Theatre Performance

Here, Now

THE VIDEOTAPING OR MAKING OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER AUDIO AND/OR VISUAL RECORDINGS OF THIS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTING RECORDINGS OR STREAMS IN ANY MEDIUM, INCLUDING THE INTERNET, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, A VIOLATION OF THE AUTHOR(S)’S RIGHTS AND ACTIONABLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW. 

Special Thanks

Dr. Donald Smith, Alyssa Beach, Delta Psi Omega Drama Club

A Shakespeare Project Company

Hamlet

SONNET 130

As You Like It: Act II Scene v

The Tempest: Act IV Scene i

Company

Here, Now

Special Thanks

Dr. Donald Smith, Alyssa Beach, Delta Psi Omega Drama Club

Recent Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) Achievements

Aaron Ciolek – Directing – Finalist [2024]

Valerie Sepulveda - Student Directing Initiative Performance Award [2024]

Stephen Harsha - Costume Design - Finalist & Honorable Mention [2024]

Stephanie Gelardo - Sound Design - Finalist [2024]

1984 - Invitational Scene as one of the 4 best scenes in Region VIII [2023]

Aaron Ciolek – Directing – Finalist [2023]

Paige Mills – Sound Design – 2nd Place (Honorable Mention) [2023]

Paige Mills – Sound Design – Vectorworks Award [2023]

Recent KCACTF Irene Ryan Acting Nominees

Something's Afoot

Indra Hamm as Miss. Tweed

Xander Billie as Col. Gillweather

Silent Sky

Isaac Salazar as Peter Shaw

Stephanie Gelardo as Williamina Flemming

Romeo And Juliet

Stephen Harsha as Benvolio

Noah Manumaleuga as The Prince

Four Dogs and a Bone

Aaron Ciolek as Bradley

Noah Manumaleuga as Victor

Valerie Sepulveda as Collette

Crazytown

Aaron Ciolek as Edie Richard, Peter Pitstains, Tom

Jackson Garcia as News Announcer, Kevin O’Geddon, Tim Bixby, Tybalt

Isaac Salazar as Jim Pickles, Crime Watch Voice, Merv Johnson, Mercutio

The Theory of Relativity

Emily Cockerham as Catherine

Kaylee Algood as Caroline

Recent KCACTF Design Award Nominees 

Something's Afoot

Marius Perez, Sarah Meacham - Properties Design

Kevin Shepperson - Sound Design

Anya Machbitz - Meritorious Achievement - Choreography

Silent Sky

Stephen Harsha - Costume Design

Olivia Kanetzky & Hanna Nur - Makeup & Hair Design

Romeo And Juliet

Stephen Harsha - Sound Design

Eduardo Bahena & Stephanie Gelardo - Sound Design

Eduardo Bahena – Meritorious Achievement – Original Music Composition

Four Dogs and a Bone

Eduardo Bahena - Sound Design

Bryan Ponting, Jr. - Properties Design

Crazytown

Paige Mills - Sound Design

Recent MCCCD Artists of Promise Winner

Isaac Salazar - 2nd Place - Acting

Recent Arizona Young Artist Competition

Olivia Kanetzky - Finalist - Acting

Eduardo Bahena (Eddie/Hare) is a two-time Kennedy Center Region 8 nominee for Sound Design and was awarded the Meritorious Achievement Award for Music Composition for their work in productions of Four Dogs and A Bone and Romeo & Juliet. Eduardo started Theatre, co-starring in productions of The Theory of Relativity and Crazytown. They were also an Assistant Stage Manager in Four Dogs and a Bone and a production of Something’s Afoot. 

Alexis Cox (Alexis/Fox 2) has been involved in theatre since elementary school. In that time, she was in 5 plays and 1 musical, that include After Hours as Pat, She Kills Monsters as Bugbear, and The Princess Bride as Mother. In those years she became an active member of the Thespian Society. 

Paul Fuery (Paul/Crow) has been involved with the theatre arts for 13 years, with some of the more notable roles as Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, Seaweed in Hairspray, and Oberon in A Midsummer's Night's Dream. While acting in those roles, Paul has received multiple acting awards and a newspaper article featuring Paul from The Press Enterprise.

Chris Gamble (Chris/Donkey) is making his theatrical debut this year at Glendale Community College. He seeks to combine his knowledge of music and his love for storytelling into musical theatre. This semester, he is acting in both, Aesop’s Fables and A Shakespeare Project in the roles of Puck and Romeo.

Indra Hamm (Indra/Fox 1) is happy to do his 3rd show at GCC. During previous seasons, he has been the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, as well as Ms. Tweed in Something's Afoot, for which he won the Best Actress award at the Gaucho Awards for Theatre Excellence.

Marie Jasmin (Sound Designer) has been involved in sound design for three years, and since has utilized field recordings and foley for post-production effects. With a focus on composition and proper application of sound effects within entertainment media, she has ample technical live sound experience in both theatre and musical performance.

Marcus Kanian (Marcus/Owl) has been involved in theatre for two years, during this involvement he has worked sound for Clue Jr. He has also played the role of Maypole Repairman in Soap Opera and Evil Witch in Disenchanted.

Cecelia Leija (Cece/Fox 3) has been a lover of the arts all her life. In the past, she has played roles like Miss Honey in Matilda the Musical and Ana in Bocón. This is her first play with GCC and is so happy and grateful to be here!

Sarah Meacham (Sarah/Tortoise 1) is a current student of GCC’s Theatre Arts program and also holds an AAS in Film & Video Production. Her background includes modern dance (The Snow Queen), as well as screen acting, and production design. Her recent prop designs for GCC's Something's Afoot earned her a nomination to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in 2025.

Joseph Molina (Aesop) has performed Pop and R&B music for six years across the valley, featuring songs from the 70s to early 2000s. He won three silver and one copper medal at the World Championship of Performing Arts. He opened for Tootsie Guevara, singing Living on Love (Alan Jackson), Can't Get Enough of Your Love (Barry White), and Get Down on It (Kool & the Gang). 

Kai Murphy (Kai/Hare 2) received a certificate for completing the online John Casablanca’s Acting and Modeling Program. Throughout high school, she has performed in dance, and during her senior year, she participated in her school’s theater and choir classes. This year, Kai is currently a freshman at GCC involved in theater production.

Rin Sanchez (Rin/Tortoise 2) has been involved in theater for 4  years now. His first role was as Buddy the Elf in the production of Elf the Musical. In his last year, he got the lead role as Charles in Elvira. Now he’s going to school for theater to hopefully work professionally to make a name for himself. 

Nina St. Amant (Stage Manager) is currently pursuing her degree in theatre. She was a dedicated member of her school's award-winning show choirs, and was in 9 to 5: The Musical at The Vista Center for the Arts. She is thrilled to be making her stage manager debut and to be a part of GCC's Theatre Arts program! 

Alyssa Bernickus (Phebe/Viola) was involved in youth theatre and has previously played supporting roles in musicals like Annie, Aladdin Jr., Beauty and the Beast Jr., Shrek Jr., and High School Musical Jr. She has recently returned to theatre after watching GCC’s performance of Something’s Afoot last spring.

Xander Billie (Jaques/Hamlet) has been on the stage for over seven years, having played leading heroes such as Wayne Hopkins (Puffs), as well as dastardly villains like Gaston (Beauty and the Beast). He won the Best Supporting Actor award for the 23'-24' season at Glendale Community College and is one of our acting nominees for the 2025 Kennedy Center American Theatre College Festival.

Katie Doan (Olivia) is a first-year student at Glendale Community College. She has been involved with theatre for 5 years. Katie has been in various high school productions such as Matilda The Musical, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Radium Girls, and Trap. She was given a superior rating for her musical theater solo in the Western Acting Festival of Theatre in 2024.

Chris Gamble (Puck/Romeo) is making his theatrical debut this year at Glendale Community College. He seeks to combine his knowledge of music and his love for storytelling into musical theatre. This semester, he is acting in both Aesop’s Fables as Donkey and A Shakespeare Project as the Puck and Romeo.

Jackson Garcia (Mark Anthony) has been involved in theatre for 4 years, in that time landing roles that include Romeo & Juliet as the fiery Tybalt, Second Opinions as Doctor Mike, and CrazyTown as Tim Bixby / Kevin O’Geddon / Tybalt. This year Jackson is currently involved in GCC’s theatre department and has worked as an actor for A Shakespeare Project.

Stephanie Gelardo (Stage Manager) is a theatrical technician and previously led small theaters as a stage manager and light and sound designer. She recently was an assistant stage manager for GCC Theatre Production of Something’s Afoot and was a finalist for sound design at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for GCC Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet.

Dylan Patrick McCartney (Prince Hal) has been involved in theatre at GCC for 1 year, bringing to life characters such as Gregory in Romeo and Juliet and Lord Rancour in Something's Afoot. During this time, Dylan was awarded the 'Officers' Award' from the G.A.T.E.S. award show at GCC to congratulate his role as President of GCC's chapter of Delta Psi Omega. Dylan is currently involved in GCC's theatre department as a Musical Theatre Major.

Sarah Meacham (Witch 1) is a current student of GCC’s Fine Arts Theatre program and holds an AAS in Film & Video Production. Her background includes modern dance (The Snow Queen), as well as screen acting, and production design. Her recent prop designs for GCC's Something's Afoot earned her a nomination to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in 2025.

Hanna Nur (Third Witch, Portia, Juliet ) has been involved in theater at GCC for 2 years, landing the roles as Balthasar and Juliet's understudy in Romeo and Juliet and Margaret Leavitt in Silent Sky. Hanna has helped with co-makeup and hair design for Silent Sky, which she got a KCACTF nomination for, and was the dance captain for the musical, Something's Afoot.

Clint Powell (Hotspur) is in his first year at GCC. Some of his experiences are Beauty and the Beast, as The Beast, and his role in The Mousetrap as Detective Trotter, which won him his high school's "Best Actor in a Play" award.

Samuel Cuauhtémoc Rendon (Silvius/Proteus) has been studying theatre at GCC for a year now. This will be his fourth production as an actor. The first show he was involved with was Crazytown as several characters, followed by Romeo and Juliet as a servant. He also played in GCC’s previous musical, Something’s Afoot.

Conner Smith (Malvolio/Valentine) has been involved in theater for 2.5 years. During that time, he has played roles such as Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) and Nigel (Something's Afoot). Conner was previously nominated for "Actor In A Featured Role" for Paris (Romeo and Juliet) at the 2024 GATE awards.

Fatuma Umuhoza (Witch #2) has been involved in theatre for 2 years. She has learned self-confidence and learned a lot about theatre.

Eric Beeck (Faculty Set Design Mentor) has a graduate degree from Ohio University and has been teaching as an adjunct professor in scenic design and technology at GCC for the past year and a half. His work has also been seen around the valley with Stray Cat Theatre Company, Nearly Naked Theater, Southwest Shakespeare Theatre, and Phoenix Theatre. Eric is an AriZoni Award-winning set designer for Stray Cat’s production of John.

Robert Esler (Faculty Sound Mentor) is faculty in Sound Design and Sound Reinforcement at Glendale Community College. Many of his students, present and alumni, proudly work in the areas of film, theater, and video games. When not teaching at GCC, Robert performs regularly with Crossing 32nd St., a Phoenix-based contemporary music group, and plays Filipino indigenous music with the Pakaraguian Kulintang Ensemble. Most recently, Robert is a director of the Arizona-based non-profit 501(c)3 arts/technology organization, urbanSTEW. His projects with urbanSTEW range from interactive music for dance and performance, software and game development, instrument design, and interactive installations. Additionally, he is developing generative music software for the iPhone, iPod touch, and eventually the Android platform. Dr. Robert Essler holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale University, and the University of California, San Diego.

William Jones (Performing Arts Center Coordinator, Faculty Lighting Mentor, Faculty Props Mentor) has been involved in building, acting, and facilitating theater in all its forms since the mid-'90s. Previous credits include The Muckle Man (actor/set construction), The Blue Room (actor/set construction), and Happyslap (actor/set construction). He is looking forward to creating even more amazing, exciting, and dynamic theater with GCC.

Ken Goodenberger (Music Director) is a 4-time AriZoni Theater Awards of Excellence winner as a Musical Director. Past shows at GCC include last year’s The Theory of Relativity and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In addition, Ken is no stranger to the stage as an actor and singer in Musicals around the valley for the last 30 years. Favorite roles include Tony in West Side Story, Frederick in Pirates of Penzance, The Mysterious Man/Narrator in Into the Woods, Judge Terpin in Sweeney Todd and Father in Children of Eden. Mr. Goodenberger is the Artistic Director of Showcase Concerts, the parent company of OperaAntics (formerly OperaTunity), a 4-person Opera Troupe which has performed over 1000 shows in valley area schools. Ken is also the Artistic Director of West Valley Chorale, a 70-voice community choir in the West Valley. Thanks to David and Leslie for making me part of the team.

Asia Natschke (Shop Assistant, Driver) is a student of Glendale Community College Theatre Arts & Film Program part of the Performing Arts Center Staff. In her time as a GCC student, Asia has been nominated by KCACTF for her work as a Stage Manager for Barefoot in The Park and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ms. Natschke has also worked as a stage manager for local theater companies including Theater Works and Ghostlight.

David Seitz (Director, Producer, Faculty Stage Management Mentor, Faculty Sound Mentor) is the Program Director for the GCC Theatre Arts & Film and the Musical Theatre Programs. With an MFA from the University of Southern California, Professor Seitz has taught for years in the K-12 system, his own acting school (Actors Academy), and Theatre & Film here at GCC since 1998. He has directed and operated summer performing arts camps through the Valley, as well as having worked in Hollywood and community theatre. David has been AriZoni nominated for Outstanding Production as a co-producer of Based on a Totally True Story and has been honored by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for his work on the Neil Simon comedy California Suite, the musical Working, the absurdist David Ives comedy All In The Timing, and the adaptation of Gerorge Orwell’s dystopian drama 1984. He is currently the KCACTF Region 8 SDC Student Directing Initiative Program Coordinator.

Kris Swinson (Audiovisual Technician, Faculty Sound Mentor) holds an AAS in Audio Production Technologies and Sound Design from GCC and is now their resident audiovisual technician and advisor for the Performing Arts Department. Having worked continuously on productions as Sound Designer/Operator, Media Technician, and Lighting Technician since 2012, his work with GCC’s theater program continues to grow as he expands his capabilities as a technician and as a mentor for students and staff interested in audiovisual entertainment technologies. He looks forward to working more with students and other professionals in the community.

Terre Steed (Makeup and Hair Faculty Mentor) Terre has been an actor and designer in the Phoenix area for over 25 years. He has designed over 100 shows for companies all across the valley, including The Phoenix Theatre Company, Southwest Shakespeare, Scorpius Dance Theatre, Stray Cat Theatre, Nearly Naked Theatre, and now Theatre Works! Previously he designed Curiouser and Curiouser Too. He is beyond excited to be designing for Mary Poppins as he is a Mary Poppins Fanatic!!“ Practically Perfect in Every Way”. Love to his Love- Jon “Hunnybear” and his family: M, M, K, G, C, & R. Io Apollo and Blessed Be!!

Lesley Tutnick-Machbitz (Director, Producer, Choreographer, Faculty Costume Mentor) Lesley’s work includes repertory, regional, national, and world premiere theatre as well as theatre for young audiences. Lesley has both regional and national commercials to her credit as well as several independent film roles. She earned her degrees in Theatre Performance as well as a three-year certificate of study in Meisner Technique from Meisner’s PlayHouse West in Los Angeles and Summer Congress at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Locally, Lesley was nominated for AriZoni awards for her work in Cactus Flower, My Children! My Africa!, All Through The Night, and Dark of the Moon. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild.