Chapter Fourteen: Spotlight on Brian Hashimoto

Meet Brian Hashimoto. He is the Executive Producer of Hangman School for Girls. Brian is a director, actor, photographer and producer based in New York. Directing credits include: Porn.edu and Fore Play or Red Play as part of FOREPLAYS (Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn), Clean Sheets (Vintage Loft, NYC), La Boheme (Connecticut Lyric Opera, New London, CT); 4 Directions and The Flying Machine (The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center); A Number and 4.48 Psychosis (Ithaca College). Acting credits include: Negative Space (Looking Glass Theatre, NYC & Florence Griswald Museum, Old Lyme, CT); The Lover and Persepolis (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford, CT); Metamorphoses (Underground Theater, Ithaca, NY). Brian received his B.A. in Drama from Ithaca College and is an alumnus of the National Theater Institute. Additionally, he has trained at the St. Petersburg Theater Academy in Russia as well as Balinese Mask at Studio 5 in Brooklyn, NY. www.hashimoto.printroom.com

1. What is your favorite word?
Schnitzengruben
2. What is your least favorite word?
Never
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Fearless passion
4. What turns you off?
Closed-mindedness
5. What is your favorite curse word?
HolyFrackinTurdBiscuit, SonnofaFuckingBiii-etch
6. What sound or noise do you love?
The breeze on top of a mountain
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
The sound of stupidity
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
If photographer doesn't count, then special effects creator for movies.
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything to do with taxes.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"You're a good man. Here's a free pass to go back and do it again. Keep using it until you've done and seen everything."

Chapter Thirteen: Spotlight on Laura Wiese

Meet Laura Wiese. She is our Costume Designer. Over the years Laura has become the unofficial go-to costume designer for FullStop Collective and she is happy to be working with both Vagabond and FullStop on Hangman School for Girls! Previous costume designs include Girl Words and Diving in December for FullStop Collective as well as designs for such plays as No Exit and The Importance of Being Earnest. Laura is perhaps better known for her work as an actor, singer and voice over artist. Favorite projects include Proof (Catherine), Seussical (Gertrude McFuzz), the national tour of A Christmas Carol, and FullStop's sexy recent production, FOREPLAYS. Laura lends her voice to animation, commercial and narration voice over, having voiced commercial projects for such brands as Clear Eyes and Walmart. Her character voicework was recently showcased on the popular channel of youtube celebrity "brentalfloss". She holds a BFA in Acting from Drake University and is a proud Alumnus of the Eugene O'Neill National Theater Institute. For more on Laura's wide variety of projects check out www.laurawiese.com.

Fave word: serendipitously
Least fave word: regurgitate
Turn on: Space and freedom
Turn offs: Narrow minds
Fave curse word: Shit balls
Sound I love: a symphony of strings
Sound I hate: Water, being poured into a glass. I have never understood my hatred for this noise.
Profession I want to try: Anything in Energy Healing: Reiki, Massage, etc.
Profession I DON"T want: Anything in Medical Healing. Rock on to the people who can. I never could.
God: "Welcome to heaven Laura! Here's an ever filling bucket of french fries for you!"

Chapter Twelve: Spotlight on Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann

Meet Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann. She’s our Sound Designer. Chelsea is a Sound Designer and Actress currently living in New York moonlighting as a Production Manager during the day. She has a BFA in Theatre from NYU, and returned to New York last year after two years abroad in Ireland. In her spare time she does things like sleep and eat and read and knit and listen to different sounds and write notes about where those sounds can be used to adequately highlight dramatic tension. She also wears a lot of hats (literally, though arguably metaphorically as well). Her past credits are varied in terms of location, role, and genre, from Sandy in Grease to sound designing 4.48 Psychosis, and she is excited to be working FullStop & The Vagabonds and any other motley member that finds it's way into this production. The photo shown was taken on the completion of a sound installation she created for the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and probably a good indication of what she looks like at the end of any challenging, intricate, wonderful project - keep an eye out for a new one at the completion of Hangman!


1. What is your favorite word? To say aloud, "indicative." To define, "Dionysian."
2. What is your least favorite word? Skanky.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Wit and a good bass line.
4. What turns you off? Pig or big headedness.
5. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck. I'm old school.
6. What sound or noise do you love? Ah for fuck's sake this is an unfair question. The inside of a train. And a million other things. Next.
7. What sound or noise do you hate? Teeth on fabric.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Talk Show Host. Or "Heiress."
9. What profession would you not like to do? Accountant.
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadowlands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”

Chapter Eleven: Spotlight on Jacquelyn D. Marolt

We have DESIGNERS! It will be my distinct pleasure, over the next few blog updates, to introduce you to the creative team who will bring the world of Hangman School for Girls to life. Let us begin.

Meet Jacquelyn D. Marolt. She’s our Set Designer. Jacquelyn is a set designer and scenic artist who has designed numerous productions at Vital Theatre, The Looking Glass Theatre, and Millbrook Theatre. Last summer, Jacquelyn designed Arcadia and The Clean House at New Century Theatre. She is currently the resident designer for Axial Theatre Company, with recent credits including Angels and Visions and Cherrie and Jerry. Jacquelyn received her B. A. from Smith College where she could usually be spotted in a stylish costume of either spattered paint, rugby socks, a dance leotard, or all of the above. She is thrilled to be making her design debut with FullStop, and to have the pleasure of working again with Leta.

And, as always, we’ll end with the Pivot Questionnaire as seen on Inside the Actors Studio:

1. What is your favorite word? Katzenjammer
2. What is your least favorite word? Can't
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Amy Ray
4. What turns you off? People who hate their jobs.
5. What is your favorite curse word? Cunt
6. What sound or noise do you love? Frying Bacon
7. What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of the train you just missed pulling out of the station.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Trapeze Artist
9. What profession would you not like to do? Dishwasher
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "Glad you made it, things are starting to get boring around here."

Chapter Ten: Spotlight on Nick Afka

Meet Nick Afka. He plays Desk, a discrete, distinguished, powerful and protective male confidant. Nick is a writer, actor and Londoner. He has recently been writing for and performing in the world's longest-running comedy sketch show Newsrevue- which thankfully updates every week, since it's a satire on the news. He has been a column-writer for the Guardian newspaper in the UK, published a book on how to do difficult sudokus and released a board game. He has devised a method to make innumerate people become numerate and is currently writing his third book about maths for a Japanese publisher. Recent acting credits include the short films Meat..., Making Britain Less Crap, and Living Into The Future. Roles include Glottenbal in the Georgian play Orra, Jay in If You Lived Here You Would Be Home By Now, Simon Bliss in Noel Coward's Hayfever and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

What is your favorite word? cariad

What is your least favorite word? zizz

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? New ideas

What turns you off? nit-picking

What is your favorite curse word? Cum-juggler (but then I did just make it up)

What sound or noise do you love? Leaf-rustle interspersed with bird-chirrup.

What sound or noise do you hate? The faint screech of cotton wool being rent apart.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? astronaut

What profession would you not like to do? pedicurist

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Right, that's me done, here are the keys, see if you can do a better job.

Chapter Nine: Spotlight on Meryl Ballew

Meet Meryl Ballew. She is our stage manager. She's an on-again, off-again New Yorker who loves travelling and hates rude people. She's an Ithaca College graduate and was an intern at the Juilliard School for the 08-09 season. Currently she is doing the work of multiple people for an off-broadway theatrical production company trying to work her way up in the world. She's stage managed for the Aspen Opera Theatre Company, Friends in Theatre/ The Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Metropolis Opera Project among others. She's very excited to be working alongside such a creative group of people and hopes that everyone will come out to show support!

1. What is your favorite word? onomatopoeia
2. What is your least favorite word? cunt
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? music, particularly live music
4. What turns you off? negativity
5. What is your favorite curse word? bitch
6. What sound or noise do you love? running water or ocean waves
7. What sound or noise do you hate? crunching of food
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? trained assassin
9. What profession would you not like to do? be president (too much responsibility and spotlight)
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Glad you could make it. The gang's all here. (I obviously think God watches too many cheesy movies)

Chapter Eight: Spotlight on Lucy Gillespie

Meet Lucy Gillespie. Not only is she our talented playwright but she also plays Hazel, a highly imaginative 11-14 year-old girl. Lucy is an Anglo-American writer and performer who is mostly interested in bad people, and the people who suffer them. Writing and collaborating credits include Driving Lesson (Strawberry One-Act Festival), Keeping the Light: Stories of Lighthouse Keepers (Mystic Seaport, CT), Shadow Dracula (Northwestern), and Adrift (Theatermakers Ensemble, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center). As an actor, Lucy has performed with FullStop Collective in NYC, Remy Bumppo Theater Company and the Oak Park Festival Theater in Chicago, the Mystic Seaport, and at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Summer Playwright's Conference. She is also the author of The Pith and the Peel, a novella about a woman who kills and eats her husband. Her second full-length play, Atwater Project; a fictionalized study into the death of Republican Spin-Doctor Lee Atwater, has been developed through the terraNOVA Groundbreakers Program. Lucy holds a BA from Northwestern University in Theater and Fiction Writing.

Her answers (refer to the other spotlight posts for the questions):

1. Penultimate
2. Pudding
3. Coffee and grace
4. People who do not listen.
5. Shithead
6. The final water droplets falling from the tap into a hot, full bath.
7. The sound of teeth scraping a fork.
8. Teacher
9. Accountant
10. There would be this fantastic dinner party going on - with all these interesting people from history. God would pull me up a chair, give me a wink and invite me into the conversation.

Chapter Seven: Spotlight on Sarah Ann Masse

Meet Sarah Ann Masse. She plays Chelsea, a well-adjusted and lovely 11-14 year-old girl. Sarah is a founding member and the Producing Director of The Vagabond Theatre Ensemble.


NYC acting credits include: The Constable/The Fiddler in The last 40 minutes of Fiddler (The Cell), Mrs. Darling in Peter~Wendy (walkerspace), The Wicked Witch of The West in The Wizard of Oz, Lord, I’m Coming Home (VTE, The Cabin Fever Festival), Madame Sosostris in February, a Pageant (the tank), The Wife in The Wendy Complex (VTE, The Access Gallery April 08 and @ 9th Annual MITF July 08), and Schaunard in Speaking Bohème all directed by Jeremy Bloom. Other NYC credits include Kate in Animalia (reading, VTE Cabin Fever Festival), Hitler/Warhol’s mother in Wintertime for Warhol (reading, The Cell, Exhibit Z productions), Isabella in Measure for Measure (TSI/Playtime Classic Series) and the workshop of DeCADEnce (Rising Sun Performance Company). Regional: Anything Goes (Dir. Roger Rees) and Uncle Sam I am (Dir. Sam Breslin Wright/Kris Kukul) at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Louisa in Toes at The Stratford Festival Theatre. She has worked extensively with The Greylock Theatre Project at The Williamstown Theatre Festival which is based on The 52nd Street Project. As a singer she has performed at Birdland in NYC and at The Williamstown Theatre Festival in their Late Night Cabarets, performing with Malcolm Gets, Kerry Butler and Sandra Shipley. Sarah is a producer of theater and film collaborating often with Cal Robertson, Mark Maclaine, Jeremy Bloom and The Silence Corporation. In addition she is a nanny, a singer of all sorts, a traveler and a writer of an internet sitcom.

What is your favorite word? wonder
What is your least favorite word? moist
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? honesty
What turns you off? selfishness
What is your favorite curse word? motherfucker
What sound or noise do you love? drums
What sound or noise do you hate? Nails. Chalkboard. ::shudder::
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Photo Journalist
What profession would you not like to do? Prison Guard
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “You did well. Come in. Everyone you love is here or will be joining us soon.”

Chapter Six: Spotlight on Briel Pomerantz

Meet Briel Pomerantz. She plays Dina, a first generation Anglo-Turkish 11-14 year-old girl, funny and a little on edge. Briel is a California girl with an East coast sensibility. She holds a BA in Theatre from UC Irvine and has been living in New York City for two years. She has appeared in numerous productions regionally in California and here in New York City. She is also a proud company member of the Vagabond Theatre Ensemble. She is a single lady looking for a man to make her laugh and loves chocolate. And most importantly, she is excited to be performing again, because she loves it. She also lives to laugh. Check her out at her website at www.brielpomerantz.com.

The Pivot Questionnaire:

What is your favorite word? Equilibrium

What is your least favorite word? A toss up between clammy or moist

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Good food

What turns you off? Negativity

What is your favorite curse word? Fuck

What sound or noise do you love? Laughter

What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of someone smacking their gum

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Chef/Baker

What profession would you not like to do? Mortician

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Welcome to heaven, you look fabulous, your family is over there, and have whatever you want to eat.”

Chapter Five: Spotlight on Louiza Collins

Meet Louiza Collins. She plays Anna, an 11-14 year-old girl with a mean streak. Louiza attended the fine "educational" institute known as the California Institute of the Arts. She received her BFA in theater in May of '09. Having become a recent New Yorker she has also become a huge fan of happy hour. Her New York credits include this production of Hangman School for Girls and the world premiere of Unum by Will Eno, directed by Jim Simpson at The Flea Theater.

And the Pivot Extra Credit Questions:

Favorite Word: uniun
Least favorite word: totally
Favorite Sound: Nina simone's voice
Least Favorite Sound: people yelling out of anger
What turns me on: Spontaneous public art
Turn off: pretty much turned on by everything
Favorite curse word: Fuckin-A
Profession I would like to attempt: Own and run a bakery
Profession I would never want to attempt: politician!! Agghhh so scary!
If God exists: "It's fine, everything is fine"