Who’s
Who in the Company
The Farnsworth Invention
March 13 – April 11, 2009
Mackey Main Stage
Scott Spence (Artistic Director/Director) Scott is excited to enter into his 19th season at the Beck Center. He hopes that as always you are enjoying the great diversity Beck Center offers. In his tenure as Artistic Director and Associate AD, Scott has produced well over 200 productions, directing over 50 himself. The list of favorites grows every season, and includes Altar Boyz, Parade, A Man of No Importance, Sweeney Todd, Hair, The Secret Garden, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Greater Tuna, Reefer Madness, The Fix, Zombie Prom, Tommy, and so many more, including Urinetown The Musical being revived as this season's opener. He is very proud of the awards and acclamations Beck has received over the past several years, and is especially grateful for having won the Northern Ohio Live Award for Achievement in Theatre in 2006. Outside of Beck's walls, Scott's directorial assignments have included Das Barbecü at Opera Cleveland and Noises Off at both Weathervane in Akron and Berea Summer Theatre. Occasionally on the other side of the footlights, Scott has appeared in Dick Deadeye (Berea Summer Theatre), Man of La Mancha (Jewish Community Center), The Secret Rapture (Dobama) and closer to home at Beck in Big River, The Boys Next Door and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. He also recently had the privilege of joining the cast of Passion, directed by Victoria Bussert, in his first onstage stint in the Studio Theater. Scott holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Western Illinois University and is a trained stage fight choreographer, having studied extensively with the SAFD. As always, he dedicates his work to the two leading ladies in his life – Rachel and Carleigh.
Diana D’Alessandro (Stage Manager) Diana is happy to be back at the Beck Center working with a fabulous cast and as always, a dedicated crew and production staff. She is thankful that organizations such as this exist to showcase local talent. Diana can frequently be found backstage performing various technical elements required for stage productions at various theaters in Northeast Ohio. Stage management credits at Beck Center include Peter Pan, My Favorite Year, Jekyll & Hyde, Porgy & Bess, The Full Monty and By Jeeves. Otherfavorites at Beck Center include The Fix, Urinetown The Musical and Miss Saigon. By day Diana is an I.S. specialist at MetroHealth. Love to Patrick, Mom and Dad, whose support makes it all possible!
Curt Arnold (Wilkins, Solomon the Analyst & Others) Curt returns to the Beck stage after recently co-directing the critically acclaimed Talking Heads 2 in the Studio Theatre. He has also directed Beck productions of The Lisbon Traviata and Fully Committed, and has performed here in The Dying Gaul, A Man of No Importance, Amadeus, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Inspecting Carol, Noises Off, and Floyd Collins, among others. Working primarily as an actor, director and stage manager, Curt has been involved with over 120 productions in the last 32 years and, since relocating from Columbus in 1994, has worked with most northern Ohio theater companies. Curt is a board member of the Cleveland Theatre Collective and, since 2003, has co-produced and directed an annual staged reading of a musical to benefit AIDS charities in Cuyahoga and Summit counties. Watch for this year’s benefit, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, in August.
John Busser (Cliff Gardner & Others) Despite all attempts by both local and civil authorities to stop him, John continues to perform all over Northeast Ohio. His last rampage was for Ensemble Theater, but he has also appeared at Cleveland Public Theatre, Huntington Playhouse, Clague, Willoughby Fine Arts, Rabbit Run Theater, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, Karamu, Weathervane, and Bang and Clatter. He was also a member of the cast of the long-running Flanagan's Wake.
Mark Cipra (Justin Tolman, Jim Harbord & Others) Farnsworth is Mark's eighth production at Beck; other recent shows include The Diary of Ann Frank (Dussel), Hamlet (Claudius) and A Man of No Importance (Rasher). He played King Lear, Julius Caesar, Henry IV, and many other roles with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. Other recent productions include Osama the Hero (Mark) and Between Life and Death (The Man) at Cleveland Public Theatre; Scrooge! (Scrooge) at Fine Arts; Big River (Pap Finn) at Mercury Summer Stock; To Kill a Mockingbird (Atticus Finch), Peter Pan (Hook), and Born Yesterday (Brock) at Lakeland Civic Theatre; The Fantasticks (Huckabee); Trip to Bountiful (Ludie Watts); Rose Tattoo (Father de Leo) and Full Moon (Frank Patrick) at Ensemble.
*Bernadette Clemens (Lizette Sarnoff, Mary Pickford & Others) Bernadette trained at Columbia University and the British American Drama Academy (BADA.) New York credits include: The Vineyard Theatre, Theater for a New Audience, Women’s Theatre Project, Gotham City Improv. Previously appeared at the Beck Center in: Equus (Jill), A Doll's House (Nora), The Seagull (Nina), and Mrs. Warren's Profession (Vivie). Other local credits include: Lunacy at The Cleveland Play House FusionFest/Dobama Theatre, Hamlet at Great Lakes Theatre Festival, The Hairy Ape at Cleveland Public Theatre, Homebody/Kabul and The Mai at Dobama, Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night at Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Our Town, Three Tall Women, and Anna in the Tropics at Ensemble, and A Shayna Maidel at the Jewish Community Center. Bernadette is an active volunteer with the Cleveland Theater Collective, the Chagrin Foundation for Arts & Culture, and GroundWorks DanceTheater. Off-stage she is the Director of National Development at Case Western Reserve University and mother to Fiona (11) and Nicholas (9). Member of AEA and AFTRA.
*Paul Floriano (David Sarnoff) A proud, 30-year member of Actors’ Equity, Paul is returning to the Beck having been seen here in The Fix, Art, Miss Saigon, Moby Dick, and On The Town. Playhouse Square performances include We Gotta Bingo!, Tony ‘n Tina, Love, Janis, and Shear Madness. Cleveland Play House appearances include Love, Janis, The Infinite Regress of Human Vanity, and A Kiss For Cinderella. He recently closed the Carousel Dinner Theatre, literally!, having appeared there in All Shook Up, Footloose, and Sound of Music. Paul has appeared at Lincoln Center in New York, and the National Tour of Tomfoolery. Look for Paul in the Kevin Smith motion picture, Zack and Miri, the LeBron James’ VitaminWater commercial,and listen for him on the Ohio Lottery’s Fantastic Fives spots. His production company, Floriano Productions does corporate entertainment and murder mysteries all over the state. Paul is married to Beck Center star, Maggie Stahl! Ti amo! Love to Rachel, Becca, Abby and Aidan!
Jeffrey Grover (George Everson, Vladmir Zworykin & Others) Jeff is making his seventh Beck Cener appearance. Previous Beck productions include Reflections, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Imaginary Invalid, The Seagull, Art, and Mr. Bundy. Jeff has appeared at most of the area's professional theaters including Charenton, The Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama, Ensemble, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Jewish Community Center, among others. Last year's co-production by Charenton/CPT of Two Rooms (Michael) earned mentions as one of the area's top 2008 productions by both the Plain Dealer and The Times. Jeff continues to collaborate with Jacqi Loewy and Maryann Elder-Goldstein on Charenton's interfaith production, Both Sides of the Family. Jeff has several professional film, television and commercial credits. He resides happily in Russell, and delights in his four children, two cats, and maybe a horse and donkey at some point.
*Dana Hart (Atkins, Walter Gifford, Douglas Fairbanks & Others) Dana will open this April in Edward Albee’s Marriage Play for Cesear’s Forum at Kennedy’s Down Under in Playhouse Square. Previously at Beck Center: The History Boys (Hector), Jekyll & Hyde (Danvers Carew), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Friar Lawrence), Bent (Uncle Freddie), Oleanna (James), Annie (Daddy Warbucks) and By Jeeves (Jeeves) Also locally: Arms and the Man (Chocolate Soldier) and Sanders Family Christmas (Burl) at Actors’ Summit; Steelbound (Prometheus) at Ensemble Theatre; Safety (the Father) at Dobama; Pump Boys & Dinettes (Jim) at Clague Playhouse and Damn Yankees (Old Joe) at Cain Park. Dana directed Hamlet for Cleveland Shakespeare Festival last summer, as well as two children’s plays for Fairmont Performing Arts Center. For MO.
Robert Hawkes (Leslie Gorrell & Others) Robert was well known to Cleveland area audiences in the 80s and early 90s, principally at Dobama and Ensemble Theatres. He returned to the stage in 2001, directing his son as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, and playing Pozzo himself. Since then, he has been privileged to act in plays by (among others) Kushner, Hare, Mamet, Bennett, Wilder, Anouilh, Fugard, Albee, Pinter, O’Neill, Molière, Stoppard, Chekhov, Beckett, Sophocles, and Shakespeare. He has previously appeared at the Beck Center in Boy Gets Girl, The Seagull, The Imaginary Invalid, and Talking Heads 2.
Sebastian Hawkes Orr (Philo Farnsworth) Sebastian is a teacher of theater and videography at the Montessori High School at University Circle. He has performed in a number of plays, including Approaching Zanzibar, Room Service, Hamlet, and Homebody/Kabul. He appeared in Company (Robert), Twelfth Night (Malvolio), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Guildenstern), and Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Thom Pain). He has also been known to dabble in the direction, the production and the writing of plays from time to time. He was last seen in Cleveland in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Nick) at Ensemble Theatre. This is his first show at the Beck Center for the Arts.
Jennifer Hayek (Betty & Others) Jennifer is an actor, vocalist and coach. She is a graduate of John Carroll University (English/Communications) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the past several months, Jennifer completed the run of We Gotta Bingo! at Playhouse Square and has appeared in Stage Struck at Pickwick and Frolic. In NYC, she filmed an episode of Forensic Files (August 08) and has done extra work in I Am Legend. She has performed in Off and Off Off Broadway shows, independent films and industrials. She has also been seen on stage at a number of local theaters throughout Cleveland and Akron. A very special thank you to Mom, Dad, George, and Joe. Without your support and love, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
Aaron Howell (Young David Sarnoff & Others) Aaron is humbled to have a part in
The Farnsworth Invention and is grateful to Scott Spence for this opportunity. Past theater performances include A Christmas Carol at Great Lakes Theatre Festival for four years, Beauty & the Beast at Lorain County Musical Theater, Seussical Jr. at Near West Theatre, Children of Eden at Heights, and Oliver at Cain Park. He has appeared in two commercials and the independent film, To See the Moon in the Morning Sky. Besides acting, Aaron loves to dance, sing, model, and play drums and piano. Recently, Aaron competed with a choir ensemble in the junior high school solo and ensemble contest and received a “1” rating for performance. He is in the top 10 of his class for spelling and is proud to have received the Presidential Award for Excellence for two years. Aaron is 14 and in the eighth-grade gifted program at Amherst Junior High School. He has three brothers – Justin, Ryan and Cameron.
Jesse Markowitz (Young Philo Farnsworth & Others) Jesse is thrilled to be a part of another production at the Beck Center! He is a junior at Orange High School. Recent credits: RENT (Mark), Peter Pan (Twin 2), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph). Film/TV credits include: Jean Claude the Gumming Zombie (independent film, support role), Overrated Understudies (Drew, male lead), smARTS (host) and he has also performed in a marketing video entitled Cherries Forever. Thank you to all who have supported me my entire life! Enjoy!
William Martin (Stan Willis & Others) Billy has worked primarily in film and television. Credits include: The Shawshank Redemption, The Fugitive, The Majestic, Crossing Jordan, Family Law, and Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. He played the featured role (Hero) in Miller Lite's NASCAR Super Bowl commercial and also appeared in a national commercial for Thrivent Financial. Billy has been seen on stage at Theatre de la Jeune in Minneapolis and Cleveland State University Factory Theater. He has studied at the Guthrie Theater, The Cleveland Play House and in Los Angeles. His latest film, The Contract, in which he played the title role, will be released later this year. Billy is grateful for the opportunity to perform in this inspiring play with such a talented director and cast.
Tom Meyrose (Harlan Hann, Lennox & Others) No, you’re in the right theater but it might seem that Tom isn’t. Tom, the Managing Director of Huntington Playhouse, is thrilled to be performing on the Beck Center stage. His last Beck Center appearance was in Laughter on the 23rd Floor. His directing credits of over 40 shows include the world premiere of Dick Feagler’s Christmas at Aunt Ida’s, Over the River and Through The Woods, and Forever Plaid. Tom is seen and heard regularly on WVIZ-PBS and WCPN-90.3 during their on-air pledge drives.
Al Nicholas (Russian Officer, William Crocker & Others) It’s been awhile since Al last performed on a Greater Cleveland stage. After being transferred to Asheville, NC in 1992, he’s never quite made it back. A native of Cleveland, Al currently resides with his wife, Angela in Myrtle Beach. Retired, Al now consults on two of the largest construction and mining expositions in Las Vegas. Recent performances at The Theatre of The Republic in Conway, SC include Sweeney Todd (Judge Turpin, best-supporting actor), Ragtime (Father), Jekyll & Hyde (Lord Savage), 1776 (John Dickinson) and Oliver (Fagin, best male lead). Al portrayed John Wesley, along with The Long Bay Symphony, in the Carolina Master Chorale’s production of Directions For Singing. Al is excited to be working for the first time at the Beck Center with such an amazing group. He thanks his son, Mike for putting up with a “house guest” and to his wife for his long absence.
John J. Polk (Wachtel & Others) John is pleased to join this distinguished cast in this exploration of genius. Most recently, he was seen on the Beck Center stage in the revival of Urinetown: The Musical (Senator Fipp) and in My Favorite Year (King Kaiser). Other recent favorites include A Man Of No Importance (Father Kenney), A Raisin In The Sun (Karl Lindner, The Man) and Spinning Into Butter (Dean Burton Strauss).
Emily Pucell (Pem Farnsworth & Others) After graduating from Miami University in 2005, Emily travelled around the country, performing and meeting fantastic people…now she is happy to be doing both in her hometown of Cleveland! She holds BAs in Theatre and History. Selected credits include: The Wind in the Willows (Helen/Weasel) and Aesop’s Fables (understudy with performance) at The Cleveland Play House, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Richard Kind (Geminae Twin) at the Stephen Sondheim Center, The Comedy of Errors (Merchant) at the Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Louie,Louie (Nikki) at the National Theatre for Children, Barefoot in the Park (Corrie) and I Hate Hamlet (Deirdre) at The Old Creamery Theatre Company, and The Johnny Appleseed Outdoor Drama (Betsy Rice) at the theater of the same name. She has also done some independent film work including the award-winning Sister Patchouli in which she played Regan Collins. Thank you Scott for this opportunity and Mom and Dad for your support.
Renee Schilling (Agnes Farnsworth & Others) Renee is a senior at Cleveland State University studying Theater Arts. Past shows at Cleveland State include Oleanna (Carol), The Laramie Project(Ensemble), Cleveland(Joan),and How I Learned to Drive(Lil’ Bit).
J.A. Schultz (Simms, Donald Lippincott, & Others) J.A. last appeared at the Beck Center in Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men (Lt. Kaffee) directed by Scott Spence. His other roles include The Boys Next Door (Jack Palmer) and How I Got that Story (The Reporter). Joe has performed at The Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Gerald Freedman’s productions of The School for Scandal featuring Tony Randall and The Acting Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dreamand A Christmas Carol. He has also appeared at Karamu House, CSU Factory Theater, Dobama, Ensemble, and the Cleveland Public Theatre. Joe received his B.A. in Theater from Baldwin-Wallace College, he has workshopped with Joseph Garry and studied with William Silverman, alumni of the Actor’s Studio. He is very pleased to be reunited with the Beck Center and Scott Spence.
*Actor appears courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of actors and stage managers.
Trad A Burns (Scenic/Lighting Designer) Trad’s career has spanned theater, dance, amusement parks, as well as architectural and retail lighting. Designing over three hundred productions during the last decade, his varied work has been seen around the world. His extensive credits include designs for Cincinnati Ballet, New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet British Columbia, Washington Ballet, Alvin Aliey, New York Theatre Workshop (NYC), La Mama ETC (NYC), HERE (NYC), Classic Stage Company (NYC), The Public Theatre (NYC), The Cleveland Play House, PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland Public Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, The Beck Center for the Arts, Dobama, The JCC, Cedar Point, ValleyFair, Knott’s Berry Farm, Kings Island, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Japan, Disney Sea, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Universal Studios Florida & Japan, Woodstock Ice Productions, and The Family of Charles M. Schulz.
Aimee Kluiber (Costume Designer) Aimee is a costume designer who resides in Lakewood. She studied theatre and music at Wittenberg University and The Cleveland Institute of Music and fashion and millinery design at The Virginia Marti College of Art and Design. Her theatrical associations include Cleveland State University, Lyric Opera Cleveland, The Cleveland Play House, The Cleveland Institute of Music, Cain Park, Case Western Reserve University, Cesear’s Forum, Red Hen Productions, Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, Beck Center for the Arts, Willoughby Fine Arts Association, and the Cleveland Jewish Community Center.
Richard B. Ingraham (Sound Designer) Richard is happy to be returning for his sixth season of work with the Beck Center. Previous sound designs at the Beck Center include The History Boys, Equus, Beauty and the Beast, The Diary of Anne Frank, T.I.D.Y., Agnes of God, and Of Mice and Men. Richard is the Resident Sound Designer for Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland, Michigan. He has designed sound for numerous theaters in the area and around the country including: The Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland State University, The Cleveland Theatre Company, Dobama Theatre, The University of Evansville, Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, Playhouse Square Center, Rabbit Run Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, and Willoughby Fine Arts Association. Richard also works for Stage Research Inc., an award-winning software company that creates sound and lighting applications for live production. He has worked as a show control programmer and installer for clients such as Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, The Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum and Stone Mountain Park.
Joseph Carmola (Technical Director) Joe enters his third season as Technical Director at the Beck Center. Hailing from Canton, in the past he has served as Technical Director/Lighting Designer at the Canton Players Guild, The Magical Theatre Company, as well as Paul Green’s Trumpet in the Land, and numerous freelance credits as well as a design for Les Miserables Jr. which has been seen in many student programs throughout Northeast Ohio. He is also the proud father of Clayton who has always brought light to his life.
