Amaka is a Nigeria-American actor based in LA. She is a trained USC MFA Actor and professionally represented by MZA. Upcoming film credits include The Kimberlite Process; digital credits include Valley Trash, 99 Seats and SingleAF. Amaka is thrilled to be working with these artists on this Coin & Ghost production. Her website is http://ukamaka-izuchi.squarespace.com
Meet the LIAC Cast and Crew
Amaka Izuchi
Jordan
Celia Mandela Rivera
Nene
Celia is more than thrilled that she gets to finally work with Coin & Ghost, especially with such an extraordinary piece. She believes classical theatre should be accessible and is proud she gets a chance to adapt a classical work and mold, shift, and change it in order to tell the story with the lenses and perspectives of today.
Some of her training includes USC, BADA, and Antaeus. Her stage highlights include: Project Nongenue’s TROJAN WOMEN (Andromache) and JULIUS CAESAR (Mark Antony), Chase What Flies’ RICHARD II (Bolingbroke), Illyrian Players’ FUCKING A (Canary Mary), and BAE Theatre’s MATT & BEN (Ben). Follow her on Instagram: @CeliaMandela for pics of her awesome worldly travels, upcoming projects and pictures of her Dalmatian. Much love to Sam, Mom, Dad, her bros and God. #BLM
*Currently seeking representation
Celia is more than thrilled that she gets to finally work with Coin & Ghost, especially with such an extraordinary piece. She believes classical theatre should be accessible and is proud she gets a chance to adapt a classical work and mold, shift, and change it in order to tell the story with the lenses and perspectives of today.
Some of her training includes USC, BADA, and Antaeus. Her stage highlights include: Project Nongenue’s TROJAN WOMEN (Andromache) and JULIUS CAESAR (Mark Antony), Chase What Flies’ RICHARD II (Bolingbroke), Illyrian Players’ FUCKING A (Canary Mary), and BAE Theatre’s MATT & BEN (Ben). Follow her on Instagram: @CeliaMandela for pics of her awesome worldly travels, upcoming projects and pictures of her Dalmatian. Much love to Sam, Mom, Dad, her bros and God. #BLM
*Currently seeking representation
Tyree Marshall
Ethel May
Tyree Marshall’s Recent theater credits include “Millennial Pink” (Hollywood Fringe Festival), “Love Gasoline” (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017), “Lulu” (LAX Festival 2017), and SIZA Dance Company’s “Year One” (OCDF 2017). Film credits include “Regarding The Case of Joan of Arc” (Berlinale 2018), “Neighbors” (Short), and Strangers (Short). A New Jersey native,Tyree received her BFA in Theater at California Institute of The Arts.
Dee Dee Stephens
Gonee
Dee Dee is a first generation American, born to Caribbean parents and raised in San Jose, California. She received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and decide to move to Los Angeles to chase her dream. She received her MFA degree in Acting from USC. She plays the role of Kai in her 1st feature film entitled, ‘My Name is Myeisha’, which premiered at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival and has won several awards in the film fest circuit since then. She uses her voice as an actor on stage and in front of the camera to discuss tough social issues of race relations, mental health, and women’s rights to name a few. Please check out her latest projects online: DeeDeeStephens.com // @ddstephensacts
Dee Dee is a first generation American, born to Caribbean parents and raised in San Jose, California. She received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and decide to move to Los Angeles to chase her dream. She received her MFA degree in Acting from USC. She plays the role of Kai in her 1st feature film entitled, ‘My Name is Myeisha’, which premiered at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival and has won several awards in the film fest circuit since then. She uses her voice as an actor on stage and in front of the camera to discuss tough social issues of race relations, mental health, and women’s rights to name a few. Please check out her latest projects online: DeeDeeStephens.com // @ddstephensacts
Lisa Marie Rollins
Playwright
Lisa Marie Rollins is a freelance director, writer and new play developer. She is a Sundance Institute Theatre Lab Fellow (Directing )and a Directors Lab West member. Regional directing and dramaturg work include Crowded Fire Theater, Playwright Foundation, TheatreFirst, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Shotgun Players, Custom Made Theatre, Magic Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse and new plays by Lauren Gunderson, Geetha Reddy, Idris Goodwin, Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, and creative collaborations with comedic artists W. Kamau Bell and Zahra Noorbakash. She has been a writing fellow with Djerassi, SF Writers Grotto, CALLALOO London, VONA, Just Theater Play Lab and Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency. She is currently developing her new play, TOKEN. She holds graduate degrees from Claremont Graduate University and University of California, Berkeley and is Distinguished Guest Artist Faculty at St Mary’s College in Performance Studies. Her new chapbook of poems, Other Words for Grief (2018, winner, Mary Tanenbaum Literary Award) is now available from Finishing Line Press. She is currently a Resident Artist with Crowded Fire Theater and Artist-in-Residence at BRAVA Theater for Women in San Francisco. She is directing the World Premiere of Idris Goodwin’s new play AMERICAN PROM at TheaterWorks Colorado Springs in Jan 2019.
Kendall Johnson
Director/ Producer/ Associate Artistic Director
Kendall grew up in Chicago, where he first fell in love with acting. He started out as a junior in college performing in small productions and that love grew as he attended USC’s Master of Fine Arts program for acting. Since graduating from USC, he has worked with Black & Sexy TV on their shows “Sexless” and “F’n Your Life Up”, performed in Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Dunsinane”, and Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble’s “Ajax in Iraq”. The last two summers he performed “The Tempest” and “Macbeth” in Off Square Theatre’s Thin Air Shakespeare series in Jackson, WY. This is Kendall’s first time directing.
Kendall grew up in Chicago, where he first fell in love with acting. He started out as a junior in college performing in small productions and that love grew as he attended USC’s Master of Fine Arts program for acting. Since graduating from USC, he has worked with Black & Sexy TV on their shows “Sexless” and “F’n Your Life Up”, performed in Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Dunsinane”, and Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble’s “Ajax in Iraq”. The last two summers he performed “The Tempest” and “Macbeth” in Off Square Theatre’s Thin Air Shakespeare series in Jackson, WY. This is Kendall’s first time directing.
Marguerite French
Producer/Managing Director
Marguerite French is a recent graduate of the Interdisciplinary MFA program at UCLA’s school of Theatre, Film, and Television, where she co-produced and starred in the Rabbit Bandini film, Death, and directed the short, Intimate Beauty. Her first role after graduation was “Alison” in Francis Ford Coppola’s Distant Vision. As the 2015 Cirque du Soleil Directing/Marketing Fellow, she directed a commercial for the Cirque production Baz, helped conceive the social media campaign #cirqueway, and learned to hang by her ankles from the aerial tissu. As an actor in New York, she studied with JoAnne Akalaitis, Jim Calder, Wynn Handman, and William Esper. She is a proud alumnus of Bard College.
Niki Armato*
Stage Manager, Lighting/Sound Designer/Production Manager
Niki Armato met the Coin & Ghost team while Stage Managing two critically-acclaimed productions from Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble (Ajax in Iraq and Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny). She recently SM’d Coin & Ghost’s Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth, and PSM’d Donald Margulies’ The Model Apartment at the Geffen Playhouse. Niki has previously worked in theaters throughout Pittsburgh and NYC, spending two seasons with City Theatre Company and then with The York Theatre, where she stage managed a total of 15+ productions, including Anthony Rapp’s Without You and the Off-Broadway Revival of Closer Than Ever with Jen Colella (Dir.Richard Maltby). Other favorites include: Buddy’s Tavern (Dir.Peter Flynn), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Regional Premiere), The Gate’s Salome (US Premiere) and The House of Von Macrame at the Bushwick Starr. Her love of the collaborative arts has also led her to moonlight as an AD and Editor.
Niki Armato met the Coin & Ghost team while Stage Managing two critically-acclaimed productions from Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble (Ajax in Iraq and Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny). She recently SM’d Coin & Ghost’s Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth, and PSM’d Donald Margulies’ The Model Apartment at the Geffen Playhouse. Niki has previously worked in theaters throughout Pittsburgh and NYC, spending two seasons with City Theatre Company and then with The York Theatre, where she stage managed a total of 15+ productions, including Anthony Rapp’s Without You and the Off-Broadway Revival of Closer Than Ever with Jen Colella (Dir.Richard Maltby). Other favorites include: Buddy’s Tavern (Dir.Peter Flynn), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Regional Premiere), The Gate’s Salome (US Premiere) and The House of Von Macrame at the Bushwick Starr. Her love of the collaborative arts has also led her to moonlight as an AD and Editor.
Britney Campbell
Costume Designer
Britney Campbell was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She moved to the states as a young girl with her mother and pursued an arts education. Britney graduated the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A in theatre specializing in Costume Design. Since graduating, she has been working on productions at the Geffen Playhouse such as Big Sky, Barbeque, The Legend of Georgia McBride, and Significant Other. Other notable production includes A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes at Theatre of Note and Los Angeles Ballet’s 2017 production of the Nutcracker.
Derrick McDaniel
Lighting Designer
Zachary Reeve Davidson
Producer, Artistic Director
Zachary Reeve Davidson is an actor, director, writer, and teacher, known for his bold characterizations and dangerous, imaginative original works. He is the Founding Artistic Director of Coin & Ghost, where he co-created and directed Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth, LEAVES, Too Faust, Too Furious, CE399, and OLYMPIA. Other favorite theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet and What the Thunder Said (Rebel Mars Co.), Ajax in Iraq and Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny (Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble), Hamlet (Miles Memorial Playhouse), The Johnny Cycle (Speakeasy Society), Green Grow the Lilacs (Theatricum Botanicum), and two full repertory seasons with Shakespeare Santa Monica. Film credits include the Ron Perlman/Amazon series Hand of God, the mini-series I Don’t, and the short film Jeffrey, in which Zach played a young Jeffrey Dahmer. His first original digital work, Gramlet, was met with critical acclaim and large-scale bewilderment. Zach was born and raised in Denver, CO, and is a proud graduate of the CalArts BFA Acting program.
Elisa Rosin
Associate Artistic Director/Director of Music/Producer
Born in Seattle into a family of theatre gypsies, Elisa Rosin is an actor, vocalist, composer, and teaching artist. She currently serves as Music Director/Associate Artistic Director Coin & Ghost, where she co-created and performed in Fortunate Son, OLYMPIA, Too Faust, and LEAVES. Elisa has also performed at RedCat, The Odyssey, Seattle Opera, and the Fifth Avenue Theatre, as well as with LA-favorite companies like Salty Shakespeare, Not Man Apart-Physical Theatre Ensemble, The Speakeasy Society, and Shakespeare Santa Monica. She recently composed a portion of the original score for NMA’s Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny, and produces/performs in burlesque shows under the stage name “Cookie St. Cream.” Elisa studied vocal performance at California Institute of the Arts.
Born in Seattle into a family of theatre gypsies, Elisa Rosin is an actor, vocalist, composer, and teaching artist. She currently serves as Music Director/Associate Artistic Director Coin & Ghost, where she co-created and performed in Fortunate Son, OLYMPIA, Too Faust, and LEAVES. Elisa has also performed at RedCat, The Odyssey, Seattle Opera, and the Fifth Avenue Theatre, as well as with LA-favorite companies like Salty Shakespeare, Not Man Apart-Physical Theatre Ensemble, The Speakeasy Society, and Shakespeare Santa Monica. She recently composed a portion of the original score for NMA’s Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny, and produces/performs in burlesque shows under the stage name “Cookie St. Cream.” Elisa studied vocal performance at California Institute of the Arts.
Alex Garland
Producer/Director of Community Engagement
A multifaceted professional and visionary, Alexander’s works have been exploring what it is to be a well rounded performer and producer. Remembered most as Young Simba in the first national tour of The Lion King, Alex’s musical appearances include Aida, Parade, and most recently, American Idiot. He originated roles in a handful of world premieres, including The Denver Project by Universes Theater Company, a globally recognized innovative and electrifying theater ensemble.
Alex has shared the stage and worked with artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, Janet Jackson, and Neil Patrick Harris. Television Credits including FOX’s Mobbed, Kimora Lee Simmons: Life in the Fab Lane, ABC’s Modern Family, and last but not least, producing and dancing for Flash Mob America. Alexander also had the privilege of working with the one and only Prince on one of his final music videos, Breakfast Can Wait, as a model and Producers Asst. In March of 2017, he performed with the leading physical theatre ensemble of the west coast, Not Man Apart Physical Theater Ensemble (NMA) in Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny. Recent works include C&G’s Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth, as well as the multi-award winning short film 22 Years, which Alex produced and production-designed.
A multifaceted professional and visionary, Alexander’s works have been exploring what it is to be a well rounded performer and producer. Remembered most as Young Simba in the first national tour of The Lion King, Alex’s musical appearances include Aida, Parade, and most recently, American Idiot. He originated roles in a handful of world premieres, including The Denver Project by Universes Theater Company, a globally recognized innovative and electrifying theater ensemble.
Alex has shared the stage and worked with artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, Janet Jackson, and Neil Patrick Harris. Television Credits including FOX’s Mobbed, Kimora Lee Simmons: Life in the Fab Lane, ABC’s Modern Family, and last but not least, producing and dancing for Flash Mob America. Alexander also had the privilege of working with the one and only Prince on one of his final music videos, Breakfast Can Wait, as a model and Producers Asst. In March of 2017, he performed with the leading physical theatre ensemble of the west coast, Not Man Apart Physical Theater Ensemble (NMA) in Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny. Recent works include C&G’s Fortunate Son: A Faust Myth, as well as the multi-award winning short film 22 Years, which Alex produced and production-designed.
*member of Actor’s Equity Association