THE ACCOUNTANT by Elana Basova

Connor Bond is a graduate of the UC Irvine MFA program and is also a  teaching artist in the city. He loves trees, Jazz, and philosophers. NYC: Cry Wolf - NY Summerfest, Bridge Production Group’s Red Light Winter, The Public Theater's Troilus and Cressida, Abingdon Theater’s Love! Valour! Compassion! Select Regional: Henry IV Pt 1, Sense and Sensibility, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Camelot, Legally Blonde. TV/Web: Tommy, The Deuce, Elementary, Madam Secretary, Step into My Office, Freelance. Website: connorbondactor.com

SIX FEET APART by Frances Rorke

Russ Cusick (AEA, SAG/AFTRA) appeared throughout the previous BelieveAbility readings this year: When I Dream (which he also wrote),Family Secrets, Blind Larks, and Nothing. Recent credits: Mr. Y in Faculty Portrait at IRT, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at MST&DA, Joe in Into the Arms (as part of Altered Minds) for the Alternative Theatre Company, Scott in Comfort Zones at the Kraine Theatre, and the Constable in Henry V at ATA.  Upcoming: Russ will be playing Admetus in the Magis Theatre Company’s production of Thornton Wilder’s, The Alcestiad,  June 2021.

BELIEVEABILITY --all plays

Alex Elmaleh is a Manhattan native who  studied theater at Portland State University. He has been an Actors Equity Member since 2017. Alex is also a singer and writer. 

JESUS, HITLER & JFK by Lezley Steele/ GOING VIRAL by Russell Nichols

Miguel Fana was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.  He was inspired to join the Army at age 19 by his father, Miguel J. Faña, who served for 22 years including two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.  After serving himself overseas in Camp Humphreys, South Korea, he then went to the University of Massachusetts, Boston where he double majored in Music and Theatre.  He has since enjoyed an acting career that included a regional tour with New Repertory Theatre's Classic Stage Company, earning his Master's in Fine Arts Degree in Acting from the University of Tennessee, and roles on tv shows like Orange is the New Black and The Good Wife.  He is excited to work with his fellow artists and The Alternative Theatre Company and help the healing in this trying time.  He would like to honor his father and mother, Yovanny Faña, for their courage, bravery and love.

​

ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS by Lawrence Dukore

Peter S. Hadres has been a resident actor at The Pacific Conservatory Theater (PCPA) for the past 20 years where he performed in over 85 productions. Recent roles include Brutus in Julius Caesar, Pickering in MyFair Lady, and Martin Vanderhoff in You Can’t Take It With You. He’s performed in many theaters nationally, and in Shakespeare festivals in Wisconsin, Colorado, California, Baltimore, New Jersey and Idaho. Films include More American Graffiti and No One Sleeps. www.peterhadres.com

GOING VIRAL by Russell Nichols

Erinn Holmes is an Illinois native, now based in Brooklyn. Recent readings include The Guest at Central Park West (The Workshop Theater), The People (Metropolitan Playhouse), and The Alternative Theater Company’s BelieveAbility productions Holy Corona and Invisibility. Other recent projects include the short films Nesting, Jump, and Water Melts (2019 Tribeca Film Festival); the web series Naysayer; the TV pilot Franklin Street Station; and Catapult! (Theater for the New City). Heartfelt thanks to Judy, Russell, Celine, and the entire BelieveAbility family.

THE ACCOUNTANT by Elana Basova/ GOING VIRAL by Russell Nichols

Melvin Huffnagle is thrilled to be a part of The Alternative Theatre’s BelieveAbility Reading series. Melvin is a working actor/educator in NYC. Off Broadway Melvin appeared  as "Coach Pops Coffey" in Layon Gray's The KIngs of Harlem. Melvin also appeared as "Jeremiah Jones” in the award-winning  production of Black Angels Over Tuskegee, also by Layon Gray. You may have caught Melvin on the silver screen on programs such Law and Order SVU, Law and Order SVU and CI, Royal Pains, and most recently Carl Webber's The Family Business. Melvin is also a Professor of theatre at Hofstra University and Hostos Community College where he teaches theatre. He thanks his wife and son for being his biggest fans.

JESUS, HITLER & JFK by Lezley Steele

Broganne Jessamine, originally from Scotland, moved to New York City in 2012. She has performed in theatre (The Right and Left Plays, The #metoo Plays), film (A Series on Surviving) and voiceover (To Crown a King, Panda and Krash). Broghanne has participated in numerous cultural festivals that explore society, bringing theatre and performance to a wider audience. She is the owner of Elemental Women Productions LLC, a women focused production company based in NYC.

LAND OF CAMAAN by Susan Jackson

Laura E. Johnston is an actor/writer/director. Theater credits include: NYC, Killa Dilla (The Players Theatre), I Feel Good (Polaris North), Revolution’s Smite (NPTC), Much Ado About Nothing (Classics in Color), The House on Poe Street (14 th Street Y), Clover (La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club). Regional: To Kill a Mockingbird (Arkansas Rep). TV: The Mysteries of Laura (NBC); Believe (NBC); The Sopranos (HBO). Film: James White, The Quiet, Harlem Grace. Always for J.J.

RELIGIONISTAS by Faith Savigne/THE ACCOUNTANT by Elana Basova

Janel Koloski is a graduate of The William Esper Studio. She recently made her Apple TV debut  in a new M. Night Shyamalan series. Her recent theater work includes Life in the Rye and Altered Minds Plays.  Janel has hosted for The Travel Channel, Thrillist, Now This, and her own series, Janel’s Awkward Life. She is an advocate for human trafficking survivors and individuals with autism.  She volunteers with RestoreNYC and Nomi Network.

SIX FEET APART by Frances Rorke

Jake Lesh  is pleased to be returning to TATCO, where he was last seen in Believeability's first reading series. In early 2020, Jake was published for originating the role of Suit in Crossroads of the World, which was featured in TATCO's Altered Minds play festival.  Lesh has performed in a wide variety of New York and regional theatre, most notably playing the role of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Texas Shakespeare Festival.  Instagram: jake_fabulesh Website: www.jakelesh.com 

LAND OF CAMAAN by Susan Jackson

Susan Jane McDonald (AEA, SAG-AFTRA) - Susan graduated magna cum laude from the

University of Southern California with a B.A. in Drama. She studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre with Sanford Meisner, completing their 2-year professional program. She is a member of the Network Theatre Company in New York City where she acts, writes, and directs. In Season 2 of their New Short Play Festival, she won Best Actress. In March of this year, Susan’s play The Ladies took home the prize for best play. Recent film and TV roles: Denise in Three Kings, Mary in Lullaby, Fifi in Crazyytown. Contact : Dream Maker Talent Mgmt : 516-676-2197 / DreamMakerTalent@aol.com

ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS by Lawrence Dukore

Florence Pape  Theatre: Marti English in Mints by George Cameron Grant (Secret Theatre, Manhattan Rep) Wendy in Grant’s Lovers Kiss (Manhattan Rep. and Think Fast Festival), Mae West in Laugh Supper, Connie Conrad in He’s Your Daddy  (Manhattan Rep),  Mrs. Mendelson,Sorry For Your Loss, Grandma,Family Secrets,God,Strong Meds and Jewish Guilt Doris in Can You Hear Me Now?, Dottie in It Gets Better, Lucy in Criminally Insane  (Alternative Theater), Helene Berman in Significant Other, Lavinia Penniman in The Heiress and Marietta Claypoole in Regrets Only, Nutley Little Theatre, Motherhood Out Loud and Virginia in Three Viewings, Hackensack Performing Arts and Hoboken Library. Favorite roles at Hudson Theatre Ensemble: Joanne in Company, Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Reba in The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Ouisier in Steel Magnolias, and many others.  florence@fpls.com

GOING VIRAL by Russell Nichols

Latonia Phipps is an actress, playwright, and minister that hails from Brooklyn, NY. She received her MFA in acting from Brooklyn College as well as studied in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was during her travels in 2013 that Phipps gave birth to her one woman show Fishin’In Brooklyn. She then went on to develop several other pieces including her full length play entitled, Now Harlem: Gentrify this, which she debuted in 2018 at The University Settlement. Her credits as an actor include Measure for Measure at The Public Theater, Dominque Morrisseau’s Autumns Harvest at Lincoln Center, Katori Hall Children of Killers at Castillo Theater. She has also worked on projects with Theater Row, Signature Theater, Arena Stages, The Negro Ensemble and The Cherry Lane Theater. And also starred in and developed a solo play entitled the Ivanka Play, by Charles Gershman in which she played Ivanka Trump

SIX FEET APART by Frances Rorke

Katy is a multi-disciplinary artist, singer, actor and translator. They have created original work for Dixon Place and Tate Xchange (Tate Modern); performed at Edinburgh Fringe, the Royal Academy of Art in London and NYC’S Prelude Festival; and acted in films that have aired at Moscow’s MOMA and Frieze London. Their most recent performance work is a radical collective art experiment titled ‘Bird Call,’ which premiered in London in January 2020. BA Princeton University, MFA Rose Bruford College, London.

LAND OF CAMAAN by Susan Jackson

Alyssa Simon is thrilled to work with TATCO again. Selected credits: The Marriage Of Alice B. Toklas By Gertrude Stein (Alice, NYT Critics Pick), Drs. Jane and Alexander (Dr. Jane, HERE), Arendt-Heidegger (Hannah Arendt, Theater For The New City). She is a member of Gemini CollisionWorks, creators of sci-fi comedy podcast  Life With Althaar (Lt. Frall). www. alyssasimon.com

THE ACCOUNTANT by Elana Basova

Samantha Wendorf is an actress based in NYC. Recent credits include: FBI (CBS Television); Elizabeth Proctor, The Crucible (NYC). Virtually, Samantha portrayed Lady Capulet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for the UK-based online theatre company, The Show Must Go Online. A native New Yorker who received a BS in Broadcast Journalism and Acting from The City University of New York. Samantha has also studied at T. Schreiber Studio and William Esper Studio in NYC. This is her second virtual reading with The Alternative Theater Company and third production overall and she couldn’t be more thankful to continue working with this wonderful company!

RELIGIONISTAS by Faith deSavigne

Marquis J. Wilson is a young actor based out of New York, with 10+ years experience (pre-covid)- Off-Off and Off Broadway, Stage Reading/Voiceover and Film. This is the 2nd time performing in association with Celine Havard productions. Also heavy into music- this coming January 15th, 2021, he will be performing with Leesta Vall Recording Studio (Brooklyn) where he will be pressing vinyl records during live performance! @AdonysFreed on Twitter and Instagram.

RELIGIONISTAS by Faith Savigne

Andy Young is a Panamanian-Bilingual (English/Spanish) actor; founding member of New Short Play Festival; has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Play for past 7 seasons in works by Michael Susko, David Bellantoni and Fred Stroppel. Recent roles: Carmen (Carmen Last Stand); Jessie Mae (A Trip to Bountiful); Cathleen (Dividing the Estate); and, Harriet Tubman(Freedom Train). Interested in Film/TV, Theatre, Commercials. Awesome Ice skater and Rollerskater. Excited to be part of BelieveAbility!