{Sam Kusnetz}

Department: Sound

Position/Title: Production Sound Engineer
Hometown: New York City. Lower west side.

What do you love and/or miss about your hometown?
Being able to get good food at any time of the day…

When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
A scientist. I don’t think I really knew what “scientist” meant, but I thought it sounded intriguing.

Favorite part of your job:
Scientist? Or my real job? Really, there are two favorite parts of my job. The first favorite part is the secret satisfaction of knowing that if I do my job really well, nobody will notice. The second favorite part only comes with musicals, and that is the enjoyment of having an unspoken dialogue with the actors every night as I mix the show.

Hobbies?
You mean other than more theatre, right? I’m a musician, and I enjoy writing and recording music.

Pet?
Two pets. My dog is named Obie, and he’s a two year old Chinook. My cat is Abeeza, and in his mind, he’s a giant jungle leopard. But actually he’s just a regular cat.

What was your first job?
When I was fifteen I was the lighting and sound operator for an off-off-broadway show in some tiny venue in midtown. I was paid fifty bucks for two weeks of work and I thought it was the best thing ever.

What was the last book you read? Movie? Play?
Not long ago I finally finished the Baroque Cycle by Neil Stephenson, of whom I am I gigantic fan. The best movie I saw recently was Wall-e.

What is something most people don’t know about you?
My favorite color is blue.

What sets PCS apart from other places you have worked?
It’s the best of both worlds here… we’re the big institutional theatre in town, so we do great old standards like Guys & Dolls and Importance of Being Earnest, but we also do very new, different shows like Apollo and How To Disappear… I’ve never worked anywhere that really shoots for both ends of the spectrum like that.

Who is one of your biggest inspirations and why?
Richard Feynman, the physicist who cracked the mystery of the Challenger accident with the famous O-ring experiment. Despite being among the most brilliant minds of his generation, he always claimed that he was just lucky to understand physics really well. And he always assumed that anyone he was talking to understood something else at least as well. Reading his stuff has always inspired me to be as good as I can in my field, and to embrace being a rank novice in other fields. He was perpetual student and a masterful teacher all at once.

What is something you are absolutely passionate about?
Well, that’s my lovely wife Kerry, of course!
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{Trisha Pancio}

Department: Marketing

Position/Title: PR & Publications Manager

Your Hometown: Sarasota, Florida

What do you love and/or miss about your hometown? It was the winter home of the circus, and it had all these amazing buildings built by John Ringling, including an Italian palazzo he had deconstructed, shipped and rebuilt right on the bay.

When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up? In order: 1. Solid Gold Dancer 2. Actor 3. Environmental Engineer 4. Director

Favorite part of your job: photoshoots- its like directing a 1 second play.

Hobbies? Burning man, cyberpunk, food in all its glorious forms.

pet? Nope. Got a 7 year old. That’s enough to clean up after.

What was your first job? Concessionairre in a movie theater.

What was the last book you read? Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. Highly recommend it. He imagined in 1988 just about everything about the digital revolution. Fascinating stuff.
Movie? Just got the first season of Mad Men on DVD. Does that count?
Play? Doubt at PCS, I think.

What is something most people don’t know about you?
I’m a closet introvert. If I don’t get at least 12 hours a day away from people, I get all snarly and start to foam at the mouth.

What sets PCS apart from other places you have worked?
There’s a real sense of our work being relevant on a national stage, and that changes the context of everything we produce.

Who is one of your biggest inspirations and why? Edna St. Vincent Millay. She was smart, sexy determined, and amazing with words. Flouted every convention of her time and women just loved her for it. Also quite famously got in an argument with an opera company because she was writing the book for an opera called The Henchmen set in Anglo-Saxon England and she insisted that every word used be either of Angle or Saxon extraction. Now that’s being a wordsmith!

What is something you are absolutely passionate about? Cheese. No seriously. I’ve never met a cheese plate I didn’t like.
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{Larissa Cranmer}
Department: Costumes        
Position: Stitcher
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM

What do you love and/or miss about your hometown? My friends, The International Balloon Fiesta, The Burning of Zozobra.  The smell of roasting chili in the fall

When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?

Favorite part of your job: the variety of projects and the constant opportunity to learn new skills.

Hobbies? dancing, reading, sewing, crafts

What was your first job? JC at the local YMCA day camp

What was the last book you read? Movie? Play? Just reread The Time Traveler’s Wife

What is something you are absolutely passionate about? Education and Literacy

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{Jessica Nikkel}
Department: Production
Position: Production/Facilities Assistant

Hometown: Salem, Oregon

What do you love and/or miss about your hometown? Hmm…this is a tough one. Every time I visit my mom in Salem, I’m insanely grateful that I don’t live there anymore. It’s a weird place…and not weird in a good way. I do miss seeing four of my closest friends from high school on a regular basis, though. We still get together every year when we’re home for Christmas. One of them lives in Portland, but I don’t see the others very often.

When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up? A writer, teacher, veterinarian, gymnastics coach, journalist, actor.

Favorite part of your job: The fantastic, creative, fun people I get to work with every day. And, of course, seeing great theatre on a regular basis.

Hobbies? Writing, mainly screenplays at the moment. I’m taking a screenwriting class right now, and it’s a huge amount of fun spending Monday nights with a bunch of other writers talking about film and critiquing each other’s work. Other hobbies: reading, exploring the city, playing tennis, running, watching movies.

Pet? None at the moment, although I’d love to get a cat at some point. I just can’t figure out where in my small apartment to put the litter box.

What was your first job? Other than babysitting, my first job was picking fruit at a farm near my house. I was thirteen or fourteen, and I think I made about $40 over the entire summer.

What was the last book you read? Play? I’m reading “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller at the moment. It’s been on my to-read list for years. The last play I saw was “The Little Dog Laughed,” and it was fantastic.

What sets PCS apart from other places you have worked? The building! In addition to being beautiful, it’s LEED-Platinum rated. Also, the commitment to being a part of the greater community.

Who is one of your biggest inspirations and why? Charlie Kaufman. He’s an incredibly creative screenwriter, and despite the fact that he works in mainstream Hollywood, his work remains distinctive and unexpected.

What is something you are absolutely passionate about? Politics, the environment, theatre, writing.

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{Nick Schultz}
Department:Telesales
Hometown: Burley, Idaho/ Salt Lake City

What do you love and/or miss about your hometown?
Vast desert skies and sunsets, that is seriously it!
When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
Urban planner , or a cop, than I realized I just wanted to be with one.
Favorite part of your job:
Chatting with people about theater.
Hobbies?
Map drawing, gardening.
Pet?
Sonya the greatest cat ever and 20 fish.
What was your first job?
I bagged groceries at a tiny grocery store named John’s Market.
What was the last book you read? Movie? Play?
Extremely loud and incredibly close. Little Dog Laughed. Documentaries from the library lately (Life on earth after humans)
What is something people don’t know about you?Ummmm not much, I am pretty open about things. I figure life is humiliating for most of us, so I just spill it. Ok ! Maybe one thing, I am not telling!
Who is one of your biggest inspirations and why?Harvey Milk, He lived fearlessly. He doesn’t get enough press.
What is something you are absolutely passionate about?
Gay men’s mental and emotional well being.

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