timeline
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  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • 2011
The Harvard Project Timeline
  • The Harvard Project 2.0
  • Tony Speciale
  • Catherine Barriklow
  • Jess Burkle
  • Kate Croasdale
  • Joe Curnutte
  • Frank De Julio
  • Heather Denyer
  • Christian Frederickson
  • Tara Schoch Frederickson
  • Alona Fogel
  • Megan Griffith
  • Max Jenkins
  • Zach Kleinsmith
  • James Macbean
  • Jerry Marsini
  • Patrick McCaffrey
  • Nick Norman
  • Kila Packett
  • Adam Rihacek
  • Natalie Robin
  • Russell Schramm
  • Peter Stone

TONY SPECIALE

(conceiver; director; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Tony Speciale
Tony currently serves as Associate Artistic Director at Classic Stage Company (CSC) where he directs and teaches for the award-winning THE YOUNG COMPANY. Directing credits: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew (CSC), Remembering Mr. Maugham (The Clurman Theatre), Criminal Genius, Mildred Is… (Actors Theatre of Louisville), The Children (New York Musical Theatre Festival- NYMF), pierced! (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), The Ex (Samuel French Short Play Festival), Minor Gods (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival), Slut-The Musical (American Theatre of Actors), My Martha Moment (H.E.R.E.), Raw Impressions (The Club at La MaMa E.T.C.), Camino Real, Waiting for Lefty and Ivanov (Columbia University). As a writer, his play Delirium: The Myth of Arthur Rimbaud was presented at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was honored with a British Writers' Guild Award. Tony was a member of the 1998-99 Acting Apprentice Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville, is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory and holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University. He is also the proud recipient of a 2009 Princess Grace Theatre Honorarium. www.tonyspeciale.com



CATHERINE BARRICKLOW

(associate director; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Catherine Barricklow
Recent Projects: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public (PA), The Young Company's Twelfth Night at Classic Stage Company, and Romeo and Juliet with the Young Company (AD). Catherine also production manages for LAVA, and is currently directing and developing a one-woman show with Michele Arrieta. Education: B.A., Otterbein College.



VANESSA BROWN

(stage manager)



JESS BURKLE

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Jess Burkle
Directing and design credits include so much depends upon [a red wheel barrow] , Bryant in the Park, Rhinoceros, Knock: or the Triumph of Medicine and The Maids (HRDC); performance credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hedda Gabler, Caligula (HRDC), L'echange (Avignon Festival OFF), Camino Real (Columbia Stages); artistic collaborator for Traumland (Yale Summer Cabaret) and SCHOOLED (art.party); writer, translator, and comedian; Hoopes Prize Nominee for Knock, Top 10 Most Creative by The Harvard Crimson, Winthrop House McCord Prize for Achievement in the Arts, Signet Society of Arts and Letters member. Education: A.B. Harvard College, Romance Languages and Literatures.



KATE CROASDALE

(stage manager)



JOE CURNUTTE

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Joe Curnutte
Recent New York Theatre: The Duchess of Malfi (ArtParty Theatre), Camino Real (Columbia Stage), La Femme Est Morte (PS 122, 59E59, Stage Award Winner: Best Ensemble - Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Thinking Makes It So (Center Stage); Millicent Scowlworthy (13P). Regional: Two Men of Florence (Huntington Theater), Uncle Sam's Satiric Spectacular and A Christmas Carol (Actors Theatre of Louisville). TV: As the World Turns. Joe recently co-wrote and co-starred in a new play, Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, which was performed at The Brick Theater and at Ars Nova. Mr. Curnutte is a proud graduate of Cornell College, with degrees in Education, English and Theatre.



FRANK DE JULIO

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Frank De Julio
New York credits include: Monstrosity (Simon) at 13p with Lucy Thurber; Camino Real and Waiting for Lefty (Tom Clayton) at Columbia Stages; Three Sisters (Tusenbach), directed by Olympia Dukakis at The New School; Cymbeline (Aviragus) at Quality Meats Theatre Company; Twelfth Night (Sebastian) at Circle in The Square Theatre. TV: Law & Order, As The World Turns, One Life To Live and Saturday Night Live.



HEATHER DENYER

(dramaturg; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Heather Denyer
Heather is a dramaturg, translator, theatre scholar, and playwright. As dramaturg, she has worked with directors David Levine, (Bauerntheater, Venice Saved), Josh Fox and the International WOW Company, (Reconstruction, AutoDaFe), Paul Bargetto of East River Commedia (Automotive), among others. She has consulted for a number of playwrights as well. Her dramaturgical work has been mentioned in Theater magazine and she is recognized as an American expert on Heiner Müller. Denyer's own plays include, Running Down a Dream which tells the story of the Baader-Meinhof Group, Entre Frères about 18th century French monks, Becoming a Fish about African immigrants, and Honor Thy Neighbor, a comedy about racism. She has translated plays from German and French, including You Don't Leave, You Don't Come Back by Hélène Cixous, A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau, and Figaro Gets a Divorce by Ödön von Horvath, as well as adapting King Lear into the African dialect of Fulani. Before settling in New York, Denyer stage managed in theaters and operas across the country and studied theater in France and in Germany. She served as Literary Fellow at Geva Theatre Center for the 2008-9 season and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon from 2003-5. Denyer has an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University and a BA from Northwestern University. She is currently teaching English literature and pursuing her PhD in Theatre at the City University of New York's Graduate Center. Look for her forthcoming introduction to Erin Browne's award-winning play Trying to be published in New York Theater Review.



DISCOVERING OZ

(pr consultant/web development) Discovering Oz is a New York marketing and communications agency that specializes in working with arts, nonprofit and mission-driven organizations. We approach our work with the goal of creating long-term, dialogue-based relationships between organizations and the many communities they serve, using a fully integrated media strategy, from website and print design to onsite marketing. www.discoveringoz.com



ALONA FOGEL

(associate producer)



CHRISTIAN FREDERICKSON

(Original Music/Sound Design) Christian is a violist, composer, and sound designer living in Brooklyn, NY. Recent credits include: The Forest, Age of Iron, An Oresteia, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet (CSC); Antigone with the SITI Co. (DTW); The Emperor Jones (Irish Rep.); 2009 National Playwrights Conference, The O'Neill Theater Center; The Fever Chart (The Public Theater); The Tempest (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Christian is a founding member of the band Rachel's with six albums on Quarterstick Records and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He collaborates frequently with the SITI Company and has recorded with Shannon Wright, Shipping News, and Mission of Burma. He is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and The Juilliard School, where he studied with Paul Coletti and Eugene Becker.



TARA SCHOCH FREDERICKSON

(consultant) Tara Schoch Frederickson
Tara Schoch Frederickson is an actress living in Brooklyn, New York. She is a big fan of Tony's and the rest of the boys (past and present), who have poured their hearts into this project. www.tarafrederickson.com



MEGAN GRIFFITH

(stage manager)



MAX JENKINS

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Max Jenkins
Readings/workshops: The Man in the Ceiling (Disney Broadway Theatricals), Wig Out! (Vineyard), The Black Crook (Naked Angels). Max recently appeared in Coney Island Avenue at New York Theater Workshop and is the star of the cult web series Gay's Anatomy ( www.gays-anatomy.com). Film: Watching TV with the Red Chinese, Breaking Upwards. BFA: NYU/Tisch. Graduate of LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. Recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award for Excellence in Acting ("Tonette"), presented by the American Theater Wing.



ZACH KLEINSMITH

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Zach Kleinsmith
New York theatre includes: Camino Real and Waiting for Lefty at Columbia Stages, The Fabulous Kane Sisters in Fringe 2008, One Minute Plays at the Brick theatre, and Orson's Shadow with the Outrageous Fortune Theatre Company. Regional: Antony and Cleopatra, Much Ado About Nothing and Shakespeare for Kids (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), Peter Pan (Actor's Theatre of Louisville) and A Nice Family Gathering (The Dixie Theater, FL). Mr. Kleinsmith holds a BFA in Acting from Otterbein College.



JAMES MACBEAN

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) James MacBean
James was born in Brazil, and is a recent graduate of the MFA acting program at Columbia University. Credits include: Tell It to Me Slowly at the Robert Moss Theatre, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet at the Classic Stage Company, and Trinculo in The Tempest at Folkswan Festival.



JERRY MARSINI

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts; graphic and web design) Jerry Marsini
Jerry is a NY based actor, writer, creative director and visual artist. Theater: Brecht on Brecht (Accidental Repertory Theatre), Bald Diva! and I, Claudius Live (Theatre Askew), The West Village Fragments (Peculiar Works Projects), Antony and Cleopatra and The Stranger (DM Theatrics), MONO (Another Urban Riff), Drinks Before Dinner (Inside Art Theatre Co.), Hamlet and The Viscount (Gemini Collision Works), Mephisto (Theater of Necessity and Reverie Prods) and Charles Ludlam's Der Ring Gott Farblonjet (Nada Show World Ridicu-Fest). Film: The Likes of Us, A Rogue in Londinium, Man With Midnight Eyes and Exodus 20:13. Mr. Marsini is a member AEA and Accidental Repertory Theater. He is a graduate of Duke University and The Actors Center Conservatory. www.marsini.com



PATRICK MCCAFFREY

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Patrick McCaffrey
Patrick has been working with Tony on Unnatural Acts since 2007 and is thrilled with the progress it has been making. He has most recently been seen in Yudkowski Returns! (The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Dr. Eliezer Yudkowski) at the Brick and Crime Scene Cleaners at PS122, both directed by Bob Saietta. Bob and Patrick are currently working on a new musical about the Self-Transcendence 3,100, the world's longest footrace. Other career highlights include Snow in June and Martha Clark's A Midsummer Night's Dream at American Repertory Theatre. He is a member of Phil Soltonoff's Maddog Theatre Company and has performed with them in New York and at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He may currently be seen in Journeyman Pictures' Memorial Day, directed by Josh Fox's International WOW theatre company and produced by Michael Stipe. He is a recent graduate of The Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University.



NICK NORMAN

(collagist; co-author, Unnatural Acts) New York: She Plundered Him (INTAR at The Cherry Lane) Other plays include Say Hello Children (The Red Room), the one-act play Guts (Schapiro Theatre) and two ten-minute plays, The Iron Maiden (The Torture Project) and Foreign Fields (The Patriot Project). Norman premiered his first play, Waiting for Good Blow at the Underbelly (Edinburgh Festival 2004). In 2005, his teleplay Take Away Girl was produced at Channel 4 studios in the UK. Upcoming New York productions include The Academics Present Chaos Theory (ArsNova, ANTFEST), and Guts (Ensemble Studio Theatre's Octoberfest). Mr. Norman is a proud Shubert Fellow and a recipient of the John Golden Award. He studied writing for television at TAPS and is a graduate of Eton College, the University of Leeds and Columbia University's MFA playwriting program



KILA PACKETT

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Kila Packett
CSC Young Company: Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, dir. Tony Speciale. Off-Broadway: understudied three roles in A Streetcar Named Desire (BAM) starring Cate Blanchett, dir. Liv Ullman; As You Like It, dir. Sir Peter Hall (BAM); Twelfth Night and Tartuffe (Pearl Theatre Company); Anchorpectoris, dir. Gerald Thomas (La MaMa etc). NYC: Another Country, dir. Diane Paulus; Baal, and LaChiusa's The Wild Party (Riverside Theatre); The Caucasian Chalk Circle (PL 115/Mabou Mines); Julius Cesar and Much Ado About Nothing (Gorilla Repertory); Cymbeline (Quality Meats); Matthew Takes Mannahatta (Vital Theatre Company); Search and Destroy (Kraine Theatre). MFA: Columbia University's School of the Arts.



ADAM RIHACEK

(actor; fight director; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Adam Rihacek
Credits include Milk 'n' Honey (3LeggedDog) and 365Days/365Plays (Light Box at Central Park & The Public Theatre); Artifact workshop (Knife Inc. at Joyce SoHo); Patience [Or Taking It], AIDS Reveal, and Switch (Access Theatre); And/Or (Dixon Place); Ivanov (Shapiro Theatre). As a fight director, he has worked on The Age of Iron, An Oresteia, Richard III, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet (Classic Stage Company); The Children (NYMF); Blood Guilty (Irish Theatre Festival); Camino Real, Medea (Riverside Theatre); Beef (78th St. Theatre Lab), New Car Scent (Center Stage); Minor Gods (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival). He directed Ready, Set, Go! for the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and was the Assistant Director on Was at the Human Race Theatre. Member: AEA and Light Box.



NATALIE ROBIN

(Lighting Designer) Natalie Robin
Natalie Robin is a NYC-based lighting designer who designs theater, opera, dance, music and performance art. She is a Founding and Associate Company Member of Polybe + Seats and an Associate Artist of Target Margin Theater. She is also an adjunct faculty member in NYU's Department of Undergraduate Drama and a contributing writer for Live Design Magazine. In 2008, she was chosen as a Young Designer to Watch by Live Design Magazine. In 2009, she participated in the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and has been a guest artist at Bard and Muhlenberg Colleges. She is also a photographer, writer and production manager. Designs this season include Twelfth Night at Classic Stage Company, Hamlet (set and lights) at the Paradise Factory and A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things on a barge in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Touring projects include Miguel Gutierrez's Last Meadow (France 2010), Taylor Mac's The Young Ladies Of ... (US and UK) and Jessica Dickey's The Amish Project. BA: Columbia University. MFA: NYU/Tisch www.natalierobinlighting.com



MEREDITH LYNSEY SCHADE

(Researcher/Producer) Meredith has produced and assisted on many premieres, including Michel Vinaver's 11 septembre 2001, Stephen Dillane's Macbeth (A Modern Ecstasy) and SINTROCA's LaSanta. Prior to her return to New York City, she was the Executive Director of ArtWallah in Los Angeles, producing the largest and longest-running South Asian diasporic arts festival in North America. She was the Associate Producer on the award-winning BULLY, starring Richard Fry and The British Ambassador's Belly Dancer, both of which premiered in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2008. She has collaborated extensively, including work with Classic Stage Company, Barrington Stage Company, Center for New Performance, Dee Gee Entertainment and the Sundance Theatre Lab, at which she assisted in developing Million Dollar Quartet, Taking Flight and Passing Strange. Current projects include the commissioned play Rwanda Project and a new adaptation of La Lucarne by Jacqueline Harpman with Belgian playwright and producer Caroline Wouters. She holds a MFA in Producing from California Institute of the Arts and a BFA in Design/Technical Theatre from the University of Connecticut.



RUSSELL SCHRAMM

(Scenic Designer) Russell Schramm
Russell is originally from Detroit, MI, and has over 10 years of experience as a Designer, including Theatre, Event Design, Exhibit & Display, Interiors, and daytime television for CBS and ABC. Most recently, he has written and illustrated a children's book for which he is seeking publication.



COSMO CHARLES SPECIALE

(mascot & chaperone) Cosmo



PETER ALLEN STONE

(actor; co-author, Unnatural Acts) Peter Stone
New York and Regional Theater: Strangers (Ontological), The Proust Project (staged reading with Michael Stuhlbarg at CSC), Much Ado About Nothing (Portland Stage Company), A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater), Wit, Little Shop of Horrors (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Rebecca Gilman's Capitalism 101 (25th Humana Festival), Sarah Ruhl's Virtual Meditation #1 (26th Humana Festival), Barefoot in the Park (ECU Loessin Theater, NC), Site-Seeing (NYC Fringe and DC Capital Fringe), Woyzeck (Riverside Theater), Waiting for Lefty and Ivanov (Shapiro Theater). Television Credits include: One Life to Live, As the World Turns, All My Children, The Guiding Light and various commercials. Mr. Stone was a part of the 2000-2001 Acting Apprentice Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville and is a graduate of the MFA acting program at American Conservatory Theater (ACT).



Thank you to everyone who helped make our run at Classic Stage Company a tremendous success!facebook

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