Cast & Crew

Click on any of the names below to learn more.

Writer/Director

Jon Levin
(Director/Conceiver)

Jon Levin is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Sinking Ship Productions. He also sometimes performs at Puppet Playlist.

Recent directing credits include Powerhouse, at the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC Excellence Award for Outstanding Ensemble) and There Will Come Soft Rains, which he adapted and directed at FringeNYC 2008 (FringeNYC Excellence Award for Outstanding Direction). The play was extended and moved to the Barrow Street Theater for the FringeNYC Encore Series. Additional directing credits include The Selkie for Urban Stages touring Outreach Program and Tales from the Wind and the Sun as part of Metropolitan Playhouse’s Children’s Theater. This past summer, Jon was a participant at the Eugune O’Neill Puppetry Conference and has studied with Eric Bass at the Sandglass Summer Puppetry Intensive at the University of Connecticut. Jon graduated with Honors from Oberlin College, with majors in theater and neuroscience.

Josh Luxenberg
(Playwright, Producer)

Josh Luxenberg is co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Sinking Ship Productions and a Brooklyn-based writer and director. He wrote and produced Powerhouse, which premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2009 (FringeNYC Excellence Award for Outstanding Ensemble) and produced There Will Come Soft Rains, which he produced at FringeNYC in 2008.

Josh has worked as the assistant director, with director David Schweizer, on several productions, including Paper Mill Playhouse’s The Importance of Being Earnest, with Lynn Redgrave, Tony Kushner’s Caroline, Or Change at Baltimore Centerstage and These Shining Lives (world premiere, Centerstage). He assisted Donald Hicken on The Turn of the Screw (Everyman Theatre). He has also worked in the writers office of HBO’s The Wire. Josh is an alum of the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, and of Oberlin College where he could at any given moment be found directing, producing and occasionally writing.

Cast

Ben Dziuba
(Chuck (an animator) & Others, Puppeteer )

Ben Dziuba appeared in Sinking Ship's Powerhouse and in several Puppet Playlists.

He is a graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and a recent transplant to New York City. He has worked with Lunatique Fantastique, Professor Saturn’s Sci-Fi Theater and the Shotgun Players, and was a founding member of Precarious Theatre and the Dusk Beat Circus in San Francisco. He has worked regionally with the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and most recently starred as Paul Miller in Murder at the Howard Johnson’s at the Cider Mill Playhouse. He has trained with Giovanni Fusetti, John Gilkey and Carlo Mazzone-Clementi.

Jesse Garrison
(Carl/Animator)

Jesse Garrison has performed with Sinking Ship in both There Will Come Soft Rains and Powerhouse. He is an actor and multi-media artist based in New York, where he moved after graduating from Oberlin College. At Oberlin, he performed in numerous productions including The Pillowman (Tupolski), Major Barbara (Cusins), Line (Dolan) and Rhinoceros (Dudard). New York credits include There Will Come Soft Rains (Man, Machine), King Lear (Burgundy, various roles), One Fat Day In Babylon (Parritt), FourPlay (Maurice), Ivanov (Lvov), Wanderlust (B), Tales of the Wind and the Sun (Advisor to the King, Puppeteer), Dorm Stories (David), Tetherfop (Stephen), Lost Highway (Video Assistant, various roles). As a filmmaker and video artist, he has shot and edited music videos, performance art, video designed several FringeNYC shows and directed a post-apocalyptic feature. He is honored to be a part of Powerhouse and would like to thank his incredible collaborators, parents, friends and anyone else deserving thanks.

Erik Lochtefeld
(Raymond Scott)

Erik Lochtefeld played Raymond Scott in Sinking Ship's Powerhouse. He was an original cast member of Mary Zimmerman’s Tony Award-winning Metamorphoses on and off-Broadway. Other New York credits include Zimmerman’s The Notes of Leonardo Da Vinci at Second Stage and the musical But I'm a Cheerleader at the New York Music Theatre Festival. Recent credits include the world premiere of Richard Nelson’s How Shakespeare Won the West at the Huntington Theatre, Melanie Marnich’s These Shining Lives at Baltimore Centerstage, Edgar in King Lear at California Shakespeare, Benjamin Cohen in Steve Martin’s The Underpants at Two River Theatre, Katurian in The Pillowman at Berkeley Rep directed by Les Waters and Tom in The Glass Menagerie opposite Rita Moreno (Bay Area Critics Nom. for Best Actor), also at Berkeley Rep. He has had the pleasure of working at the McCarter, Mark Taper Forum, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Yale Rep, Lookingglass Theatre, Court Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare and Williamstown Theatre Festival, among others. Television credits include All My Children, Third Watch and Law & Order. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Clare McNulty
(Mitzi Scott & Others, Puppeteer)

Clare McNulty has performed with Sinking Ship in both There Will Come Soft Rains and Powerhouse (as Mitzi Scott). She graduated with Highest Honors from Oberlin College in 2007. Regionally, she has performed with the Cutting Ball Theatre Company, Hapgood Theatre Company, African American Shakespeare Company, and the SFSU Greenlight Project. Her NYC credits include There Will Come Soft Rains (FringeNYC, Sinking Ship Productions), Dorm Stories (4th Meal Productions), 15 Minutes of Fame (Access Theatre), and Surrender (International WOW Company, Drama Desk Nom.).

Deborah Radloff
(Pearl Zimney & Others, Puppeteer)

Deborah Radloff played Pearl Zimney in Sinking Ship's Powerhouse (FringeNYC 2009). Recent NYC credits include: Dance Dance Revolution with Les Freres Corbusier, Girls Night: The Musical at Sophia’s Downstairs Cabaret, Woyzeck with Counting Squares Theatre, Hell’s Belles with Tweiss Productions. Regionally: The Yiddish are Coming…The Chosen Musical by Ruthless creators Joel Paley and Marvin Laird at the New Denver Civic theatre, A Christmas Carol at The Cinncinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Pericles, Twelfth Night, Othello, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Richard III with the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival.

Hanley Smith
(Dorothy Collins & Others, Puppeteer)

Hanley Smith played Dorothy Collins in Sinking Ship's Powerhouse. She is so excited to be making her NY debut with such an unparalleled group of creators! Regionally, she has appeared at Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Alliance Theatre, Flat Rock Playhouse, Blowing Rock Stage Company, and Mill Mountain Theatre. She also performed under the direction of the RSC’s Gemma Fairlie at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Eric Wright
(Mel (an animator), Cartoon Voices, Puppeteer)

Eric Wright has performed with Sinking Ship in There Will Come Soft Rains and Powerhouse (for which he also designed and built the puppets). He also frequently appears in Puppet Playlist.

His other puppetry performances include: The Culture Project’s The Cat Who Went to Heaven, Dan Hurlin’s Disfarmer (St. Ann’s Warehouse) and Hiroshima Maiden (St. Ann’s Warehouse); Basil Twist’s La Bella Dormente nel Bosco (Lincoln Center) and Petruska (Lincoln Center); Anthony Minghella’s Madama Butterfly (Metropolitan Opera); Mabou Mines’ Peter & Wendy (Arena Stage); Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty (Art Basel Miami) with Philip Huber; Erin Orr’s Savage Nursery (HERE); Lake Simons’ What's Inside the Egg (HERE) and Alice's Adventures in Wonderful (HERE). He can be seen on PBS’s SeeMore's Playhouse. Occasionally Mr. Wright performs his solo pieces, Taps, Caveman v. Blender, and Clementine. He is currently in rehearsal for Compulsion at Yale Rep, starring Mandy Patinkin, and directed by Oskar Eustis.

Mr. Wright’s design and construction credits include: Hamlet (The Public); TheaterWorks U.S.A.’s Seussical: The Musical, and The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks; Hiroshima Maiden, Animal Farm: The Musical (Synapse Prod.), and most recently, Christopher Williams’ The Golden Legend (DTW). He works with Emily DeCola and Michael Schupbach as part of The Puppet Kitchen, LLC, a puppet and specialty prop design and construction studio in the East Village.

Production Team

Kate J. Cudworth
(Fringe Stage Manager)

Kate J. Cudworth is Sinking Ship's resident stage manager. She has worked on the FringeNYC Encore presentations of both There Will Come Soft Rains and Powerhouse. She also stage manages most Puppet Playlist performances.

Off-Broadway: [title of show]. Other NY Credits: Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Manhattan School of Music; Pagliacci, The Impresario, Orpheus in the Underworld with Bronx Opera Co.; LINES, NY Musical Theatre Festival; RENT, National Tour '07-'08. Readings with the Vineyard Theatre, America-in-Play, et al. Regional: Four seasons with Barrington Stage Co., including Freud's Last Session, Underneath the Lintel, Trumbo, and Follies; Breakfast Lunch & Dinner, Fences, I am My Own Wife at Hartford Stage. Oberlin graduate and proud member AEA.

Marnie Cumings
(Lighting Design)

Marnie Cumings designed the lights for Sinking Ship's Powerhouse.

Carrie Dell Furay
(Encores Assistant Stage Manager)

Carrie Dell Furay was the assistant stage manager for the FringeNYC Encores presentation of Sinking Ship's Powerhouse. Previous shows include Kaspar Hauser (World Premiere) and The Footage (World Premiere) for The Flea. She is happy to be back at FringeNYC after stage managing The Redheaded Man last year. Thanks to Josh, Kate and the marvelous cast.

Rosalind Grush
(Associate Producer)

Rosalind Grush was the associate producer for Sinking Ship's Powerhouse.

Rosalind was expelled from her mother's womb wanting to be an arts administrator. Her first and also her most recent word spoken was "LOI". I know, becuase I'm with her right now. Currently, Rosalind is the Devo & Communications Associate for The Civilians. She has worked producorially for Wolf 359, invisible theatre, The Assembly, PearlDamour, Rotozaza, and Sinking Ship. She graduated from Columbia University, much like Tony Kushner, sort of like President Obama, and unlike the late, great Louis Zukofsky.

Griffith Maloney
(FringeNYC Stage Manager)

Griffith Maloney stage managed the original run of Sinking Ship's Powerhouse at FringeNYC 2009.

Griffith is a performer/designer working in NYC. He is a graduate of Bennington College. He created video effects and designed the set for Acorn Production’s of Hamlet. He has appeared Off-Broadway in Accident, and My Father’s Funeral. He has worked with Acme Special Effects on a number of film projects, including The Muppet Movie: Letters to Santa and Nancy Meyer’s It’s Complicated. In 2006 he assisted Wilson Milam and Martin McDonagh in the Atlantic Theater’s production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore. His artwork has appeared at Cuchifritos gallery on the lower east side.

Joshua Morris
(Music Director & Sound Design)

Joshua Morris has worked with Sinking Ship as a performer and composer for There Will Come Soft Rains and as Music Director, Sound Designer and as a writer for Powerhouse.

Josh is from Louisville, Kentucky. An Oberlin alum, he studied composition with Dr. Randolph Coleman and Dr. Lewis Nielson, and at Butler University studied with Michael Schelle. His compositions are often intermingled with other disciplines to make a music that must be seen and dance that must be heard. His work has been performed in several nations by numerous ensembles, from the Nouvelle Ensemble Musique in Canada to the Oberlin Orchestra to an Irish folk group in Dublin. He is a founding member of Ensemble 48, a contemporary music ensemble based in Indianapolis. He has also performed with the Rebellious Subjects Shakespeare. He has received numerous awards and honors, including membership with the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

Carolyn Mraz
(Set Design & Realization)

Carolyn Mraz designed and built the set (and some props) for Sinking Ship's Powerhouse. Credits include Attack of the Soccer Moms (Edinburgh Fringe), Bound Shadow (Michael Weller Theater), The Name Means Public Spirited (Target Margin Lab), Bug Boy Blues, The Odyssey, and Avalon (Looking Glass Theater), as well as various productions at her alma mater, Oberlin College. Carolyn is proud of her multi-faceted involvement with Target Margin Theater, and is currently pursuing her MFA in Scenic Design at NYU.

Spencer Russell
(Encores Co-Sound Design)

Spencer Russell has worked with Sinking Ship on both There Will Come Soft Rains (sound and video design) and Powerhouse (co-sound designer for the FringeNYC Encore presentation).

Spencer is a freelance electrical engineer, multimedia designer, and performer who works with creative people in New York to create new works in theatre, music, dance, and studio art. In addition to his own electro-acoustic music, Spencer plays upright bass with the experimental avant-rock ensemble Capillary Action, who recently returned from a 4-month European tour.

Carrie Ryan
(FringeNYC Assistant Stage Manager)

Carrie Ryan worked on Sinking Ship's Powerhouse at FringeNYC 2009 as the assistant stage manager. She is a Theatre Arts/English Major at Arcadia University and is actively involved in technical theatre while in school. She would like to thank Jon, Josh, Josh, Griff, and the entire cast and crew of Powerhousefor making this experience one of her fondest memories!

Lisa Soverino
(Encores Lighting Design)

Lisa Soverino modified Marnie Cuming's light design for the FringeNYC Encore presentation of Sinking Ship's Powerhouse.

Lisa is a Chicago native who holds a BFA in lighting design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After college, she ran away with the circus, joining the 136th Edition of Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey. Now based in NYC, Lisa is a lighting designer, audio engineer, rigger, and photographer working with companies including InProximity Theatre, Cockeyed Optimists, Theatre The, Atomic Clown, Circus Smirkus, and Circus Bambouk. She is also the lighting designer for Gulfshore Playhouse, based in Naples, Florida. Lisa sometimes gets on stage performing as a juggler. When not playing in theatres with clowns, she travels as a technical director for fancy and important corporate events.

Peiyi Wong
(Costume Design)

Peiyi Wong designed costumes for Sinking Ship's productions There Will Come Soft Rains and Powerhouse.

Peiyi is a Brooklyn-based theater artist and designer for theater/film. Her work has appeared at various venues in New York City including HERE Arts Center, The Ontological Theater, Mabou Mines’ Toronado Space, The Chocolate Factory, Bushwick Starr, The Brick Theater, and 303 Bond. She was a recipient of the Marvin Sims Fellowship to attend the Kennedy Center Summer Intensive for Scene Design in 2005. She holds a BA in English and Visual Arts from Columbia University and is an associate member of the theater company Polybe + Seats.