Westfield Community Players (Rehearsal for Murder)

Cast and Production Members

The Cast	The Production/Crew
A. J. Liana as Alex Dennison	Brian Remo Director
Russ Ortiz as Ernie	Steve Lemenille Producer
Ami Martino as Sally Bean	Barbara Ruban Stage Manager
Angel Duncan as Monica Welles	JoAnne Lemenille Properties
Mandy Russell as Loretta/Policewoman	Bill McMeekan Set Design
Mark Schumacher as Lloyd Andrews	Barbara Ruban/JoAnne Lemenille Set Decor
Laura Casey as Bella Lamb	Bill McMeekan Lighting Design
Kristina Hernandez as Karen Daniels	Jessica Foerst Lighting Operator
Craig Tiede as David Matthews	Glen Crane Sound Design
Peter Curley as Leo Gibbs	Michael Bieber Sound Operator
Ken Webb as Man in Auditorium	TBA Publicity
Robert Pape as Mr. Santoro/Police Officer	Jessica Foerst Playbill
Steve Lemenille as 2nd Man in Auditorium	Steve Lemenille Web site
	Renate Bieber Box Office
	Lucille Bills Audience Services
	Doris Dias Costumes
	TBA Make-Up
	TBA House Managers
	TBA Ushers
	TBA Stage Crew
	TBA Stage Crew
	George Hiltz Set Construction Chairman
	Bob Smith Set Construction
	Sal Villani Set Construction
	Paul Kirsh Set Construction

BIOGRAPHIES
The Cast
A. J. Liana	*(Alex Dennison)* A.J. is excited to be back here at WCP after having appeared in two of WCP's most successful productions, Dial 'M' for Murder in 2009 as Tony Wendice and A View from the Bridge as Eddei Carbone last season. These being after an 18 year hiatus for A.J. He had portrayed the role of Shadow/Prince Sirki in WCP's production of Death Takes A Holiday in 1992. A.J. has been performing since 1988, when after seeing a production of Annie in his hometown of Bayonne,(actually born in beautiful downtown Jersey City) decided that acting looked like something he wanted to try and was cast a few weeks later in Fiddler On The Roof. Forty-somewhat productions later, he still finds it thrilling to attempt to be someone else for a few hours. (And sometimes the applause helps!!) He has studied acting at various schools in New York City including HB Studios and Playwrights Horizons. Also donated some money for voice lessons, which wasn't a complete failure as he was actually cast in a few musicals! Favorite roles during the 22-year journey include Brick (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof), Starbuck (The Rainmaker), Jessep (A Few Good Men), Dentist (Little Shop Of Horrors), Judas (Godspell), Kenickie (Grease) , Richard (The Lion In Winter) and Chris (All My Sons) where he received an Avy Award nomination for best actor. When not on stage or in front of a camera, (yes, if you watch closely you can stumble across his face in an occasional soap opera, commercial or movie!). A.J. is a proud member of The Bayonne Fire Department and currently rides on Engine 6 but is even prouder to be husband to his number 1 fan and wife Donna.

RUSS ORTIZ	*(Ernie)* Russ is pleased to be performing for the second time with the Westfield Community Players. Russ made his WCP debut as Sol Wasserman in Squabbles here at WCP back in October. Russ has appeared in And Then There Were None with the Main Street Theatre Company in Sayreville. Russ' other work include Finian's Rainbow (Henry), the NJDriftwoodPlayers Productions of The Crucible (Giles Corey), Alice in Wonderland (Driftwood-Mock Turtle), One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest ( Main Street-Aide Williams), Bleacher Bums (Edison Valley Playhouse-Announcer), The Sound Of Music (Main street-Franz), Brigadoon (Playhouse 22-Angus Beaton), and Playhouse 22's production of A Christmas Carol (Fezziwig). Thank you Steve for giving me the opportunity to work with a wonderful cast and crew. It has been a pleasure working with all the talented people associated with the Westfield Community Players. Thanks also to my sons Jason and Scott for their love and support. Russ most recently was nominated for NJACT 2011 Perry Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Thomas Rogers in Main Street Theatre Company's "And Then There Were None."

AMI MARTINO	*(Sally Bean)* Nurse by day and actress by night, Ami is thrilled to be making her Westfield Community Players debut. A veteran of community theater, her favorite roles include: Soupy Sue (Urinetown), Anne Frack (The Diary of Anne Frank), and Isabel (Pirates of Penzance). Thank you Brian and Westfield Community Players for this wonderful opportunity. Love to my husband, Chris and my friends.

ANGEL DUNCAN	*(Monica Welles)* Angel Christine Duncan made her first appearance in New Jersey at the Westfield Community Players production of, Don’t Drink the Water (Susan Hollander). She is thrilled and proud to be back on their stage as Monica Welles. In addition to the theatre, Angel has performed and interviewed on television and film throughout Texas and California, and has worked behind the scenes in many faucets. Her favorite stage roles include: A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella Kowalski), Isn’t It Romantic (Harriet Cornwall), Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You (Sister Mary), Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Trisha), Tribute (Sally Haines) and The Most Massive Woman Wins (Sabine). Angel would like to extend a tremendous thank you to the director, Brian “Quentin” Remo, for his devoted faith in her abilities. Your vision and talent are endless. Thanks to the cast and crew for which this play would not be the same without your brilliance. Thanks to the Westfield Community Players for your integrity and passion for theatre.

MANDY RUSSELL	*(Loretta/Policewoman)* Mandy is making her debut at Westfield Community Players with this production. Mandy has been acting since age 3 in plays and musicals. Following her many high school performances, Mandy joined the King's Players acting troupe where she traveled a full year throughout the United States, performing full-length plays. After graduating from the University of Massachusettes, she is thrilled to finally have the time to return to her passion of acting. She can't think of a better cast and crew to be involved with in making her return to the field.

MARK SCHUMACHER	*(Lloyd Andrews)* Mark is delighted to make his Westfield debut. He was introduced to this august company when he shared the stage playing the role of Dr. Armstrong with our director (Brian Remo), producer (Steve Lemenille), Bella (Laura Casey) and Ernie (Russ Ortiz) in “And Then There Were None” at Main Street Theatre in May 2011). This is Mark’s 11th play in two and a half years. This summer he had the lead in The Drowsy Chaperone as Man in the Chair (Stone Church Players, Navesink) and, in March, had the honor to play the title role of Finian McLonergan in Finian’s Rainbow at Main Street Theatre. Perhaps one of his most fun challenges took place for the Christmas show at First Avenue Playhouse, Atlantic Highlands 2010, when Mark played eight characters with 16 changes in the holiday farce “Happy Hollandaise,” (Hamlet, Phantom, Pirate, Zorro, BBC Announcer, Santa, Philip and Sherlock Holmes). His other theatrical experiences include: Pot Luck (Tony - Romantic lead) First Avenue Playhouse, Atlantic Highlands, June 2009; Twelve Angry Men (Juror #2) Center Playhouse, Freehold, November, 2009 Man of La Mancha (Muleteer) Axelrod PAC, Deal, Feb 2010; Two Pair & Jacks are Wild (Jim) Navesink Library, March 2010; 1776 (Samuel Chase) Plays in the Park, Edison, June-July 2010; The Royal Family (Mac Dermott) Spring Lake Community House, Oct.-Nov. 2010 Mark credits his parents for teaching him the gifts of theater as a child, his beloved children, Jim 25 ~a fellow actor and Julie 20 for their undying devotion support, joy and talents well beyond their years, and his lifelong friends who have kept him young. Special thanks to Brian and Steve for introducing me to this amazing Westfield institution and for their direction and coaching which make everyone involved with them better at this craft. Enjoy the show!

LAURA CASEY	*(Bella Lamb)* Laura is over the moon at being able to make her Westfield Community Players debut with this ridiculously talented cast. The best part of acting is, and always will be, the fabulous people, be it on the stage, off the stage, or the cheering, smiling, gasping faces in the audience. So many, many thanks to the cast, crew and audience for making this so worthwhile. And thank you from the bottom of my heart to the love of my life, my husband Sean, whose support for my acting and the love of theatre knows no boundaries. Thank you also to producer Steve Lemenille and board president JoAnne Lemenille for their incredible gentleness, kindness and support. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, she is forever grateful to the impossibly talented director Brian Remo for including her in this show. His vision, dedication and over-the-top enthusiasm for this production made this a tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The last time she shared the boards with Steve and Brian they were threatening to kill her. Alright, to kill her character...Vera Claythorn in Main Street Theater's production of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Nonetheless, she is happy to be on their good side this time around.

KRISTINA HERNANDEZ	*(Karen Daniels)* Kristina is delighted to be returning to WCP after making her WCP debut last season with her remarkable performance as Catherine in A View from the Bridge. Kristina thanks the cast and crew for this experience and would also like to give a special thanks to her fiance Tim for all of his support, as well as their dog, Hurley, for understanding why his walks had to be cut short."

CRAIG TIEDE	*(David Matthews)* Craig is making his WCP debut with this production. Prior on-stage credits include Rent (Roger), Pageant: The Musical (Miss West Coast), The Little Dog Laughed (Mitchell), Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story (Richard), The Wedding Singer (Robbie), The Wild Party (Black), The Shape of Things (Philip), The Full Monty (Malcolm) and Godspell (Jude). He's also directed productions of Spring Awakening, Urinetown: The Musical, Anyone Can Whistle and Into the Woods. Craig is a graduate of Ithaca and Dartmouth Colleges and currently works at The New School, managing campus visit programs.

PETER CURLEY	*(Leo Gibbs)* Peter is no stranger to audiences here at WCP. He was last seen in A View from the Bridge in th dual roles of Mike and Immigration Officer. He was also seen in WCP's production of Fools as Gregor Yousekevitch. Peter also was in WCP's production of Death of a Salesman as Biff and in A Midsummer Night's Dream as Demetrius, also here at WCP. His favorite roles from other CT productions include Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Sam Weinberg in A Few Good Men, Jasiau Sadlowski in Polish Joke, Richard Rich in A Man For All Seasons, and Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, Andrew Aguucheek in Twelveth Night, James Keller in Miracle Worker, and Felix Hackaday in Best of Friends. Other Shakespeare credits include - Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV, Part I, As You Like It, All's Well That Ends Well, and Measure to Measure, Richard the Second. Recent credits at other theaters include Brite Nights-Halloween Show, She Loves Me, Our Town, Bad Seed and The Late Christopher Bean. Thanks to Brian, Steve and amazing cast and crew.

KEN WEBB	*(Man in the Auditorium)* Ken has now become a veteran here as WCP. Ken made his WCP and acting debut in last season's WCP production of A View from the Bridge as Louis. Ken was most recently seen in WCP's October production of Squabbles as Hector Lopez which had the audiences in stiches with his portrayal. Welcome back, Ken!

ROBERT PAPE	*(Police Office/Mr. Santoro)* Rob is happy to make his Westfield Community Players debut with such an incredibly talented cast. Rob has performed in various shows and was last seen in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Some of Rob’s favorite rolls include: Newton Fuller in George Washington Slept Here, Sasha in Rain from Heaven, Cheche in Anna in the Tropics, Charles in Separate Tables, and Felix in Play It Again Sam. “Thanks John, Cindy, Trish, and Ami for all your support.” Break a leg cast and crew.

STEVE LEMENILLE	*(2nd Man in Auditorium)* Steve is thrilled to be a part of this production as part of the cast. He has either directed or acted with so many of these cast members: A.J. Liana, Kristina Hernandez, Peter Curley, Ken Webb, Russ Ortiz, Laura Casey, Mark Schumacher. He is especially pleased to now being directed by Brian Remo, whom he has directed twice and with whom he has acted. Steve most recently directed WCP's production of Squabbles in October. He directed Dial 'M' for Murder and last season's production of A View from the Bridge, both of which were WCP's most successful and highest grossing productions. He also has appeared in six consecutive productions here at WCP. Steve has been involved in theatre since his college days at Jersey City State. He is a retired Social Studies teacher and Drama Director of 29 years with the Hackensack Public Schools. Steve was also a MFA candidate at Montclair State. He has acted with Tower Players and the Opera Workshop of Jersey City, StageCrafters (Fairlawn), and Bergen County Players. He has also acted in dinner theatre for Regal Productions. Some of the roles he portrayed were: Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank (Tower Players), the Grandfather in The Long Christmas Dinner (Tower Players), Ulysses in Tiger At The Gates (Tower Players), Paul Verrall in Born Yesterday (Bergen County Players), Paul in Barefoot in the Park (Fairlawn), and Michael in Second Time Around and the Inspector in A Shot In The Dark (Regal Productions) and the Grandfather in Kurt Wiell's Down in the Valley (Opera Workshop). Steve portrayed Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Stanley in Death of a Salesman, The Magistrate in Fools, and Gen. Oscar Fairfax in Little Mary Sunshine and Kilroy in Don't Drink the Water...all for WCP. Steve was nominated for a 2009 NJACT Perry Award for OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE MEMBER for his role as the Magistrate in Fools. His directorial credits include: You Can't Take It with You, Harvey, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Gramercy Ghost, George Washington Slept Here, L'il Abner, The King & I, Oklahoma, Sound of Music, The Diary of Anne Frank, Our Town, South Pacific, The Music Man, Rehearsal for Death (all for HMS), Dial 'M' for Murder (Stagecrafters/WCP). Steve was most recently nominated for two (2) NJACT 2011 Perry Awards: Oustanding Supporting Actor in a Play for his role as Justice Lawrence Wargrave in Main Street Theatre's production of And Then There Were None, and *Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play* for his role as Isaac Cohen in Westfield Community Players production of Abie's Irish Rose. Steve is currently the webmaster here at WCP. Steve wishes to thank his wife, JoAnne, for getting him back involved with theatre. "Without her support and love, I can accomplish little. Thank you dear!!" Steve also thanks Naomi Yablonsky, Sherrie Ahlin, Maurice Moran and Drude Roessler for making his WCP experiences very special. A special note of thanks to Jessica, Mike, JoAnne and Barbara for their contributions in making this another excellent production. And of course special thanks to this Cast/Crew for their hard work and love of theatre.

Production Staff
BRIAN REMO	*(Director)* Brian is thrilled to be returning to Westfield Community Players only this time on the other side of the stage with his directorial debut with WCP. Brian made his WCP acting debut with his role as Max Haliday in Dial 'M' for Murder back in 2010, and following that with Abie in Abie's Irish Rose. He was also seen as Rodolpho in last season's production of A View from the Brige. Brian also was in And Then There Were None at Main Street Theatre Company in Parlin where he played Philip Lombard. Brian's acting career started as a self-proclaimed New Year's resolution as he walked into an open audition of Happy Hour by Joelle Arqueros in New York City and was immediately cast as a featured repertory male lead. Brian's acting credits include Tony & Tina's Wedding as Barry the Best Man and Joey Vitale for both The National Tour and the New York Production Team. Quick exposure led to the pick-up of roles in the esteemed Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack, New York having just completed a successful run of the Tennessee Williams classic, The Glass Menagerie as Tom Wingfield. Brian is well remembered in Nyack for his performance as Darren Lemming, the lead in the hugely successful Take Me Out by Richard Greenburg. He also appeared in Tea and Sympathy in Chatham. Brian made his directorial debut with The Fellowship Theater in Chatham's 2010-11 season with Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Brian returned to his original role in Happy Hour when the show's popularity and success brought it to 45th Street, and provided him work for six shows a week. Brian lives in North Plainfield, with his two understudies Justin (9) and Jack (6), as well as, their stage mis-manager.....Mush (14 in dog years...) Brian owns and operates Rocks & Roots Inc., a Landscape and Site Work Construction and Management Company and is originally from Wyckoff, New Jersey.

STEVE LEMENILLE	*(Producer)* Steve has enjoyed his new role as producer working with Brian as the director. It has been wonderful seeing the transfomation from actor to director that Brian has achieved. Sometimes two directors working together can be difficult, but this has been a pleasure.

BARBARA RUBAN	*(Stage Manager/Set Decor)* started with WCP as property master for many shows before branching out into stage managing and received a Perry Award nomination for props for the production of Angel Street. She also assists with set decoration and costumes. Having been on stage in a couple of productions, she would rather leave the acting to the pros and enjoy being in the backstage "hustle and bustle". Barbara also wrote two original plays which were performed at WCP. In addition, one play was performed in Chatham in the Jersey Voices Festival. She had been on the Board of WCP for two years serving as Director of Performance. Barbara is now Vice President of Productions. A legal assistant by day, she thanks WCP for allowing her to express her creative side and her children and grandchildren for their love and support, which makes it all more gratifying.

JOANNE LEMENILLE	*(Properties Mistress)* JoAnne appeared as Mrs. Isaac Cohen in WCP's production of Abie's Irish Rose. She began her WCP experience with her role as Mildred WCP's production of The Cemetery Club. Since that time, JoAnne has been the Properties Mistress for our productions and served on WCP's Board of Directors as Director of Productions. JoAnne is now in her third term as President of WCP. She has always been involved in theatre since she was a child back in Union with the Teen Stagers. She has also appeared as Polly in The Boyfriend, Anna in New Girl in Town; Eleanor in Second Time Around (for Regal Productions), and Peggy in Front Page. Besides doing props, she has worked on Scenery and Set Design. Her favorite role was Eleanor in Second Time Around because it gave her the chance to play her husband, Steve's, snobbish and self-centered wife. JoAnne is a retired teacher of music from the Clark School system where she was the vocal, instrumental and music theory teacher for over twenty years and for which she directed and musical directed the plays for Kumpf School. "I make bead flowers - an old French art of using glass beads." Special thanks to my husband Steve and JoAnn Scanlon for giving me the chance to rekindle my love for the stage, and thanks to a wonderful cast and fabulous crew." It's good to have you back on front stage!!!

BILL MCMEEKAN	*(Set/Lighting Designer)* Bill not only serves as our set designer, but is currently WCP's Treasurer and serves on the Board of Directors.

JESSICA FOERST	*(Lighting Operator/Playbill)* Jessica is not only versatile at operating the light control board, but also sits on the WCP Board of Directors as Director of Playbill. She has aided in the lighting design of this show. She is also extremely talented as a graphic designer. Much of her art work is displayed throughout our website.

GLEN CRANE	(Sound Design) To be developed

MIKE BIEBER	*(Sound Operator)* To be developed

TBA	*(Publicity)* To be developed

STEVE LEMENILLE	(Web Master) See bio above

RENATE BIEBER	*(Box Office)* Renate has been Director of Tickets since the 08-09 season and enjoys making sure the front of the house runs smoothly. Participating in the chorus of Mikado and Pirates of Penzance with the Gilbert & Sullivan Players of Philadelphia many years ago makes her appreciate the hard work that goes into a production and confirmed her belief that she doesn't want to be on stage. Renate is a substitute teacher in the Westfield School District, a board member of Westfield Hadassah, a member of the Harvest Quilters of Central New Jersey and enjoys spending time with her family and reading.

DORIS DIAS	*(Costumes)* I’m thrilled with the opportunity to work on this production. My personal goal is to make sure that the actors are comfortable and confident in their appearance on stage. I started working on costumes at the Westfield Community Theater in 2009 with their production of Little Mary Sunshine. At this point I fell in love with costuming. I was asked back to the theater and subsequently invited as the Chairperson of Costumes. I have great respect for the Director and his visions, they inspire me. I thank the production team for their faith in my ideas and their respect for my opinion. And specially my daughter for all the late hours, help and support. Past credits: Little Mary Sunshine, Don’t Drink the Water, The Second Time Around, Dial M for Murder, Caught In The Net, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Abie’s Irish Rose, A View from the Bridge, Squabbles, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Top Girls, Stuart Little and Bizet’s Carmen "I am a Costumer, I make clothes for imaginary people." ---Celestine Ranney, 1982

TBA	*(Stage crew)*

GEORGE HILTZ	*(Set Construction Chairman)* To be developed