Program – No Place Like Gandersheim

SKYLIGHT THEATRE COMPANY is recognized as a “powerhouse of new play development” by Dramatist Magazine and as “a leader in play development” by the L.A. Times. In just the last five years, three plays originating at Skylight have been performed Off Broadway, The Wrong Man by Ross Golan and Church & State by Jason Odell Williams (which had 65+ productions in 33 states). Lavender Men by Roger Q. Mason, developed in SkyLab, received a staged reading at Circle in the Square in 2019. In 2015, Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea by Nathan Alan Davis (a co- production with Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble) received the prestigious Steinberg/ATCA New Play Citation. In 2019, Center Theatre Group remounted Skylight's multiple award-winning production of Rotterdam at the Kirk Douglas Theatre as part of Block Party. The production won the 2017 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Production, and awards for Writing and Lead Actress. It also received top honors at the 2018 Stage Raw Awards, winning Production of the Year and Leading Actress awards.

GARY GROSSMAN (Producer, Producing Artistic Director) is the recipient of Stage Raw's 2016 Career Achievement Award and the inaugural Henry Ong Award for Leadership in the Los Angeles Theatre Community. His career began in New York, owning two theaters and a theatrical lighting company by the age of 23. Gary worked at the Public Theatre, Café La Mama, and Sheraton Square Playhouse before joining Los Angeles’ emerging theatre movement in the 70's. Producing over 300 stage plays and more than 65 world premieres, some of his celebrated productions are Rotterdam (3 LADCC Awards including Best Production and 2 Stage Raw Awards - performed at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in 2019), World Premieres of Church & State (Off-Broadway 2017, over 50+ national productions), The Wrong Man (Off-Broadway 2019, 14 New York Award nominations, 3 Ovation Awards), Bronco Billy – The Musical (2 Ovation Awards), Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (Steinberg/National Theatre Critics Citation with Lower Depth Ensemble), El Grande CIRCUS de Coca- Cola, Obama-ology, Pray To Ball (Ovation Award), Years to the Day, Hermetically Sealed, Bullrusher, Mad Women (LA Weekly Award), AIDS/ US Portraits In Courage, America Adjacent, The Madres, Hostage, Never Is Now, and the 2020 L.A. Times Critics Choice West Adams among others.

ARMANDO HUIPE (Executive Director) is the executive director of Skylight Theatre Company. Prior to working with Skylight, he served as producer for the national Latinx Theatre Commons, a flagship program of HowlRound Theatre Commons at Emerson College, where he led organizing efforts for the visibility and capitalization of Latinx theaters across the country. He has also worked with companies such as REDCAT, Center Theatre Group, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the LA Phil, Latino Theater Company, Yale Cabaret, and United States Artists. He earned an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama and a BA in English Literature from UCLA.

TYREE MARSHALL  (Associate Producer, Beyond Conversation Coordinator) is an Actor and Producer originally from New Jersey. Tyree had studied dance for 16 years when she discovered acting when she was in high school. She would then go on to study at California Institute of The Arts where she earned her BFA in Acting and a certificate from the British American Dramatic Academy in Oxford with Yale School of Drama. Tyree has since been pursuing in an acting career in Los Angeles with her latest theater credits including Love Is Another Country (Coin&Ghost), Gone (Inkwell), and #Becklandiscancelled (IAMA). As a producer, Tyree is currently an Artistic Associate of Play Development at Skylight Theatre Company. You can also catch her on episode 7 of "Bosch: Legacy on Freevee." 

CEDES SIFUENTES (Production Manager) is the production manager and house manager at Skylight Theatre Company. She graduated from California State University of Northridge with her Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts. Starting as an intern, she was brought onto staff and worked as the assistant stage manager. Some of her credits include Skylight’s productions of, A Hit Dog Will Holler, Apartment Living, Lavender Men, La Egoista, and currently No Place Like Gandersheim. She loves her theatre family and is very thankful to be a part of this company. 

BENJAMIN RAWLS (Technical Director) is the NEW Technical Director at Skylight Theatre! An actor and creative himself, he is so excited to be able to help the immensely talented performers, designers, and staff here at Skylight realize they’re technical vision for the work they care so much about. He is also the Head Sound Engineer and Dark Night Producer for Loft Ensemble Theatre Co in North Hollywood. Enjoy the show!

DEANNE MILLAIS (Scenic Design) is an award-winning scenic designer based in LA. This is her first time designing for Skylight. Previously: The Fountain Theatre (Daniel's Husband, The Chosen), Sacred Fools (The Art Couple, Taste, Skullduggery, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, etc), Theatre of NOTE, IAMA, and others. Additionally, she's decorated immersive experiences at San Diego Comic-Con (Abbott Elementary, AHS: 1984, What We Do in the Shadows), produced scenic/props at Hollywood Bowl live-to-film concerts (Coco, La La Land, etc), and designed interactive highlights at SoCal pop-up That's From Disneyland! She thanks Chad, Eddy, Eric at CTG, Jim, Orlando, Joyce. And ZB.

SHANNON BARONDEAU (Lighting/Video Design) is a lighting and projections designer in the greater Los Angeles area. Recent design credits include Projection Design for Both And (A Play About Laughing While Black) at Boston Court Pasadena and Lighting Design for Amelie at El Camino College. Assistant credits include Assistant Projections Designer for A Trip To The Moon for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She got her BA in Theatre Arts from Simpson College and her MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Missouri Kansas City.

MYLETTE NORA (Costume Design) is an Ovation Award and NAACP Theatre Award recipient for best costumes, listed in the honors edition of The Cambridge Registry of Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women, works world wide consists of television, film, video and stage, and was seen nightly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and now You Bet Your Life with Jay Leno and Kevin Eubanks, and weekly on Jay Leno's Garage. The famed artist Synthia St. James noted Mylette as being the inspiration for her world renowned painting  Ensemble which graced the cover of the best selling novel Waiting To Exhale by Terry McMillan. Mylette's designer lines are, doggie wear, FromTheHeartDoggieWear.com, heirloom dolls, My Mind's Eye, and now face mask by, Mylette!

ALMA REYES-THOMAS (Sound Design) has been working as a Sound Designer, Technician, Mixer and Mentor throughout LA County for the last 15 years. Starting off as the Sound Designer for USC’s MFA in Acting Repertory shows, she moved onto mentoring some of USC’s first Sound Design BFA graduates, which led her towards looking at expanding her career as educator. Which could have been brought about earlier if she’d noticed her glee during her time as Assistant Sound Technician of LA’s American Girl Theatre, as well as her volunteer work with the Torrance District LCAP committee & Council PTA. Proud Member of the CalArts MaFiA.

JOYCE HUTTER (Properties Design) is delighted to join the creative team of No Place Like Gandersheim. Joyce is an artist, designer, puppeteer and a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for distinguished achievement in puppet & mask design.  Recent work includes: Life Span Of A Fact (Set & Property Design/Fountain Theatre); Eurydice (Set Design/Little Fish Theatre); The Braille Legacy (Scenic & Video Design/Theatre by the Blind); Housewife '52 (Puppet Design/Hollywood Fringe). Joyce also serves as Artistic Director of Strings & Things Puppet Theatre, a non-traditional, socially responsible puppet theater, and producer of Nite at the Puppet Asylum, an offbeat puppetry-slam for adults part of the Puppet Slam Network. https://stringsnthingspuppettheatre.wordpress.com/artistic-director/.

JENNIFER PALUMBO (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be continuing with Skylight Theatre’s second play this season, and proud to be part of this series of original works celebrating women! Jennifer is an LA based Stage Manager. She has worked on productions with Open Fist Theatre Company, Rogue Machine Theatre, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, The Getty Villa, Theatre Planners, Deaf West, and many others. Highlights include running The Color Purple at Greenway Court, traveling with A Steady Rain to the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA, and taking Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop to Memphis, TN in partnership with Hattiloo and Orpheum Theatre groups for the MLK50 festival. Jennifer is grateful to the theatre community as a whole, and to patrons like you who make it all possible. Thank you for supporting intimate theatre in Los Angeles!

MARISA CADDICK (Assistant Director) is a Los Angeles-based director and playwright who recently graduated from USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. They first interned at Skylight in 2018 and are so happy to return to their favorite theater! Currently, she is studying improv and clown at The Groundlings and The Idiot Workshop, respectively, in hopes of adding to LA’s evolving comedic landscape. She also serves as a course assistant at USC for various theatre critical studies courses.

KYLEE ROBINSON (Assistant Director) is an MFA candidate in Writing for Theatre, Film and Television at Cal State Los Angeles. Q is a mother of two and feels so honored to have been a part of this production with such talented and hilarious women. She spent the last four years hosting her own radio show on The Promise 89.7 FM in Visalia, California, and volunteered across four Central Valley community theatre's as a director, writer, and actor.

VICTORIA HOFFMAN (Casting Director) Resident CD at Rogue Machine Theatre.  Recent Credits include Come Get Maggie & On The Other Hand We're Happy (LADCC Winner Best production); For the Love of a Glove at The Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater; Kiss of the Spider Woman at A Noise Within; Curious Incident at Greenway Court; Judas Kiss& Streetcar for Boston Court.  Film projects include the AFI Thesis films Zenaida (LAAPFF Official Selection) and The Fishmonger; Dog Lover at the DTLA Film Festival (among many). Currently Manager of Casting at the AFI Conservatory. Acting credits include Julius Weezer for the Troubies and TV pop ups in Abbot Elementary and The Shrink Next Door. www.victoriahoffman.com  @VicHoffmanLA