Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Anna Christie: Meet the Designers

Tina Rutsch (Anna Christopherson/Producer) is happy to be initiating her relationship with the Dragon Theatre alongside the incredible cast and creative team of Anna Christie. An East Bay native, her most recent work in this part of the Bay was playing Antipholus of Ephesus in Comedy of Errors with Silicon Valley Shakespeare. She is a proud teaching artist, working with Veterans at San Quentin through Marin Shakespeare's Shakespeare for Social Justice program. Love to Dave-o. www.tina.actor
Jenny Hollingsworth (Director) has directed for several Bay Area theatre companies, including The Dragon, City Lights, The Pear, Tabard, Arclight Repertory and Santa Clara Players. In 2012, she produced and directed Harold Pinter’s Betrayal which won the Silicon Valley Small Theatre award for Standout Adult Contemporary Drama. In 2014, as one of the first Dragon 2nd Stage productions, she produced and directed Pinter’s The Birthday Party, for which she was nominated Best Director in the 2014 Theatre Bay Area Awards (tier 3). Originally from the UK, Jenny works in PR, and has two teenage sons of whom she is tremendously proud.
Rachel Nin (Rehearsal Stage Manager) is pleased to join Dragon Productions for her first show! For the past season, she has served as a touring stage manager at California Theatre Center children’s theatre. She has stage managed for companies around the South Bay, including Silicon Valley Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, King Lear, Pericles), Northside Theatre Company (The Underpants, Dinner With Friends), and Broadway West (I Hate Hamlet). She is an alumna of the internship program at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she was the stage manager for That High Lonesome Sound in the 39th Humana Festival of New American Plays. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Creative Writing from Denison University in Granville, OH.

Chloe Schweitzer (Production Stage Manager)
Primarily an actor, Jocelyn Truitt (Production Assistant) has enjoyed being able to support a production in a different way, and seeing it develop from the other side of the curtain, as it were. She hails from Columbia, Maryland, and has performed with various groups, including the San Francisco Olympians Festival, the Unknown Players, the San Francisco Free Civic Theatre, and the African-American Shakespeare Company. In addition to stage work, she lends her talents to the field of medical education as a standardized patient at institutions including the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. Currently studying Meisner technique at the Waterfront Playhouse Conservatory in Berkeley, other institutions she has studied at include the American Conservatory Theater and the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre.
David Donovan (Scenic Designer) is pleased to making his scenic design debut here at the Dragon Theatre!  David has a deep love for architecture and design, and has completed the University of California, Berkeley [IN]ARCH summer Architecture intensive with distinction.  He has also taken a Master's level design studio in Architecture at California College of the Arts.  What he lacks in experience, David makes up for in enthusiasm, and he is excited to share his vision of Eugene O'Neill's world with you!  He is grateful to the Dragon and to Tina for allowing him this opportunity.
This is John Bernard's (Lighting designer) first show with The Dragon Theater and happy to be designing for them. John graduated from the University of Washington with an MFA in lighting design, teaches Lighting design at SJSU and is their lighting designer for all their mainstage shows. This season at SJSU he designed The Great Gatsby, The Circle, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has designed regionally at Silicon Valley Shakespeare (2013, 2014), San Jose Stage Company (39 Steps), The Pear Avenue Theater (Moon for the Misbegotten), and Hillbarn (The Little Foxes, The Philadelphia Story).
César Reyes (Sound Designer) is delighted to be working with Dragon Productions Theatre Company on this production of Anna Christie.  His theater credits include acting, production management, stage management and sound design.  He is a proud recipient of an Arty award in sound design for Solano Repertory's production of Steel Magnolias and was recently seen in Role Players Ensemble’s production of The Great Gatsby.
Melissa Weinstein (Hair & Make-up Designer) is excited to join the team for her first show at Dragon Productions! Since 2006, she has been the resident hair/makeup designer at Silicon Valley Shakespeare, and has also moonlighted as a designer/artist for other companies including Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Channel UK, Opera San Jose, and West Bay Opera. As a performer, Melissa’s favorite credits include Tigers Be Still (Sherry) at City Lights Theater Company,Comedy of Errors (Dromio of Syracuse, 2015 Theatre Bay Area Awards Finalist) and Othello (Emilia) at Silicon Valley Shakespeare, and How to Succeed… (Miss Jones) and Flower Drum Song (Helen Chao) at WVLO Musical Theatre Company. Additionally, in a previous life, Melissa “daylighted” for many years as a Bay Area children’s theatre teacher/director, and currently serves as the Education Program Director at Silicon Valley Shakespeare.
Laura Elder (Costume and Properties Designer) is excited to be joining the cast and crew of Anna Christie. Laura has designed costumes for independent films including Kobok Six and coordinated props and costumes for a multitude of public performance art piecesAnna Christie is her stage debut.
Kyle McReddie (Fight Choreographer) is a Bay Area fight choreographer, and is excited to be working on his first show with Dagon Productions.  His recent credits include, Romeo and Juliet at California High, Fantastics and Drew School, and Rumors at Lick Wilmerding.  

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