Creative Team: Stinger Productions Present: THE WASPS , A Comedy that Sings!: At the Lost Studio on La Brea

Meryl Friedman (Writer/Director) In Los Angeles Meryl has directed for Ensemble Studio Theatre, ASK Theater Projects, The Road Theatre, the Odyssey Theatre, the Powerhouse Theatre, and LA Stage & Film. Her musical adaptation of Aristophanes’ The Wasps inaugurated the indoor theatre at the Getty Villa in 2005, and in 2008 her musical adaptation of the Roman comedy Tug of War at the Getty Villa outdoor theatre was named one of the top ten productions in Los Angeles by the LA Times, and nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Musical. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Meryl was a founder and Producing Director at Lifeline Theatre in Chicago where she worked for sixteen years. During her long collaboration with Lifeline she produced over sixty productions, most of them new and premiere works, adapting and/or directing over half of these. She is the recipient of numerous awards for writing and directing; three of her plays are published by Dramatic Publishing, and are regularly produced across the country. She has worked at Lincoln Center Institute, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Webster Conservatory @ St. Louis Rep., The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Chicago Theaters on the Air, National Jewish Theatre, and WBEZ’s Stories on Stage (a program of National Public Radio). Meryl is the Director of Education and Outreach for UCLA Live. She is also a teaching artist for Voices Within, the outreach program of the Los Angeles Master Chorale that teaches students how to write and perform their own songs. Before joining UCLA, she was the Executive Director of the Virginia Avenue Project, a nationally acclaimed arts mentoring program for kids and teens based in Santa Monica. She was the Executive Producer of Garry Marshall’s Falcon Theatre for two years, where she developed the theatre’s family and young audiences program. In the spring of 1989 she was a guest of the Soviet Union as part of a visiting artist exchange; she has been a featured speaker at the National Grant Makers in the Arts Conference, the Drama League, the Organization for the Advancement of Women in the Theatre, and the League of Chicago Theatre's Annual Retreat.



David O (Musical Director) is an award-winning composer, performer, and musical director. His work has been featured at Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Mark Taper Forum, and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as other venues in Los Angeles and around the world. His choral composition A Map of Los Angeles was commissioned by the LA Master Chorale and performed in May 2008 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and will be reprised there in November 2009. Another choral composition, Dadme, was commissioned by the Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, and performed at the opening of “The Rock is Art” installation. Thousands of Los Angeles children and their parents know David as “The Professor” for his many years of performances with Summersounds at the Hollywood Bowl, produced by the LA Philharmonic. His original musicals include The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip and The Legend of Alex, both commissioned by Center Theatre Group’s P.L.A.Y. Program, and Imagine, commissioned by South Coast Repertory Theater. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip was performed as part of the inaugural season of the Kirk Douglas Theater, and has recently been published by Dramatic Publishing. Other original musicals include Atalanta, Focus Today, Duel, and The Trial of Persephone. David is the musical director, arranger, and co-composer for Disney Creative Entertainment’s new production, Toy Story: The Musical, currently playing at sea on the ship “Disney Wonder” and soon to open at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. Some of David’s most unique work includes non-traditional theatre pieces for which he serves as both musical director and composer. Most notably, he created an entirely a capella score for Hippolytos, a new translation of Euripides’ tragedy commissioned to inaugurate the Fleischman Theatre at the newly-refurbished Getty Villa in Malibu. In addition, David was the composer, musical director, and on-stage pianist/percussionist for A Noise Within’s production of Ubu Roi, for which he received the 2006 Ovation Award for Sound Design in a Large Theater. David has musically directed countless musical theater productions in the Los Angeles area, including the world premiere of 13, the new musical by Jason Robert Brown. He has also served as musical director for the West Coast premieres of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party and Little Fish. Other notable productions as Musical Director include The Last 5 Years (Pasadena Playhouse), The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (Inside the Ford), and Divorce: the Musical (currently running at the Hudson Mainstage). He has received numerous awards for his musical direction in the LA theater scene, including LA Weekly, LA Drama Critics Circle, and Backstage West Garland Awards. David is a co-creator of “Voices Within,” an educational outreach program of the LA Master Chorale, through which children are taught collaborative skills while writing songs together. He has also led numerous music education workshops for children, teachers, and parents through Center Theatre Group, the Galef Institute, and the LA Philharmonic. David lives in Los Angeles with his wife Michele, and their two sons, Caleb and Dylan. Click here for an interview with David from KPCC's program "OFF RAMP". David's interview is titled "A Map of Los Angeles," and is the fifth offering on the page.



Nick McCord (Lighting Designer) is thrilled to be working with Meryl and the rest of the team on this fine production. Recent theatrical designs include: "Spit Like a Big Girl" for the Rubicon Theatre Company, "Everybody Say Cheese!!" at the Falcon Theatre, and the Spring 2009 drama and musical showcases for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Nick has designed lighting locally, regionally, internationally and Off-Broadway with lighting designs ranging from theatre, opera and live events to television, themed environments, and corporate events. Currently, Nick is a freelance lighting director for CNN’s “Larry King Live” and HLN’s “Showbiz Tonight." He also is a freelance LD with lighting and visual design consortium, Lightswitch. Recent corporate event work includes the Miss Asia USA 2009 at the Alex Theatre and the Nintendo booth at this years E3 expo. For more info please check out nickmccord.20m.com



Leah Piehl (Costume Designer) Recent theater credits include Someone in Florida Loves Me (Paradise Factory Theater, NYC), Love Water (Open Fist/EST LA, Los Angeles), The Pain and the Itch (The Theatre at Boston Court, Pasadena), Tartuffe (The Theatre at Boston Court, Pasadena), Robots vs. Fake Robots (Powerhouse Theater, Santa Monica), Miss Julie (Sledgehammer Theater, San Diego), The Boomerang Kid (Powerhouse Theater, Santa Monica), Big Death and Little Death (The Road Theater, NoHo), The Best Man, (East West Players, David Henry Hwang Theatre, Los Angeles), No Mercy(24th Street Theatre, Los Angeles), Michele Vinaver’s 911 (REDCAT, the Frictions Festival Dijon, and Théatre National de la Colline in Paris) and Bull Spears (La Tea Theater, NYC). Recent dance credits include David Rousseve’s Saudade (UCLA Live), Kelly Nipper’s Floyd on the Floor (Judson Memorial Church, NYC), Kristin Smiarowski’s The Key Game (St. Joseph Ballet), Rebecca Pappas' Monster (Judson Memorial Church, NYC; UCLA), Mira Kingsley’s Yes is a Long Time (Bootleg Theater, LA), Colin Connor (CalArts) and Laurence Blake (CalArts). Film and television credits include Buzzkill (dir. Steven Kampmann), Shelly Figg (AFI), The Macabre World of Lavender Williams, Hobos and Mullercize It! (Tom Lennon and R. Ben Garrant of Reno 911). Leah has designed music videos for several recording artists, including Frankie Valli (Beggin’ Remix), Rocco DeLucca and the Burden (The Gift), Black Light Burns (LIE), Killola, Barrel of Donkeys, Skopic (Mahones), Mitchell Schaffer (Appreciate You) and Giant Drag (Kevin is Gay). Leah has a BA in Political Economy from the University of California at Berkeley and her MFA in Costume Design from CalArts.



Susan K. Coulter (Stage Manager) Some of her recent credits are Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet at A Noise Within, Finally and the award-winning production of Secrets of the Trade at the Black Dahlia Theatre. Susan has also worked on numerous productions with Starlight Theatre, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and the Kansas City Symphony, amongst others, in her hometown of Kansas City. Here on the west coast, she has staged managed at the Music Academy of the West, Antaeus, Field Station Theatre and Transversal Theatre Company, in which she helped take an original production to both the San Francisco Fringe and FringeNYC. Having previously stage managed for Red Dog Squadron's Grand Delusion, she will next try on the producer's hat for their next production this fall, Extinction. Susan received her BA in Theatre at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, and her MFA in Stage Management at the University of California - Irvine.


Willie Salazar (Graphic Designer) is a Los Angeles based freelance graphic designer who has worked for a variety of graphic design firms and advertising agencies whose client list include: Acura, Apple Computers, AT&T, Disney, Fox, Hilton Hotels, Honda, KB Home, LA GEAR, Mandalay Bay, Mattel, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Nestlé, Paramount, Pepsi, The Rape Treatment Center, Thermador and Verizon. Outside of graphic design he continues to paint and play beach volleyball. He just recently received his MFA and is teaching a graphic design class at CSULB. He lives with his wife and their two sons, and their dog Cosmo



Jason Reim (Web Design) is honored to be working with the talented minds behind Stinger Productions. A sample of his work can be found at www.jasonreim.com