Cast
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Sonia Balanay
(Kate) was born in Kona on the big island of Hawaii, and was
raised in the small town of Atascadero, California. She
is currently a junior at San Diego State University
studying Business Management and Theatre Arts and is an
active member of the international organization The
Navigators, whose purpose is to “know Christ and make
him known”. Some of her favorite roles include:
42nd Street (Maggie Jones) at San Diego City
College, and Much Ado About Nothing (Hero) and
West Side Story (Estella) with the Greyhound
Theatre Ensemble at Atascadero High School. Sonia loves
gelato, has a secret obsession with the
“Twilight”
series, and truly admires her favorite actor of all
time—the legendary Jimmy Stewart.
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Simon Barrett
(Officer Klotsky, Cindy, and others), was born in the Philippines and moved to
Riverside, California when he was five years old.
Simon developed his itch for the theater when he
played the understudy for the King in the King
and I at Loara High School in Anaheim in 2000.
A year later he got his certificate in Medical
Assisting. Not until he fell in love with San Diego
at the end of 2006 was he inspired to get back to
pursuing his passion for musical theatre. Recent
credits include: The Magical Forest (King
Ragwort) at Coronado Playhouse and Little Women,
the Musical (John Brooks), at Spotlight Theatre
Arts Repertory in San Diego. Simon enjoys
traveling, sightseeing, creativity, music, dancing
and has also found an interest in vegan food.
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Trevor Bowles
(Arvin, Principal Cooper, Tex, and others) is a home-grown San Diegan. Some of his recent work
in the local San Diego
theater scene includes: If I Were Your
Superhero (Jed) with California Playwrights
Project, Into the
Woods (The Wolf) at J*Company, Backwater
Blues (Joe) at Compass Theatre, and Corpus
Christi
(Joshua) at Diversionary Theatre. Trevor was named
MTAG’s Best Actor in 2008 and was San Diego
Playbill’s Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his
performance as Gaston in J*Company’s Beauty and
the Beast. Trevor hopes to be a high school drama
teacher one day.
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Zachary Bryant
(Steve), originally from Phoenix, Arizona, moved to San
Diego in May of 2006 after earning his Bachelor of Fine
Arts Degree in Arts Management from the University of
Arizona. Recent credits include Yank!
(Tennessee), Corpus Christi (Bartholomew), and
It’s a Fabulous Life (Joe), all with the
Diversionary Theatre. While living in Tucson, Zach
appeared in Sinbad (Bendar) and Miss
Smalltown Rock and Roll (Skid) at the Gaslight
Theatre. Other prior roles include Seven Deadly
Sins (Emcee) and Man with the Flower in His
Mouth (Commuter) at the University of Arizona, and
the lead role of Clifford Bradshaw in Scottsdale Desert
Stages Theatre’s production of Cabaret. When
not on the stage, Zach works for Progressive Insurance,
has a side photography business, and loves to go to
karaoke with friends.
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Stephanie Hester
(Karla, Mabel, and others), a new face on San Diego stages, was born in the
small town of Santa Maria, California and raised in
Laguna Hills, California. She graduated from Laguna
Hills High School in 2004 and moved to San Diego in
August of 2008. She is currently a Junior at San
Diego State University and plans to graduate with
her Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts with a
Performance Emphasis in 2010. This is
Stephanie’s
first production in San Diego. Some of her onstage
credits from Orange County include Cabaret
(Helga) at the Camino Real Playhouse, Reefer
Madness! The Musical (Placard Girl) at
Saddleback College, Play On! (Louise) and
The Hostage (Teresa) at Irvine Valley
College. Stephanie loves soy vanilla lattes, karaoke
and girls’ nights devoted to “Sex and the City”
marathons.
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Cashaé Monya
(Candi, Loretta, and others), born and raised in San Diego, is a recent graduate
of Coronado School of The Arts (Musical Theatre). Two
months prior to graduation, Cashaé was cast in the new
Broadway-bound musical Memphis at the La Jolla
Playhouse under the direction of artistic director
Christopher Ashley. Cashaé had the privilege of
reprising her role in Memphis at the Fifth
Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington this past winter.
Previous roles include: Anton in Show Business
(T-Ann) at 6th at Penn Theatre in San Diego; Smokey
Joe’s Cafe (Soloist), Peter Pan (Smee),
To Kill a Mockingbird (Calpurnia),
Madeline’s Christmas (Harsha),
Aladdin (Abu), and The Wiz (Munchkin)
at San Diego Junior Theatre. After taking a year off
from her scholastic obligations, Cashaé plans to go
back to school in the fall in pursuit of a degree in
both Theatre and African-American Studies. In her spare
time, Cashaé likes to kick back, relax and enjoy an
episode of “Spongebob Squarepants” while eating a big
bowl of slightly-burnt popcorn.
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Bradley Sattler
(Tank) was born and raised in Whittier, California, and began
his theater career at La Serna High School. He
performed in favorite roles such as Christopher in
On The Razzle, Andrew Lynch in All The Way
Home, and Judas in Godspell at La Serna,
and Will Parker in Whittier Community Theatre’s
production of Oklahoma. Other roles include
Amadeus (Venticello) and Antony and
Cleopatra (Agrippa) at La Serna; and
Seussical (Wickersham) for Whittier Junior
Theatre. Bradley moved to San Diego to study at San
Diego State University where he is double majoring in
Theatre Arts under Rick Simas and Paula Kalustian, and
Liberal Studies. At SDSU, he has performed in El
Tigre (Tiburcio), Urinetown (UGC
Executive), and 1001 Grains of Sand
(Rapscalli/Caliph). In his free time, Bradley enjoys
playing drums, guitar, ice hockey, tennis, and throwing
frisbees for his dogs.
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Whitney Shay
(Roberta) is a native San Diegan, and has been seen on San Diego
stages since the ripe age of 3! Some of her recent work
includes: Relatively Speaking (Ginny) at PowPAC
Theatre, tick, tick…BOOM! (Susan understudy) at
Stone Soup Theatre, Company (Amy) at Grossmont
College, and Zombie Prom (Keeley) at San Diego
State University; as well as shows at Starlight Theatre,
Lyric Opera San Diego, and Lamplighter’s Theatre. In
2008, Whitney graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Diego
State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre
Arts with an Emphasis in Performance.
While living in Denver, Colorado, for a short time,
Whitney participated in the 48 Hour Film Project.
Whitney’s team went on to win the 2008 Denver 48 Hour
Film Project and the 2008 Panasonic HD Shootout for
which her films will be shown at the 2009 Miami
International and Cannes Film Festivals. Whitney
loves karaoke and going out dancing, especially swing
and salsa dancing.
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Shaun Tuazon
(Zanna) was born in Oakland, California, and raised on the
small island town of Alameda. He moved to San Diego to
attend college and in May will be graduating from San
Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Theatre Arts. Previous roles include Backwater
Blues (Arnie) at Compass Theatre; Songs for a
New World (Man), Urinetown (Tiny Tom),
Zombie Prom (Ensemble), The Grapes of
Wrath (Ensemble), and In the Beginning
(Ensemble) at San Diego State University; Guys and
Dolls (Dancing Crapshooter/Ensemble) and Bye
Bye Birdie (Peyton) at Alameda Civic Light Opera;
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
(Joseph), Alice through the Looking Glass
(Gryphon), Taming of the Shrew (Baptista), and
Cinderella (Chef) at Saint Joseph Notre Dame
High School in Alameda. Unlike his character, Shaun
is an avid whistler and likes to yodel. Shaun love love
loves aggressive inline skating, the San Jose Sharks,
and the Coca-Cola Company.
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Ritchie Diego Valenzuela
(Mike) was born in the city of Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and
was raised in the border town of El Paso, Texas. A
member of the 2000 Texas All State Choir, Ritchie went
on to complete his training in Musical Theater at the
American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City
in 2005. Previous performances include
Footloose (Lyle) and Traditions of Christmas
(Ensemble)
at Christian Community Theater, Hello Dolly!
(Ensemble) at
San Diego City College, Evita (Ensemble) at the
University of Texas El Paso, and El Paso Community
Theater’s productions of The Music Man
(Ensemble),
Fiddler on the Roof, and Meet Me in St.
Louis (Ensemble). Ritchie is currently a
dance instructor for
the City of San Diego’s Park and Recreation Program
where he teaches tap, jazz, and theater dance to
students of all ages. He choreographs for student
recitals, summer camps, and workshops. He was also the
assistant choreographer for San Diego City College
production of Anything Goes. He has been a
guest dancer for Mojalet Dance Collective under the
direction of Faith Jensen Ismay and is currently in the
cast of Dos y Dos, a new children’s
entertainment series.
Creative Team
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TIM ACITO (Music, Book, and Lyrics) created the Off-Broadway musical Zanna, Don’t! (called “smart, touching, and humane” by the New York Times), as well as wrote the book, music, and lyrics to the Arena Stage/Alliance Theatre co-production of The Women of Brewster Place (called “extremely impressive” by Variety). His work has received three Drama Desk nominations, a national GLAAD media award, four ASCAP development grants, and a residency at Sundance. His most recent projects include writing the music for The 200 Pound Beauty (Korea’s largest domestically-produced contemporary musical), and book, music, and lyrics for Tunguska! (upcoming Berkshire Theatre Festival reading) a prog-rock musical set in Russia in 1907 about early attempts to use radioactivity to contact the afterlife.
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ALEXANDER DINELARIS (Additional Book and Lyrics) was nominated for two Drama Desk Awards in 2003 for his work on the book and lyrics for the Off-Broadway hit, Zanna, Don’t! Currently, he is working on writing the screenplay for Alejandro Gonzalez-Inirraitu’s (Babel, 21 Grams) next film. His critically acclaimed play The Chaos Theories, which recently had a staged reading starring Kathleen Chalfont, Ally Sheedy, and Karen Zeimba, played to sold out audiences, and was a top pick of the 2004 New York Fringe Fetsival. At the moment, he has two plays optioned for Broadway: Folding the Monster and Still Life. His newest play, Red Dog Howls, addressed the Armenian genocide. Other works include Big Kids, Adam & Evelyn, and Pathetique.
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IRA SPECTOR (Director) recently directed Songs for a New World at San Diego State
University. In 2006, Ira was selected as a regional finalist in the
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Society of Stage
Directors and Choreographers National Student Directing Fellowship
Awards for his direction of Cabaret at the University of
Colorado at Boulder. Other directing credits include Bash:
Latter-Day Plays and The Wibbly, Wobbly Wiggly Dance That
Cleopatterer Did at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He
has also assistant-directed regional productions of The King
and I and The Pirates of Penzance at the Colorado Light
Opera, and the Chicago Premiere of bare for Bailiwick
Repertory Theater. Ira’s favorite acting roles include Charlie
Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,
Prior Walter in
Angels in America, David Gold in The Twilight of the
Golds at the University of Colorado at Boulder; Ed Kleban in
A Class Act (San Diego State University); and Zanna in the
Chicago Premiere of Zanna, Don’t! at Bailiwick Repertory
Theater. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, Ira graduated
summa cum laude
with a double Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
Musical Theatre and Performance and was awarded an Irene Ryan
Acting nomination for his performance work as Uncle John in The
Grapes of Wrath. He is currently a Master of Fine Arts in
Musical Theatre candidate with an emphasis in directing at San
Diego State University. This summer, he will be working on the
world premiere of The First Wives Club at The Old Globe,
directed by Francesca Zambello.
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AMY DALTON (Musical Direction) has lived in San Diego for four years and has kept very busy as a
musical director and keyboardist in the local musical theatre
scene. Some of her most recent efforts include musical direction
and keyboard accompaniment for Cygnet Theatre‘s staged reading of
Assassins; musical direction and accompaniment for
Cygnet‘s It‘s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; and
musical direction and keyboard accompaniment for the highly
acclaimed Yank! at Diversionary Theatre, for which she
received the accolade of “Outstanding Achievement by a Musical
Director (2007-08)” by StageSceneLA. Amy has also worked in a
musical capacity for J*Company, Coronado School of the Arts, San
Diego Musical Theatre, Starlight Theatre, Hispanic Arts Theatre,
and many other local venues. Amy holds a bachelor‘s degree in
piano performance and master‘s degree in choral music, and is also
a published arranger, her work having been performed in many
national and international live and televised venues. Amy also
serves as Principal Accompanist and Assistant Artistic Director of
the San Diego Men‘s Chorus.
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PATRICK MARION (Musical Direction/Keyboards), a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota, moved to San Diego in 1999
to study music at San Diego State University. He has performed with
various local groups around San Diego with styles mainly focused in
jazz and world music. He has recorded on numerous albums including
four albums on the local label Art Hurts Records. For the last six
years he has been teaching private and class piano lessons, and has
recently taken on vocal classes for San Diego Junior Theatre’s
education department. Patrick first broke into the San Diego
theater scene with North Coast Rep’s production of No Way To
Treat A Lady, and has since performed with the San Diego
Repertory Theatre, San Diego Junior Theatre and San Diego Jewish
Community Center’s J*Company. He is currently an associate artist
with Lamb’s Players Theatre and has directed music for a number of
San Diego Junior Theatre productions such as Into The
Woods, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Richard Scarry’s
Busytown, and most recently, Dear Edwina Jr.
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O.P. HADLOCK (Lighting Design) has over 350 production credits in almost every aspect of
theatre, and brings a unique array of experience to any theatrical
endeavor. He earned a B.A. in Acting/ Directing and a M.A. in
Scenic/Lighting Design from California State University, Long Beach
and also holds a California Community College (Theatre Arts and
Related Technologies) Teaching Credential. O.P., or Patrick to
those who know him, lists over 30 acting performances in a vast
array of roles as well as a background in dance both on stage and
television. He has directed 11 productions and written five plays,
15 screenplays, three novels and two short stories. Well over 60
productions had their graphics and publicity designed by O.P. He
also held the position of Business and Promotions Manager for three
theatres and an arts festival at California State University,
Fullerton. O.P. has worked as a Technical Director at a California
University (California State University, San Bernardino) and a road
house (East County Performing Arts Center). He served as H.R.
Poindexter’s Lighting Assistant for three shows; designed lighting
for 39 shows, scenic design for 23 shows, costumed 6 shows,
designed sound for 19 shows, and crewed over 200 shows. He
studied make-up with Richard Corson. O.P. co-founded and was
technical consultant to The Rainbow Theatricans, a professional
children’s theatre company that toured into shopping malls.
Since 1990, O.P. has resided in San Diego with his lovely wife,
Christine, and their menagerie of pets. When he relaxes, O.P.
spends his time at his computer, reading, attending concerts
and plays, live gaming, and, as evidenced by his
ever-fluctuating girth, enjoying fine food and wine.
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JOSH HYATT (Costume/Props Design) is a transplant from South Florida to San Diego, where he enjoys
working in both film and theatrical mediums. The hats he has worn
include Managing Artistic Director for Compass Theatre (San Diego,
CA), Artistic Director and General Manager for Main Street Players
(Miami Lakes, FL), member of three theatrical Boards of Directors,
current member of the Board of Directors for the Actors Alliance of
San Diego, and is an executive producer, director, actor, stage
manager and theater manager. Film and television projects include:
Executive Producer for Color Me Olsen (directed by Darren
Stein); lead roles in Air, The Search for One Clean Breath
(IMAX Movie), The Infernal (TV), Campaign America
(webisode series) and supporting roles in Forensic Files
(CourtTV) , The Wager (with Randy Travis, Bronson
Pinchot, Parker Posey), Trails of Dust, 3 Ways to
Sunday, Camp Laureate and Silent Footsteps.
Commercials include: State Farm, Sony
Electronics, American Bible Society, Heinz
(spec), and MyNewMarkets.com. A brief list of stage
credits includes San Diego: Jeffrey (2009) , Searching
for Mr. Right, Beyond Therapy; Los Angeles:
Twelve Angry Men, Men Loving Men; South
Florida: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum, Sweeney Todd, Man of La Mancha,
Once Upon a Mattress, Tomfoolery, Bad
Habits, My Fair Lady, The Man Who Came to
Dinner, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Crazy for
You. In addition to his acting engagements, Josh was the
Executive Producer for Man of La Mancha, directed
productions of A Tuna Christmas, Hairdresser on
Fire, Searching for Mr. Right, The
Fantasticks, The World Goes Round, The
Complete History of America, Complete Works of William
Shakespeare, Born Yesterday and
Assassins; stage managed Acts of Faith (world
premiere), Steel Magnolias and Don’t Dress for
Dinner; and been the Costume Designer and Props Master for
American Buffalo and Pirates of Penzance.
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SARAH K. PALMER (Stage Manager) recently graduated from Chapman University in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Art degree in Technical Theatre with an emphasis in Stage Management. Her recent projects include Assistant Stage Manager for Acts of Faith (Laterthanever Productions), and Stage Management Intern for The Women (The Old Globe). Sarah stage-managed several productions at Chapman University including A School for Scandal; The Tempest; A Night of Noh Theatre; and A Piece of My Heart.
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ALAN SCHUELER (Mechanical Bull Construction) has been involved in live theatre for over 30 years. As a performer with AEA, Alan has been featured in theatres throughout the United States in numerous productions. Favorite musical roles include Oscar Lindquist in Sweet Charity, Will Parker in Oklahoma! and Frank Schultz in Showboat. While living in New York City, Alan got into stage and theatre management with Slim Goodbody Productions, where he wrote and directed musicals and oversaw numerous national tours, including handling all design aspects. For the past several years, Alan has written, directed and designed the recital productions for San Diego Civic Dance Arts, as he will be doing again with this summer’s Black Lagoon Lane. He is also the Technical Director and Scenic Designer for their acclaimed annual Collage concert and their appearance at December Nights in Balboa Park. Alan has three incredible kids, Ana, Aaron, and Alex, with his wife of 17 years, Andrea.
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RON TOV (Producer) is a life-long musical theater fan. He was chosen by the Theater
Gods to bring Zanna, Don’t! to San Diego audiences.
