The Rainbow Bridge Written by Ron Nelson
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Board of Directors Honorary Board David Bass Ed Asner Susan Hayden Judi Barker Christine Kaplan Fred Deni Dylan McDermott Patricia Dougherty Carole Middleton Eve Ensler John Ruskin Rita Franciosa Barbara Schroeder Robert Myers Linda Sullivan In Memorium Michael Visbal Wendy Brenninkmeijer JR Wurster Anthony Franciosa Karen Landry Barbara Tarbuck Artistic Director Managing Director John Ruskin Michael R. Myers THE RAINBOW BRIDGE WRITTEN BY RON NELSON DIRECTED BY MICHAEL R. MYERS PRODUCERS MICHAEL R. MYERS and JOHN RUSKIN CO-PRODUCER EMILY ANNA BELL STAGE ASST. STAGE COSTUMES MANAGER MANAGER SARAH FIGOTEN NICOLE MILLAR EMILY ANNA BELL WILSON SOUND SET DESIGNER / PUBLICITY DESIGN BUILDER JUDITH CHIP BOLCIK HILLARY BAUMAN BORNE LIGHTING CASTING GRAPHIC DESIGN DESIGNER PAUL ALEXIS BOOZER MIKE REILLY RUDDY STERLING CREW LIBERTY RAE ESTILITO J. DIAZ KEVIN ALAI RON NELSON (PLAYWRIGHT) is a frequent contributor to the Cafe Play series at the Ruskin Theatre. Ron has also written for several tele- vision shows and movies including : Ahhh!!! Real Monsters, Roseanne, Sparks, Good News, Dilbert and A Perfect Christmas. Ron would like to thank Katy, Dani, and all of the lovely people at the Ruskin Theatre who worked on this play with him. MICHAEL R. MYERS (DIRECTOR / PRODUCER) has helmed numerous productions at Ruskin Group Theatre, most recently having developed, directed, and produced the world premiere of Sneaky Ole Time, the music of Grammy Award winner Paul Overstreet. Selected directing credits at Ruskin include the world premiere of Digging up Dad and the critically acclaimed production of Faithful. Michael pro- duced the world premiere production of Rex Pickett's Sideways The Play and Paradise: A Divine Blue Grass Musical Comedy and upwards of 70 projects since 2002. He is a co-creator of the company’s popular CAFÉ PLAYS, a monthly offering of one-acts that get produced in 10 1/2 hours from conception to staging. Michael serves as chair of the Santa Monica Arts Commission. JOHN RUSKIN (ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRODUCER) After graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder, John continued his studies with The Yale School of Drama and The British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. John then attended The Neighbor- hood Playhouse School of the Theatre and studied with Sanford Meisner and Richard Pinter. John then joined the acting faculty of The Neigh- borhood Playhouse at the request of Sanford Meisner and became his apprentice. Years later, John moved to Los Angeles where he founded his school of acting to continue to teach Meisner’s work and then this professional theatre company. The Ruskin Group Theatre Company provides outreach programs to children in need with the “Healing Through the Arts" program. Pres- ently, we are taking our actors into Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA to work with and entertain the children. John wants to thank everyone who volunteers, comes to support this theatre, and keeps the dream of theatre alive. John is honored to work each day with every one of the amazing artists at the school and theatre. He is most grateful to his wife Amy and their sons Bodhi and Cooper for their constant love and support. CAST *Denotes membership to PAUL SCHACKMAN (JERRY) was born in Tacoma, WA and raised in Southern California. He is a graduate of The University of California, San Diego where he first stumbled upon an acting class. A veteran of LA theater, he has starred in and directed numerous Los Angeles productions over the years, including the critically acclaimed Pauly and Paddy Show, an evening of original solo pieces that he created with Patrick Wilkins. He was nominated for an LA Weekly Theatre Award for his role in Medal Of Honor Rag. The production also starred Heavy D, was di- rected by Delroy Lindo and produced by Will Smith. From his first role on Beverly Hills 90210, Paul has consistently appeared in feature films and television programs over the years including working with Academy Award winners Woody Allen, Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren. He has played an eclectic range of characters – but most often a lawyer. LYNNE MARIE STEWART (LOIS)* appeared on Broadway in The Pee-wee Herman Show where she reprised her role as Miss Yvonne (“The Most Beautiful Woman in Puppetland”) whom she played on the TV series and in the original stage production at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles. She can be seen as Charlie's Mom in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FXX. She was also Scott Aukerman’s mom on IFC’s Comedy Bang Bang. She has worked with Tracy Ullman in both of her series Tracy Takes On…for HBO and State of the Union for Showtime. You can also see Lynne on Funny or Die’s Parent News web series with Fred Willard. Current credits include K.C. Undercover for Disney, Two Broke Girls on CBS and the Netflix’s Pee-wee’s Big Holiday. She is proud to have had parts in two groundbreaking films American Graffiti and Bridesmaids. MARY CARRIG (AMANDA)* is a classically trained actress, director, producer and teacher, earning a B.A. in Speech Communication as a theatre major at Bowling Green State University. She has trained extensively with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. Mary stars as Max’s Mother in the CW Seed hit WORST BIRTHDAY EVER. Television credits include the recurring role of Natalie on the Young & the Restless, Passions, the Bold & the Beautiful, Criminal Minds, Make it or Break it for ABC FAMILY and Just Add Magic for Amazon. Mary is Principal Hilda in the dance feature, Stepping High and Ruth in The Escort. Recent stage roles include Minnie in Leaving Home at the Ruskin Group Theatre, Sue Bayliss in All My Sons, Louise in After the Fall at the Lillian Theatre, Lindy McDaniel in Stuck in Neural at the Secret Rose, Rose Seiler in TALHOTBLOND at the Ruskin, Emily in the award-win- ning Reborning for the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Mary played Dr. Hecate Porter in Macbeth, Gertrude in Hamlet and Jocasta (Oedipus) at the Archway Theatre in Los Angeles. Mary enjoys serving as Alumni Chapter Leader of the Los Angeles Chapter of her alma mater, Bowling Green State University and is an avid LA Kings Fan! EMILY JEREZ (KAREN) grew up outside of Denver, Colorado and has her BA from Tufts Uni- versity and MBA from NYU Stern. In July 2016, Emily decided to recommit herself to acting and has since contributed to a number of independent films, pilots and commercials. She is currently a student with the Ruskin School and is grateful for the opportunity to have had participated in the theater’s popular Cafe Plays and now as Karen in The Rainbow Bridge. She lives Venice with husband and 2 year old daughter. JAIMI PAIGE (DR. STEIN)* most recent stage credits include The Maids at A Noise Within, Hedda Gabler at Antaeus Theatre Company, Ve- nus in Fur at South Coast Repertory, and Tender Napalm at Six01 Studios. Last seen at the Ruskin in Jesse Boy and The Collector. Her Film/TV credits include Rizzoli & Isles, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, The Mentalist, Peacock, and just released features Desolation and Be Afraid. MOUCHETTE VAN HELSDINGEN (MEGYN, HARRIET FELDMAN, JUDGE STRAUSS VO) was born in Amsterdam, Mouchette started her training at The Academy of Small Arts, and continued her education at The Drama Studio in London. Her roles have spanned geographical and linguistic borders, from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Princess Ida at The Young Vic Theatre, London, to a French secretary speak- ing Greek with a French accent in a TV series in Athens. After taking a hiatus from the stage to raise two wonderful daughters, and obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics at CSUN, she returned to Drama as a member of the Mechanicals Theatre Group. She appeared as Juror #9 in Twelve Angry (Men), Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, and Nurse in The Elephant Man at the Pico Playhouse. Mouchette also played the role of Mrs Webb in Our Town, and Frank in Private Eyes at the Morgan Wixson Theatre. This is her second role here at the Ruskin, after appearing in Justin Yoffe's The Gun. L. EMILLE THOMAS (THEODORE) is excited to go back-2-back with the Ruskin Group Theatre. After making his Ruskin debut in “The Gun”, he’s thrilled for his Rainbow experience. He began his acting journey at the University of Iowa, with a production of “The Amistad Revolt”. This led to theatrical productions including: “Miss Evers Boys”, “Bow-Wow Club”, “The Last Orbit of Billy Mars”, “Edmund”& “Waiting for Lefty” among others. He has several commercial credits (KAY JEWELERS, LENDING TREE, TOYOTA, BEST BUY & NFL) & looks forward to continued growth as an actor in television, film & theatre. He would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to all family & friends who have supported him during all of his unique pursuits! WILLIAM J BEAUMONT (JERRY / UNDER- STUDY) Born in Santa Monica, CA, William grew up in Germany before landing in Edinburgh, Scotland where he stayed for almost 20 years. While there he attended the Edinburgh Acting School, and appeared in numerous theatre produc- tions, including The Tempest, The Importance of Being Earnest and 4:48 Psychosis. Returning to Los Angeles in 2015, William joined the Ruskin School of Acting’s Meisner program. He can now be found appearing in varied projects on stage and screen, including a number of Ruskin Theatre’s own L.A. Cafe Plays. NANCY FLEMING (LOIS / UNDERSTUDY) I am so happy to be the understudy for Lois in The Rainbow Bridge. My last outing onstage was at the Underground Theater in Hollywood and I am excited to again be treading the boards at the Ruskin Theater Group! I have done several student films and a feature film in the last year or so along with a co-starring role on the television show Judge Mablean.