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.

Alex Barlas (Puppet Show/Gentleman/Mr. Topper/ The Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-Come) a West Virginia University business graduate, took a leap towards his artistic dreams by earning an MFA in acting from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts in 2020. His talent has graced the stage of The Odyssey Theater, where he portrayed the troubled son Oswald Alving in the production Ghost. Among his recent projects, Barlas captivated audiences as Sunny, a visual artist grappling with self-doubt, in Edgar Arceneaux’s Boney Manilli at the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall’s RedCat Theater. Moreover, Barlas continues to explore the world of film, showcasing his versatility in movies like The Traveler, Runaways and Palm Springs. His dedication to the craft is evident in his ongoing training under industry experts like Deborah Aquila, Mirjana Jokovic, and Marissa Chibas. Barlas is grateful to be a part of South Coast Repertory’s production of A Christmas Carol. His journey stands as a testament to the adage that “you can become anything you aspire to be.” @AlexBarlascdf

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 Pedro Play (Cornerstone Theater), Human Error (Denver Center Performing Arts), JQA (San Diego Repertory), 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,” “Big Little Lies,” and “American Born Chinese.” 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 excited and grateful to be back performing in A Christmas Carol at South Coast Repertory! Bray began her career as a student in SCR’s Education Conservatory for more than 11 years and had the chance to perform as Belinda Cratchit in the 2010 production of A Christmas Carol. She was recently an understudy for SCR’s Voices of America series; Appropriate and The Little Foxes in the 2022-23 season. Other 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* (Mrs. Fezziwig/Solicitor) is a Colombian immigrant playwright and actor featured in Los Angeles Times LA Vanguardia: Latino Innovators. Her play, Ghosts of Bogotá premiered at Alter Theater and was produced at the Actors Theatre of Charlotte and Stray Cat Theatre Phoenix in 2022. Sapience premiered at Moxie Theatre in San Diego. Fabulous Monsters, about women in punk rock, premiered 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 González’s 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 on the Dramatists Guild Council representing Southern California. dianaburbano.com

Alicia Coca* (Flower Seller/Belle) returns to SCR after appearing in Quixote Nuevo (2023), A Christmas Carol (2022), 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 playing Scrooge for the third season live and fourth overall, (after COVID protocols prompted his solo audio performance in the 2020 recorded performance of A Christmas Carol). He played many different characters over his 36 seasons in the production. 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, 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 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 Michael Crichton film Coma; Wolfgang Peterson’s Air Force One; and Mass Appeal. He has also appeared in many independent features, including Abduction of Angie. Voice acting enhanced his love for live 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, such as “Exeter” as Capt. Woodruff, Gib Wilson on “Hunt for Red Gold’ and Arthur on “Hoagies.” A decade ago, Doyle joined The Pageant of the Masters team as the narrator for this unique event, where he encourages people to “enjoy his storytelling surrounding this arts-themed show.” Here at SCR, he likewise hopes that you “Enjoy the Show” and have a wonderful holiday season.

Eduardo Enrikez* (Joe/Jacob Marley as a Young Man) is excited to return to the Christmas Carol family. You recently saw him at SCR in La Havana Madrid, American Mariachi and Destiny of Desire. 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 Moonlight amphitheatre, West End/European credits include On Your Feet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, Eating Raoul, Time Square Angel, Saturday Night Fever and Hair. His regional credits include The Wedding Singer; Destiny of Desire; American Mariachi; Miss Saigon; Mother Road; The Secret Garden; Into the Woods; Papi; Me and César Chávez; Sweet Charity; Cabaret; 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 New York and Los Angeles. @eduardoenrikez.

Bo Foxworth* (Solicitor/Mr. Fezziwig/Gentleman) With SCR: Amadeus, All the Way and Shakespeare in Love. Foxworth has worked in numerous theaters in New York, including a year in the off-Broadway hit As Bees in Honey Drown at the Lucille Lortel. He has appeared in regional theatres throughout the country, including The Long Wharf, Yale Rep, The Shakespeare Theatre, Vienna’s English Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, The Old Globe and many others. Since moving to Los Angeles, Foxworth became a proud member of the Antaeus Theatre Company performing in Measure for Measure, Cloud 9 (LA Drama Critics Circle and Stage Raw Best Actor Winner), Henry IV, The Liar, John Proctor in The Crucible (Ovation nomination), the title role in Macbeth, The Seagull and The Malcontent. King Charles III at Pasadena Playhouse and Robert Schenkkan’s Building The Wall at the Fountain Theatre. Other theatres include Shakespeare Orange County (Board Member), La Mirada, Laguna Playhouse, The Geffen, Disney Hall, LATheatreWorks, Boston Court Pasadena, The Hollywood Bowl and A Noise Within, where he received two Ovation nominations. Foxworth’s numerous film and television credits include “Modern Family,” “VEEP” and as Robert McNamara in the HBO movie All The Way. Foxworth is a graduate of UCLA and received his Masters at Yale School of Drama.

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 Alley Theatre, The Empty Space, Seattle Rep, Berkeley Repertory, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre DC, Group Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival among others. In L.A., 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. Manuel is currently the creative consultant for John Legend: An Evening of Songs and Stories. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a 2023 Lunt-Fontanne Fellow.

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.

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. Some 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,” the series lead in the 2022 pilot “WIC300” and Elaine in the new web series “Imposter.” Currently Mirto can be seen as General Michelle Dupree in “Imani.” on BET+, Kate in the Lifetime movie To Kill a Stepfather, Dr. Anderson on You Tube’s “Attaway General” season four and three national commercials. In New York, she appeared 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 Playhouse, A Noise Within, Mark Taper Forum, Rubicon Theatre, 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 and mom to the sweetest, 75lb, Scooby Doo named Bert. IG @Elyse_Mirto

Jennifer Parsons* (The Spirit of Christmas Past/Scavenger) returns to SCR for her third year as The Spirit of Christmas Past and 21st 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.

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 played 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. 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.

Nick Slimmer (Thomas Shelley) is thrilled to be making his return to A Christmas Carol, his second time as Assistant Director. 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 for a 14th year. 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, and adjunct professor of stage combat at Vanguard University. 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, Vanguard University, Pomona College, and Actors Co-op, where he was recognized for his outstanding fight choreography. He is currently navigating life, while working on projects involving his passions of people, history, art, education, and comic books. Follow him at Instagram @therichardsoto

Kaci Hamilton* (Understudy) is thrilled to be returning to the SCR stage. Most recently, she understudied Mama and Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun, performed as Mr. Brown in Bleu Beckford-Burrell’s Crassis (reading) at the Pacific Playwrights Festival, and as Addie in The Little Foxes. Other favourite credits include Uterine Leader in Menstruation: A Period Piece (Big Little Theatre Company), Cordelia in King Lear (staging), Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company), Portia/Messala in Julius Caesar (Warriors for Peace Theatre Company), Katherine/Boy in Henry V (Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre/World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia), Tituba in The Crucible (Perseverance Theatre), and originating The Narrator in The List (The Player’s Theatre). Currently, she can be seen in the short Getaway, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Black Film Festival, the Pan African Film Festival and the Essence Festival. Her semi-autobiographical comedy pilot, A Jamaican in Alaska, was also recently selected for the 2023 Stowe Story Labs June Narrative Lab and the 2023 Athena Film Festival Virtual Writers Lab. Hamilton is a graduate of the William Esper Studio in New York. More at kacihamilton.com. 

Michael Polak* (Understudy) is thrilled to be back at SCR having choreographed violence for Quixote Nuevo, Appropriate and The Little Foxes. His New York acting credits include Soldier’s Wife at the Mint Theatre. Regionally, he has appeared at International City Theatre, Rubicon Theatre Company, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company, 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), The Shakespeare Theatre, Hartford Stage, Playmaker’s Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theatre, Cape Playhouse, PCPA, and the California, San Francisco, and Texas Shakespeare Festivals among others. 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

CHILDREN
Griffin Brophy, Chiara Cecconi, Megan Chan, Matthew Chan, Maddie Chung, Gingko Dupuis, Quinn Garcia, Piper Huntley, Maximillian Lalli, Bea Main, Penelope Main, Isaac Person, Justine Roussel, Oliver Wiseman, Amelie Zazik, 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, After Juliet, 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 43rd year of designing for A Christmas Carol and 51 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, Ebony Repertory Theatre 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) 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 at SCR. 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. 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; Songs for a New World (Ovation Award) at Rubicon Theatre Company; Side Show (Ovation Award nomination), and Billy Bishop Goes to War (Ovation Award nomination), 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 is the president of Diablo Immersive, which designs immersive experiences such as Delusion for 13th Floor, Stranger Things: The Drive Into, and Arcane with Secret Cinema and Netflix, and other clients around the world.

Talia Krispel (Stage Manager) (she/her) 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 Lonely Few starring Lauren Patten (Geffen Playhouse); The Wizard of Oz (Geva Theatre Center); Aida (Stages St. Louis); Oliver!, 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 and the Amazing 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); The Times They Are A-Changin’ (The Old Globe); and Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular (Radio City Music Hall). Additional: A Noise Within; Rubicon; Theatre By The Sea; Ocean State Theatre Company; Ogunquit Playhouse; North Shore Music Theatre; and Paper Mill Playhouse. For Mychal Adair-Lynch, Mama and Dad. IG: @teekrisp. taliakrispel.com

Lauren Buangan (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to return to South Coast Repertory’s A Christmas Carol. This season marks her 6th year with the production, with 2 years as assistant stage manager. 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 Coleman ’72, Nina Simone: Four Women, Million Dollar Quartet, Our Town, What I Learned In Paris, 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.