Placer County Railroad War of 1864 and FRANKENSTEIN at Parkview Event Room, Johnson-Springview Park

MATTHEW HEYER as STRUTT (Dr. Frankenstein’s Assistant) and Assistant Director. Graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he received his BFA in Theatre, Matthew won the Irene Ryan award for his ensemble work in 2018 and for his performance as Elliot in Completeness in 2019. Behind the scenes, Matthew is also a Costume Designer and Fabricator, a Set Designer and Constructor, and a Lighting Designer and Lighting Technician, and dabbles in Stage Management. His design credits include The House that Will Not Stand, Completeness, and The Bard on Broadway. Matt studied IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) and performs duties as a Dialect Coach for Placer Repertory Theater productions. Currently, studying under PRT’s Studium Practicum professional growth program, Matt has found new professional areas of concentration such as movement for the actor, vocal techniques, style acting and textual analysis. As an actor for Placer Rep in 2021, Matthew played George and Milo in two one-acts in the production known as From the Mind of Scott Charles, and the title role in An Evening with Sherlock Holmes. In 2022 & 2023, Matt performed with Placer Rep in the ensemble show, Haunting History, and was nominated for two Broadway World Awards, including his performances for PRT’s 2022 monthly show, Rifts in Time and his 2023 performance of Uncle Vanya with PRT.

ARIE KNYAZEV as QUADRO / HERR RITZBERG. Arie is an early career actor whose formal education at UC Davis led to the receipt of a BS in Computer Science, BS in Mathematics, and a minor in Psychology. Currently, outside of his acting career, Arie works as a Software Engineer touching signal processing and machine learning in the defense sector. Arie’s actor training includes musical theater training with a private instructor, several years of acting study at Studio 24 and current participation in Placer Rep’s Studium-Practicum, the professional growth program, as well as experiential education through on-the-job performance. Some of Arie’s favorite roles include William Gillette in The Game’s Afoot, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, and of course his first role: Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast. Arie’s first work for Placer Repertory Theater began in 2022 as a member of the ensemble cast that performed at the Haunting History events in Lincoln and Rocklin and performed stage readings of early drafts of the new play Ghosts of Placer County in Foresthill, Sacramento and Roseville. Most recently, audiences will recognize Arie as Dr. Astrov from Placer Rep’s BWW nominated show, Uncle Vanya.

JAIRE “CHIEF” PUNCH as DR. FRANKENSTEIN. Working with Placer Rep for the first time, is Jaire “Chief” Punch, who has professional credits in digital medium, and who promotes himself as “the dynamo of drama and the king of comedy!” Recently seen as Major Metcalf in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and Wadsworth in Clue, Chief Punch won the role of Dr. Frankenstein in callbacks due to his rich development of an interior life for his characters, no matter the genre, the character, and the script from which he was reading.

Mark has trained at community college, university and local workshops. In 2018 he obtained his B.A. in English from UCLA, and most recently in 2023, his A.A. in Dramatic Arts from American River College. Some of his favorite roles include Algernon from The Importance of Being Earnest, Detective Trotter from The Mousetrap, and Joseph Merrick from The Elephant Man (for which he received an Elly nomination). Beyond theater he has been involved in the Sacramento film scene both in front and behind the camera. Professionally, Mark has acted with interactive entertainment, was the editor for the film, “An American Education," and is currently principal talent, as well as editor, cinematographer, and sound engineer for the film in development, "Clover," with the production company Methodical Pictures.

TERESA STIRLING FORSYTH – Producing Artistic Director, Director, Adapter, and Narrator. With an MFA in Dramatic Arts and an MS in Business Management & Leadership, this former Silicon Valley high-tech VP and critically acclaimed professional director / playwright also plays the role of Producing Artistic Director for Placer Repertory Theater, which includes all program oversight, including Placer Repertory Theater VAPA Academy. Previously, the artistic director for two San Francisco theater companies and founder/board president of an economic & workforce development nonprofit organization for Santa Cruz County, her performing arts background includes prior professional acting experience in touring theater and TV, director/playwright credits for national and international touring productions with renowned professional performing artists, such as Brenda Wong Aoki (AEA/SAG/AFTRA), and companies like Dell’Arte Players (AEA). Projects on which Forsyth worked performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, Magic Theatre, Cowell Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Dallas Theatre Center, San Diego Repertory Theater and many other renowned venues, and received Dramalogue Awards, Critics Circle Awards, Broadway World Awards, the Gloria Burt Fellowship, as well as numerous grants from the NEA, NEH, CAC, ACPC and corporations. She is a member of the professional organizations: The Dramatists Guild of America (DGA), Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC), and The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

Having earned a BA in Psychology & German and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and having caught the thespian bug in high school, when not practicing as a clinical psychologist, Mark performed semi-professionally as an actor and musician. Favorite portrayals among numerous stage and screen credits include Baron Hardup, in Sacramento Theatre Company’s production of Hawley & Cofffin’s Cinderella, John Sutter in On Native Ground’s rock opera Something Inside Is Broken, Judge Littlefield/Caiphas in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Man in The Telltale Heart, Papa Macabee in Darlin’ for California Stage, and Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! Over the past decade Mark has also accumulated credits as a screen writer, director, cinematographer, and producer. His film Little Room for Justice: The Elevator (2021) won Best Film honors at LifeFEST Film Festival.