Laughing Gas Hall of
Fame
A directory of recent Laughing Gas performers.
Some have moved on to other projects, others have sought fame and
fortune in distant cities. Where are they now?
CARLOS ALAYETO
Carlos Alayeto is a graduate of Miami-Dade
College, where he studied drama and had the privilege of performing
in works ranging from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams to British
farce. A Miami native of Cuban descent, Carlos has a peculiar fascination
with New England (though he has never been there). Enamored with
the film industry, he plans to relocate to Los Angeles eventually,
to pursue a career in the greatest business on earth. He recently
appeared in Jesus Hopped the A Train at The Experimental Space at
American Heritage in Plantation.
Click here
for Carlos' picture and resume.
PATRICK ARMSHAW
Patrick Armshaw has studied acting in Dublin, Ireland, London,
England, and at the Stella
Adler Academy in New York City. He has also trained at the Asolo
Conservatory in Sarasota, Florida. While his professional life has
only just begun, he has been active in the theatre for 8 years,
and has appeared in Shakespeare repertory at the Florida Playwright's
Theater in Hollywood, Florida. Some of his favorite roles include
"Laertes" in Hamlet, "Ben" in The
Dumbwaiter, and "Garcin" in No Exit. He was
seen most recently as young Prince Malcolm in "the Scottish
Play." He can also be seen sitting in the audience in a recent
late-night infomercial, acting his little heart out. He has now
embarked on a new journey to graduate school.
Click here
to see Patrick Armshaw's resume. Click here
to see his photo.
BEL BACA
BelisaBaca
has appeared in various plays (including No Exit, The
Vagina Monologues and Stay), musicals, short films,
improv shows (also at Orlando's SAK
Comedy Lab), and dinner theatres. She holds her Bachelor of
Arts in Theatre from the University
of Central Florida. While in college she helped produce, write
and starred as "Annie Christ" in her own Fringe Festival show
entitled My Father the Savior. The oldest of six siblings,
Bel is a quasi-Florida native of Spanish/American and British
descent, born and raised in Brazil until the age of 15. Her dream
jobs include sitcom ensemble member, TV show host, or renowned
writer. Most recently, Bel was seen in a production of Steambath
at the Tamarac Theatre of the Performing Arts. She has made the
big move to Los Angeles, where she helped found the all-female
improv troupe, Snot
Sexy.
Click here for Bels' picture
and resume.
CYRILLA BAER
Cyrilla Baer
is a singer/actress/comedienne
who appeared in virtually every theatre in Florida. Laughing
Gas was Cyrilla's first stab at real improv. Originally from Atlanta,
where she soloed with the Atlanta Symphony in her teens, Cyrilla has
been featured on South Florida stages from The Jupiter Theatre to
The Coconut Grove Playhouse.
She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Carbonell Award as
"Mabel" in The Pajama Game at The
Actors' Playhouse and was given a Carbonell Honorable Mention
for her Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense Jamboree at The Off-Broadway
Theatre in Wilton Manors, under the direction of Nunsense creator
Dan Goggin. Favorite credits include "Aldonza" in Man
of La Mancha, "Cleo" in The Most Happy Fella,
and the evil "Miss Thorn" in the multi-Carbonell Winner
Ruthless! She recently did her first co-starring film role
in the outrageous new indie comedy Raging
Hormones, currently airing on Cinemax. She has also appeared
in the film comedy Golf
Balls! And with her husband, Andrew Pond, she is co-author/co-star
of Earthlings & Other Incorrigibles, a sketch comedy show.
Cyrilla is one of the most frequently heard female voiceover talents
in Florida, including TV or radio commercials for Ford, Toyota, and
American Express and was a longtime on-air personality at the late-lamented
WTMI Classical 93.1 FM. She has relocated to the windy city of Chicago.
Click here
to see Cyrilla's picture and resume.
MONIQUE BOURGERY
Monique Bourgery is
a native of Rhode Island, and received her Bachelor's degree in
Theatre Arts from Rhode Island College.
She made the move to Miami in 1992, and she joined Laughing Gas
shortly afterward. Monique has also performed in numerous dinner
theatre productions, including four months in Knockoff, a
comedy mystery in which two actors play ten roles. She is also a
producer and writer in her own right, and she played a role in the
English-language "telenovela" (miniseries), Miami Sands.
Monique was featured in the independent film, Let's
Talk About Sex, which was released in 1999 by Fine Line
Pictures, and she has also made appearances in television infomercials
and music videos.
Click here
to see Monique's resumé. Click here
to see Monique's headshot.
BRIAN BREITER
Brian Breiter has
relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career, but he comes back
for guest appearances from time to time. In 2001, he appeared
in an episode of Comedy Central's The Man Show. He was also
seen as a regular performer on the Game Show Network's The Ultimate
Gong Show. Brian has been training with The Groundlings
improvisation troupe, and he collaborated with the late Avery Schreiber
in a sketch comedy project. For over nine months, Brian performed
in an improvised 1940's style radio show (in front of a live audience)
with an L.A. improv company, Liquid
Radio Players. Visit their website for Internet rebroadcasts
of their show. He is represented by the Commercial Talent Agency.
In 1999 he was tapped to serve as Al Pacino's stand-in for the Oliver
Stone football film, Any Given Sunday. Brian came to Laughing
Gas from a different kind of theatrehe is a practicing
attorney, having earned his J.D. degree at Nova Southeastern University
Law School. He is a veteran of over two dozen jury trials, and improv
offers him a chance to vent some steam in a socially acceptable
way (it sure beats screaming at a judge, and you don't get sent
to jail). Brian was also active in South Florida's regional theatre
scene. He performed at Miami Beach's Edge
Theatre in the comedy Sylvia, by A.R. Gurney. He portrayed
"Tom" in a production of The Sisters Rosensweig
at the Hollywood Playhouse, and he also appeared in a
production of Prelude to a Kiss at the Studio Theatre.
He even played a Hasidic jewel thief in a music video, Bone
Thugs and Harmony. Brian is not a doctor but he played one on
TV. He was seen in a Truth commercial as a righteous
E.R. physician, and he appeared in a series of 11 regional
commercials for Toyota. He also appeared in a recent national Honda
commercial. Brian is a prolific comedy writer.
Click here
to see Brian's picture and resumé. Click on Actors'
Directory to see some of Brian's outrageous characters. Brian's
headshot was done by photographer Paul Greco.
LUCKNER BRUNO, JR.
Luckner Bruno, Jr. is an actor,singer,
dancer, and choreographer who hails from Miami Shores, Florida.
Recently attaining his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University
of Miami Musical Theatre Conservatory Program, Lucky is now
leaping headlong into everything that he bloody well can. Lucky
looks forward to getting his act together and taking it anywhere
they'll pay. Creating a new dance company, Project X Factor,
and trying to survive, he's one of the hardest working performers
in show business. In 2000, Lucky appeared in One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest at The
Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables. He was also the author
and director of It's Not Gas, a futuristic farce about
male pregnancy, which premiered in Miami last year, and completed
production on another original play, The Greatest Story Ne'er
Told, at the Miami Light Box. Lucky appeared in A New Brain:
The Musical at the Mosaic Theatre in Broward County, and he
has just returned from a seven-month touring production that took
him all over the country.
Click here
to see Luckner Bruno's picture and resume.
MAUREEN BURDINE
Maureen Burdine does
not own the Burdine's Department Store chain (but she wishes she did).
She attended Florida State University
in Tallahassee for four years, and being a committed masochist, finished
her Bachelor's degree in Communications at Florida
Atlantic University in Boca Raton. She was seen in productions
of Laundry and Bourbon and Dark of the Moon, and The
Children's Hour at Broward Community College. She also appeared
in Isn't It Romantic? with the Fort Lauderdale Players, and
was seen most recently in The Actor's Nightmare and Just
Like Old Times with the Actor's Community Theater.
Click here
to see Maureen Burdine's resumé. Click here
to see Maureen's headshot.
JAY COLLIGAN
Jay Colligan is a
versatile actor with experience in theatre, television, and film,
as well as voiceovers, industrials, and commercials. He is a graduate
of the University of Virginia, majoring in Foreign Affairs with
a minor in Acting. Most recently, Jay portrayed an evil
golf pro in the straight-to-video comedy film, Golf
Balls! He has now made the big move to New York City.
Click here
to see Jay's Headshot. Click here
to see his resumé.
JENNIFER DAWSON
Jennifer Dawson
began her acting and hosting career in South Florida. She attended
New World School
of the Arts collegiate theater program as well as studying
at David Mamet's Atlantic
Theater Company in New York City. She has worked on numerous
theatrical productions, student films and independent projects
throughout the tri-county area as well as making her New York
theatrical debut at Gallery Players playing a 75-year-old retired
cabaret singer in Mittelschmerz (written by Laughing Gas
alum Susie Taylor). Currently,
Jennifer can be seen on the government channel as the host for
the City of Miami Beach Parks and Recreation Department. She also
co-hosted the cruise line industry's shopping program, All
Ashore, and hosted Air Canada's in-flight television schedule
Essential, their duty-free shopping program. She also appeared
in the recent independent feature film, Quick
Pick. Jennifer is now based in Los Angeles, where she
helped found the all-female improv troupe, Snot
Sexy.
Click here
to see Jennifer's picture and resumé.
J.C. DEL VALLE
J.C. del Valle was born in Passaic, New
Jersey, but has lived in Miami all his life. After graduating from
the University of Miami, he began employment as a marketing manager
and special events coordinator. He enjoyed his acting classes so
much at UM, that he decided to to take some private classes upon
graduation. He is a very proud Big Brother and the devoted father
of Chrystie Gonzalez del Valle, his true passion. He is currently
earning his Master's degree in Public Administration at Florida
International University.
Click here
for J.C.'s headshot.
ELISABETH
DRAKE
Elisabeth Drake leads several lives.
She started doing improv one day on accident. (She thought she
was just making really interesting conversation.) Her performing
career started at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville,
Florida, as a (really high-singing) soprano. In addition to being
a soloist, she has played the piano since she was five, she's
pretty good with a yo-yo, and she holds a Bachelor's degree in
French from Florida State University. She is originally from Oklahoma
and has lived in places as varied as New York, Las Vegas, and
Paris, France. You can also find Elisabeth in Miami's hip professional
scene during the week, (wearing very pointy-toed shoes). She blames
her sense of humor on her parents.
TODD EVELYN
Todd Evelyn is an actor and dancer who has
been performing on South Florida stages for over five years. He
was most recently seen as the snooty director in a miami.com television
commercial. He was also a participant in the 1999 Florida
Renaissance Festival in Fort Lauderdale, where he performed
in a farcical version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. He
has recently returned to Florida after a stint in the city of New
York, and is trying the waters in Orlando.
Click here
to see Todd's picture.
MAX FABIAN
Max Fabian is the
youngest performing cast member of Laughing Gas and has already
made a name for himself in the South Florida performing community,
appearing in many area productions. As a member of Child's
Play, Max performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and at
the Gainesville Improv Festival. As a member of THEY improv,
Max performs in a lot of charitable events. Max has also taught
improv and sees a bright future ahead. He will be attending college
in Chicago in the fall.
JENNIFER FOLLIA
Jennifer Follia
is an actress, dancer, choreographer, costume designer, writer,
make-up designer, voiceover artist, and occasional stiltwalker.
A native of Jupiter (Florida, not the planet), she now resides
in Hollywood. When she is not appearing with Laughing Gas,
she is usually busy with convention shows, industrials, and stadium
events for local sports teams. Jennifer is an accomplished celebrity
impersonator, including Madonna, but her favorite challenges
involve bringing to life the many strange and wonderful people
who exist in her imagination–no one really knows what she'll
look like from one day to the next. She also co-starred in the
recent independent film, The
Fatouche, which premiered at the 2004
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. She now lives
in Stuart, Florida.
Click here
to see Jennifer's picture and resume. Click here
to see her Madonna website.
CESAR GRACIA
Cesar Gracia is
an actor, comedian and filmmaker who performed with Laughing Gas
for more than three years. He studied theater and film at Miami-Dade
Community College, where he appeared most recently onstage
in a production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our
Teeth. He was also featured on the Spanish-language Sabado
Gigante variety show, which is seen all over the US and
Latin America. In 2000, he worked on the Andy Garcia film, For
Love or Country, for HBO, and he was seen in a
long-running regional commercial for Pollo Tropical Restaurants.
He made the big move to New York City, where he took an intensive
course in sketch comedy offered by The
Second City. More recently, he has studied with the Upright
Citizens Brigade improv and sketch comedy troupe, and is establishing
himself in the New York/New Jersey stand-up comedy scene as well.
He currently performs with a sketch and improv troupe in New York,
known as Cubicle.
You can also visit them on myspace.
Cesar would also like to remind all of us that even velociraptors
need love.
Click here
to see Cesar's Headshot. Click on Photo
Gallery to see some of his outrageous characters.
MIGUEL HERNANDEZ
Miguel Hernandez came to Laughing Gas
from a bit of a different walk of life. During the day, he is an
award-winning advertising copywriter, writing creative print ads,
radio spots, and television commercials. By night, Miguel is an
improvisational actor, a habit he cannot quite give up. Miguel studied
Theatre at Creighton
University (and minored in Advertising). While at CU he appeared
in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?, Getting Out, Come Blow Your Horn, and Desire Under
the Elms. As a student, he rewrote and directed Swingers,
by Jon Favreau, for the stage. Although Miguel's present career
is in creative advertising, he wishes to one day return to the stage
full-time. After a year of moving around the world, Miguel has now
settled in Chicago, where he is studying with Second
City.
KATHRYN KARPINSKI
Kathryn Karpinski hails from Long Island,
NY, and graduated from the University
of Miami in May with a B.A. in Music and Theater. Kathryn has
played a wide variety of roles, including Rosalind in As You
Like It, Bonnie in Anything Goes, Fagin in Oliver!
and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. She returned
to New York, landing several touring roles, before heading west
to Los Angeles. She plans to grace our stage when she returns to
South Florida from time to time.
Click here
to see Kathryn's picture and resume.
KEELY KIRK
Keely Kirk (formerly
Coulthurst) is a blonde Jamaican-American who works as a free-lance
video producer, voiceover artist, and video editor by day, Diva
of Improv by night. She has studied Method Acting at Miami's New
World School of the Arts, and first explored improv in classes
at the Mental Floss Comedy Improv Theatre Company in Coconut
Grove (in those bygone days before Hurricane Andrew blew it all
away).
Keely enjoys any and all outdoor activities that do not involve
sweating, and longs for world peace and a cure for the heartbreak
of psoriasis. Click on Actors'
Directory to see Keely in character. She has now relocated
to the windy city of Chicago, where she has been studying with
IO Chicago (formerly
Improv Olympic).
JENNIE KLEIN
Jennie Klein considers
herself a South Florida native, although she was born in Anaheim,
California. She was brought to Florida as a little babe and has
no recollection of earthquakes or Disneyland jaunts. As a child
she trained with Ruth Foreman Theatre Company and then attended
PAVAC (now the New World School
of the Arts). Jennie attended the University
of Miami where she studied voice and business. For several
years she performed with an Irish folk group, The Liffey Folk,
lead by the renowned Irish fiddler, James Kelly. And then it was
off to Iowa, to polish her musical skills and learn more about
farms, cows and feed-corn. Jennie attended the Professional Music
Program at Southwestern Community
College in Creston, Iowa, headed by Grammy-nominated arranger,
Phil Mattson. There she spent a year studying jazz and classical
piano, jazz vocal arranging techniques, jazz and classical voice
and touring with several school choirs throughout the Midwest.
After about a year, she moved back down to South Florida. Bitten
by the acting bug yet again, Jennie became a member of the wacky
& insane local sketch-comedy theatre group, Punch
59. She also works as a voice-over artist locally, nationally
and internationally and enjoyed volunteering her time as a live-reader
for the WLRN Radio Reading Service. Jennie has moved to
New York, where she now works as voiceover personality Jennie
Sunshine.
Click here
to see Jennie's picture and resume. And if you STILL want to know
more about this very silly gal, check out her website at: www.jenniebug.com
LUIS SEVILLA-LEVY
Luis Sevilla-Levy grew up in Miami, and
attended the New World
School of the Arts. He took the summer
of 2001 off, traveling to London for the Shakespeare intensive
acting program offered by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
In addition to his work as a performer, Luis has been involved
in martial arts for many years, and is a Second Degree Black Belt
in Tae Kwon Do. Luis spent a year studying acting as a member
of the esteemed Circle
in the Square Acting Conservatory in
New York City. He is currently studying Spanish-language theatre
in his native Nicaragua.
Click here for Luis' Headshot.
RAY LOCKHART
Ray Lockhart is concentrating on his
work as an actor following a stint as a radio personality with
AM 1490 WMBM in Miami Beach. He attended Florida
State University and was a member of the Black Players' Guild.
He recently costarred in Robert Johnson: Trick the Devil,
at the M Ensemble Theatre in North Miami. Ray previously
appeared there in a production of Home, by Samm-Art
Williams, and he recently participated in a Fort Lauderdale
production of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Broadway
legend Vinnette Carroll. Ray's other theatre credits include
Why Are They Crying, Prelude to a Kiss, Piano Man, Ashella, Amen
Corner, and Blues For Mister Charlie. His television credits include
political commentary on NAACP Speaks, and a stint as a campus
talk show host on FSU's What's Goin' On! He is currently
hosting a Hip-Hop show called Planet Rhythm, and is also
developing an improv variety show for television.
Click here
to see Ray's headshot. Click on Photo
Gallery to see some of Ray's outrageous characters.
JOHN LYNCH
John Lynch comes to us from a different
kind of performance art. In addition to acting, John is a professional
clown and mime artist, having performed for four seasons with
Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. He is currently a
performer with the Big
Apple Circus Clown Care Unit, which
entertains patients at Miami Children's Hospital. He
appeared as a pregnant man in the original play, It's Not Gas,
by our own Luckner Bruno, Jr. On a more serious note, John
also appeared as "Tom" in the Tennessee Williams classic,
The Glass Menagerie, at the Miami Light Box in November,
2001, the first production of the Theatre Illuminata Company.
He has now relocated to Kentucky.
Click on Photo
Gallery to see John in character. Click
here to see John's resume.
GREG MAGNANTI
Greg Magnanti has
a bit of a different background than some of our other performers,
as he came to Laughing Gas from the world of radio.....you
know, "Theatre of the mind"? There, he spent just over
five years in the West Palm Beach market as an on-air personality
and engineer. In addition to his radio background, Greg is a singer
and musician. Greg joined Laughing Gas in 1999. He was the lead
singer of one of Fort Lauderdale's best (but sadly, short-lived)
rockin' blues bands, The Helldorados. Greg is now the vocalist
for an experimental/metal/fusion/avant-garde rock band called
Karmakaze.
Click here for Greg's
resume. Click here
for Greg's headshot. Click on Photo Gallery to see Greg in character.
Click here to visit Greg's home page.
PAMELA MCCOOL
Pamela McCool is a veteran actress
with numerous stage, film, and television credits, and was
seen last season in HBO's hit series, The Sopranos. Her
film appearances include Working Girl, She-Devil,
The French Atlantic Affair, Porky's 2, Women
in White, Night People, Hot Stuff, Incident
at Channel Q, and The Dogs of War, among others. Pamela's
TV roles include Miami Vice, Inside Report, Rumpole
of the Bailey, and One Life to Live. She has appeared
in many stage productions Off-Off Broadway, in regional theatre
and in touring productions. Her roles have included "Maggie"
in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "Desdemona" in Othello,
"Elaine Navazio" in Last of the Red Hot Lovers,
and "Mary" in Vanities. And you may have seen
Pam dodging a falling safe full of money in a commercial for the
Florida Lottery not too long ago. Pamela studied at the University of Miami and New
York University, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree
in Theatre. She has also studied with Warren Robertson and Paul
Sills in New York, and attended The
Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She has been a member of
Laughing Gas for twelve years.
Click here
to see Pamela McCool's picture and resumé.
BEATRIZ MONTANEZ
Beatriz Montañez
is a rising, talented, young, local actress. She is currently
studying with Teresa Maria Rojas, director and founder of Promoteo,
a bilingual theater group based at the Miami-Dade
Community College Wolfson Campus. One of the most challenging
roles she encountered during the XVI International Hispanic Theater
Festival, with her portrayal of a sensual, primitive woman in
Lydia Cabrera's Yoruban tale, Suandende. While in Miami
she divided her time between polishing her craft at Prometeo,
teaching drama and dance at The Barnyard, touring with an anti-tobacco
theatre ensemble based out of the Miami Light Project and goofing
around with whoopee-cushions in the hallways of Miami Children's
Hospital as Doctora Florita, one of the Big
Apple Circus Clown Care Unit's doctor clowns (and of course
the occasional gig!). Beatriz appeared as "Graciela"
in the New Theatre's mainstage production, Barrio Hollywood,
and followed that with roles in Paradise, The Merchant
of Venice and Macbeth. Most recently, she played the
character of Malena in the independent feature film, I
Love Miami. Beatriz has now made the big move to Los Angeles.
Click here
to see her picture and resumé or here
for her official website.
DANNY PAUL
Danny Paul
is a man of many talents, ranging from acting, improvisation, and
stand-up comedy, to disc jockey in various South Beach night clubs.
When he is not busy in front of the camera, he can often be found
behind it, as he has extensive experience in television and film
production work. If you live in South Florida, you have probably
seen him as a TV pitch man for Pollo Tropical. He also appears
in national commercials for Hotels.com and others. You can see a
lot more of him on cable now that his series, In a Fix has
debuted on The Learning Channel.
Danny is part of a team of home improvement specialists who rescue
hapless homeowners whose own remodeling projects have ended in disaster.
He previously appeared with the Improvisation Foundation
troupe (which he co-founded), and appeared with them in clubs all
over South Florida in the early '90's. You can also visit Danny
on myspace.com.
Click here to see Danny's
picture and resumé.
Click on Photo
Gallery to see some of his outrageous characters.
ANDREW POND
Andrew
J. Pond is thrilled to have been a part of the inspired
silliness that is Laughing Gas. He recently appeared at
the Hollywood Boulevard Theatre
in Schoolhouse Rock, Live! and was recently seen with the
Public Theatre as "Algernon" in Ernest In Love. For
the past five years, he has been seen at various theatres across
South Florida, begging for work. Andrew appeared in Not Now
Darling, and Beau Jest at the Broward Stage Door Theatre,
and he appeared in Sweet Charity at the Shores Performing
Arts Theatre. Other favorite roles include the blue suede-shoed
"Visitor" in Picasso at the Lapin Agile at The
Actors' Playhouse, "Conrad Birdie" in Bye Bye
Birdie, "Scoop Rosenbaum" in The Heidi Chronicles,
understudying all four male roles in the campy whodunit, Shear
Madness, as well as various crazy characters in many children's
theatre shows at the Miami Shores Theatre. With his wife, actress
Cyrilla Baer, Andrew is co-author of the musical sketch comedy
review, Earthlings and Other Incorrigibles. Andrew is a
graduate of The
Burt Reynolds Institute for Theatre Training. Andrew also
has a degree in philosophy, mainly because it gives him license
to be pompous and use terms no one else understands, like epistemology.
Andrew has relocated to the windy city of Chicago.
Click here
to see Andrew's picture and resume.
VERONICA PULEO
Veronica Puleo made
the big move to Los Angeles, where she studied with the Groundlings
improvisation company. She guest-starred as a tempestuous Italian
cook last season on According to Jim, the ABC comedy starring
Jim Belushi. Following a stint as an on-air personality
for WAMI TV in Miami, Veronica moved on to the recurring
role of "Julietta" in the recent English-language
"telenovela" (miniseries), Miami Sands. Onstage,
she performed in a very well-received production of Sylvia
by A.R. Gurney at the Edge
Theatre in 1998, and appeared in a production of The
Snow Orchid at The Little Stage in Miami Beach. A self-described
"Jersey Girl," Veronica is a graduate of William Paterson
College in New Jersey. Other credits include A Christmas
Carol at The Actors'
Playhouse in Coral Gables, as well as productions at the Musicana
Supper Club in Boca Raton and The Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs.
She also has a passion for 1940's swing dancing, and she showed
off her technique as part of the Liquid
Radio Players improvised comedy show in Los Angeles.
Most recently, she has been pursuing a singing career in the Los
Angeles area, where she performed in the new rock and roll musical,
Generator Girl at the American Renegade Theatre in 2002.
For more information on when and where she is performing, or to
download a sample song from her demo, click here.
She now has a lucrative second career as a photographer.
Click here
to see Veronica's picture and acting resumé.
CHRIS
REY
Chris Rey performed with Laughing Gas
for only a short time before he moved from Miami to Orlando to
pursue the acting possibilities there. He has now moved on to
New York City to further his acting studies. Chris has also become
involved in several projects through the Columbia University
independent film department. Click here for Chris Rey's headshot.
JAMES ROSE
Jim Rose was born
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the latter half of the 20th Century,
supposedly to parents of earthly origin. His talents include songwriting,
film acting, and comedy writing/performing. He is a dark, angst-ridden
celibate who loves poppy seeds, reptile handling, and The Indigo
Girls. When he isn't campaigning for Lyndon LaRouche, he fills
his time as a radio and television personality for live PBS broadcasts
on WXEL. He now performs with Broward County's THEY
Improv troupe.
Click here to
see Jim's headshot. Click here
to see Jim's resume.
LAURA SEBASTIAN
Laura Sebastian is
a writer, originally from Chicago. While there, she studied comedy
improvisation at The Second
City and acting at the Victory Gardens Theatre. She has
a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Indiana
University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in English/Creative
Writing from the University of Miami.
She now works as a freelance writer for various corporations; is
a columnist for the Chicago Sun Times' Pioneer Press newspaper chain
and a journalist for Miller Publishing's Miami-based newspapers.
She was a recent winner of the annual Edward
Bulwer-Lytton bad fiction-writing contest, a competition in
which entrants compose the opening sentence to the worst of all
possible novels (it was Bulwer-Lytton who once began a novel with,
"It was a dark and stormy night...").
Her entry: Becky Flatbush was the
quintessential Girl Cop; wisecracking, shrewd, prone to PMS-inspired
shooting "mistakes," yet tender, merciful and actually
very good with criminals when she was not feeling bloated and cranky
and like she wanted to plug some perp just to relieve her monthly
depression.
Click here to see Laura's headshot.
DEBORAH SHERMAN
Deborah Sherman relocated to Miami
after spending almost 4 years in St. Louis, Missouri. She was
born in New York City, but grew up in Houston, Texas, which she
calls home to this day. She studied Theatre Performance at Lamar
University in Beaumont,Texas. Some of Deborah's favorite roles
include "Annie Sullivan" in The Miracle Worker,
the "Marquis de Merituil" in Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
"Phoebe" in As You Like It and as a company member
of Brand X Improv. Deborah filmed a TV pilot called Wisps
and Vapors before leaving St. Louis. In South Florida's indie
film scene, she appeared in the short film, Hot Pork, directed
by Gerald Owens, as well as Instant
Message, directed by David Cirone. Deb is now a member
of the Big Apple
Circus Clown Care Unit, entertaining children in Miami Childrens
Hospital. She starred as the tragically stricken "Lil"
in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove for the Public Theatre
in Fort Lauderdale. She also appeared in The Glass Menagerie,
which opened at the Miami Light Box in 2001, the first production
of the Theatre
Illuminata Company, which she co-founded before the troupe
moved to Houston, Texas. Deborah was also in the Dreamer's
Theatre production of The Just Assassins as the dutiful
yet misguided violent femme "Ynez." In 2002, she created
the role of "Conchita" in the Pulitzer Prize-winning
world premiere of Nilo
Cruz's Anna in the Tropics, at the New
Theatre in Coral Gables. She appeared in the Juggerknot
Theatre Company's production of The Houseguest, and
also appeared in The Dreamer Who Unlocked the Secrets of the
Universe at the Dreamer's Theatre. She returned to the New
Theatre in 2003, playing Emilia in Othello, and Lady Olivia
in Twelfth Night. She appeared in the 2004 Gables
Stage production of Ten Unknowns. She costarred in
Hollywood Playhouse's
production of Brilliant Traces, and also appeared in House
and Garden at The
Actors' Playhouse. Deborah is the producing artistic director
and co-founder of the Promethean
Theatre Company, which now produces plays at Nova Southeastern
University.
Click here
to see Deborah Sherman's picture and resume.
STUART TAFT
Stuart Taft graduated magna cum laude
with Bachelor's Degrees in English and Theatre from Florida
State University, before moving to New York. He spent two years with the Moving
Circle Theatre Company, which included performances at The
Living Theatre. One of his favorite roles was "Pale"
in Burn This. Stuart performed with Laughing Gas for
four years.
MARYANN TATUM
Maryann Tatum Maryann Tatum became the
youngest member of Laughing Gas at the ripe old age of twenty.
A former high school English teacher, she is now working on her
PhD in education at the University
of Miami. Her semi-legitimate stage credits include "Tomfoolery,"
"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged," and her
Sabrina-award winning turn as Marian in "The Music Man" with the
Main
Street Players. When not at class, Maryann works in the cruise
industry singing to those at sea, as well as hosting the cable
game show "U.M.I.Q." Maryann is also an accomplished equestrian,
soprano, pianist, tap dancer, and high school English teacher.
She speaks 3 1/2 languages, has a mean tennis serve, and is often
tired. Her debut album, Take These Wings, was released Christmas
2001.
R.J.
WALKER
You have to spell his name "Are Jay" (his parents were Hooked On Phonics). After he received his
degree in Music and the Video Business, R.J. Walker started his
career performing stand-up comedy and working in several improv
troupes, murder mysteries, and mock weddings, including eight
years with Laughing Gas. The next chapter of R.J.'s career
took him from Miami to the windy city of Chicago, the center of
the improv universe. He studied with the famed Improv
Olympic company across from Wrigley
Field, and also took classes at Second
City. He has now returned to South
Florida.
R.J. has also had appearances on Moon
Over Miami, and the Japan Television game show Naruhodo
The World! He has been seen in commercials for Budweiser,
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and most recently, in a
slew of regional commercials for the Sound Advice electronics
chain. He has also been seen across the country at professional
sporting events with the Florida Marlins and Panthers,
where he entertained fans between plays with the Sportsmagic Team.
An avid guitarist, R.J. also enjoys writing song parodies.
Click here to see R.J.'s picture and resumé.
CHARLES WATSON
Charles Watson hails
from Nashville, Tennessee, where he studied Theatre at Trevecca
University. He has performed in numerous plays, including The
Boys Next Door (Norman), School House Rock Live, The
Good Doctor, My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, and many
more. He was a member of Musical!
The Musical, a remarkable improv show that improvised a
full-length, two-act, Broadway-style musical every night! He was
also a member of Nashville's leading improv troupe, One Hand
Clapping. Charles has appeared in music videos and independent
films, including an independent movie for HardRoad.com. He is very
happy to be a part of this crazy and talented group, and hopes that
soon, Miami will be a great place to call home. He most recently
completed work on an independent film called Sunburn. He
also appeared on MTV as a "veejay for a day" in 2001.
Click here
to see Charles Watson's picture and resume.
BETSY WISE
Betsy Wise is something of a Renaissance
Womanshe's an actress, stand-up comedienne, voiceover artist,
writer, and law professor! Born in Miami, Florida, she studied acting
in New York City at Circle in the Square and studied improvisation
at Ensemble Studio Theater. After taking first place in The Stanislavski
Open, New York's tri-state improvisation competition, she returned
to Miami to join the Mental Floss Comedy Improv Theatre Company.
During her first tour of duty in the artsy-fartsy world, Betsy appeared
in numerous commercials, on the insipid TV drama South Beach
and was a finalist on America's Funniest People.
Betsy took a short break from her performing arts career to earn
a law degree at The University of Miami School of Law and joined
the faculty of the law school while practicing commercial litigation
with the law firm of Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick &
Strickroot. Realizing that she'd rather choke on her own vomit than
die an attorney, Betsy abandoned the practice and teaching of law
to return to comedy full time.
One of the fastest rising female comics in the Southeast, Betsy
was a finalist in the HBO
Aspen Comedy Festival showcase and was a standout at the
South Florida showcase for the Montreal Comedy Festival. Her style
is edgy, sexy, intelligent and irreverent. Betsy is constantly touring
clubs throughout the United States and Canada, and performed improvisation
with Laughing Gas when she wasn't on the road. She recently
participated in a Second City sketch writing workshop in
New York. In addition, she was a writer and performer with Miami's
Punch
59 and Best Medicine sketch comedy troupes. She has
now relocated to Los Angeles.
Click here to
see Betsy Wise's bio and acting resume. Click here
to see her headshot.
Want to catch Betsy's stand-up comedy? Click here
to find out where she's performing!
RORY ZACHER
Rory Zacher was once a nice, suburban
Jewish boy from Chicago, until he decided to come to Miami to attend
college, and he has not been the same since. A student at the University
of Miami, he just graduated with a B.A.
Degree majoring in Screenwriting and Acting. he became one of the
youngest Laughing Gas performers at the ripe old age of twenty-one,
and he has been performing onstage for 16 years and thinks that
he is pretty good at it. Previous stage credits include Jesus
Christ Superstar, ComedySportz, Oedipus Rex, The Good Doctor, The
Crucible, and Anything Goes, which were done in Chicago.
More recently, Rory was seen in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre productions
of The Grapes of Wrath, On Tidy Endings, Hair, Crazy For You,
and Suburbia. He has now moved to Los Angeles. When not on
the stage, Rory loves movies, gambling, mischief, mayhem, John Mellencamp,
the Wisconsin Dells, and quantitative physics.
Click here to see Rory's resumé. Click here to see Rory's headshot. Click here for another photo. Click on Actors'
Directory to see some of his outrageous
characters.
DARREN ZIEGER
Darren
Zieger (shown here being sucked into a space-time vortex) was
the original musical director of Laughing Gas for about 15
minutes before relocating to the Washington D.C. metro for no discernible
reason. After nine years of kicking around the Capitol area, he returned
to Miami with a wife (another former Laughing Gas musical director)
and one and 8/9ths children in tow. After a welcome but regrettably
short stint with Laughing Gas in South Florida, he and the
family have decided to return to Virginia.
Before helping to found Laughing Gas, Darren tickled the
plastic ivories for Mental Floss (and its farm team, Experimental
Floss) for about 500 performances. Before (and during) that,
he was a busy musical generalist, directing musical theater, composing
scores, playing in local rock bands, and, above all, getting absolutely
nowhere as a singer-songwriter.
Currently, like most struggling musicians, he is a professional
Web designer. To view his portfolio, visit http://www.darrenzieger.net/.
To listen to his original songs, visit his mp3.com
page. To read a bunch of stupid junk he and his friends wrote
when they were ten years old, check out Sarcastic
Echoes.
Photos of R.J Walker, James Rose, Maryann Tatum and Jennifer
Follia are by Bob Lasky. Headshots
of Brian Breiter, Maureen Burdine, and Betsy Wise were done by
photographer Paul
Greco. Patrick Armshaw's photo is by Bill
Keefrey. Marilyn Brito's photo is by Lynn
Parks.
Copyright ©2008 - Laughing Gas
- All Rights Reserved
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