Shannon Creedon Axtell: (Rosemary) Shannon
Creedon Axtell is honored to be joining the Collaborative Artists
Ensemble for the first time. A recent graduate of the Art of Acting
Studio’s Professional Conservatory program, where she played Olga in
Chekhov’s Three Sisters; Agamemnon, and Andromeche in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida; and wrote and performed in her solo show, A Choiceless Choice,
which she is working on expanding to bring to the Hollywood Fringe
Festival in 2025. Prior to attending the Art of Acting Studio, she
trained at Fitchburg State University in her hometown in Massachusetts.
Some credits from her undergraduate training in theater include Mrs.
Shandig from The Runner Stumbles, Grumio from The Taming of the Shrew, and Echo from Eleemosynary. She has also appeared on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the Laramie Project, and Pullman Car Hiawatha. Shannon’s other current projects include working with Street Rat Media on Shakespeare, Unrehearsed!, in which the actors perform Shakespeare’s works with no rehearsal, leading to wonderful shenanigans.
Kathy Bell Denton: (Mrs Winemiller) With Collaborative Artists’ Ensemble-Sonia in “Anatomy of A Hug”, Alice in "Standing on My Knees", Eunice in "A Streetcar Named Desire".
Other Stages- Margaret in "Richard 111," Nell in "Endgame"
at Sacred Fools; Virginia in "The Clean House" at
ICT; Tony Tanner’s “The Man Hater’ for CTL, "The Aspern Papers," "The Ride
Down Mt. Morgan," "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur," " The
Cripple of Inishmaan,"" at Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara. Bananas in "The House of Blue Leaves"
at Sierra Rep; DramaLogue Award for "And a Nightingale Sang..."
at The Gem Theatre ; "Sherlock's Last Case" at The Mayfair. Developmental work on Velina Hasu Huston’s”
Hum the Bee” at The Road and Johnathan Josephson’s “These Violent Delights” at
Pasadena Playhouse. MFA from UCLA in
acting.
For her audiobook work check out kathybelldenton.com.
Member Actors’ Equity,
SAG/AFTRA
Monica Mauro: (Mrs Buchanan) This is Monica's first stage production with the Collaborative
Artists Ensemble. She is excited to be stepping back onto a stage in
front of a live audience, and can't wait to sink her teeth into the
role of Mrs Buchanan. She is also looking forward to working with
director Trace Oakliey; and the entire talented cast and crew.
Rory McLaverty: (Traveling Salesman) Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well. My name is Rory McLaverty,
and I am from Missoula, MT. I graduated from the University of Montana
in Missoula with a BFA in Acting in May 2023, making me a true hometown
boy. I recently moved to Los Angeles in December to establish a career
as an actor, and I am grateful to be working on "The Eccentricities of a
Nightingale" with such wonderful people here at Collaborative Artists
Ensemble.
Trace Oakley: (Director) Bio coming soon!
John
Ogden:
(Reverend Winemiller) Irish theatre has been an abiding passion in
John’s adult life. He has performed in seven Irish plays: Cock a Doodle Dandy
by Sean O’Casey, Richard Rowan in Exiles by James Joyce at The Provincetown
Playhouse, In the Shadow of the Glen at The Direct Theatre in New York and The
Playboy of the Western World at The Ethel KweskinTheatre, both by J.M. Synge;
Moll by J. B. Keane, The Colleen Bawn by Dion Boucicault, and Johnnypateenmike
in The Torrance Theatre’s production of The Cripple of Inishmaan; and among his
favorite roles are two Irish Americans,James Tyrone Jr. in Eugene O’Neill’s
Long Day’s Journey into Night and R.P McMurphy in Dale Wasserman’s dramatic
adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His
Shakespeare credits include Toby Belch in Twelfth Night at the Morgan-Wixon in
Santa Monica, Polonius in Hamlet at The California Shakespeare Company, Kent in
King Lear with Dean Productions Theatre, and Egeon in The Comedy of Errors for
three different companies. He fondly recalls playing Bertrand Russell in The
Collaborative Artists Ensemble production of Waste Land. John enjoys most
hanging out with his wife Patti and their three grandchildren, Max, Jack and
Alexa. Prime moments in his recent life include exploring the northwest of
Scotland and fishing for striped bass off the coast of Rhode Island.
Daniel Pietruszka: (Roger Doremus) Daniel loves musical theater, technology, and playing video
games. He incorporates all of this into his teaching making it fun, current,
and talent building. Daniel received his degree in Music from UNC Charlotte in
Music with a concentration in voice. Opera, Musical theater, and Art Songs are
one of the many styles that Daniel has worked with and likes to focus on a
holistic approach to singing and piano. Daniel has performed in New York City,
Charlotte, Poland, and The United Kingdom in commercial, TV, film, and
musicals. He has also taught private lessons in voice and piano while
performing. His favorite experience was working with Dolly Parton in Christmas
on the Square. Daniel strongly believes that we as artists are meant to use our
craft to heal the world.
Jason Sino: (John Buchanan) Jason is thrilled to be in his second production with Collaborative
Artists Ensemble, having previously played Mitch in last year’s A
Streercar Named Desire, and would like to thank Meg and Trace for the
opportunity. Other Los Angeles stage performances have included at East
West Players and with the sketch comedy group, TMI Hollywood, along with
several television appearances. He would like to dedicate the show to
Beckham and all his eccentricities.
Calliope Quinn: (Young Alma) Calliope
Quinn is thrilled to join the cast of Eccentricity of a Nightingale as
Young Alma. Calliope attends 2nd Grade at Canyon Charter Elementary
School where she has stared in Madagascar the musical & The Time
Machine musical. She will also be making her film debut in the indie
horror film Photo Booth. Calliope would like thank the Collaborative
Artist Ensemble for supporting her Tennessee Williams exploration.
Jael Saran: (Vernon) Jael Saran, born & raised in Inglewood, California, began his love of acting at a young age doing church plays during the holidays. During his time at Southwest Community College, he took various courses to better his performance skills. It was during this time that Professor Kim Harrington introduced him to his first professional theatre company where Jael spread his performance wings in a 10 minute play festival, an original political musical, and a sketch comedy show. Fed by his success in these artistic endeavors, Jael branched out to other professional stage productions, including “Medical Med” (Dir. Rose Olguin), “Afterlife: A Ghost Story” (Collaborative Artist’s Ensemble), and “Invisible Dani: No More Secrets” (Dir. Ke’yanna Ri’chards), where the Los Angeles Sentinel described Jael “in similar fashion to a Jim Carey or Robert Townsend.” Wanting to further his passions and career, Jael transitioned into film and took part in numerous independent short films, including Conversion, Thicke, Unspoken, Fringes, Solitude, Absit and Token Two: The White Version. He’s excited and honored to once again work with Collaborative Artist’s Ensemble in the production of “The Eccentricities of a Nightingale.”
Reagan Shen-Kao: (Young John)Hello! I am the middle of three brothers and we all
enjoy singing, dancing and acting. I am very talented in math but I
like working with people more than numbers! I always have a great time
creating stories with my brothers, people on set, and now on stage!
Meg Wallace: (Alma) Most recently played Blanche DuBois in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Other roles with Collaborative Artists Ensemble include:Amelia in ANATOMY OF A HUG, Vivienne in the West Coast Premiere of WASTELAND by Don Nigro as well as Maybelline in the West Coast Premiere of LONG WAY DOWN by Nate Eppler, Cass in IN THE BALANCE and Anna in the West Coast Premiere of Don Nigro's CITY OF DREADFUL NIGHT, Ellida in THE LADY FROM THE SEA and Zelda in the LA Premiere of LOST GENERATION. The Actress/Lizzie in BLOOD RELATIONS Lissa in A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF BEES. Karin in THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY , Mollie in the West Coast Premiere of THE SQUARE ROOT OF WONDERFUL. Lucia in LUCIA MAD, Lil Bit in HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Echo in ELEEMOSYNARY. and Amanda in Nicky Silver's THE FOOD CHAIN. Meg has a host of New York theatre credits ranging from playing a constantly screaming teen slasher in Theatre For the New City’s BEANIE BABY ADDICTION, to portraying a variety of cuddly creatures in the National Black Theatre’s AESOP’S FABLES. Along the way she also had the distinction of taking over the role of Annie Oakley in ANNIE GET YOUR GUNwith just a day’s notice. Meg also performed at The York Theatre, Producer’s Club, The Red Room and the Hudson Guild Theatre. A graduate of the Second City Conservatory, Los Angeles, Meg appeared in their FINAL FIVE, and in many other productions here and in her home town of Denver. While still in high school, Meg became a regular performer at Denver’s historic Changing Scene Theatre, where she appeared in numerous world premieres. Favorite roles include Jill in BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE, Lily inANNIE, and Miss Pringle inBABY WITH THE BATHWATER. Her film works include All Bleed into One, The Break-Ups and It Happened at the Bunko Game. Meg studied Acting at New York’s Marymount Manhattan College. She is a founding member of Collaborative Artists Ensemble.
Pamela Wylie: (Mrs Bassett) Pamela worked with Shotgun Players and Subterranean Shakespeare in
Berkeley for ten years, playing Lady Macbeth, Desdemona, Portia, Rosalind, Gertrude,
and Cleopatra, as well as more contemporary roles such as The Witch in
David Mamet’s Frog Prince and Ariadne in Shaw’s Heartbreak House. This
is her second play with Collaborative Artists Ensemble-her first being
The Square Root of Wonderful. She also worked on an Irish American film,
Black Eyed Dog, which opened the Mill Valley Film Festival in 1999, as
well as several shorts since moving to LAin 2006. She is thrilled to be back with talented people who come together to make art!