CREATIVE TEAM
KEN RUSSELL (Director) Internationally acclaimed, directed 81 films including Oscar-winning Women in Love, Tommy, Altered States, Devils, The Boy Friend, Music Lovers, Mahler, Gothic, Lair of the White Worm, Boudica Bites Back; and award-winning docu-dramas on composers like Elgar, Debussy and Delius for BBC-TV. Directed opera productions including Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, Faust. Also known for his photo stills of 1950’s London, nine books including just released A British Picture and a current weekly arts column in the London Times. Lives and still makes movies in England.
ANTHONY HOROWITZ (Playwright) is best known as screenwriter and novelist. Born in London and educated at Rugby School and York University. Published his first novel at 22 and created the Alex Rider novels—now a global phenomenon—as well as many successful TV shows including Foyle's War and Midsomer Murders. He is married with two sons.
ELIZE RUSSELL (Assistant to the Director) Also on the film Trapped Ashes. Actor in nine Ken Russell films including Mystery of Mata Hari and BBC-TV’s Elgar: Composer on a Bicycle. As playwright, indie plays produced in NYC are Narcissa and Lightbody.
DEE WICKERT (Production Stage Manager) Tours: The Full Monty, Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Off Broadway: Red Beads, BE by Mayumana (Drama Desk nomination), Frequency Hopping.
BEOWULF BORITT (Set Design) Broadway: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, LoveMusik, Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. Off Broadway: More than 50 including The Last Five Years, Rock of Ages, Saint Lucy’s Eyes, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Miss Julie, Public Theater, MTC, Second Stage, New Group, MCC. 2007 & 2008 Barnum & Bailey Circus. Awards: Obie, Barrymore, Audelco, 3 Drama Desk Noms.
JASON LYONS (Lighting Design) won much praise for his work on the recent revival of The Three Penny Opera on Broadway. His other Broadway credits include Barefoot in the Park and Good Vibrations. Among his numerous Off Broadway credits are Clay, Rafta Rafta, Scarcity, Sive, Rock of Ages, Hurly Burly and Sleepwalk with Me.
MELISSA BRUNING (Costume Design) Regional theatre/opera credits: My Antonia, Rubicon Theater, The Italian Straw Hat, Music Academy of the West, Anoush, Michigan Opera Theater among others. Films: Love Ranch, Five Dollars A Day, Kissing Jessica Stein, Super Troopers, Club Dread and other independent films and commercials.
BERNARD FOX (Sound Designer) has designed original Broadway musicals, including City of Angels, Sophisticated Ladies, Circle In The Square’s Sweeney Todd. He is the inventor of the first Theatrical Sound Automation system. In film he has done sound for Academy Award-winning When We Were Kings, Harlan County and other music movies. As a recording engineer/producer for 40 years, his credits include many Gold and Platinum albums including Best of Tonight Show, Bo Diddley, Ray Barretto, Ellis Marsalis, Celia Live at Yankee Stadium.
J. DAVID BRIMMER (Fight Director) Fight Master, SAFD has choreographed some stuff (NY: Speed the Plow, Spring Awakening, Blasted, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Almost an Evening, Come Back, Little Sheba, The American Pilot, Blackbird,Bug, Killer Joe), played at some wonderful venues (NYSF, Metropolitan Opera, MTC, TFNA, Dallas Theater Center, Hartford Center Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, The Guthrie), taught a few places (NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, RADA [Guest
Instructor], Strasberg Institute, Yale), and worked with some great folks (Stella Adler, Joe Chaikin, Franco Zeffrelli). “Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.” - G. Fox
J. JARED JANAS AND ROB GREENE (Makeup and Hair Design) Recent designs include Beebo Brinker Chronicles, Oroonoko, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, Ohio State Murders, Silence! the Musical and The Full Monty (National Tour). They have also built wigs currently seen in Wicked, Jersey Boys, South Pacific, and A Tale of Two Cities.
LEWIS & FOX CASTING: Kristine Lewis and Jamie Fox - NY credits include Burleigh Grime$ (w/Wendie Malick), Timor Mortis (w/John Heard) and upcoming Vigil (after successful run w/Timothy Busfield, Westport). Film: Open Air, Love Ludlow (Sundance Selection), upcoming The Fix, numerous readings for Nuyorican Fifth-Night Series, Olympic Torch Services (celebrity casting).
PETER DEAN (Production Manager). New York credits include American Dream & The Sandbox directed by Edward Albee (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Atheist, In Conflict (The Culture Project at The Barrow St. Theatre), Celia, the Musical (New World Stages), Unconditional, A View From 151st St., The Worst of Bogosian, A Small, Melodramatic Story (LAByrinth), Little Flower of East Orange, School of the Americas (LAByrinth/Public). Regional credits include A.R.T., Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, The Huntington Theater Company, The Denver Center Theater Company and Trinity Rep. Peter is a graduate of Otterbein College (PBS/OFA).
ART MEETS COMMERCE (Advertising/New Media Marketing/Website Design) is a new media advertising/marketing company and commercial producer. Clients include Rock of Ages, Young Frankenstein, Vineyard Theater, Cherry Lane Theatre, Pure Country, The Seagull, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Irish Arts Center, Free Night of Theater and Fela! Producing credits include Ethan Coen’s Almost an Evening, Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Tracy Letts’s Bug, Nightmare: New York’s Most Horrifying Haunted House and Zombie Attack in Central Park. www.artmeetscommerce.net
MONICA TIDWELL (Producer) has film rights to D.H. Lawrence’s Saint Mawr, which is currently under development, along with Anton Chekhov’s The Duel and two original screenplays. Produced music video “The Sex of It” written by Prince for Kid Creole and the Coconuts. This is her first theatrical venture as a producer.
DARREN LEE COLE (Producer/General Manager) has produced and managed plays for 30 years. Producing: Killer Joe by Tracy Letts (Vaudeville Theatre, West End, London; Soho Playhouse; The Theatre, Chicago), Killing Real Estate Women by Gary Bonasorte, Hiding Behind Comets, Charlaton,O’Keefe, Nostalgia Tropical (all NYC) and Laticia at L’espace Marais (Paris). Management credits: Tango Appassionato, directed by Graciella Daniele, The Big Love, Parting Gestures, Life in a Marital Institution, The Aunts (all NYC), Miracle on 34th Street, Love Letters, Over the Tavern (all Chicago) and For Colored Girls… national tour. Mr. Cole has been the Executive Director of the SoHo Playhouse for the past 4 years where he has produced: Piaf, Room Service, Jamaica Farewell, Belly of a Drunken Piano, Bukowski From Beyond and Simon Lovell’s Strange & Unusual Hobbies.
JOSEPH CALLARI (Producer) makes his debut on the producing front with Mindgame; and will also serve as an Associate Producer on the 2009 revival of the 1970's hit musical Let My People Come (...Again)! Joseph is a full-time working actor/singer recently nominated for Outstanding Actor in Opa! The Musical at Midtown International Theater Festival, and is very proud to hold the title of Master Engraver and is the owner of Callari Engravers at 250 W 14th St. for nearly 30 years. www.JosephCallari.com
MICHAEL BUTLER (Producer) was the producer of the original Broadway production of Hair, as well as the motion picture version directed by Milos Forman. Mr. Butler’s other theatrical productions include West Side Story, Ondine, Lenny, The Golden Apple, Catonsville 9, Reggae on Broadway, and The Dragon and the Pearl. In 2007 Mr. Butler produced a 40th anniversary production of Hair in Los Angeles.
ROBERT R. BLUME (Producer) an entertainment producer for 25 years and in his 11th year as Presenter/Executive Producer of the annual Drama Desk Awards under the auspices of Blume Media Group Ltd. Recently produced Sue Mathys Sings Broadway & Piaf at Weill/Carnegie Hall; and currently involved in producing the Sherman Bros musical, Busker Alley to star Jim Dale with direction/design by Tony Walton; revival of the hit OffBroadway musical from the 1970’s, Let My People Come
MARY COSSETTE (Associate Producer) Currently producing Woody Sez, the words, music and spirit of Woody Guthrie.
PIERRE COSSETTE: Tony award-winning producer of The Will Rogers Follies and producer of Tony-nominated The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Civil War. Creator and Producer for 35 years of the televised Grammy Awards. Come! by Earl Wilson,
Jr.; and a consulting producer on two Broadway-bound musicals, Angels and Judah Ben-Hur.
MICHAEL BADEN, M.D. (Associate Producer) is former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City and presently Chief Forensic Pathologist for the New York State Police. He is the host of Autopsy, the long running HBO hit documentary series about forensic science. He has investigated countless criminal cases including the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King and many other high profile deaths. He was also a writer/consultant on the NBC hit show Crossing Jordan. He has written two non-fiction books on crime: Unnatural Death and Dead Reckoning.
LINDA KENNEY BADEN is a trial attorney and television guest legal commentator. She has won numerous civil rights cases and has been involved in the defense of many high profile criminal defendants including Michael Skakel, basketball star Jayson Williams and music genius Phil Spector. Michael Baden and Linda Kenney Baden are authors of the bestselling thriller novel Remains Silent and the soon-to-be published sequel Skeleton Justice (Knopf, June 2009).
VICTOR LOWNES (Associate Producer) has been involved with lm and theatre productions for more than three decades, going back to Monty Python’s film And Now For Something Completely Different, which he executive produced. He also produced Roman Polanski’s film version of MacBeth which won the BAFTA award. He produced Doubt at the Tricycle Theatre in London in 2007 and was an investor in Stomp, which of course continues to be very successful.
RUSTY HOLZER (Associate Producer) Mr. Holzer is an investment banker and a renowned horseman. Mindgame marks his first venture into the theatrical arena.
SOHO PLAYHOUSE Under the management of Darren Lee Cole and Faith A. Mulvihill, the newly renovated SoHo Playhouse continues to serve the downtown theater community as an historic199 seat Off Broadway venue. The Huron Club below is an intimate 55 seat cabaret and bar steeped in the history of Old New York.
