Monstrous Regiment Cast Bios

Company Bios

Cast:

Ashutosh Borkar is super excited to come back to doing theater after a break of 10 years, playing Private Mondal in Merry Christmas Lt. Payne!

Jana Blumberg is delighted to be performing in Latitude Theatre’s Victorian Christmas Cards. She is a veteran of the short play genre as she has also performed in the Kenmore Quickies at As If Theatre, The Bardo with Pacific Play Company and with Drunken Owl Theatre. Jana wants to give a big thanks to her directors, Catherine and Jane, and to the writers, Buffy and Jay, for creating wonderful characters for her to embody. She also truly appreciates the other actors with whom she is performing. Lastly, a big shout out to Albert. Without his unconditional love she might not have been able to perform. Happy holidays to all!

David Elwyn is an Actor, Stuntman, Fight Choreographer, Cat Dad, and possible Golden Retriever in human form. You may have seen David as Cpl. Strappi in Latitude's production of Monstrous Regiment earlier this year. In the interim, he has performed at the WA Midsummer Renaissance Faire, as Tybalt in Greenstage's Romeo and Juliet, and as Mr. Elton in Centerstage's production of Emma. He is thrilled to be here capping off a thankfully busy year in theatre!

Skye Farrell (he/they) is an actor/musician from the Seattle area. He graduated with his BA (hons) acting degree from the Institute of the Arts Barcelona in 2022, and has recently returned to Seattle. This year he has been seen understudying in Latitute Theatre's Monstrous Regiment, Taproot Theatre's road company, and Magpie Artist's Ensemble's Briar/Rose. His next upcoming project will be FABLE with Magpie Artist's Ensemble in January.

Sumant Gupta is a stand up comic, improviser and actor, Sumant is thrilled that this show has a use for his expensive ballroom dance training. Finally a real life use! Well kind of real life

Stav Hinenzon, a game developer by day, loves creating playful experiences, on the stage and the computer. Previously, he has appeared in Second Story Repertory's production of She Kills Monsters, as Orcus, and Weston Drama Workshop’s production of The Tempest, as Caliban. He has also appeared as a voice actor in the video games Pair-a-Site, Mosh Pit, and Trappist Landing.

Katherine Oberg (she/they) is thrilled to hop on board Victorian Christmas Cards! They were last seen in Public Works’ The Tempest at Seattle Repertory Theatre, and other credits include: Ghost Girl (staged reading) with the Edmonds Driftwood Players, Penny in The Flight Before X-Mas with Macha Theatre Works, as well as The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It, also with Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Public Works program. Katherine also entertains on the weekends as a tour guide for Nightly Spirits, delighting folks with ghost stories and Seattle’s history.

Monty Rozema is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Seattle, WA. They enjoy working with young people, reading, writing, and developing daring new performance art with their friends and community. Favorite on-stage and off-stage credits include Peter and the Starcatcher (Reboot), Wit (Bellingham Theatreworks), An Aviary for Birds of Sadness (Spokane Playwright’s Lab), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Washington Ensemble Th.), Arlington (Washington Ensemble Th.), Invincible Ones (WWU).

Chelsey Sheppard (she/they/he) is a Seattle based actor and stage combatant. After taking a 3 year hiatus from theatre during the height of the pandemic, Chelsey is so thankful to be back on stage and telling stories once again! Recent credits include understudying for Village Theatre’s Sherwood: Adventures of Robin Hood, ensemble in Dacha Theatre’s An Incomplete List, and Guildenstern in inD Theatre's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Endless gratitude to Tom, Jodi, Cash, and Jeryn for their unwavering support.

Jocie Thomson (she/her) is super stoked to be a part of Latitude Theater's Victorian Christmas Cards performance. Her recent theatrical endeavors include playing Mitch Mahoney in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and being a member of Seattle Women's Chorus. Outside of theater, most of her time consists of coding, barista-ing, cooking, and spending time with her buddies. Thanks to dad and mom for all your support, as well as Angie (Angela, NOT Angel), Mar-Mar, Jam/Cam (sometimes Cammy, but only ironically), and Finchie-pooh for getting me to this point. So much love to you all.

Eugene Zabokritski never forgot his childhood dream of becoming a clown throughout his 33-year career as a software engineer. His love of acting took him far and wide both on solo performances and as a member of several Russian-language theater companies. Among his favorite roles are Peter Quince in the recent Resonance Studio production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Odysseus with the Blue Trolley in New York, and Donkey in the Arts For Hearts Company take on The Musicians of Bremen. Eugene is enormously humbled and grateful to the Latitude Theatre for the opportunity to be on the team for the wonderful production of Victorian Christmas Cards. Special thanks to my past directors and teachers Anna Vasilevskaya, Nelly Galiakbarova, and Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya, and, as always, to my support team Tanya.

cREATIVE & Production Staff:

Shanna Allman (she/they) is a Seattle based playwright, actor, professional improviser, teaching artist, and medical clown. As a playwright, she is currently working on a commissioned piece with Thalia's Umbrella, and in January of 2024, Seattle Shakespeare Company will workshop and present her play, Quintessence of Dust. Her play, The Lobby, was a 2022 Strawberry Theatre Workshop’s Strawberry Jam Festival selection, where it received its world premiere in June of 2022. That same year, her play, Midnight Miscreants, was a Lowell Arts Playbytes by Playwrights selection, receiving its world premiere that October. As a performer, she has worked all over the greater Seattle theatre area and is a company member at Unexpected Productions, Seattle's oldest all-improv company. Her teaching company, Act V Scholars, works to bring Shakespeare to retirement communities and assisted living facilities, and as a medical clown, she works with the Laughter League, visiting pediatric hospitals as well as Alzheimer and Dementia memory care facilities. www.shannaallman.com

Jacq Babb (they/them) originally hails from Fresno, CA ("Smile when you say that!"), succumbing to a four year stint in LA as a singer-songwriter before wandering to the greater Seattle area and eventually secreting away in the fae wilds of Whidbey. They have a BA in Theatre and Acting, an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics, and a DIY in Tiny Living. After much coaching of youngsters and adults alike, Jacq is delighted to be choreographing the movement interludes for VXC and hopes to include more behind the scenes theatrical work to their docket moving forward. Primarily a performer themself, some of their favorite roles include Maladict in Monstrous Regiment, Lucius in Titus Andronicus, and—most recently—Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Minette in Bold Stroke for a Husband, and they can be seen in the upcoming Magpie Artist Ensemble production Fable.

Henry S Brown, Jr. is a Seattle native and Gen-X’er, who is well-versed in many classic TV series on the air from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. With interests ranging from songwriting to theater to filmmaking, Henry began scriptwriting in 2013 and has just graduated at an Honors level in the Los Angeles Film School's online Bachelor’s program for Writing in Film and TV. His script catalog includes theatrical one-acts, film shorts and features, some of which have placed in scriptwriting contests including the Bigfoot Script Challenge and the Seattle Film Summit. On the theatrical side, Henry has been an active volunteer with Edmonds Driftwood Players since 2021, ranging in production roles from the Light/Sound Board Operator team to Production Assistant on Unnecessary Farce to a Director for their 12th Annual Festival of Shorts (his production of Monday Morning Still in the Park with George won Driftwood's 1st Place Judges' Award). Henry is thrilled to be included in this production and looking forward to sharing more work and developing more projects!

Jay Cross discovered his passion for storytelling while writing a fifth grade essay about his grandmother. Numerous roles in college productions eventually would lead him to New York, Los Angeles, and numerous stops in between. He was an original founding member of The Phoenix Theater Circle in Columbus, Ohio. Many thanks to Jenny, the best wife in the world. I’m super excited to be a part of this fun and crazy concept of a show!

Kate Danley graduated from Towson University and is a Maryland Distinguished Scholar in the Arts. Her 1930s screwball comedy, Building Madness, won the Panowski Playwriting Award; Power won the Renegade Theatre Festival; and Kings of the World was voted an audience favorite in the 10x10x10 Festival. She spent five weeks on the USA TODAY bestseller list and was honored with the Garcia Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year (The Woodcutter), McDougall Previews Award for Best Fantasy Book of the Year (Queen Mab), and her series Maggie MacKay: Magical Tracker is optioned for television. The Woodcutter will be going to the moon as part of a lunar time capsule aboard the Peregrine One by Astrobiotic. She trained at The Groundlings, Theatricum Botanicum, Impro (Shakespearian improv), the Acme Comedy Theater, wrote sketch for a weekly show in Hollywood, learned on-camera puppetry from Michael Earl (Mr. Snuffleupagus, Sesame Street) and lost on Hollywood Squares. www.katedanley.com

Claira Eastwood (she/her) is an actor, stage manager, teaching artist, and intimacy director based in Seattle. Past stage management credits include Our Town (2022), I and You (2021), and two years of the Festival of Shorts (2021 & 2022) all at Walla Walla University. She is excited to be joining Latitude Theatre for the first time for this holiday season!

Rowan Gallagher is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts where he majored in Original Works with a focus on Directing. He wears many hats in the Seattle theatre community as an actor, dramaturg, fight director, dialect coach, and director. His recent projects include dialect coaching for The Wickhams at Taproot Theatre, assistant directing for Born Yesterday at Theatre 9/12, and Dramaturgy for The Hello Girls at Taproot last summer. This is Rowan's second time working with Latitude, as he was an actor and dialect coach for the company's inaugural production of Monstrous Regiment, performed in the Issac Studio last June. This production of Victorian Christmas Cards will be Rowan's first solo directing project since graduating from Cornish in 2021, and he could not be more honored to have been invited to be a part of this exciting new works opportunity.

Varun Kainth is a theater artist with nearly a decade of acting experience, and ardent practitioner of Meisner technique. His journey began in India, where he honed his craft through productions like The Pillowman, I had a Dream, Khamosh Adalat Jari Hai , and Ilhaam. He moved to Seattle's vibrant theater scene last year. Most recently, he had the privilege of working with As if Theatre Company's Cry it Out (Mitchell), and Seattle Rep's The Tempest (Antonio.) Beyond the stage, Varun has lent his voice to Audible's His Majesty's Tiger, and recording a Hindi translation of Hamlet. Many thanks to my incredible wife, Jyothi, who seamlessly adopts the role of my best bud, therapist, or worst critic, as and when she desires.

Ali Kidder-Mostrom (she/her) is a chemist by day and theatre person by night. She is a founding member of Latitude Theatre and is so excited to be our first VXC Postmaster! Ali sometimes works behind the scenes and sometimes treads the boards. Most recently, she was seen on stage as Igor in Latitude’s production of Monstrous Regiment and off stage as the costumer for As If Theatre’s Cry It Out. Prior to Seattle, Ali lived and acted in the Midwest. Favorite roles have included Sheila in Hair, Meg in Little Women, marja' and 'emlI' in A Klingon Christmas Carol and a wide variety of interactive theatre characters. She may have agreed to be Postmaster just so she could make the hat.

Christopher Kidder-Mostrom (he/him) is Artistic Director of Latitude Theatre. A proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Chris is marking his 62nd project in the director’s chair. He has a BA in Theatre Arts from Morningside University, and an MFA in Playwriting from the University of New Orleans. No stranger to Christmas-themed plays, Chris is the creator of A Klingon Christmas Carol, the first-ever full-length play to be produced in the Klingon language from Star Trek. He also is currently directing two holiday shows: this one, and The Innkeepers’ Christmas for Taproot Theatre’s touring company. As a director, Chris has worked extensively with new scripts (both original and in translation), bringing over twenty world premieres to the stage. He is excited to be a part of this production.

Hannah Lund is a Seattle-based theatre artist, having recently graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a BA in Theatre Performance. Hannah transferred to SPU in 2020 after getting an AA from Shoreline Community College, and also studied at the LAMDA's "Shakespeare Summer School." Hannah currently works as a Box Office Representative at Taproot Theatre Company. As an actor, Hannah performed at SPU in roles such as Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice and Artemisia in Blood/Water/Paint. As a director, Hannah has directed Murmurs by Scott C. Sickles, as well as multiple student-written short plays. Hannah previously worked as the Assistant Director for Latitude Theatre's Monstrous Regiment, and is excited to be working with them again!

Jane Ryan (she/her) During the pandemic, Jane helmed a number of online productions for Woodinville Rep, including a delightful film/zoom hybrid of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Previously at WRT, she directed Arsenic and Old Lace, The Last Romance, and Crimes of the Heart. Other favorite directing projects include A Streetcar Named Desire for SecondStory Rep, Pinocchio for Theater Schmeater, as well as Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Becky’s New Car, and The Book Club Play for Twelfth Night Productions. Jane is also a professional actor, and has worked extensively as a Teaching Artist in Seattle-area theatres and schools. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA.

Buffy Sedlachek is a playwright and an educator who has published 3 curriculum guides for the teaching of playwriting. Her forthcoming book Playwriting for Actors is drawn from her popular class series. The recipient of Jerome Fellowships, Jones Commissions, McKnight Fellowships, Givens Commissions and Troupe America commissions as well as a TCG Observership, she is the former Literary Manager and Dramaturg for Jungle Theater. Her musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol toured nationally for over a decade, along with her musical version of Miracle on 34th Street. (Sensing a holiday theme?) While her 60+ plays have been seen across the country, from LA to NYC; as a recent transplant from Minneapolis to Seattle she is thrilled to be a part of this Victorian Christmas Cards adventure. Buffy is a director and a stage and film actor. She has several regional theatre credits, including the Guthrie Theater, Chanhassen, CTC, and national Equity tours. Her second favorite production experience was playing Punky in Grumpy Old Men. Her favorite production experience was an indie with her friend, Fred, for which they received a Hugo from The Chicago International Film Festival.

Dear audience member,
Season's greetings! May you have a prosperous new year, filled with joy and light and theatre.
I’m looking forward to Ada and the Engine at Edmonds Driftwood Players and As If's ColderThan Here in Kenmore.
Thank you for supporting live art in 2023 and being here today! You’re a good friend.
All the best,
Gwyn Skone

Catherine Blake Smith is a Seattle-based producer and director. She was Artistic Director of Annex Theatre (2016-2019), Curator of Spin the Bottle (2015-2020), and is currently the Marketing Director. Directing credits include: The Neverborn (Annex), Row Yr Boat (Achievement Unlocked) (Annex), Script Tease (Unexpected Productions), The Zig Zag Festival (Annex), and Eat Cake (Annex). Catherine holds a BA in Theatre Arts and History from Illinois Wesleyan University. Upcoming: THE PARTICIPANTS! at Annex Theatre.

Kirsten Traylor-Thorson is an award-winning comedian and jack-of-all-(theatre)-trades transplanted from the midwest. Her most recent directing work has been with the renaissance faire troupe 'Mordpfauen' and as assistant director of Build Your Own Inferno. She is currently a member of Fearless Comedy Productions based in Minnesota. Recent performing credits include Monstrous Regiment, Dragons on the Hill, Wise Fools Improv and Vilification Tennis. She is excited for another opportunity to work with Latitude Theatre and such a unique project!

Scott Zenreich is a writer, actor, and director living in Seattle, WA. He is also Patron Services Manager at Taproot Theatre Company. His work includes plays with Amphibian Stage, Undermain Theatre, the AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas), WaterTower Theatre, Casa Manana, Dallas Children's Theater, Mill Mountain Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center. Scott is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild of America, and is an alumnus of Directors Lab West (Pasadena Playhouse) and DirectorsLabChicago. He earned a BFA in musical theatre from Emerson College. For Adair.