staged readings at New Tuners Theatre, as well as INTO THE WOODS and THE FANTASTICKS at her alma mater, Wheaton College. She was one of five Chicago composers selected to participate in the New Music-Theatre Ensemble's National Residency Program in 1994. She has composed scores for THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE, AS YOU LIKE IT, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. She is presently collaborating with several LIVING librettists on full-length musicals, and by the time you read this, she should be able to name at least one complete score of her own without lying. Thanks to the grace of God, and to more people than she could possibly list.
ANGELA ALLYN (Choreographer) is a writer, dancer, director and
mom who lives part-time in Chicago and part-time in a quaint
farming town in Michigan where she and her husband run an
artists' retreat called Doghaven. Her work has been
commissioned by the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, where she
created DEAR JUAN for the Don Juan Project, the Chicago
Athenaeum Museum and the Around the Coyote Festival, and has
been featured at venues ranging from the Guggenheim Museum of
Art in New York City to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She is
pleased to be working with Christopher Moore, having done
movement for ST. JOAN OF THE STOCKYARDS and SON OF FIRE at
Bailiwick. As the founding director of the Abiogenesis Movement
Ensemble, she has performed in venues ranging from MoMing Dance
and Arts Center and Links Hall to Lower Wacker Drive. She is a
well-known arts educator, serving as an artist in the schools
with Urban Gateways and developing multi-arts curricula
throughout Chicagoland. When not choreographing movement, she
is writing two musicals: CAMILLE CLAUDEL/MUD AND ROSES and
MARGARET MEAD'S CHILD.
GINO De LUCA (Orchestral Arranger) is presently the Assistant Musical Director for, and is performing with, The Navy Pier Players -- a vocal jazz/pop a capella octet. This past season, The Navy Pier Players have made guest appearances at the Sheraton Hotel, the Pump Room, the United Center, Crate & Barrel, and were interviewed on Channels 5 and 7. Having received the 1995 musical direction Jeff nomination for the last production of POPE JOAN, Gino sends his warmest regards to Dan Stetzel and the Pope Joan Company, Chicago. Finally, Gino would like to sincerely thank Susan Lersch, Michael Butler, and Christopher Moore for their continued professional and personal support.
TOM HARTMAN (Property Designer) is doing the job for fun, and as an act of personal support for the writer and producer. His heart's work, at Aids Pastoral Care Network and at the Second Unitarian Church, takes his primary energy. Nonetheless, Mr. Hartman can't keep his hands off theatre in some form or another. He is one of the original partners and founder of the Chicago talent representation and services firm, Lersch & Hartman, which still bears his name. Mr. Hartman continues to serve as consultant for the firm and take on selected special projects that call upon his expertise in public relations, marketing, and writing. His days as actor, director and producer in non-Equity theatre in the eighties provide him with a wide variety of scandalous anecdotes.
WILL HEPP (Assistant Director/Company Manager) is the youngest
of seven children from Detroit, Michigan. He started his career
in theater with tap dancing at the age of five, later taking
jazz and ballet as well as teaching tap for a number of years.
Attending Loyola University of Chicago, Will studied theater and
classics. In the summer of '91, he went to London and studied
contemporary British Drama at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloan Square.
No stranger to the boards, Will was seen on the Bailiwick stage
in Nick Patricca's AN UNCERTAIN HOUR and Assistant Directed the
Bailiwick production of POPE JOAN. Will is currently working with
Michael Butler on other projects including THE MANDARIN conceived
by the Amsterdam theater company Dogtroep. Other directing credits
include A CHORUS LINE (assistant director), HEDDA GABLER (assistant
director), and academic projects such as I HATE HAMLET and TOOTH
OF CRIME. To find out more about Will visit his homepage, EURY'S
ECLECTIC EXTRAVAGANZA
IMAGINARY LANDSCAPE Creating the world's first theatrical workshop web site on the Internet to mirror the changes and development of POPE JOAN has been a most interesting and rewarding challenge. This is the most exciting project we have encountered -- a chance to give theatre lovers a rare inside look at the birth and growth of a new musical. The stories and analysis of Mr. Butler and Mr. Moore, and the pithy "news of the week" from Susan Lersch add a personal touch. Your faithful web authors at Imaginary Landscape wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in POPE JOAN for helping us bridge the gap between live theatre and cyberspace. Imaginary Landscape may be reached at Webmaster@imagescape.com
JOHN KOKUM (Production Stage Manager) is grateful to be involved in this, the commercial production of the three-time Jeff Award winning POPE JOAN. John was also the production stage manager for the Bailiwick Repertory production of POPE JOAN, along with many other Bailiwick productions. Other credits include the Prop Theatre's REAGAN: DEMENTIA IN ABSENTIA and a staged reading for the newly formed Radio Ensemble Players of the Floatplane Notebooks. John would like to thank his family and friends for their ongoing love and support.
SUSAN LERSCH (Production Coordinator) is the owner of Lersch & Hartman, a talent and literary representation and services firm in Chicago. She is proud to represent Christopher Moore and many other talented Chicago-area playwrights, designers, directors, and writers. Her firm provides a wide variety of literary, consulting, negotiation, and publicity services for theatre and literary artists. Her theatrical experience has included stints as playwright (SISTERS: SOME THEATRICAL RITUALS ABOUT THE NUNNERY; A NIGHT AT DYKES WHO DATE), actress, director, musical director, producer, novelist, and servant of the servants of God. Long stretches as a teacher and a trial law assistant have added to her ability to do the necessary. As Production Coordinator for The Pope Joan Company, she has performed an indescribably wide variety of editorial, legal, and negotiating, and communication tasks on behalf of Michael Butler and the Company. Arguably, her favorite role is that of the "near-hysterical" writer (thank you, Point Survey) of the "News of the Week" on The Pope Joan Workshop Web on the Internet. Of the hundreds of people to whom she owes deep karmic debt and joy, for this telling, she heads the list with her ever-patient husband, Denny Kinsella, the utterly unique and wonderful Michael Butler, and her friend, Christopher Moore. Susan may be reached at susan@orlok.com
JOE MAALOUF (Associate Producer) Joe Maalouf is delighted to be associate producer of POPE JOAN. Growing up between Montreal and Monte-Carlo, he was involved in theatre management and production since the age of 18. Now living and producing in Montreal, Canada, Joe is working on his fifth production. With JMC Productions Inc. and its offshoot The Sweet Circle Theatre Company, he has produced a number of shows in Montreal, including Neil Simon's RUMORS, Bernard Slade's ROMANTIC COMEDY, and Ken Kesey's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. More recently, he produced the North American premiere of Stephen King's MISERY on stage. He is extremely proud to be involved in the POPE JOAN project, and hopes to later take it to French Canada, as well as French speaking countries around Europe. Joe may be reached at JMaalouf@netcom.ca
ANDREW MEYERS (Set and Lighting Design) is pleased to be
returning to has native Chicago after five years in Milwaukee.
While there, he lit over 150 shows for American Inside Theatre,
The Madison Rep, Milwaukee Chamber Theater, Milwaukee Opera,
Next Act, The Organic Theatre, and Theatre X, among others. He
is the Resident Lighting Designer for The Fireside, First Stage
Milwaukee and Milwaukee Dance Theatre. In Chicago, his work was
seen at The Commons, The Organic, The Next Theatre, The Piven
Theatre Workshop and many others. His work has been seen in
London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Mexico, the Bahamas, Florida, Hawaii,
Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Fargo, Johnson City TN, and of
course, Sheboygan. He wishes to thank his wife Liz and kids
Alex and Zoe.
MARGARET MORETTINI (Costume Designer) designed the costumes in the original not-for-profit production of POPE JOAN. For Lifeline Theatre, she has designed costumes for VANITY FAIR, THE LITTLE SISTER (Jeff Citation), JUNGLE BOOK (Jeff Citation), BURNING BRIGHT, THE MUSICIANS OF BREMEN, and THE RESCUERS. For the Next Theatre, she designed A FAMILY MAN. For Victory Gardens Theater, she has designed STILL WATERS, SPIELE '36, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES, SPINNING INTO BLUE and NORTH STAR. For Steppenwolf's Outreach Program, she designed PUDDIN'HEAD WILSON. At Bailiwick, Margaret designed WILD HONEY, LIFE IS A DREAM, INCORRUPTIBLE (Jeff Citation) and MADEMOISELLE JULIE.
MARJIE RYNEARSON (Script Consultant) came to Chicago six years ago to pursue her career in theatre. She has performed at Victory Gardens, Northlight, Steppenwolf, Remains, Next, and Strawdog Theatres. She also continues to do commercial and film work. She is currently the President of the Board of Chicago Dramatists Workshop and one of their Resident Playwrights. Marjie is a produced playwright and has been awarded a Cine Golden Eagle Award, a Bronze Medal from the International Film and Television Festival of New York, and a Gold Medal from the British Medical Association's International Film Festival. She conducted writing workshops at both The Chicago Academy for the Arts and at Wells High School and developed a unique method of teaching play writing. She is a member of Dramatists Guild, Screen Actor's Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Chicago Dramatists Workshop, Women's Theatre Alliance, and Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of America. Marjie Rynearson may be contacted at MRynearson@aol.com
LINDA M. WASTE (Joan understudy/Fight Choreographer) Formerly
Linda M. Schaefer, Linda is very excited to be continuing on
with POPE JOAN, after choreographing the fights in the original production. Other Chicago
acting credits include SON OF
FIRE, WUTHERING HEIGHTS and DON JUAN TENORIO, all with
Bailiwick Repertory. She recently was seen at Touchstone
Theatre as one of the Wicked Stepsisters in INTO THE WOODS.
Linda is a certified actor/combatant with the Society of
American Fight Directors. She'd like
to thank Rob McLean for his continued za and her husband Steve
for everything.
BRIAN M. WORRALL (Sound Designer/Board Operator) received his B.A. in Theatre Performance and Sound Design from Purdue University. He moved to Chicago after spending a year at Actor's Theatre of Louisville as a member of the 1992-93 Acting Apprentic Company. He is a founding ensemble member of In-Pact Theatre Company and Chicago Viewpoints Ensemble (both as actor and sound designer), and is currently Grants Coordinator for the Goodman Theatre. Recent Chicago projects include COPS, THE ICE FISHING PLAY, SODA POP and DETECTIVE STORY with In-Pact, BOYMEETSGIRLMEETSGIRLMEETSBOYMEETSBOY, THE WALKABOUT'S TALE and 7 BLOWJOBS with CVE, SHARDS with MakaMalaka, and SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE ... YOUR ASS! with Annoyance Theatre. He dedicates his work to Darron, the original sound baby.
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