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"Wild and Reckless" Cast and Creative Team

Wild and Reckless
Written and Performed by Blitzen Trapper
Co-Directed by Rose Riordan and Liam Kaas-Lentz


THE CAST
Eric EarleyThe Narrator/Guitar
Laura Carbonell*The Girl/Piano/Guitar
Brian Adrian KochThe Scientist/Percussion
Leif Norby*The Dealer/Percussion
Marty MarquisThe Professor/Keyboard
Erik MenteerThe Kid/Guitar
Michael Van PeltBass/Percussion


THE CREATIVE TEAM
Rose Riordan Co-Director
Liam Kaas-LentzCo-Director
Sibyl WickersheimerScenic Designer
Alison HeryerCostume Designer

Daniel MeekerLighting Designer

Casi PacilioSound Designer

Jared MezzocchiProjection Designer

Janine Vanderhoff*Stage Manager

Kristina MastProduction Assistant
Rose Riordan, Brandon Woolley
and Liam Kaas-Lentz
Casting

*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

CAST BIOS

Laura Carbonell*
The Girl/Piano/Guitar
Laura is thrilled to be back home in Portland working at The Armory. Regional theater credits include One Night with Janis Joplin (Arena Stage and Cleveland Play House); The Storytelling Ability of a Boy (world premiere, Florida Stage); Glorious! (Shadowland Theatre). New York theater credits include the new rock musicals Destinations (Le Poisson Rouge) and Twist (The Kraine Theater); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Pulse Ensemble Theatre); The Wrath of Aphrodite (TBG Arts Center); The Andrews Sisters Musical Revue (New York Dinner Theater). Film credits include The Captive (Sundance Channel) and the award-winning Simpler Times. Produced by Laura and her husband Steve Monarque’s company MonaVision Films, Simpler Times features comedy duo Stiller and Meara and a theme song Laura wrote with Jerry Stiller. Laura is the managing director of Off-Broadway's Working Theater and holds a B.F.A. in theater from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and the Stella Adler Conservatory.


Eric Earley
The Narrator/Guitar
Eric grew up in Salem, Oregon, playing in high school rock bands and working on blueberry farms in the summer. In 1995, he moved to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where he studied history and hitchhiked around the south. Returning to Oregon, he moved to Portland to study abstract mathematics, physics and science-fiction literature. One Halloween, he developed a fever and had an extraordinary vision while drunk on Mickey's. Subsequently, Eric quit school and returned to songwriting. He lives with his wife in SE Portland, where he records songs, writes novels and works in his garden.


Brian Adrian Koch
The Scientist/Percussion
Brian Adrian Koch is a California born and Oregon raised artist. He is excited to make his debut at The Armory, and blend his passions for acting and music into a single show. In 2000, he moved from Salem to Portland, co-founded the band and began attending Portland State University, where he received his B.A. in theater arts. Since then, he’s toured the western world over with Blitzen Trapper and continues to act, write, compose and occasionally direct for productions, both theatrical and cinematic. Recent/favorite TV and film credits include: The Librarians, Grimm, Counterintelligence, North and Nowhere and Eight Types of Crazy. Theatrical credits include: Mr. Burns, Crackin' The Code and Manos: The Hands of Fate. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and grateful to be represented by Dennis Troutman of OPTION Model and Media.


Marty Marquis
The Professor/Keyboard
Marty is a native of Yakima, Washington, a son of an amateur thespian and a grandson of a Vaudevillian singer. As a youth, he haunted the community theater and performed in productions like Yakima's legendary Professor Bud's Mini-Circus. He was weaned on early MTV before discovering The Beatles and Led Zeppelin (and thence his vocation) as a teen. In the 90s, he met Eric Earley while studying American culture in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Upon relocating to Portland, he was enlisted to join the nascent band. He lives in SE Portland with his wife and two children. Favorite pastimes include reading sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction and that prince of American letters, Henry Miller. He recently released his first proper solo recording, Skookum Sound. 2019 will mark the sesquicentennial of the Marquis family in Oregon.


Erik Menteer
The Kid/Guitar
Erik Menteer was born in Salem, Oregon, to a British mother and a Michigander dad. He began to play music in the fourth grade, starting with the viola. The electric guitar came soon after, and he spent his high school years making as much noise as possible. Seeking out his favorite tones, he picked up more instruments like the organ, the sitar, and the Moog synthesizer. He brings this assortment of instruments to his role in Blitzen Trapper, but is mostly known for his electric and slide guitar work. At Mt. Hood Community College, he studied music theory before transferring to Portland State University where he received a bachelor's degree in applied linguistics. When the band isn't on the road, he can be found playing his collection of early British R&B and punk records under the moniker of DJ Mod Fodder.


Leif Norby

The Dealer/Percussion
Leif was last seen in Astoria: Part One. Other appearances at The Armory include Clancy/Voice of The Oregon Trail in The Oregon Trail, Professor Willard/Joe Stoddard in Our Town, De Guiche in Cyrano, Rodrigo in Othello, ensemble in both Anna Karenina and Sunset Boulevard, Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps, Tateh in Ragtime and Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls. Other recent Portland appearances include Cervantes in Man of La Mancha (Lakewood Theatre), Dr. Givings in In the Next Room (Profile Theatre), Tom in The God Game (Brandon Woolley prod.), Bastion in Mr. Kolpert and Jane/Edgar in Mystery of Irma Vep (Third Rail Repertory Theatre), Verne/George in And So It Goes… and Frank Keller in Red Herring (Artists Repertory Theater), Charlie in The Scene (Portland Playhouse), and Beast in Beauty and the Beast (Pixie Dust Productions). TV credits include Portlandia and Leverage. Leif is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, sends love to his wife Susie, and thanks you for supporting live theater.


Michael Van Pelt

Bass/Percussion
A fifth-generation native Oregonian, Michael is the grandson of a Willamette Valley strawberry and peppermint farmer. Fostered by his grandmother’s spinet piano, his parents’ vinyl collection, 80s pop culture, and the ascendance of hip hop, Michael took up bass guitar at the behest of Mr. Earley in the fall of 1993. Later, at the University of Oregon, he was hastily baptized into the world of subterranean college radio and bedroom 4-track cassette recording. By 2000, Michael had moved to Portland and helped crystalize what would soon become Blitzen Trapper. When not touring the western world, producing records, or curating sounds for Portland agency Marmoset, you can find him in his downtime clumsily reading Joyce and eating copious amounts of popcorn with his wife and two young sons.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper were formed in Portland, Oregon, in 2003. Their self-released third album, Wild Mountain Nation, catapulted their career. The band signed to Sub Pop Records for their breakthrough fourth album, Furr, in 2008. Furr received universal acclaim. It was named #13 on Rolling Stone’s list of top 50 albums of the year and the band has been touring the world ever since. They most recently released their acclaimed eighth studio album, All Across This Land, with Paste praising the record as a "triumph of Blitzen Trapper's classic rock sensibilities," calling it "an album 15 years in the making, as the musicians are both in command of their talents individually and completely dialed in as a band." Last year, the band released a live album which was recorded direct-to-acetate and released on Jack White's Third Man Records. Blitzen Trapper are Eric Earley, Marty Marquis, Michael Van Pelt, Erik Menteer and Brian Adrian Koch. blitzentrapper.net

Rose Riordan
Co-Director
Rose is in her 19th season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where she serves as associate artistic director and has previously directed The Oregon Trail, Our Town, The People’s Republic of Portland (2013 and 2015), Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Typographer’s Dream, LIZZIE, A Small Fire, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, The North Plan, Red, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Christmas Story, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Receptionist, A Christmas Carol, Frost/Nixon, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, Doubt, The Underpants, The Pillowman and The Thugs, which won four Drammy Awards, including Best Ensemble and Best Director. Rose has also recently directed, for various other theaters, Adam Bock’s Phaedra, The Passion Play, Telethon and The Receptionist. In 1999, she founded the annual JAW: A Playwrights Festival. JAW has been instrumental in developing new work for the company’s repertory, including Threesome, Bo-Nita, The People’s Republic of Portland, The Body of an American, The North Plan, Anna Karenina, Outrage, Flesh and Blood, Another Fine Mess, O Lovely Glowworm, Celebrity Row, Act a Lady, The Thugs and A Feminine Ending. Rose has also directed some of the staged readings for JAW festivals: The Thugs (2005), Telethon (2006), A Story About a Girl (2007), 99 Ways to F*** a Swan (2009), The North Plan (2010), San Diego (2012), The People’s Republic of Portland (2012), Mai Dang Lao (2013) and A Life (2014). She enjoys being part of a company committed to new work and having a beautiful building in which to work.

Liam Kaas-Lentz
Co-Director
Liam is a native of Bellingham, WA. He is an ensemble member of Sojourn Theatre, having served as their stage and production manager for the past decade and a half. Recent directing credits include How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes with Sojourn Theatre and Portland Playhouse, and The Hotel Play and Marie and Bruce with The New House Theatre. In any number of theatrical capacities, Liam has worked with Hand2Mouth Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Artists Repertory Theatre, Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts, Geva Theatre Center, Oregon Children's Theatre, Pixie Dust Productions, The Kitchen, River to River Festival, Teatro Milagro and many others. He received his B.F.A. in stage management from Southern Oregon University, and his M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from Portland State University. Liam has taught stage and production management with a focus on ensemble, devised and site-specific contexts and methodologies at universities across the country. He would like to dedicate this show to Sy. Beyond Rocketships.

Sibyl Wickersheimer
Scenic Designer
Also in Oregon, Sibyl recently designed Julius Caesar, directed by Shana Cooper, and Richard 2, directed by Bill Rauch, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Her regional set design credits include productions at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Lookingglass Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, The Kirk Douglas Theatre, Geffen Playhouse and South Coast Repertory. Sibyl resides in Los Angeles where she designs for numerous local companies and teaches at the University of Southern California. Her work includes over 10 productions at The Actors’ Gang, of which two have toured to five continents and across the United States. Outside of traditional theater spaces, she has designed for The Natural History Museum of LA County, Kaiser Educational Theatre, Disney Cruise Line, and her art installations have been exhibited in galleries throughout Southern California.

Alison Heryer
Costume Designer
Alison Heryer is a costume designer for theater, film and print. She is thrilled to be returning to Portland Center Stage at The Armory, after designing costumes for His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Oregon Trail, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Our Town, Three Days of Rain and Threesome. Other design credits include productions with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 59E59 Theaters, La MaMa, The New Victory Theater, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Portland Opera, Artists Repertory Theatre and The Hypocrites. She has exhibited work at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, the Austin Museum of Modern Art, and Prague Quadrennial of Design and Space. Recent awards include the ArtsKC Inspiration Grant, the Austin Critics Table Award and a 2016 Drammy. Alison is an assistant professor of art practice in the School of Art + Design at Portland State University and a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. alisonheryerdesign.com

Daniel Meeker
Lighting Designer
Previously at The Armory: scenery for The People's Republic of Portland and Red (Drammy Award); lighting for Twist Your Dickens; and set and lighting for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Typographer’s Dream, LIZZIE (Drammy Award for Best Lighting), The Last Five Years and The Mountaintop. Current projects: Big Night Out, Così fan tutte, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field and The Little Match Girl Passion for Portland Opera; The Talented Ones at Artists Repertory Theatre; The Language Archive for Portland Playhouse; Pinkalicious for Oregon Children’s Theatre; and 26 Hours for Profile Theatre. Recent credits: scenery for Women in Jeopardy at Pioneer Theatre Company; lighting for How I Learned What I Learned, and set and lighting for Peter and the Starcatcher at Portland Playhouse; set and lighting for The How and The Why for COHO Productions; scenery for Mothers and Sons at Artists Repertory Theatre; scenery for Eugene Onegin and L’Italiana in Algeri for Portland Opera; lighting for James and the Giant Peach for Oregon Children’s Theatre; and lighting director for the Pickathon Festival. Daniel is a graduate of Ithaca College and The Yale School of Drama, and a member of United Scenic Artists.

Casi Pacilio
Sound Designer
Casi’s home base is The Armory, where recent credits include His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Oregon Trail, Little Shop of Horrors, A Streetcar Named Desire, Great Expectations, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Three Days of Rain, Cyrano; Other Desert Cities, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Small Fire and Chinglish with composer Jana Crenshaw; and ten seasons of JAW. National shows: Holcombe Waller's Surfacing and Wayfinders; Left Hand of Darkness, My Mind is Like an Open Meadow (Drammy Award, 2011), Something’s Got Ahold Of My Heart and PEP TALK for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Other credits include Squonk Opera’s Bigsmorgasbord-WunderWerk (Broadway, PS122, national and international tours); I Am My Own Wife, I Think I Like Girls (La Jolla Playhouse); Playland, 10 Fingers and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (City Theatre, PA). Film credits include Creation of Destiny, Out of Our Time and A Powerful Thang. Imagineer/maker of the Eat Me Machine, a dessert vending machine.

Projection Designer
Jared Mezzocchi
Jared Mezzocchi is the recipient of the 2012 Princess Grace Award. New York City: Manhattan Theater Club (Vietgone), 3-Legged Dog (The Downtown Loop), HERE (You Are Dead. You Are Here.), The Builders Association (Jet Lag), Rob Roth (Screen Test), Big Art Group (SOS, The Sleep). Regional: Arena Stage (Intelligence), Studio Theatre DC and Company One Boston (Astroboy and the God of Comics), Everyman Theatre and Olney Theatre Center (Grounded), Center stage, Cleveland Play House, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (American Song, History of Invulnerability) and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, where he is a company member (The Nether, Chad Deity). Mezzocchi is the producing artistic director of Andy's Summer Playhouse, an experimental multimedia theater for children in NH. Throughout the year, he is a faculty member for the M.F.A. design program at University of Maryland's School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies.

Janine Vanderhoff
Stage Manager
Janine is glad to be back for her second season at The Armory. Previous credits at The Armory include: The Santaland Diaries, The Oregon Trail, Little Shop of Horrors, JAW 2016, Great Expectations, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Our Town. Other Portland credits include: Portland Opera’s Sweeney Todd (followspot caller); DC Copeland's Play (stage manager/production manager); How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes and The Other Place at Portland Playhouse (stage manager). Touring stage management credits include: The Graduate (starring Morgan Fairchild), Cats, The Vagina Monologues, Jekyll & Hyde and Show Boat. While in New York, Janine had the opportunity to work on The Lion King on Broadway, as well as with many Off-Broadway and regional companies. Production management credits include: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for “Democalypse 2012 Republican National Convention” (Tampa, FL); Straz Center (Tampa, FL); The Fox Theatre (Atlanta, GA). Proud NYU graduate and AEA member.

Kristina Mast
Production Assistant
Kristina Mast is excited to be working at The Armory for the first time. Recent stage management credits include db and The How and The Why (Coho Productions); One Slight Hitch (Clackamas Repertory Theatre); [or, the whale], All Well and Drowned Horse Tavern (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble). Assistant stage management credits include Peter and the Starcatcher, Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (Portland Playhouse) and One Man, Two Guvnors (Clackamas Repertory Theatre). She received her training at Goshen College (Goshen, IN), Guthrie Theater’s stage management internship program, and Portland Playhouse’s apprenticeship program. She is a core company member of Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble.

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