Elephant Room

Who's Who

CAST (in alphabetical order)

DENNIS DIAMOND has devoted his life to perfecting the art of mystery since he was a tender youngling. Years of research, collaboration and invention have won him accolades of fans and peers alike. Dennis served as conjuror on Carnival Cruise Lines and Celebrity Cruises, touring almost all over the world, and performed extensively in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He’s appeared on NBC’s World’s Greatest Magic, Late Show with David Letterman, and his own special on Animal Planet. Dennis was lucky to work closely with past National President John Zweers and John Engman at Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame and Magic Museum, before it was flooded. His books, Dennis Diamond: The Black Canary and The Path to Inner Peace and Mind Control, are available by private order, and he is available for bookings at modernwarlock@gmail.com.
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DARYL HANNAH has been doing magic for over six and a half years at venues across the country and internationally (Rosarito’s Casa del Magiko Grande). While touring with a touring salsa band, Daryl was exposed to the wisdom and skills of Native American medicine men. Previously known as Daryl Hannah: Master of Birds, he has developed a unique blend of native medicine rituals and contemporary illusion techniques. Daryl is an ambassador for the Chahawe outreach program and educates children in poetry and judo. (He is a third degree brown belt.) Based in Tucson, he’s received two Desert Sand Conjurer citations and an honorary degree from Westlake Community College. For bookings, visit www. elephantroom.biz. He is available as a rock band opening act, corporate/spiritual trainer/ guide, and magic consultant. He would like to thank, as always, Dawn and Montana. Back

LOUIE MAGIC has been performing magic since he was 10 years old, when he got his first magic kit from a local toy store. For the past 15 years, Louie has been the resident magician at Dazzles, Patterson’s (N.J.) ONLY magic nightclub and bar. He is an expert in sleight of hand and close-up illusions. As a master of the art of astonishment, Louie has crossed the country “dazzling” the likes of such celebrities as Ellen Degeneres and Tom Brady (football star). Louie created the number one selling item at Magic Trick Shoppe Online: The Louie Magic Magic Deck. For only five bucks, ANYONE can look like a sleight of hand expert! All inquiries can be sent to louiemagic69@gmail.com.
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CREATIVE TEAM

TREY LYFORD and GEOFF SO BELLE have been working together since 2003 creating actor-generated absurdist performances with their company rainpan 43. In 2008 a festival of their works was presented at Studio Theatre and included the shows all wear bowlers, Amnesia Curiosa and machines machines machines machines machines machines machines. In 2008, they joined forces with actor and magician STEVE CUIFFO (Lenny Bruce, Amazing Russello) to create a new magic/theater performance inspired by the world of magic. Following a research trip to a magic convention in Buffalo, N.Y., the writers met and began a challenging yet deeply rewarding collaboration with the magician trio Dennis Diamond, Louie Magic and Daryl Hannah. Elephant Room is the fruit of their magical labor. Back

PAUL LAZAR (Director) founded Big Dance Theater in 1991 with Annie-B Parson. The company received an Obie Award in 2002 and Bessie Awards in 2002 and 2009. His work with the company includes conceiving, directing or performing in such works as Supernatural Wife (premiere at BAM, fall 2011), Mac Wellman’s Antigone (CSC), Another Telepathic Thing, Shunkin, Mac Wellman’s Girl Gone, as well as dance-theater adaptations of Tristan Tzara’s The Gas Heart (CSC), Ödön von Horváth’s Don Juan Returns from the War (CSC) and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Bremen Freedom. He directed Major Bang for the Foundry Theatre, which ran at St. Ann’s Warehouse (2006). He is an associate performer with the Wooster Group and instructor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Back

MIMI LIEN (Set Designer) designs sets and environments for theater, dance, and opera. Recent work includes Born Bad (Soho Rep), Neighbors (Public), Queens Boulevard (Signature), Strange Devices from the Distant West (Berkeley Rep), Welcome to Yuba City (Pig Iron), The Less We Talk (Hoi Polloi), and Becky Shaw (Wilma). Mimi is an artistic associate with Pig Iron Theatre Company and the Civilians and resident designer at BalletTech. Her work has been recognized by a Barrymore Award, American Theatre Wing Hewes Award nom, and Bay Area Critics Circle nomination and was shown in the 2011 Prague Quadrennial and the exhibition Landscapes of Quarantine at Storefront for Art and Architecture. Mimi studied architecture at Yale, set design at NYU, and received an NEA/TCG Career Development Program grant. Back

CHRISTAL WEATHERLY (Costume Designer) has designed for theater, dance and visual artists nationwide. Her N.Y. collaborations include works at Signature Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, The Acting Company, and Human Company. Regionally she has designed for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Old Globe, California Shakespeare Theater, Center Theatre Group, Arden Theatre, ART, Denver Center, Berkeley Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Children’s Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Stage One Dance Company, Deaf West Theatre, Eleanor Antin, and the beloved Rainpan43. She has received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award and Connecticut Critics Circle Award and is an alum of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program. Christal received her B.A. from N.M. State Univ. and her M.F.A. from UC San Diego. www.christalweatherly.com
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CHRISTOPHER KUHL (Lighting Designer) is based in Los Angeles. Currently he is resident lighting designer at REDCAT and assists at Hartford Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Portland Center Stage, Kirk Douglas Theatre, and Geffen Playhouse. Chris is originally from New Mexico and a graduate of CalArts. His recent work includes lighting design for C’Opera (Horton Award nom), My Beowulf (Collage Dance Theatre); Monster of Happiness (Theatre Movement Bazaar); Drums of the Waves of Horikawa (Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf); Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! (REDCAT); Moonlight (Lost Studio); Because They Have No Words (Lounge Theatre); Trace (Hand 2 Mouth Theatre); Termen Vox Machina (Filament); The Cherry Orchard (evidEnce Room); associate design for Mycenaean at BAM Next Wave; and lighting director for the Actors’ Gang national tour of The Exonerated. Back

NICK KOURTIDES (Sound Designer). N.Y.: Carson McCullers Talks About Love (Rattlestick), Jomama Jones * Radiate (Soho Rep), Chekhov Lizardbrain (Under the Radar; Soho Think Tank). Intl.: Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl (Paris quartier d’été; Barbican; Edinburgh Fest); Chekhov Lizardbrain (Poland). Regional: Comedy of Errors (Folger); Cabaret (Milwaukee Rep); Cankerblossom (La Jolla); Isabella, Mission to Mercury and others (Pig Iron); Spelling Bee, The Last 5 Years (Philadelphia Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Producers (Walnut St.); Dreamgirls, Myths & Hymns, Candide and others (Prince); Merrily We Roll Along (Arden). Concerts include Rocktopia and Jekyll & Hyde in Concert. Nick was visiting instructor at Swarthmore and has received four noms for Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award, winning for Pig Iron’s Mission to Mercury. Back

THOMAS E. SHOTKIN (Stage Manager) is currently production stage manager for 1812 Productions in Philadelphia. Favorite shows include This Is the Week That Is (all six years), Our Show of Shows, Cherry Bomb, Suburban Love Songs, The Four of Us, Bat Boy: The Musical, Like Crazy Like Wow, and An Evening Without Woody Allen (in which he performed). Tom has also stage managed for Theatre Exile, People’s Light & Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Barnstormers Theatre (N.H.), and Act II Playhouse. He has also worked for PlayPenn, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Hartford Stage Company, Azuka Theatre Collective, and BoarsHead Theatre (Mich.). Back

DORIT AVGANIM (General Manager) works as a freelance producer, consultant and manager for performance art, dance and theater companies in NYC. She is co-founder and creative producer with Neighborhood Productions (neighborhoodproductions. org) and producing director/curator of IRT Theater’s 3B development series (irttheater. org). Recent titles include: tour manager David Gordon’s Dancing Henry V, associate producer of the River to River Festival, general manager of Pick-Up Performance Co(s), and co-founder of arts collective Group Theory. Back

THOMAS SNYDER (Production Manager, Technical Director) currently serves as manager of operations/production supervisor for Lang Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College. Tom has worked at such prestigious theaters as Second Stage Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theatre Company, and New World Stages. Technical direction, production management, and stage supervisor credits include Simpatico Theater Project, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Greenwich Music Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Theatre Outlet. Tom has also had the privilege to build for a variety of scene shops, including Hudson Scenic, Brian Coleman Scenic and Brooklyn Guild. Back