the cast
Laurel Andersen
(Jodie Bates)
Laurel is an New York City-based actor working primarily in theatre. Recent credits include Romeo and Juliet (Match: Lit, Juliet), two seasons with Adirondack Shakespeare Company, and originating roles in The Resolute, All One Forest, The Other, Other Woman, and The Table Round/The Siege Perilous. Laurel is also a director and playwright.
Daniel Cabrera
(Leo Solano)
Daniel is a Los Angeles-based actor. He graduated with his BFA from NYU Tisch in 2017, where he studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Daniel works primarily with classical texts on stage. Recent roles include the title role in Macbeth and Claudio in Measure for Measure, and Audrey in As You Like It.
Leslie Field
(Eleanor Evans)
Leslie is an actor, theatre-maker, dancer, and polo player. She graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin in 2019 and has also trained and performed at the Pig Iron School, Shakespeare & Co, and the Centre Artistique International Roy Hart in France. Like Eleanor, Leslie grew up farming the sweet soil of western Massachusetts.
Nicole Martinez
(Maisie Perez)
Nicole enjoys the chance to act silly, but hates improv. She was a founding member of Brown University’s sketch comedy group Skorts, through which she wrote and performed for over two years. She is proud to have made history as probably the only Latina to have played the Rabbi’s son in The Fiddler on the Roof when she was 10 years old; she had 3 lines.
Joe Raik
(Mac)
Joe is an actor, writer, and director who hails from the west side of Manhattan. He has been a part of many productions Off-Broadway (Murder On the Nile, The Potemkin Play) and Off-Off-Broadway (Hoppla, The Table Round) and lots of indie Shakespeare. He has spent much of the pandemic writing some really weird plays for Zoom.
Regina Renée Russell
(Rebecca Jackson)
Regina is a native New Yorker, actress, writer, and budding director. Recent roles include LCDR Talise Asherah in the podcast Primordial Deep, and Lysistrata in Lysistrata (Worlds Elsewhere Theatre Co.). When she isn't wearing multiple creative hats, you can find her having passionate discussions on diversity and inclusion or aggressively hyping up her friends.
Anna Stacy
(Harper Young)
Anna (they/them) is an actor, resident physician of Emergency Medicine, and multi-tasker based in New York. Favorite credits include Kam (Gumiho, Daryl Roth Theatre/Moxie Arts NYC), The Fool (King Lear, Barefoot Shakespeare), and Jess (Ugly Lies the Bone, Rites and Reason Theatre). In their ample free time, Anna loves horror movies, regardless of quality.
the crew
Emily Bailey
(Colorist)
Emily graduated with a B.S. in Television/Radio/Film from Syracuse University. She has colored a variety of content such as features, web series, commercials, and music videos, which have won awards at festivals, and have aired on TV and streaming services. She currently works as an Assistant Colorist at Company 3.
Becky Blackstone
(Editor)
Becky graduated from NYU Tisch in December 2018 with a BFA in Film & TV. Her credits include Eric Steel’s “Minyan”, David Grubins' documentary “Free Renty”, and “The Codebreaker” for PBS. She is currently a Post PA on a limited series. On the side, Becky edits all types of content, and she loves cutting character driven dramas.
[website]
Kayla Boyatt
(Executive Producer)
Kayla is a writer and enthusiastic scholar whose explorations of linguistics, developmental psych, and the cross-cultural implications of translation in media still saw her leave Fantastic 4 without realizing a lead was wearing a blonde wig half the time. Despite her cluelessness about film, her excitement for this project rivals Maisie’s for BarthEvie.
Cristina Bracamontes
(Dialogue Editor)
Cristina graduated in 2020 from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema. At SFSU, she studied under sound design legend Pat Jackson (Apocalypse Now, The English Patient), who inspired her to specialize in film sound. Cristina has since gone on to work in the sound department on several narrative and documentary shorts films.
[imdb]
Lily Bump
(Editor)
Lily graduated from Emerson College in December 2019 with a degree in Visual Media Arts, with a dual focus in screenwriting & editing. She is currently working at Wavelength Productions as their social media editor. When not editing, she’s either at the ceramics studio, developing comedy sketches, or making all of her roommates watch horror movies.
Katie Colwell
(DoP, Camera / Director)
Katie is an NYC-based editor, director, & cinematographer, with a passion for the camera who loves creating visual art in many genres and mediums. Katie has taken a multitude of films on festival runs and has received several awards for her films and production skills. She graduated with a degree in filmmaking from Oakland University (Rochester, MI) in 2020.
Zury Cutler
(Post-Processing Engineer)
Zury is a freelance filmmaker from the greater New York City area. He has studied filmmaking at both Northwestern University and the Prague Film School. Their films, both narrative and documentary, focus on themes of great political or social significance. Zury was head of post-production for Climate Now, which was nominated for a Webby Award.
[website]
Mark DePasquale
(Director)
Mark is an award-winning filmmaker with a portfolio featuring short films, branded content, and music videos. His work runs the gamut from action, to comedy, to even horror, while his clients include independent production companies, major brands, and indie music artists. He graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film & TV in 2016.
Grant Furgiuele
(Supervising Sound Editor)
Grant is an award-winning sound designer and all-around audio guy based in the Boston area. He holds a Masters in Music Technology from NYU Steinhardt, and in addition to film and theatre sound, he enjoys recording singers and choral ensembles (when not himself performing as a tenor). Oh, and his cat Ginny says “Hi”.
[website] [soundcloud]
Gracie Giffune
(Director / Gaffer)
Gracie is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She grew up in Western Mass, dreaming of escaping her small town and making it big. She's directed short films, music videos, and sitcom specs. Most recently, her work premiered at the NY Shorts International Film Festival and Chloe Wine x She Directed.
Dani Hanks
(Director / Assoc. Producer)
Dani (they/she) is an award-winning director, best known for the web series Fake News Writer. They grew up elbow-deep in human organs at their parents’ pathology lab, where they developed a strong stomach and a taste for twisted humor. Her work is dark, queer, and off-the-beaten-track. She’s thrilled to bring her experience with braaaains to Dead-Enders.
Mari Herrema
(Assistant Director)
Mari is an NYC-based assistant director with experiences ranging from tech start-ups and newsrooms to coffee houses and restaurant kitchens. When she’s not making call sheets or keeping people on schedule, Mari’s usually reading, trying a new recipe, or catching up on her staggering backlog of movies and series to watch.
Lisa LaGrande
(Intimacy Coordinator)
Lisa is an actor, intimacy director, movement director, and playwright. She has completed certification with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators and has had the privilege of serving as intimacy director for both stage and film. Recent credits include Under Woodside, Match: Lit's 2022 BardCORE reading series, and the web-series Orpheus is an A-Hole.
[website]
Katherine Margall
(Dialogue Editor)
Katherine graduated from NYU Tisch in 2020 with a BFA in Film and Television. She sound designed numerous shorts and was one of the dialogue editors on Parked In America which premiered at SXSW. She currently works at Flavorlab as their Studio Director. When she’s free she studies French, does photography, and plays video games.
Nicole Martinez
(Writer / Producer)
Nicole is a New York-based writer, comedy gal, and D&D enthusiast. Her work has been produced through Brown Motion Pictures (“Quite the Star”), Shakespeare on the Green (“Romeward Bound”), and Production Workshop (“The Triumphant Threesome”). You can usually find her watching other people play D&D, or trying to get her friends to play.
Caeden Musser
(Fight Director)
Caeden (they/them) is a Queens-based playwright/actor/fighty human. They’ve trained in stage combat, martial arts, and lots of ways to fall down with Dylan Hintz and Abra Burkett of SAGA Action Arts, Dr. Guro Bryan Stoops, and Jared Kirby of NYCSS. They’ve spent the pandemic befriending a stuffed rabbit named Buddy in lieu of human contact.
Aubrey Myers
(Editor)
Aubrey is an east coast-based editor working in reality TV, sports and promos. Being from Philadelphia, she enjoys all sports, and even got to work for the Philadelphia Eagles during a losing season. She believes in always learning and expanding her knowledge in her work and life. If you see her in the street and she ignores you, it might be her twin!
[website]
Ayomide “Ayo” Omobo
(Consulting Producer)
Ayo (she/they) is an associate at Debevoise and Plimpton LLP. She earned a BA from Brown University, then a JD from Columbia Law School. Ayo is passionate about Black and LGBTQIA activism — her graphic novel Osun follows a Black woman reborn as the Yoruba goddess of water. Ayo is on the Associate Board of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
[osun]
Cristina “Cha” Ramos
(Intimacy Consultant)
Cristina (Cha) is a multidisciplinary artist devoted to telling underrepresented stories with a focus on the power of movement. She has created scenes of intimacy ranging from a delicate kiss between old lovers to a non-monogamous hippie lovefest… and so much more! She is also a fight director, dramaturg, performer, playwright, and instructor.
Rutuja “Rue” Sawant
(Dir. of Photography, Camera)
Rutuja (she/they) is delighted to be on board! They have been working in the camera department since graduation and are passionate about advocating for LGBTQ+ and POC representation through their work and collabs. They are volunteering with NYC Women Filmmakers and VC Media. Rue loves exploring NYC any chance they get! But NYC > LA, just saying.
Kristin Sgarro
(Production Manager)
Kristin* is an NYC actor, musician, and emcee, and was recently deemed reliable enough to keep an inside-and-out-beautiful group of people organized and on task: the ultimate trust fall. Kristin is also a trivia lover, game night crusher, fur parent, and runs the show over at Match: Lit when the world is more conducive to hugs. *See also: queer (adj.), nerd (n.).
[website] [instagram] [match: lit]
Anna Stacy
(Writer / Producer / Graphics)
Anna’s writing has been published in Calyx, Carve, Perennial Press, the Santa Fe Writers Project Quarterly, The Festival Review, and Academic Emergency Medicine (among others), and they are a past winner of the Means Essay Prize for creative non-fiction. Anna’s brother Charles says their head looks like an egg, which is honestly pretty accurate (go look).
Charles Stacy
(Prod. Coordinator & Music)
Charles is a composer and sound designer from New York. His pieces vary from short film scores to video games to symphonies, and have been performed by such ensembles as Hub New Music. When he’s not writing music, Charles teaches at the Children’s Orchestra Society and the iSchool of Music & Art, and hangs out with his good dog Mochi.
[website] [soundcloud]
Josh Stark
(Location Sound Mixer)
Josh is an NYC-based audio engineer with expertise in location sound mixing and audio post-production. He has previously worked with clients such as BuzzFeed, 54 Below, and over 40 independent filmmakers. He is currently pursuing a degree in Music Technology at NYU. In his free time, he is also a community organizer and activist in the climate movement.
[website]
Rachel Tinkelman
(Editor)
Rachel is a TV and documentary editor. She graduated film school in 2017 and started working as an assistant editor on television series in NY. Now she works as a freelance and contract editor. Her documentary work has been shown at film festivals, and her other work has aired on Animal Planet. She also enjoys video games, D&D, and double shot lattes.
Reed Yurman
(Director)
Reed is a filmmaker and producer. Drawing much of her inspiration from surrealism and the streets of NYC, she leans into a humanist lens. Her work is colorful and emotive. From directing small shorts to branded-content for Weber Grills and Anheuser-Busch, Reed has a variety of work and is always looking forward to her next collaboration.
[website]
Matt Zollo
(SFX Makeup Artist)
Matt is an artist living in Queens, NY with a background in sign art, puppet making, costume design, and makeup. His puppets have appeared in two of the Puppet Playlist series (Sinking Ship Productions), had pieces on display in Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (Producer: Peter Yip) and annually takes part in the NYC Halloween Parade.
special thanks
Aakriti Prasai, Abby Flicker, Adriel Barrios-Anderson, Ali Murray, Alison Rollman, Alison Del Handel, Allison Rosenbaum, Alyssa Agranat, Andrew Giurleo, Austin Riley, Avani Galande, Ayomide Omobo, Betsey Ely, Bettina Berch, Caleb Woods, Cameron Cueva Clarke, Carol Lee, Cassandra Pruitt, Catherine Greenfield, Charley Mills, Christopher Walter, Cinthia Martinez, Daniel Sinensky, Dani Martineck, Dante Violette, David Groveman, Donna Tapper, Duncan Gallagher, Ellie Gravitte, Ellie Zarr, Eliza Macneal, Elizabeth Gurin, Elizabeth McGee, Emily Gallagher, Emma Dickson, Emma Radmilovic, Fiona Taylor, Geoffrey Besser, Geoffrey Curfman, Grant MacFaddin, Haley Shaw, Hazel Jones, Howard Raik, Iraís Ortiz, Isabella Claure, Jay Wegman, Jenny Grober, Jessica Wu, Jianzi Colón-Soto, Jillian Williams, John Giffune, Joseph & Jennifer Giffune, Josh Riley Brown, Joshua Goldman, Julianne Lavallee, Julia Edwards, Julie Vivian, Justin Buzzard, Kate & Aaron Coleman, Katie Hightower, Katie Kita, Kelly Blaze Klotz, Kelly Gerritz, Kodjo Kumi, Larry White, Lauren Brandt Schloss, Lewis J Shron, Linda Riefler, Lisa LaGrande, Mari Herrema, Martha Russo, Marty & Lauri Stark, Mary Feinberg, Micah Payson-Lewis, Michael Toperzer, Molly Raik, Natalie Martinez, Nayla Davis, Nayib Gloria, Olivia Wise, Olumuyiwa Odebode, Oscar Martinez, Rachel Weekley, Riki Robinson, Serena Eggers, Shawn Belpanno, Simkin Paulina, Stella Shepherd, Stephen Facey, Susan Maier, Suzy Burstein, Tamara Green, Tatyana Bidopia, Tiffany Albright, Tori Burstein, Tuesday Blue, Victoria Fragnito, Yeraldi Sáenz, and to all our anonymous donors
Many thanks to Emma Dickson for photography