Cast & Crew
John Alexander (Teach) John D. Alexander was born and raised in New York City, where he began acting at a young age. He moved to Burlington, Vermont in 1982, and received both a BS and an MS from the University of Vermont. He has appeared in over 60 stage productions, aside from work in film (The Mudge Boy, American Gun, What Lies Beneath), television (Law & Order: SVU), and radio (The Abbott). Mr. Alexander has appeared Off-Off Broadway in productions of Curbdivers of Redemption and Ballroom of Forgiveness. In his spare time, he works as an acting and dialect coach, including working with children’s theatre groups. Mr. Alexander is also a speaker of the German language, and is a marksman, wrestler, and horseback rider. Mr. Alexander has received a great deal of praise in his notices, including “…the omnipresent Alexander, a professional actor who brings class, humor, and strength to just about everything he does.” (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS), “Alexander has become one of the most dependable professional actors in Vermont. He is greatly talented.” (VERMONT TIMES), “…a truly wonderful character actor.” (NORTH COUNTRY PUBLIC RADIO), and “…a respected name in Burlington’s theater scene….” (SEVEN DAYS).
G. Richard Ames (Props Designer) While mostly a performer and sometimes writer, Rick has spent a lot of time propping and has accumulated a number of his own props, mostly period items from 1950s-1970s Americana, or to be more specific, kitsch. He was drawn into his kitschmania while properties designer for St. Michael's Playhouse from 1993-97. His love affair with yard sales, thrift shops, CSWD Re-Use Zones and Recycle North has become a habit that sometimes costs him in excess of $10 a week! He continues to contribute set dressing and vital props to every production in which he performs. His props have been seen on the Travel Channel, in museums, and on local TV. He has acquired performing pets, African animal heads (thus his vegetarianism today), and much, much more. It is his hope to one day open the nonprofit DUOP (Do Unto Others Productions) Prop Shop.
Justin Atherton (Art/Poster Designer) is a painter, an illustrator, and a sometime sculptor. He currently resides in Burlington, Vermont with his wife, their two rabbits, and a growing family of sock monkeys. The walls of his studio are sunflower yellow. See his work at nograce.com.
Chantal Beliveau (Venue Manager)
Tara Downs (Director) Tara Lee Downs moved to Vermont in 1998 to study theatre and theatre education at Goddard College. She graduated from Davis & Elkins College in her home state of West Virginia with a BA in Theatre Arts in ‘07. She is excited to be back in the Vermont area working professionally as an actor, director, and stage manager. Her most recent stage managing credits include, The Nutcracker, Tartuffe, Henry V, Tuna Christmas, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Importance of Being Earnest, Lies & Legends, David Budbill's Judevine, and the North East Kingdom Music Festival. Last summer she codirected the youth theater lab production of The Wind In The Willows at Lost Nation Theater. Her other directorial credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Thom Pain, Macbeth, and Urinetown, and choreographed Antigone. She can be seen as Amnesia, her street clown, who comes out to play a few times a year. She now returns for her third season as a production stage manager and youth theater lab instructor at Lost Nation Theater.
Tracey Girdich (Producer) This is Tracey’s 125th theatrical event she has helped bring to the stage since she graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh with a BA in Theatre Arts in 1987. She then went on to study acting at Circle in the Square in NYC, Atlantic Theatre Company's P.A.W. program and with Vermont artists Mark Nash, Tom Carder, and Michael Evans. Tracey has acted for film, radio, and stage and has performed for and collaborated with prominent Vermont artists such Josh Bridgman (Silent Invasion), Steve Goldberg and One-Take Productions, Seth Jarvis and Sweet Racket Productions, Kim Bent and Lost Nation Theatre Company, Jim Lantz, and Aaron Masi among several others. She has performed regionally at the Sanford Meisner Theatre in NYC and internationally at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tracey is a founding member of Green Candle Theatre Company and the current Artistic Director. If you look closely Tracey can also be found backstage at the House of Lemay's "Winter is a Drag Ball", Pride Festival events, the South End Art Hop, and as a recurrent house manager for the Spielpalast Cabaret.
Rosie Grannis (Costume Designer) grew up on the coast of Maine and was home-schooled all her life, she started working for "Recollections" a Victorian clothing company in the late 1990's, she was co-designer and seamstress for six years. Rosemary has also done costumes for a number of local plays in Maine. Rosemary now lives in Burlington and works for a local jewelry designer, she still loves to make clothing and does some commissioned work, primarily formal and bridal-wear.
Bear Ingalls (Lighting Designer) is a professional stagehand and lighting designer who has been involved in technical theatre for over 30 years. Bear considers the theatre to be a major force in his life. He enjoys all of the technical aspects, but his passion is for light design, be it for live music, theatre or corporate events. Bear is also the access coordinator at VCAM, a job which he also greatly enjoys. For as much as he is passionate about light design and technical theatre, he wants you to know that he loves nothing as much as his family.
Aaron Masi (Bobby) Aaron Masi graduated with honors from the University of Vermont’s Department of Theatre in 1996. In November 2008 he produced the world premiere of Michael Jordan Evans’ Art the Father with Green Candle Theatre Company at the Outer Space Cafe. Aaron is Green Candle’s Treasurer and is working to make Green Candle one of Vermont's finest professional theatre companies. Aaron wrote, directed, stage managed, and produced an original adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's The Nose at FlynnSpace in June 2008, which received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. Aaron is adapting Timothy Basil Ering’s Frog Belly Rat Bone into a touring play for children, which he will direct and produce in Winter ‘09–’10, followed by his original work, The Pirate Play in 2011. Aaron is delighted to bring Bobby to life, and to work with this fabulous cast and crew. He is also a teacher at an alternative school, husband to Connie Coleman, and father to five-year-old Isara Jade.
Dennis McSorley (Donny) Dennis McSorley is a native New Yorker, who jump-started his acting career here in 1995. Appearing in over 30 plays and some films, he has helped bring the stories of Chekov, Mamet, Stoppard, Albee, Simon, and local writers Steve Goldberg, Keefe Healy, Maura Campbell, and Jim Lantz to life. He received accolades in the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival's world premiere of Dogs of War by Keefe Healy. He was the gritty cop in Mark Covino's Bessie nominated film Talcum, and was nominated for Best Actor at the 2005 Brighton Fringe Festival UK for his role in Keefe Healy's drama Fish Dancing. He enjoys being himself in his spare time and sharing life's joys with his beautiful wife Janet. About Mr. McSorley, the critics have written: “Perhaps the strongest performance of all came from Dennis McSorley reinforcing his confident stage comportment…” (SEVEN DAYS), “Dennis McSorley shines...” (THE LIST [Scotland]), and ““…Dennis McSorley stood out…” (BURLINGTON FREE PRESS), and “…his delivery of the final eulogies was so poignant that it was hard to remember this was a play and not an actual memorial service.” (SEVEN DAYS).
Katie Owens (Stage Manager)
Michael Smith (Scenic Designer)
Marlo Wamsganz (Graphic/Web Design) loves paper and pixels. See her work at marlowamsganz.com.
