Who’s Who

DANNY BORBA (Frog) is excited to be with Salt Lake Acting Company again. He was last at SLAC as the Assistant Stage Manager for Sleeping Giant, as well as a performer as Ryker in SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole. He is a recent graduate of the Actor Training Program at the U. He was also last seen in Aftershock at Plan-B Theatre and in the Ensemble of Elf The Musical at Pioneer Theatre. Past credits also include Henry V/King of France in Henry V and the musical Songs for a New World (University of Utah). He has also recently been working on the TV show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. He is represented by Talent Management Group in Utah. He thanks his family and friends and God for their ongoing support.

ANNE LOUISE BRINGS

(Ensemble) has most recently been seen understudying for three roles in SLACabaret 2022: Down the Rabbit Hole! Past favorites include Poppy in Noises Off! (The Grand), Harper in Angels in America (Utah Rep.), Una in Blackbird (Utah Rep.), Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (The Grand), Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Utah Rep.), Lavinia in Titus Andronicus (Pinnacle Acting Co.), Nina in Stupid F**king Bird (Salt Lake Acting Co.), Cindy in Booksmart (Plan-B), Mercy Lewis in The Crucible (Pioneer Theatre Co.), Ali in Spark (Pygmalion Productions), Jean in August: Osage County (Utah Rep./Silver Summit Theater Co.), Wiglaf in Beowulf (Meat & Potato Theatre Co.), Gloria in Boeing Boeing (Pinnacle Acting Co.), Rosalind in As You Like It (Davis Arts Council), and Antigone in Antigone (Regional Tour). Anne graduated from Westminster College with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance.

CHRIS CURLETT

(Ensemble) has been performing professionally for 20 years. As a teen, Chris got his start as a professional dancer and singer opening for major acts, arena shows, regional events and working with major companies such as Disney. Chris landed in Los Angeles to continue to commercially dance while attending AMDA to train in musical theatre, Shakespeare, film, and dance. Chris has been fortunate enough to land commercials, streaming series, and professional theatre work since moving to Utah. Chris is also a clinical therapist and working to combine his artistic and therapeutic skills into a beautiful career. Chris is excited to explore this new story with Salt Lake Acting Company and to be back with SLAC. Instagram: @Chris_rahx ELI GHAEINI (Toad) is excited to make his Salt Lake Acting Company debut in A Year with Frog and Toad! Past shows include: In The Heights (Graffiti Pete), The Odd Couple, the Female Version (Jesus Costazuela) at West Valley Performing Arts Center; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Ginabrik), Our Town (George Gibbs), Measure for Measure (Pompey) and the Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Butch Honeywell). TV: Amber Brown, The Chosen. He holds a BFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and studied at the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) in Moscow, Russia. Eli would like to thank his family and friends for supporting him in all his endeavors. He is represented by TMG. @Eliyah.arman

HANNAH KEATING

(Ensemble) is thrilled to make her SLAC debut in A Year with Frog and Toad, and work with the incredible Penny Caywood again after assistant directing The Book Club Play with her last spring. Hannah’s performing credits include Something Rotten (Pioneer Theatre Company), A Night to Dismember (GSLFF

2022) and The Odyssey (Babcock Theatre). Hannah’s directing credits also include Manic Pixie Nightmare (GSLFF 2021), The Emily Dickinson Musical, and Songs for a New World, the latter two at the University of Utah where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre and her BS in Health, Society and Policy in Spring 2022. You can also see Hannah in the Theatrics Online web-series, recorded during lockdown. Hannah would like to thank her family for the endless support – she is so excited that they love this show and this character as much as she does. NIKI RAHIMI (Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to SLAC! Recent credits: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Marcy Park), SLACabaret 2022 (Trudy), SLACabaret 2021 (Narrator) at Salt Lake Acting Company. Hello Dolly (Ernestina) at Pioneer Theatre. University of Utah credits: Illyria (Mariah), The Book Club Play (Jen), and Macbeth (Donalbain/Lady Macduff). Niki would like to thank her family and friends for their endless support as well as the cast and crew for all of their hard work.

JUSTIN RAVAGO

(Understudy) was recently seen as Chip in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with Good Company Theatre and Sam in Lippa’s The Wild Party with Hart Theater Company. Other past roles include Cosmo (Singin’ in the Rain), Horton the Elephant (Seussical), and Hans (Frozen). He is a senior at the University of Utah studying Quantitative Analysis of Markets and Organizations. Fun fact: A Year With Frog and Toad is the first live musical Justin watched when he was in elementary school. MATTHEW TRIPP (Toad) is so excited — insanely excited — to be back at SLAC this year! At SLAC, he’s previously appeared in 2021’s #SLACabaret and 2020’s Saturday’s Voyeur. Other recent credits include Story Weavers at Hale Centre Theatre and A Night to Dismember at the Great Salt Lake Fringe. DENNIS HASSAN (Costume Designer) Professor of Scenic Design at Utah State University, Dennis has designed over 180 productions for theatres from Hawaii to Maine. He also designs costumes, properties, corporate events, immersive experiences and puppetry. Favorites include costumes for MacBeth, My Fair Lady, Winter’s Tale, Dido and Aeneas; sets for Fun Home, August Osage County, Light in the Piazza, Sweeney Todd, Tales of Hoffmann; and puppets for Shockheaded Peter, Little Shop of Horrors, Issun Boshi and Beauty and the Beast. He has an MFA in theatre design from The Ohio State University. Dennis is delighted to return to SLAC where he has previously designed costumes for Egress, Pete the Cat, and sets for Streetlight Woodpecker, Winter, Fun Home, and Silent Dancer. ERIK REICHERT (Set Designer) Erik is excited to be working on A Year with Frog and Toad as the set designer. Previous shows include Sleeping Giant, SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole, Passing Strange, Egress, Elephant & Piggie, and Four Women Talking About the Man Under the Sheet. He also designed the set’s for Elephant & Piggie: We Are in a Play, Stags Leap, The Wolves, The Dance and the Railroad, and A Doll’s House. Part 2, and was the assistant designer on form of a girl unknown. He currently works as the Construction Supervisor at SLAC. PENELOPE CAYWOOD (Director/ Choreographer) is delighted to be directing again for SLAC after last season’s production of Elephant & Piggie: We are in a Play. Upcoming projects include Seussical for Youth Theatre at the U and the Utah Premiere of Yoga Play at SLAC. Past directing projects include the World Premiere of Fremont Junior High is NOT doing Oklahoma (Good Company Theatre), Somewhere: A Primer for the End of Days (U Theatre Studio 115), and The Book Club Play (U Theatre Babcock). Past directing credits at SLAC include Elephant & Piggie: We are in a Play, Pete the Cat, Pinkalicious, The True Story of The Three Little Pigs, Diary of a Worm, a

Spider, and a Fly, Art Dog, A Year With Frog and Toad, Cat in the Hat, Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, How I Became a Pirate, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Penelope is an adjunct assistant professor for Theatre Teaching and the Artistic Director for Youth Theatre at the U. Youth Theatre provides in and out-of-school programs for youth ages 5 - 18, as well as multiple residencies and professional development workshops for classroom teachers. In collaboration with Youth Theatre’s internationally recognized and nationally award-winning high school Conservatory, Penelope devises new work every year. Penelope is a board member for both the Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teachers and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. CAMDEN LILY BARRETT (Assistant Director) (they/she) is a theatre-maker based in Salt Lake City and a student in the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah. Pursuing her passion for directing and teaching theatre, Camden served as assistant director at the University for The Old Man and the Old Moon (dir. Jamie Rocha Allan) Matilda Jr. (dir. Alicia Washington), and Storm Still (dir. Alexandra Harbold). Additionally, Camden and U of U alumn Niko Krieger formed KID SISTER, a movementbased theatrical collaboration dedicated to devising new work with emerging professional theatre makers. This past July, KID SISTER premiered an inaugural piece, Kite Flyer, at Memory Grove Park. Camden is immensely grateful to be a participant in the Professional Theatre Program for Emerging Artists at SLAC and work closely with theatre magician Penny Caywood. BRIAR WOODIE (Assistant Costume Design) is a fourth-year BFA design and production student at Westminster College with an emphasis on costume, hair, and makeup design. Some of their Westminster credits include Frankenstein (costume designer), Dog Sees God (stage manager), Chocolate Cake (AnnMarie), As You Like It (hair and makeup designer), Defying Gravity (Assistant Stage Manager Swing and Costume head), The Birthday Party (co-costume hair and makeup design), and Helen, Stop Kiss, Gloria, and Ah, Wilderness! (Wardrobe head).ely with theatre magician Penny Caywood. JESSE PORTILLO** (Light Design) Jesse Portillo is lighting designer based in Los Angeles, and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Cal Poly Pomona. Previous SLAC credits include Passing Strange, SLACabaret 2021, Pete The Cat, Saturday’s Voyeur, Climbing with Tigers, and Harbur Gate . Additional credits include productions for Pioneer Theatre Company, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Ancram Opera House, LOOK Musicals, New Century Dance, Repertory Dance Theater, Samba Fogo, PURE Theatre, Mobile Opera and Plan-B Theatre Company. He holds an MFA from Indiana University, and has previously served on the faculty of the University of Utah and the College of Charleston. He is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, and an active member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, where he is the Associate Commissioner for Lighting Design and Technology. He is a founding member of La Gente: The Latinx Design Network, and works to make all aspects of live entertainment more diverse, equitable and inclusive by deploying anti-racist approaches in all aspects of his work. JENNIE SANT (Production Stage Manager/ Production Manager) Has been at Salt Lake Acting Company for over 10 years. During that decade she has stage managed over 30 shows, including NPSS readings and SLAC’s Playwrights Lab. Previous shows include Sleeping Giant, #SLACabaret, Passing Strange, Egress, Elephant & Piggie: We Are in a Play, SLACabaret: Down the Rabbit Hole, and Alabaster. Upcoming shows include Hairy & Sherri. Other credits include Gold Mountain (Golden Spike 150), Thriller (Odyssey Dance Company), Wonderland and Princess Wendy (The Petite Palace), Annie (COPA Theatre), Next To Normal, Les Misérables, The Producers, Paint Your Wagon, Doubt, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Foreigner, and Vertical Hour (Pioneer Theatre Company). She has also worked for Salt Lake Shakespeare and Utah Contemporary Theatre.

BRIDGETTE LEHMAN (Asst. Stage Manager/Run of Show Stage Manager) is a graduate from Weber State University with an emphasis in Stage Management and a minor in Sound Production/Recording. She has stage managed and designed in multiple theatres between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Recent credits include: Good Company’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, OMT’s Shrek! The Musical, OMT’s Little Women, and WSU’s Something’s Afoot. Bridgette is excited to be working with Salt Lake Acting Company again! She would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her. ALIX WALBURN (Props Designer) is very excited to be working on her second children’s show with SLAC! She has worked as a prop artist and puppet maker at various theaters including the Paperhand Puppet Intervention In the Heart of the Fire, Monomoy Theatre The Drowsy Chaperone, One Man, Two Guvnors, The Fantasticks and her alma later, Elon University Parade, Much Ado About Nothing. Most recently she helped design and build large scale props and set pieces for Red Butte Botanical Garden’s Halloween Festival. ANNA BLAES (Props Designer) is thrilled to be part of A Year with Frog and Toad! Anna is currently a student at the University of Utah pursuing a BFA in Performing Arts Design. Her previous work includes designing for A Night to Dismember and Sympathizer (Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival), and Assistant Properties Design for Storm Still and Illyria (University of Utah Babcock Theatre). She would like to thank all those at SLAC for their support, friendship, and mentorship! ROBERT REALE (Music) MusicalsBroadway: A Year With Frog And Toad (Tony nomination). Off-Broadway: Once Around The City (2nd Stage), Quark Victory (Williamstown Theater Festival). Music for plays: Richard Dresser’s Rounding Third (directed by John Rando) Diva, (WTF), Salvation’s Moon. Film: Ten-13, Passing Over, Wigstock, Dealers Among Dealers, The Victim, others. Television: PrimeTime, 20/20, Inside Edition, Out There (theme), Invent This (theme), Mugshots, Crime Stories, The System, The Mailman and the Pirhana, Case Closed, Beating The Rap, The Royals: Dynasty or Disaster?, others. As composer and record producer he has worked with Julie Andrews, Mel Torme, Sid Caeser and Imogene Coca. WILLIE REALE (Book and Lyrics) is a free-lance writer, living in New York. He has collaborated with his brother, Robert, on a musical called Once Around The City, which was produced by New York Stage and Film and at the Second Stage Theatre in New York. Quark Victory, another musical written with his brother, was produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Other plays have been produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Circle Repertory Company. With his brother he has written A Year With Frog and Toad, which was performed at the Childrens’ Theater Company in Minneapolis, the New Victory Theatre and at the Cort Theater on Broadway. Willie received two Tony nominations for his book and lyrics. In 1981, he founded The 52nd Street Project, an organization that brings inner-city children together with professional theater artists to create theater. He served as the theater’s artistic director for 18 years. With the Project, he produced hundreds of plays. The programs of The 52nd Street Project are currently being replicated at 12 sites across the country through a series of publications entitled The Kid Theater Kit. For the kit he wrote “52 Pick Up,” the Project how-to manual, as well as numerous plays, and the lyrics to hundreds of songs, including two full-length musicals, all of which are available through Dramatists Play Service. In June of 1994, he was awarded a MacArthur in recognition of his ingenuity in creating theater and theater education programs for young people. For television, Mr. Reale has written for the NBC dramas Homicide: Life on the Streets, Deadline and Mr. Sterling. For Fox he has written for Keen Eddie and The Jury. He created a series called Out There for Sesame Workshop and the BBC, which shot in Australia. His work on the show was recognized by an Australian Film Institute Award (The Australian Emmy) and Prix Jeunesse and Writers’ Guild of America nominations. He has taught at New York University and the Yale School of Drama. Willie is married to producer Jenny

Gersten. They have two children, Augustus and Leonardo.

MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL

(MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide. MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior™ shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students. CYNTHIA FLEMING (Executive Artistic Director) has been on the administrative staff at Salt Lake Acting Company since 1998. During this time, she has overseen multiple departments including Marketing, Communications, Development, Production, and Audience Services. In 2015, Cynthia was named to her current role as Executive Artistic Director. Prior to arriving at Salt Lake Acting Company, Cynthia performed in the Broadway, National, and International companies of the original run of A Chorus Line, directed by Michael Bennett. Cynthia remains a working artist in the theatre and continues to direct and choreograph works both at SLAC and elsewhere. Those credits include SLACabaret 2021, Silent Dancer, Saturday’s Voyeur (16 years as Choreographer, 7 as Director/ Choreographer), Bat Boy, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, as well as guest directing the MFA Playwrights’ Workshop—a partnership with the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, Stanford University, and the National New Play Network. She has also served as a visiting professor for the University of Utah’s Musical Theatre program. Outside of her theatrerelated pursuits, Cynthia is a member of the Women’s Democratic Club of Utah, as well as 100 Women Who Care SLC. Cynthia is proud to serve SLAC and its mission to engage and enrich the community through brave, contemporary theatre. SALT LAKE ACTING COMPANY (SLAC)’s mission is to engage and enrich the community through brave, contemporary theatre. Founded in 1970 by Edward Gryska, SLAC is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 professional theatre dedicated to producing, commissioning, and developing new works and to supporting a community of professional artists. SLAC has been nationally recognized by the Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Edgerton Foundation, among others. SLAC operates under an SPT Actors Equity Association contract and is a proud member of the National New Play Network (a national alliance of nonprofit professional theatres that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays). For more information, visit SaltLakeActingCompany.org.