Le Cabaret Grimm (2012)

Jason Slavick is the Artistic Director of Liars & Believers and is a director, writer and educator. He recently directed 28 Seeds, an apocalyptic sci-fi steampunk musical that Liars & Believers premiered in collaboratin with steampunk sensation Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. He co-wrote and directed, Song of Songs: a LoveRomp and wrote and directed Le Cabaret Grimm – a punk cabaret fairy tale {sans fairies}, which premiered at the LAB. Jason wrote and directed Heaven & Hell - The Fantastical Temptation of the 7 Deadly Sins, a new musical adapted from the album by Joe Jackson that was presented at The Boston Conservatory in 2007. As a former company member of Boston Theatre Works, Jason directed Othello (Elliot Norton Award nominated for Best Production and Best Actor), The Tempest, Antony & Cleopatra and Macbeth. He helped develop and directed Emily Mann’s critically acclaimed Meshugah, Olga Humphrey’s Veronika Vavoom Volcanologist, and his own play J: A One-Act Improvised Tragi-Comedy. Jason directed Professional Skepticism at The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, The Good Woman of Setzuan and The Cherry Orchard at The Boston Conservatory, Betty and Mortie at The New Theatre, Frankenstein at The Stanley B. Theatre, Baby with the Bathwater for InCharge Productions, The Stronger at The Left Bank Theatre in Tel Aviv, and Aristotle Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and A Land Without Trees at The Second Hand Independent Theatre, which he founded in Philadelphia.

Other plays and musicals Jason has written are The Dancing Bear, The Golem, Icaphish and Alice: Grotesque Turn in Twelve Scenes.

He received his MFA in directing from The Trinity Repertory Conservatory where he was awarded the Pell Scholar Award and directed Richard III, Waiting for Godot, The Caucasian Chalk Circle and others. He also studied at the Eugene O’Neill National Theatre Institute and at the Warsaw Theatre Academy in Warsaw, Poland.

Cassandra is a critically acclaimed pianist, vocalist and musical director. As a pianist and cabaret artist she has performed throughout Boston and the country, including such venues as: The Napoleon Club, Dedo's, Club Cafe, The French Library, The Duplex, The Majestic Theatre, Club Passim, and North Shore Music Theatre. She received her BFA from Ithaca College with additional studies at The Royal Conservatory Toronto, The Longy School of Music and The American Music Center. She has musically directed over 50 shows both regionally and professionally, including the 1st National Tour of Tony n' Tina's Wedding.

As an educator Ms. Marsh has taught at The Merrimac Repertory, The Middlesex Summer School for The Arts, Winthrop School of Performing Arts and The North Shore Music Theatre. Currently, she teaches piano, voice and theory privately. Her students have gone on to such schools as: New York University, Boston Conservatory, Ithaca College and Berklee School of Music.

She has written and produced three one-woman shows and is currently working on her latest installment, The Unashamed Accompanist. She also composed and wrote the book for Alice, a musical adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story which has been produced by the Boston Baked Theatre Company and The Middlesex Summer School for the Arts. Her song, "My Hometown," was written for the Boston production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding. As a singer/songwriter she is currently working on her second full-length CD, a follow-up to "Spellbound With Hope", due out on the Whirlygirl label.

Cassandra is an experienced church musician and has served as the Minister of Music for the last six years at the First Church of Winthrop United Methodist. She is also a community activist and founding member of the Winthrop Coalition for Peace and Justice.

Michelle Chassé was principal dancer with Portland Ballet, Ballet New England, and other local companies. Ms. Chassé trained at the Boston Ballet School, studied privately with Maestro Vincenzo Celli, and was on scholarship at the School of American Ballet in New York City. She graduate cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from the Boston Conservatory, where she was the first recipient of the prestigious Ruth Sandholm Ambrose Award. Since then she has studied and performed with ballet, concert dance and Broadway legends from around the world. Ms. Chassé has performed as a guest artist with Franklin Performing Arts, Granite State Ballet, and was a featured ballet dancer in a VH1 video starring Michael Crawford, and has been a featured jazz dancer and model for numerous television commercials and industrials. She has performed openings for Gregory Hines and Harry Connick Jr., among others. Her choreography was seen in the Boston Conservatory Musical theater productions Where's Charley?, Side Show (New England Premiere), Anyone Can Whistle, Street Scene, Crazy For You, and Wild Party. She served as Associate Choreographer for the Boston Conservatory's production of Chicago, and as Principal Choreographer for the world premieres of Andrei Petrov's The Captain's Daughter and Joe Jackson's Heaven and Hell, as well as the Conservatory's critically acclaimed 2003 production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Ms. Chassé is the 2004 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the Boston Conservatory. She has also performed and choreographed for the nationally recognized Boston Gay Men's Chorus, and is a highly sought after guest artist performer and master teacher. Ms. Chassé is on the dance faculty at the Boston Conservatory, where she serves as Dance Instructor, Resident Choreographer, and Musical Theater Dance Coordinator, and on the faculty of the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio.

Meryn Beckett is thrilled to be performing in NYMF this year! She is a San Diego native who recently graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. She was most recently seen under the direction of Laura Marie Duncan in The Full Monty as Georgie. Other credits include One Touch of Venus (TBC), Oliver (Fullerton FCLO), Jesus Christ Superstar (The Curtis Theatre), Brigadoon (The Barnstormers Theatre), Factory Girls (TBC), The Rocky Horror Show (TBC), Pippin (TBC), Grease (Casa del Prado Theatre), Fosse (Casa del Prado Theatre) and others. This is for you Daddy!

Davie M. Kaim is very excited to make his NYC debut with Le Cabaret Grimm! A Boston native, Davie has studied at the Boston Conservatory for the past year. Favorite roles include: Juliet (Shakespeare's R+J), Doctor Parker (Bat Boy), Glen Gulia (The Wedding Singer), and Prince Stephen (The Little Mermaid). Modeling credits include Fear editorial (Men's Health). Thank you to Jason, Cassandra, and Michelle for this amazing opportunity!

Ashley Lanyon, a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory's esteemed Musical Theatre program, is thrilled to be making her NYC debut at NYMF with Liars & Believers. Favorite recent credits include Georgia (Curtains), Claudia (Nine), and Monica Murray (By the Bog of Cats). Enormous amounts of gratitude to Jason, Michelle, and Cassandra for this opportunity! Love to her family, who are the reason why she has the faith and confidence to go for her dreams.

Bart Mather is beyond excited to take the NYMF by storm for the second year in a row! This year with the Liars and Believers and Le Cabaret Grimm. Last year he appeared in Matchmaker, Matchmaker, I'm Willing to Settle. Bart is a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Recent credits include, Prometheus Bound (A.R.T.), The Donkey Show (A.R.T.), The Balcony (The Boston Conservatory).

Jenna Schoen is thrilled to be a part of Le Cabaret Grimm. She is currently training at The Boston Conservatory. Regional credits include A Chorus Line, Annie Get Your Gun, A Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music, Sweet Charity, and Anything Goes. She would like to give many thanks to Michelle Chasse and everyone at The LAB for this amazing opportunity; and all her love to her family and friends for their endless support!

Haley Selmon is thrilled to be returning the the world of Le Cabaret Grimm! Originally from San Francisco, she decided to brave the cold and attend The Boston Conservatory. While there, she played a variety of roles; from a little old lady (Hattie in Follies), to a Shakespearean noblewoman (Lady Anne in Richard III), and of course, Veronique in the world premier of Le Cabaret Grimm! Since graduating, she spent time singing for Carnival cruise lines and recently went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to perform Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Brandon Timmons, born and raised in Gulf Breeze, Florida, is a rising senior at The Boston Conservatory, working on a BFA in Musical Theatre. You may have seen him recently at the conservatory in Curtains, or dancing with the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. Try to be good and choose happy!

Alessandra Vaganek is a rising senior at The Boston Conservatory where she majors in Musical Theatre. She is a certified dance teacher through Dance Educators of America, and a part time choreographer as well. Some of her favorite roles include: Aurora (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Princess Barbara (The Apple Tree), Hattie (Laundry & Bourbon) and Witch (Into the Woods).

Marc Ewart has worked in many departments of theatre production throughout his education and start of his career. He attended Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, NH where he graduated in 2005 cum laude with a B.A. in Theatre Arts with a concentration in directing. During his four years at F.P.C. he performed in many productions while also working in the costume and prop shop. There he appeared in productions of You Can't Take It With You, The Laramie Project, Vertical Talking, Blood Brothers, and The Death of Don Juan. In 2003 he was honored to be a cast member in … but the rain is full of ghosts by Robert Lawson, which attended the American College Theatre National Festival and performed on stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has worked on many productions around Boston in many different departments including stage management, carpentry, set design, lighting design, costume design, and also selling tickets in the box office. He currently works freelance technical theatre and ushering in the Boston area. He is also the site manager of Pioneer Village: Salem 1630 in Salem, MA. With Liars&Believes he has stage managed 28 Seeds and Song of Songs: A LoveRomp and was ASM for Le Cabaret Grimm for Liars & Believers. He attributes much of his success in technical theatre to owning a pick-up truck.

Aaron is a freelance lighting with experience in theatre, opera and dance. For the past three years he has had the pleasure of working with Liars & Believers and is excited to be bringing their first collaboration to NYC. He has worked across the country as a lighting or projections designer for the Huntington Theatre Company, American Opera Projects, Boston University Opera Institute, Central Square Theatre, and Danceworks amongst others. Please check out www.actuality-design.com and always excited to hear your thoughts on twitter at @sherkowa

Kendra spends her daytime making beautiful things at Costume Works in Somerville. Before settling at Costume Works, she has worked for Huntington Theater Company, Stonehill College, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Glimmerglass Opera, and Hubbard Street Dance.  Some of her design work includes 28 Seeds and Song of Songs (Liars & Believers),  The Fantasticks (Prometheus), Cosi Fan Tutte (Millikin University), and Peter (Braintree Films). She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Millikin University and a MFA in Theatrical Design from Rutgers University.

Becca is thrilled to be joining The LAB for their New York debut! She is earning her Bachelors in Anthropology from Columbia University in NYC and a second Bachelors in Bible Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Most recently Becca produced and designed a new translation of Albert Camus' Caligula at the Times Square Arts Center and assistant directed Jose Rivera's Obie Award Winning Marisol for the Barnard/Columbia Department of Theatre. This is Becca's third consecutive summer in the NYC summer festival circuit (including FringeNYC and Strawberry One-Act), and is excited to join Grimm in all of their festival adventures.

Rachel Hock graduated cum laude from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in English and a concentration in language, media, and communications in May 2009. Through her extracurricular involvement with the Urban Exploring club, Rachel helped organize the first ArtAwake – a one-night music and arts festival that showcased eleven local musical acts and the works of over 70 local artists and attracted more than 1,500 attendees, both students and community members. Now an annual event, ArtAwake won the Association of College Unions International 2009 Student-Driven Program of the Year Award.

Before founding the LAB, Rachel got her start as the production intern and spotlight operator for the New Repertory Theatre's 2005 production of Into the Woods. Her previous experience in plotting world domination includes a turn as the online intern for Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School in NYC. She is also a staffer at the Boston Underground Film Festival.

Kate Smolik attended Lawrence University in Appleton, WI where she studied set design and studio art. There, she worked on such productions as Anna Karenina, She Loves Me, and Kiss Me Kate. She also performed in 2 separate productions of The Vagina Monologues. As a Stage Manager at The Attic Theatre in Appleton, WI, she worked on productions of Annie!, The Sensuous Senator, Barefoot in the Park, and The Hobbit. Most recently, she worked as a Stage Manager at The Tribe Theatre, a comedy improv theatre in downtown Boston. She is a proud co-founder of The LAB, and is always excited for what comes next!

Jeff Kubiatowicz started his first theater career in New York where, as an actor, he earned a string of regional, national touring, and Broadway credits. Following that, he spent ten years scratching his entrepreneurial itch by founding, managing, and ultimately selling an online marketing company. Realizing that Irving Berlin was right when he said there's no people like show people, Jeff had a talk with himself, took a cleansing midlife breath, and rejoined the ranks—this time as a director. Jeff’s directing credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for Riverside Theatre Works, Everything Has a Season for SLAMBoston (November 2011), and Big: The Musical for Turtle Lane Playhouse (December 2011).

John Capo Public Relations (Publicity) is a leading voice in Off-Broadway publicity proud to be representing the NYMF productions of Le Cabaret Grimm, Flambe Dreams, Stuck and Trouble The Musical. Other clients include the world’s longest-running musical The Fantasticks, New York’s longest-running play Perfect Crime, the long-running spoof of the news NEWSical the Musical, the international blockbuster Fame, Cole Porter's Nymph Errant at Theatre Row, a site-specific production of Amelia on Governors Island and Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns at the West End Theatre.