Company News Winter 2014

TACT warmly welcomes five new company members, JAMES KNIGHT, KELLY McANDREW, TRACY MIDDENDORF, TONY ROACH, and LIV ROOTH to our wonderfully vivacious family of professional theatre artists.

We’ve got a new look! The new year has also brought a new face to TACT’s website! We hope you’ll enjoy the easy navigation and let us know how it’s working for you. Suggestions welcomed at info@tactnyc.org.

MARK ALHADEFF recently shot a scene with Al Pacino in the Barry Levinson directed film,The Humbling and he looks forward to working on Beyond Therapy this upcoming spring!

JEREMY BECK appeared at the end of autumn in Unforgettable on CBS, playing an urban explorer who falls victim to his own dalliance with bomb-making. Also in late autumn, he took part in a reading of Big Hungry World, a play by Susan Bernfield about wealth, fame, guilt, goodness, and the moral value of work, put against the backdrop of Silicon Valley. The reading was presented at the home of the former official philosopher for Google. For the third consecutive year, Jeremy kicked off the holiday season by emceeing the Junior Assembly Debutantes’ Ball at the Pierre Hotel.

NORA CHESTER spent the fall directing Top Girls for the Actor Training Program at the multifaceted Hartt School of The University of Hartford. She then headed home for the Holidays.

SCOTT ALAN EVANS is in preproduction for the Spring Mainstage offering, Beyond Therapyby Christopher Durang.

JONATHAN FAIMAN is in his second year as Piano Faculty and Staff Accompanist at Concordia College (Bronxville). His recent writing projects include choral and orchestral arrangements for the Bronxville School, as well as the Canadian Chamber Orchestra of New York City.

MARY LOUISE GEIGER  designed the lighting for Venus In Fur, running January 3rd through February 2nd at the Huntington in Boston. Next, she will be designing for Clybourne Park at Cincinnati Playhouse, running January 18th through February 16th. She then joins us for Beyond Therapy!

CYNTHIA HARRIS is currently enjoying her run in The Tribute Artist, which is both written by and starring the fabulous Charles Busch, which plays at Primary Stages from through March 16th. MARY BACON is in the cast as well. Great fun.  Holidays seem to arrive more speedily each year, both a pleasure and a wonderment. She wishes all our friends have a wonderful, healthy, and happy 2014.

JEFFREY HAWKINS has been playing Christopher Wren in a production of The Mousetrap at Resident Ensemble Players. The show will close just three days before he’ll begin rehearsing as Bob in Beyond Therapy! In the meantime, Jeffrey has been bouncing around this season with bit parts on TV shows like Taxi Brooklyn, Blue Bloods, and Elementary.

DELPHI HARRINGTON was just in Year Of The Rooster at EST, which extended its run through February 1st.

SIMON JONES is reprising his role as Dr. Bradman in Blithe Spirit with newly Dame’d Angela Lansbury in London at the Gielgud Theatre (next door to the Apollo but of more recent vintage and less liable to collapse). This performance marks his first appearance on the West End Stage in 35 years.

AMIR KHOSROWPOUR proudly just finished his doctorate in piano at Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Amir! He is celebrated the achievement with his solo debut piano recital at Steinway Hall on 57th Street on January 16, 2014, featuring music by American composers. Vist www.amirpiano.com for more info.

JAMES KNIGHT recently recorded a VO spot as a reindeer for Verizon, is understudying the male roles in Handle With Care (currently running at the West Side Theater), and is teaching with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Nightingale-Bamford School. Oh, and trying to keep up with a baby who just started to toddle around!

DARRIE LAWRENCE spent the holidays dying every night as the wretched Mrs Boyle in The Mousetrap at the Repertory Theatre of St Louis.

TERRY LAYMAN recently played Bill in the very exciting TACT Salon, Trouble in Mind. Last summer, he played Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman at the Monomoy Theatre on Cape Cod, and in the fall he directed Glengarry Glen Ross at the Hartt School of The University of Hartford. He looks forward to spring when he will not only play the old man himself in King Lear with the Titan Theatre Company, but also will direct the TACT Salon of Agatha Christie’s, The Hollow.

VICTORIA MACK had an incredible time playing Claire Brinkman in TACT’s most recent production, Natural Affection! Her most recent episode of, The Good Wife, aired shortly after the show closed. She’s currently immersed in teaching Scene Study and Voice and Movement at the New York Film Academy, as well as coaching privately. She just finished her first project as a director and loved every crazy minute. Look for her in episode 12 of the upcoming season of Unforgettable, in which she plays a Russian assassin named Petra Kikelli, who kicks some serious butt!

KELLY McANDREW will be performing in the NYC revival of Almost, Maine, directed by Jack Cummings at The Transport Group, running from January 20th through February 23rd. She soon begins rehearsals for a one woman show, Grounded, directed by TACT’s own Jenn Thompson. The show will perform in Pittsburgh.

RON McCLARY had a busy fall wearing his chef’s hat cooking for several events including a wonderful evening hosted by Cynthia Harris in her home for the winners of TACT’s spring gala auction dinner. Ron prepared a five course French themed menu for Cynthia, Judy and Stanley Zabars and their friends. With help from sous chef & co. member Margot White the evening was a great success. Ron put his acting cap back on for the holidays, playing Scrooge in a live radio adaptation of A Christmas Carol in Brooklyn.

GREG MCFADDEN appeared with The Civilians in Holy Matrimony! at Joe’s Pub in December and can currently be heard as both a tow truck dispatcher, and paparazzi photographer, inGrand Theft Auto V.

TRACY MIDDENDORF The only new thing I’d like to add is my creation of a project that raises money for girls’ education around the world. It’s called Shutter To Think and it’s a collection of photographs taken by well known actors, writers, directors and musicians. Here’s the link if you’d like to see it. www.shuttertothink.org

LAUREN MILLER had a productive fall continuing her collaboration with Amios in their monthly 10 minute play series Shotz, as well as directing short plays running in the Stop Gun Violence Now Theater Festival, the Winter Tens One Acts at the Brick Theater, and the Long Island City One Act Festival at the Secret Theater. In the spring, Lauren will travel to London with TACT superfan Carole Miller to catch the Olivier Awards, a coveted trip Carole received as the winning bidder at our 20th Anniversary Gala. Lauren can’t wait for June’s 4th Annual newTACTics New Play Festival and looks forward to seeing you there!

GEOFFREY MOLLOY was thrilled to be a part of this year’s Salon Series presentation of Alice Childress’s hilarious and powerful play, Trouble in Mind, under the direction of Drew Barr. While excited to be working on such a great play with a fantastic ensemble cast, Geoffrey was also just happy to be out of the house, as most of his time these days is dedicated to feeding and changing the diapers of his beautiful 12-week-old boy, Oliver. You can expect to meet Oliver soon at a performance of Beyond Therapy as he is eager to be a TACT greeter for our next Mainstage show!

JAMES MURTAUGH will be Guest Starring on Blacklist on NBC with James Spader, and was thrilled to spend the first Christmas with his new grandson, Owen.

JOHN PLUMPIS spent the early fall playing Tito Merelli, “the Tenor,” in LEND ME A TENOR at the Delaware Theatre Company. He will begin teaching speech and text analysis in the Theatre department at Montclair State University in New Jersey this semester. And he can be heard and glimpsed in BARRYMORE, starring Christopher Plummer in his Tony winning turn as John Barrymore, when the film airs on PBS’ Great Performances, January 31, 2014.

ANTHONY ROACH is currently in DC playing Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnestat the Shakespeare Theatre (running January 16th-March 2nd, with a possible extension to March 16th). It’s been really fun and we have a fabulous cast, and should any TACTicians find themselves down here I’m sure I can get them tickets (assuming the entire company doesn’t come as a group; but then again, break out the Magic Bus!!).

SCOTT SCHAFER shot a short film with Sally Kirkland and Burt Young titled Tom In America. The film is excitedly being shopped around to Festivals now.

JONATHAN SMITH continues his work as Associate Musical Supervisor of Jersey Boys,having opened the Dutch production this past fall. He is also conducting the Bill T. Jones-helmed Broadway-bound adaptation of Superfly, the 1970’s movie featuring the renowned music of Curtis Mayfield.

DAVID STALLER is the founding artistic director of Gingold Theatrical Group. David continues producing and directing the monthly Project Shaw (now beginning its 9th year) at Symphony Space. He is the first person to direct performances of all Shaw’s plays, and is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer on all things Shaw, focusing on the Shavian precepts of human rights that initially inspired the creation of GTG. David will be teaching a new course in 2014, partnering with Andrew M. Flescher at Stony Brook University. The course focuses on Shaw and Ethics. Visit www.GingoldGroup.org for more info.

JEFF TALBOTT just got back from performing in A Christmas Story at Cleveland Playhouse, playing the little boy who wants the gun, all grown-up. The production broke the 98 year-old box office record, so I guess we can assume it went well! The fall also saw him shooting episodes of Orange Is The New Black, and Unforgettable. Jeff is also finishing up writing a new play, The Gravedigger’s Lullaby, which he is very excited about. His play, A Public Education, has a week-long workshop at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City this March.

JENN THOMPSON is excited to be working on George Brant’s new play, Grounded, along with new TACT Company Member Kelly McAndrew. The play is being presented by Pittsburgh’s City Theatre this Spring. Later this summer, Jenn is looking forward to returning to Vermont’s Dorset Theatre Festival where she is a Resident Director.