Michael Bodie (BA 1999)

taught theatre at the International School of Brussels, Belgium for the first six months after graduation, then took a one-semester job teaching acting and improv at South Lake Tahoe Community College. He landed a role in Foothill Theatre Company’s two-person comedy A Tuna Christmas, moved to Los Angeles in fall 2000 and worked for the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. Although Sundance is best known for its Film Festival, it is appreciated in the independent film community for its film program. Check out www2.sundance.org for more information; if you want to contact Michael, send him an email at Michael_Bodie@sundance.org . Michael still works in theatre occasionally and also produced a low-budget indie feature film by Jason Schafer (writer of Trick, a film that played at Sundance in 1999).

Stacy Brightman (PhD 1999)

is the Director of Education and Community Programs for the Los Angeles Opera. She sends warm regards to everyone, a big hello to D. Kern Holoman of the UC Davis Music Department, and also asks that opera students interested in internships contact her at the LA Opera.

Sara Newell (BA 1999)

is an electrician with the Sacramento Theatre Company. She worked on Jodie’s Body and shows at Music Circus.

Eldon Tam (BA 1999)

is lighting designer/master electrician at PCPA Theatrefest in Santa Maria, CA.

Patrick Boozer (BA 1998)

works in television as a lighting director/console programmer. Specializing in televised live theatrical events (awards shows, specials, etc.) Patrick works with many distinguished lighting designers including Bobby Dickinson, Bob Barnhart, Ted Wells and others. Recent productions include the “Academy of Country Music Awards” (CBS), “Miss America” (CMT), the “Victoria Secret Fashion Show” (CBS), “So You Think You Can Dance” (FOX), “The Country Music Awards” (ABC) and many others. Upcoming events include the 2007 Oscars and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. For more info see his website: www.patrickboozer.com

Cassandra Davis-Marsh (BA 1998)

lives in North Hollywood, CA and was in the movie version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey. Cassandra and two other UCD alums — Richard Robinson and Erika Davis-Marsh — started a play-and-script reading series. Cassandra says the group would love to receive scripts or play submissions from alums or current students.

Chris Hall (BA 1998)

took his MFA in acting at UCLA. Friends will recall that after graduating from UC Davis, Chris worked at the Sacramento Theatre Company, starring as Joe Farkas in Alfred Uhry’s The Last Night of Ballyhoo. At UCLA Chris played Edgar in the West Coast premier of Edward Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque and appeared in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind. He also participated in a production of Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, set to a concept of modern life with a hip-hop flair, including a live DJ spinning vinyl on stage throughout the entire production. The production then toured LA-area schools.

Monique Handall (BA 1998)

is now the department chair and director of San Gorgonio High School’s theatre department in San Bernardino, CA.

Adam Hunter (BA 1998)

was an assistant stage manager for the Broadway show Swing.

Kara Tsiaperas (MFA 1998)

is a voice and dialect coach in film, TV and theatre in London. Some of Kara’s London West End credits include Dear Evan Hansen, Mamma Mia! The Party, 9 to 5, Belleville, The Twilight Zone, Show Boat, as well as the film The Commuter. Kara received a MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Voice and Speech and was mentored at the Royal National Theatre. She lives and works in London. You can visit her website at www.usaccents.co.uk

David Williams (PhD 1998)

is the Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at Folsom Lake College. Previously he taught theatre and film at Texas Tech University and American River College.

Jeffrey Carlson (BA 1997)

is currently appearing in ABC’s All My Children as the fictional rock star, Zarf. Jeffrey recently returned from playing Prince Hal in Chicago Shakespeare’s production of Henry IV, pts. 1 and 2 by William Shakespeare, directed by Barbara Gaines. This production then transferred to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, U.K. as part of their Complete Works season. Broadway credits include: Marilyn (Drama Desk Nomination) in the Rosie O’Donnell produced musical Taboo, music and lyrics by Boy George, book by Charles Busch; Valere in Tartuffe by Moliere, directed by Joe Dowling (Roundabout Theatre Company); Billy in Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who is Sylvia? directed by David Esbjornson. Pre-Broadway credits include: James Keller in The Miracle Worker by William Gibson (with Hilary Swank). Off Broadway credits include: Steindorff in Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses, Pam MacKinnon (New York Theatre Workshop); Chris Ferrando in Manuscript by Paul Grellong, directed by Bob Balaban (Daryl Roth Theatre); Gash in Last Easter by Bryon y Lavery, directed by Doug Hughes (Manhattan Class Company); Gil/Jody in Thief River by Lee Blessing, directed by Mark Lamos (Signature Theatre Company). Regional credits include: Lorenzo di Medici in Lorenzaccio by Alfred de Musset, translated and adapted by John Strand, directed by Michael Kahn (Shakespeare Theatre, Washington D.C.); Marchbanks in Candida by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Lisa Peterson, and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, directed by Emily Mann (both productions at The McCarter Theatre); and work with the Cape Cod Theatre Project and the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference. Film credits include: The Killing Floor, Hitch, Backseat, and Nowhere To Go But Up. Television credits include: Law & Order: SVU, Plainsong (CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame), and featured in the PBS American Masters documentary on The Juilliard School. He is a 2001 graduate of the Juilliard School in addition to his work at UCD, and was a 2000 member of the Guthrie Experience at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also the recipient of the 2004 Marian Seldes-Garcon Kanin Fellowship. In the summer of 2007, Jeffrey will be playing the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet directed by Michael Kahn at the Shakespeare Theatre, Washington D.C.

Erika Davis-Marsh (BA 1997)

appeared in a Musical Theater West run of Yeston’s Phantom with Broadway actress Karen Culliver (The Phantom of the Opera) and soap actor Perry Stephens (Loving and The Bold and the Beautiful). Along with fellow UC Davis alum Cassandra Davis-Marsh and Richard Robinson, Erika runs a playreading series. The group has produced readings of new and classic plays and screenplays, including a new play by Rance Howard (Ron’s dad). Erika says the group is always searching for new works and would be happy to receive submissions from UC Davis students.

David Hauser (BA 1997)

attended graduate school as a student in education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Arthur Horowitz (PhD 1997)

is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance for the Claremont Colleges at Pomona College – where he coordinates the dramaturgy emphasis, directs, and teaches courses in Dramaturgy, Theatre History, Contemporary Theatre, Shakespeare in Performance and Writing for Performance.

Paul J. Ivey (BA 1997)

created a theatre company, Theater Avatar, in New York City, where he served as Artistic Director.

Jeremy Southard (MFA 1997)

made his professional Bay Area debut in a comedy called Food Chain. The show was directed by esteemed UCD alum, Tom Gough (MFA ‘95).

Lisa Benham Dean (BA 1996)

is an Administrative/Marketing Assistant for a large computer engineering company.

Kate Hall (MFA 1996)

is living in New York City, and with former UCD classmate Kara Tsiaperas (MFA ‘98) founded a new professional theatre, Pandora’s Box, intended to “provide an environment for up-and-coming theater artists…to explore contemporary plays.” Hall and Tsiaperas’s first work was Eric Overmyer’s On the Verge directed by Steve Ramshur, previously assistant director of the New York premier of Edward Albee’s The Play about the Baby. Kate and Kara appeared in the play with Doug Brandt and Stina Nielsen.

Jennifer King (MFA 1996)

is Executive/ArtisticDirector of Sonoma County Repertory Theatre in Sebastopol, CA. Prior to the Rep, she served as Director of Artistic Learning for the California Shakespeare Theatre (Cal Shakes). During her tenure at Cal Shakes, year round classes tripled in enrollment and the student matinee program increased over 75%. She also developed education partnerships with schools in Berkeley, Orinda, Richmond and Pinole, directed the Student Company production of Much Ado About Nothing, and launched a Pre-College Shakespeare program. Before Cal Shakes, Ms. King served as Director of Education and Community Programs for the Dallas Theatre Center (DTC). While at DTC, she was awarded a 2001 TCG Observership grant. As an actor, she has appeared in Arms and the Man, Talley’s Folly, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Turn of the Screw, Sylvia, A Shayna Maidel, Hay Fever, Twelfth Night, Othello, Crimes of the Heart, The Glass Menagerie, and The Sisters Rosensweig. Her directing credits include Agnes of God, Barrymore, A Christmas Carol, Vinegar Tom, The Laramie Project, All in the Timing, Cyrano!, Our Country’s Good, Steel Magnolias, Ralph Roister Doister, The Adding Machine and Two Rooms. Jennifer has taught and directed for Dallas Theater Center, Sonoma County Rep, UC Davis, Richland College and Napa Valley College.

Kent Nicholson (MFA Directing 1996)

is New Works Director for TheatreWorks of San Francisco. Previously he was associate artistic director at the Magic Theatre, where he produced the Raw Play: Script-in-Hand series and directed the world premiere of Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue and the American premiere of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, as well as Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock (winner of Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for Best Production, Best New Play and Best Ensemble) and The Water Engine for Shotgun Players. Kent has twice directed special presentations of the disputed Shakespeare play Edward III for the California Shakespeare Festival. Kent has also served as producing director for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, producing such writers as Holly Hughes, Naomi Iizuka, Brighde Mullins, Robert Alexander, Jorge Cortinas, and Carlos Murillo. Kent shared with us what the UC Davis Granada Artists-in-Residence program has meant to him: “Quite simply, the Granada Artists in Residence Program made my success possible. These directors taught me what it meant to be professional while still maintaining the ability and need to explore my work artistically. … Several of them have remained colleagues and professional contacts over the years. Without my experience in this program, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today.”

Kalene Parker (MFA 1996)

was Dorothy in The Wiz at Woodminster Amphitheater in Oakland and also appeared at Sacramento’s Music Circus. She was with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon from February through October 2001, appearing in Life is a Dream, directed by Laird Williamson; Enter the Guardsman, directed by Peter Amster; and The Merry Wives of Windsor directed by Lillian Groag. Kalene lives in the San Francisco Bay area and teaches when she is not performing.

Carla Spindt (MFA 1996)

is the Conservatory Director of the Solano College Theatre’s actor training program. Since graduation she has been teaching at colleges and universities all around Northern California, including UC Davis, acting, and raising her two daughters. She played Vivian Bearing in Solano’s production of Margaret Edson’s Wit . Appeared as Felicity in Shadow Box as a Guest Artist at Solano College Theatre. Directed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Solano Repertory Theatre in Fairfield. Appeared as Hecuba in “Trojan Women” at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley (Design by J Iacovelli). Directed “Love’s Labours Lost” at Napa Valley College. Currently she is directing “Noises Off” at Solano Community College.

Tom Gough (MFA 1995)

is the artistic director of City Lights Theatre Company of San Jose and has accepted a full-time teaching position at Foothill College. Tom’s 2001 winter holiday show was Moliere’s The Miser. City Lights continued its New Play Readers series with Jeff Goode’s Prague-Nosis, which Tom describes as “a rather ingenious and complex spoof of the mystery/dinner theater sort of genre filled with several outrageous characters and plot twists.” Tom’s directorial work includes The Good Doctor, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), The Phantom Tollbooth, The Rocky Horror Show, Wonder of the World and the comedy Food Chain, in which Jeremy Southard (MFA ‘97) made his professional Bay Area debut. He also played Macbeth and acted in The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) at City Lights

Bobbie Saltzman (MFA 1995)

heads the South Suburban College theatre program in South Holland, Illinois, just south of Chicago. She is Director of the SSC Playhouse, which hosted a Chicago-wide, week long Shakespeare intensive with English Touring Theatre Artistic Director, Stephen Unwin (UC Davis Granada Artist-in-Residence). In addition, Bobbie built the SSC Playhouse’s first theatre website ( www.southsuburbancollege.edu/drm ), and developed core college curriculum. In 1999, the mayor of Evanston appointed her to the Evanston Arts Council, of which she is an active member on the Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Arts. Saltzman served as adjunct faculty of theatre and speech at numerous colleges and universities including Drew University, Montclair State College, Kean College of NJ, The College of St. Elizabeth, Bergen Community College, The Delancey Street Foundation, University of California at Davis, Western Career College, and Daley College of the City Colleges of Chicago. She also worked as an “independent,” for Encore Consultants, a year-2000 Grammy-nominated classical record producer based in San Rafael, California. A member of the Actors’ Equity Association since, she was Director of the Conservatory of Acting for actor Paul Sorvino’s NJ-based LORT theatre, the American Stage Company. (They launched the original productions of Forever Plaid and Other People’s Money.) Also, she has directed and performed in numerous plays and musicals, covered and co-produced the 1987 Tony Awards for CNN’s ShowBiz Today, toured for three seasons with the American Greetings Corporation as a performer for children, wrote and produced Fanny Brice: Remembering, a wisely-forgotten, simply terrible one-woman musical show that toured the NY-metropolitan area for over a year, and was a founding member of Unexpected Company,a professional improvisation troupe that performed regularly at the 78th Street Playhouse in NYC from 1977 to the troupe’s end in 1989.

James Bond (MFA 1994)

has been developing an international directing career, and spends little time in his New York City apartment. He went to Birmingham, England to direct Dracula at the Hippodrome (the show opened October 31.) Before that, he opened The Mousetrap at Surflight Theatre. James then directed the holiday show A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol in Cripple Creek, Colorado at the Butte Opera House. Since graduating from UC Davis, James has done outstanding work Off Off and Off Broadway and in regional theatres around the country, including the Pearl Theatre Group, The New 42nd Street Theatre, The Producers Club, HERE Arts Center, Westside Dance Project, Florida Playwrights’ Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard Theatre, Virginia Shakespeare Festival, Surflight Theatre, Connecticut Rep, Stagedoor Manor, et al. In 2004 he directed Godspell at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre in Allentown, PA; Zelda at the Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg, PA; Cactus Flower at the Pioneer Playhouse; The Mikado at Stagedoor Manor, and Biloxi Blues at Surflight Theatre. Check out his website at www.nycdirector.com.

Robin Bronner (BA 1994)

has been Key Second Assistant Director of NBC’s hit hospital drama, ER. Robin, her loyal Border Collie, and a close friend came to Davis for Picnic Day when Robin conducted a “Foot in the Door” seminar for students who hope to work in television and/or film. The optimistic vein of Robin’s fact-filled talk, her gutsy advice and infectious enthusiasm made for a very lively afternoon. The combination of her surgical wit and her side-splitting out-takes had everyone in stitches. Obviously, this is a woman who puts her whole heart into whatever she does. Thank you, Robin!

Khari Okang Jones (BA 1994)

is quarterback of the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Khari and Justine Turner Jones (BA 1993) are the parents of a baby girl, Jaelyn Denell, born in July 2002 in Winnipeg. Khari was the 2001 CFL season’s Most Outstanding Player. A Canadian newspaper cited Khari’s “intelligence, leadership, toughness and … cool” as his greatest attributes. Khari acknowledged that he’s “had a good run.” He told a National Post reporter that a “nice thing about football is the money…. I don’t have to go through that starving actor phase. It’s real convenient.” In the off-season, Khari pursues his acting career in the Bay Area.

Paul McKinney (BA 1994)

has been living in Los Angeles, working every possible venue. He’s done numerous radio and TV voiceovers (Aquafina, AT&T and a dozen or so for the American Forces Radio and TV Network) as well as national commercials (spots for Budweiser and Suncom Wireless) and about ten independent films. Paul has had co-starring roles in a dozen or so television series including “That ’70s Show”, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”, “Invisible Man” and a number of children’s TV programs, including “All That” and “Power Rangers”. Paul continues to study with LA coaches including Larry Moss and Cynthia Szigeti. In summer 2002 Paul wrote, produced, and had the lead in a short film, a Memento spoof called Mementos, which he planned to show in film festivals.

Jeri Sykes (MFA 1994)

took a music BA from the Berklee College of Music in December ‘01, and took a job teaching clarinet and saxophone in Boston. At Berklee, Jeri received the Arif Mardin Award from the Contemporary Writing and Production Department of the College in recognition of her outstanding musical and academic achievement. Berklee department chairs, faculty, and staff each spring nominate students who “have potential to become .. leader[s] in the music industry.” Jeri was featured in the Writing Division’s annual awards concert, conducting a song she co-wrote and arranged for a 50-piece orchestra. The piece was a musical adaptation from a play, written for a musical-theatre writing class. Jeri was also featured in the Contemporary Writing & Production Department’s annual student concert, with her jazz band arrangement of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” (Berklee College photo)

Sara Townsend (MFA 1994)

in 2001 was the board president of the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA), a nonprofit theatre service organization that provides programs and services for theatres in the Sacramento area. She is currently the theatre teacher at Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, as well as the artistic director for Yolo Stage Company, which produces an annual summer musical theatre workshop for young people in Yolo County and the surrounding area. Since leaving UCD, Sara has acted and directed at numerous theatres in the Sacramento region. When not directing or producing theatre, she reports that she enjoys “traveling with my family and my students to great places like Ashland, Oregon, New York City, and London.”

Robert Cosgrove (MFA 1993)

teaches English and American Literature at the Universidad Naçional (Bogotá, Columbia.)

John Leonard (MFA 1993)

was in residence at UC Davis in April 2002, conducting a two-day conference on auditioning for musical theatre. John is assistant professor of Musical Theatre and the acting Musical Theatre coordinator at the University of Northern Colorado. After taking his MFA, John went on to direct/choreograph musical productions in the San Francisco and Bay area, including My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, A Chorus Line, Falsettos, Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret, Anything Goes, and A Grand Night for Singing (for which he received the 1997 Bay area “Arty Award” for Best Director of a Musical). At UNC John has directed/choreographed Grease, 1940’s Radio Hour, The Boyfriend, Cabaret, Side Show, and directed West Side Story and Damn Yankees.

Terry Maloney (MFA 1993)

has taken the name of Terry Haley. He and his lover, Carl, both took the Haley surname when they adopted their son, Corbin. Professionally, Terry has written television shows in Los Angeles, including “Married…With Children” for Fox, “Some of My Best Friends” for CBS, “All About Us” for NBC, and several kids’ shows for Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, including “Even Stevens,” “100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd” and “The Journey of Allen Strange.” His play about Lizzie Borden, Lizzie, or Better an Outlaw was produced in San Francisco in 1995, and he co-produced CHiP’d/Phacts of Life in Los Angeles in 1998 (a parody of the television shows “CHiPs” and “The Facts of Life”).

Terry Ross (MFA 1993)

has been focusing primarily on directing film in the last several years but recently directed a staged reading of “Fool for Love” at the 10th Avenue Theatre in San Diego and will be directing a full production of “True West” in 2020, Current film projects include post-production of the second feature film she directed “Sweet Taste of Souls” and conducting the first in a series of acting/filmmaking retreats in Europe in October of 2019 to be held at Castello Ducale in Umbria. Her first feature film, “Carving A Life’, available across all streaming platforms, garnered several awards at U.S. film festivals including Best Director and Best Feature and in 2017 was the recipient of the Women in Film Awards at the San Diego Film Awards. Her acting studio, Acting Professionally, based in San Diego since 1997, focuses on on-camera training for actors of all ages and produces the only annual showcase which features both filmed and live performances. She has been on the faculty of the M.F.A. Training Program of the Old Globe and the undergraduate theatre faculty of University of San Diego and San Diego State University and directed SD Tribune’s Critic’s Choice “Execution of Justice” for Diversionary Theatre. She currently resides in Julian, a mountain community in San Diego County. For more info www.actingprofessionally.com. Terry can be contacted at terryevelynross@yahoo.com

Jeff Bengford (MFA Directing 1992)

Teaches Drama and English at Westmont High School, where he is the director of the theatre program. The school produces three major stage shows annually, as well as a student-directed talent show, and an evening of one-act plays. Check their website at http://www.angelfire.com/ego/westmontdrama/.Jeff also runs the summer theatre program at West Valley College and annually directs at least one college show.Since graduation Jeff has worked for such professional theatres as TheatreWorks, Sacramento Theatre Company, the Theatre of All Possibilities, and the Northside Theatre Company of San Jose. Jeff was Artistic Director for Peninsula Youth Theatre for two years and returned there in fall 2000 to direct their production of Peter Pan. Jeff is married to dance educator Kellye Dodd. They live in San Jose with their cat, Juliet, and their fish, LePlume. Jeff can be contacted at bengford@sbcglobal.net.

Gabriel Hannaford (BA 1992)

is Technical Director for Lowell High School Performing Arts in Berkeley, CA and is building up the school’s technical theatre program. He also teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced theatre tech courses. Lowell annually mounts a drama, a musical, a dance show and music concerts.

Mark Putnam (MFA 1992)

is an assistant professor of lighting and sound design at Southwest Missouri State University.

Russell Richardson

has appeared in a number of movies, including the 2001 action flick Tigerland and the sci-fi Ragdoll. In Disney’s 2002 hit, The Rookie, Russell plays the young pro ballplayer, Brooks, with whom aging rook Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid) has to deal en route to The Show.

Frances Rosario

is dancing in the Bay Area with the Savage Jazz Dance Company. In spring 2001, she performed with the Company and the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra at the Alice Arts Center and at the Cowell Theatre in Oakland. Dance Magazine says Savage Jazz is “the most layered, sophisticated concert jazz dance company in these Western climes.”