CAST BIOGRAPHIES

RAFFI AIDINANTZ (New Orleans Resident, Understudy for Stanley Kowalski)  is new to acting, having acted only sporadically in elementary school, once playing the role of a tree. Raffi was born and raised in London, England. He graduated with the degree “Honors in Philosophy” from CSUN in ’09. This means he is qualified to answer questions like, “What time is the intermission of this play?” Originally set on law, Raffi thought he’d try acting instead. If all goes well, he intends to go to Broadway – Broadway Avenue, in Glendale. He says there’s a place there that you can get an ice cream cone for a dollar.

SPENCER ANDERSON (Steve Hubbell) This is Spencer’s second production at Glendale Community College, he also played the role of Les Kennekat in last spring’s production of Boy Gets Girl.  He would like to thank the cast for making this production a memorable experience. He plans to transfer out of GCC next year and take along all he has learned from working with this cast.  He would also like to thank his family for all of their support in everything that he chooses to do.  Spencer would like to dedicate all of his performances to his Grandmas Allie and Thelma and to his Uncle Herb.  Thanks for looking over him; he knows you would be proud.

AILEEN ANDRADE (Nurse, Understudy for Stella Kowalski) Born and raised in Los Angeles, Aileen has found a passion for the performing arts. Aileen began her stage career at the age of five, when she did a small modeling act for the show Havanafama in Los Angeles, CA. Ever since then, she has fallen in love with the stage and is determined to grow as a performer in any which way possible. Aileen is also a current member of the Andraste Theatre Company, where she is part of the staff team in charge of marketing. This is Aileen’s second production at Glendale Community College or anywhere for that matter! She also performed in Jeanette Farr’s production of Boy Gets Girl (Spring 2009) where she played the character of Harriet.  She is currently attending Cal State University Northridge, majoring in Theatre Arts. One of her dreams includes traveling the world and studying multiple styles of theatre other cultures have to offer, specifically Ancient Greek theatre. She’d like to thank Jeanette for allowing her to be a part of the magic that is Streetcar! Along with a thanks to her loving Father, Mother, and little brother Steven.

MARY CLAIRE GARCIA (Stella Kowalski) A native to Jewel City, Glendale, Mary Claire has found her true calling in pursuing the arts; raised with ballet lessons and later vocal training with Nancy Badger til present.  Mary Claire is soon to transfer to UCLA or CSUN.  Favorite roles include:  Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, Mademoiselle du Parc in The Rehearsal at Versailles, Florrie in Waiting for Lefty, and a Lost Boy in Peter Pan.  MC is a three-time Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival nominee, and has appeared in various indie projects, voice over shorts, student films and music videos.  After earning her BFA in Theater – Acting, she aspires to earn her MFA at Juilliard or to the Del Arte International School of Movement and one day work on Broadway.  Mary Claire would like to thank her adoring mama and pops, family and close friends, especially Libby and MA, for their continued support in all her artistic endeavors. 

DJ KEMP (Stanley Kowalski) This is DJ’s second production at Glendale Community College. He has previously been seen in the production Boy Gets Girl. DJ is currently attending Glendale Community College, but will be attending either the Lee Strasberg Institute or the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in the winter. He would like to thank his mother and sister for their love and support, and dedicates every performance to the memory of his father, Derrick Sr. Though still relatively new to the field of acting; DJ’s goal is to be the best actor of his generation.
 

SOPHIA KIAPOS (Eunice Hubbell) Sophia was born in Los Angeles, CA. At a very young age Sophia was performing; whether dancing, singing or acting, Sophia always found her way on stage. She has performed in several shows, including Much Ado About Nothing, It’s A Wonderful Life, Oklahoma!, and The Three Sisters. This past summer, Sophia was accepted into a summer program at Stella Adler Studio in New York City, where she studied the works of Anton Chekhov. Sophia’s future goals are to attend Pace University’s BFA program in New York next fall. Sophia is delighted to be apart of such a talented cast in A Streetcar Named Desire.  She would like to thank her family for all of the support they have given her, and she would like to thank God for blessing her with the ability and passion to perform.

LIBBY LETLOW (Blanche Dubois) This is Libby's second production with Glendale Community College, last seen as Lady Macbeth in GCC’s  of production of Macbeth.  She is a Theatre Arts major and is the current President of the GCC Theatre Guild.  Libby is working as Associate Producer with the voice over company, Audio Movies, but remains true to her first passion, the theatre.  Past roles include Queen Elizabeth in Richard the III, Helena AND Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Darlene in Hurly Burly, and Kit Carson in The Time of Your Life.  Libby is very excited to be working with this great cast.  She would like to thank her family and parents for all their love, her beautiful daughter, RuJu, and her two best friends, MC and Sean for all their patience and unending support.
 

RICHARD MORALES (Pablo Gonzalez) This is Richard’s first time performing in a theatre production; however he has past stage experience performing as a musician on numerous bands. His decision to pursue acting in theatre came soon after finishing a showcase for Andrea Stark’s Voice for the Actor class. The experience of rehearsing plays and developing characters into original creations motivated him to audition for Streetcar. Richard would like to thank his friends and family for supporting all his endeavors, Andrea Stark for her positive attitude and teachings, Jeanette Farr for giving him the opportunity to be on stage, and cast mates for their wisdom and sense of humor.

NOAH NAVASARDIAN (Sailor, Doctor) Noah, born in the distant mountains of Armenia and raised in Buenos Aires Argentina, came to California where he has done several shorts such as Look Back, Abolish, and Purchasing New York and holds the lead role for an independent film called Desert Space, where he will be playing both in English format and Castellano (Spanish dialect that hails from a town called Castillo in Spain) format. He hopes to develop to a point where he can truly connect his experience and feelings with the audience and in turn demonstrate the art that is acting. He would like to thank his family for being an inspiration to be one who reveals the human condition…an actor.

GAYANEH NOVSHADIAN ( Street Vendor, Understudy to  Nurse)  This is Gayaneh’s first production at Glendale Community College.  In addition to her role this semester, Gayaneh is involved in singing, fine art, and digital illustration.  She will like thank her fiancé for his support.
 

TANNER MORSE (A Young Collector) Tanner has been in many productions in high school. Some of those plays include Lenny in Rumors, Mortimer in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast,  just to name a few. Tanner is a freshman this year and wants to be a Theatre major. He is thrilled to be here and feels blessed to be working with such a fantastic cast.

MARCI URLING (Negro Woman, Street Singer) This is Marci’s first production at Glendale Community College and she is very excited to be here.  Currently Marci is pursuing her career in film & TV.  She also performs theatre with Lights Up Theatre company. Marci was trained at Sanford Meisner Center and continues to take acting and music classes at Glendale College.  Marci enjoys bike riding and hiking.  She would like to thank her family and friends for all their love and support.  Break a leg to the cast and crew.   

STEVE YIM (Harold Mitchell “Mitch”) Living in Glendale, Steve is glad to be able to return to his home theatre and do another production at GCC. He is grateful for what he was able to learn from his director, voice teacher, and fellow cast members by being a part of  Boy Get’s Girl last semester; and develop and grow as an actor a little more over the summer.  Steve continues to work hard at his day job, working construction for telecom--he splices fiber optic cables together. He says ,” I have co-workers that have legitimate hobbies, some play the guitar, go mountain biking, and there is one that likes to bow hunt.” Steve is finding out his after work, his hobby is acting. Being a performing artist, working on this new craft, the more he does it, the more it’s becoming a passion. One of his goals is to be a full time working actor. Steve loves to dance, visit the farmers market, and listen to music. He is happy for the recent comebacks of Michael Jackson and the Beatles. He is happy to be working with his talented cast and crew, and is looking forward to a great production.

STUDENT SUPPORT PERSONNEL

AARON GAMEZ (Prop Master) Aaron loves doing theater shows here at GCC.   He worked the followspot for two shows here at GCC, his favorite being Fiddler on the Roof.   He trained in running the sound board for All My Sons.  For that show he got his first college award, the Gem of the Show.   He was the prop master for two shows, This Is Not a Tree and Savage In Limbo.   Aaron says, “I have the theater bug in me which is why I have fallen in love with the Theatre Department.  I love working here with the cast and crew.”   Break a leg everyone!

ELIN HAGHNAZARIAN (Assistant Stage Manager) A Streetcar Named Desire is the first production Elin has been involved in. She is eager to learn the dos and don’ts about theater production. She has had a wonderful experience working with this cast and crew. It has fueled her passion to enter the world of theater in different aspects. She would especially like to thank Jim Niedzialkowski, Dina Dominguez , and Jeanette Farr for teaching her so much about the production process.

JIM NIEDZIALKOWSKI (Stage Manager) A Streetcar Named Desire is Jim’s seventh show at GCC.  He recently Stage Managed Once Upon A Mattress and Savage In Limbo for Melissa Randel and he also stage-managed All In The Timing, for director Matt Foyer.  As an actor, Jim played multiple roles in the student directed Motel Chronicles, he played Rob in Melissa Randel’s production of This is not a Tree, for which he received a nomination for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and he was Orgon in Laurie Woolery’s production of Tartuffe: Born Again. Jim is the current Vice President of the GCC Theatre Guild and finds great joy in being a theatre major at GCC.  He would like to thank his family and friends for their undying support of his dream. He would also like to thank the cast and crew of the production for making this job easier than it should be.

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

Jeanette D. Farr (Director) Jeanette Farr, a director, playwright, and actress originally from Turlock, California, is a graduate of California State University Stanislaus, and holds an MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  A proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, her publications include monologues with Smith & Kraus’ Audition Arsenal series. Gray Matter, Lures and A Growing Problem are posted on www.theatrehistory.com, and have yielded continued performances at high schools, and forensics competitions across the United States and Canada. An alumnus of the Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive (2007), Jeanette of is a member of Lizardclaw Playwrights Collective and is a features writer for the popular online E-zine, The Loop which reaches over 3,000 playwrights. Through Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, she has responded to over 150 new plays as a regional respondent, guest respondent in Regions I, II, IV, VII, Past Chair of the National Playwriting Program for Region VIII, and recently appointed as Regional Fellow for Region VIII, and will serve on the National Selection Team in 2010. Her professional theatre credits include Properties Designer and Manager for eighteen musicals at Sacramento Music Circus and Assistant to the Artistic Director and Literary Associate at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. At GCC she has produced and directed a variety of plays including the successful Bat Boy: The Musical, Bus Stop, Fiddler on the Roof, Motel Chronicles Series, and Macbeth. In Los Angeles, she has directed new plays including play reading series for Moving Arts in Los Angeles, and has had plays selected and performed at the Secret Rose Theatre in the NoHo Arts District.

ROYCE HERRON (Faculty Costume Designer) Royce has been acting and designing costumes for more than forty years.  She has numerous theatre, television and film performances to her credit including ER, The Bernie Mac Show, Power Rangers, Rocky Road, Dessalines, Passing, and How's Your Love Life.  Her design assignments are too numerous to list.  Herron has a Bachelors Degree in theatre from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Masters of Arts in theatre from California State University, Los Angeles.  Herron is an assistant adjunct professor at Glendale Community College and teaches at Youth Opportunities High School.  She is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society, Screen Actor’s Guild, and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists. Herron is represented by Ross Stephens Artists and Entertainment.