Arminy / Others

Tiffani (she/her) is a Hudson Valley, NY native and business analyst-turned-actor. She’s grateful for the opportunity to perform alongside such talented artists in Carousel! In her previous environs, she helped found JetBlue’s first African Diaspora-centered Employee Resource Group. Tiffani is an alum of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. She was last seen in Sizwe Bansi is Dead with The Outer Loop Theater’s Chicago debut. This past summer, she performed in the Narnia Vocal Arts Festival’s operas Dido & Aeneas and & Aeterna. She ultimately looks forward to both writing and acting in essential stories to tell that only performance art can effectuate.

Violin

Fengwan Chen (she/her), 20, currently studies at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Joseph Lin. She entered Shanghai Conservatory at the age of 10 and worked with Lewis Kaplan, Boris Kuschnir, Regis Pasquier, Midori Goto, and Ning Feng, among others. Fengwan won the fellowships of Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Center. She worked intensively with Takács Quartet and served as assistant concertmaster at the Music Academy of the West, Fengwan has also appeared at Juilliard ChamberFest, Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark, and Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Japan.

Cello

Blake Ebert (he/him) is pleased to make his debut with Off-Brand Opera! Blake is a cellist and medical student based in NYC and currently plays with the Riverside Orchestra and the Litha Symphony Orchestra. He is a graduate of Westmont College where he studied biology and cello performance.

David Bascombe & Others

Roderick Ferguson (he/him) is just so happy to be in a musical again! Yes, he’s been in one before! But that’s enough bragging. Please note that this presentation of Carousel is not a personal endorsement of commercial whaling practices. Roderick is currently working on transforming his award winning cabaret show MAN OVERBOARD!!! into a solo play. It’s based on his life story growing up as a closeted gay kid in Bermuda and ultimately suing the Government of Bermuda to legalize gay marriage, without even having a boyfriend! More info at www.roderickferguson.com.

Conductor

Rider R. Foster (Conductor, Tenor) (he/him) studied at Westminster Choir College, and has performed with myriad prominent conductors, choirs, and orchestras. As both a conductor and a soloist, his professional engagements have included all manner of civic ensembles, professional recordings, various opera companies including New York City Opera, and a multitude of sacred music ensembles in the New York Metropolitan area. He is the founding director and conductor of Clarum Sonum, which is an entirely volunteer choir dedicated to the performance of new music and collaboratively enriching local music programs both sacred and secular.

Director

Brendan Hartnett (he/him) is an accomplished educator, director, and singer. Brendan has directed up and down the coast of California with companies including Opera Parallele and the Pacific Opera Project. Favorite projects include The Gondoliers and The Yeomen of the Guard with Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, The Tragedy of Carmen and Down in the Valley with Opera UCLA, The Araboolies of Liberty Street and Xochitl and the Flowers with Opera Parallele’s ‘Family Opera’ program, and The Center Cannot Hold with Pacific Opera Project. ​Brendan holds an MFA in theater from UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television, and a Bachelor’s of Music from UC Santa Cruz. brendanhartnett.com

Billy Bigelow

Originally from Cleveland, OH, Dan (he/him) has performed in venues across North America, from the Hollywood Pantages in Los Angeles to Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York City. Off-B’way: Between the Lines as u/s Prince, Frump, and Martin/Dance Captain (2nd Stage/Daryl Roth). Tour: CATS as Munkustrap (1st Nt’l Tour, Revival). Select Regional: Rock of Ages as Drew (John W. Engeman Theater), Next to Normal as Gabe (Theater on the Square), Pippin as Pippin (Thin Air Theater Co.), The Last Five Years as Jamie (Revolution Theatrics), and The Glass Menagerie as Jim O’Connor (Big Dog Theatrics). In addition to his public performances, Dan regularly works with acclaimed composers and writers in the development of new works. BWMT ’18. www.danhoy.org | IG: @dan_jhoy

Carrie Pipperidge / Vocal Director

Erin Kennedy (she/her) is an NYC-based soprano, actor, and pianist dedicated to creating joyful, accessible interpretations of both contemporary and classical music. Recent appearances include: Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company (Mabel in Pirates of Penzance), Narnia Festival (Belinda in Dido & Aeneas and Jake Landau’s & Aeterna; Genovieffa in Suor Angelica and Jake Landau’s Pietà); Light Opera of New Jersey (Musetta cover/Angel in La Bohème); Off-Brand Opera (Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods); and Kimerer LaMothe and Geoffrey Gee’s Nietzsche! A New Musical (Lou Salomé).

Starkeeper / Assistant Director

Anna (she/her) is an actor, comedian, and writer from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was last seen onstage in Off Brand Opera's Into the Woods as Little Red and last seen offstage walking out of a T.J. Maxx with an exfoliating foot mask and too many jellybeans. If you ever meet a big-time Hollywood director looking for his next star, tell him to follow @annalarranaga on social media.

Captain / Others

Mark Martinez (he/him) is a tenor in NYC. Mark's recent performances include Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte, and Frederick in Pirates of Penzance. Recent roles he has sung include, Acis from Handel's Acis and Galatea, Col Fairfax from Sullivan's Yeomen of the Guard, and Don Ottavio from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Undergrad: Harvard, Grad school: Princeton.

Nettie Fowler / Cello

Anthime Miller (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed composer and performance artist based in Brooklyn. Anthime is the composer-in-residence for The Circle Theater of New York and a regular composer and actor with the National Theater of Luxembourg. Anthime is Principal Cellist of the Regina Opera Company and plays with New Amsterdam Opera, the Greenwich Village Orchestra and chamber ensembles across North America and Europe. They’re very excited to return to the stage with Off Brand Opera! Recent Acting Credits: Alfred Stieglitz - Nearby, Faraway 2022, Bollingbroke/Jester - Richard II 2022, Ferryman - Strangers 2018, Fagin - Oliver! 2017.

Mrs. Mullin

Kimberlee Monroe (she/her) is a proud Actor. She has performed in many shows Off-Broadway, Regionally and throughout NYC. During the pandemic she began taking Singing and Piano classes with the brilliant Erin Kennedy. She’s thankful to Erin Kennedy and Off-Brand Opera for this beautiful opportunity and making this my musical debut. I have enjoyed the journey!

Jigger Craigin

Sam Pottinger (he/him) is an actor, musician and creative who was born in St. Louis. He recently graduated from Oklahoma City University and is currently living in New York City. Some of his favorite previous roles include Richard Bailey and Harry (u/s) in Kinky Boots at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and roles such as Emmett in Legally Blonde, Melchior in Spring Awakening, and John Brooke in Little Women at Oklahoma City University. Sam had also collaborated on multiple new works, including June by the Sea, written and directed by Adam LaPorte, and Nietzsche! The Musical, written and produced by Kimerer LaMothe and Geoffrey Gee. @sampottinger

Louise Bigelow

Emily (she/her) is a recent graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Recently, she played the role of Eli in Let the Right One In (directed by Ben Hartley) and appeared in a reading of the new musical Unfinished (written by James Powers). Emily takes pride in her position as a teaching assistant at the NP Junior School and a teaching artist for Theatre[Untitled]’s Actor’s Professional Conservatory Program. She is so grateful for the opportunity to portray Louise, and would like to give a special thank you to her dance instructors over the years. Enjoy the show!

Clarinet / Baritone Saxophone

Chris Rosendale (he/him) is excited to be making his NYC debut with Off Brand Opera's Carousel! Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Chris is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Multiple Woodwinds Performance from New Jersey City University where he studies with Mark Thrasher. As a freelance woodwind performer, he is equally comfortable in a variety of settings from jazz and funk to classical and chamber to theatre pit orchestras.

Julie Jordan

Veronica Shea (she/her) is a singer, actor, digital marketer, and performing arts producer who is excited to return to the stage with Off-Brand Opera, after performing as Cinderella in Into the Woods and as various roles in SPARK! For the past two summers, Veronica has attended the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival, performing in the world premieres of Jake Landau’s new operas Pietà and & Aeterna. Other recent performances include Musetta in Light Opera of New Jersey’s production of La Bohème, Mabel in Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and various concerts in the greater NYC area. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, and received her Masters at Savannah College of Art and Design. veronicashea.com

Piano

Nick Stamatakis (he/him) is a pianist, music director and composer who has worked with professional, educational and community organizations, striving to create collaborative environments that foster the exploration, interpretation and execution of music in theater. His most recent work, music and lyrics for the new musical Just Beyond Balboa, was selected for The Theater Center's New Work Incubator program. Credits include Off-Broadway musical theater and opera companies in New York, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Public Theater and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Flute / Oboe

Noah Vece (he/him) graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2011 under the tutelage of Sam Skelton. Since then his experience playing a variety of styles and instruments has made him an active member of the New York City music scenes. He has performed with numerous local theaters as a pit musician, as well as travelled the world with international tours to Australia, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and Canada. In addition to performing, Noah is passionate about teaching, and has spent years as a private teacher of saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He is also a Vandoren Artist-Clinician, and conducts clinics and masterclasses at schools, businesses, and conferences around the NYC area.

Enoch Snow / Movement Director

Leslie Andrea Williams (she/her) was born in Newport News, Virginia and was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Williams studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, and graduated with a BFA in Dance. She now is a Principal dancer at the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing featured roles around the world. One of her most notable roles is the lead in Martha Graham’s Chronicle. In the company’s almost 100 year history, Ms. Williams is the first Black woman to ever perform this iconic role. Her performance earned her a mention in The New York Times’ “Best Dance of 2019” list. She has also been named in Dance Magazine as a dancer “On the Rise” and in Teen Vogue as a “Rising star Personifying Black Excellence.” Ms. Williams' work has been described in reviews as “hypnotic,” “larger than life,” and she is someone who “effortlessly controls the gaze of the audience.”