The MFA in Television, Film and Theatre presents
The Dead Guy by Eric Coble
"How will he go? Only you know"
Get your tix now for the MFA multimedia theatrical showcase production of Eric Coble's THE DEAD GUY, starring the talented graduate actors with guest director, Leslie Ishii.
Down-and-out Eldon accepts one million dollars to spend anyway he wishes, and in exchange he stars in a week-long reality TV show, where he dies on air on the finale episode. Method of death is chosen by the live audience and millions of social media voters!
Feb 13 – 17, 7:30 pm, and Feb 17 2:30 pm, Arena Theatre (MUS 101)
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Following these on-campus performances, this production will be remounted at the Hollywood Fringe Festival this coming June, highlighting the talent of our students, providing professional networking opportunities and raising the profile of our program.
THE CAST
Gina Yaweth............................................................................... Te’Juana Johnson
Eldon Phelps.............................................................................. Adam Ferguson*
Dougie........................................................................................ Jeremiah Ripley
Christy Moline/Security Guard/Sheila........................................ Jo Ann Mendelson
Roberta/Woman #1/Leon........................................................... David Miller
Virgil/Woman #2/Nancy.............................................................. Laura Dickinson –Turner
*Appearing in this production courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Leslie Ishii........................................................................ Director
Lily Bartenstein................................................................. Production Designer
Jenisse Castillo................................................................. Lighting Designer
Marissa Pitts..................................................................... Costume Designer
Adam Macias.................................................................... Composer
Kevin Perez....................................................................... Sound Design
Jo Ann Mendelson............................................................. Fight Choreographer
Leo Nunez.......................................................................... Assistant Production Designer
Risa Kurosaki..................................................................... Stage Manager
Diana Jimenez & Karen Arana........................................... Assistant Stage Managers
Brian Arechiga..................................................................... Sound and Video Operator
Jose Cortes.......................................................................... Production Carpenter
Thank you to Elizabeth Pietrzak, Rico Garcia, Tim Jones, Bruce Zwinge, Daniel Czypinski and his army, Yasuein Reyes
BIOS
Laura Dickinson-Turner (MFA/Acting ’20) is an actor, director, instructor, ally. Credits include: Esperanza (Fuente Ovejuna) at Cal State LA; Laura Wingfield (The Glass Menagerie) Stage 3 (nominated for Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance ELLY Award); Rosemary Sydney (Picnic), Mary Haynes (The Women), Eliza Dolittle (Pygmalion), Prudence (Beyond Therapy) at Prospect Theater Project; Cordelia (King Lear), Viola (Twelfth Night), Lady Macbeth, and Alice (You Can't Take It With You) at CSU Stanislaus. During her 4-years in NYC, she was part of the comedy group MyMK47, regularly appearing at the Broadway Comedy Club. Laura is grateful for the work of director Leslie Ishii, and for the work of all artists who use their voices to educate, empower, and encourage empathy. #LoveOneAnother
Adam Ferguson (MFA/Acting ’20) Credits include: Comendador Gomez (Fuenta Ovejuna), Cal State LA; 3-year international tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Academy Award winner Tim Robbins; Off-Broadway debut in the World Premiere of Boys Just Wanna Have Fun. NYC credits include Much Ado About Nothing, A Year in the Life (World Premiere), and Film Scenes in the Village (Producer’s Pick Best Comic Actor). Regional credits include Cabaret, Proof, As You Like It, and Cyrano de Bergerac. L.A. credits include The Altruists (StageSceneLA, Best Actor in a Comedy), Picasso at the Lapine Agile, and Romeo and Juliet. Adam also wrote and starred in the webseries 30 is Still 30 - available on YouTube. Film credits include Patched, Broad Strokes, and Geeks Outside. He was a company member at The Actors’ Gang for 4 years and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity.
Te’Juana Johnson (MFA/Acting ’20) Credits include: Holy Seductive Dance, Cal State LA; Frontera Fest Austin: Mother’s Day; City Theatre: The Boys Next Door; JHill Productions: Picking up the Pieces, 5 Women of Color; Atlanta Black Theatre Festival: Picking up the Pieces, Looking in the Wrong Direction; Austin Community College: Under the Gaslight, Into to the West.
Jo Ann Mendelson (MFA/Acting ’18) Credits include: Cal State LA: A Funny Thing…Forum (Madame Marcus Lycus), Holy, Seductive Dance (Reporter); Loft Ensemble Theatre Company: Long Joan Silver (Jenn Gunn/Long Joan Silver US), King Lear (Regan), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Titania); The Tavern Rakes: Take My Life, Please (Officer Banana); Seat of Your Pants Productions: Geeks vs Zombies (Alex); Veritas Theatre Ensemble: The Caucus Race (The Existentialist), Del Rey Players: A Piece of My Heart (LeeAnn), House of Blue Leaves (Bananas); LMU: The Rocky Horror Show (Janet Weiss), Henry IV part 1 (The Douglas). Fight Director and Associate Instructor of Stage Combat with Dueling Arts International. SAG/AFTRA.
David Miller (MFA/Acting ’20) Credits include: (Surgeon General, Sergeant) Holy Seductive Dance, Cal State LA; (Doctor) Flu Season, (Greek Male Chorus) How I Learned to Drive, (Various) Every 28 Hours, (Jack) Intermission, (Happy) Reverse Transcription, (Norman) The Sausage Eaters, (Various) Soldiers Circle, (David Attenborough) Time Flies, University of Louisville; (Demetrious) Midsummer Night’s Dream, (Various) Sevas Tra: Shattered Pieces, (Midas/Psyche/Others) Metamorphoses, Jefferson Community and Technical College, Louisville, KY; (Marcellus) The Tragedy of Omelet, (Various) Hell’s Awesome, (Mr. Diebold) A Night at the Restaurant; performed with his theatre troupe Bottoms Up! Productions.
Jeremiah Ripley (MFA/Acting ’20) Credits include: Flores in Fuente Ovejuna, Cal State LA; Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet and Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew, Independent Theatre Collective; Dr. Frederick Treves in The Elephant Man, J.R. Moretti in Remembering No. 9: Stories from the Farmington Mine Disaster, CB in Dog Sees God, and Lancaster in Edward the Second at Fairmont State University. Additionally, Jeremiah teaches Improvisation at Citizens of the World Charter School in Hollywood and ESL at California State University, Northridge.
Leslie Ishii, Director: Perseverance Theatre: We Hold These Truths (2016-17); East West Players: Takarazuka!!!, Crimes Of The Heart, Dawn’s Light: The Gordon Hirabayashi Story, Taking Flight: The Katherine Cheung Story; Artists At Play: 99 Histories; University of California, Irvine: Clybourne Park; University of Southern California, New Works Festival (2015, 2017); Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Dramaturgy, FAIR Program Alumni, API 2x2 Lab New Works Residency, Founder/Producer. Center Theatre Group: Culver HS’s Front and Center production, different words for the same thing, in partnership with the Kirk Douglas Theatre; and Northwest Asian American Theatre. Affiliations: Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists Board of Directors; James P. Shannon Leadership Institute; Arts for LA ACTIVATE Cultural Policy Cohort; Los Angeles County Supervisors’ Cultural Equity Inclusion Initiative Work Groups. Leslie is Founder/Director of the National Cultural Navigation Theatre Project. AEA, SAG-AFTRA, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Lily Bartenstein, Production Designer: Credits include: Holy Seductive Dance (scenic/projection design), Hydrogen Jukebox (projection design) at Cal State LA. Other recent stage work includes: Silent Sky (projection design, International City Theatre), In a Word (lighting and projection design, Chance Theatre), Rigoletto (scenic design, Opera Las Vegas), Fairly Traceable (projection design, Native Voices at the Autry), Bloodletting (lighting design, Playwrights’ Arena), Campo Maldito (scenic design, People of Interest, and The End of Times (projection design, Playwrights’ Arena/Skylight Theatre). Lily received her MFA from UC San Diego and her BA from the University of Chicago, and teaches at Cal State LA. www.lilybartenstein.com
Adam R. Macias, Composer: Selected credits as Composer, Sound Designer and Video Designer include: A Walk In The Woods and Cat’s Paw, Actor’s Co-Op Theatre; The Giver, Sister Act and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Arcadia Performing Arts Center; Fuente Ovejuna and Latina, Cal State LA; More at adamrmacias.com
Marissa Pitts, Costume Designer: Received her MFA/Acting ‘17/MA in Theatre ’17 from Cal State LA. Marissa is an actor, adjunct instructor at Cal State LA, guest lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona University, the Educational Outreach Director for the Southern California Shakespeare Festival, proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA. More at www.marissapitts.com
Risa Kurosaki, Stage Manager: (BA TAD ’19) Credits include: A Boy's Life, Una Mama Con Cero en Conducta, Confessions of an Arab Woman, The Ghost of Ma Barker, A Few Good Men; Pasadena City College: Hecuba, Lysistrata. Coeurage Theatre Company: Cannibal! The Musical; The L.A. Theatre Festival: The Faithful and the Departed, Wild Cats; and the Hollywood Fringe Festival: I Died, I Came Back, Whatever, Commencing, Through My Red Eyes, The Goodluck Girls, Kindness, Re:Vision.