Cast and Crew Bios — Spring Adventure Spectacular 2015


Catherine Bromberg (The Comtesse de Tournay, Guard 2, Sergeant – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is thrilled to be in her first PMRP production, having fallen for the group after seeing its productions of “The Sign of the Four” and “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Other performance work includes singing in the Balkan music band Zdravets (come dance!). Previous credits include the Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble and assorted roles and ensemble work at the Mount Washington Theatre Company and Bucks County Playhouse. Thanks to my wonderful family and friends-who-are-also-family, with special shout-outs to HB, Caleb, Liran, Aliza, the Zdravetsi, Mandala Moms, TNR, and the crew at Newton Centre Minyan (you know who you are).

Tom Champion (Lord Grenville, Guard 1 – The Scarlet Pimpernel) first performed with PMRP in the company’s 2008 Halloween show, Tomes of Terror III. This is his fifteenth PMRP production (more proof that he really is as old as he looks). He’s disappointed that someone else got to make Somerville’s snow emergency announcements during the Historic Winter of 2015, but he’s cheered up by this opportunity to appear in “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, a story that’s perfect for radio theater.

Eric Cheung (Sir Andrew Ffoulkes – The Scarlet Pimpernel) Twice, at plays in 2014, Mary Beth LaRivee suggested that Eric audition. She was right; it was time for him to get back on stage. They’ve had adventures on both coasts, from taxi rides careening down Mulholland Drive to bus rides to see “The Rally to Restore Sanity.” She’s an epidemiologist and historian, and he’s been a stand-up, radio host, voice actor, even a cadet in Star Trek (2009). Prior to his work with Post-Meridian Radio Players, he was on stage in Bevan Lew’s “Three Tea Cups.” Since then, he’s been jailed by Poirot and crushed by the House of Usher, and rode the Blue Line as one of two mysterious passengers in Lisa Burdick’s “All the Way to Wonderland.” What may befall him here?

Chris Chiampa (Adapter/Director — The Mysterious Traveler) has been working with the PMRP since the first Summer Radio Theater in 2011, when he served as Foley on “Black Jack Justice.” He then discovered Foley is super, SUPER hard and decided to leave it to better people than him. Since then, he has acted in multiple PMRP shows, including company originals Red Shift as Lumpy (twice!) and The Byfar Hour as Sean Connery. By this summer he will have appeared as Dr. Watson in four separate Sherlock Holmes adaptations. He is also a frequent collaborator with Flat Earth Theatre, where he most recently appeared as Captain Scott in their production of Terra Nova.”

Lori-Anne Cohen (Brogard, Courier - The Scarlet Pimpernel) Lori-Anne is an old hand at PMRP shows now and not even the French Revolution can shock her any longer...or can it? Seen last year in PMRP’s “Case of the Careless Victim” as Abigail Fletcher, Lori-Anne is excited to be part of this show.

Lucas Commons-Miller (Armand St. Just, Frances, The Prince of Wales – The Scarlet Pimpernel) began acting at age 7 after school in the Cambridge Performance Project. He has played the Count of Monte Christo, and Algernon in The Importance of Being Ernest among many others. He is a go-go dancer at goth club nights. He also plays bass in a punk band, Safety Tested Boston (https://www.facebook.com/safetytestedboston).

Jessica Conger (Lady Portarles, Louise, a Boy – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is originally from the wilds of upstate New York, but has lived in New England for the past decade. She enjoys long walks on the beach, her cat, and wasting time on the internet. You may have seen her on stage in Salem State University’s production of The Vagina Monologues in 2010, or more recently in the Post Meridian Radio Player’s productions of Super Sleuths in 2014. Perhaps you have seen Black Light, her feature film debut. Or she’s waited on you at her job. Either way she is very proud to be in The Scarlet Pimpernel!

Gillian Daniels (Publicity), along with doing Publicity, is a writer of reviews, poems, short fiction, and press releases. Her reviews can be found on The New England Theatre Geek and Fantastic Stories of the Imagination and her other work in Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, and Flash Fiction Online among other venues. Her website is http://eatyourbooks.blogspot.com/.

Chris DeKalb (House Manager, Producer, Program) is happy to be working with PMRP as we figure out how to sword fight on top of trains. All in a day’s work. When he’s not selling sodas he works as a project manager at Books24x7.com. He thanks Z for all of her support and understanding.

Joev Dubach (The Thief – The Mysterious Traveler, Sound Board – The Scarlet Pimpernel): In his weighty eighth show with the PMRP, Joev is happy to be wholly heavy, with mettle that unsettles. You may remember him from such past exciting adventures as “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Them!”, and “They Came to Burgle Carnegie Hall”.

Jackie Freyman (Suzanne de Tournay – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is thrilled to be working with the Post Meridian Radio Players for the second time after having a fantastic time performing in “The Trouble with Tribbles”. She has been performing since the age of seven and studied acting, singing, and creative writing at Emerson College. Past productions include Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Annie, Hans Brinker, Oliver, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Three Musketeers, and Treasure Island, among others. Dream roles include Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. In addition to performing, Jackie enjoys traveling, reading, going to the movies (and quoting them), going to the theatre, dancing, and belting it out at karaoke. Love and thanks to family and friends for all their support in her creative endeavors over the years!

Kristen Heider (Marguerite St. Just – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is having a ball in her first show with the PRMP. She only just moved to Boston and is unspeakably grateful to have been welcomed so warmly — quirks and all — by this group. Somewhat bizarrely for an introvert, she has been using acting to exorcise her demons since the age of eight. In college she minored in theater and studied abroad at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. She just completed a stint as Mollie Ralston in The Mousetrap with the Fig Theatre Company in Dallas, Texas. Other previous shows include The Children’s Hour, Lovers and Other Strangers, Juno and the Paycock, and Ophelia: A Love Story. When she isn’t on stage, Kristen can be found singing, drinking tea, or throwing things at the television while watching her beloved Cornhuskers play football.

Jeremy Holstein (Desgas – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is a Jack of all trades for the PMRP, dabbling in script writing, directing, graphic design, sound design, editing and acting. He has appeared in past PMRP productions “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Sorry, Wrong Number”, “The Red Line” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. Past scripts for the PMRP include “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “The Sign of Four”, “The Whitechapel Murders”, “Lady Molly of Scotland Yard” and the forthcoming “Duke of Newbury Street”. This summer he will be adapting and directing “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” for the Summer Radio Mystery show. He wants to thank his wife, Tanya, and his daughter, Coraline, for putting up with his passion for radio theater.

Michael Lin (The Gentleman – The Mysterious Traveler, Foley – The Scarlet Pimpernel) is ecstatic to be performing in his second PMRP show, and to be performing for the first time as a voice actor. He’s greatly enjoyed the part of the elderly but still dignified Gentleman who has absolutely nothing to hide, and hopes you’ll enjoy joining him on a perfectly peaceful, ordinary, soothing, run-of-the-mill train ride through the French countryside.

Jake Marino (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be working with PMRP for the first time as its Stage Manager for this Spring Adventure! A first year undergraduate pursuing his BA in Theatre at Suffolk University, he has most recently acted as Stage Manager for It Started With a Table (Suffolk University). Previously residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jake has surrounded himself in theatre for almost two years nonstop. Selected credits include Assistant Stage Manager for The Gruesome Tale of Penny Dreadful (ImprovBoston), ASM for Oregon Trail (Table 8 Productions), ASM for Sungazers (The Asylum Theatre), Stage Manager for The Family and Somewhere In Between (Downtown Theatre Group) and Spotlight Operator for A Funny Thing Happened... (Second Star to the Right Productions). On stage, Jake has also performed as Iachimo in Cymbeline and Lazar Wolf in Fiddler on the Roof. Special thanks from Jake goes to Amanda Patterson for her constant and ever-growing love and support.

Caitlin Mason (Artistic Director) is thrilled to be starting her second term as Artistic Director of the PMRP, and is doubly thrilled to begin that second term with the Spring Adventure Spectacular! Congratulations to Chris and Liz on bringing their brilliant adaptations to the stage, and all the cast and crew for their accomplishments in this production. Caitlin has been involved with the PMRP, and Boston theater generally, since the Fall of 2011, and is thrilled to still be going strong. Caitlin’s favorite on-stage roles have been Ensign Chekov in the PMRP’s gender-swapped Star Trek series, and Harriet/Mauve in Red Shift episode “Crisis of the Cuddlykins”. She is looking forward to working on Zeitgeist Stage’s upcoming production of The Submission (May 2015), and to bringing Lady Molly back to the PMRP stage when the Super Sleuths return in July 2015! In addition to being the Artistic Director of the PMRP, Caitlin is also a company member of Flat Earth Theatre (flatearththeatre.com).

Justus Perry [Percy Blakeney – The Scarlet Pimpernel] is returning to PMRP for a second show, after directing “The Masque of Red Death” for their most recent iteration of Tomes of Terror! Justus returned last year to Boston after working as an actor in LA. He’s appeared in commercials, films, and television. In his spare time, he writes short biographies about himself.

Circe Rowan (Costumes) is a Boston-area writer, performer, and occasional textile artist. This is her first time costuming for radio, which sounds like a job invented for someone who couldn’t cut it as a telephone sanitizer, but isn’t. The oddments that emerge from her brain can be found online at her blog, Unsolicited Advice (http://ariflynn.blogspot.com).

Elizabeth Salazar (Director – The Scarlet Pimpernel) has watched her life gradually become consumed by PMRP. In 2014, she directed “The Raven” in Tomes of Terror: Nevermore and played the Coroner in “Lady Molly and the Ninescore Mystery.” She most recently played Khan Noonien Singh in PMRP’s gender-swapped performance of “Space Seed” at Arisia 2015, which she looks forward to reprising in June. Liz is also the newly-elected Managing Director of PMRP, so she evidently makes a convincing authority figure.

Martha Putnam Sites (Citizen Chauvelin – The Scarlet Pimpernel) thanks you for coming to the show and assures you that she is not the creep that she has been made out to be in this show or PMRP’s recent Halloween production. Come see her in the Summer Super Sleuths program in July (when she will reprise her role as Professor Plum) and you’ll see that she’s really very sweet – if somewhat ditsy. Meanwhile, she’s off to sharpen her guillotine!

Jay Sekora (Sound Board Op) is happy to be taking his first turn behind the board at PMRP after a few years worth of voice and Foley performance and directing. Highlights of his PMRP career include roles as a mild-mannered murderer racked with fear in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and as an alcoholic astronaut who needs all the powers of his rum-soaked liver to save his crewmates in “Junkyard”, and directing adaptations of Them! and Night of the Living Dead. He's also blown up ships in Boston Harbor and made huge metal Martian invaders clank down Comm Ave through the magic of radio. He owes all this to his beloved partner Mare, without whom he never would have met any of these wonderful wackos.

Brad Smith (Digital Sound Designer) has been involved with PMRP as an actor, director, and sound designer for... a while now. Past roles include Wordsworth Willie in the Big Broadcast series, Professor White in Doctor Who: Starship of Madness, and sound design and live foley for the PMRP Star Trek adaptations. He also voiced the role of Jareth on and served as tech producer for the long-running audio theater podcast Second Shift (secondshiftpodcast.com). He also also does shows that involve memorizing lines and moving around the stage, including roles in local performances of Evil Dead: The Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, As You Like it, Twelfth Night, and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged). He also also also performs in the band Stranger Ways (stranger-ways.com). Sometimes, he sleeps. You can find more stuff at his site, geekdome.net.

Austen Wright (The Woman – Mysterious Traveler) has lost count of how many PMRP shows she's been a part of. (She thinks this is her fourth. Or fifth?) This is her first time acting with PMRP, and she would like to thank Chris Chiampa for bringing her on for Arsène Lupin. She'd also like to thank Liz Salazar for having her on her Foley team again, this time for “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. When she's not dealing with thugs on trains or banging coconuts together, Austen is an editorial intern at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and an editor with Author Accelerator. Thank you so much for coming!

Attachment: