The Retro Productions Company:

Heather E. Cunningham Producing Artistic Director Actress, Designer	Heather E. Cunningham was most recently seen as Edith in Dear Ruth for Retro.  In 2007 Back Stage East named her as a “Performance to Remember” for her portrayal of Cheryl in Retro’s Still Life and in 2011 was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Actress in a Lead for her portrayal of Sheila in Retro's Benefactors.  Previous Retro roles include Women and War (world premiere), The Desk Set, Holy Days (NYC premiere), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?,  and Mrs. California (NYC premiere).  Performances with local companies include The Soundtrack Series, Young Playwrights, New York Theatre Workshop, and Vital Theatre among others. Her residency at Hedgerow Theatre included appearances in over a dozen productions. Other favorite credits: Silence, Cole/Noël - "Let's Fall in Love," Cat Among the Pigeons, Macbeth, Unveiling, Comedy 101, Women Who Dare, Evita, Four Dogs and a Bone and the short films Double the Treatment and Reunion. She is also a properties designer and is a 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee for Innovative Design with Casandera Lollar for their properties design for The Desk Set. She holds a B.F.A. in theatre performance from Denison University.  She is the Producing Artistic Director of Retro Productions.  www.heathercunningham.net	in Still Life by Emily Mann.
Becky Byers Company Member Actress	Retro Productions debut: Dear Ruth. Theater: Flux Theatre Ensemble’s Dog Act (Jojo - 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Award Nominee for Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role), Old Kent Road Theater’s Emancipatory Politics, A Romantic Tragedy (Becky), Boomerang Theatre Co’s Endless Summer Nights (Young Tracy), DMTheatrics’ Two Gentlemen of Lebowski (Bonnie/Choreographer) and Bitch Macbeth (Prime Asbury), Piper McKenzie’s Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury (Air Minion/Spunky Monkey) and Willy Nilly (Cass/Choreographer), Nosedive Productions’ The Little One (Cynthia-“The Little One”), Third Lows’ Penny Dreadful Series (Abigail Pierce) Film: Pain Cave Productions’ Play Hooky (Megan), The Electric Mess’ She Has a Funny Walk music video. Becky is a 2010 NYTheatre.com Person of the Year.	in Dear Ruth by Norman Krasna.
Lowell Byers Company Member Actor	Lowell Byers is a proud member of Retro Productions having been seen in the Retro Productions Cabaret, Holy Days and Women and War. He has been working in stage and film projects since his move to NYC and graduation from Denison University in 2008. Lowell is also a writer as he is currently developing a stage play based on his relative's experience as a POW in World War II. He has studied with Austin Pendleton of HB Studios and Peter Miner, Peter Jensen, and Terry Schreiber of the Terry Schreiber Studios.  Lowell was recently seen in Balm in Gilead at T. Schriber Studio where he was part of the 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominated Outstanding Ensemble. www.LowellByers.com	in Holy Days by Sally Nemeth.
Jack H.  and Rebecca Cunningham Company Members Designers	Jack and Beckie have designed Retro Production’s The Desk Set (nominated for a 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award), Women and War, Holy Days (with Justin Sturges), When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, The Tender Trap, Mill Fire (nominated for 2008 New York Innovative Theater Award for set design), What I Did Last Summer by A.R.Gurney, and Emily Mann’s Still Life (the latter two of which had costumes designed by Rebecca whose design for Summer was also nominated for a 2008 New York Innovative Theater Award for costume design). Over the years this husband-and-wife team has collaborated on productions from Aristophane’s Lysistrata to Von Weber’s Der Freischütz. Jack has designed productions in summer stock, regional theatre, university theatre, off- and off-off Broadway. Rebecca is Professor Emerita from Brooklyn College where she taught costume design and construction for 30 plus years. Rebecca is the 2008 recipient of the USITT Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design. She is also the author of the costume design textbook, The Magic Garment, as well as Basic Sewing for Costume Construction, both published by Waveland Press. Rebecca and Jack received MFA degrees in Theatre Design from Brooklyn College.	part of the set design for Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth. set design for What I Did Last Summer by A. R. Gurney.
Douglas B. Giorgis* Company Member Actor	Douglas B. Giorgis is a very proud member of Retro Productions having been seen in Dear Ruth, the Retro Productions Cabaret,  and The Desk Set.  In NYC, he has worked with Musicals Tonight!, NYLON Fusion Collective, Abingdon Theatre Company, Boomerang Theatre Company and Encore Entertainment Theatre Company.  He is also a company member of New Jersey Repertory Theatre and PlayGround in residence at Berkeley Rep.  On screen he has been seen in: commercials for Stride Gum and CONCACAF, an episode of "Celebrity Ghost Stories", as well as independent and student films.  Douglas is originally from the west coast where he recieved a degree in theatre from St. Mary's College and a certificate in acting from the American Conservatory Theater.  Production photos, song clips and a voice-over demo are available at:  www.auditionconnection.com/douglasgiorgis	in The Desk Set by William Marchant.
Lauren Kelston Company Member Actress	Lauren most recently appeared with Retro Productions in the Retro Productions Cabaret as well as Women and War and Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth for which she was nominated for a 2008 Innovative Theater Award for leading actress. Previous roles for Retro include Grace in A. R Gurney's What I Did Last Summer for Retro Productions.  Prior to that she was seen as Elizabeth in Six Degrees of Separation at the Access Theater. She appeared off-Broadway as Iris in the RAT Theatre Company’s world premiere of Maiden’s Progeny at 59E59 Theaters. She was featured as Allison Roberts in the film Last Night in Brooklyn produced by Cypher Productions, and more recently as a woman turned zombie in a short called Mommy Isn’t The Same Anymore. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Theater and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse.	in What I Did Last Summer by A. R. Gurney.
Jenny Kennedy* Company Member Crew, Stage Manager	Jenny most recently worked with Retro Productions on Women and War.  Additional stage management credits include The Desk Set, Holy Days (Retro); Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Red (Broadway); When I Come To Die (LCT3), Mr. & Mrs. Fitch (Second Stage Theatre), Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, Awake and Sing! (Jewish Repertory Theater), as well as four seasons with Chautauqua Theater Company. She holds a BA in Theater from SUNY College at Buffalo State.	Women and War by Jack Hilton Cunningham.
Jim Kilkenny Company Member Actor	Jim was last seen as Joe McCall in The Tender Trap for Retro Productions.  Previous roles include the Minister and OSHA investigator in Retro's Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth and the role of “The Stage Manager” in Mrs. California.  Prior to that Jim performed with a number of improvisational comedy groups at Gotham City Improv and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Besides improv, he has studied acting at the T. Schreiber Studio and commercial acting technique with David Cady.  He has also been in the studio to create a number of voiceover spots for radio and internet broadcast.  His most meaningful role in the past year and a half has been that of father and special entertainer to his toddler Liam, a role he continues to be most grateful for.	in The Tender Trap by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith.
Casandera M. J. Lollar Company Member Actress	Casandera M.J. Lollar is a proud member of Retro Productions, having been seen in The Tender Trap, When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, Holy Days, and Women and War.  A native Texan, she received her A.A. in Theater Arts at Angelina College, then moved to New York to complete the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Theater at Brooklyn College.  Other favorite credits include Nina in The Seagull, Maggie in Lend Me a Tenor, Eileen in June Moon, and Patsy in Side Man.  Casandera is also a costume and props designer, and is a 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee for Innovative Design with Heather Cunningham for their properties design on The Desk Set.    www.casandera.com	in Holy Days by Sally Nemeth .
Joe Mathers Company Member Actor	Retro Productions: Dear Ruth.  As a New Yorker for the last 12 years Joe has had the chance to work with amazing people, in almost every capacity theater has to offer, and is most grateful for those who have given him the opportunity to play onstage.  This is his first show with Retro Productions and he couldn’t be more excited.  He’d like to thank his family and friends, especially John Hurley and Crystal Skillman and of course Felicia.	in Dear Ruth by Norman Krasna .
Christopher Patrick Mullen* Company Member Actor	"CPM" most recently performed as Teddy in Retro Productions' When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?  He is a graduate of DeSales University and a member of the resident ensemble of artists at The People's Light & Theatre Company.  His regional credits include: Candide, and Assassins (Arden Theatre Co.); King Lear, Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker, The Mystery of Irma Vep, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, and Twelfth Night among many others (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival); Crispin: The Cross of Lead, The Tempest, The Crucible and Julius Caesar among many others (The People's Light & Theatre Co.); Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet among others (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre); The Pavilion (Chester Theatre Company); Hedda Gabler (Century Center): Amadeus (Hedgerow Theatre); and Quinnopolis vs. Hamlet with (Quinnopolis, NY).  TV credits: Law & Order.	in When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? by Mark Medoff.
Ben Philipp Company Member Designer	Ben Philipp designed costumes for Retro's productions of The Tender Trap and Benefactors.  He received his MFA in Costume Design from the University of Georgia.   Recent Stage Costume Designs include: Trousers, Too Far Gone Out in the Middle of Nowhere, Following Annie, Behind All Lines.  Ben has also worked as a Costume Production Assistant for Broadway, Television and Film. Confessions of a Shopaholic, ABC's Ugly Betty, FOX's Running Wilde, CBS's The Good Wife, NBC's 30 Rock, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, Too Big To Fail, and Broadway's Elf: the Musical.  He is currently the Costume Coordinator for ABC's new pilot: Pan Am.  Love Letters and Hate Mail can be sent to BPhilipp9@yahoo.com.   bpcostume.tumblr.com	The Tender Trap by Max Schulman and Robert Paul Smith.
Elise Rovinsky Company Member Actress	Elise is a graduate of the Stella Alder Conservatory of Acting. Before moving to New York she studied Drama at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. She was most recently seen in Women and War and as Sylvia Crewes in The Tender Trap (for which she garnered wonderful reviews). Previous roles for Retro include Mill Fire.  Other recent stage appearances include Rose Leiman Goldemberg’s Letters Home at New Dramatists, a Dorothy Parker one act, Just a Little One and Hamlet.   Elise has done a lot of film, TV and print work here in New York City. Most recently a feature, Fog Warning, with Emmy Award winning director Christopher Ward, Dandi Lyon with director Brian Kazmarck, a very funny webisode for the Onion News Network and a big print ad for Nationwide Insurance Company. www.eliserovinsky.com	in The Tender Trap by Max Shulman & Robert Paul Smith.
Ric Sechrest* Company Member Director, Actor	Actor/director/educator Ric Sechrest has helmed numerous productions throughout New York (including Retro Productions When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? by Mark Medoff, What I Did Last Summer by A. R. Gurney and Still Life by Emily Mann), Ohio and Maine and directed everything from Sam Shepard to Christopher Durang to Samuel Beckett. A member of Actors' Equity and AFTRA, he most recently appeared in Vaclav Havel's Redevelopment with Nomad Theatrical Company. He holds a BFA in acting from Syracuse University, an MA in Directing from the University of Maine and an MFA in acting from Ohio University.  Ric appeared onstage with Retro Productions as an actor as Charlie Reader in The Tender Trap and most recently as Abe Cutler in The Desk Set by William Marchant.  www.ricsechrest.com	in The Tender Trap by Max Shulman & Robert Paul Smith.
Alisha Spielmann Company Member Actress	Alisha was first seen with Retro Productions in Dear Ruth, The Retro Productions Cabaret, andThe Desk Set. Off Off Broadway: Native Speech, As You Like It, All's Well That Ends Well, Love In The Insecurity Zone. Lies and Romance (Boomerang Theatre Company) ForePlay: Secrets and Lies (Flux Theatre Ensemble); Ten Year Twilight (NoseDive Productions); Hack! (Vampire Cowboys); Bus Stop, The Learned Ladies, As You Like It (The Gallery Players).  Regional: As You Like It, The Christmas Carol (The Guthrie Theater); Twelfth Night (Hodge Theatre); The Last Train To Nibroc (Paul Bunyan Playhouse).  Training: June Stein, Andrew Wade.  Alisha received a B.A. in Theatre and Music from St. Olaf College.	in  Dear Ruth by Norman Krasna
Kathryn Squitieri Company Member Designer	Kathryn most recently did the costume designs for Retro's When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? and Mill Fire.  She was a scenic artist on Retro's Still Life by Emily Mann.  Kathryn is currently a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She developed her love of clothing and design when her mother and grandmother taught her to sew at a very young age. Her most recent design credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie for Fort Hamilton High School, the Children's Acting Academy's Annual Showcase of Young Talent, The Fighting Days for Brooklyn College, and The Miser for Out of the Box Theatre Company. Other favorite designs include Danny Boy the Play for DB Productions at the NY Fringe Festival, and Red Light Winter for Brooklyn College.  Kathryn made her onstage Retro debut in the Retro Productions Cabaret.  She holds a BFA in Design from Brooklyn College.	costume designs for Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth.
Matilda Szydagis* Company Member Actress	The story begins with Mrs. California, where Matilda worked with Heather for the first time. Since then, Matilda has performed with Retro in The Tender Trap, When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, The Desk Set, the first staged reading of Women and War at Bleecker Street Theatre, and Dear Ruth. A member of SAG and Actors' Equity, she's also had roles on The Sopranos, The Nanny Diaries, and a variety of commercials and print ads. She also directed Christie Perfetti's Our Beds are Crowded and Katarzyna Muller's Blue and Hometown (staged reading). Originally from Chicago, she is fluent in Polish and holds a degree in Anthropology from The University of Chicago.  She also attended AMDA as well as studying Meisner with JoAnna Beckson.  For more fun info, you are welcome to visit www.matildaszydagis.com.	in The Desk Set by William Marchant.
Aubrie Therrien Company Member Actress	Most recently Aubrie was seen as Sadel Meyer in Retro's The Desk Set.  Previous roles for Retro include Elsie in What I Did Last Summer by A. R. Gurney.  Aubrie hails from the good ol’ state of Virginia where she received her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Longwood University.  Since graduating in 2005, Aubrie has been performing regional theatre all over the country with companies such as Lexington Children’s Theatre, The Legend of Blue Jacket and The National Players.  Some of her favorite roles include Echo in Eleemosynary, Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, Sarah in Stop Kiss and Viola in Twelfth Night.	in What I Did Last Summer by A. R. Gurney.
Jeanne E. Travis* Company Member Designer, Company Stage Manager	Jeanne E. Travis is a proud member of Retro Productions since 2008.  Jeanne's designs have been heard in numerous Retro Productions including Dear Ruth, Benefactors, The Desk Set (NYIT 2010 Outstanding Sound Nomination), Holy Days, Women and War, and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?.  A native South Texan, Jeanne holds a double B.A. in music and theatre from Texas A&M University-CC. Jeanne also enjoys pulling double duty for Retro Productions as a Stage Manager. Jeanne is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association.  She plays the flute and piano and composes daily.	The Desk Set by William Marchant.
Kristen Vaughan Company Member Actress	Kristen was most recently seen in Retro's Benefactors as Jane for which she was nominated for two 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Awards as part of an Outstanding Ensemble as well as Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role - which she won.  Previously for Retro she was seen in The Desk Set as Bunny (New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee for Outstanding Leading Actress 2010) and in Mill Fire  as Sunny (2008 New York Innovative Theater Award nominee for Outstanding Leading Actress).  She has played Nadine in Emily Mann's Still Life and Mrs. San Francisco in Mrs. California for Retro Productions.  Her prior credits in New York include; The Cocktail Party (TSI), Blue (TSI), Not In My Name (The Living Theatre), and F (Manhattan Theatre Source); in Santa Cruz, CA; Five Flights; Altruists; Lararmie Project; Food Chain (Pisces Moon Productions); Film; Gambling (San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Feb. 2006).  Kristen grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has a BA in Acting from UW-Madison.  www.kristenvaughan.com	in Mill Fire by Sally Nemeth.
Richard Waddingham* Company Member Actor	Richard was last seen in Retro's When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? as Lyle.  Credits include: The Skin Game The MInt Theater Company.  Theatre Lila's Firecracker (Checkhov Adaptation), The Samuel Beckett Theatre. Their Daughter NYC International Fringe Festival; Abingdon Theatre, Tracks Beneath the WheelsPublic Ghosts - Private Stories George Street Playhouse, THe Importance of Being Ernest,  The Crucible  The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, A Man for All Seasons  Mill Mountain Theatre, Indians  City Theatre Co. (Pgh),  The Beauty Queen of Leenane Philadelphia Theatre Company, Lost Creek Twp., Crossroads Theatre Co., Molly sSweeney  The Redhouse Theatre Syracuse.  Relatively Speaking, Bedroom Farce and Corpse!; Cortland Repertory Theatre.  Film: Watching the Detectives.   MFA, Acting: Rutgers - Mason Gross School of Arts.  Member AEA/SAG.  Thanks to Patty and my family for their abundant love and support.	in When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? by Mark Medoff.
Peter Zinn Company Member Director	Peter most recently directed Retro's Benefactors (2011 NYITAward nominated for Oustanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble), Women and War  and Holy Days.  He began his career as an actor in Chicago where he performed with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, Apple Tree Theatre and others.  He has also performed with The Milwaukee Rep, The Geffen Theatre, and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.  Earlier this year, he wrote and directed the play, Rumspringa off-Broadway at The Bleecker Street Theatre.  Last year, his one-act play, Waiting to Land, was produced at The HB Playwrights Foundation Theatre.  In addition to writing and directing, Peter also works as a voice over artist and has voiced hundreds of TV and radio commercials as well as narrated TV programs for the Discovery Channel, MTV Networks, and E! Entertainment Television.	Holy Days by Sally Nemeth.
Company Membership is by invitation from the Artistic Director.  Auditions are open to non-members and members alike.  Watch for audition notices or check out the contact us page for information on how to submit. *denotes member of Actors' Equity Association.

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