The Manic Monologues

Elena Araoz directs theater, opera, and virtual performance internationally, Off-Broadway, and regionally, with productions at BAM, Cherry Lane, New York City Opera, Prague Shakespeare, New York Theatre Workshop Next Door, Bucharest International Theatre, Glimmerglass Opera, Oregon Symphony, PEN America. At Princeton University she leads Innovations in Socially Distant Performance.

http://elenaaraoz.com/

Jared Mezzocchi is an Obie Award-winning multimedia director and designer. He received the Lucille Lortel and Henry Hewes Award for his projection design on Qui Nguyen's Vietgone at Manhattan Theater Club (2016). In December 2020, The NY Times highlighted his multimedia efforts during the pandemic on a list of 5 national artists making an impact during this time. He is a tenured faculty member at the University of Maryland, where he created the MFA Curriculum for Projections and Multimedia Design, and is the Producing Artistic Director of Andy's Summer Playhouse, an innovative children's theater in NH that produces new work between children and professional artists from all over the world. He is a 2012 Princess Grace Award winner and a 2-time fellow of Macdowell Colony, where he recently went to work on his book A Multimedia Designer's Method to Theatrical Storytelling, which will be released in Fall 2021 through Routledge Publishers.

Nathan Leigh has worked on over 300 plays as a composer, sound designer, and writer. Since 2010, he has served as the staff music writer for AFROPUNK.com. His latest album Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Other Stuff I Made Up To Sound Interesting was released in April 2020 on Flowerpot Records. https://nathanleigh.net/

Jackie Liu is an artist, programmer, and designer. Interdisciplinary-at-heart, she works across digital product design, tech education, and web programming with the goal of exploring inclusive cultures for computing. She is a graduate of NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program and holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

https://jackieis.online/

Zachary Burton, Ph.D. co-founded and currently leads The Manic Monologues. He is managing editor of a post-traumatic growth storytelling nonprofit, a board member of the Columbia-WHO Center for Global Mental Health, and a board director of Kenya’s Coalition for Action for Preventive Mental Health.

Zack received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and lives with bipolar disorder. 

Elisa Hofmeister co-founded The Manic Monologues and is currently a first-year medical student at the University of Minnesota. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology and has conducted clinical and scientific research for Stanford’s School of Medicine and for KAIST in South Korea. She is passionate about destigmatizing mental health.

Milan Eldridge is a theater designer, stage manager, and filmmaker. She is passionate about exploring peculiar interpretations of the world. Her recent virtual theater work includes Princeton University’s All Her Power, Virginia Grise’s a farm for meme, and Rhythm of the Arts’ SUGAR SKULL! A Virtual Día de Muertos Adventure.

Miranda Allegar is a senior at Princeton University from Houston, Texas. She studies public policy, cognitive science, and theater. She is deeply interested in intersections – of culture, of identities, and of disciplines, focused on the impact of communication and language on interpersonal connection.

Katharine Matthias is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Comparative Literature. She works as a researcher with Innovations in Socially Distant Performance and has worked as a director, playwright, performer, and designer at the Lewis Center for the Arts. She is directing Arlington at the Lewis Center this spring.

Theater: Shrek The Musical (Broadway), The Low Road (Public Theater), Happy Days at The Wild Project, Macbeth (dir. Elena Araoz).

TV: Caitlin Miller on "Younger" (TVLand), "Generation" (HBOMax). "Law & Order: SVU", "The Family", "The Good Wife", "Instinct".

Films include Blame and Barry.

Princeton University Class ’20

Based in LA, Anna Belknap has appeared extensively on television, most notably as Detective Lindsay Monroe on "CSI: NY" for eight seasons. She has performed at various theaters in NYC and around the country.

Anna previously worked with director Elena Araoz on Azaan, a joint theater/orchestra piece with the Oregon Symphony.

Craig Bierko starred as Chet Wilton for four seasons in the hit Lifetime series "UnREAL". Craig’s previous television credits include large roles in the Farrelly Brothers’ sitcom "Unhitched" (FBC) and David E. Kelley’s "Boston Legal" (ABC). Additionally, Craig has done numerous guest appearances including "Blue Bloods", "Tin Star", "Kevin Can Wait", "Damages", "The Good Wife", "Necessary Roughness", and "Sex and the City".

Recent film credits include Fair Market Value and Catfight. Previously: Anthony Fabian’s Louder Than Words opposite David Duchovny, Hope Davis, and Timothy Hutton, The Change Up (Universal), The Three Stooges (20th Century Fox), SCARY MOVIE 4 (Weinstein/Disney), Christopher Guest’s For Your Consideration, Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man (Universal), Renny Harlin's Long Kiss Goodnight and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Universal), amongst several others.

In the theatre, Craig completed a successful run earlier this year in George Eastman’s Off-B’way production of Harry Townsend's Last Stand alongside Len Cariou at New York City Center. Craig appeared in the 2012 NY Philharmonic performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Company directed by Lonny Price. He starred in Des McAnuff’s Tony-Nominated Broadway production of Guys & Dolls as Sky Masterson, as well as the critically acclaimed Broadway run of Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man in the role of Professor Harold Hill. For his extraordinary performance, he received a nomination for the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama League Award. He was the winner of The Theater World Award for that same year.

Broadway: Slave Play (Tony nomination), Hair, Lysistrata Jones.

Off-Broadway: The Rolling Stone at Lincoln Center Theater (Drama League Award nomination), Slave Play at NYTW (Lortel Award nomination), The Total Bent at The Public (Drama League & Lortel nominations), more.

Film/TV: Worth, BlacKkKlansman, ‪The Kindergarten Teacher, Detroit, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, “When They See Us” (Netflix), “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon), “She’s Gotta Have It” (Netflix), “The Good Fight” (CBS).

Mike Carlsen is honored to be a part of this important project fostering healthy conversations about mental health.

He’s been seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-Winning THE COAST OF UTOPIA and his off-broadway credits include BLUES FOR MR CHARLIE, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, SPIRITS OF EXIT ELEVEN, and many others.

Mike is best known for playing Mikey Politano on the Emmy nominated show UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. Other credits include 30 ROCK, BLUE BLOODS, LAW AND ORDER, THE GOOD WIFE, and many others.

He’s most recently been seen on the big screen opposite Billy Crystal in STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN and his other film credits include A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, 11:55, and WRECK-IT RALPH. Mike is a graduate of SUNY Purchase.

As an actor, Maddie began her career as a teenager, starring in After School Specials and the seminal 80’s movies SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN and SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL. Her many TV guest roles include all 3 LAW & ORDERs, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, SMASH, THE GOOD WIFE, NURSE JACKIE, GIRLS, DIVORCE, and HIGH MAINTENANCE. She has recurring roles on YOUNGER and MADAME SECRETARY and BULL.

Films: WONDER WHEEL, 5 FLIGHTS UP, PEACE LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING, MORNING GLORY, IRA & ABBY, WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, I THINK I DO, MY NEW GUN, SWINGERS, and FORD FAIRLANE. Maddie is Lady Aberlin to Tom Hanks’ Mr. Rogers in A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

Broadway: Geoffrey Naufft's Tony-nominated NEXT FALL, and Roundabout Theatre’s revival of PICNIC.

Off-Broadway: Maddie has been seen in the Obie award-winning APPROPRIATE by Brendan Jacobs Jenkins at The Signature, Nora and Delia Ephron’s LOVE LOSS and WHAT I WORE, Wendy Wasserstein’s ISN’T IT ROMANTIC, and at Lincoln Center in Richard Greenberg’s THE BABYLON LINE. She wrote, co-directed, and stars in the short film HOW WAS YOUR DAY which was selected by Tribeca Film Fest for their “Watch this short” series. Maddie was selected to be a Playwright in Residence at NY Stage and Film where she developed her first full-length play, ACCIDENTALLY BRAVE.

Daryl Roth produced the play in NY at her DR2 theatre and the solo piece had a critically acclaimed run. Maddie was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award and won the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for best solo performance.

Alexis Cruz is an actor, writer, director, and producer. He has starred in “The Old Man and the Sea” with Anthony Quinn, “The Streets of Laredo” with Sam Shepard and Sissy Spacek, HBO’s “P.O.W.E.R.: The Eddie Matos Story” & “Grand Avenue”, as well as "Stargate" with Kurt Russell and James Spader; later recurring on the hit Sy-Fy show, "Stargate SG-1" as Skaara. He was also the angel Raphael on CBS' "Touched By An Angel" with Roma Downey and Della Reese, and Martin Allende on CBS’ “Shark” with James Woods. Alexis has also appeared in “Castle” with Nathan Fillion, Gregory Nava’s “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” With Larenz Tate, Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell", and Adult Swim’s “Eagleheart”.

In addition to his film and tv credits, Cruz has narrated and produced the audiobook series “The Catherine Kimbridge Chronicles” for Amazon, and is the creator of the graphic novel series "The Unprofessionals”.

Mateo Ferro has garnered critical acclaim for his work on stage and screen. TV credits include NBC’s Manifest and CBS’s Bull. Feature film credits include 16 Bars, The Country Club, Bleecker. His breakthrough start was in Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In The Heights at the Kennedy Center which he booked through an open call. He starred as Sonny opposite Anthony Ramos & Vanessa Hudgens. He was named the Outstanding Performance of the Year in a Professional Show for his performance by Washington DC’s Metro Theatre Arts. He has been seen in starring roles in NY City Center Encores’ Working: A Musical alongside Helen Hunt and Christopher Jackson and The Sibling Play at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre.

Wilson Jermaine Heredia is a Williamsburg, Brooklyn native, born to Dominican parents. While at Hunter College he got his first role in The New Americans by Elizabeth Swados. Since then he’s never looked back. In 1996 He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor In A Musical for his portrayal of Angel in the Musical Rent. He reprised the role in the 2005 film. He's been in TV shows from Law & Order SVU to Banshee on Cinemax and films featuring Robert De Niro and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

He’s produced small shows and is in the process of producing his own.

Sam Morales is an NYC based Actress. Off-Broadway: Medea (starring Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, BAM); The Tempest (The Public); Pericles (dir. Trevor Nunn), The Skin of Our Teeth, Measure for Measure (TFANA); The Courage to Right a Woman's Wrongs (Red Bull Theater). Regional: The House on the Hill (World Premiere, CATF); Woman in Mind (Delaware REP); Teach, Last Night in Inwood (Gulfshore Playhouse). TV: “Law & Order: SVU”; “FBI”. She's proudly represented by DGRW. For more, check out
www.officialsammorales.com.

Bi Jean Ngo is an Actress, Director, and Educator. She holds an MFA from The Actors' Studio Drama School at New School University and a Bachelors of Science in Film and Television from Boston University. She additionally trained at Dell'Arte International, The Suzuki Company of Toga, Shakespeare and Company, and The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski. She works predominantly in Philadelphia and its surrounding region and has appeared onstage at InterAct Theatre Company, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre, Arden Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, 1812 Productions, Theatre Horizon, Delaware Shakespeare, Shakespeare in Clark Park, and more. Bi is an Associate Artist at Delaware Shakespeare and an adjunct faculty member at Bryn Mawr College. She is a recipient of the Fox Foundation Fellowship Award administered through TCG and a recipient of the Philadelphia Emerging Artist Barrymore Award.

website: www.bijeanngo.com, instagram: @bijeango

TV: The Chi, Queen of the South, Bull, Power, The Code, The Family, Vinyl, Blue Bloods.

Film: Seneca, Adult World, 7E, Brooklyn’s Finest, CHE, National Treasure, Garden State, World Trade Center, Fever Pitch, Bella, 25th Hour. Off-B’way: The Fundamentals (Steppenwolf), Junk (La Jolla Playhouse), Toast (Public); Happiest Song Plays Last (Lortel nomination - Outstanding Lead Actor) and Water by the Spoonful (2nd Stage); Sonia Flew (SPF); Four (MTC). Regional: La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman, Wilma, Lookingglass, Victory Gardens, About Face.

Education: B.S.S.P. Northwestern University.

Jon Norman Schneider is a NY based actor, last seen onstage as the Fool in King Lear (Northern Stage). 

Regional: Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley, Alliance, Barrington Stage, Dorset Theatre Festival, Goodman, Huntington, Kennedy Center, Long Wharf, Magic, McCarter, Milwaukee Rep, Mosaic, Old Globe.

Film/TV: Bitter Melon, The Normals, HBO's Angel Rodriguez, "Succession" "Jessica Jones". "Veep", "30 Rock" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent".

Heather Alicia Simms is the founder of Hustle Spirit Productions. She was most recently seen in the production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fairview at TFANA where she reprised her work from the original production. She is also very proud of her time at The Signature Theatre under Lynn Nottage’s
residency with Fabulation and By The Way, Meet Vera Stark for which she won a 2019 Obie. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed world premiere production of Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue at The Public. Broadway: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Raisin in the Sun, Gem of the Ocean. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.

Off-B’way: born bad (Soho Rep), Insurrection Holding History (The Public), Breath, Boom (Playwrights Horizons), The Correspondent (Rattlestick), A Beautiful Day in November...(New Georges), Sense of an Ending (59E59), The Exonerated (Culture Project/Riverside Studios UK) and many regional theater productions.

Film credits include Red Hook Summer, Nanny Diaries, Broken Flowers, Head of State. TV: High Maintenance, Marvel’s Luke Cage, The Last O.G., Broad City, Seven Seconds, Roxanne, Roxanne, Law & Order, others. Heather is an accomplished voiceover artist whose work can be heard in commercials and audiobooks. Awards/Affiliations: Fox Foundation Fellowship Round 4, Audie Award, The Actors Center. Education: Tufts University, B. A., Columbia University, MFA. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Broadway: Bronx Bombers, The Big Knife, Festen, Henry IV, The Best Man.

Off-B’way: On the Shore of the Wide World, Hold on to me Darling (Lortel nom.), Dying for It, Our New Girl, Offices, The Voysey Inheritance (Atlantic); Medieval Play, Lady from Dubuque (Signature); Bronx Bombers, Happy Now?(Lortel nom. Primary Stages); All-American (LCT3). Regional: Mark Taper, Old Globe, Shakespeare Theatre, Berkshire Theatre. Film: Irresistible, Manchester-by-the-Sea, A Vigilante, Demolition, The  Intern.

TV: "The Blacklist," "Quantico," "Bull," "Elementary," "Looming Tower," "The Sinner," "Homeland," "The Characters," "The Sound of Music Live!" "The Following" "The Good Wife," "Blue Bloods," "Onion Sportsdome," "Brotherhood," "Law & Order: SVU," "L&O: CI," "Without a Trace."