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Akia
(Director)
Akia (Director/Founding Artistic Director) is an active member of the flourishing Off-Off/Indie & Off Broadway theatre communities having produced, directed, and performed with numerous NYC companies since 1997. Akia is the Company Manager for the international sensation, The Blue Man Group at the Astor Place Theater. Proudly, she is the Founding Artistic Director of the Rising Sun Performance Company, now in entering its ninth season, and has been involved on all levels with each of its 35+ productions.She is a Board Member of The Paul Butterfield Fund & Society, and Company Manager for The New York Innovative Theatre Awards & Foundation, where she serves on their honorary awards committee as Sub-Committee Chairman and as an At-Large Judge. Past notable credits include working on staff at Horse Trade Theatre Group, serving as General Manager for FRIGID New York’s inaugural year, and returning as Volunteer Coordinator in 2009; she also served as Production Coordinator for nationally acclaimed Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, overseeing the playwrights unit and INSIGHT 13 production series. Most recently Akia directed the remount of “Goodnight Lovin’ Trail” at the Best of Strawberry Fest and the Inaugural Wilmington FRINGE festival. This past summer she was the recipient of the NewYork Innovative Theatre Awards “Founders Award” for her contributions to the organization. Thanks to this amazing family of theatre artists, Erez, Heidi and Horse TRADE, to Frank, friends & family for putting up with her long absences from the world around her in pursuit of theatre, and especially to Tiffini, David, Tiffany & Lindsay her brilliant partners in crime, for their faith and belief in this merry band of lunatics. Merde’!!
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Allison Whittinghill
(Performer)
Allison Whittinghill is super excited to be workingwith Rising Sun Productions! While attending the University of Texas,she worked with the Gobotrick Theatre Company, the New Works Festival and Frontera Fest. Always up for helping and collaborating with colleagues, she was one of the founding members of the Experimental Theatre Project, in which actors write, cast, and produce original work in a group setting. In New York, she has gottengreat joy and fun from working with the Sanctuary Playwrights group, theAnthropologists, and Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.
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Anastasia Peterson
(Performer)
Anastasia Peterson has been a proud member of Rising Sun Theatre Company since early 2010and made her debut as Paulie in Dan Rosen’s TheLast Supper. She graduated with a BAin theatre from Bucknell University and also studied at NYC’s Atlantic ActingSchool and the London Dramatic Academy. Anastasia worked as an actress at BloomsburgTheatre Ensemble in PA before moving to New York. Her pastcredits include All My Sons, Urinetown the Musical, The Secret Rapture, Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies and Let’sPlay Two. She is pleased to be apart of the one-acts.
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Anthony Mead
(Performer)
Anthony Mead acts in New York City. His A.D.D. prevents him fromsitting at his computer long enough to craft his past credits into a third-person-paragraph-listing. He is tickled green to be working with the fine folksof The Rising Sun Performance Company, once again. He likes fuzzy little ducks,old pick-up trucks, fast moving trains and grass. He can also be seen on stagein the critically acclaimed production of “The Last Supper”.
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Becky Sterling Rygg
(Performer)
Becky Sterling Rygg is happy to be a part of her 3rd season of One Acts with RSPC.She is an ensemble member of Rising Sun and can currently be seen in "TheLast Supper" at The Red Room. She is also an associate artist with The CryHavoc Company and can sometimes be seen as a Zombie-lover with EndtimesProductions. Thank you to all my family and friends for all of their support! Thank you to all the cast and crew ofEncounters, especially my dear directors, Leal and Tiffany! Love you lots!!
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Christopher Schwartz
(Performer)
Christopher Schwartz: Hey nice to meet you my name is Schwartz, This is my very first show in NYC! I am from Scranton,Pawhere I was an active member of College and Community theater. I also acted ina short form Improv group and formed a two man sketch group called The Pancake Brothers! I currently live in Brooklyn and I'm trying my hand at Stand up comedy and based on the sketches I've done, with thehelp of fellow Pancake brother Baxter Pancake, we are turning our sketches into a cartoon! I also enjoy watching other people watch sports.
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Erica Lutz
(Performer)
Erica Lutz is a 2009 graduate of theConservatory of Theatre Arts and Film at SUNY Purchase. This is her first production with Rising Sun and is very happy to be a part of it!
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Jason Vinoles
(Performer)
Jason Vinoles graduated from Boston Universitywhere he majored in Communications and earned his degree in Advertising andPublic Relations. He was also captain of the Division I tennis teamand a proud member of the acting troupe Theater For Actors.
Jason was fortunate to be part of several productions during his tenure withTFA including the lead roles in: Hamlet (Hamlet), Charlie Brown (Charlie Brown)and "The Line That Picked up 1,000 Babes" (Nice Guy). Jason alsopreformed an original work at the Manhattan Repertory Theater called "RachelMust Die." He has also done several roles in independent film andtelevision and looks forward to continuing the pursuit of happiness! He mostrecently had the lead role in an HOLA theater company production at La Teatheater entitled, "The Jedi Papi Chulo and the Power Pansa" andis very much looking forward to his first appearance with Rising Sun!
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John Patrick Bray
(Playwright)
JohnPatrick Bray is ABD in Theatre Studies at LouisianaState Universityand holds an MFA in Playwriting from The New School (Actors Studio Drama School).He is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., TCG, ATHE and he is anEquity Membership Candidate. He has been involved with a number of theatrecompanies, and has had plays produced Off-Off Broadway and around the country.Most recently, he was a Finalist for a Playwriting Residency at the HangarTheatre. “Goodnight Lovin’ Trail” and “On Top” are published in The Best Plays from the Strawberry One ActFestival, Vol. 1.and 2. He has written plays under grants fromthe NEA and the Acadiana Arts Council. He teaches at SUNY New Paltz. Thank youRSPC for the warm welcome home!
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Kelly Hawkins
(Director)
Kelly Hawkins is thrilled to be working with such a great script and cast. Directing credits:Dan Rosen's The Last Supper, Jonathan Marc Sherman's Women and Wallace,Christopher Shinn's Four and her own K-Hawk: The Musical. Performance creditsinclude: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, A Play About Science and Rocky Horror.
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Mariana Guillen
(Performer)
Mariana Guillen was born in Mexico City and has had a love for the artsfor as long as she can remember. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree inEnglish & Drama from Goldsmiths College (University of London), she decidedto pursue the acting realm further. In 2009 she enrolled in the One Year Actingprogram at the New York Film Academy.She can currently be seen in RSP’s long running production of The Last Supper.
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Mark Harvey Levine
(Playwright)
MarkHarvey Levine has had over 500 productions of his short plays all over theworld from New York to Seoulto Sydney to Prague, and has been translated into French,Hebrew, Japanese and Portuguese. Evenings of his work have played in Sao Paulo,Amsterdam, Los Angeles,Boston and Indianapolis. His collection "Cabfare For The CommonMan" will be at Madlab Theatre in Columbus, Ohio this October. Rising Sun Productions produced his play"The Kiss" last year in "Twisted." More info at www.markharveylevine.com. He lives in Pasadena with his lovely wife and son. Please leave the raising of the dead toprofessionals. Thank you to Aki Squitieri, and everyone at Rising SunPerformance Company.
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Michael Lee Jones
(Performer)
Michael Lee Jones is thrilled to join a cast of such talented performers. Studying voice under Florence Birdwell at Oklahoma City University, Michael Lee earned his bachelor's of fine arts in Musical Theatre. Jones has performed with many companies including Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Light Opera Oklahoma, Texas Heritage Foundation, and is a proud member of the2010 Rising Sun Performance Ensemble. Jones recently had his Rising Sun debut in "The Last Supper" and is looking forward to working with this new family in the future.
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Rebecca Jane Stokes
(Playwright)
Rebecca Jane Stokes received her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of the South:Sewanee. Stokes was a participant of the2004 Sewanee Writer’s Conference where she was a Sewanee Fellow underplaywriting chairs Romulus Linney and Hilary Bell. Stokes has worked with Boston’s SouthcityEnsemble as writer and actor. Their show ‘Mosaic’ was hailed by the BostonGlobe as “Witty, acerbic, and intense.” She received her MFA in playwriting from the New Schoolfor Drama in 2009. Stokes’s newest full-length play ‘Freakish’ enjoyed astage-reading by Abroad Stage Company in 2009. Stokes has worked as writer onthe Lifetime Web Series ‘Inspector Mom’ starring Danica McKellar produced byFireside Entertainment, and interned with Swingline Productions on HBO’S hitdrama, ‘In Treatment.’ Thanks to my parents, for their unfailing support.
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Stacey Lane
(Playwright)
Stacey Lane’s plays have been seen at over one-hundredtheatres from coast to coast in the U.S., as well as in Canada, England, andAustralia and are published with Playscripts, Inc., Smith and Kraus, ManhattanTheatre Source, San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, and Scene4 Magazine. She is the recipient of a Helene WurlitzerFoundation playwriting fellowship, a “Charlie Award”, and a nominee for “Outstanding Playwriting for a New Script ofa Play or Book of a Musical” at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. www.StaceyLaneInk.com
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Tiffany Hogan
(Director)
Tiffany Hogan was raised in North Carolina where she studied theatre at Catawba College. She moved to New York two years ago where she made her directing debut with 13th Street Repertory. This is Tiffany’s second show with RSPC, she is currently assistant directing The Last Supper, and is excited to be a part of a wonderful group of people. She would like to say thank you to the company and her wonderful actors.
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Tim Butterfield
(Director)
Tim Butterfield is making his directorial debut for Rising Sun with Residue. He is currently in his final year at The New School for Drama where he will earn an MFA in Directing. While at NSD Tim has been fortunate enough to learn from such talented artists such as Doug Hughes, Jo Bonney, Bob LuPone, Lou Jacobs and Casey Biggs. At the end of the year Tim will Direct Odon von Horvath’s Don Juan comes back from the war as his thesis production. Keep and eye out for details at http://www.timbutterfield.net
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Tim Chaffee
(Director)
TimChaffee (Director) received his degree in directing from Fordham University.Since then he has worked for Blue ManGroup as a stagehand and video operator at the Astor Place Theater, andspent 6 months traveling and volunteering in India. Sound Design: Once There Was a Boy directed by AaronRhyne, Elephant in the Room directedby Morgan Gould. Directing credits: TheDumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, TheHouse of Yes by Wendy Macleod and LastCall: an Apocalypse Story by Rob Perry,Ostrander(film) by Ian McWethy.
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Tom Misuraca
(Playwright)
TomMisuraca’s plays have been produced in New York City,Long Island, Brooklyn, Madison, Chicagoand Hollywood. He’s won audience favorites at PianoFight’s ShortLived 2.0, Bellarmine University’sAnything Galileo Festival and at theTehachapi Community Theatre’s Ten-MinutePlay Competition. Over eighty of hisshort stories have appeared in publications worldwide. Hissecond novel, Lifestyles of the Damned,was released in 2009. He also co-wrote the film, Happy Holidays. He currently presides as President of theBoard at FirstStage in Hollywood.Thanks to Charlene Ward, Ann Simmons and Angie Weitzman.
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