Sandra Tsing Loh is the author of The Madwoman in the Volvo: My Year of Raging Hormones (2014, W.W. Norton), which was selected as one of the New York Times' 100 Most Notable Books. It is based on her Best American Essay 2012 on menopause, originally published in The Atlantic Monthly. Her previous book, Mother on Fire, was inspired by her hit solo show about Los Angeles public education. During that time, she was named one of the 50 most influential comedians by Variety. Her other solo shows include Aliens in America and Bad Sex With Bud Kemp (both off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre), Sugar Plum Fairy (Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Rep, East West Players), and I Worry (Kennedy Center, Actor's Theatre of Louisville). Her short story, “My Father's Chinese Wives,” won a Pushcart Prize in 1996, and is also featured in the Norton Anthology of Modern Literature. Loh's other books include NY Times New and Noteworthy The Madwoman and the Roomba, A Year in Van Nuys, Aliens in America, Depth Takes a Holiday, and a novel, If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now, which was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 100 best fiction books of 1998. She has been a regular commentator on NPR's “Morning Edition,” and on PRI's “This American Life” and “Marketplace.” Loh's education includes a BS in physics from the California Institute of Technology, an institution which granted her a Distinguished Alumna Award, its highest honor, and for whom she was the first alumna to give a now-famous commencement speech. Loh's combining of her communication and science skills continue with her NPR/syndicated daily minute “The Loh Down on Science,” which has been heard weekly by 4 million people since 2004. A Pushcart Prize winner, MacDowell Fellow and three-time National Magazine Award nominee, she is a contributing editor for The Atlantic Monthly. Sandra's stand-up show, The B**** Is Back: An All-Too Intimate Conversation, ran at The Broad Stage in 2015. Her multi-character play based on The Madwoman in the Volvo premiered at South Coast Repertory Theatre (SCR) in 2016, and enjoyed subsequent runs at The Pasadena Playhouse and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Dr. James J. Mellon is the founding Spiritual Director of Global Truth Center, Los Angeles, having founded the Center in 2003 under the name “The NoHo Arts Center for New Thought.” His extensive background in the entertainment industry covers theatre, television, film, recording and dance and his vision statement for his life is “Enlightenment Through Entertainment.” He received his Doctorate in Consciousness Studies from the Emerson Theological Institute where he now on faculty teaching quantum metaphysics.

As an actor he made his Broadway debut as Riff in WEST SIDE STORY, directed by Jerome Robbins, and performed in many plays and musicals including, A CHORUS LINE (Broadway), 42ND STREET (Billy Lawlor - National Tour), THE FIFTH OF JULY (Regional) and Jesus in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Chicago). He has worked at such theatres as The Goodspeed Opera House, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, The Kennedy Center, The Folger Theatre in Washington D.C., as well as The Williamstown Theatre Festival.

As a writer, Dr. Mellon adapted Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” into the World Premiere Musical, DORIAN, which premiered at The Denver Center’s Buell Theatre in the fall of 2004. His newest musical, “The Belles ‘R Swingin’,” just completed a successful workshop at the LaMirada Theatre of the Performing Arts.

Samuel French publishes two of Dr. Mellon’s original musicals: YO HO HO! A PIRATE’S CHRISTMAS and A BOY CALLED LIZARD. The latter received the 2012 AATE Award (American Association for Theatre and Education) for best adaptation of a musical.

Dr. James’ newest book, THE FIVE QUESTIONS (which chronicles the five days spent in ICU releasing their daughter from her physical body) is an Amazon #1 Best Seller and can be found @ www.jamesmellon.org For information on his work with his spiritual community, please go to www.globaltruthcenter.org. He is the author of the book, MENTAL MUSCLE, 16-WEEKS OF SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP and lectures throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Paul Raci

Paul’s love and passion for music started at a very early age. The first born son of Deaf parents, they were concerned that with only ASL communication in the home there would not be enough auditory stimulation to model speech for him. So they bought a radio, record player and a TV. And sometimes all three were blaring at the same time. Sinatra, Elvis, Paul Anka, Otis Redding, and James Brown were constantly playing in the house. In high school, when the Beatles arrived, Paul ‘s Deaf Mother bought him his first guitar. When he made his first recording, he remembers putting the 45 RPM record on the turn table, and his Mom putting her hands on the stereo, to feel the vibration, and then signing to Paul “Beautiful”

When Paul was drafted in the Vietnam war, he joined the US NAVY and did two combat tours on the U.S.S. Coral Sea ( an aircraft carrier ) as a Hospital Corpsman. When he returned, he started ROCKY, a band with influences of David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, and Aerosmith. The Band became a favorite in the Chicago music scene. Paul’s mom would often sneak into a venue where ROCKY was playing and made friends with everyone from the bouncer at the door to the bartenders.

Attending the University of Illinois on the G.I. Bill, Paul started to explore acting and the theatre. He was involved in countless productions in Chicago as a sign language interpreter as well as starting his own company, The Immediate Theatre, as an actor, where he was nominated for a Jefferson Award for his performance in Children of a Lesser God. He also started to explore “shadow signing” with his partner Joyce Cole at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and would often be interpreting four different plays in rep at a time.

Paul Raci is a Veteran, a CODA, (Child of Deaf Adults), a Court Certified American Sign Language Interpreter, a musician, and the lead singer/signer for an ASL Rock Band. In LA, as an Actor he has done over 10 productions with Deaf West Theater, including Of Mice and Men, Medea, Equus, A Christmas Carol, and the acclaimed award winning production of David Mamet’s American Buffalo in ASL. Paul has been seen in his Oscar Nominated role in Sound of Metal opposite Riz Ahmed, Sing Sing opposite Colman Domingo, Butcher’s Crossing opposite Nicholas Cage, The Mother opposite Jennifer Lopez and the HBO Series Perry Mason among others.

Jonathan Slavin(he, she, they) Notable Theatre Credits: Broadway: The Sisters Rosensweig(Barrymore Theatre). Off-Broadway/Regional: Cyrano de Bergerac( Pasadena Playhouse), The Best Of Schools(Ubu Rep), Six Degrees of Separation(Dallas Theatre Center). LA Theatre: Sukkot(Skylight Theatre), Homefront(The Victory Theatre), Freud On Cocaine(The Whitefire), The Boomerang Effect(The Odyssey). Notable and/or recent film/TV: Sugar, Santa Clarita Diet, Starf*ckers, St. Dennis, Pam & Tommy, Dr Ken, Better Off Ted, Grey's Anatomy, Grace and Frankie, Speechless, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Friends, My Name Is Earl. Proudly vegan and very queer.

Kurt Fuller began his acting career in the late 1970’s, performing in small theaters all over Los Angeles until his “big break” in the form of Ghostbusters 2 and Wayne’s World led him into over thirty years of film and television. Looking back, his days of acting freedom and free theater resonate more profoundly than any acting he has been paid to do. So it is with great fear and excitement that he plunges once again into the unknown; truly unknown, at the Fountain Theater this afternoon.

Guillermo Cienfuegos serves as Artistic Director at Rogue Machine Theatre. He directed the Rogue Machine productions of Evanston Salt Costs Climbing, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Middle of the World, The Beautiful People, Disposable Necessities, Ready Steady Yeti Go and Dutch Masters. Cienfuegos won both the Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Director for his production of Shakespeare’s Henry V at Pacific Resident Theatre. He has directed numerous productions at PRT, including Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Pinter’s The Homecoming and Safe at Home: An Evening with Orson Bean. Most recently, Cienfuegos directed Martyna Majok’s Ironbound , with Marin Ireland and Jon Bernthal, at the inaugural Ojai Theatre Festival. Other directing credits include Shaw’s Misalliance and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at A Noise Within, the Los Angeles Premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer Prize winner Between Riverside and Crazy at the Fountain Theatre. Julia, both at PRT and at New York’s 59E59 theatre, Off-Broadway, the World Premiere of Middle of the World at Boise Contemporary Theatre and the World Premiere of Christmas Contigo at Oregon Cabaret Theatre. Guillermo Cienfuegos is the directing pseudonym of actor Alex Fernandez, who has appeared at numerous regional theatres, including the American Conservatory Theatre, Alaska Rep and the Old Globe, as well as in dozens of local productions most notably Henry V, The Cherry Orchard and Rhinoceros at PRT, Exiles at the Hayworth and Luka’s Room at Rogue Machine. Fernandez has over 175 film and television credits, most recently recurring on the series American Gigolo, Mayans MC and Good Trouble and Seal Team. Cienfuegos was featured in the ‘People to Watch’ issue of American Theatre magazine and is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theatre.

Acted in over 70 different theatrical projects. Movies and television. Nominated for best supporting actor for American Graffiti. Other movies include The Man Who Fell To Earth, Blue Thunder, Stephen Kings Cats Eye, At Close Range, The Blob and more. Recent Television; Criminal Minds. Most recently published, in February, a Polaroid book with commentary called TIGHT HEADS.

Patrick Keleher is an actor, writer, and filmmaker from Carbondale, Colorado. He recently played Seth Ridley on ABC’s The Rookie and starred in the Off-Broadway run of Fatherland in LA and NYC. He’s currently developing his debut feature film, “FRICK!”, hosts a podcast, shares weekly videos on YouTube, and documents the daily grind of chasing big dreams on social media.

BORN IN NEW YORK TO A THEATRICAL FAMILY, ELLEN GEER WAS SPOON FED ON SHAKESPEARE. HER FATHER, WILL GEER, AND HER MOTHER, HERTA WARE, TOOK HER WITH THEM AS THEY PERFORMED IN THEATRE COMPANIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BY THE TIME ELLEN WAS 14 SHE WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED ACTRESS.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PERIODS IN HER CAREER WERE THE REPERTORY YEARS SUCH AS WORKING WITH TYRONE GUTHRIE AT THE GUTHRIE THEATRE OF MINNEAPOLIS, AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATRE IN SAN FRANCISCO AND A.P.A. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF ELLIS RABB. HER STRONG BELIEF IN THEATRE AND ITS NECESSITY IN SOCIETY LED HER TO EVOLVE THE WILL GEER THEATRICUM BOTANICUM WORKSHOP, FOUNDED BY HER FATHER, TO A PROFESSIONAL OUTDOOR THEATRE SERVING THE L.A. COMMUNITY WITH PLAYS, MUSIC CONCERTS AND FINE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. SHE IS THE PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.

IN TELEVISION, SHE HAS BEEN IN A SERIES AND NUMEROUS GUEST STAR APPEARANCES.

AMONG HER FEATURE LENGTH FILM CREDITS ARE 'HAROLD AND MAUDE,' 'HEART LIKE A WHEEL, 'SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES,' 'SILENCE,' AND A FILM SHE WROTE AND STARRED IN, 'MEMORY OF US.' 'HARD TRAVELIN,' 'PATRIOT GAMES,' and 'CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’.

SHARON LAWRENCE has been prominently featured on stage and screen over the last 40 years. Currently on JOE PICKETT series on Paramount+ her television work includes her multiple EMMY nominated and SAG AWARD winning run as Sylvia on NYPD Blue, as well as stints on shows such as, SHAMELESS, DYNASTY, THE RANCH DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, RIZZOLI & ISLES, MONK, WALKERand GREY’S ANATOMY earning her 4th EMMY nomination. Film work includes MIDDLE OF NOWHERE from Ava DuVernay and THE LOST HUSBAND, both on Netflix. For the past several years, Sharon has received national critical and public acclaim for her solo performance as Washington Post famed publisher Katharine Graham in The Shot, first seen at Center Stage in Santa Barbara most recently at PlayMakers Rep and winning the United Solo Festival Off Bway. Broadway- Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof and as Velma in Chicago ; Off Bway in Pen Pals, Tongue of a Bird, Love with Cherry Jones, Loss, and What I Wore . Multiple roles at the major LA theaters- The Mark Taper Forum, (Poor Behavior The Mystery Of Love And Sex) The Wallis, (Trumpet of the Swan and Love, Noel)The Geffen (Paint Your Wagon, Under The Blue Sky) The Matrix ( The Seagull, The Homecoming- LA Drama Critics Nomination fPasadena Playhouse (Song at Twilight , Orson’s Shadow, with 2 nominations for Ovation Awards and win from LA Drama Critics Circle, Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara (THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, PARENTS IN CHAINS) IAMA Theater Company (A KID LIKE JAKE, TRAUMA PLAY) Sharon was nominated for her 5th EMMY TheGazeseries.com series which also streamed on CTGLA’s DigitalStage and her 6th nod for Peacocks PUNKY BREWSTER Sharon's non-profit service includes former Chair of the Women in Film Foundation, current BoD of Heal The Bay and as a Vice President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Board of IAMA Theatre Company . IG @sharonelawrence

Maddox Pennington (he/they) is a nonbinary theater artist, director, and educator; a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, he is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. A co-producer of LA’s Joy Who Lived, a Trans and Gender-Nonconforming Theater and Comedy Festival, he has most recently performed in Native Voices Antíkoni by Beth Piatote. His work has also been developed in the Native Voices Short Play Festival and Playwrights Retreats, 2023 T/GNC Reading Festival, the Theater Viscera Podcast, NYC’s FRIGID Queerly Festival, the Moving Arts MADLab, and the inaugural Creative Nations First Storytellers Festival in Boulder, CO. His award-winning work at the Hollywood Fringe Festival with majority nonbinary/trans casts has included Love Chicken, Annex, and A Third Space, which was part of the Trans Conversation Project in 2024. Maddox has taught creative and college writing at Columbia University, American University, and the University of Southern California, where they are currently an Assistant Professor. His next projects include teaching in the Center Theater Group’s Hamlet Observership Program and an upcoming LACMA-Native Voices collaborative commission to open the new David Geffen wing. You can find them online @MKPinLA and MaddoxKPennington.com.

Jeanne Sakata is an award-winning actor and playwright whose versatility spans across theater, television, film, voiceover and audiobooks. Called “a local treasure” by the Los Angeles Times, her recent TV work includes recurring and guest star roles on ABC/Shondaland’s Station 19, CBS’ Magnum P.I., NCIS Hawai’i, and NCIS Los Angeles; Marvel-Hulu’s Hit Monkey; and Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and Big Hero 6. Onstage, Jeanne was recently featured in the 2025 National Tour of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Here There Are Blueberries at the McCarter Theatre, The Wallis Annenberg Center, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, as well as the play’s 2022 world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse. Jeanne also performed in the 2023 revival of Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight at CTG’s Mark Taper Forum, and at such theatres as the Vineyard Theatre, Public Theatre, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, South Coast Rep, and ACT Seattle.

Jeanne’s solo play Hold These Truths (Drama Desk Nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; Theatre Bay Awards, Outstanding Production, Lead Performance, Direction), has won awards and accolades in over twenty productions with Arena Stage, Barrington Stage Company, Guthrie Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, ACT Seattle, Portland Center Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, Epic Theatre Ensemble, East West Players, and more. She also recently authored two audio plays commissioned by L.A. Theatre Works, For Us All and a new adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (2025 Audie Award Finalist; 2024 Earphones Award Winner). Jeanne is currently working on her latest play, Springs, commissioned by Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.

Special honors: Theatre LA Ovation Award, Outstanding Lead Actress (Chay Yew’s Red, East West Players); Ticketholder Award, Best Actress In A Play, (Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum); Trailblazers Award, Outstanding Artistic Achievement, East West Players; Playwrights' Arena, Lee Melville Award, Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theatre. (jeannesakata.com, holdthesetruths.info)

Ben Palacios is an actor in TV, film, and theatre. TV/film credits include Apple TV's "Palm Royale" (PRINCE OF LUXEMBOURG), Sony's "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" (LYLE - motion capture), and "Running Point" on Netflix. Theatre credits include Disney's "FROZEN - Live at the Hyperion" (PRINCE HANS), the world premiere of "Mutt House" at LA's Center Theatre Group, and "Sex With Strangers" (ETHAN) at the Human Race Theatre Company -- for which he won a regional BroadwayWorld award. Raised in Geneva, Switzerland; Washington D.C.; and Ridgewood, NJ; Ben studied acting at Vassar College in NY and Prague Film School in the Czech Republic. IG: @benpalacios_

Jeanne’s solo play Hold These Truths (Drama Desk Nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; Theatre Bay Awards, Outstanding Production, Lead Performance, Direction), has won awards and accolades in over twenty productions with Arena Stage, Barrington Stage Company, Guthrie Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, ACT Seattle, Portland Center Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, Epic Theatre Ensemble, East West Players, and more. She also recently authored two audio plays commissioned by L.A. Theatre Works, For Us All and a new adaptation of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (2025 Audie Award Finalist; 2024 Earphones Award Winner). Jeanne is currently working on her latest play, Springs, commissioned by Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.

Pam Trotter is a versatile entertainer hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, now making waves in Los Angeles, California. Renowned for her commanding presence on both stage and screen, Pam captivates audiences with her rich vocals rooted in blues, gospel, and jazz.

She has brought a wide range of unforgettable characters to life in productions such as Inherit the Wind and The Red Suitcase, and has starred in acclaimed stage works including The Color Purple, An Octoroon, and Ain’t Misbehavin’, among many others.

Pam currently recurs as Dia on ABC’s Abbott Elementary and has appeared in hit television series including Swarm (Amazon Prime), American Auto (NBC), Maggie (Hulu), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS), Life in Pieces (CBS), Shameless (Showtime), General Hospital (ABC), and more.

Her film work includes roles in Under the Influencer, Saving Paradise, and the Academy Award-winning Dreamgirls.

Pam is overjoyed to return to the Fountain Theatre for this bold, one-of-a-kind theatrical journey and is deeply honored to bring to life the words of a brilliant playwright. To her, theater is a courageous leap into the unknown—and she warmly invites you to join her in discovering the wonder and magic of White Rabbit Red Rabbit.

Bernard K. Addison is an award-winning actor and director who regularly teaches workshops in theatre arts, voice and speech, audition techniques, and playwriting. He was last seen onstage in Antaeus Theatre Company’s The Tempest. Other notable works include All’s Well That Ends Well and Gem of the Ocean at A Noise Within, the Mark Taper Forum in Water by the Spoonful, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Fountain Theatre, as well as the world premiere of Citizen: An American Lyric, which originated at the Fountain Theatre and continued its LA run in the inaugural seasons of The Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and with the Music Center for LA Voices at Grand Park. He is a company member of the Antaeus Theatre Company, and he has performed on dozens of stages across the city, region, Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway.  He has been honored for his work by the LA Ovation Awards, the Los Angeles Critics Circle Awards, The LA Weekly, and the NAACP. He has voiced dozens of audiobooks, and has appeared in commercials and television.

Joshua Malina - A co-star on NBC’s THE WEST WING, and ABC’s SPORTS NIGHT, Joshua also appeared in Aaron Sorkin’s THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, MALICE, and the Broadway production of A FEW GOOD MEN. More recently, he played David Rosen in Shonda Rhimes’s SCANDAL, and President Siebert on THE BIG BANG THEORY. His 400 episodes of television include INVENTING ANNA; AMERICAN HORROR STORY; AMERICAN AUTO; SHAMELESS, and THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW. Joshua’s film appearances include BULWORTH, IN THE LINE OF FIRE, and ETHAN BLOOM, which premiered at the 2025 Miami Film Festival. In 2023, he starred on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Tony-winning LEOPOLDSTADT. Most recently he appeared onstage in London in The Marylebone Theatre’s WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK.

Fountain Board Member Rabbi Anne Brener, LCSW, is an author, psychotherapist and spiritual director, specializing in grief and healing. She assists institutions in creating caring communities and is in her twenty-third year as Professor of Ritual and Spiritual Development at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, where she trains Rabbinic, Cantorial and Chaplaincy students. Rabbi Anne is the author of the acclaimed Mourning & Mitzvah: Walking the Mourner's Path (Jewish Lights), in print since 1993 and now in its third edition, and has contributed chapters to many publications. She served as a bereavement chaplain for Skirball Hospice in Los Angeles and was a founding faculty member at Morei Derekh- Jewish Spiritual Direction Program and of Project Sanctuary, one of the country's first shelters for Battered Women and their Children. Anne is passionate about the role of the community in healing. She works to de-pathologize the language we use to discuss normal life transitions, such as grief, that should be met with ritual and community response.. Anne has studied at The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and earned Master’s Degrees in Jewish Communal Service and Jewish Letters, as well as Rabbinic Ordination and an Honorary Doctorate in Jewish Communal Service. She also holds Master's Degrees in Social Work from the University of Southern California and in Broadcast Communications from San Francisco State University. She has served on the Board of Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal, started by one of her teachers, Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi and leads a weekly morning meditation service for Aleph on Zoom, which you are welcome to join. Anne grew up in New Orleans. Her daughter, Jen Leeb, lives in Portland, Oregon.

Brian Kite is an award-winning theater director, Professor of Directing, and Dean and Vice Provost of Graduate Education at UCLA. He previously served as Dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and Chair of its Department of Theater. His directing work has been seen across the United States and internationally, including productions of American Idiot, Billy Elliot, Les Misérables, the national tour of Judgment at Nuremberg, Little Shop of Horrors, and Dinner with Friends. He received the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Spring Awakening and the Joel Hirschhorn Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

Internationally, he directed the first U.S. play performed at China’s National Center for the Performing Arts, the Chinese premiere of Miss Saigon, and the Polish premieres of the musical Irena. He also staged Cabaret in Bermuda under the patronage of the Queen’s Governor. A Visiting Professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy and former Producing Artistic Director of La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Brian has spent plenty of time on the other side of the footlights — and is delighted (and obviously terrified) to be back onstage for White Rabbit Red Rabbit.

Behzad Dabu is an actor, producer, and writer based in Los Angeles. He grew up in Syracuse, NY and got his BFA in Acting from Columbia College Chicago, where he also worked after college as the Senior International Admissions Officer; traveling all over the world working with students and their families on creating careers in the arts.

He has worked extensively on stage at some of the best theaters in the country, especially in Chicago and LA, and is a proud company member at TimeLine Theatre Company which presents stories inspired by history that connect with today’s social and political issues.

With a passion for working with playwrights and new play development, he originated the role of 'Amit' in "Samsara" at Victory Gardens Theatre, for which he was nominated for a Jeff Award - Best Actor. He also originated the role of 'Abe' in the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play, "Disgraced" which he performed at American Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, Seattle Repertory, and the Mark Taper Forum at Center Theatre Group.

On screen, you can see him as 'Simon Drake' on Seasons 3 and 4 of How To Get Away With Murder on ABC, as 'Amir' on the Showtime series The Chi, and on Disney’s The Lion Guard. He also appeared in episodes of The Good Place, All Rise, Chicago P.D., Drive Share, You're So Talented, Dealbreakers; and in the films Mirage, Star Vehicle, Weathering, Pick Up, Hoop, King Rat, Imperfections; as well as various audiobooks, podcasts, and national commercials.

Behzad is the Director of Acting for Hillman Grad, a faculty member at Last Acting Studio, and the Acting Coach for the TV series The CHI. He strives to be a strong advocate in regards to representation in the arts and media; and is a founding member of The Chicago Inclusion Project, which seeks to level the playing field and provide resources in the arts for people of color, women, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities. He is a skilled audience engagement facilitator and experienced post-show discussion leader. behzaddabu.com

Simone Missick is excited to return to The Fountain Theatre for this special performance. Simone was last seen at The Fountain in Citizen: An American Lyric, adapted for the stage by former Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs, and directed by the late Shirley Jo Finney. Other stage credits include Dominique Morisseau’s Paradise Blue at The Signature Theatre, which earned her a Theatre World Award in 2019.  The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry at the LA Theatre Center, which earned her an NAACP Theater Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2014. The Mountaintop at Theatreworks. And In the Red and Brown Water at The Fountain.

Simone can be seen on AppleTV+ in Government Cheese opposite David Oyelowo. Other credits include All Rise(CBS), Altered Carbon(Netflix), Marvel’s Luke Cage(Netflix), The Defenders(Netflix), Iron Fist(Netflix), Tell Me a Story (CBS All Access), Wayward Pines(Fox) and Ray Donovan(Showtime).

Simone is grateful to God, her family, friends, and her ever-supportive husband for all the sunshine.

Bill Brochtrup is thrilled to return to the Fountain Theatre where he appeared in Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart and Michael McKeever’s Daniel’s Husband, both directed by Simon Levy.

He is best known for playing “John Irvin,” the cheerful administrative aide, on ABC’s Emmy Award-winning police drama, NYPD Blue. In 2019 he reprised his role in the rebooted NYPD Blue pilot.

Other series regular and recurring roles include CBS’ Public Morals, ABC’s Total Security, Showtime’s Shameless, Amazon’s digital drama After Forever, and a five-season run as savvy police psychologist “Dr. Joe” on TNT’s Major Crimes.

His film work includes Hypnotized, Life As We Know It, He’s Just Not That Into You, Duck, Ravenous, and Space Marines.

In addition to the Fountain Theatre, his Los Angeles stage credits include work at Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, LA Theatre Works, Odyssey Theatre, Rogue Machine, and Antaeus Theatre Company, where he served as Artistic Director for twelve years.

He produced the Ambie-nominated fiction podcast series The Zip Code Plays, has told his original comic stories at numerous Spoken Word events, and has written for Out magazine and the bestselling collection of essays I Love You, Mom!

Bill has hosted AIDS Walks across the country, is an SPCA “Friend for Life,” and has spent numerous holidays abroad with the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment, visiting troops in the Persian Gulf, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Germany, Japan, Bosnia, and Kosovo.

Ava Lalezarzadeh is an actor and writer who made her Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play English by Sanaz Toossi (Roundabout). She brought back the role of “Goli” which she originated in the Off-Broadway production of English (Atlantic). She is a series regular in the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Before, starring Billy Crystal, Judith Light, and Rosie Perez. Lalezarzadeh wrote and starred in the award-winning and Oscar Qualified short "In the Garden of Tulips”, inspired by Ava’s mother’s coming of age story. The film follows 16-year-old Caroline and her father along their final drive to the Iranian Countryside at the height of the Iran-Iraq War. The full-length feature by the same name is in development. Some of Ava’s additional credits include: The Morning Show (Apple TV+), Wild Life (HBO MAX), New Amsterdam (NBC), and Big Mouth (Netflix).

Chris Renfro is an Asian-American actor, writer, comedian, and sound designer from Los Angeles, CA fresh off their run in Broadway’s “Oh, Mary!” as Mary’s Teacher.

On TV & Film they can be seen in Queer as Folk, Good Trouble, The L Word: Generation Q, Tom Swift, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Reno 911! and the MTV original movie, Pretty Stoned.

Their award-wining podcast, One of Us with Fin and Chris is available everywhere in the universe and is not to be confused with the Christian Worship podcast, “One of Us.”

HARRY GROENER - Mr. Groener is very happy to participate in this wonderful event at the Fountain. Some credits: He played Big Daddy in the critically acclaimed production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof for which he received an Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award. Recently he was seen in Henry IV starring Tom Hanks with The Shakespeare Center Of Los Angeles. Also at Antaeus: Uncle Vanya, Pera Palas, Mother Courage, The Bear in Chekhov X Four, and Lear in King Lear. His multiple Broadway and Off Broadway credits include Crazy For You (Tony and Drama Desk Nomination), Cats (Tony Nomination), Oh Brother!, Oklahoma! (Tony Nomination, Theater World Award), Harrigan And Hart, Is There Life After High School, Sleight Of Hand, George in Sunday In The Park With George, Imaginary Friends and King Arthur in Spamalot. Regional: George, The Madness Of King George, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cyrano, Cyrano De Bergerac, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, William Tecumseh Sherman, The March, Steppenwolf Theater, Lincoln and LBJ in Appomattox, The Guthrie Theater. Film and Television partial: About Schmidt, Patch Adams, Road To Perdition, Cure For Wellness, Dear John, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, CSI, How I Met Your Mother, Medium, Bones, Las Vegas, Breaking Bad, The West Wing and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise. He can be seen in Chris Nolan’s film Oppenheimer starring Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Rami Malek and Matt Damon. He has been happily married to actress Dawn Didawick for 47 years.

Chicago native Sufe Bradshaw, born into a family of nine siblings, learned early on the value of hard work and dedication from her Sicilian dad and her mother of Ghanaian roots. She began her acting odyssey at the Los Angeles City Theatre Academy, where she earned a degree in Theatre. Soon after, she went on to train at Lee Strasberg's prestigious Actor's Studio West, moderated by Mark Rydell. Bradshaw continued to refine her craft with The Meisner Technique and intensive sessions with Allan Miller and coaching With Michael Woolson.

Bradshaw is most notably known for her role as no-nonsense character Sue Wilson alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Matt Walsh, and Tony Hale in HBO's comedy series "Veep." Most recently, Bradshaw shot a supporting role in the Netflix film "Metal Lords", written and produced by D.B Weiss and directed by Peter Sollett. She also appeared in the 2021 Sundance romantic comedy "Together Together" starring Ed Helms, Patty Harrison and directed by Nikole Beckwith.

Bradshaw can also be seen in Netflix's action adventure film "Murder Mystery" alongside Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler. She portrayed Nawi the Warrior on HBO Max's "Lovecraft County" guest-starred on TBS's "The Guest Book" written and directed by Greg Garcia, and had the honor of playing a cadet alien in JJ Abram's blockbuster Paramount Pictures "Star Trek."

Bradshaw is represented by Ben Gorman at Buchwald Talent Agency and managed by Tim Taylor at Luber Roklin Entertainment. She currently resides in Los Angeles, where one of her favorite hobbies is yoga with her teacher and dear friend Jake Ferree. She says that the practice has changed her life and she loves the idea that "it is not about what you are doing, but who you are being."