Who’s
Who in the Company
November 7 – December 7, 2008
Studio Theater
Scott Spence (Artistic Director/Director) Scott is excited to enter into his 19th season at the Beck Center. He hopes that as always you are enjoying the great diversity Beck Center offers. In his tenure as Artistic Director and Associate AD, Scott has produced well over 200 productions, directing over 50 himself. The list of favorites grows every season, and includes Altar Boyz, Parade, A Man of No Importance, Sweeney Todd, Hair, The Secret Garden, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Greater Tuna, Reefer Madness, The Fix, Zombie Prom, Tommy, and so many more, including Urinetown The Musical being revived as this season's opener. He is very proud of the awards and acclamations Beck has received over the past several years, and is especially grateful for having won the Northern Ohio Live Award for Achievement in Theatre in 2006. Outside of Beck's walls, Scott's directorial assignments have included Das Barbecü at Opera Cleveland and Noises Off at both Weathervane in Akron and Berea Summer Theatre. Occasionally on the other side of the footlights, Scott has appeared in Dick Deadeye (Berea Summer Theatre), Man of La Mancha (Jewish Community Center), The Secret Rapture (Dobama) and closer to home at Beck in Big River, The Boys Next Door and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. He also recently had the privilege of joining the cast of Passion, directed by Victoria Bussert, in his first onstage stint in the Studio Theater. Scott holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Western Illinois University and is a trained stage fight choreographer, having studied extensively with the SAFD. As always, he dedicates his work to the two leading ladies in his life – Rachel and Carleigh.
Reuben Silver (Director – Waiting for the Telegram) Reuben Silver is happy to direct his wife, Dorothy, in this Beck Center production of Talking Heads 2. He last appeared at Beck in the cast of Mrs. Warren’s Profession opposite his wife. From l955-l976, he headed Cleveland’s Karamu Theatre, then led CSU’s program until l993, where he is now Professor Emeritus of Theatre. Dr. Silver was actor or director (at Beck and elsewhere) for The Visit, Death of a Salesman, Galileo, Gin Game, Master Class, All My Sons, Old Wicked Songs, The Dybbuk, Nicholas Nickleby, Visiting Mr. Green, and many, many others. He has been a proud Actor’s Equity member for over 50 years.
Curt Arnold (Director – Playing Sandwiches/Stage Manager) Curt returns to Beck Center, where he has worked on over 20 productions in the last 13 years, and where he previously directed The Lisbon Traviata and Fully Committed. Working primarily as an actor, director and stage manager, Curt has been involved with over 120 productions in the last 31 years and, since relocating from Columbus in 1994, has worked with most northern Ohio theatre companies. He proudly continues his association with Dorothy & Reuben Silver, having collaborated with them as stage manager and/or assistant director on Master Class, Talking Heads, About Time, The Gin Game, To Know Him, Swan Song, Mrs. Warren’s Profession and The Price. Curt is a board member of the Cleveland Theatre Collective and, for the last six years, has co-produced and directed an annual staged reading of a musical to benefit AIDS charities in Cuyahoga and Summit counties.
Dorothy Silver (Violet) Dorothy Silver is happy to be back on the boards at Beck Center where she was last seen in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. She has performed and directed at most area theatres including Great Lakes Theatre Festival and the Cleveland PlayHouse as well as in New York at American Place Theatre. Among her favorite roles are leads in The Visit, All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and Beck Center’s production of Master Class (which was directed by her husband, Reuben). She served l2 years as Director of Performing Arts at the JCC and as longtime resident guest director of Karamu.
Robert Hawkes (Wilfred) Robert Hawkes was well known to Cleveland area audiences in the 80’s and early 90’s, principally at Dobama Theatre and Ensemble Theatre. After a 9-year retirement, he returned to the stage in 2001, directing his son as Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, and playing Pozzo himself. Since then, he has been privileged to act in plays by (among others) Kushner, Hare, Mamet, Wilder, Anouilh, Fugard, Albee, Pinter, O’Neill, Molière, Stoppard, Chekhov, Beckett, Sophocles, and Shakespeare. He has previously appeared at the Beck in Boy Gets Girl, The Seagull, and The Imaginary Invalid.
Don McBride (Scenic Designer) Don is pleased to be back at Beck Center after spending more than 20 great years here. He is now teaching at Cleveland State University.
Jenniver Sparano (Costume Designer) is delighted to be a part of this production team. For Dorothy and Reuben Silver, she has previously designed "Talking Heads," "The Gin Game," "Mrs. Warren's Profession," "Master Class," "About Time," and "A Story is a Story;" for Curt Arnold, she has previously designed "The Sisters Rosensweig" and "Fully Committed," as well as the annual AIDS benefit musicals that they have co-produced since 2003. Her past designs at Beck Center range from the recent "Altar Boyz" to "Zombie Prom," and she has also worked at Cleveland Public Theatre, Clague Playhouse, convergence-continuum, and Pickwick & Frolic. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Mt. Holyoke College, she also studied in Paris and is employed by KeyBank.
Michael Boll (Lighting Designer) Recent Cleveland designs include the CASE MFA productions of Angels in America and Arcadia (Cleveland Playhouse), The Wiz (Cain Park) Colder Than Here (Dobama) and Blackbird (Bang and Clatter). In New York, he designed the Off-Broadway productions of The Moliere Cycle (Classic Stage Company), Songs for a New World (George Street Playhouse), Dog Sees God (Soho Playhouse), and The Moonlight Room (Beckett Theater-Associate Lighting Design). Michael designed the NY International Fringe Festival’s award-winning productions of Ellen Craft and Valiant. His work has also been seen at La Mama ETC, Here Arts, Blue Heron, and Center Stage NY. He has designed many shows at the Yale Cabaret including Say You Love Satan, Fake, Three Days of Rain, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He has designed numerous productions at Karamu House including Black Nativity (Cleveland Music Hall). He has taught classes and workshops on Lighting Design and Technology at Yale School of Drama, Barnard College (NY), and the University of Cincinnati-CCM. Michael is Lighting Supervisor for Opera Cleveland and Lighting Designer for Robert Stark Lighting, a NYC-based Special Event and Architectural Lighting Design company.
T.J. Rovito (Sound Designer) T.J. is excited to be working with Dorothy and Reuben Silver for the first time here at the Beck Center. She has worked in community theatre in the Cleveland area for over 20 years, designing lights and sound, being a technician and performer in such theatres as the Beck Center, Berea Summer Theatre, the Jewish Community Center, and the Cassidy Theatre. She is a former resident audio technician of The Cleveland Playhouse.
Joseph Carmola (Technical Director) Joe enters his third season as Technical Director at the Beck Center. Hailing from Canton, in the past he has served as Technical Director/Lighting Designer at the Canton Players Guild, The Magical Theatre Company, as well as Paul Green’s Trumpet in the Land, and numerous freelance credits as well as a design for Les Miserables Jr. which has been seen in many student programs throughout Northeast Ohio. He is also the proud father of Clayton who has always brought light to his life.
