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In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)
Cast & Artist Bios
Angel Correa
(Leo Irving u/s)
Angel was last seen this summer playing Vice Principal Panch in The Wayward Artist’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other select roles throughout various SoCal theatres include: Yvan in Yasmina Reza’s Art, Mitch in Tennesse Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (*2022 OC Theatre Guild nominee for Best Supporting Performance); Tom in Dinner with Friends; Ralph D. in The M*therf*cker with the Hat; Uncle Louie in Lost in Yonkers (*2021 OC Theatre Guild nominee for Outstanding Ensemble); Uday Hussein in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Angel’s voice can also be heard as part of English-dubbed casts for various streaming series and movies throughout Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Mark Coyan
Dr. Givings
Mark is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre and a founding member of The Hunger Artists Theatre Company. Over the course of a thirty-year career, he has appeared on stages throughout Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York playing such titular roles as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Richard III. Other stage credits include roles in the world premieres of Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon and Howard Korder's Hollow Lands at South Coast Repertory. Other favorite roles include George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mr. Hyde in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Buster Kilrain and General George Pickett in Killer Angels, Vanya in Uncle Vanya, Paul Sheldon in Misery, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dramalogue award), Gregor Samsa in Metamorphosis (OC Weekly award for Best Actor) and Hale in The Crucible (OC Theater Guild award for Best Supporting Actor). Mark was last seen at Costa Mesa Playhouse in The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
Brooke Lewis Cruz
Sabrina Daldry
Brooke is buzzing about being back at CMP with director Kathy Paladino! Most recently, she performed as Wednesday in Addams Family at NTAC, and also RENT, Our Town, and Dancing at Lughnasa at Costa Mesa Playhouse. Some favorite past roles include Maria/Bart Simpson in Mr. Burns with Alchemy Theatre Company, Susan Blackwell in [title of show] at USC, Inga in Young Frankenstein at The Attic Theatre, and Queen Voluptua in Vampire Queen of Mars at Costa Mesa Playhouse. Brooke graduated from USC’s School of Dramatic Arts with a BA in Acting. Special thanks to Kathy, Jackie, the cast, the crew, and her family and husband Erick.
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Michelle Pedersen
Catherine Givings
From playing a teenage boy in the tragic story of Matthew Shepard’s life/death in The Laramie Project to making people laugh in God of Carnage - Michelle loves sharing a good story. She has been awarded for her performances in The Philadelphia Story, A Piece of My Heart, The Laramie Project, A Few Good Men and the musical I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Last seen as Beverly in the The Shadow Box at the McCadden Theatre in Hollywood.
Yasmine (Truth) Reid
Elizabeth
Yasmine is making her Costa Mesa Playhouse debut, and she is very excited!
Yasmine is a recent graduate of Vanguard University with a Bachelor’s in Theater. Her most recent credits include: Chess the Musical with American Coast Theater Company, Beauty and the Beast directed by Nikki Snelson, and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play Directed by Preston Butler III. Yasmine would like to thank her directors, cast, and crew for cheerfully welcoming her into the show and being continually supportive and encouraging. She hopes the audience enjoys the show as much as she enjoyed joining the production. “No matter what we are struggling with there is Someone who sees us and will meets us with everlasting love..”
Renée Schwarz
Annie
Renée Schwarz (Annie) is thrilled to make her Costa Mesa Playhouse debut in In the Next Room! Renée is a passionate theatre educator, director and actor. Favorite roles include: Luce in The Comedy of Errors, Jalna in Frankenstein 1930, Juliet in I With Things New Born, Old Shady in Men on Boats, and Kitty in Denim. Renée holds a B.A. & M.Ed in Theater from the University of Minnesota and teaches Drama in Los Alamitos. She always wanted to perform in one of Sarah Ruhl’s plays, so this show is a dream come true for her. Renée would like to thank her family and friends for supporting her, and give a special thanks to Kathy, the whole Costa Mesa Playhouse team, and her cast mates for making this experience so wonderful. Enjoy the show!
Lee Samuel Tanng
Mr. Daldry
Lee Samuel Tanng is excited to make his Costa Mesa Playhouse debut in this wonderful play! Lee is a veteran of almost 40 shows in the Southern California area and a 2020 Broadway World nominee for Performer of the Decade. Favorite past roles include Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, Tom in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Renfield in Dracula, Lenny in Rumors, Juror #3 in 12 Angry Jurors, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap, Laertes in Hamlet, and Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Adrian van der Valk
Leo Irving
Adrian is excited to be making his Costa Mesa Playhouse debut with this hilarious show! Originally from the Bay Area and Santiago de Chile, he is a graduate of the Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio. Past theatre credits include: Cabaret, RENT, Robin Hood, Spring Awakening, Farragut North, Little Women, and The Wedding Singer. He would like to thank his friends and family for their endless love and support. TQHEC.
@riddlemeanade
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Kathy Paladino
Director
Kathy has been a passionate supporter of the Theater Arts for most of her life. She has performed in many regional theaters, including a USO tour during the Vietnam War. After taking 10 years off to raise her children, Kathy started her directing career. She was Theater Director at Costa Mesa High School for 12 years and has directed over 100 shows at various local theaters including The Attic Theatre, Newport Theatre Arts Center, Long Beach Playhouse, and Costa Mesa Playhouse. She is currently on the Board of Directors at Costa Mesa Playhouse. Kathy was named the 2019 LA Times OC Woman of the Year in Theater. She would like to thank this remarkable cast for their dedication, hard work and TALENT.
Playwright
Sarah Ruhl
Sarah Ruhl’s plays include In the Next Room or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late: a cowboy song, and a translation of Three Sisters.
She is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony award nominee. Her plays have been produced on and off Broadway, around the country, and internationally, where they have been translated into over fifteen languages.
Originally from Chicago, Ms. Ruhl received her M.F.A. from Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel. She has received the Steinberg Award, the Samuel French Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, the Whiting Award, the Lily Award, a PEN Award for mid-career playwrights, and the MacArthur Award.
Her new book 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write was a New York Times notable book of the year, and she most recently published Letters from Max with Max Ritvo. She teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and lives in Brooklyn with her family.
You can read more about her work on www.SarahRuhlplaywright.com.
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