Celina Carvajal (Carly)
Celina was born and raised in the Haight Ashbury. Broadway: Cats (Demeter), 42nd Street (Anytime Annie), Dracula (Original Broadway Cast), and Tarzan (Original Broadway Cast). Off-Broadway: Radiant Baby (Public Theatre: Pop Singer/Madonna), On A Clear Day… (City Center Encores). Also workshops of Happy Days the musical (Pink Tuscadero) with Garry Marshall. Film: Sex And The City, the movie (City girl, aka Young Miranda), The Graduates (Inga) and The Stepford Wives. TV includes a stint on All My Children as Treena, as well as MTV’s reality TV show Legally Blonde, the search for the next Elle Woods. Her favorite gig is as a rock star, leading the band Cocaine. www.celinacarvajal.com and www.cocaineband.com.
Brian Charles Rooney (Dionne Salon)
Broadway: ‘Lucy Brown’ in THE THREEPENNY OPERA (Roundabout Theatre Co.); CAMELOT in Concert w/ NY Philharmonic (2008 Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: ‘Piers Gaveston’ in EDWARD THE KING; ‘The Dodger’ in Drama Desk Nominated TWIST; ‘Avery Brundage’ in WARRIOR (NYMF); ‘Deacon Jones’ in THE BALLAD OF BONNIE & CLYDE (NYMF). Tours: ‘Tony’ in WEST SIDE STORY (Europe); Featured Soloist in THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER with Petula Clark (North America). Regional: ‘Tennessee Williams’ in BECOMING TENNESSEE (Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center); ‘Homer’ in FLOYD COLLINS (Carbonell Award Nom. / Actors’ Playhouse, Miami); ‘Jinx’ in FOREVER PLAID (Metro-Carolina Award Nom. / PCLO & Blumenthal P.A.C.); ‘Younger Brother’ in RAGTIME (White Plains P.A.C.); title role in BATBOY, THE MUSICAL! (Charleston Stage Co.); THE STUDENT PRINCE (Paper Mill Playhouse). Brian was awarded The Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Dramatic Talent in 2007, and made his solo concert debut at The Zipper Factory the same year. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Symphony Space in NYC, as well as with the Seattle and Oregon Symphony Orchestras. www.briancharlesrooney.com
Paul Leschen (Composer, story and concept)
Brooklyn-based pianist and composer Paul Leschen was nominated for a Drama Desk for Outstanding Music for his first musical, Twist: Please Sir, May I Have Some More. He is a frequent collaborator and pianist for the international superstars Scissor Sisters– his co-arrangement of Comfortably Numb still receives copious airplay at gay bars from to Greensboro to Gdansk. Paul is also the pianist and house composer for drag queen Hedda Lettuce, and has done similar work in the past for Murray Hill and other drag superstars whose names are too filthy (or forgotten) to mention. Paul has never had bedbugs, but should they decide to exact revenge upon him in the near future, he would understand.
Fred Sauter (Book and Lyrics, story and concept)
Fred (from central PA) studied visual art at MICA in Baltimore before moving full force into writing musicals. His first show “Asia Apollo, a rock opera” premiered at the Baltimore Theatre Project. He then moved to NYC and received an MFA from the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (’05), where he wrote book and lyrics for two shows, (”Divine Terror” with Doug Yetter and “Euphoria” with Mark Irons) both of which he would like to pursue staging in the future. Since school he met Paul and the two hit it off immediately, thrusting themselves into the throws of this show we call Bedbugs!!! Thanks to NYMF and the GMTWP for all their help. Sleep tight friends, and try not to itch! Member: Dramatists Guild.
Samuel Buggeln (Director)
Off-Broadway: Rum & Vodka (O-B première) by Conor McPherson at the Ohio Theatre, where he is an Artistic Associate with Soho Think Tank. Other Ohio Theatre: Cressida Among the Greeks (Drama Desk nominated), plus The Flight of Icarus, Blue Eyes Black Hair, and The Last Days of Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Other NYC: Go-Go Kitty, Go! (FringeNYC Firsts: Outstanding Play, Outstanding Sound Design) at the Lucille Lortel; plus productions at HERE, Expanded Arts, Theatre for the New City, and one-offs at NYTW, Hypothetical, Rattlestick, adobe, Clubbed Thumb, etc. Regional: Indoor/Outdoor, Noises Off, Sleuth, and upcoming Wait Until Dark (Portland Stage, where he is an Artistic Associate); The Food Chain, As Bees in Honey Drown (Mason Street Warehouse, Saugatuck, MI); Friend of a Friend, A Christmas Carol (Capital Repertory Theatre); Rites of Passage, Play by Play and Dirty Blonde (StageWorks/Hudson). Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab alum; 2001 Artist-in-Residence with New York Theatre Workshop at Dartmouth College, faculty guest artist at SUNY Albany and the Stella Adler Conservatory/Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.
Bobby Mrozek (Producer)
Bobby Mrozek served 12 years as Producing Director at Baltimore Theatre Project. He has stage managed, production managed and produced many works of theatre, dance and opera — specializing in projects that develop new material. Broadway: Stage Manager, “You May Now Worship Me” Broadway Cares Benefit at the Eugene O’Neill Theater with Sherie Rene Scott, Michael Mayer Director. He has worked with David Drake, Karen Finley, Danny Hoch, Martin Acosta, Peabody Chamber Opera, Daniel MacIvor, John Epperson/Lypsynka, Kevin Malony, Al Letson and Carrie Ahern among others.
Robin Carrigan (Choreographer)
Choreographic and writing credits include “Jesus and Mandy” at Theater for the New City, “Blood Orgy of the Carnival Queens!” at Bank Street Theater and “Girls Town” at The Actor’s Playhouse. She choreographed the feature film “trick” starring Tori Spelling, “1966″ at The El Flamingo, and “Two Spoons” at Bank Street Theater September 2008. She’s choreographed a lot of shows with exclamation marks in the titles– “Chorus Girls on Mars!”, “Cute Boys in their Underpants go to France!”, and “Christmas on Hell Island!”– and is tickled pink that “Bedbugs!!!” has three!!! Robin has a BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and studied improvisation at Upright Citizens Brigade.
Ryan Bogner (Burt)
Ryan Bogner (Burt) Originally from Long Island, by way of Wichita, KS, Ryan is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre. NYC readings/workshops: Mouth in Goonies: the Musical Parody (Fringe), Hurricane (directed by Scott Schwartz, music by Michael Holland). Tours/Regional: Jojo in Seussical, Jane Eyre (World premiere dir. by John Caird), Doody in Grease, Linus in Charlie Brown and several seasons at Music Theatre of Wichita. Proud Equity member!
Mark Fisher (Tom Wansett)
NYMF debut! Favorite credits include Tommy in “Brigadoon” (Fulton Theatre), the title role in the world premiere of the Ian Cohen play, “Bertrand Priest” (Arkansas Rep), and many readings of new work in NYC. Other favorite roles include Serge in “The Food Chain”, Jean-Michel in “La Cage Aux Folles”, and Man 2 in “Songs For a New World”. Mark’s many regional appearances include Theatre Under the Stars, Maine State Music Theater, Syracuse Stage, Gateway Playhouse, and Seaside Music Theater. Next up Mark will be playing Alex in “The Little Dog Laughed” at St. Louis Rep. BFA Syracuse University. Thanks to Sam, David, Ben, family and friends, and a special thanks to the exterminators who helped get rid of the bedbugs when he had them in his apartment. Seriously. Thanks a lot.
Tracey Gilbert (Mom)
NYMF audiences last saw Tracey as Annie in the 2006 production of The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, a role for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Citation from the Talkin’ Broadway panel of judges. Other credits include: Off Broadway: Acts of Love (The Lion Theatre); The Adding Machine (The Public). With Blue Coyote Theatre Group: Happy Endings; The Standards of Decency Project; Paradise; Busted Jesus Comix; A Bush Carol or George W. and the Xmas of Evil. Other Off-Off Broadway: The Frankenstein Summer; Exit the King; Burning Habits; and numerous others. Regional Theatre: Fun & Nobody (The Next Theatre); The Love of Don Perlimplin and Belisa in the Garden (Bailiwick Rep.); The Glass Menagerie (Canton Players Guild); and Wedding Band (Onstage Atlanta – Winner of Best Supporting Actress Award). TV: As The World Turns.
Chris Hall (Cimex)
Christopher Hall is from Santa Barbara, California and makes a mean Margarita. Some of his all time favorite roles are Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show and Dick Dockstrap in Pinafore! (NY Fringe best overall production, the year of the blackout) and he recently won an Indy award as Bat Boy in Bat Boy The Musical!. Chris was lucky to meet composer, Paul Leschen when he starred as tranny dominatrix, Fagin in Paul’s Twist! (Please sir, may I have some more), and now here come the Bedbugs!!! Chris likes shows with exclamation points.
Stephen Sheffer (Chad)
Stephen Sheffer is from Canada. Most recently, he’s been appearing in Happy Sunshine Kung Fu Flower (Zipper Factory/Ars Nova) and is in the process of finishing off a short film called Stand Sentry that he acted in and co-directed. You can see him in Doorman (Sundance/Cannes) and was a ‘creature’ running through the streets of New York in I Am Legend. At The Flea, he workshopped Elizabeth Swados’ Kaspar Hauser. In Toronto, Stephen was the Emcee in Cabaret, Brad in The Rocky Horror Show and Alferd Packer in Cannibal! The Musical. With his company DeCo. Productions, Stephen produced and acted in the award-winning plays Back To Mine and GBS, both in Toronto. If you ever get bedbugs, contact him and he’ll tell you what to do. They’re bad but it’s possible to conquer them.
H Wayne Williams (Dexter)
H. WAYNE WILLIAMS JR. has worked in over 60 theatrical productions since 1984 as actor, musical director, director, producer and manager. Wayne was a producer of Conor McPherson’s The Good Thief with Brian D’Arcy James (Obie Award). Wayne managed productions of The Exonerated, and Rinde Eckert’s And God Created Great Whales with Cultureproject. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre/Directing from Emerson College, Boston, MA. He is currently an Addiction Counselor for NYC Health and Hospital Corp. He loves and lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Breon. Thank you HP, Debra Barsha and Paul Leschen!
Amanda Bujak (co-Costume Designer)
Amanda Bujak (Costume Designer) holds an MFA in design from NYU. She designs for film, television and theatre. Some of her recent theatre credits include The Magnificent Cuckold, Necessary Monsters, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, A Quick Nut bread to Make Your Mouth Water, Women of Trachis, Father Joy, Krapps Last Tape, The Uneventful Deaths of Agathon, Don Juan, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Fifth of July, The Washing Machine, Cymbeline and Cantus Articus choreographed by Karole Armitage. She is also the resident costume designer for East River Commedia Company. She currently lives in Williamsburg.
Chris Rumery (co-Costume Designer)
Chris Rumery’s previous costume designs include four months in Taiwan designing for parades; Ladies and Gents, director Paul Walker; (Rus)h, director Kristin Marting; A Hard Heart, director Will Pomerantz; Rock Doves, director Ian McElhinney; As You Like It (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Fest) director Kurt Rhoads; 365/Days 365/Plays, director Shira Milikowsky; Food for Fish, director Alexis Poledouris; The Scams of Scapin, director Chris O’Connor; Les Bourgeois Avant-Gardes, director Emma Griffin; and A Lie of the Mind, director Michael Sexton. MFA, NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Dans Maree Sheehan (Lighting Designer)
Dans is originally from Australia and graduated from NYU with an MFA in Lighting Design. Recent dance designs include work by Kathleen Dyer, Karole Armitage, Merce Cunningham, Troy Powell, Gerald Casel, Dwight Rhoden & Johannes Wieland. Recent theatre design credits; Hedda Gabler (dir: Cigdem Onat), Le Bourgeois Avant Garde (dir: Emma Griffin), Alice the Magnet (dir: Pam McKinnon) Never As Happy & Don Juan (dir: Javierantonio Gonzalez) Dead Letter Office & Scratch (dir: Meiyin Wang) On The Verge (dir: John Grabowski). Dans was the lighting designer on Usher’s fragrance launch and Assistant Lighting Designer on ERS’s ‘The Sound & The Fury (dir: John Collins). Dans was the lighting supervisor for Ailey II Fall 06 & Spring 07 and is just beginning work with David Dorfman Dance in Fall ‘08. Before coming to New York Dans was the resident lighting designer with Red Stitch Actors Theatre in Melbourne.
Shane Terenzi (Scenic & Props master)
Shane Terenzi, a graduate of Occidental College with a BA in Theater Production, is thrilled to be a part of the NY Musical Festival and the Bedbugs!!! crew. He is a recent transplant from Los Angeles where he acquired such production credits as The Larry King Cardiac Foundation, Operation Smile Fundraiser, Kelly Clarkson/Ford Promotion, Oscar De La Hoya Foundation Fundraiser, and The Disney Center Art Expo. Theater credits include Shoes, She Stoops To Conquer, Fefu and Her Friends, Fever/Dream, The Mikado, You Should Be So Lucky, One Flea Spare, Tonight We Improvise, The Awkward Age, and Candide. Shane would like to thank his friends and family for their love and support.
David Alpert (Assistant Director)
David Alpert holds a degree in both Directing and Stage Management from Western Michigan University (summa ***** laude), and served as the Directing Intern for the Guthrie Theater’s production of 1776. As a director: Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors, Alarms by Michael Frayn, and Dolores; as an assistant director: Sex, Drugs, and Ukuleles!, A Political Party!, Brighton Beach Memoirs, God’s Country, the NYCLU “Broadway Stands up for Freedom,” “Avenue Q Swings,” and readings of A Holiday for Hope and Awakening; as a stage manager: The Wild Party, Cabaret, …Trailer Park Musical, and cabarets starring Nancy Anderson and Danny Gurwin. He has worked at Cherry County Playhouse and Mason Street Warehouse, and in 2006 was selected to direct a new play at the American College Theatre Festival. David is an associate member of SSDC. Always for my family.
Alexis Caldwell (Production Stage Manager)
Alexis is pleased to be joining Bedbugs!!! in its premiere. She has been bouncing around New York causing trouble for eight years. She is currently Technical Coordinator for two theaters at the Manhattan School of Music.