The Hummingbirds at New Jersey Repertory Company

Sophia Lucia Parola

Sophia was born and raised in New Jersey. She started her training at Brookdale Community College and has since studied at Stella Adler Studio, HB Studio, and privately. Some of her favorite theatrical roles include Demetrius in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Lady Anne in RICHARD III with Hip To Hip Theatre, and Trish in THE PROMOTION, here at New Jersey Repertory Company. Sophia has also recently appeared on FBI: Most Wanted, and stars in indie films MAIJUANA MINUTES, and LAST KNOWN LOCATION. Sophia is also a professional Red-Carpet Host for Garden State Film Festival and Cinequest Film Festival.

Michael Irvin Pollard*

Michael returns to NJ Rep after previously appearing in LUCKY ME, HAPPY, RELEASE POINT, NIGHT TRAIN, YANKEE TAVERN, DEAD RINGER, APPLE, TEN PERCENT OF MOLLY SNYDER and BIG BOYS as well as several Theatre Brut festivals and numerous staged readings. Other regional credits include performances at Shadowland Stages, Centenary Stage Co., Forestburgh Playhouse, Seven Angels Theatre, The Theater Project, the Adirondack Theatre Festival, Writer’s Theatre of NJ, the Depot Theatre, the Pioneer Valley Summer Theatre, George Street Playhouse and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park where he was a member of the professional actor training program. In New York city Michael performed most recently in Pan Asian Rep’s critically acclaimed production of DAYBREAK and is best known for his work in improvisation and sketch comedy, with performances in various venues including the West Bank Café, the West Side Arts Center, the Avalon Theatre and the Pearl Theatre.

Garret Jon Groenveld

Garret Jon Groenveld is a poet and playwright living in San Francisco, CA with an MFA in Poetry and an MA in Playwriting from San Francisco State University. He also studied with Edward Albee at the University of Houston. He's a founding writer of PlayGround and an inaugural member of the Writers in Residence program at the Playwrights Foundation. His play MISSIVES had well received productions in San Francisco and New York. His play, THE HUMMINGBIRDS, is a winner of the 2012 GAP Festival from the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley and the winner of the Internationalists Global Playwriting Prize. This prize included six presentations in six countries (including New York, Berlin and the Netherlands) and has led to productions worldwide, including an ongoing tour of Romania and an extended run in Mexico City, Mexico. THE HUMMINGBIRDS had a workshop with Olympia Dukakis at the Lark and was in the Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU) Reading Series in 2015 (with Ellen McLaughlin). His play, THE EMPTY NESTERS was in 2014's Theatre Resources Unlimited Reading series and had a production workshop in San Francisco in 2015. An open ended tour of the show premiered in San Francisco in 2016 and a tour is planned for 2019 with stops in LA, Chicago and New York.

SuzAnne Barabas

SuzAnne Barabas (Director/Artistic Producer), has been the Artistic Director of NJ Rep for the past 24 years. SuzAnne is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Dramatist Guild, and the Society of Directors & Choreographers.

Gabor Barabas

For NJ Rep, he has produced over 80 world premieres including Ends, A World I Never Made, North Fork, Octet, The Girl With the High Rouge, In Search of Red River Dog, Naked by the River, An Unhappy Woman, Immortal Interlude, Getting in Touch With My Inner B*tch, Till Morning Comes, Slave Shack, Panama, Big Boys, Winterizing the Summer House, Piaf in Vienna, The Color of Flesh, Emil, Touch of Rapture, Beyond Gravity,  A Child’s Guide to Innocence, The Good Daughter, Apostasy, The Best Man, Tilt Angel, Love and Murder, tempOdyssey, October 1962, Place Setting, And Her Hair Went With Her, Engaging Shaw, Poetic License, The Housewives of Mannheim, Dead Ringer, Exposure Time (recipient of and Edgerton New American Plays Award), Character Assassins, The Tangled Skirt (nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America), Puma, Night Train, The Judy Holliday Story, Jericho (recipient of and Edgerton New American Plays Award), American Stare, Release Point, Esther’s Moustache, Ants, Noir, Happy, Broomstick, Admit One, A View of the Mountains, Butler (recipient of and Edgerton New American Plays Award), Lucky Me, Dinner with the Boys, Angels and Ministers of Grace, and the musicals Immortal Interlude,Bookends, The Little Hours (recipient of and Edgerton New American Plays Award), and Date of  Lifetime. His book Miklos Radnoti: The Complete Poetry in Hungarian and English was recently published by McFarland.

Rose Riccardi*

Riccardi has been a NJ Rep Company member since 1998. She has worked on over a hundred productions for the Rep including: The Housewives of Mannheim (Alan Brody), The Little Hours (David Bucknam), Fern Hill (Michael Tucker), Dead Ringer (Gino Dilorio), Naked By The River (Michael Folie), Adult Fiction (Brian Mori), Bookends (Katharine Houghton, Dianne Adams, James McDowell), Whores (Lee Blessing), Donna Orbits The Moon (Ian August), Find Me A Voice (SuzAnne Barabas, Gabor Barabas) Off-Broadway credits include: Songbird by Michael Kimmel and Lauren Pritchard, Butler by Richard Strand, The Violin (Dan McCormick), The Road to Damascus (Tom Dulack), Terms of Endearment (Dan Gordon), Poetic License (Jack Canfora), On A Stool At The End Of The Bar (Robert Callely), A Better Place (Wendy Beckett), Murder In The First (Dan Gordon), Martin Luther on Trial (Chris Cragin-Day), Phoenix (Scott Organ), In The Pocket “A Sideman’s Tale (James Manos Jr. and Mark Rivera) Rose has also been a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 1999.

Patricia Doherty

As NJ Rep’s resident costume designer since 2000, Doherty’s work includes: The Housewives of Mannheim, The Color of Flesh, Old Clown Wanted, The Good Daughter, Place Settings, Bookends, Engaging Shaw, Puma, Noir, Broomstick, View of the Mountains, Swimming at the Ritz, Dinner with the Boys (with Dan Lauria), Closure (with Wendy Malick, Gary Cole), Nobody’s Girl,  Butler, Mad Love and Iago , Fern Hill (with Jill Eikenberry, Dee Hoty and John Glover) to name  just a few. New York: Southern Comfort—The Musical (The Public Theater 2016 Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Award Nominations with Annette O’Toole, Jeff McCarthy); Dinner with the Boys  with Dan Lauria (The Acorn Theatre) Academia Nuts (2014 NYMF Best New Musical); The Devil’s Music (St. Luke’s); The Goldman Project (Abingdon Theatre); Freed, Fall to Earth, Poetic License, The Housewives of Mannheim, Butler, Small World (59E59th St Theatres); Love Therapy (DR2) Regional: Alley Theatre (past resident designer), Barrington Stage, Cleveland Play House, Merrimack Rep, Florida Rep, Penguin Rep, Engeman Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Montreal Jazz Festival , Luna Stage, Playwrights Theatre of NJ, Merrimack Rep (MA), People’s Light and Theatre Festival (PA), Rubicon Theatre  of LA, Mosaic Theatre (DC), Cape Cod Playhouse (MA), Weston Playhouse (VT) TV/Video: AT&T, “Unsolved Mysteries,” Pennsylvania Public Television Guest Artist: Monmouth University, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio University, Niagara University, Syracuse University Guest Artist and Instructor: Kent State University, School of Theatre and Dance 1992-95

Jessica Parks

Jessica has been working for NJ Repertory Company since 2003 and has been the resident scenic designer and prop designer since 2010. Set designs at NJ Rep include: The Promotion, Memoirs of a Forgotten Man, Wolf at the Door, The Jag, Swimming at the Ritz, Happy and Broomstick. NYC credits at 59E59 St. Theaters include: Michael Tucker’s Fern Hill, Butler, The Housewives of Mannheim, Jericho and Poetic License. Other credits include: The End of Hester at Theatre Row NYC, Bretch:Call & Response at Paradise Factory Theatre and Dan Lauria's Dinner with the Boys at Theater Row NYC.

Jill Nagle

Jill is the Resident Lighting Designer at NJ Rep. Partial NJ Rep include: Dinner with the Boys, Closure, Butler, Broomstick, Happy, Puma, Night Train, and Noir. Partial NYC designs include: Butler, A Stool at the End of the Bar, Jericho, Poetic License, Housewives of Mannheim, The Man in Room 306, The Dishwashers (59E59), Love Therapy (Daryl Roth), Dinner with the Boys (The Acorn) The Bully Pulpit (Samuel Beckett), Do Not Go Gentle (Harold Clurman), Count Down (Bank Street), In the Parlance (The Pulse), Carrera (La Mama E.T.C.), South Beach Rapture (Dixon Place). Other venues: John Engeman Theatre, Chester Theatre, Luna Stage, Playwrights of New Jersey, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University. www.jillnagle.net

Janey Huber

Huber began her relationship at NJ Rep in 2004 as a patron & quickly became a subscriber: "They had me at Whores!" Janey then brought close to 30 years of administrative experience in community college & graduate nurse-midwifery education, women’s healthcare, and theater management to her 5-year role as Managing Director.  She is thrilled to remain in the NJ Rep family volunteering as Artistic Associate, (ambassador for the theater), Assistant Lighting Designer (all plays), Assistant to the Covid Compliance Officer, & Assistant Director (Wild Horses, Mercy, The Source, West End Arts Festivals, Voyager One, Lily, & The Promotion). Her BA and MS degrees, from East Stroudsburg University, are in aquatic biology.

Nick Simone

Simone has been a performing arts educator in NYC for the past 18 years. He has worked at various music schools for all ages and has been a teaching artist for Roundabout Theatre Company, Apollo Theater, and Sundog Theatre specializing in sound design and musical disciplines. As a musician, Nick plays multiple instruments and has also performed at the renowned Carnage Hall and at the Metropolitan Opera House. Nick has also worked as sound designer and as an audio engineer for many productions such as: US: A Progressive Love Story, The Norwegians, North To Maine, IYOM, Wild Children, Time Travelers Trip To Niagara, The Diorama, Shakespeare's Hamlet at Bryant Park, Extreme Weather, Don’t Dress For Dinner, Villainous Company, Capone, & Romantic Trapezoid. Nick is also affiliated with MTV's production Artist to Watch series as a sound assistant. He is currently the chief audio engineer for Fenix Studios in Staten Island, NY and has credits on multiple albums, films, broadcasts, streaming, music videos and mobile apps.  He has worked with up and coming talent and platinum selling artists in different genres from Lorde to Coldplay.

Rachael Malloy

Malloy is very excited to be starting their career with NJ Rep. Previous credit highlights include: 7 Deadly Sins NYC with Tectonic Theatre Project (Show Operator) and Northampton Community College’s Summer Theatre (Tech Intern). College theatre: Head Over Heels (Assistant Stage Manager), FAME (Stage Manager), Into The Woods (Assistant Stage Manager), Cabaret (Stage Manager).

Sunjay Venkatraman

Venkatraman is a graduate from the University of Connecticut with a passion for the arts. In high school, Sunjay served as the student representative for the Matawan Board of Education. In this role his goal was to bring awareness to the art programs at all the schools in the district resulting in an arts budget increase. In college he worked for the Student Union Board of Governors that brought concerts, comedy shows, and lectures on campus. Sunjay would like to thank SuzAnne, Gabor and the Board for giving him the opportunity to represent NJRep. #NJRep

Robert Baird

Baird graduated from Duke University in 2008 with a dual major in Theater Studies and Public Policy. After a career in the telecommunications and legal consulting worlds, he’s thrilled to jump back into the world of the theater. At Duke he directed, produced, and acted in numerous productions for the Hoof ’n’ Horn Theater Company as well as Duke University Theater Studies. He also assistant directed a staged reading of Labyrinth Theater Company’s Going After Alice. He won the Jody McAuliffe Award given to the top student director in his class, and his thesis project, directing John Patrick Shanley’s the dreamer examines his pillow, was awarded highest distinction. Thanks to Gabor and SuzAnne for bringing me aboard the team - excited for what’s to come at NJ Rep!