Sergei DrezninComposerThe Russian pianist and composer, Sergei Dreznin, is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow (as a composer) and the Russian Academy of Music (as a pianist), he has been awarded the honorary diploma of the All-Russia Piano Competition (1977) and the first prize at the All-Union Composers Competition (1985). Sergei Dreznin has become well-known through his collaboration with violinist Gidon Kremer, his unusual interpretations and new version of classic piano works, and his own highly original approach to music theater with 14 shows produced, ranging from musicals on original Shakespeare texts to revival of Cabaret from Ghetto Terezin. Sergei Dreznin played over two hundred concerts a year before moving to Vienna in 1987. While in Vienna, he had several of his music theater pieces produced, performed at the Salzburg Festival and all across Europe, including Sarajevo, Berlin, and his native Moscow on the eve of Perestroika. Based in New York between 1998 and 2004, Sergei Dreznin has performed and composed extensively, including all-Liszt and all-Stravinsky recitals, in such venues as Merkin Hall, Casa Italiana and Elibash Hall, as well as the Skriabin Gala in 2003 at the Steinway Hall. He performed his own compositions at the Vienna New York Chamber Series. In May 2002, Dreznin performed his piece Circus Fantasy (in a duo with a cellist Borislav Strulev) for celebrities including Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and Bono (U2) and for the audience of three thousand at the Millennium Theater in Brooklyn.
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Lucy DrezninDirectorLucy Dreznin is a drama teacher and creative workshop leader. She is a co-founder of The Stem Collective. Currently, she runs The Knight’s Players, a youth theatre based at Christ Church Primary School in Bristol.. Since graduating in Drama and German from University of Bristol in 2015, she has worked with Assembly Festivals (Edinburgh), Situations, (Bristol). Puppet Place (Bristol) and MAYK (Bristol). Lucy has also worked as an assistanct director at the Berlin State Opera on productions of Rimsky Korsakov's The Tsar’s Bride and a children's opera production of Red Riding Hood. In the same year, she assisted with marketing and public relations at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, which was awarded Theatre of the Year by the prestigious German cultural publication Theatre Today.
Ophelia: Madness (in Blue) is Lucy’s first professional collaboration with her father Sergei Dreznin. For her, it is a labour of love and a story for all. |
Molly Olivia RodelliProducer & Co-DirectorMolly Olivia Rodelli is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, writer and director/producer. She is also co-founder of The Stem Collective. Finding its beginnings in text, the written word and an experimental frame of mind, her practice encompasses literature, technology (principally digital video and audio), film/cinema, photography, objects, song/music and performance. Within her work she explores language, intersubjectivity, nature, metaphysical philosophy, science, spirituality, absurdism, liminality and sociological themes such as the relationship between objective and subjective experience, through heightened conversation, monologue and explorations of external and internal space. She has collaborated with visual artists, musicians, writers and creative performers, directing films and works of performance, and operating as a dramaturg and initiator of projects. She originates from a fine art, art history and literature context. Currently, she is following an experimental, research-based practice; developing material with her Bristol-based music project; writing a feature-length work of theatre about metaphysics; creating a literature/poetry/philosophy zine; and leading several one-on-one artistic collaborations in Bristol. A one-woman performance piece, Tiger Tempts Hell, is currently in R&D.
//mollyoliviarodelli.weebly.com// |
Harry Haden-BrownMusical Director & PianistHarry is a professional Musical Director and Pianist based in Bristol. He has received training from the National Youth Music Theatre at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, and at Kensington Palace, and is a Music (BA) Graduate from the University of Bristol. Harry started his career with Music Theatre Bristol MDing Cabaret, Into The Woods and Dogfight, and acting as pianist for Parade, West Side Story, and several Cabarets and performances. Harry is also a classical accompanist and recitalist, previously working as Musical Director/Organist at St Michaels Church in Portsmouth, pianist for Groundlings Theatre Portsmouth, Assistant Musical Director for Sunset Boulevard at the Bristol Hippodrome, Musical Director for Fiddler on the Roof at The Bristol Hippodrome, visiting Conductor for Ivy Arts Youth Group, and visiting Musical Director at Bridgwater College He also provides arrangements, backing tracks and accompaniment for sopranos and performers across the country, including Soprannome, a new Bristol based crossover ensemble. Recent projects include the British Revival of Russian operetta 'Ophelia: Madne in Blue', '25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' in Bristol, six weeks of Jack & the Beanstalk pantomime at the Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, and he is still recovering from a sell-out run of '[title of show]' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his new Production Company ‘Cobbles & Rhyme’.
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Kate StokesSet DesignerKate studied BA (Hons) Drama: Theatre, Film and Television at University of Bristol and graduated in 2015. At University, Kate directed productions of Mary Chase’s ‘Harvey’ and Peter Schaffer’s ‘Black Comedy’ for Studiospace drama society. Also for Studiospace, Kate designed Joe Orton’s ‘Entertaining Mr Sloane’, and assistant designed Abi Morgan’s ‘Lovesong’ and Caryl Churchill’s ‘Love and Information’. In 2014 Kate designed and assistant directed Kander and Ebb’s ‘Cabaret’ for Music Theatre Bristol at the Bierkeller Theatre, Bristol. In 2015, Kate assistant designed The Unimaginables’ devised play ‘Fade Away’ at the Ustinov Theatre, Bath, for the Theatre Royal Bath’s Emerging Artists Festival. Since graduating Kate developed her final university piece into a full-length comedy show, ‘A Really Really Big Modern Telly’, which she co-devised and performed in as part of Stokes and Summers. The production was supported by New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, and toured to Brighton Fringe Festival, International Youth Arts Festival, Kingston, Somerset Fringe Festival and Portsmouth College throughout summer 2016. Kate co-runs a Bristol based theatre company, Riddlestick Theatre. Their first production, ‘The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere’ is a folk musical which Kate co-wrote and co-directed with Tom Manson. In 2016 it was performed at Cardiff Fringe Theatre Festival, Brainchild Festival, and as part of Tobacco Factory Theatre’s Prototype Showcase at the Wardrobe Theatre, and will continue to tour in 2017. Kate is thrilled to be part of the production team for ‘Ophelia: Madness (in Blue’).
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Kristina PetrovaSet DesignerKristina Petrova is a recent MA Scenography graduate from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After completing a BA in Architecture, her passion to design for performance grew stronger and she diverted her creativity into the field of Scenography. Kristina’s ambition to design for the performing body encouraged her imagination to explore a new, more artistic side to architecture. Her work is driven by the notion of the abstract, dream-like reality of form. Ambiguity, superimposition, transparency and continuity are all essential concepts which she explores in her practice. One of her more recent projects includes a collaboration with Ténéré Arte theatre company who adapted Nobel Prize winning author Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a NuclearDisaster. The resulting production Voices from Chernobyl ran for nearly two weeks in May 2017 at the Brockley Jack Theatre in London. Kristina continues to investigate possible dimensions to the time – body – space relationship by creating work which aims to challenge the viewer’s perception.
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Sandra KassmanOpheliaSandra Kassman is a 25-year-old singer and actress from Stockholm, Sweden. Sandra began acting at the age of 6 in the musical Kristina från Duvemåla by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson at the Cirkus Theatre in Stockholm. Since then she has played a variety of roles, including Little Cosette in the Scandinavian Tour of Les Miserables, Fredrika in A Little Night Music at Stockholm City Theatre, Mia in Fair Opera -The Musical at the Saga Theatre and Anna Book in Susanne Biers film Once In A Lifetime. In 2014, Sandra played Beatrice de Lille in the National Youth Music Theatre's musical BRASS in Leeds, UK and in In June 2015 Sandra played one of four leads in the newly written musical 1983 at the Winston Theatre in Bristol. Sandra has studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston (USA), Umeå Musical Theatre Academy (SWE) and in July 2016, Sandra was awarded a Master of Arts in Musical Theatre Performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London (UK). Sandra works regularly as a voice-over artist. She is the Swedish voice of for example Lilo in Lilo and Stitch and Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service. In 2013, Sandra won P4 Radio Stockholm's finale of Svensktoppen Nästa! (Next on the Charts!) with her entry ”Never Got Started”, written by Nils-Petter Ankarblom. This November she played the leading role in the concert version of the musical "Ophelia-Madness in Blue" in Bristol (UK).
//www.sandrakassman.se// |
Emily McDouallOpheliaEmily McDouall is a singing actress, recently graduated from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. During this time she received training in musical theatre from some of the West End's top directors, choreographers and musical directors. Prior to this, Emily was already regularly performing in one of Norwich's most talented performance companies Mixed Voice. Although musical theatre has captured most of Emily's training and most recent credits, her background laid heavy foundations in classical and jazz vocal styles. As a school pupil Emily was performing with local Jazz orchestras and big bands alongside her classical vocal training. She continued to work with more jazz ensembles through her undergraduate degree at The University of Manchester where she studied Music and Drama. Her degree, although classical-based, gave her the opportunity to explore being vocally flexible across genres. Now Emily is now based in London auditioning for both stage and TV. Credits include: Adela in Bernarda Alba (Unicorn Theatre), Luisa Contini in Nine (Mountview Academy), Jane in Witches of Eastwick (Mountview Academy), and a workshop performance with Showstoppers The Musical (Mountview Academy).
//www.spotlight.com/EmilyMcDouall// |
Shaun WoodPoloniusShaun is a singer, actor, director, conductor, composer, writer and general artistic busy-body. His passion for the arts, be they performance-based or otherwise grew and were nurtured after being accepted to be a chorister at Westminster Abbey Choir School, where he received an oddly professional level of musical training for the young age of 9. His secondary school, The King’s School, Canterbury, did not fail to continue his musical and academic studies, thanks to his winning of a Music Scholarship and a Bursery. The King’s School, proved to provide a fantastic musical and theatrical environment, in which he greatly involved himself. On finishing school with a Drama Award, a Commendation in the Final Year Music Scholars’ Recital Prize and A deferred-entry place to read Music at Bristol University, he won two Scholarships to sing with two choirs in London (The Sloane Square Choral Society and All Saint’s Fulham). In these roles, he led the singers of his voice part in rehearsals, concerts and services and was provided with singing lessons and a termly stipend. The following year he began study at Bristol University. Alongside his course, he performed in both of the University’s Operas (Ravel’s The Child and The Spells) and (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, playing Count Almaviva in the latter). He founded, organised and conducted a choral ensemble (The Bristol Camerata) that focused on the performance of new choral pieces written by students. He also was fortunate enough to win the University Chapel Choir’s Christmas Carol Composition Prize, and a premiere in the Music Department’s Auditorium. In his first year, he also acted in a couple of plays (playing Orsino in an open-air production of Twelfth Night) and became a Lay Clerk for the Bath Abbey Choir. In his second year he became the President of the Composition Society. He acted and sang in Bristol DamSoc’s showcase, TRASh, in which he played an opera singer in an opera gone wrong; He also wrote incidental music for Seliges Theatre’s production of Macbeth; wrote, arranged and directed, and taught music for DramSoc’s production of Vernon God Little; wrote incidental music for Maureen Human, as part of the BPC Showcase, for which he directed three short plays. To top off the year, he wrote (in collaboration with three fellow music student), recorded and produced a jazz album for a newly written play that DramSoc funded to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, which received 5 stars from the Edinburgh Fringe Review. He is currently studying in his third year, in which he has done a combination of composing, arranging, musically directing and performing in two pieces for TRASh this year, notably galvanising a 20-piece band to play his arrangement of The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel, which underscored a devised piece of physical theatre. He is currently writing music for two upcoming productions and a play that will hopefully make its way to the Edinburgh Fringe.
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Tom MansonHamletTom graduated from the University of Bristol in 2015 with a degree in Drama. Whilst at university he took lead roles such as ‘Leo Frank’ in the musical Parade, ‘Moritz’ in the musical version of Spring Awakening and ‘Sloane’ in Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane. Tom’s theatre credits include playing ‘William’ in Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s production of The School for Scandal, ‘Adam’ in Proper Job Theatre’s musical version of Paradise Lost and ‘Jesus’ in the 2012 Lincoln Mystery Plays. Tom is also a writer. He is currently developing Fallada – a play about the German author Hans Fallada. In 2015, Tom and his co-writer George were invited to the Hans Fallada Museum in Germany to research and write the piece. They are preparing for a rehearsed reading of the play in Bristol. Tom co-runs Riddlestick Theatre, recently premiering their first production - a folk musical called The Dead of Night in the Middle of Nowhere - at the Cardiff Fringe Theatre Festival, Brainchild Festival and as part of the Tobacco Factory’s Prototype showcase. Tom co-wrote the play, composed the music and performs in the piece.
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Luke RobertsHamletLuke forged a busy career in music before approaching the acting world. The early years of his career were consumed with writing and touring original material with a number of different bands. These endeavors were supported by working as a guitar tutor. In recent years, Luke has found himself performing regularly as a guitarist and vocalist in a number of different function bands all over the UK and Europe. An established songwriter, Luke has his own production music written for film and TV published under Sony and West One Music Group, with the music being used by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and many other broadcasters. Further to working as a guitar tutor, he also designed and wrote an entire higher education module on the subject of Composition for DIME, an online music university based in Detroit. Although not formally trained, Luke was always curious and enthusiastic about acting and began to explore the area by working as a supporting artist in 2014. The next year, he was cast in the feature film ‘Access All Areas’, which is currently being shown in major film festivals and is due for cinematic release soon. This experience gave him the confidence and desire to push on and keep acting alongside a sometimes hectic career in music. Since then, he has appeared in another feature film as well as various student films and TV commercials. Luke has also begun to study acting at ‘The Workshop’ in Cardiff to strengthen his craft and pursue it with the kind of determination that is required in such a competitive field.
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Jake SnowdonLaertesJake is an actor musician based in Surrey that has a wide array of experience having performed in classical, musical theatre and choral works as well as in plays, pit bands and as an MD.
Jake was a choral scholar with Cantores Michaelis and has sung with professional choirs Blossom Street and The Mozart Festival Chorus. He has performed at the Barbican Pit Theatre for the devised theatre piece, Man In The Green Boots; been involved in new writing with Bottom Drawer Productions' Gross Capital and also works with TIE company Theatre Exchange. In musicals, Jake has worked with composer Andrew Fisher in cast recordings and workshop performances of Billy Bow (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton) and The Weird World of William Willow (Clapham Omnibus Theatre) both directed by Russ Tunney. In concerts his professional engagements include soloist work for Witt Studio, Handel's Messiah with Southampton Music Dept and a world premiere of Michael Finnissy's completion of Mozart's Requiem. Whilst a student Jake played Khlestakov in The Government Inspectorat the Electric Theatre, Guildford and was MD for a production of Sondheim’s Company. Jake is a singing teacher for stage schools Stagecoach and Stage Kings. Jake trained at the Guildford School of Acting and has a BA in Music from Southampton University. www.jakesnowdon.co.uk |