Charles Dickens (Author) was born in Portsmouth, England, and spent most of his childhood in London and Kent. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers (1836-37), was published in monthly serial installments and became an instant hit. In 1843, he published A Christmas Carol, one of the most popular Christmas stories of all time. Dickens was a prolific writer, and critics regard his later works as his finest. Some of these include Bleak House (1852-53), Great Expectations (1860-61), Oliver Twist (1837-39), and A Tale of Two Cities (1859). Dickens is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Jerry Patch (Adapter) served as dramaturg on over 150 new plays, including the world premieres of Abundance, Freedomland, Golden Child, Intimate Apparel, Search and Destroy, Three Days of Rain, Ruined and Wit. He was the founding project director for South Coast Repertory’s Pacific Playwrights Festival and artistic director of the theatre program of Sundance Institute. A professor of theatre and film, he was consulting dramaturg for Roundabout Theatre Company (New York) for nearly a decade and resident artistic director at The Old Globe in San Diego. He is now artistic consultant for Manhattan Theatre Club, where he served more than a decade as Director of Artistic Development, and is resident dramaturg at SCR.

Larry Bates* (Constable/Fred/Gentleman) is happy to be back at SCR. Some SCR favorite roles are Martin Luther King Jr. in All the Way, Ralph D. in The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Happy in Death of a Salesman, Booth in Topdog/Underdog, Cactus in Mr. Marmalade and Youngblood in the SCR/Pasadena Playhouse production of Jitney, for which he won an NAACP Theatre Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor. His other favorite theatre credits include Ah Wilderness! (Goodman Theatre) and Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop (Matrix Theatre, San Diego Repertory, Hattiloo Theatre). His film and television credits include Miss Virginia, Lions for Lambs, “The Romanoffs,” “Seal Team,” “Sunnyside,” “NCIS” and Stu in “Big Little Lies.” Bates is a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and a graduate of The Theatre School, DePaul University.

Tommy Beck* (Undertaker/Ebenezer as a Young Man/Poulterer ) is excited to be back at SCR. His recent credits include The Explorers Club, All My Sons (Jewel Theatre Company); Marjorie Prime, Shakespeare in Love, Miss Bennet (Marin Theatre Company); A Streetcar Named Desire (Kansas City Actors Theatre); Colossal (San Francisco Playhouse); The Real Thing, The Monster Builder, Eccentricities of a Nightingale (Aurora Theatre Company); A Few Good Men (Hillbarn Theatre); Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion (Livermore Shakespeare Festival); Sleuth, Dracula (Center REPertory Company); Sense & Sensibility (TheatreWorks); Much Ado About Nothing (Cal Shakes); Cymbeline (Marin Shakespeare Company); Hamlet, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, The Three Musketeers (City Lights Theater Company). Beck has worked extensively in performance capture, most notably with 2K Games, Hangar 13, Firaxis, Pixar, Epic Games, and Industrial Light & Magic. He received his BA from New York University and is a proud member of AEA & SAG/AFTRA.

Kelsey Bray (Elizabeth Shelley/Pursued Maiden/Fan) (she/her) is so grateful and excited to be back performing in A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory, where she was also a student in the Education Conservatory for more than 11 years and performed as Belinda Cratchit in the 2010 production of A Christmas Carol. Her regional credits include Junie B. Jones Jingle Bells Batman Smells (Junie B., Oklahoma Children’s Theatre), Clean Slate (Gina, world premiere, Ignition Arts) and Illuminate (world premiere, original company member, Ignition Arts). She earned her BFA in acting and directing from Oklahoma City University. Endless gratitude to her amazing family, friends and mentors. Happy Holidays! kelseybrayactor.com IG: @Kelsey.bray98

Diana Burbano* (Understudy) is a Colombian immigrant playwright featured in Los Angeles Times LA Vanguardia: Latino Innovators. Her play Ghosts of Bogotá premiered at Alter Theater in 2020 and was produced at the Actors Theatre of Charlotte and Stray Cat Theatre Phoenix in 2022. Sapience premiered at Moxie Theatre in San Diego in 2021. Fabulous Monsters, will premiere at The Public Theatre of San Antonio, featuring the music of punk group FEA in 2023. She has had commissions with Artists Repertory Theatre, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, Center Theatre Group and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. Burbano played Amalia in Jose Cruz Gonzales’ American Mariachi at South Coast Repertory and Arizona Theatre Company, Marisela in La Ruta at Artists Repertory and Izzy in the world premiere of Julie Hébert’s Drunk at the Base of the Bodhi Tree for Mile High Theatre. You can also see her as Viv the Punk in the cult musical Isle of Lesbos. She is the current Dramatists Guild Rep for Southern California. dianaburbano.com

Melody Butiu* (Solicitor/Mrs. Fezziwig) is delighted to return to SCR, where her credits include A Christmas Carol (2021, 2019, 2018), M. Butterfly, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, and more. She plays Tita Yvonne in the Amblin/Universal/Rideback film, Easter Sunday, starring comedian Jo Koy, available on demand, digital, and Blu-Ray now. Her voice can be heard in Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience! (HBOMax), thanks to her involvement in the SCR’s TYA production. New York credits include Doctor Zhivago (Broadway) and David Byrne’s Here Lies Love (The Public Theater). Regionally, she has appeared at Theatre Under the Stars, Geva Theatre, Arena Stage, REV Theatre Company, Denver Center, Seattle Rep, Wallis Annenberg Center, Huntington, ACT, Geffen Playhouse, Getty Villa, Kirk Douglas Theatre, San Diego Rep, Singapore Rep, East West Players, Portland Center Stage, and La Jolla Playhouse. Select film and television credits include Untold: This is My Story, “Mom,” “Call Me Kat,” “This is Us,” “The Kominsky Method,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: LA,” “Kingdom,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” and “Gotham.” More at melodybutiu.com, Instagram: @themelodybutiu

Alicia Coca* (Flower Seller/Belle) returns to SCR after having appeared in She Loves Me (2020) and American Mariachi (2019 and 2021). A 2018 theatre arts graduate of the University of California, Davis, Coca’s recent work includes SCR’s Pacific Playwrights Festival 2022, Latino Theatre Company’s 2020 virtual productions of Just Like Us (Clara) directed by Fidel Gomez and August 29 (Young Lucero) directed by Alberto Barboza. She was a featured soloist in the 2018 Graham-a-Rama Cabaret (hosted by Graham Sobelman) at Sacramento Capital Stage. In 2019, she performed in downtown Los Angeles as a lead Angel vocalist in the 17th annual performance of La Virgen de Guadalupe: Dios Inantzin (written by Evelina Fernández and directed by José Luis Valenzuela). Coca made her Actors’ Equity debut in March 2019 in American Mariachi at Arizona Theatre Company.

Richard Doyle* (Ebenezer Scrooge) is an SCR Founding Member, was Scrooge in last seasons return of A Christmas Carol (after COVID protocols prompted his solo audio performance of SCR’s A Christmas Carol). This is a story he has told as many different characters in SCR’s stage version for 36 prior seasons. Before he debuted as Scrooge in 2021, Doyle was last seen at SCR in Outside Mullingar (2020) and previously in Kings, Rest, The Weir and more than 200 other productions. His other SCR favorites include Holy Days; The Beard of Avon; You, Nero; Men’s Singles; Unsuitable for Adults (U.S. premiere); Playland; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; The Crucible; Intimate Exchanges; Cyrano; A View from the Bridge; Of Mice and Men; and, from SCR’s Third Step Theatre, The Tavern by George M. Cohan. Live stage is his first love, but he has also kept busy with film and television, including a regular role as Mr. Gaines on “Cheers”; several roles on “M*A*S*H”; his first feature, the Micheal Crichton film Coma; Wolfgang Peterson’s Air Force One; and Mass Appeal, with his favorite actors Jack Lemmon and Milo O’Shea. He has also appeared in many independent features, including Abduction of Angie. Voice acting brought him face to face with the genesis of his love for live performance: storytelling. His work as an animation voiceover actor ranges from “Sky Commanders” “The Chimp Channel,” “Batman,” “Ben Ten” and “Spiderman” to video and motion capture performances in dozens of video games like “MGS 3” as Big Boss, to podcasts, like his three season turn on “Exeter” as Capt. Woodruff. A decade ago, Doyle was asked to join The Pageant of the Masters team to be the live show narrator for this unique event, where he welcomes folks and encourages them to “enjoy his storytelling surrounding this Arts themed show.” Here at SCR, he likewise hopes that you “Enjoy the Show” and a wonderful holiday season.

Eduardo Enrikez* (Joe/Jacob Marley as a Young Man) is excited to return to SCR in A Christmas Carol. He previously graced the stage in American Mariachi and as Sebastian in Destiny of Desire, which went on to the Goodman Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Cincinnati Playhouse. He was in the original London West End production of the musical, On Your Feet, the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan (London Coliseum); he reprised his role as Emilio in a production at The Moonlight Amphitheatre. He recently finished a season at PCPA appearing in The Secret Garden as Archie, Mother Road as Martin Jodes and Into the Woods as Wolf/Cinderella’s prince. His other West End/European credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Eating Raoul, Time Square Angel, Saturday Night Fever and Hair. Regional credits include Destiny of Desire; American Mariachi; Chris in Miss Saigon; Vittorio Vidal in Sweet Charity; Emcee in Cabaret; Mickey in Blood Brothers; Is This Any Way to Start a Marriage; Ragtime; The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!; Love Songs—A Musical; Bat Boy: The Musical; Hercules On Normandie and Schoolhouse Rock. His film and television credits include Sin Frontera, Stigma, Emilio, Jornada al norte, Dog Tags, Immigrant, Infertile Hearts, “The Bridge,” “Locked up Abroad” and “Bluff.” He wrote the musical ILCAHUILIA (to forgive) where it just recently had a reading in NY and Los Angeles. @eduardoenrikez.

Michael Manuel* (Jacob Marley's Ghost/Gentleman) is happy to be returning to SCR, where he last appeared as Editor Webb in Our Town. Also at SCR, Boris in Amos and Boris, Madame Pernelle in Tartuffe, Big Stone in Eurydice, Francis Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in numerous readings and workshops since 1994. He has worked in regional theatres across the country including The Alley Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre DC, Group Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival among others. In LA he has worked with A Noise Within (Ovation, LADCC Awards for Frankenstein) Pasadena Playhouse (LADCC for The Father), Mark Taper Forum, Cornerstone Theater Company, Shakespeare Festival LA, Geffen Playhouse, Interact Theatre Company, UCB, Main Street Players, and Impro Theatre where he is a member of the Main Company. He has appeared in numerous television programs and films. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Preston Maybank* (Bob Cratchit)is delighted to be back at SCR where he has appeared in Much Ado About Nothing (Don Pedro), Two Gentlemen of Verona (the Duke of Milan), Terra Nova (Amundsen), Cyrano de Bergerac (Valvert), The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler (Lovborg), The Hoboken Chicken Emergency (Anthony LaPalma) and numerous other productions. Other SoCal productions include The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (King Of Bohemia) at the Pasadena Playhouse, The Pursuit of Happiness (Spud) at the Laguna Playhouse, The Foreigner (Froggy) at the La Mirada Theatre and Tartuffe (Tartuffe) at A Noise Within. In addition to numerous other theatre, film and television credits, he toured Europe with The Karol Armitage Ballet in the original ballet Hucksters of the Soul. He is also the creator of the critically acclaimed “stop-mo” animated series “The Agitated” which can be found at theagitated.com.

William Francis McGuire* (Solicitor/Mr. Fezziwig/Gentleman) appeared at SCR previously in Shakespeare in Love, All the Way, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Wrinkle in Time, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, A Christmas Carol and Tartuffe. He also has worked at the Guthrie Theater (The Rover, Naga Mandala, The Seagull, Electra, Iphigenia at Aulis, The Good Hope, Peer Gynt and Billy and Dago, among others), The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Henry V and Macbeth), Bay Street Theater Fest (Tropeano Paints), American Repertory Theatre (Boys Next Door), Yale Repertory Theatre (Search and Destroy) and many others. His film credits include The Day After Tomorrow and Mission: Impossible III. His television credits include “100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd” (series regular), “CSI,” “Castle,” “Justified,” “Eagleheart,” “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” “The Mentalist,” “Saving Grace,” “Weeds,” “Numb3rs,” “NCIS,” “Without a Trace,” as well as a number of Movies of the Week. He is Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at Saddleback College and a graduate of Yale School of Drama.

Elyse Mirto* (Rich Woman/Mrs. Cratchit) returns to SCR where she previously appeared in Our Town, Shakespeare in Love and Little Black Shadows by Kemp Powers. She can be seen as General Michelle Dupree in the soon to be released feature film Imani. Her television credits include “Dynasty,” “Criminal Minds,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “NCIS,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Cold Case,” “Malibu Gothic,” a recurring role on “The Last Ship” and the series lead in the 2022 pilot “WIC300.” Mirto has appeared in more than 30 national commercials, dozens of independent films as well as voice over and print work. She also lends her talents dubbing foreign television series and films into English for Netflix. In New York, she appeared at several theaters, including off-Broadway and is the recipient of the New York Innovative Theater Award for outstanding lead actress in a play. In Chicago, she appeared at the Goodman Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Rep. Los Angeles theatres include Geffen Theatre, A Noise Within, Mark Taper Forum, Rubicon, Laguna Playhouse, Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, Latino Theatre Co., Theatre of NOTE and The Antaeus Company. She is an Ovation and LA Drama Critics Circle nominee. A conservatory teacher at California School for the Art-San Gabriel Valley, doting aunt to five of the coolest nephews and nieces the Motor City has ever seen, partner to actor Bo Foxworth and mom to the sweetest 75lb Scooby Doo named Bert.

Jennifer Parsons* (The Spirit of Christmas Past/Scavenger) returns to SCR for her second year as The Spirit of Christmas Past and 20th year in A Christmas Carol —17 as Mrs. Cratchit and one as Belle (back in the long ago). She has also appeared in the SCR productions of The Heiress, Cyrano de Bergerac, Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards, Our Town, She Stoops to Folly, The Importance of Being Earnest, Buried Child, Flora & Ulysses, James and the Giant Peach, Anastasia Krupnik, The Borrowers, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business, Brand New Kid, The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), The Only Child and Bunnicula. Her other recent SoCal performances include The Glass Menagerie, Silent Sky and Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike at International City Theatre. She has performed on and off-Broadway, in regional theatres across the country and is a company member at Theatre 40. Her most current television credits include recurring guest star roles on “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Proven Innocent.” Other guest star credits include roles on “All Rise,” “The Romanoffs,” “Longmire,” “Bones,” “Criminal Minds” and “Stalker.” She is happily married to Scrooge, Richard Doyle.

Michael Polak* (Understudy) is thrilled to be a part of the SCR team. His New York credits include Soldier’s Wife at the Mint Theatre. Regionally, he has appeared at Rubicon Theatre Company, North Coast Repertory, International City Theatre, La Mirada Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Northern Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare, Philadelphia Theater Company, Caldwell Theatre Company (New Times Award winner and Carbonell Award nominee for the role of Shane Mungitt in Take Me Out), Shakespeare Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Playmaker’s Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Cape Playhouse and the California, San Francisco, and Texas Shakespeare Festivals among others. His television and film credits include “Bel-Air,” Mid-Century, 86 Melrose Ave, and numerous soaps, web series, and shorts. Polak received his MFA from Pennsylvania State University and his BA from California State University, Fullerton. michaelpolakactorfd.com

Erika Schindele* (Toy Lady/Sally/Scavenger) is honored to continue to be a part of this beloved Christmas tradition. She appeared at SCR in the world premiere of An Italian Straw Hat, as well as numerous Theatre for Young Audience productions. Recently, she returned to the stage as Georgie Burns in Heisenberg at Jewel Theatre Company and Mrs. Weston in a musical production of Emma at the Ensemble Theater in Santa Barbara. She played Stella Kowalski in the iconic A Streetcar Named Desire (Jewel Theatre Company) and at Laguna Playhouse, she was in the West Coast premiere of I’m Still Getting My Act Together (starring Gretchen Cryer), as well as The Odd Couple and Love, Loss and What I Wore. Other favorite theatre credits include Collected Stories at Coachella Valley Repertory (Desert Theatre League Award nominee, best actress); Merrily We Roll Along and 1776 at Actors Co-op Theatre Company; and Hello Dolly! at Welk Resort Theatre. Her film and television credits include Emerald, “Ribbons” (of which she was a co-creator), “Criminal Minds” and “American Dreams.” For Brent and Jack, always. erikaschindele.com.

Michael Reese Shald (Puppet Show/Gentleman/Mr. Topper) (he/him) is honored to participate in his first production at SCR since graduating from Chapman University in 2021 with a BFA in Theatre Performance. While at Chapman he had the opportunity to play Jack in Vinegar Tom, and Barnadine in Measure for Measure. He also worked on student productions as Ram Sweeney in Heathers the Musical, and ensemble member in The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar and Sweeney Todd.

Nick Slimmer (Thomas Shelley/The Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-Come) is thrilled to be making his return to A Christmas Carol. He is a graduate of SCR’s Acting Intensive Program, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Arizona State University. He is also an integral member of South Coast Repertory’s Theatre Conservatory where he serves as the Educational Programs Associate. Past roles include Boy in Peter and the Starcatcher, Johnny Appleseed in the world premiere of American Tall Tales and Matt in Dog Sees God. Slimmer would like to thank his parents for their support, director Hisa Takakuwa for giving him the opportunity, and his fiancée, Emily, for her love.

Richard Soto* (Wreath Seller/The Spirit of Christmas Present/Rich Man) who is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity, is overjoyed to be back again with the tradition of A Christmas Carol. His other SCR credits include Vecino in A Long Road Today/El Largo Camino de Hoy, SCR’s Dialogue/Diálogos project in Santa Ana. He also appeared in Coriolanus, The School for Scandal and Romeo & Juliet at The Old Globe. Other credits include The Misanthrope and Major Barbara at A Noise Within. He is a faculty instructor with SCR’s Theatre Conservatory. His written work includes the Latinx superhero comic book, The Legend of El Lobo, his plays, The Black Book, and Los Invisibles/The Invisible Ones, which address the inhumane treatment of immigrants, for Protest Plays Project’s #TheatreActionImmigration Initiative, and plays Freedom To Speak, I Leave You Hope, It Ain’t Perfect, and Something Worth Pursuing, for the We The People Theatre Action Program at Sacred Fools Theater. As fight director, he has choreographed stage fights around the SoCal region, including SCR, Latino Theater Company, Native Voices at The Autry, Teatro Meta, American Coast Theater, Imagine Theatre, and Actors Co-op, where he was recognized for his outstanding fight choreography. He is currently navigating life, and working on projects involving his passions of people, history, art, education, and comic books. Follow him at Instagram @therichardsoto

CHILDREN
Tessany Azizi, Natalie Bright, Nicholas Brown, Matthew Chan, Yunah Choi, Maddie Chung, Anabelle Green, Ben Hacker, Ashley Hong, Piper Huntley, Maximilian Lalli, Vincent Logan, Julia Ner, Isaac Person, ChloeLux Phan, Justine Roussel and Max Zazik.

Hisa Takakuwa (Director) is a classically trained actor, director and educator. She has worked at theatrical institutions around the country including the Sundance Children’s Theatre, The Music Center on Tour and the Indiana Repertory Theatre. At SCR, she appeared in The Man Who Came to Dinner, in 14 seasons of A Christmas Carol and Education Touring Productions. She is the Director of SCR’s Theatre Conservatory and directed many Players productions including Matilda The Musical, Hard Times, Cinderella, Mansfield Park, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, Seussical, Oliver Twist, The Wizard of Oz, Nicholas Nickleby and the world premiere of Cursed. While a longtime resident artist at A Noise Within, she appeared in many productions including The Triumph of Love, The Comedy of Errors, The Misanthrope, Another Part of the Forest, The Seagull and Our Town. She directed Henry V, Twelfth Night and Shooting Stars at the Actors Co-op Theatre in Hollywood. She holds a BA from Smith College and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.

Thomas Buderwitz (Scenic Design) previously designed Outside Mullingar, The Monster Builder, The Whipping Man, Tartuffe (co-design with Dominique Serrand), The Whale, The Prince of Atlantis, The Trip to Bountiful, Three Days of Rain, The Weir, Crimes of the Heart, Putting It Together, Collected Stories, The Heiress, Doubt, Pig Farm, Bach at Leipzig, Proof, A Delicate Balance, A Christmas Carol (19 previous seasons), But Not for Me and 2007-16 Galas for SCR. He has designed for other theatres including the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Center Stage, Intiman Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Artists Repertory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre Company, Chautauqua Theater Company, Reprise Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Boston Court Pasadena, A Noise Within, Antaeus Theatre Company, PCPA Theaterfest and San Diego Repertory Theatre. Buderwitz has received six Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Awards and three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. His television designs include specials and series for every major broadcast and cable network. He has been honored with three Emmy Award nominations and an Art Directors Guild Award nomination. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829, and is adjunct faculty at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts.

Donna & Tom Ruzika (Lighting Design) celebrate their 42nd year of designing for A Christmas Carol and 50 years of marriage. They have enjoyed collaborating on productions at SCR, the Hollywood Bowl and other regional theatres. Ms. Ruzika has designed 22 seasons for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and 30 seasons for Fullerton Civic Light Opera. She has also designed at Kansas City Repertory, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse and Long Beach’s International City Theatre. Her work has also been seen in Cairo, Egypt, Bogotá, Colombia, and Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Ruzika’s designs have been seen on Broadway, in national tours, at major regional theatres and with many national and international dance and opera companies. His entertainment lighting can be seen at theme parks in six countries and his architectural lighting can be seen in prestigious hotels, casinos, restaurants, retail centers and performing arts centers across the nation and in Europe and Asia. The Ruzikas have received numerous awards for their contributions to the art and craft of lighting design.

Dennis McCarthy (Musical Arrangement/Composer) returns to SCR, where he previously composed music for An Italian Straw Hat, Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards, Ben and the Magic Paintbrush, The Beard of Avon, Much Ado about Nothing and Of Mice and Men. During his career, he has written music for more than 2,000 films, television movies and series episodes including “V,” “MacGyver,” “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” “Star Trek,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “Dynasty.” He won two Emmy Awards during his 18 years of music for “Star Trek” and composed the music for the series’ feature film, Generations. He was honored with ASCAP’s Golden Note Award. He teaches film scoring at the Art Center of Design in Pasadena, is a Southern California native, a father of three and proud grandfather of nine beautiful grandchildren.

Drew Dalzell (Sound Design) is happy to be back at SCR, where he previously designed Cloudlands, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Putting It Together, An Italian Straw Hat, Imagine, A Little Night Music, A Christmas Carol, Bunnicula, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Intimate Exchanges and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. His other design work includes Toy Story: The Musical for Disney Cruise Lines; The Laramie Project at Laguna Playhouse; Fen (Garland Award) and As I Lay Dying (Ovation Award nomination) at Open Fist Theatre Company; A Time for Love, Songs for a New World (Ovation Award) and Tick, Tick...Boom at Rubicon Theatre Company; Side Show (Ovation Award nomination), Billy Bishop Goes to War (Ovation Award nomination), and The Laramie Project with the Colony Theatre Company; and Wicked Lit! 2012, 2013 (Ovation Award nomination), 2014 (Ovation Award), 2015 (Ovation Award), 2016 (Ovation Award nomination), 2017, and 2018 for Unbound Productions. He owns Diablo Sound Inc., which designs immersive experiences for clients around the world.

Dennis Castellano (Musical Director) has musically directed the SCR productions of The Light in the Piazza, The Fantasticks, Cloudlands, Ordinary Days, Putting It Together, An Italian Straw Hat, A Little Night Music, Happy End, Sunday in the Park with George and A Chorus of Disapproval. He is the music supervisor for the six-show summer season at the Music Circus at Broadway Sacramento, where he conducted their productions of The Secret Garden, In the Heights, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act, The Producers, Mary Poppins, Hair, Show Boat, Sweeney Todd and Funny Girl. His other credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle); The Sound of Music, Dreamgirls, My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls (McCoy/Rigby Entertainment); Bright Star, Something Rotten, Catch Me If You Can, Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific, Oklahoma! and Hairspray (Musical Theatre West).

Kelly Todd (Choreography), a UCLA theater alumna, is so happy to be back at SCR for the holidays. For 12 years, she was a resident artist at the Chance Theater, where some of her favorite projects have been Lysistrata Jones, for which she received a 2014 Ovation Award for Best Choreography; West Side Story, for which she received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle 2012 Special Award for Fight Choreography; and Triassic Parq (2013) and Jerry Springer: The Opera (2011), both of which won the Ovation Award for Best Musical in an Intimate Theatre and garnered Ovation Award nominations for Best Choreography. She was named Southern California’s Choreographer of the Year in 2011 and 2012 by StageSceneLA. Other credits include SCR’s Sweeney Todd, Once, The Light in the Piazza, Last Stop on Market Street, Ivy + Bean: The Musical, Absurd Person Singular and Seussical and The Who’s Tommy at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. She is currently a professor in the Theatre Department at Pepperdine University where she runs the musical theater emphasis. Thank you to Hisa for giving her the opportunity to work with this festive cast and team. Wishing peace for the world and joy in your hearts this holiday season.

David Nevell (Dialect Coach), is an actor, director, and voice, dialects and movement coach. In addition to acting and coaching consistently over the last 25 years at SCR, he has provided extensive voice, dialogue and dialect coaching for Fox Television, Pasadena Playhouse, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse, REDCAT, Toi Whakaari and PCPA, among others. He is Senior Editor at the International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA), a Certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, and a Certified Yoga Teacher. Nevell also worked extensively as Voice and Dialects Consultant to Walt Disney Entertainment Productions from 2006 to 2020. As a director and educator, he has served on the faculty of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Collaborative Arts Project (Tisch/CAP21), Marymount Manhattan College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Since 2004, he has served as Head of Voice/Movement and Professor of Theatre and Dance at Cal State Fullerton. He is regularly invited to teach master classes and workshops in the U.S. and abroad.

Talia Krispel* (Stage Manager) is excited to be back at SCR, where her credits include A Christmas Carol (since 2014), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook, Abundance, Amadeus and Pinocchio. Her other credits include The Addams Family starring Teri Hatcher, Newsies!, Something Rotten, The Music Man starring Adam Pascal, Mamma Mia!, West Side Story, Matilda the Musical, Shrek the Musical, Beauty and the Beast starring Susan Egan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Joseph... Technicolor Dreamcoat, Peter Pan (5-Star Theatricals); Inherit the Wind, Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a workshop of Legally Blonde (Broadway); Newsies!, The Secret Garden (3-D Theatricals); The Little Mermaid (Sound Stage LIVE!); Mamma Mia! (ACT of Connecticut); Man of La Mancha (A Noise Within); The Gin Game (Rubicon); West Side Story, Sister Act (Theatre By The Sea); Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music (Ocean State Theatre Company); Joseph... Technicolor Dreamcoat (Ogunquit Playhouse); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat (North Shore Music Theatre); Miracle Worker (Paper Mill Playhouse); The Times They Are A-Changin’ (The Old Globe); and Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular (Radio City Music Hall). She earned a Master’s degree in Educational Theatre in Colleges and Communities from New York University. For Mychal Adair-Lynch and Dad. taliakrispel.com

Lauren Buangan* (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to return to South Coast Repertory after assistant stage managing Nina Simone: Four Women and Million Dollar Quartet. She holds a BA in Theater from UCLA, a Certificate of Achievement in Film from Orange Coast College, and studied drama at Queen Mary University of London. Her previous SCR credits include Our Town, What I Learned In Paris, A Christmas Carol, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Where The Mountain Meets the Moon, M. Butterfly, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: the Rock Experience and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.