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Directors Stephanie Ansin Artistic Director Co-Writer/Director - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree Director - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Adapter/Director - The Love of Three Oranges Ms. Ansin returned to South Florida after a fourteen-year stint in the Northeast. Her additional PlayGround credits include co-adapting and directing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and playing Pierrot in The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Her other work in South Florida includes directing Matterhorn for City Theatre's Summer Shorts 1999 (Carbonell Best Ensemble). New York City directing credits include The Seven Year Itch, Abingdon Square and Twelfth Night at Columbia University; Taylor Bowyer's Okay for Spring Theatreworks; and scripts by emerging writers at New York's Fordham University. She also served as Assistant Director for three off-Broadway productions. Ms. Ansin earned her BA in Theatre Arts at Brown University and her MFA in Theatre Directing at Columbia University. Vyatcheslav Dolgachev Director/Adapter - The Steadfast Tin Soldier Mr. Dolgachev is the Artistic Director of Moscow's New Drama Theatre, and he is one of the most famous figures in contemporary Russian theatre. He directed at the Moscow Art Theatre for ten years, and his productions of Anton Chekhov's Melpomena's Fairy Tales, Dostoyevsky's Bobock, Isaac B. Singer's Toybele, and Ingmar Bergman's After Rehearsal are internationally-acclaimed masterpieces of the company's repertoire. Mr. Dolgachev has taught at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow and Columbia University, the Actors Center, and Stella Adler Conservatory in New York City. Writers and Adapters Hans Christian Andersen Writer - The Steadfast Tin Soldier Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense, Denmark. At the age of 14, he moved to Copenhagen to pursue a career on the stage. He soon discovered he had a talent for poetry and became a writer. His most popular stories include "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Little Mermaid," and "The Ugly Duckling." Though he also wrote plays, novels, travel books, and literary satire, Andersen's fairy tales are what have gained him lasting fame throughout the world. Stephanie Ansin - bio under Directors Artistic Director Co-Writer/Director - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree Director - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Adapter/Director - The Love of Three Oranges Co-Adapter Director - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Fernando Calzadilla Co-Writer/Set, Costume, & Lighting Designer - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree Lighting Designer - The Love of Three Oranges Co-Adapter/Set, Costume, & Lighting Designer - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Mr. Calzadilla is a theatre practitioner, scholar (doctoral candidate at New York University), and visual and performance artist with a multi-cultural background who weaves hands-on experience with theory to expand the scope of his art. With more than thirty years in cultural production, his interdisciplinary practice comprises performance, theatre, ethnography, visual arts, and communication process from a Performance Studies perspective. Mr. Calzadilla has won thirteen regional and national awards for his design work in Caracas, Venezuela. Most recently he was awarded Best Costume Design for Salieri (2007) and Best Set Design for Samuel Beckett's Happy Days (2008). Lewis Carroll Writer - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Mr. Carroll is the famous pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898) of Daresbury, Cheshire, England. A mathematical lecturer at Oxford University as well as a skilled logician, writer, photographer, and inventor of games and puzzles, Mr. Carroll/Dodgson is best known throughout the world as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. His other books include Phantasmagoria, The Hunting of the Snark, and Rhyme and Reason. Nilo Cruz Adapter - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Mr. Cruz is a Cuban-born American playwright who won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in drama for his play Anna in the Tropics. His other plays include Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams, Dancing on Her Knees, Night Train to Bolina, and Two Sisters and a Piano. Theatres that have developed and performed his works include: New York's Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, South Coast Repertory, Florida Stage, New Theatre, Coconut Grove Playhouse, and the Children's Theatre of Minneapolis. Mr. Cruz is a former member of New Dramatists and holds an MFA from Brown University. Vyatcheslav Dolgachev - bio under Directors Director/Adapter - The Steadfast Tin Soldier Dr. John Louis DiGaetani Translater - The Love of Three Oranges Dr. DiGaetani is a Professor of English at Hofstra University. His interests include modern British literature, modern American literature, opera, and the connections between literature and music. His publications include a biography of Carlo Gozzi and several books about composer Richard Wagner. Count Carlo Gozzi Playwright - The Love of Three Oranges Count Gozzi (1720-1806) was born into a noble but impoverished Venetian family. A fierce defender of traditional Italian culture, Gozzi adapted Oranges from an old fairy tale in an attempt to revive commedia dell'arte, an improvisational form of theatre that had been displaced by the more realistic and scripted works of Carlo Goldoni and other writers. Bolstered by the success of Oranges, Gozzi continued to write plays based on children's stories, puppet plays, popular fables and Spanish dramas. Oranges and Gozzi's later play Turandot provided the basis for famous 20th century operas. Aleksandr Kheyfets Translator - The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Beast Mr. Kheyfets earned degrees in psychology and linguistics from the University of Chicago and completed a film-directing program at FAMU, one of Europe's most respected film academies. He has directed, shot, and edited a number of independent short films and has worked as an associate producer for MTV's True Life documentary series. His translations for the theatre include Brendan Ward's Infidel and Aleksandr Selin's The Nightingale Sang, and The Lilacs Were in Bloom. Gabriel García Márquez Writer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Gabriel García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, journalist, publisher, political activist, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. He has lived and worked all over the world and is widely credited with introducing the global public to magic realism, a literary genre in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting. García Márquez' most famous novels include Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Love in the Time of Cholera, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Set, Costume & Lighting Designers Fernando Calzadilla - bio under Writers and Adapters Co-Writer/Set, Costume, & Lighting Designer - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree Lighting Designer - The Love of Three Oranges Co-Adapter/Set, Costume, & Lighting Designer - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Margarita Demianova Set & Costume Designer - The Steadfast Tin Soldier Ms. Demianova desgined six shows for the Moscow Art Theatre including Ingmar Bergman's After Rehearsal, which received two Golden Mask (Russia's Tony) nominations and several shows for Moscow's New Drama Theatre. She also designed the sets and costume for The PlayGround's production of The Beast. Her productions have toured to several international festivals, and her many honors include an article about her work published in an encyclopedia commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theatre. Yana Glushanok Costume Designer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Ms. Glushanok's design credits include Ostrovsky's The Snow Maiden and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at St. Petersburg Academy of Theatrical Arts; Kurochkin's Good Man, Bad Man at Et Cetera Moscow; Pushkin's Letter in Novels at Pushkin Theatre, St. Petersburg. In addition to her work in theatre, Ms. Glushanok designs film sets and creates visuals, concept designs, props, and costumes for commercials and business events. She earned her BFA from the School of Visual Arts, NYC and her MFA from the Academy of Theatrical Arts, St. Petersburg, Russia. Jim Hammond Props, Puppet & Mask Master - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings & The Love of Three Oranges After receiving an MA in Puppet Arts Design from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Theatre Design from State University of New York, Jim created Sideshow Productions in 1996 designing and creating sets, costumes, props, and puppets for clients such as New World Symphony, Broward Center for the Performing Arts & Florida Grand Opera, among others. In 2003, Jim began working in the puppet department of the National Broadway Tour of The Lion King while continuing to produce theatre and festivals during his 6 years on the road. Emil Kapelush Set & Puppet Designer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Set & Costume Designer - The Love of Three Oranges Mr. Kapelush is an internationally-acclaimed painter and graphic artist and has designed over 180 productions in Russia, Europe, Asia, and his US awards include a Golden Mask (Russia's Tony) for Shakespeare's The Tempest and Golden Mask nominations for Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Strindbert's The Father, Chekhov's Platonov, and Gozzi's Turandot. Mr. Kapelush also designed sets and costumes for The PlayGround's production of The Love of Three Oranges and Pluft, The Little Ghost. S. Ryan Schmidt Lighting Designer - The Steadfast Tin Soldier; A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Ms. Schmidt has been working professionally in and around New York since 1997. New York credits include The Mystery Plays (Second Stage, McGinn/Cazale), Critical Darling (The New Group), The Job (WPA), The Abduction Project (HERE), and Richard III (The Pearl Theatre Co). Regional credits include: King Lear (Yale Repertory Theatre), The Tempest and All's Well That Ends Well (Hudson Valley Shakespeare), and Cyrano (Weston Playhouse). Ms. Schmidt also designed lights for The PlayGround's The Love of Three Oranges and The Creation of the World and Other Business. She won the 2004 Connecticut Critics Circle Award for her work on The Mystery Plays (Yale Repertory Theater). Composers & Sound Designers Luciana De Oto Composer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Ms. De Oto, a Miami resident since 2005, began her piano and composition studies in her hometown, Buenos Aires. She graduated from New York City's Mannes College of Music with a major in Composition. For the last 6 years, she has written and sung advertising campaigns for US Hispanic market clients including McDonald's, Pantene, and Sears. She also wrote original music for Dario Vaccaro Dance Project's 45-minute piece Tiempo which was presented at Queen's Theatre in the Park and Joyce Soho in New York City. Fernando F. Diez Composer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Mr. Diez was born in Havana, Cuba in June 1970 and raised abroad. He began his professional music career at age 16 in Miami, FL. He is the grandson of legendary Danzon singer Barbarito Diez and has performed with celebrated artists including Arturo Sandoval and Celia Cruz. His composition talents flourished while he was a member of The Latin Jazz Crew headed by reowned bassist Eddy "Gua Gua" Rivera. Luciano Stazzone Composer & Sound Designer - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree; A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings; The Love of Three Oranges; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Mr. Stazzone was born in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. He is a multi-instrumentalist/songwriter with an extensive organic/electronic fusion, dub, reggae, and Afro-Brazilian background and has spent the last the last ten years in Miami producing music with a wide range of textures and styles. Mr. Stazzone conducts his Afro-Brazilian drumming-based band Mano Santa (MTV Awards 2005) and is Creative Director and CEO of the entertainment company Urban Tribal Project. Click here to see The Miami Herald's most recent review of Mano Santa. As a percussionist, Mr. Stazzone has performed and recorded with internationally renowned artists such as Gloria Estefan, Christina Aguilera, and Ludacris. Please visit www.urbantribalproject.com for more information. Choreographers Octavio Campos Choreographer - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Mr. Campos is a Cuban-American performance artist, director, choreographer, and teacher. In 2006, Mr. Campos returned to Miami after enjoying an extensive performance career in Germany and founded the interdisciplinary performance ensemble Camposition. His previous collaborators include Robert Wilson, Birgitta Trommier, Jorge Guerra, Cirque du Soleil, Philip Glass, Bebe Miller and Vivienne Newport. He is a faculty member of New World School of the Arts and is currently creating two world premieres at the Adrienne Arscht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. For more information please visit www.camposition.org. Ileigh Reynolds Aerial Harness Training & Choreography - Inanna and the Huluppu Tree Choreography - The Love of Three Oranges Whether dangling in the air, running on stilts, spinning on roller skates, or jumping into the arms of another, Ileigh Reynolds is recognized as a risk-taker and explorer of unique physical expressions in both contemporary dance theater and the entertainment industry. She is founding Artistic Director of Animate Objects Physical Theatre, a Miami-based company that has gained international recognition for their unique integration of aerial arts, acrobatic stilt dancing, fire performance, and contemporary dance forms. Ms. Reynolds holds a BFA in Dance from New World School of the Arts and has performed throughout Florida, Seattle, and the north of Chile. For more information please visit the Animate Objects Physical Theater facebook fan page. Edward Rozinsky Movement Consultant - The Love of Three Oranges; Pluft, The Little Ghost Mr. Rozinsky is a stage director, choreographer, playwright, and physical theatre expert. He has taught Acting and Stage Movement at the University of Miami, FIU, and New World School of the Arts. He was an Artistic Director of Chamber Theatre, a professional theatre for young audiences in Coral Gables. His extensive theatrical research has resulted in a series of articles published in Russia, Canada, and the US and a book entitled The Silent Art. For more information please visit www.stagemovement.com. | ||||||||||