MEET THE ARTISTS
Kayla Boye (Writer/Actor/Producer)
Kayla Boye is an NYC/Chicago-based artist who most recently appeared as Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days at City Lit Theater. Performance credits include productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Drury Lane Theatre, Fireside Theatre, Capital City Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, Mercury Theater Chicago, Music Theater Works, BrightSide Theatre, Citadel Theatre, Bigfork Summer Playhouse, The Huron Playhouse, and The Youngstown Playhouse. Call Me Elizabeth marks her playwriting debut. kaylaboye.com
MICHAEL WEBER (DIRECTOR)
Michael Weber is Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. He previously served as Artistic Director for the inaugural season of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now The Broadway Playhouse) and at Theatre at the Center (1998-2004). His productions of Cabaret, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Pal Joey, Assassins and Side Show, as well as Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place and She Loves Me at Theatre at the Center were each nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production-Musical. Directing credits include Living the History-125 Years of The Auditorium Theatre starring Patti LuPone and John Mahoney, Fifth of July and Talley’s Folly at the Oak Park Festival Theatre, The Petrified Forest at Theatre at the Center, Beauty and the Beast at Marriott Theatre, Over the River and Through the Woods at Mercury Theater Chicago, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Pheasant Run Theatre, and Cirque du Symphony at Sears Center Arena. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has been nominated for nine awards, and he wrote and directed 14 Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies (2006-2018). Weber’s regional acting credits include Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy (both starring Patti LuPone) at Ravinia, Disney’s My Son Pinocchio at First Stage Milwaukee, Around the World in 80 Days at Cleveland Playhouse, The Winter’s Tale and Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, It Had To Be You (starring Cindy Williams and Eddie Mekka) at Little Theatre on the Square, Angel Street at First Folio Shakespeare, and The Gifts of the Magi at Indiana Repertory. He is author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS. michaelweberonline.com
Erin Kraft (FILM Director)
Erin Kraft is a Chicago-based director whose recent projects include the world premiere of How the Hell Did I Get Here, starring Downton Abbey’s Lesley Nichol (Greenhouse Theater Center–Chicago, The McKittrick Hotel–NYC), In A Word (Urbanite Theatre–Sarasota), the world premiere of The Great Inconvenience (Annex Theatre), We Are Proud to Present a Presentation..., The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls, Circle Mirror Transformation, Tender, The Lady From the Sea and The Merchant of Venice (The Theatre School). She has directed new play workshops and world premieres for Seattle Repertory Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, 20% Theatre, Prop Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre and Northwest Playwrights Alliance. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, the SDCF 2018-2019 Observership Class and earned her MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University. erinkraft.com
Christopher Pazdernik (FILM Associate Producer)
Chris is a Chicago-based artist with “a near encyclopedic knowledge of musicals" (NewCity Stage). He currently serves as Managing Director & Casting Director for Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. Past highlights include his Jeff Award-winning production of High Fidelity (Production of a Musical & Director of a Musical) for Refuge Theatre Project, where he also served as Artistic Director for three seasons; directing eight productions for Porchlight Revisits, Porchlight Music Theatre's lost musicals series; curating multiple cabaret revues on the history of musical theatre; and his position as Producing Associate & Company Manager for Porchlight. A staunch advocate for new works, Christopher has also directed many new musicals in development, served as a judge for the Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, served as reader for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and cast the World Premiere of Miracle in 2019. An openly HIV+ artist, he is also very involved with HIV/AIDS advocacy work, having served on the Ambassador Committee for AIDS Run/Walk Chicago and Chairperson of Howard Brown Health's Community Advisory Board, as well producing Belt Fest, an annual benefit concert for Howard Brown.
Ethan Deppe (FILM Composer)
Ethan is a Chicago-based composer, musician, and electronic music designer. Raised on a unique diet of classical music, heavy metal, and musical theatre, he attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a composer for the theatre, Ethan has written four original musicals and contributed original songs and scores for dozens of plays throughout Chicagoland and around the country. A prolific composer for the screen, Ethan’s music can be heard virtually every day on television. Credits include: 20/20, 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, The Nate Berkus Show, What Would You Do?, Let’s Make A Deal, NY Med, Katie, Nightline Presents, Dateline NBC, Boston EMS, The Real Housewives of Melbourne, The Real Housewives of Sydney, and The Real Housewives of Aukland. ethandeppe.com
BETHANY THOMAS (FILM VOCALIST)
Bethany is a Chicago singer/actor/songwriter known for her work with Writers Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Porchlight Music Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire, The Goodman, and Milwaukee Rep; and also frequently entangled with The Fly Honeys, The Paper Machete, The Neo Futurists, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Second City, WBEZ and the Hideout. A 3Arts Awardee in music, BT tours and records with the alt-country project Jon Langford’s Four Lost Souls, and writes and records her own music. 2020 saw the release of her critically-acclaimed, debut album BT/She/Her, and another with longtime collaborator Tawny Newsome, entitled Material Flats. Find Bethany on Bandcamp, Spotify and everywhere else.
ig: @bethanyt80 bethanythomasmusic.com
ryan cassell (cinematographer)
Ryan is the founder and creative director of Castlelight Productions, a Chicago-based production house with an emphasis on visual storytelling. At the core, Cassell is a creator: making the story a central feature of his work. He specializes in filming, editing, audio engineering and post-production finessing. He works with clients ranging from music festivals and large-scale events to tourism, non-profit and educational organizations, as well as major brands like Sony, Weber Grill and United Airlines. His care for details is one of the reasons his clients trust his vision and selection. Cassell lends his skills to events such as Coachella, the Latin GRAMMYs and Bonnaroo. His footage is also featured in the documentary Pooh that follows NBA player, Derek Rose. castlelightproductions.com
Kàchí Mozie (production photographer)
Kàchí is a portrait and lifestyle photographer who began his photographic journey in the picturesque city of Jos, Nigeria. While working as a music producer, he took up photography as a fun creative outlet and quickly discovered the power of the camera as a medium to connect with people. This led to deeper dives into photography education and experimentation which ultimately led him to Chicago and photography as a career. He believes that the pursuit of light and human connection through the camera is one that will have no end as long as the earth has people and stories. His ever favourite subject to photograph remains his wife and business partner, Jeanine. kachimozie.com