Ariel Brooke was born and bred in N.Y.C. (although she did live in Great Neck for her high school years, but prefers to keep that on the down-low). She came back to N.Y. for college, where she graduated from N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts. Ariel has also studied at the British American Drama Academy and now studies with Terry Schreiber. Some of her theater credits include; Entrenched in the Oath, an original work by the Kiva Theatre Company of which she is a founding member, Deviant by Sophie Rand, Marisol by Jose Rivera, and, most recently, The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute. Commercial, voiceover, and television credits include AOL, Macy’s and One Life to Live. Ariel Brooke has been cast as the cute, neurotic brunette in multiple independent films, most recently Couch Hopping. Many thanks to her parents, friends, and her husband who puts up with her when no one else will.
Jason was born off the Amalfi coast and lived in a villa with his family, his father being a well-to-do cartoonist. Upon entering America he acted in a high school play entitled Jerry Finnegan’s Sister and, to quote Tupac, “was bit by that bug everyone talks about”. He studied at N.Y.U. under the guidance of Travis Preston and after school has studied with Bob Krackower. Taking a break from the stage to give aquatics a go, he quickly returned to show biz by doing avant-garde puppetry with the legendary Marvin VinMatt. He fronted the rock band Different Age and co-created The Bomb-itty of Errors, an add-raptation of The Comedy of Errors. He was last seen in Gizmo Love, directed by Sam Weitzman, in the role of Thomas.
Christèle Cervelle was born and raised in Paris, where she studied English and German. She later moved to New York to become a journalist, but ended up with a career in modeling. Her new-found lifestyle allowed her to move back home to Paris and has enabled her to travel the world for a number of years. Christèle has since returned to New York to embark on a career as an actress.
Lora Chio hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, where her house was the “Chinatown of Indiana.” She has been acting in commercials, theatre, television, film, and just about anything that pays (and lots of things that don’t) since her move to New York. She finds that she is continuously cast as an Asian-Jew—as Andrea Gelman, bank VP on Law & Order, running a pyramid scheme in Harsh Times (due out Spring 2006), and now as Soon-Yi Finkelstein—and wonders if there’s something going on that she doesn’t know about…? Many thanks to her wonderful friends for their continued support—and for reminding her that she doesn’t have to go to law school just because her mother wants her to.
Christopher Daftsios was born in St. Paul, Minn., raised in Ann Arbor, Mich. He began his studies at Western Michigan University and went on to receive his B.F.A. from N.Y.U.’s Circle in the Square program. New York theater credits include Of Mice and Men (Mint Theater), A Flea in Her Ear (John Houseman Theater), and Safe Sex (Murray Hill players). Regional credits include Lobby Hero (Shadowland Theatre), The Diviners (Chicago Dramatists), Lend Me a Tenor, and Man of La Mancha (Shawnee Playhouse). Chris has appeared in commercials for DKNY, American Express, British Airways, and played Napoleon in a national TV/print campaign for The History Channel. He made his film debut as “Jiles”, the Russian arms-dealing drug addict, in the indie feature She’s Got an Atomic Bomb. He recently made his television debut with a guest lead on NBC’s Conviction as public defender Phil Winkler. In the past year, Chris has realized his dream of becoming a professional dancer, having performed in a handful of festivals in Germany and England. His last project took him to Berlin where he worked on the original piece I’m Okay, You’re Okay with world-renowned
choreographer Meg Stuart.
Shane Jacobsen was born and raised in New Orleans and named after the cowboy movie. Getting his start in musical theater, he boogied and rumbled in the Broadway tours of Saturday Night Fever and West Side Story, as well as the European tours of West Side Story and Grease. His New York theater credits include “Cole” in Stolen (with music by Charles Strouse), “Mason Trent” in Dorian Gray: The Musical (NYMF), and creating the role of “Shane” in An Evening with Burton and Russell (directed by John Rando). In Los Angeles, Shane studied improv and sketch comedy with the Groundlings, appeared in a few not-very-popular TV shows, played Kathy Griffin’s boyfriend for the audio-novel Misadventures in the 213, and was smacked, thrown, toppled and soaked in the indie film Tripping in the Dark. Check him out in movies like Pearl Harbor (He’s much shorter than Ben Affleck but dances better), Deep Impact (taller than Elijah Wood) and Undercover Blues (about Stanley Tucci’s height). You may have also seen him in commercials trying to sell you tennis shoes, fried chicken, pharmaceuticals and gasoline. His butt can be seen in the short film Down in the Mouth. More info can be seen at www.shanejacobsen.com. His psychology degree from Loyola University can be seen in a box in the attic somewhere near the Atari 2600 and his Hammer pants.
Bob Juergens has been involved in the N.Y. comedy scene for a few years. He was one of the founding members of the sketch group The Non Prophets, and has continued writing and directing sketch comedy with last year’s Save the Date, a show he did with In The Gutter Theatre group. He has been doing stand-up comedy around the city, and opened up New York’s Comedy Company last year. Also trained as an actor, Bob has been in many New York films and productions from Neil Simon to Shakespeare. He enjoyed being directed by Rip Torn in Strangers in the Land of Canaan at the Actors Studio. Bob also enjoys writing as he is writing this bio for himself. He enjoys talking about himself in the third person, and enjoys writing, “he enjoys.” Bob is also launching the comedy site Broadcastmuse.com in December with a few other talented comedians (the presupposition is that he too is talented) and, you guessed it, will enjoy this new venture.
Lynn Justinger is excited to be part of the cast of American Standard. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., where she was crowned Miss Buffalo Wing 2003, she spent the past few years in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, touring with Theatre IV, and starring in commercials for Geico, AOL, and DefensiveDriving.com. Film/TV credits include: Syriana, Two Men, Multum in Parvo, America’s Most Wanted. Lynn was recently seen as Carol, in the new play Brother’s Keeper, at 440 Studios (Marcus Productions). Much love to 17 Ward.
A print, television and content writer, Rachel Korowitz has been improvising in New York since 2000. As a member of the three-person improv team, Evel Cathedral, Rachel produces, co-hosts and performs in the weekly variety show Ash Wednesday. She has also studied with and performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and was a founding member of the cult favorite X Plus One (a group specializing in fully improvised science-fiction radio shows).
Once upon a time, Irene Longshore began acting and magically appeared and starred in numerous productions including Falling Petals, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Children’s Hour, The Dining Room, Bloody Poetry, and Lillian Hellman, Age 13. She had a starring role in the independent film The Other America, which opened the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and has also been shown at other festivals including San Francisco, Boston, and Philadelphia. Other roles include leads in the independent films In Between and The New Year Parade, as well as roles in the film Girl, Interrupted and on the TV show Boston Public. As a member of Another Urban Riff theatre company, Irene has appeared in Mono, The Summer They Stopped Making ’Ludes, Mixed Tape Project, and currently in 30-Minute Project. Most recently she learned to skateboard and curse fluently to perform the lead role of Alice in the new play Real Dramatic, a summer stock production in Massachusetts. And now she is living happily ever after. The end.
Lynn Mancinelli, originally from Stamford, Connecticut, received her B.A. in Theatre & Dance at Manhattanville College. She is the co-founder of Gone Spelunking, a movement theatre ensemble, and a founding member of Theatre In The Flesh and the Peyari Dance Project. American Standard will be Lynn’s third feature-film project. Outside of acting she is a freelance visual artist and a huge fan of dark chocolate, brownies, and chai soy lattes.
Guy Olivieri is a Jersey boy, with a degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On stage, Guy has been seen Off Broadway in A Stoop on Orchard Street and My Big Gay, Italian Wedding, and in the national tour of Rent as Mark. He also makes the rounds as a stand-up comic, having appeared at Caroline’s, the Improv, Stand Up New York, and the New York Comedy Club. Guy recently appeared on ABC’s One Life to Live, and as the lead in the upcoming film Document.
Derek Roché graduated Circle in the Square Theatre School where he also apprenticed to teach under master teacher Alan Langdon. He is a member of the international theatre company, The Voyage Project with director Peter Goldfarb. Recently shot the lead role in the indie feature Bellclair Times as well as the lead in the short “Shocked Jock”. He is a sculptor, photographer, lover of all things art, Disney, travel, Van Gogh, and his inspiration, the amazingly talented Gina Marie Roché, his wife. Looking forward to the greatest role of his life, scheduled for April of 2006—Fatherhood.
Originally from upstate New York, Andy received his B.A. from Hamilton College and his M.A. (in English lit, oddly enough) from Columbia University in N.Y.C. On the acting front, Andy has studied extensively with Michael Howard, Tony Greco and has done some intimate workshops with the likes of Anne Bogart, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stanley Tucci. Theater credits include 27 Lakeside Drive at HERE Performing Arts Center, which he both starred in and co-wrote, as well as various improv and sketch shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Andy has starred in numerous independent films such as Audition, Bellclair Times and The Reasonable Man, which have screened at venues such as the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Garden State Film Festival. He also has a successful commercial career and can be seen fairly often on the small screen. For more info, visit his website, www.andrewscully.com.
Laura Sheehy came to the Big Apple from Southern California to attend New York University. While immersed in school, she ventured out and auditioned for various jobs and got her first “break” into the business dancing for the New York Knicks. She soon found herself living la vida loca dancing with Ricky Martin on the MTV Video Music Awards to sketches on Saturday Night Live. Her first theatrical job was a production called Joe Fearless: A Fan Dance by Liz Tucillo at the Atlantic Theater Company. From there she decided to learn to play the saxophone and clarinet to audition for a part in the Roundabout’s production of Cabaret directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall. She is proud and honored to have made her Broadway debut in that production. Indie films include: Shooting Livien, Glow Ropes, Singularity.
Hayley recently received a Master’s of Music from New England Conservatory of Music and is thrilled to be making her film début in American Standard. Her regional theatre and opera credits include La Traviata (Longwood Opera), Carmen (Theatre de la Jeune Lune/American Repertory Theatre), Into the Woods (New Repertory Theatre), La Vie Parisienne (Opera Boston), Aria Stayin’ Alive (OperaWorks), L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Lowell House Opera) Cendrillon (New England Conservatory of Music), and The Magic Flute (NEC). She has recorded “X Man” (heard on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Nickelodeon network).
Taylor N. Treadwell hails from Memphis, Tenn., the land of Elvis and BBQ. After living abroad in Spain and Australia, and nurturing her quest for a degree at various institutions, Taylor moved to New York City. Since arriving in New York, Taylor studied her craft at N.Y.U.’s Stonestreet Studios and privately with Anthony Grasso. Her professional acting credits are extensive. Television notables include Guiding Light and One Life to Live. New York stage credits include Woody Allen’s Death and Oleanna. Film credits include A Question of Time and Walls. Taylor would like to express her love and appreciation for her entire family, especially her two loving parents, Nancy and Bob, and her wonderful siblings, Tracy and Robert.
Joe Tuttle began his career studying clown and physical theatre with a graduate of L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq and continued studying acting and theatre at Northwestern University, where he performed with the Northwestern University Mime Company touring nationally and internationally with their award-winning series of pieces, An Evening of Mime. He is excited to be back in the New York area after originating the role of George in the first national tour of Curious George this Fall. Favorite roles include: “Jake,” Sweet Sue, “Wesley,” Curse of the Starving Class, “Ariel,” The Tempest, “Jeff,” Lobbyhero, “Antipholus,” A Comedy of Errors, “Cornwall,” King Lear, “Charlie,” Mere Mortals, “PC Naylor,” Rat in the Skull, “Macbeth,” Macbeth, “Pompey,” Measure for Measure, “Trofimov,” The Cherry Orchard, “Ben,” Dumbwaiter, “Bobby,” American Buffalo, among many more various film and television roles.
Mark Vazquez was born in sunny exotic Brooklyn, N.Y. and has moved around from coast to coast until landing in Cooper City, Fla., then back to N.Y.C. about two years ago. Before moving back to the big city, Mark was the ultimate odd job man not knowing what his true passion was. Originally prepping to become the next (the first?) Puerto Rican basketball star, he realized he actually needed talent and was forced to move on. He eventually found that acting was his true passion and it led him back to New York, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (c/o 2005). Some notable roles to Mark’s credit have been Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard where he played Lopahin, Edward Albee’s Lady from Dubuque playing Fred, and Enigma Films’ Joshua Calling, where he played Vince, a drug dealer (go figure). Big on friends and family, he thanks his grandparents for helping him succeed and be the person he is today, and his buddies in the Coop for always keeping it real. Mark looks foward to a bright future and someday hopes to employ someone to write his bio for him.
Alison Wright is originally from England, where she studied musical
theatre at Newcastle College for the Performing Arts. She then studied the Method at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute here in New York. She is currently shooting Sarbanes Oxley, directed by Jean-Louis Ramcees, in N.Y.C. Her credits include the Off Off Broadway production The Golden Age, (Goldmine Theater Co., Access Theater); the national tour of The Little Mermaid (American Family Theater Co.), the short film, The Bedroom, and regional theater at Climb Theater, Minn. Big shout out to all her pals and kronies, ta for always putting up with me. Mam and Dad thanks for everything!
