Creative Team
KEVIN MCGUIRE: (Director)
has a wide-ranging experience directing plays and musicals throughout the country. He was the founding Artistic Director of the award-winning Theatre Company at Hubbard Hall, where he acted and directed in over 50 productions. He also served as Artistic Director for Proctors’ Theatre in Schenectady, where he curated and developed ten New Works/New Plays. Most recently he directed Hamlet at the Capital Rep in 2015, as well as the original production of “Some People Hear Thunder” in San Francisco the same year. Kevin trained at The Juilliard School and Circle in the Square Theatre School. He was born in Cambridge, New York and raised in Hoosick Falls.
GERSON SMOGER: (Book, Lyrics, Music)
first became involved with the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide while working in Geneva with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. He has maintained his interest in international human rights, now serving as Secretary of the Board of Physicians for Human Rights. Committed to social justice, he also serves on the boards of non-profits Public Citizen and Public Justice. He hopes that this play will help shed light on the often forgotten suffering of the Armenian people, as well as the horrors of genocides that have occurred all too frequently over the past century.
JEFFREY SORKIN: (Music, Orchestration, Vocal Arrangements)
credits include: Regional Theatre: Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (Director, Orchestrator), Fifteen-Minute Star (Director, Book, Music, Lyrics). Cabaret: Le Cabaret Melange (Music, Lyrics). Commercial Jingles: The Singing Telegram Company (Music, Lyrics). Musical Director for Philly icon, Jerry Blavat. Jeff was a woodwindist, keyboard player and founding member of Faustus, a 9-piece horn band signed to Gamble Records. Their single, Baby Please, was a regional hit in the Greater Philadelphia area. He and Gerson have also written: Tobit: The Oratorio.
FREDDY RAMIREZ (Choreographer)
is a Bronx, NY born and raised Performer, Choreographer and Teacher. He began dancing at Broadway Dance Center & STEPS in NYC where he focused his energy on studying all aspects of dance including Latin, Contemporary, Street Jazz, Ballet & Modern. Freddy has choreographed works for professional companies that have performed in Germany, Italy and here in the U.S. He most recently choreographed the world premiere of The Naked Influence at the Capital Repertory Theatre. Other credits include Camelot, A Christmas Story the Musical, The Secret Garden, Gypsy, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees, Carousel, Bye Bye Birdie and Little Shop of Horrors.
JOSH D. SMITH (Music Director and Additional Orchestrations)
music directed and/or accompanied numerous productions throughout the US; including Arizona Broadway Theatre, ArtisTree and Northern Stage in Vermont; Prather Entertainment Group in Lancaster, PA; the Arundel Barn Playhouse in Maine; Jersey Shore Entertainment and Surflight Theatre in New Jersey; Downstairs Cabaret Theatre, Cortland Repertory Theatre; and Syracuse Stage in Upstate New York. Capital Regional audiences may recognize Josh from his work at the Mac-Haydn Theatre and Capital Repertory Theatre. He was named 2013 Central New York (SALT) Musical Director of the Year by the Syracuse New Times. Josh keeps himself busy throughout the year with live theatre and cabaret, including performances at 54 Below and The Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and AFM Local 802.
BRIAN PRATHER (Scenic Designer)
is a New York based scenic designer. Recent Off-Broadway designs include: Widower’s Houses (TACT/Gingold), A Christmas Carol (St. Clement’s), Becoming Dr. Ruth (Westside), The Memory Show (Transport Group), Freud’s Last Session (New World Stages), Nymph Errant (Prospect Theater), and The Burnt Part Boys (Playwrights Horizons). Internationally, Brian has designed at the Chung-mu Art Hall (South Korea) and at regional and other theatres, including: the Alley Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Barrington Stage Co., TheatreWorks Hartford, Virginia Rep., the Broad Stage, Mercury Theatre, Delaware Theatre Co., Shakespeare on the Sound, NewArts, and the Rubicon, among many others. Brian was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago) for Set Design and recently nominated for an Emmy (New England) for the design of “The Kate” concert series on Public Television. Brian is a proud member of USA Local 829. See more of Brian’s work at www.brianprather.com
EVAN PRIZANT (Costume Designer)
designs for theatre, opera and dance have been seen on stages across the country, from Cape Cod to Honolulu, including his hometown Louisville, KY and his current home Brooklyn, NY. Some favorites include: James and the Giant Peach at Stage One; the rock-and-roll musicals Vinegar Tom and Peer Gynt, two different 8-actor productions of A Midsummers Nights Dream, and the world premiere of The Providence of Neighboring Bodies, I Saw His Body and Forgot My Own, Samuel and Alasdair; A Personal History of the Robot War, Some Editing and Some Theme Music, and Gormanzee and Other Stories. Assisting work includes Sunday in the Park with Georgia and In Transit, both currently on Broadway and a season with the Hawaii Opera Theatre. MFA: Boston University; BA: Tulane University. www.evanprizant.com
CORY PATTAK (Lighting Designer)
NYC credits include: Stalking the Bogeyman (New World Stages), Revolution in the Elbow… (Minetta Lane), Happy We’ll Be (Roseland), Witnessed by the World (59E59), Handle with Care (Westside Downstairs), Skippyjon Jones (Theatreworks USA), Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (HERE), Freddie Falls in Love (Pershing Square), This Side of Paradise (St. Clements), Unlocked, Nymph Errant, With Glee, The Blue Flower (Prospect Theatre). Regional: Weston Playhouse, Old Globe, Portland Stage, Goodspeed, KC Rep, Maltz Jupiter, Cap Rep. Syracuse Stage, Indianapolis Opera, Bristol Riverside, Arkansas Rep, Northern Stage, Engeman Theatre and the recent National Tour of Flashdance. International: Letters to Santa Clause (Misi Prodducciones, Bogata Columbia). Associate/Assistant: Newsies, Peter and the Starcatcher, A Time to Kill, An Evening with Patti Lupone & Mandi Patinkin, The Story of My Life, Irena’s Vow (Broadway), Heathers (Off-Bway), Band Geeks, How to Succeed… (Goodspeed), Daddy Long Legs (Off Bway/London), Side Effects (MCC), Lost in the Stars, Paint Your Wagon (Encores!), Rapture Blister Burn (Playwrights Horizons). Host and creator of “in 1: the podcast”, featuring interviews with theatrical designers. www.corypattak.com
JOEL ABBOTT (Sound Designer)
is an American theatre sound designer and composer. Recent shows include Present Laughter (Broadway, assist), Napoli, Brooklyn (Long Wharf, assist), My Fair Lady (Bay St. Theatre), Prodigal Son (MTC, assist), Baskerville (St. Michael’s Playhouse), Serial Blackface (Actor’s Express), A Moon for the Misbegotten, Title of Show, Unnecessary Farce, A Chorus Line, Passing Strange, I Hate Hamlet, Wit (Playhouse on Park). Education: University of Georgia, Yale School of Drama MFA Program. www.joelabbottsound.com
STEPHANIE KLAPPER (Casting Director)
her work is frequently seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, internationally, on television, internet and film. Projects she has been involved with have won numerous awards, including the Tony, OBIES, Artios, Drama Desk, Pulitzer Prize, Sundance Audience Award, Cannes Prize Du Publique and Comic Con awards.
In New York City, she is the resident casting directory for Primary Stages, New York Classical Theatre, Ensemble for the Romantic Ensemble, Masterworks Theater Company and works frequently with Mint Theater Company, Peccadillo Theater Company, and Pearl Theatre Company, as well as many regional theatres including Baltimore Centerstage, Capital Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Kansas City Rep and Milwaukee Rep. Select Broadway: Bronx Bombers A Christmas Story, The Musical; Dividing the Estate, Bells are Ringing; It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues. Currently, she has a number of very exciting project running and upcoming in NYC, regionally and on film. Fade; Yours Unfaithfully, The Roads to Home; Edwin…; The Golden Girls Show!; Another Dance of Death (short film); The Heart is Not Made of Stone... (BAM)
LIZ REDDICK* (Production Stage Manager)
s pleased to continue her career near the stage and be reunited with Kevin McGuire on SOME PEOPLE HEAR THUNDER, recent credits include ROMEO AND JULIET and CYMBELINE (VA Shakespeare Festival), THE SEAFARER (FL Rep), THE FULL MONTH, ON GOLDEN POND and PICNIC (USI/New Harmony), LADY IN THE DARK (Lyric Stage), MAN OF LA MANCHA (Capital Repertory Theatre) and LOMBARDI (Depot Theatre). Liz has been a professional stage manager for 30 years, doing plays, musicals, and operas regionally. For the past 12 years, Liz has also been working at AMDA NY. Liz is a native Texan, and 1984 graduate of Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where she received the Heywood C. Clemons Volunteer Service Award in 2000. Proud AEA member.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. This production operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association.