Monica McCormick – Production Assistant

Monica McCormick – Production Assistant

Monica McCormick is a Public Communication and Culture Studies student at the University of Michigan, Dearborn and the Vice President of PRSSA-IABC for 2014-15. She is interning for the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID), currently doing PR for the play, Walk Tall.  She has had a great time interviewing the actors and learning about the art of theatre.  Monica is the Communication Director of the South East Michigan Butterfly Association (SEMBA) currently working on their social media strategy. After this production, she has received an internship position with the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office in the Communication Department.

Dan Finn as Zolton Ferency and McCarthy Delegate

Dan Finn as Zolton Ferency and McCarthy Delegate

Dan Finn is a current junior BFA theater major at Wayne State University’s Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance. Dan has been living in Detroit for three years and has been very active amongst the community. In June, 2013, Dan studied at the Moscow Art Theater School-Studio in Moscow, Russia.  After this production close, he will be traveling to Tuscany, Italy to train further in physical theater and follow that with a backpacking trip throughout Europe.

Thomas Bell – Sound Engineer

Thomas Bell – Sound Engineer

Thomas Bell is a sonic and multimedia artist, with practices in performance and collaboration with an emphasis on community and social development in the arts. Integrating mediums across artistic platforms is a primary focus of his work. Thomas studied Jazz Performance at Berklee College of Music in Boston and Ethnomusicology at Florida State University, and was one of the founding organizers for Bushwick Open Studios in Brooklyn, now one of the largest open studios events in the United States.

Mr. Bell served as the Managing Director of the Center For Performance Research, a state of the art nonprofit performance facility in Brooklyn, NY from 2010 to 2012 before relocating to Detroit where he currently serves on the Boards of Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit and Detroit Contemporary. Thomas is also the Program Coordinator for the Clark Park Coalition and Marketing Director for Living Arts in southwest Detroit.

Thomas founded and currently serves as Co-Director of Spread Art, an artist-run creative incubator designed to foster new works through residencies and collaborations with artists, curators, and organizations from around the world.  After four years in Brooklyn, NY, Spread Art relocated to Detroit in January 2012. Thomas’ visual artwork is in numerous private collections throughout the United States, South America and Europe and he continues to perform sonically throughout the world whenever the opportunity arises.

Alexander H. Trice – Production Manager

Alexander H. Trice – Production Manager

Trice is an Actor, Writer, Designer, Stage Manager and Properties Guru originally from Oxfordshire, England. He moved to the Detroit area almost twelve years ago, and since been lucky enough to work for such institutions as WaterWorks Theatre, The D.I.A., Cranbrook Theatre School, < 3 ‘Less-Than-Three’ Productions, Planet-Ant, Madonna University, and the late art4artillery Theatre Co., among others. This season at The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale, Trice designed the set for Angels In America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches, as well as working on the sets and props for Reasons To Be Pretty, The Submission (which he also Stage Managed), Into The Woods, Evil Dead: The Musical and The Motherf**ker With The Hat. At the Detroit Opera House, Trice is currently appearing in Puccini’s Turandot, and has recently appeared in Michigan Opera Theatre’s productions of I Pagliacci, Aida, La Traviata, Fidelio, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, and The Pearl Fishers. With Detroit Broadcasting, Trice served as Properties Master and Stage Manager for both Lambert Street productions, as well as Stage Managing (through Box-Fest 2012) the infamous This Is The Play. Trice recently played Antonio & The Captain in Slipstream Theatre Initiative’s all-male, abridged, Twelfth Night; Or What You Will at Michigan Actors Studio – which he also scenic designed.  

David Woitulewicz – Stage Manager

David Woitulewicz – Stage Manager

David Woitulewicz has been working steadily in the Metro Detroit theatre scene since his graduation from Wayne State University with a BFA in Theatre.  As both an actor and stage manager, he has been involved with plenty of shows with numerous companies, stages, and incredible artists along the way, including Magenta Giraffe (The Last Five Years, Dog Sees God, Burn the Red Banner), The Matrix (Phoenix), and the Ringwald (Mercury Fur and four years’ involvement with Evil Dead: the Musical) just to name a few.  David is truly excited to have the chance to be working for the first time with DBC and with such an extraordinarily talented group of individuals as this.

Katy Kujala as Mrs. Beauchamp

Katy Kujala as Mrs. Beauchamp

Katy Kujala is thrilled to be a part of Walk Tall. Previous theater credits include: Dark Night (Planet Ant), Oliver! ( Charlotte:The Encore), Evil Dead (Linda:The Ringwald/Olympia Entertainment), Jamie and Jordan (Ivana:Performance Network), Fiddler on the Roof (Tzeitel:The Encore), The Little Mermaid ( The Little Mermaid: The Marquis Theatre) and various shows at Genitti’s Hole in the Wall. Upcoming theatre work: Closer than Ever at The Encore. Katy is also a soprano soloist at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church and a frequent Cinderella/Ariel/Aurora through Once Upon a Time Princess parties. Ms. Kujala is honored to be in the cast of Walk Tall. Much love!

Justina Wilson – Production Manager

Justina Wilson – Production Manager

Justina Wilson is a production manager for Walk Tall with primary responsibilities in placement and setting of props.   This is her first theatre production. She is currently enrolled in Royal Oak’s Community College where she plans to expand her portfolio in liberal arts.   As originally a painter and photographer, working in theatre felt like a natural next step for Justina.  She is very thankful to have worked with such a talented and friendly group of people from “Walk Tall.”

Maria Lograsso – Music Director

Maria Lograsso – Music Director

Maria Lograsso, mezzo-soprano resides in Detroit, Michigan where she studies vocal music performance at Wayne State University. Ms. Lograsso has recently performed the Music of Tim Burton with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and premiered David del Tredici’s Dum Dee Tweedle at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. Most recently, you can see Maria teaching lessons and group classes at Axis Music Academy and Moss Academy of Music. She is also the children’s choir director at St. Faustina’s Catholic Community in Warren, MI. Ms. Lograsso is so very excited to be a part of Walk Tall with its rich Detroit and Catholic history. A special thank you to her parents for their ongoing support through projects like this, school, and her graduate school dreams.

Josef Deas as Victor Gaskin (Cannonball Adderley Quintet)

Josef Deas as Victor Gaskin (Cannonball Adderley Quintet)

Josef Deas has spent nearly 20 years studiously expanding music in performance and in his recordings on upright bass.  He has performed and even recorded with some of jazz’s finest musicians including ,Vincent York, Donald Walden,  Rick Roe, Tad Weed, Gary Shunk,  Charles Boles,   Scott Gwinnell, Steve Rush,  Alma Smith, U.S Scottish fiddle champion Jeremy Kittel, Dwight Adams,  Kariem Riggins,  Sean Dobbins,  Bill Higgins, to name a few.  

Andy Gaitens as Father Meyer

Andy Gaitens as Father Meyer

Andy Gaitens (Fr. Jim Meyer) is a Detroit resident and and recent graduate of Wayne State’s Theatre program. Recent credits include Giles in The Mousetrap, Julius Ceasar in Last Call @ the Conspiracy Lounge, and several performances with BoxFest Detroit. He is honored to take on the role of an important, yet hidden figure of local history. “This has been written far in advance, but with such a large cast and crew, I assume that some of them have been incredible to work with. So good on ‘em!”