Steve Peterson News

Director Bryan Fox is an award-winning writer, director, and actor, as well as notable photographer whose work has been displayed in gallery shows around the world. Most recently, his photography was shown at the prestigious Art Basel in Miami. Bryan began directing with his short film "Dissonance" which screened throughout the U.S. and opened film festivals in Canada, Italy, Germany, and India. It won over 20 awards including Best Short Film at the Accolade Global Film Competition, Indie Fest Awards, LA Spotlight Film Festival, Waterfront Film Festival, Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival and the Temecula Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the film "We Alone' which took top prize for music video at the Accolade Global Film Festival. Bryan most recently directed an upcoming episode of the web series "Gossip Boy."

Scott Rognlien (Adaptor/Director/Producer) will have a world premiere of his latest work, VONNEGUT, USA running October 14 - November 20, at the Atwater Village Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.  The work is an adaptation of five Vonnegut short stories presented as one continuous 90 minute piece. Members of The Next Arena, a theatre company founded by Scott and friends, are performing in and producing the six week run.  

ISA BRIONES was born Isabella Camille Briones in London, England. Her parents, Jon Jon Briones and Megan Johnson Briones are both actors and singers, and her younger brother, Teo Briones is also an actor. She began modeling in New York at the age of 3, and started acting when her family moved to Los Angeles in 2006. She is best known for her role in the film Takers, playing Matt Dillon's daughter. Isa is entering her senior year of high school, and is excited to be making her professional theater debut in this production of Next to Normal. School theater credits include: Velma in Hairspray, Brooke in Legally Blonde and Abigail in The Crucible. TV and film: "Takers," "Cutthroat", "Lonely Boy". 

Thomas James O'Leary's recent directing credits include Flim Flam: Houdini and the Hereafter, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Nine, Dusty de los Santos, The Debut of Georgia, A Horse with a View, and currently Sunday in the Park with George. Thomas is best known for his three-year run (over 1,000 performances) in the title role of Broadway's longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera. Other acting credits include Miss Saigon (Broadway original cast), Les Miserables (First National original cast), Chess (First National), You Never Can Tell (Yale Rep), Last Sunday in June (Century Center), Travels with My Aunt (Colony Theatre), and Take Me Out (LA Weekly Award, Celebration Theatre).  

The 2016 Grace InFused Theatre Festival will be held in downtown Columbus, Ohio, at the Columbus Performing Arts Center (549 Franklin Avenue) on Saturday, Aug. 6, starting at 4:30pm. The festival will feature new plays and performances from esteemed playwrights from across the country.

Gus Krieger is a Los Angeles based writer-director-producer of stage and screen.  As writer-producer: "The Killing Room" (2009). Writer-director: "Ol' Stan Levid" (2007), "The Binding" (2016). Producer: "Would You Rather" (2012), "Fender Bender" (2016). As playwright: Deity Clutch (2011), Sherlock Through The Looking-Glass (2013), and Breaking Bard (2015), which took home the Spirit of the Fringe Award for Best Writing, out of 200+ shows. Written by Steve Peterson

Actress FELICITY WREN currently stars in the world premiere quirky romantic British comedy BABY OH BABY through June 4 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, Califorini.  Felicity has a Masters Degree in Acting from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London and her Honors Degree from Bretton Hall College. She is proud to have worked extensively in theatre in the UK, been the muse for 4 plays for amazing playwright Glyn Maxwell and a writer /performer with her own comedy sketch show Greedy (London, Edinburgh & NYC).  Recent TV - "Contingency" for New Street Pictures.  Felicity also stars in upcoming comedy feature films, "The Trap" and "The Man You're Not" whilst producing with her LA company: Dangerously Funny Productions. by Steve Peterson

Local Playwright Willard Manus' Joe & Marilyn: A Love Story, a new play about the troubled relationship between baseball great Joe DiMaggio and Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, debuts this Saturday, April 23rd at 8:00 pm, runs April 23 - May 22, produced by John Lant and Anne Mesa, directed by T.J. Castronovo and starring Rico Simonini and Emily Alicia Low, produced by Write Act Rep@TheBrickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. The play was developed at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit (West Coast), where Manus and Castronovo are fellow-members. He shared with us a bit about the play and quite a bit about his life.

AMY TOLSKY is a popular character actress currently working in theatre, film and television. Her credits include Regional Theatre: South Coast Repertory. L.A.Theatre: Mud Blue Sky (The Road), The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Banshee); Table Manners, Nicholas Nickleby (Theatre 40); I Love Lucy Live Onstage; City of Angels; Theatre@Boston Court; Antaeus; The Odyssey; PRT.  Film:"Please Stand By"; "Fishes 'n Loaves:Heaven Sent"; "The Tiger Hunter", "Eat With Me".  Television: "Crowded"; "Shameless"; "Code Black"; "Married"; "Castle"; "2 Broke Girls"; "Parks and Recreation"; "Big Bang Theory"; "Jeeves and Wooster". Internet: "You've Probably Dated My Mom".   

alvin Remsberg is well known as both actor and director on both coasts. Favorite stage credits: Sweeney Todd (First National, and Television productions), CATS, the acclaimed Los Angeles' Phantom of the Opera, Man of La Mancha, and Oliver!  Favorite film credits: 'Pretty Woman,' 'Shrek,' 'The X-Files,' 'Twilight of the Golds,' 'Silk Stalkings.' Favorite Directing credits: The Medium,  Educating Rita, Chapter Two, Dracula,  Triumph of Love, The Sound of Music, Urinetown, Sunday in the Park with George (Ovation Nomination), Into the Woods, Hello, Dolly!, The Last Five Years, Glory Days, F**king Men (American premiere), and Sweeney Todd (Ovation nomination), and ten musicals for The Musical Theatre Guild. This is his directing debut at The Group Rep. by Steve Peterson

Veteran actor/producer Rudy Ramos shares with us his reasons for giving life to the Apache leader Geronimo who has been portrayed as a savage in the court of public opinion; that 'savage' image of the man that is often  reflected in literature, film, and TV.  The more Rudy Ramos looked into the life of the man and the warrior - - Geronimo's humanity took center stage.  In this play, we witness his resiliency, humor and genius as he cleverly evolves from a POW into a celebrity and entrepreneur.  The well-received solo show GERONIMO Life on the Reservation written by Janelle Meraz Hooper, directed by award-winning actor/director Steve Railsback, has toured the U.S. and now enjoys encore performances through February 20th at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks.   

Everyone's favorite Cartoon comes to life in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN on the Terrace Plaza Playhouse, December 31st 2015 - February 6th 2016, playing Monday, Friday and Saturday, with a special New Year's Eve opening night. Scroll down to meet the cast!

Director Gregg T. Daniel returns to The Group Rep to direct Eric Simonson's critically acclaimed play LOMBARDI based on the book When Pride Still Mattered:  A Life of Vince Lombardi by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss.  In our conversation, Gregg talks about the play, his fascination with the nature of greatness, and what he's been up to as a director. By Steve Peterson

The 23rd annual New American Playwrights Project (NAPP) will take the stage at the Utah Shakespeare Festival from August 7 to August 28. Three plays will be presented as staged readings in the Auditorium Theatre on selected dates. Chosen from hundreds of plays submitted, this year's lineup includes Affluence by Steve Peterson, Caesars Blood by Rich Rubin, and Closure by James McLindon.

Stacy Ann Raposa has, for several years, worked with actors to explore the depths of their minds and souls.  In doing so, the actors create solo pieces that are performed in public at the end of a four month process.  Rather than just moving from one solo piece to another, all actors are on stage throughout the show – sometimes playing characters in other actors' solo pieces.  We sat down with Stacy to hear about the process and how BARE NAKED ANGELS came to be.

Marie Barrientos and I were in a relationship when we started righting Love Struck. The story developed as the relationship grew. It was wonderful team work, what Marie and I had back then. We still do actually. Just last night, Marie and I were discussing other possible re-writes. This play is like our child that we nurture and guide to be better and better each time. The opportunity to enhance the play with new ideas makes my directing it fresh and fun! (I speak for myself of course.) I've added media to the play and I've re-blocked it. I'm using the back scrim throughout the play as a gauze that separates the two characters. This time around we have a beautiful new set as well, and new lighting. The two actresses that I'm directing, Ivet Corvea as Rachel and Lola Anthony as Laura, fell in love with the script and are thrilled to be doing it.

FRAWLEY BECKER is a published book and short story author and a published and three-time prize-winning playwright. A man of many talents, he was a State Department Entertainment Director for military bases outside Paris during the Cold War, founded the first African-American theatre company within the U.S. military in 1959, formed Paris Playhouse in 1963 and was the first to professionally produce Edward Albee plays in France. For the next ten years he worked as a bilingual dialogue coach in films while living in Paris, coaching Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Rex Harrison, Omar Sharif, Jacqueline Bisset, Ann-Margret, Samantha Eggar, Robert Ryan, Gene Wilder and all the Oompa-Loompas of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Back in the U.S., Becker worked as a location manager for features including Jerry Maguire, Steel Magnolias, and the original Footloose, and TV movies for Oprah Winfrey Presents; and was a production executive at The Disney Studios. His award-winning, searing drama 'Tiger by the Tail' has its west coast premiere March 6 through April 19 at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, CA. For more information about the play please visit http://www.thegrouprep.com

Phil Olson grew up in Edina, Minnesota, home of the first indoor mall. After graduating from Dartmouth, and with a strong sports background, Phil tried out for the Chicago Bears. After his 'summer with the Bears,' he went on to receive an MBA from The University of Chicago and pursued a business career while writing plays and screenplays. Phil lives in LA where he writes and produces plays.

After serving sixteen years as Artistic Director of the Marin Theatre Company, Lee Sankowich resigned in 2006 to return to producing and directing independently. Among the forty five plays he directed at Marin, there were two Estate sanctioned world premieres of previously unproduced Tennessee Williams' plays. His career began with a jump start with his successful productions of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS' NEST which ran for two and a half years in New York, five and a half years in San Francisco, a year and a half in Boston, and in Israel. Since then he has worked in Regional Theatres across the country including Baltimore Center Stage, The Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, Florida Stage, Geva, Jewish Repertory Theatre, City Theatre, Center Rep, San

By Steve Peterson How did you first get involved in theatre and acting? I first got involved with a small part in a community theatre in Medford, Oregon as a child and had the usual school plays and debate teams. I was fairly shy as a kid and my voice would rise when I was nervous, so I took a college course in the theatre department at the University of Washington to 'modulate' my voice and learn 'vocal placement;' one thing led to another till I was firmly ensconced as a drama major and began getting cast in great character roles.