Janet Roston
(Director/Choreographer)
Janet Roston is the Director/Choreographer of Anaïs, A Dance Opera which premiered in Los Angeles and will be performed at the Festival Off d’Avignon. As Director/Choreographer of theater her work includes Midsummer Night for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Striking 12 ( Laguna Playhouse), Tonya and Nancy, The Rock Opera (ART, Boston), CarnEvil (Sacred Fools Theater), shAme, (King King Nightclub) and The Wanting (Highways). Janet recently created choreography for the hit production, The Boy From Oz (Celebration Theatre) for which she received her second Ovation Award (LA’s top theater award) for choreography as well as the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award (LADCC). Janet created choreography for The Color Purple, (Celebration Theatre) receiving the Ovation Award, NAACP Award and LADCC Nomination. Additional choreography: Justin Love, (Celebration Theatre, LADCC Award); Once On this Island, (International City Theater, NAACP Nomination); Avenue X, (Odyssey Theater Ovation Award Nom.); Psyche, A Modern Rock Opera, (Greenway Court Theater) and Failure, A Love Story (Coeurage Theater, Ovation Nom., CTG’s Block Party ’17). Her work was awarded at the Palm Desert Choreography Festival and selected for the L.A and Pasadena Dance Festivals. She has received two American Choreography Awards, is a proud alumni of the Directors Lab.
Cindy Shapiro
(Composer/Librettist)
Cindy Shapiro is a multi-faceted artist with a rich musical history. She was a rock singer in New York City, and has toured the world with Video Games Live, a symphonic show of music from Video Games. She has sung with some of the greatest symphonies in the world, including the LA Phil and the London Philharmonia Orchestra. She toured Japan with the Roger Wagner Chorale, and was a Cantor at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. She sings on video game, television and film soundtracks.
Cindy was an artist-in-residence at Cité Internationale des Arts where she composed an opera based on the Psyche myth. She is a recipient of a $25,000 art grant from the Tides Foundation for her Psyche opera.
Cindy spent many years as a game developer, specializing in interactive fiction and human behavior modeling. She has also been a software engineer and music teacher.
Ryan Bergmann
(Producer)
Ryan has worked as a Producer -Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera in Concert (King King), The Next Fairy Tale (Celebration Theatre), BASH’d: A Gay Rap Opera (Celebration Theatre, Ovation Nominee), Midsummer Night (Lillian Theater). He is also a Director - Niagara Falls (Theater of Note), revolver (Celebration Theatre), The Real Housekeepers of Studio City (LA Fringe, Best of Fringe Winner); As an Assistant Director he has been involved with the following productions: Wolves (Celebration Theatre), Justin Love (Celebration Theatre, Ovation Nominee, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle winner Best Production), Midsummer Night (Los Angeles Rock Opera Co), The Color Purple (Celebration Theatre, Ovation Award, LADCC, LA Weekly winner Best Musical), Booty Candy (Celebration Theatre, LADCC Nomination), Dream Boy (Celebration Theatre). Ryan has dedicated over a decade of his life to furthering the appreciation of theater in Los Angeles.
Joe LaRue
(Dramaturg/Projection Designer)
Joe is a stage/film director, video editor, photographer, graphic designer, and projection designer. His short films Adobo, Loaded, and Thanksgiving have screened at festivals including the Boulder International Film Festival, D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival, Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. He is the editor of the Nigerian romantic comedy feature film When Love Happens, which was one of Nigeria's top grossing films of 2014. He has also edited festival favorite shorts Just Like the Movies (Indie Spirit Film Festival, Las Vegas Intl. Film Festival) and Miss Miao (Dances With Films Festival, Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Film Festival). Projection design credits include Striking 12 (Laguna Playhouse), four consecutive years of The 24hr Plays, Tonya & Nancy (Club Oberon, Boston), Serpentine Pink (Son of Semele), and CarnEvil (Sacred Fools). joelarue.com
Allison Dillard
(Costume Designer)
Allison Dillard has an MFA in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and works as a freelance designer and technician in and around Los Angeles. Recent local design work includes: Shine Darkly, Illyria (Fugitive Kind), Spies Are Forever (Tin Can Bros.), Dream Boy, BootyCandy (Celebration Theatre), A Singular They (The Blank Theatre), Failure: A Love Story (Coeurage Theatre), Urinetown, The Lion King Jr. (Milken Community Schools), The Discord Altar (OperaWorks), Sons of the Prophet (Blank Theatre), James and the Giant Peach (Mirman School), The Arsonists (West-ern Stage). Her work can be seen at allisondillard.com.
Jack Wall
(Sound Designer/Album Engineer/Album Co-Producer)
Jack Wall’s distinguished musical career includes composing for film, television, video games and concerts as well as his early years producing and engineering albums for re¬cording artists. Renowned for his rich, cinematic scores for popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Myst, Splinter Cell and Jade Empire, Wall’s repertoire spans a diverse range of musical styles and influences, while working with the world’s top orchestras and musicians.
Sarah Mullis
(Associate Producer)
Sarah Mullis is an actor, singer, dancer, and comedy writer that just relocated to LA after 3 years in New York. She attended the Boston Conservatory for musical theater and is happy to wear a different hat for Anaïs, A Dance Opera! Getting to know the cast and crew has been an absolute pleasure, and she’s so excited for an audience to experience it! Make sure to check out the Anaïs, A Dance Opera website and social platforms @anaisdanceopera and check out Sarah’s website www.sarahmullis.com
Ben Bigler
(Hugh Guiler)
Ben began dancing in Fort Collins, Colorado at age three, and was a featured dancer in Disney’s High School Musical 3 at the age of 14. Later in high school he was a part of The Silhouettes, a dance company that placed 2nd on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Season 6. Travelled internationally performing at venues such as The Colosseum in Caesar’s Palace, on the beach in Cancun, Mexico, and at the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C.
Kate Coleman
(Anais - Dancer)
Originally from Chicago, Kate began dancing at the age of 3, after a broken leg required physical therapy, and the rest is history. She traveled to Canada, Austria and Italy with Forum Jazz Dance Theater during high school. She then moved to LA to receive her B.F.A. in dance theatre from the AMDA College and Conservatory. After graduating Kate became a member of LA Contemporary Dance Company, and is continuously dancing with incredible choreographers from across the LA area.
Mathew D’Amico
(Father/2nd Husband/Ensemble)
Born and raised in Tampa, FL. Graduated from Elon University, BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography, minor in Communications. Danced for companies including The Union Project Dance Company (TUP), TERRANOVA Dance Theatre, performed works by Larry Keigwin, Jon Lehrer and Ricky Lam. Recent: Celebrity Cruises Production Dancer/Singer, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Festival with TUP, World Premiere of Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice: A Musical (Ensemble) at La Mirada. @mathewdomenic
Micaela DePauli
(Anais - Dancer)
was born and raised Gallup, New Mexico. Growing up, she trained in several genres of dance and drama. After completing high school she attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. At 21, she's signed with Go 2 Talent Agency. and working as a commercial and company (live performance) dancer. Micaela is currently dancing with LA Companies: Keshet Chaim Ensemble, The Union Project, Brockes Red, and Karmagraphy.
Jacqueline Hinton
(Ensemble)
is a performer, choreographer, and Pilates instructor. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently signed with both Go 2 Talent Agency and RPM Talent Agency; and she has several television, stage, and film credits. This is Jackie’s fourth year dancing with Janet Roston.
Quinn C. Jaxon
(Hugh Guiler)
Quinn is a professionally trained dancer, specializing in Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Modern, Lyrical, Partnering and Acro. Quinn has performed with many professional dance company’s: Silverlake Contemporary Ballet; The Inland Dance Theatre; the Pacific Ballet Dance Company; Los Angeles Ballet; and with the LA Dance Company. Quinn has also performed in numerous music videos and network ads. Quinn has also danced at a variety of venues in Las Vegas for ePlus Productions. He is a graduate of The Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles.
Marisa Matthews
(Eternal Anaïs - Vocalist)
Marisa is a graduate from The American Conservatory Theatre. She is currently playing Anna in the all-new musical spectacular, Frozen: Live at the Hyperion, at Disney California Adventure. Favorite credits include: Polly Peachum (The Three Penny Opera), The Little Match Girl (Striking 12), and Cecily Cardew (The Importance of Being Earnest). Marisa is honored to be working again with this creative team. Endless love to my family. marisamatthews.com
Michael Quiett
(Henry Miller)
is a graduate of UCLA's school of Theater, Film and Television and he is a former member of Datugan Dance Theatre. His most recent performance credits: Cleansed (Freud Playhouse), Portrait (LATC), Lorca (UnKnown theater), Sweet Sisters (Highways), The Wanting (Highways) and The One Hundreds with the Twyla Tharp dance company.
Holly Sedillos
(Eternal Anaïs - Vocalist)
Holly divides her time between the studio and the stage. You can hear her solo voice on Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Deformers, The Conjuring 2, and in the opening titles of Altered Carbon. She has been featured in films including La La Land, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me 3, Minions, Rogue One, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Big Hero 6, Sing!, and Godzilla. On stage, she most recently performed with Hans Zimmer's concert tour. hollysedillos.com
Daniel Valentine
(Ensemble)
is a multi-faceted entertainer, working with the likes of Britney Spears, Beyonce, Macy Gray, to performing on the Billboard Awards 4 times, to photographing for Macy's, Target, Lucky Brand Jeans, and Guess, to name a few. He's currently finishing a degree in Neuroscience where he will research the connection between movement and intelligence. For more information, visit DValentineOnline.com
Tiffany Wolff
(Anaïs - Dancer, Ensemble)
Tiffany attended AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts, NYC and LA. She received her B.F.A. in Theatre and continued her study of Dance. Tiffany has worked Theatrically in a number of productions including, Prometheus Bound, This Is Our Youth, and Gilded Lilies and in the Feature Film, Escape Artist. Tiffany is a member of Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood. tiffanywolff.com
Denise Woods
(Ensemble)
a native of Los Angeles, Denise has extensively studied ballet, contemporary, musical theater and various forms of dance for over 25 years. Her training began at California Dance Theatre and later went on to receive her B.A. in Communications/Dance from Cal State University of Long Beach. Denise has cultivated other loves in her life; that of Yoga, Surfing and serving as a Birth Doula. She finds that all aspects of her career overlap, each a path, to cultivate a deeper connection to mind, body and soul.