Young Performer's Community Theater of Mason
Young Performer's Community Theater of Mason
Production Team
We were very fortunate to have the following talented people volunteer their efforts for our Spring 2008 production, Disney's Alice in Wonderland. By clicking on one of the following names, you will be directed further down the page for more information on that individual.
Executive Producer - Becky Corstanje
Becky is an RN and has an MS in Administration. Becky has produced Acting Up's Grease (co-produced with Laura Peebles), Honk! Jr. and The Wizard of Oz. She was also responsible for creating (and sewing many of) the original costume designs for Acting Up's Once On This Island, for which she received an OCTAfest Regional Award and was nominated for an Orchid Award. In the past, Becky has been responsible for managing medical departments and multi-million dollar budgets. Becky has been a supporter of community theater for years. She has been a make-up technician for several Children's Theater of Mason productions. Becky has won a variety of local theater awards, including: Orchid Excellence in Make-Up and Hair for the Lebanon Theatre Company's production of The Octette Bridge Club (2005); Orchid Excellence in Producing for Acting Up's AlliceHonk! Jr. (2006), Excellence in Producing for Acting Up's Grease (2006); OCTAFest Outstanding in Make-Up and an OCTAFest Outstanding in Costuming, both for Acting Up's Once On This Island.
Administrative Producer - Laura Peebles
Laura has a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois and is the mom of Ally and Ian. She was the Producer for Acting Up’s Once on This Island; Associate Producer for Honk! Jr. and The Wizard of Oz, and Co-Producer for Grease. Laura won 2 Orchid awards for producing in 2007. She has always had a love of musical theater and thinks that working with such talented kids is the coolest.
Stage Producer / Manager - Becca Johnson
Becca was the director of Acting Up’s fall musical spectacular, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Becca has 12 years experience directing and producing original large scale musicals for Faith Church, in Milford, Ohio. She has been a part of Acting Up since our first production, volunteering as Stage Manager for all four previous shows, and being Assistant Director for last season's Grease. She teaches drama and art at a local homeshool co-op, and has assisted with several children’s musicals at Faith church. Becca is the proud Homeschool mother of four beautiful kids, and wife to her high school sweetheart Jeff. A BA in Sociology from UC, is of no help in dealing with the typical 60 member cast of 5-18 year olds, but with the incredible kids that are a part of the Acting Up family, the job is made a joy.
Artistic Producer - Johanna Chasse
Johanna was the Associate Producer for Acting Up's Thoroughly Modern Millie. Johanna began in children’s theatre at 8 years old. She has played roles as "Annie" in Annie, "Frenchie" in Grease, "Linus" in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, a storyteller in James Thurber, "Becky Thatcher" in Tom Sawyer, and various ensemble roles in Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, Pirates of Penzance, Christmas Carole, GodSpell, Fiddler on the Roof, Rapunzel and others. Classically trained on the piano and over 10 years of voice lessons, Johanna has had the opportunity to work with children’s theatre groups in Albany, NY and through her church and local universities in Connecticut. She was also the director of the children’s choir at her church in Connecticut for 4 years. Johanna has produced many large scale events from the ground up and amongst her favorites include Breast Cancer Awareness Week, Womens Rights Week, and Holistic Care Awareness Days in upstate New York, which have included bringing in Hillary Clinton and Rue McClanahan (from telvision's Golden Girls) as speakers. Although she has only been in Ohio for just 5 years, she is very excited to have her daughter experience the love of theatre that she has loved for so many years and is thrilled to be part of Acting Up.
Director - Brent Peebles
Brent is the President of Acting Up as well as being a busy director and actor. He acted in three productions with the Lebanon Theatre Company in the past year including, Putting It Together and Most Happy Fella (Chef Giuseppe). His directing debut in 2006 for Acting Up’s Honk, Jr. earned him an Orchid nomination. Brent has also appeared in the Loveland Stage Company’s Annie Get Your Gun (Pawnee Bill); in Mason Community Players’ Cole and in Children’s Theatre of Mason’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka.) During the theater “off hours,” Brent acts as a patent attorney for the Procter & Gamble Company.
Kristen Korb
Kristen is an Acting Up alumni, having been involved on stage in every production since Acting Up's inception. Her first role with Acting Up was as "a tree" in The Wizard of Oz. Although critics panned her performance as "a bit wooden", she has come a long way taking on leading roles in each of our subsequent productions, including "Ida" in Honk! Jr. (for which she received an Orchid Nomination), "Sandy" in Grease (for which she won an Orchid Award), "Erzule" in Once on this Island (for which she won both an Orchid Award and an OCTA-Fest Award), and "Muzzy VanHossmere" in Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Luke Null
Luke has been active in live theater for about 7 years. He is an Acting Up alumni from three productions. He was last seen as "Ching Ho" in Thoroughly Modern Millie, was a member of the stage crew for Once on this Island, and won an Orchid Award for his performance as "Doody" in Grease. Luke is a Senior at Lakota East High School, where he has been actively involved in their Theatre program. A Senior at Lakota East High School, he was a cast member of their recent, and controversial production of And Then There Were None (Ten Little Indians). He has also been seen in several other community theater and Lakota East High School productions, including: Arsenic and Old lace, Guys and Dolls, Much Ado About Nothing, Once upon a Mattress, and Bye Bye Birdie. Luke is excited about the opportunity to continue to develop his theatre skills, this time from he perspective of a director.
Vocal Director - Gina Beck
Gina is back after directing vocals for Acting Up’s successful run of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Gina resides in Wilmington, OH where she is mother to Rachel, Joshua and Caleb and is a private voice and piano instructor. She also teaches music at Wilmington Christian Academy and For A Song and a Story, a local music store. She has been involved with theatre since age 10, when she caught “the bug,” and has continued to perform in Wilmington, Cincinnati& Dayton theatres. She has directed and starred in shows such as: Putting It Together, Musical of Musicals, the Musical, A Little Night Music, Annie Get Your Gun, Candide, Children of Eden, Godspell, Oklahoma, Into the Woods, West Side Story, South Pacific, and Jekyll and Hyde, just to name a few.
Choreographer - Matt Dentino
This is Matt’s first time working with Acting Up, but he’s not a newcomer to the theatre. He’s been working on stage as well as behind the scenes since his debut at age 6 with "The Dancing Dentino’s." Matt has traveled the world with the USO performing for our troops in over a dozen countries as well as working in many local theatres here in the Cincinnati, Nashville, New York and the Chicago area. He’s danced in local productions of Swing, Ballroom; and for the past 3 years, a series of Christmas dance show’s for charity. When asked what has helped prepare him most to tackle choreography for such a large group of youngsters Matt says: "Trying to wrangle the 4 kids at home!"
Dance Captain - Arlene Borock
Arlene has taught Drama, English, Public Speaking and Journalism for 19 years at Mason High School. She has directed, choreographed or performed in over 50 plays and musicals. Arlene has been a part of ACT-Cincinnati since 1989 and is currently their Vice President. Over the years, she's received an Orchid Award for Directing Drama Workshop's production of Epic Proportions, for Co-Directing and Co-Choreographing Landen-Deerfield's Production of Gypsy and for Choreographing Acting-Up's Grease. Arlene has also directed Acting Up's production of The Wizard of Oz, and Directed/Choreographed Acting Up's Once On This Island. This year she was seen in Loveland Stage Company's Noises Off and Milford Theatre Guild's female version of The Odd Couple.
Set Designer - Bob Fritzsch
This is Bob’s fourth set design for Acting Up, having previously designed sets for Acting Up's Wizard of Oz, Honk Jr., and Grease. Bob won the 2001 Mario Pitocco Award for Excellence in technical theatre. In his 47 years of set design, he has earned 20 Orchids from ACT. Overall he has designed and created sets for over 55 shows.
Lighting Designer - Josh Branch
Josh has been part of lighting design for multiple community and school productions including all of Acting Up's shows to date, as well as Theatre Xavier’s productions of Miss Saigon and Les Miserables. Josh also does sound design, costume design and set construction. Josh will be a Junior at St. Xavier High School in the '07-'08 school year, but during his free time you can normally find him out on his bike or at home designing another show.
Sound Engineer & Magic Effects Consultant - Scott Meyer
Now in his fourth Acting Up production, Scott Meyer continues to try and get it right. Borrowing from his experience in radio and television production, Scott remains optimistic that the perfect sound is out there. When he’s not working on Acting Up productions, Scott is an actively performing magician in the Greater Cincinnati area and enjoys spending time with his family. In his spare time, Scott enjoys working with his Iditarod fantasy league and competitive break dancing. Unless someone more qualified comes along, Scott will continue to be an active part of Acting Up.
Set Construction - Dan Sheeran
Dan was the Producer for Acting Up's previous production, Thoroughly Modern Millie. He has earned several Orchid nominations for set construction for both Acting Up and Mason Community Players (MCP), and honored with an Orchid for Set Construction Manager for Acting Up's Grease. He has been the Technical Director for several MCP productions and Executive Producer for MCP's production of Cole. Dan has appeared on stage in MCP's Hello Dolly, 42nd Street, Stalig 17, The Sound of Music, and Fiddler on the Roof; as well as the JB Miller premier production of The Disappearance of Elizabeth Hutchinson. Dan has received Orchid nominations for set construction for MCP's Grand Night for Singing and The Second Time Around. Dan is very grateful to groups such as Acting Up and MCP for giving families the opportunity to be together doing something they enjoy. He encourages other families to join them!
Production Artist - Heidi Moody
Heidi has a BA in Graphic Design from Samford University. Heidi was responsible for transforming the artwork from Bob Fritsch's set design miniatures to a life size set, for Acting Up's productions of Honk! Jr. , Grease, Once on This Island and The Wizard of Oz. She has been nominated several times for Orchid awards for her set painting. She is also the creator of the imaginative logo for Acting Up's productions of Grease, Honk! Jr. and The Wizard of Oz. Heidi also designed the playbills for 4 of Acting Ups productions and has been nominated and won several Orchid awards for their designs. She has worked many years as a 2D/3D computer animation artist, and also enjoys painting large murals on any blank wall she can find.
Orchestration - Maestro Benjamin Price & The Ohio Metropolitan Theatrical Orchestra
The Ohio Metropolitan Theatre Orchestra (OMTO), under the guidance of Maestro Benjamin Price, is Southwest Ohio's premier award winning Theatre Orchestra. OMTO provided the wonderful live music for Acting Up's production of Honk! Jr. and The Wizard of Oz. Several members of the OMTO also made up the “Pit Crew” musical accompaniment for Grease, and several other members made up the musical accompaniment for our production of Once on this Island. The orchestra was founded in early 2004, and is made up of a dedicated group of musicians ranging from top music students, business professionals, music teachers and professional musicians. As well as accompanying regional theatre productions, it produces its own award winning performances featuring the music of Broadway, Pops, Opera, Hollywood and the world at large. Additionally, the members of the OMTO come together every Monday evening to rehearse and perform in the Ohio Met Studio at Mason Christian Village in Mason, Ohio.
Costume Designer - Andrea Ledford
Andrea was the costume designer for Acting Up’s Thoroughly Modern Mille, somehow managing approximately 300 costumes for a single show while keeping her day job as an accountant.
Acting Coach & Magic Effects Consultant - Brahm Corstanje
Brahm was avidly involved in acting during highschool. As an adult he has been involved in several local community theater productions, including acting roles in the Lebanon Theatre Company's A Thousand Clowns (for which he was nominated an Orchid Award for Excellence in Acting), The Octette Bridge Club, See How They Run, Little Mary Sunshine (for which he won an Orchid Award for Excellence in Acting in a Musical), and their yearly Gala Fundraiser. He has directed Grease for Acting Up and Charlotte's Web for the Children's Theatre of Mason. Brahm provided the magic special effects with Scott Meyer for Acting Up's Once on this Island, for which they won an Orchid Award. Brahm was responsible for Papa Ge's nightmarish make-up in Once on this Island, for which he received an OCTAFest Award for Outstanding in Make-up; and created the terrifying make-up for the Wicked Witch in Acting Up's production of The Wizard of Oz. He also has an ongoing spooky fundraiser project in the works for Acting Up. Brahm can be seen weekdays performing as a transactions attorney at The Procter & Gamble Company.
Special Effects - Lance Moody
Lance is a freelance film commercial editor and enjoys taking photos. Lance has been a part of Acting Up from its beginning. He did an amazing job with his video special effects in The Wizard of Oz by making the Witch-with-her-poppies, the terrifying green headed Wizard-and-his-fire, and the tornado-with-flying-cows come to life on the big screen. Lance also did the several special effects for Once on This Island, and won an Orchid Award for it. He is also Acting Up’s resident photographer and takes all the show, playbill and individual photos of the actors. He looks forward to doing many special effects for the upcoming Alice performance.
Magic Effects Consultant - Mark Wiechman
This is Mark’s second time working with Acting Up . Mark’s first involvement with Acting Up was creating special effects in The Wizard Oz (remember the Wicked Witch of the East's deflating and rolling up legs...or the melting/vanishing Wicked Witch of the West?). Mark has been very involved in the local magic clubs for the past 32 years. He has not only performed but has also directed a number of magic shows. Mark has also been a special effects and magic consultant for several other magicians. Mark enjoys his 6 grandchildren and when he is not involved with his family and magic he spends his time working on Count Marco Productions, LLC, which deals with Halloween products. Mark’s other interests include transforming his home into an annual Halloween display. He recently celebrated his 44th year creating this annual display, known as The Count Marco Haunted Castle. This display was proclaimed by the Mayor of North College Hill as the official Haunted Castle in the North College Hill Community.
Last updated Sat, November 28, 2009 3:25 PM
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