FRED BACKUS (Rbiter) is thrilled to work with Frank for the first time, and always thrilled to return to the Brick. Theatre credits include: Macbeth in Piper McKenzie's Macbeth Without Words (Brick Theater/Pretentious Festival), Kilroy in Tennessee Williams' Camino Real (Arthouse Productions), Another Day on Willow Street (Fringe NYC), Temptation and Mountain Hotel by Vaclav Havel (Havel Festival/Brick Theater), World Gone Wrong (Moral Values Festival/Gemini-CollisionWorks), S. I. Witkiewicz's The Pragmatists (Piper McKenzie/Brick Theater), The Position (SohoThinkTank Ice Factory Festival/Ohio Theatre), Word to No One (Present Company/Camden Peoples' Theater, London), Cruisin' to Croatia (Vidra Theatre, Zagreb), C.J. Hopkin's Horse Country directed by John Clancy (Present Company/'99 Fringe NYC Award for Outstanding Performance), and on television he appeared as Brian "the flunky" on ABC's "One Life to Live". He is currently appearing at the Brickas Viernik the Great in Matt Gray and Bryan Enk's monthly turn-of-the-century horror serial Penny Dreadful, and will appear next in Piper McKenzie's Babylon Babylon.
JESS BEVERIDGE (chorus) is a recent graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She has just finished working on The Mark of Zorro with the Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project. She thanks Frank, Michelle and Sarah for such an amazing opprotunity to work on this wild production. And always, she thanks family and friends who continue to support her dream.
DAVID MILLS BOYNTON (Small Asbury) is delighted to be making his first appearance in a Do What Now Media production and grateful for the opportunity to work on such an exciting project. As an actor, David was last seen performing in New York City as Billy "The Kid" in the 40th-anniversary production of Michael McClure's The Beard at the Gene Frankel Theatre. Other representative roles include "Conjure Man" in Dark of the Moon, "Mr. Morse" in Hot L Baltimore, "Master Jacques" in The Miser, "Boo" in The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and "Clara" in The System, a film scheduled for release this summer. David's writing credits include a solo-performance adaptation of Euripides's Bacchae, translations of Alfred Jarry's non-Ubu plays, and contributions to the theatre history text, Against the Grain: Theatre from Ritual to Realism. David was a member of Acting Class Group 36 at The Juilliard School and he will be receiving his MFA in Theatre Criticism from Penn State University in 2008.
BECKY BYERS (Prime Asbury) is thrilled to be making her Do What Now debut, Brick debut, Brooklyn debut, and any other kind of debut you’d like to add. She is a recent graduate of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia with a B.F.A. in Jazz Dance Performance. Credits include performing on the Disney Cruise Line, Pink Floyd’s The Wall (Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, NY), and various festivals/concerts throughout Philadelphia including performances at the Annenberg Theatre, The Glue Festival, and the Equality Forum. She has recently been invited to sit with the cool kids at lunch and is delighted to be participating in the fourth Penny Dreadful episode. Thanks to such a phenomenal cast/director/assistant-to-director who made this entire process such a pleasure and to the show itself for teaching her…to always look on the bright side of life.
ALEXANDRA COHEN SPIEGLER (Aurora) is thrilled to be making her Brooklyn debut! Since returning to New York after earning her BA from Pomona College and after studying at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq (Paris, France), she has performed in Abused (Arthur Seelen Theatre), Happy Hour (Michael Chekhov Theatre Company) and Youth Ink! Readings (McCarter Theatre). She also appeared in the films New York Blood and Blue Moon Rising. Before college, her credits include: 2 (Primary Stages), The Belle’s Stratagem (Powerhouse Theater), Summer Stock (Downtown Art Theater) and St. George and the Dragon at Christmastide (H.B. Playwrights Foundation). She is a member of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Company and of Roots & Branches. She dedicates this performance to Alex Adam.
CLAY DRINKO (Thorn/Wreckage/Chorus) just appeared opposite Veronica Webb in the feature film Dirty Laundry, which Fox will distribute on DVD this winter. Drinko has also appeared in the films The Ski Trip, One Third, and Countertransference. His television experience includes work on MTV, VH1, Spike TV, and Fuse TV. Drinko gets his dance skills by working with Bessie award winning choreographer Christopher Williams as one of his recurring ensemble members. As if that weren't enough, Drinko also makes his own electronic dance music complete with music videos and live performances. His upcoming album, his third, is called Suspicious Package and will be available soon at claydrinko.com or through ITunes and other digital distributors.
MERCEDES EMELINA (chorus) is proud to be working with Michele and Frank again after a very long 3 year hiatus! New York credits include: Nevada Territoy, Who in the Hell is the Real Live Loreilei Lee?, Midsummer Nights Dream, 36K. Los Angeles credits: Crime Stories 3- Thicker Than Water, Laundry and Bourbon. Film, Independent: "Juan-a-be", Reel Women, Blind Date. Plus, tons of music videos and Miller Genuine Draft Commercial. Wow! It's great to be back!
BRYAN ENK (Rosenstern) is delighted to be playing Rosenstern for the third time, having originated the role in the first production of Bitch Macbeth (2001, Access Theater) and then reprising it in what he likes to refer to as Bitch Macbeth, Vol. 2 (2003, Kraine Theater). Recent appearances at The Brick include two of Ian W. Hill’s Necropolis plays (At the Mountains of Slumberland and World Gone Wrong); Polonius in Ian W. Hill’s Hamlet; and Banquo in Piper McKenzie’s Macbeth Without Words. He is currently co-writing and co-producing (with his longtime collaborator Matt Gray) Penny Dreadful, a twelve-part horror serial performing here at The Brick.
MATTHEW GRAY (Guildencrantz) reprises his role in Bitch Macbeth for the third time. This also makes three times that Matt asked Frank what play we were doing and heard it as “Bitch, Macbeth!” and assumed Frank was getting all sassy because he was doing Shakespeare. Matt also agreed to work with Frank Cwiklik because of similar misunderstandings in the following shows: The Sinister Urge!, Nevada Territory, Orgy of the Dead!, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Fugitive Girls. Matt is an idiot, thanks you for coming, and will see you in Bitch Macbeth 4.0.
BOB LAINE (Asbury) is a poet, playwright and actor. He is a member of the Inverse Theater Company and has appeared in 20 of Kirk Bromley's original American verse plays including three different productions of Midnight Brainwash Revival, four different productions of The American Revolution, as well as such favorites as Icarus and Aria, Want’s Unwisht Work, On the Origin of Darwin, The Banger’s Flopera, Three Dollar Bill and the recent The Death of Griffin Hunter. In addition, he performed in Who In the Hell is the Real Live Lorelei Lee? with the DM Theatrics Company in 2004 after having appeared in their OOBR-winning Antony and Cleopatra in 2002 and The Fugitive Girls! in 2000. He has been performing his original work since 1991 in Chicago and New York and his play What’s That Buzz? opened in New York in 1999. He performed his latest play Cocaine Faggot at the PSNBC Performance Workshop at Here theater.
VALENTINE LYASHENKO (Chorus) is a young aspiring actor who loves performing and being on stage. He’s performed in such shows as Cabaret as Ernst, directed by Keith Grant; and A Chorus Line as Zach, directed by Alex Casasnovas. Valentine is very happy to be part of this wonderful journey in Bitch Macbeth and wants to thank Frank, Michele, Sarah and all the cast members for being a supportive team.
SAMANTHA MASON (Femme Macbeth) is pleased as punch to make her Do What Now Media debut with Bitch Macbeth. Her latest credits include a production of Orientation Day at the I.D. America Festival, Tourjours L'Amour at this year's Samuel French Original Short Play Festival, and Tranio in Taming of the Shrew at the Looking Glass Theatre. Other favorite credits include Isabella in Measure for Measure, Antigone in Antigone, and Catherine in Proof. She graduated summa cum laude from the honors school of the State University of New York at Oswego with a BA in Theatre and a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies, also completing a portion of her degree in London. When she is not performing, Samantha is also a working journalist, covering the videogame blogsphere for newsite next-gen.biz and the site she helped found, foot2mouth.com. Information about Samantha and her forthcoming appearances can be found on the web at www.SamanthaMason.net.
EMMA PEELE (Wire) is very happy to be debuting with DM Theatrics in Bitch Macbeth. Past New York credits include, The Cripple of Inishmaan (Helen), The Deal (Maggie), Xavier Speaks (Sally). She is currently in production on The Vagina Monologues, VDay 2008. Thank you to the wonderful cast and crew of BM who made this a wonderful experience and to my family without which this dream would’ve never come true.
PATRICK PIZZOLORUSSO (Water/Chorus) is one of those NY actors who dabbles in everything. He has clown and commedia training from The San Fransisco Mime troupe and Mark Gindick. As well he has been studying Improv and sketch comedy with the Magnet Theater. Recently he hit the Midwest in a tour of the The Cmplt Wrks of Wlm Shkspr {Abrgd} (Windwood Theatricals), Stephen in The Long Christmas Ride Home (Red Fern Theatre, 78th Street Theater Lab), Antonio in Twelfth Night (South Street Seaport Summer festival '07), "Pimp" in the ensebmle collaborative Eye Candy (MariaColacoDance). He is a company member of the modern dance company MariaColacoDance (www.mariacolacodance.com) and a contributing member of Hard Luck Productions ( www.hardluckproductions.com)
ADAM SWIDERSKI (Macbeth) is an actor, writer and musician. He originated the role of Thorn in the 2001 production of Bitch Macbeth and is excited to step into the tortured shoes of Macbeth this time around. He has previously collaborated with Frank Cwiklik on such productions as Antony & Cleopatra, Nevada Territory, Sugarbaby, Orgy of the Dead and House of Trash, for which he also served as musical director. Other credits include Ned Daley in World Gone Wrong (Gemini Collisionworks/Moral Values Festival), Laertes in Ian W. Hill's Hamlet (Gemini Collisionworks/Pretentious Festival), Charlie Victor Romeo (PS 122), The Witch of Edmonton (REV Theater Company), and Bryan Enk's Crow quadrilogy (Nada Classic/The Brick Theater). He will make his directorial debut in February of 2008 with the fourth episode of the year-long serial Penny Dreadful. Thanks to Sam, the Keeper.
CANDACE YOSHIOKA (Femme Water/Chorus) Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Candace moved to NYC in 2000. She is a graduate of AMDA and is currently a student at the Swedish Institute. Last summer, Candace was seen in The King & I starring Lorenzo Lamas at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. She has performed as a dancer and musician with the Youth Music Debut Series at Carnegie Hall and has worked with the American Dance Machine, a company dedicated to preserving original Broadway choreography. Candace has also performed and assisted with productions in Honolulu such as The Will Rogers Follies (choreographic assistant/ensemble), Thoroughly Modern Millie (dance captain/Gloria), Crazy For You (ensemble), Sweet Charity (ensemble), Cinderella (dance captain/ensemble), and Beauty and the Beast (assistant to the director/silly girl/spoon) to name a few. Her most recent project in Hawaii was choreographing 42nd Street for Castle Peforming Arts Center last spring. Candace frequently returns to Honolulu to teach dance, voice and acting at Diamond Head Theater and with Castle Performing Arts Center.
SARAH E. JACOBS (Chorus/Choreographer ) is so thankful and excited to work with Frank and Michele for the first time. She is originally from Atlanta, Georgia where she trained, performed and taught with Rhythm Dance Center. Sarah moved to New York in 2002 to attend The Fashion Institute of Technology and to continue her studies in Dance and Theater. She studied acting at The Terry Schreiber Studio under Pam Scott. Her favorite roles include Little Sally in Urinetown: The Musical, Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest and various characters such as Reggie Flutie and Zubaida Ula in The Laramie Project. She currently is a company member of Malleable Dance Theater and works as a fashion stylist. She would like to thank Frank and Michele for this great opportunity and the cast for all of the hard work and great fun. Shut and Shut!
MICHELE SCHLOSSBERG-CWIKLIK (Copper/Co-Producer) was the Managing Director of DMTheatrics from 2000 to 2004, and has filled the same capacity for Do What Now Media since 2006. After being accepted and then thrown out of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she went on to a much more enjoyable stint at Oxford University in the Midsummer at Oxford program studying with Jeremy Irons, Rosemary Harris and several other well known English folks. Continuing on her collision course with fame she went on to Williamstown Theatre Festival to work with Austin Pendleton in Henry IV and as Estragon in Waiting for Godot. This led to lukewarm reviews and a case of bronchial pneumonia. Coming to New York in 1990, she took classes with William Hickey for 6 months and then disappeared from the stage for 12 years. In 1999, she was dragged back in by her now-husband Frank Cwiklik to run lights for the classic Girls' School Vampire. After this, Michele directed and/or performed in over two dozen productions with DMT, notably as Cat in The Fugitive Girls! and Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra, and Ronnie in Who in the Hell is the Real Live Lorelei Lee? Known by her casts as the Eva Braun of the backstage, she continues to be the den mother, whip cracker and fight coordinator for all Do What Now shows, including the recent Orgy of the Dead and The Sinister Urge. Feeling that this bio has shown her to be a well balanced and completely sane individual, she is done. Enjoy the buffet and tip your waiter.
FRANK CWIKLIK (Writer/Director) If you've been to off-off-Broadway theater since the turn of the century and haven’t yet seen any of Frank Cwiklik’s work, you’re simply not trying. Since 1999, Cwiklik has directed, written, acted in, produced, or otherwise done considerable damage to nearly two score shows, first with his late, lamented DMTheatrics, and now with the utterly unneccesary and largely ignored Do What Now Media. His work as director has ranged from the melancholy nostalgia of Who in the Hell is the Real, Live Lorelei Lee?; to the bawdy political satire of Sugarbaby!; from the white trash burlesque of Trav S.D.’s House of Trash; to the delicate romanticism of Twenty; from the B-movie hysteria of Ed Wood’s The Fugitive Girls!; to the muscular melodrama of Antony and Cleopatra. Praised by critics from NYTheatre.com, Backstage, Village Voice, Time Out New York, Show Business Weekly, and Highlights for Children, and recipient of two consecutive OOBR awards for Outstanding Production (The Stranger, Antony and Cleopatra), Cwiklik’s Sugarbaby! was published by the New York Theater Experience in the 2004 Plays and Playwrights collection, and his new company, Do What Now Media, debuted over the past two years with two smash hit comedy-burlesques adapeted from the works of Ed Wood. His planned upcoming works include the Marx Brothers tribute/political satire A Week in Wackystan, the superhero elegy No Time For Heroes, and the sex farce The Wild, Wild Women of Wakki-Nunu, as well as the long-threatened movie version of Bitch Macbeth. Discuss.