ARTIST BIOS
The Cast:
Rinabeth Apostol (Maggie) has appeared in many new works onstage at American Conservatory Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville, Seattle Rep, TheatreWorks, California Shakespeare Theatre, The Magic, Arizona Theater Company, East West Players, Skirball Center for the Arts, and Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, among others. Recent productions include The Newlywed Game (world premiere, B Street Theatre), Cry It Out (Capital Stage), My Home on the Moon (world premiere, San Francisco Playhouse), Bald Sisters (San Jose Stage), Hamlet (Marin Shakespeare Company), Little Brown Girl (her solo show, at William & Mary University and the annual Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) conference Long Beach), South Pacific (Billings Symphony), Fun Home (42nd Street Moon), Monumnet: Four Sisters or A Sloth Play (world premiere, Magic Theatre). Recent directing projects include Future is Female for USF’s Words of the Wise Festival, and co-directing and choreographing over 100 students in The Lion King, Jr. Offstage, she often lends her voice to commercials, video games and children’s toys and, most recently, to Sirius XM/Marvel’s Unbeatable Squirrel Girl podcast as Gretchen Campbell. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, SAG-AFTRA and Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company. @rbdtwo or rinabeth.com
Josette Canilao (Fritzie) is a Filipina American actor. She’s appeared in ABC’s The Crossing as Naomi, in NBC’s FBI’s Most Wanted as Kellie Reyes, and in the first season of FOX’s The Cleaning Lady as Dara Oum. Her most recent theater credits include Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. She received her MFA in acting from Columbia University.
Reggie Lee (Ferdie) is best known for starring as Sergeant Wu on NBC’s hit sci-fi drama Grimm. Most recently, he starred as Deputy District Attorney Thomas Choi on CBS’s All Rise and Angelo Soto on Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer, and he recurred as Undersheriff Bobby Zhao on CSI Vegas. Prior to Grimm, he was best known for playing Secret Service Agent Bill Kim on the popular FOX show Prison Break. And aside from numerous film and tv roles, Lee also has Broadway, national tour, and regional stage credits to his name. Mabuhay mga kababayan!
Ryan Nebreja (Tanner) has been seen as Tate Gyoji in SUMO (Ma-Yi/La Jolla Playhouse); Lance Graham in Mama Mama Can’t You See (Coin&Ghost); Larry Itliong in Sama Sama (East West Players); Roberto Zucco in Roberto Zucco (CalArts); Ensemble in Augustine Machine (Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique Paris/Center of New Performance); Mortimer in The Fantasticks (Point Loma Playhouse). He holds an MFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts.
Josh Odsess–Rubin (Nate) is an LA-based actor who most recently appeared in A Shayna Maidel at Laguna Playhouse, Nimrod at Theatre of NOTE, and a workshop of Brother Gary at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Other theater credits: South Coast Rep, Marin Theatre Company, Ojai Playwrights, A Noise Within, Portland Stage, Cygnet Theatre, American Stage, Shakespeare Orange County, Yale Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare, New Swan Shakespeare, Coachella Valley Rep, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Boston Court, HERE Arts, Culture Project, Dixon Place, FringeNYC, Ars Nova. Film/TV: This is Us, Hacks, Physical, My Crazy Ex, Bloomed in the Water, A Girl from a Box. He has a BA from Yale and an MFA from UC Irvine.
Jason Rogel (Babette) was recently seen on stage in the sold-out run of Monkeys at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. He plays Chris Wu on the new detective series, Cross, which premiers this fall on Amazon. Jason would like to thank Fran, Nicholas and AAP for entrusting him with this amazing opportunity. He earned his degree in Theatre Arts from CSULB. Salamat!
Ellen D. Williams (Connie) is best known for her recurring work as Patrice on the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, and as Nicole Baskets playing opposite Zach Galifianakis on the FX dramedy Baskets. Other credits include: Barry, Superstore, I’m Sorry, Life in Pieces, The Mindy Project and Criminal Minds, to name a few. A theater graduate of California State University Long Beach, Ellen has also performed regionally in theaters in Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest. She was most recently seen in the Fountain Theatre’s 40th anniversary production of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove and at the Ashland New Plays Festival. Ellen is a proud member of both Actors’ Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA.
The Creative Team:
Nicholas Pilapil (Playwright and Artists at Play Producing Member) is a Filipino American playwright. His plays include The Bottoming Process (world premiere with IAMA Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival of New Plays) and if all that You take from this is courage, then I’ve no regrets (winner of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival). His work has also been developed with Geffen Playhouse, Abingdon Theatre Company, Playwrights Foundation, American Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, The Workshop Theater and Artists at Play, among others. Nicholas is an alum of The Writers’ Room at the Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, The Vagrancy Playwrights Group, and artEquity.
Fran de Leon (Director) is a multi-hyphenate artist who was born in Downtown L.A. and spent her childhood in both Manila and Hollywood. Her one-person show, Faces of America, has been performed over 500 times across the country including for the United Nations Association in both NYC and L.A. Recent directing credits: Everybody (5C Performing Arts); Sacrifice Zone: Los Angeles (Natural History Museum); Holy Shitake (Whitefire Theatre); Into the Woods (Pasadena Playhouse), Valor (writer/director, CTG’s Digital Stage). TV credits: The Brothers Sun, For All Mankind, For the People, General Hospital. Affiliations: co-artistic director, Will & Company; core member, Critical Mass Performance Group; adjunct faculty, USC School of Dramatic Arts. www.frandeleon.com
Katherine Chou (Associate Director, Artists at Play Producing Member) is a writer, filmmaker and theater artist whose work encompasses directing, producing and dramaturgy with Artists at Play, Boston Court Pasadena, A Noise Within, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, Occidental College and the Denver Center for Performing Arts. As a filmmaker, her work has screened internationally and been recognized by the Armed With a Camera Fellowship, Starz, Women in Film and The Wrap. Additional film credits include Dunkirk and The Hate U Give. A graduate of L’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, she has called many places home, including France, Montreal and Taipei.
Andy Knight (Dramaturg) is the Director of The Lab at South Coast Repertory, where he oversees the theater’s new play programs. Some of his favorite dramaturgy credits at SCR include the world premieres of Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee, Vietgone by Qui Nguyen and Coleman ’72 by Charlie Oh. He last worked with Artists at Play on Carla Ching’s The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up, and is thrilled to be back.
Leah Ramillano (Set Designer) is a Southern California-based designer who balances work as a CAD Associate at Mattel, Inc. with freelance scenic design. At Mattel, she collaborates with various teams for tradeshows, toy fairs, conventions and special live events among other areas of in-person activations. Alongside her corporate work, her most recent design credits include The Brothers Paranormal (Perseverance Theatre), All the Town’s a Stage: A Winona Story (Great River Shakespeare Festival), The Tempest: An Immersive Experience (Shakespeare Center LA/After Hours Theatre Company) and In The Heights (Center Rep).
Yuri Son (Co-Costume Designer) is an emerging costume designer and stylist based in Los Angeles. With a BFA in Theatrical Design. Son is dedicated to crafting designs that not only enrich storytelling but also instill comfort and confidence in those she dresses.
Janel JJ Javier (Co-Costume Designer) is a costume designer based in Los Angeles. After graduating from USC with a BA in Theater, Design Emphasis, she finished a costume design internship at the Disneyland Resort. She has previously worked with Eightball Theatre and East West Players. JJ is passionate about her Filipino roots and representing different cultures and backgrounds through costume. Make sure to invite her to your next gathering, she will always bring Lumpia to the potluck! Maraming salamat sa iyong suporta!
Omar Madkour (Lighting Designer) an L.A.-based designer originally from Cairo, Egypt, has designed lighting for live performance, museums, and for architectural and themed entertainment. Recent work includes Mr. Romantic by John C. Reilly and Inherit The Wind at Pasadena Playhouse; Boney Manilli by Edgar Arceneaux at RedCat; Medea Refracted at the Getty Villa; and numerous dance shows with Heidi Duckler Dance.
Jesse Mandapat (Sound Designer) Off-Broadway: Bundle of Sticks (INTAR), Tell Hector I Miss Him (Atlantic Theatre Company), Fool For Love (Theatre for the New City), Fish Men (INTAR), Locusts Have No King (INTAR). Los Angeles: West Adams (Skylight Theatre), Red Ink (Playwright’s Arena), The Chinese Lady (Artists at Play), Be A Good Little Widow (Odyssey Theater Ensemble), Exit Strategy (LA LGBT Center), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Greenway Court Theatre). Special projects: The Castle Rock Live Experience (San Diego Comic-Con 2018), The Fantastic Kim Sisters (East West Players Theatre for Youth) and What Goes Around (Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre).
Rye Mandel (Properties Designer) is a queer Asian American theater and film set/production, projection and props designer from New Orleans. They hold a theater degree from Northwestern State University of Louisiana (2021), and is currently pursuing an MFA in Set/Production Design at UCLA. ryemandel.wixsite.com/design
Brandon Cheng (Stage Manager) is a San Francisco native and a graduate of CSULB with a B.A. in Technical Theater. Credits with Artists at Play include: The Chinese Lady, Two Mile Hollow and 99 Histories. Other credits: Unbroken Blossoms, Kairos, Spring Awakening, The Brothers Paranormal, Interstate, Assassins, Mamma Mia! and Man of God (East West Players); Fetch Clay and Make Man (Center Theatre Group); Sanctuary City (Pasadena Playhouse); The Great Leap (PPST/EWP); and Allegiance (Japanese American Cultural & Community Center/EWP).
Adriana Carrillo (Directing Assistant) is a recent UC Riverside graduate in theater, film and digital productions. As a student, she acted as assistant stage manager for Red Oleanders and Yellow Face, and recently stage managed Three Sisters. She has also assistant directed multiple student films. God Will Do the Rest is her first production straight out of college.
Gabe Bate (Assistant Properties Designer) is a Filipino American prop designer and third year undergraduate at UCLA majoring in theater design and production. His biggest achievement is being the tallest person in his family (they’re all 5’2 Filipinos). Defying adversity, his chubby fingers do not stop him from his passion for prop artistry, spending three years as a prop artist at the UCLA Theater Department Prop Shop.
Irene DH Lee (Assistant Stage Manager) is an L.A.-based stage manager originally from Seoul, South Korea. She received her MFA in stage management from California Institute of the Arts. Select stage management credits include Unbroken Blossoms, Kairos and Spring Awakening with East West Players; Crabs in a Bucket and The Thin Place with Echo Theater Company; Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground with New LA Rep; and Dosan with Seasun. Before moving to the U.S., she worked as a company manager in South Korea on musicals including The Bodyguard (Asia premiere), Trace U and Myeong-dong Romance.
Asher J. Hammer (Production Assistant, Artists at Play Literary Assistant) is a Korean-American artist from Los Angeles. Prior work includes Into the Woods (Baker/ Pasadena Playhouse), This Is Not a True Story (assistant dramaturgy/Artists at Play), Godspell and Romeo and Juliet (Asher and Romeo/Westmont College). He is pursuing a theater arts/philosophy double major at Westmont College.
Julia Cho (Artistis at Play Producing Artistic Leader) is one of the founding members of Artists at Play, with work that encompasses producing, acting and casting. Having acted in numerous projects with many Los Angeles theater companies over the years, 2023 mainstage performances included the world premiere productions of The Bottoming Process by Nicholas Pilapil (directed by Rodney To) and This Is Not a True Story by Preston Choi (directed by Reena Dutt). Julia has also directed and workshopped new plays by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters as part of the Launch Pad program at UC Santa Barbara. Other acting credits include films Fool’s Paradise and Larry Crowne; recurring roles on TV shows like This Is Us, Goliath and Scandal and the Emmy-winning web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. You can also hear Julia’s voice in various podcast series or English-dubbing roles in Korean content on Netflix and Disney+. @thatjuliacho
Stefanie Lau (Artists at Play Producing Artistic Leader) is an arts administrator whose work over the last 24 years brings equity, diversity and inclusion to Los Angeles theater. As a co-founder and co-producing artistic leader of Artists at Play, Stefanie produces mainstage shows, new play development programs, Theatre for Young Audience performances, fundraisers, and other special events. She is a development associate at the Latino Theater Company, and previously worked at Center Theatre Group, East West Players, Ford Amphitheater and Cold Tofu Improv. A graduate of UCLA, Stefanie sits on the national board of the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists, the steering committee of the new Theatre Commons Los Angeles service organization, and is a member of the Artistic Directors of Color Alliance–Greater Los Angeles and Theatre Producers of Southern California.
Marie-Reine Velez (Artists at Play Producing Artistic Leader) is an arts leader working towards systemic anti-racism and equity through radical empathy, resource sharing and questioning the status quo. In addition to producing with Artists at Play, Marie-Reine is the assistant director at USC Visions and Voices where she works with the university community to organize and present programs in the arts and humanities. She is also a board member for California Presenters and enrolled in the Arts Leadership graduate program at USC. Marie-Reine previously worked with TeAda Productions as a producer and general manager, and at Center Theatre Group in the literary department. She has served on or chaired national and regional committees, including the Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists ConFest host committee in Los Angeles, the Western Arts Alliance Professional Development Committee, and the California Presenters Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee. IG: @mariezpz
Sandy Nguyen (Artists at Play Communications Assistant) is an actor and graduate of Occidental College with a degree in critical theory and social justice and theater. She has been part of Artists at Play since 2021. Most recently, Sandy was in a reading of The Brothers Play by Arya Shahi in South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival. Former projects include readings for Alex Lin’s Chinese Republicans at SCR and Katie Ka Vang ‘s Fast Forward Motions for EastWest Player’s Raw Readings. She is currently an improv student at The Groundlings. Outside of theater, Sandy is an active member of the Los Angeles ballroom community.