Monday, September 29, 2008

Meet Steven Jones


I am unspeakably excited to be a part of this years touring company at George Street Playhouse. I am a recent graduate of Rutgers University where I studied Theater Arts and English and received the oh-so-coveted B.A. Degree in both of those subjects! (This means I am soon to be making the BIG BUCKS)

Born and raised in Trenton NJ, the arts have always been an outlet for me. Always the clown or the showoff at all family events I knew from an early age that a future in performing was inevitable for me. I attended the Mercer Country High School of Performing Arts and it was there where I really fell in love with Acting as a craft and Theater as an art. That love carried me into the B.A. program at Rutgers (the greatest University that was ever established…literally…out of all of them…Rutgers is the best one). I have had the fortune of performing in about 15 shows while at Rutgers; most notably: Ragtime, Once on This Island, Glengarry Glen Ross, Six Degrees of Separation, Line, The Brig, and Suzan Lori Parks’ 365 Plays 365 Days, which was directed by GSP’s very own Dan “Da Man” Swern.

I am having the time of my life working with the amazing people at GSP and I think that this year’s tour is assembled of some of the finest actors and greatest people with whom I have had the pleasure of working. I am looking forward to what exciting things and adventures there are to come.

Hometown: Trenton, NJ

Favorite Thing to do on a day off:
Just kick back and relax with a good book and a game or two or six of NFL Madden for PS2

Audition Piece: “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by August Wilson, “Free Will and Wanton Lust” by Nicky Silver

What do you listen to on the way to work: A very eclectic mix but more than likely something by Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, or Musiq Soulchild.

Most embarrassing stage moment
: During a performance of Julius Caesar at the Belasco Theater in NYC: Completely zoning out backstage in between entrances and leaving a helpless Denzel Washington on the stage to do nothing else but to yell my character’s name at the top of his lungs, to get my attention. I hauled butt onto the stage and delivered my lines (out of breath), then exited stage left, and immediately proceeded to die a little bit.

First Broadway Show: Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods”

Must See TV: HEROES!!! Top Chef, Inside the Actors Studio

Latest Movie Recommendation: Burn After Reading

Meet Timothy Regan

My name is Timothy Regan and I come from Bogota NJ. It is a very small town in Bergen County with a JR/SR high school with only 500 students. I graduated in 2004 with a class of 85 students. I attended Kean University as a Theatre Education major for two years then switched to a BA Theatre and made it out in four years! And now I am here at George Street Playhouse happier than ever, to be part of such a talented and welcoming group of people.

Hometown: Bogota, NJ

Favorite Thing to do on a day off: Sleep in, watch TV, play poker either online or with some friends.

Audition Piece: I tend to rotate through several...Dramatic: Two Rooms Comedic: The Jerk, Classic: Richard III

What do you listen to on the way to work: Mainly my ipod on shuffle or FRESH 102.7

Most embarassing stage moment: My senior year at Kean during the first act Pirates of Penzance my pants had unhooked and unzipped and slid out from under my belt to around my thighs before I noticed that my boxers were now showing and I still had a lot of dancing to do and not a convenient time to try to exit to fix my situation!

First Broadway Show: Beauty and the Beast

Must See TV: One Tree Hill. Used to be Boy Meets World!!

Movie Recommendation: Boondock Saints

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Two For One!

Today we catch up with the Toxie Cam as Nick Cordero continues his adventures in rehearsals for The Toxic Avenger, with not one, but two episodes!




Thursday, September 18, 2008

Meet Angela Cucco: Fearless Leader of the Tour


After 5 years in various areas of Pennsylvania, with summers on Martha's Vineyard and at Williamstown, MA, Angela is oh-so-glad to be back in New Jersey. While looking at colleges years ago, she remembers seeing the George Street Playhouse while visiting Rutgers, and even back then she wanted to work here.
A proud Jersey girl at heart, she attended Lehigh University for theatre, and is happy to be the touring stage manager this season. Angela is obsessed with anything "Jersey," so imagine her excitement when she found out GSP was producing The Toxic Avenger! She always believed New Jersey was totally lacking a superhero.... until now!
Angela is looking forward to touring and seeing lots of kids go crazy over the shows and the actors, especially when in their Peacemaker costumes. She is also excited to get acquainted with the city of New Brunswick, discover all ways to avoid taking Route 18, and get back her Jersey accent.


Hometown: I'm a proud resident of the 201 (Bergen County, that is.)

Favorite Thing to do on a day off: Sleep in, read, and be social with people outside the theatre world.

Audition Piece: I carry around a big, overstuffed 3" binder from Inherit the Wind from my senior year at Lehigh.

What do you listen to on the way to work: Shuffle on my ipod. But I'm trying to go through all of my CDs, finding old, forgotten favorites, now that I am commuting an hour each way to work (yes, I'm still living in Bergen County). The most prominent artist on my ipod is Nine Inch Nails.

Most embarassing stage moment: I avoid onstage moments. I work where you don't see me. And I like to keep it that way.

First Broadway Show: The Radio City Christmas Show. But since I don't really count that as Broadway, the real answer is Once on This Island. This show opened in 1990. Which means I was 5 when I saw it. {Although, I will say that when I was younger, I totally wanted to be a Rockette. And I have seen the Radio City Christmas Show numerous times since then. Cause it's awesome.}

Must See TV: The West Wing (I guess that's a must see DVD). How I Met Your Mother.

Latest Movie Recommendation: Does anybody have one for me?

Friday, September 12, 2008

Toxie Cam: Vlog Episode 2

Check out the latest video diary from Nick Cordero, who plays the title role in The Toxic Avenger.

Monday, September 8, 2008

7 Questions for: Nikelola Balogun

Well how about from the sort of beginning? Well, my name is Nikelola I am 18+ years old (ha-ha) and I am originally from the WEST COAST ! Yup, guess which wonderful state. Cali -Forn- I-A! Yup. I'm an L.A. girl, minus all those stereotypes, like I don't always like twirl my hair, like, and like talk like valley like and have fake boobs like and am like super Barbie plastic like? Hmmmmmm. Well, anyhoo I'm just a silly and interesting chickadee from Cali and you can say that I've wanted to be an actress since I can remember, though my background says otherwise. I actually went to school for Business (Tulane Univ) and only did it as a safety net, but I knew my true calling was acting. So after I graduated I tried my luck as an actress in Los Angeles and yikes!!! T'was really difficult and I got scammed and failed miserably. At that time, I got discouraged and decided retire my acting jersey. I then packed my bags, moved to the big apple (NYC if any of you are like, whah?) and got a job in the Fashion industry. I thought that this would make me happy but after some time of having nightmares and getting visits from celebrity ghosts in my dreams (you know how Ebenezer Scrooge got visits from 3 ghosts showing him what his life would be like if he didn't exist?) well I got a visit from Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey (please don't ask) showing me how my life would be without acting. So waking up sweaty and fearful of such a horrible future, I was reborn and decide I could put aside this dream no longer and have been back to pursue my dream/passion for acting ever since.;-) And now, here I am at the George Street Playhouse-- There's no place like home...


Hometown: Los Angeles, CALIFORN I-A

Favorite Thing to do on a day off: Watch my Korean Dramas and brush up on the foreign languages i am learning.

What do you listen to on the way to work: The traffic on the street?

Most embarassing stage moment: Getting clothes-lined on my way to class, while ridding my back in front of the entire football team.

First Broadway Show: The Lion King

Must See TV: Heroes & Korean Dramas

Lastest Movie Recommendation: Batman


posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Toxie Cam: Vlog Episode 1

Meet Cailin O'Connor!

As we gear up for a new educational touring season, it's a pleasure to introduce the actors that will be gracing elementary and middle school stages across the state (and some parts of NY and PA!)

First up! Cailin O'Connor:


Cailin O'Connor is oh-so-glad to be with George Street Playhouse. She grew up outside Syracuse N.Y. where she Irish Step danced with her absurdly large Irish Step dancing/fiddle-playing family and, of course, participated in the Oklahoma's and Music Man's of small town theater. She entered college thinking she would rock the biology/environmental science and save the earth but quickly discovered an affinity for fine art and an anti-affinity for pre-meds. So she, oh heck, I studied film, making a mix of strange experimental feminist pieces and ridiculous music videos, concurrently acting in whatever I could and studying theater with whoever I could. After graduating I spent a few years lost in the world, tap dancing in the subways, wandering in India etc before at last deciding to give acting a shot and landing in your laps!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

And We're Off...!

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Music has filled the halls of George Street Playhouse, doors are slamming, phones are ringing, and several new employees are still learning everyone's name, but it all means one thing...

OUR SEASON HAS FINALLY BEGUN!

The Toxic Avenger officially went into rehearsal today! The day started with a production meeting between the director, all the designers, the choreographer, and the production staff. As an outside observer, I find that whole process fascinating to watch. When so many creative people are in one room, it's easy for one fastic idea to start a momentary tangent. of a hundred possibilities When even discussing the concepts are funny, it certainly leaves no doubt that this is a musical COMEDY.

Here are some quotable moments, without giving the some of the surprises away:

  • "The bigger the gun, the better the option"

  • "Do you have access to exploding flesh?"

  • "How grotesque is this baby?"

  • "Every time he reaches underneath the table, I'm terrified!"

In the coming days look for an introduction to the new educational tour, reports from more rehearsals, and much more as the GSP Blog kicks back into gear! Tickets for the season are now on sale. So hurry up and get some already!