Misery/Loves Co. (Co-Producer) was formed in 1991 with the intention
of putting on financially accessible plays that we found funny and reflective
of the human condition in some fashion. Productions include last year’s
Double Nickels on the Dime (fifteen plays from fifteen seconds to
fifteen minutes) by various authors at the EXIT Theatre, Biedermann
and the Firebugs by Max Frisch at the Climate Theatre, Security
by founding member Joshua Pollock at Bannam Place Theater, the Northern
California premiere of David Mamet’s Bobby Gould in Hell which
enjoyed an extended run at Bannam Place, Calm Down Mother by Megan
Terry at BRAVA Studio and Endgame by Samuel Beckett at the Next
Stage.
Mike Balsam (Stage Manager) is very
happy to have had the opportunity to work with this cast and Misery/Loves
Company at the Exit. Past credits include Stage Manager for Blood on
Cats Neck, which was presented at the Exit, Venue Technician for The
SF Fringe Festival, produced by The Exit, Co-Producer for Verbatim
which was staged at The Exit, etc, etc, etc… The Exit. Strangely enough
Mike feels a certain connection to this play, and to Misery/Loves Company
and hopes to continue his pattern of meeting new people and going new places…
at The Exit.
Benjamin Cooper (Young Boy) makes
his professional debut in Waiting for Godot. Previously he has appeared
in scholastic productions of Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz.
Benjamin is very interested in computers, role-playing games and tormenting
his little brothers and animals.
Meredith Eldred (Director) is a founding
member and the resident director of Misery/Loves Company. In addition to
her work with MLC she has directed several original works including The
Big Drag for Theatre Rhino as well as Home and Fountain
at The Noh Space. A graduate of SFSU, Ms. Eldred has trained at Exeter
University in England and with the SITI company in New York. She will be
working at The EXIT Theatre again this spring directing Sean Owens’
new musical Don’t Get Up. Ms. Eldred would like to dedicate
her work on this production to her muse Brian Shimetz.
Elizabeth Fox (Costumes & Make-up)
has appeared in such roles as producer, actor, publicist, mean old accountant,
and now costume and make-up designer since helping found Misery/Loves Company.
She received her BA from SF State University and studied at many other
reputable institutions and bars. In her spare time Elizabeth goes to work.
Paul Meason (Lighting Design) Derek Gavin Mutch (Lucky) appeared most
recently in the 1997 San Francisco Fringe Festival, performing The War
in Heaven and Savage/Love. Other recent performances include
All My Sons with Artrise, the Day Room with Stage Cartel,
and Biedermann and the Firebugs with Misery/Loves Company. Derek
is the manager of Limelight Film and Theatre Bookstore on Market Street.
Stacey Pfiel (Technical Director)
Joshua Pollock (Pozzo) co-founded
Misery/Loves Company in 1991 and has been in all their shows that had parts
for guys, including Bobby Gould in Hell, his own Security,
and last year’s Double Nickels on the Dime. He often moonlights
with Rough & Tumble in such productions as MacBett, Tom Jones
(for which he won a Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award for his musical
score) and My Uncle Sam (for which nobody won anything) and was
last seen in The Whistleaires’ Fringe fest smash, Caribou Tribute.
He also plays in the bands Six Eye Columbia and Fish or Fry.
Mark Romyn (Vladimir) is an actor
who has appeared in many local shows over the many years. Most recently
he performed in Caribou Tribute, a show that he and fellow Whistleaire,
Phil Worman wrote. He is a writer and his Novella “Flyscraper –Day
of the Fly” is available in many fine bookstores and upon request.
Chris Traister (Fight Choreographer)
Mikiko Uesugi (Scenic Designer) has
created the sets for Misery/Loves Company since 1994. She received her
M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University, has worked
as a designer for a variety of theater, industrial and film projects. Scenic
design credits include: Hunting for Moby Dick for Ghostlight Theater,
The Sweetest Hang Over for Brava!, The Lion in Winter for SRT, and
Curlew River for Chanticleer. She also assisted in the designing
of productions for California Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory
Theatre, and A.C.T.
Philip Worman (Estragon) is one half
of the Bay Area's most famous whistling duo, The Whistleaires. He co-authored
and performed in Caribou Tribute, which won Best of the Fringe at
last year’s SF Fringe Festival. Originally from Vermont, Philip performed
in a film of Beckett’s Act Without Words I at Harvard University
and went on to pursue theater in New York, where his original play, the
controversial Codpiece, by William Shakespeare was produced at HOME
FOR CONTEMPORARY THEATER AND ART.
Special Thanks: Lissy Walker, Andy Forward, Heiko
Adler, Avivah Strom, Shawn Burke.