Marilee Talkington  (Artistic Director) is a critically acclaimed actor, writer and director who works in plays, film, multi-media performance, journalism, and sound sculpture.  She is the founder and Artistic Director of Vanguardian  Productions, a Resident Artist of Crowded Fire and earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the American Conservatory Theatre marking her as one of only two legally blind actors in the country to do so.  She has been nominated for the Princess Grace Award in Directing, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for playwriting (Attrition), Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for Acting (Godspell) and was the recipient of the A.C.T. Carol Channing Trouper award for excellence and leadership in the theatrical craft.  Her Off-Broadway credits include the lead role in John Beluso’s A Nervous Smile, the lead role in A.R. Gurney’s The Middle Ages, and the world premiere of Justin Quinn Pelegano’s The Last Day.  Regionally she has performed at A.C.T. in  A Christmas Carol, Theatreworks, Center REP, Magic Theatre, and Crowded Fire Theatre.  Her original works include Attirition (SF), TRUCE (NYC, SF), Sugarville: a little death (NYC), The Rape Poems (SF, NYC, Philadelphia, Edinburgh), Daughter of the Floods (SF), Wormhole: a 3-D Sound Sculpture (SF, NYC, SF City Hall), and OH! : a sound sculpture (SF).  Talkington is also a contributing writer for for the Kennedy Center's online magazine 'Opening Stages' and wrote and self-published an acting training book called The Zen Handbook for Actors. 

 

Andrew Lu (Resident Set & Lighting Designer) a Canadian native, was recently nominated for the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for Barton Bishops’s STILL THE RIVER RUNS at Center Rep in NYC.   Other recent design credits include EMINENE by Barton Bishop (NYC 2009), PROFESSIONAL SKEPTICISM by James Rasheed (Abingdon Theatre, NYC), MEASURE FOR MEASURE by William Shakespeare (Theatre 3, NYC), CRAVE by Sarah Kane (Centre Stage, NYC), THE PASSION OF WINNIE composed by Bongani Ndodana-Breen (Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto), and THE POLISHED HOE by Colin Taylor and Alison Sealy-Smith (Frank Colleymore Hall, Bridgetown, Barbados). He has worked with the renowned Wooster Group in New York and earned his Masters in Production Designer from N.Y.U. And is currently an associate member of Studio 48 Theatrical Designs LLC in New York City.

Justin Quinn Pelegano (Resident Playwright) is a New York writer and director whose original works include Rhinebeck (Bosley Theatrical Productions), The Last Day (Ensemble Studio Theatre, NYT Pick of the Week), Vicarious (BTP, FringeNYC), Awake (Firsthand Theatre Project), Stoning the Baby (Heideman Award Finalist, Actors Theatre of Louisville), Too Chicken (Emile E. Camerer Award for Outstanding Monologue). As a director, he has the helmed productions of The Last Day, Truce (FringeNYC, The Marsh, SF), Sarah Kane's Crave (Back Stage Magazine Critic's Pick, BTP), Vicarious, new works by Adam Rapp, Michael Sendrow, J. Holtham, Rob Askins, and Samara Kanegis.  He was also the producer of the 2007 EST One-Act Marathon, SHATTER (EST), Truce (Vanguardian Productions), Crave, Vicarious. And was a 2007 Princess Grace Award Nominee for Directing.

STACEY JENSON

Stacey Jenson has been acting since the age of four, when she was hand selected by her Pre-School teacher to play Snow White in the class' parent's night presentation.  She fell in love with storytelling and from that moment on passionately pursued every opportunity to act - from staging plays in friend's backyards, to acting in church, community, and school productions - her love of collaboration and realizing a vision with a group of like-minded artist forms the foundation of her life.  She attended the University of Utah's Actor Training Program with Kenneth Washington from which she earned her B.F.A., and then earned her M.F.A. from The American Conservatory Theatre's graduate acting program in Spring 2004.  During her career, she's acted with touring Greek Theatre Festivals, Shakespeare Festivals, Fringe Festivals as well as in large Equity houses; she's appeared with established theatre companies as well as with brand new bands of revolutionaries.  Whether it's classical or contemporary, experimental or traditional, stage or screen, she's game.

(Costume Designer)  John Can C. owned an exclusive fashion/sportswear design office in Istanbul for seven years.  Since moving to New York eight years ago, he has been costume designing as well as designing his own lingerie line.  His NY credits include costume construction for Broadway shows as well as prestigious dance companies, including The Martha Graham Company.  Most recently he was the costume designer for Sugarville: a little death and Sodom's Wife. 

(Photographer) Tami Jean is a Brooklyn-based photographer who specializes in capturing the human spirit.  Portraits, event photography, weddings, and stylized head shots make up the majority of her assignments.  Her ability to connect with her subjects and put them at ease has resulted in many satisfied clients, and many new friends.  www.luminouspictures.com