Darren Bailey

Darren Bailey moved to LA from Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008, and became a SoSE member in 2015. He holds a BA in Theatre from Miami University, with focuses in acting, singing, film studies, and art. Darren played Jim in The Glass Menagerie at Long Beach Playhouse in 2012 and Message in Matthew McCray's Eternal Thou at South Coast Repertory in 2013. In addition to theatre, Darren has worked on numerous short films and features as an actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and stunt coordinator. He is the co-founder of the viral martial arts production team Thousand Pounds Action Company, and was a main collaborator and co-producer for a finalist directing team on HBO's Project Greenlight last year.

Hilletje Bashew

Although she joined SOSE in 2014, Hilletje retains membership in FACTS Theatre Company in South Africa, her home country. There she played "Claire" in David Auburn's Tony-award winning Proof. That production earned the Best Ensemble and Production awards at Vry Festival, South Africa's National Arts Festival. But her favorite role was "Vivian Bearing," the lead of Pulitzer Prize-winner Margaret Edson's Wit. She also took lead in S11, Leon Kruger's latest play. Locally, she has performed at the Silver Lake Female Festival in Voiced and Vagina Monologues. In Spring 2014 she debuted on SOSE's stage playing "Fiona" in Linda McLean's Sex & God. Hilletje earned her Bachelor in Drama from the University of the Free State. She subsequently studied with Stephen Michaels at the Lee Strasberg Institute on a scholarship from the South Africa Arts Council.

Melina Bielefelt

Melina has been a member of SOSE since 2009, where she first produced & played the title role in the SOSE-Host production of Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel, for which she was nominated for an LA Weekly Best Actress Award. She has performed in many SOSE productions including On Emotion by Mik Gordon & Paul Broks, What the Moon Saw by Stephanie Fleischman, Roadkill Confidential by Sheila Callaghan, The City by Martin Crimp Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek, Sex & God by Linda McLean, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle by Ross Dungan, If You Can Get to Buffalo by Trish Harnetiaux, and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill. Melina has performed nationally and internationally: the Bulgakhov Festival in Kiev with Zoo District, Agents & Assets with the LA Poverty Dep’t, dir. John Malpede & produced by Peter Sellars, in the Robert Wilson directed production of Woyeck at UCLA Performing Arts Live, & as Movement & Associate Director of Trial of the Catonsville 9 with the Actor’s Gang, both in Los Angeles and Brisbane, Australia.
     A proud twenty-year member of the greater Los Angeles theatre community, Melina has also worked with the following companies: La Mirada, Cornerstone, Chalk Rep, Oasis, Fabulous Monsters, shrimps, John Fleck, Melinda Ring, Rudy Perez, Will Geer Theatricum & at Highways, the Getty Center, HBO Workspace, A.S.K., LAMEC, & the Marina Abramovic Gala at MOCA.
     Her most rewarding film work has been with Bill Viola in two of his museum installations: Ocean Without a Shore (Venice Biennale) & Going Forth By Day (Guggenheim Museums Berlin/NYC). Television includes CSI, THE FORGOTTEN & re-enactments for the History Channel.      A graduate of the University of MN-Twin Cities, Melina is also a Movement teacher for all ages. Melina has been on the faculty at the Colburn School of Music, the Stella Adler Academy-Los Angeles, and led workshops at UC-Santa Barbara, Cal State LA, Headlands Center for the Arts (San Francisco), Oklahoma Arts Institute, College of the Canyons, Art Institute of CA, Baltimore School for the Arts, Actor’s Gang & on Skid Row, LA.

Don Boughton

At Son of Semele Ensemble Don directed CIVILIZATION (all you can eat) by Jason Grote, Wallowa: The Vanishing of Maude LeRay by Oliver Meyer, TRAGEDY: a tragedyby Will Eno, and 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks and a soseHOST production of Daniel McIvor's A Beautiful View. At SOSE he also performed in 365 Days/365 Plays, King Cat Calico Finally Flies Free!, and The Designated Mourner. He has been part of the LA Theatre community for 20+ years. He started with Improvisational Theater Project at the Mark Taper Forum and later appeared at the Odyssey Theatre, Stages, and John Anson Ford among others. Outside LA his credits include Santa Fe Rep, El Teatro Campesino and Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. Don completed graduate studies in Dramatic Arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Sarah Boughton

Sarah has performed in various theatres in New York, Los Angeles and around the country. Her favorite credits include: King Lear at LaMama, Nina in The Seagull, A Tale of Two Cities with The Culture Project, Hermia in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Sarah in the premiere of Precipice at ATA in NY and The Greenway Court in LA, Isabelle in Measure for Measure, Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, Helen Keller in The Story of Helen Keller, Portia in Julius Caesar, Dromio of Syracuse and Ephesus in Comedy of Errors, The Chicago Conspiracy Trial at the Odyssey Theatre, and Teri Schaivo in the staged reading of BARE at Son of Semele. She was seen most recently as Liz in the Texas premiere of Daniel McIvor's A Beautiful View. Sarah has starred in and produced several short films. She received her BFA from Syracuse University.

Kristen Carmi

Kristen moved from Baltimore to Los Angeles in 1999. Initially confused by its artistic offerings, she joined forces with her friends and helped found Son of Semele Ensemble a year later. She has played the role of production manager on several productions including Melancholy Play, Lava/Breath, American Plan, and Film Is Evil: Radio Is Good. She has dabbled in writing as well but feels happiest on stage. As an actor with SOSE, she was seen in Earthlings, Lava/Breath, Film Is Evil: Radio Is Good and Preludes & Fugues, among others. Favorite productions outside of SOSE include Emma's Child at the Odyssey Theatre, Edward II with Circle X and Emilie Beck's And Let the Skies Fall. When she's not dabbling in the arts, she is working as a Behavior Analyst, who creates and oversees programs specifically designed for children with Autism.

Laura Carson

Laura's theatrical career began in third grade with a show-stopping performance as Templeton the Rat in Charlotte's Web. She earned her BA in Theatre from William & Mary then was chosen for the highly competitive Apprentice Program at Actors Theatre of Louisville. In NYC she continued her studies with Gately/Poole Meisner Program and performed in several off-off Broadway shows and had two of her short plays produced. Her LA career has included more stage work, film and TV. SOSE: King Cat Calico Finally Flies Free!, Civilization (all you can eat). Film/TV: Grey's Anatomy, Drop Dead Diva, Gilmore Girls, Bruce Almighty.

Elizabeth Clemmons

Elizabeth is very cool.

Sharyn Gabriel

Sharyn is an actor, dancer, choreographer, and a proud SOSE member since 2003. Her favorite SOSE credits include: Dora in Our Class, Iphigenia in Iphigenia: A Rave Fable, and Mary in The Mysteries. A dancer for Velvet Martini Dance company, Coco Tiki, and Na Māmo O Pānaewa, as well as an accomplished swing dancer, Sharyn has taught a performed all over the world. She was honored to receive a NAACP Theater AWARD in 2005 for for her choreography of SOSE's The Tower.

Daniel Getzoff

Danny is very cool.

Yolanda Hester

Yolanda Hester is an actor/writer and member of SOSE. Theater: For All Time with Cornerstone Theater, Antigone & Love’s Labours Lost with Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, Details with The Royal Danish Theatre directed by Bille August, Far Away with New York Theater Workshop Directed by Stephen Daldry (The Hours, Billie Elliot). She has also worked with The Atlantic Theater Company (NY), Tricycle Theatre (UK) and Judith Shakespeare Co. Film and TV: 8 directed by Wim Wenders, Commander in Chief, Sex and the City, The Chappelle Show. She has been involved in arts education for the past 12 years. She has taught at NYU’s undergraduate program through the Practical Aesthetics studio and Women’s Projects and Productions, a theater company that recognizes women performing artists. And she has taught theater residencies for Periwinkle Theater for Youth and The Atlantic Theater Company.

Betsy Holt

Betsy is an actor and independent filmmaker. After graduating from Ball State University, she moved to New York City and worked in regional theaters throughout the Northeast. In Los Angeles, she has worked with director Alexander Yan to create narrative shorts exploring female sexuality and violence: ANIMALS (2014) and CHANDELIER (2015), which they co-wrote. CHANDELIER was released by NoBudge and received the NoBudge awards for Best Experimental Short and Best Female Performance for Holt's acting. www.betsyacts.com

Erith Jaffe-Berg

Erith Jaffe-Berg is an actress and a Professor of Theatre at the University of California at Riverside (UCR). At SOSE she performed in What the Moon Saw, or 'I Only Appear to Be Dead', and 365 Days/365 Plays. At UCR, she oversees Playworks a festival of new student work. This coming year she is invited to present an originally devised piece called There, and There and Back Again in Paris and Amsterdam as part of an ongoing traveling performance and exhibition called "Moving Matters" curated by Susan Ossman. Erith is delighted to mark her tenth year with SOSE!

Barbara Kallir

At SOSE: Barbara directed Roadkill Confidential, Slaughter City, Melancholy Play ("Critic's Pick," LA Times), The Tower (5 NAACP Nominations including Best Director.) Director/ Dramaturg for 365 Days/365 Plays. Dramaturg for Our Class & The Mysteries. Literary Assistant for the Taper Too World Premiere of Good Thing. SOSE Lighting: Slaughter City, Wallowa, Preludes & Fugues. Other Directing: Half of Plenty at Rogue Machine Theatre; Charles' Story & Kafka's Dick at Pacific Resident Theatre. 2006, LA WEEKLY Special Recognition: Mixed Media for Iphigenia.

Edgar Landa

Edgar has appeared in and directed many SOSE productions including the world premieres of King Cat Calico Finally Flies Free! by Aaron Henne, Preludes & Fugues by John Glore and the critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Animal Farm. Recipient of LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Direction and Fight Choreography. He has staged violence all over Southern California including Center Theater Group, South Coast Rep, The Theatre @ Boston Court and LA Women's Shakespeare Company. He has been a guest director at Cal State Long Beach, LMU and USC. Recent credits: Love's Labour's Lost and Mother Courage at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA). Edgar is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab & the Directors Lab West and is a graduate of the USC School of Theatre. In addition, Edgar is an extreme endurance athlete/racer (follow his racing adventures here.)

Gabriel Liebeskind

Work with Son of Semele Ensemble - Wallowa: The Vanishing of Maude LeRay. Other theatre work: The Importance of Being Earnist, The Three Sisters, Conquest of the South Pole, Under Milk Wood, The Tempest. Trained with Tim Hagan, Natalia Nogulich, Melinda Ring, and SITI Company.

Michael Evans Lopez

Michael Evans Lopez earned an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program. Favorite recent theatre roles: Dave, 99 Ways to Fuck a Swan (Ilyrian Players, LA), Macedonio Guerra, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Curious Theatre Co, Denver- Winner Best Comedic Performance 2012, Denver Westword Magazine), Jocasta, Tiresias and the Shepherd, Oedipus the King (Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon, Portland- Winner 2011 Drammy for Best Actor in a Supporting Role). Recent film and TV includes the award winning short film, Dust, Santiago, The Lives of Better Men, Reno 911!, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and Pink’s music video for the song “Raise Your Glass”. To learn more, go to michaelevanslopez.com.

Lyndsay Lucas

Lyndsay Lucas was born and raised in the Los Angeles. Valley and knew she wanted to do theater. She now stage manages through-out Los Angeles and became a member at the all wonderful Son of Semele after stage managing two shows; If You Can Get To Buffalo by Trish Harnetiaux and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill.

Corey Madden

Corey is a writer-director and founder of L’Atelier Arts. Current projects include commissions from The Autry Museum for its The Civil War and the West exhibit and a commission in collaboration with Jet Propulsion Lab for the 2014 AxS Festival in Pasadena. Madden frequently collaborates with husband Bruno Louchouarn, a composer. Recent productions include Tales of the Old West, Voices in the Dust, Day for Night, and Rock, Paper, Scissors which won Best Play of 2009 at the Arizona Theatre Awards. Madden has directed at The Public Theatre, Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, Center Theatre Group and Actors Theatre of Louisville, and spent 15 years as Associate Artistic Director at the Mark Taper Forum. Madden splits her time between LA and North Carolina where she is the Executive Director of the Kenan Institute for the Arts at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and is a member of the faculty.

Matthew McCray

Matthew received the 2014 SAGE Award and LA Drama Critics Circle Award for his direction of SOSE's Our Class (also "Best Production of the Year," LADCC). He has directed productions and/or workshops at Center Theatre Group, REDCAT, Bootleg Theatre, Odyssey Theatre, Son of Semele Ensemble, Rogue Machine, Circle X, Moving Arts and others, as well as for Chapman University, College of the Canyons, CalArts and University of California-Riverside. Recent credits: Our Class and The City (SOSE), Machinal(Chapman), Rent (College of the Canyons), Death of a Salesgirl (Bootleg), Eternal Thou (Studio at South Coast Repertory). He has also received three LA Weekly Theatre Award nominations and one Ovation Award nomination for Direction, as well as an LA Weekly Award for Video Design. He has served as an Ovation Voter since 2008 and is curently a member of the Executive Committee for the Theatrical Producers League of Los Angeles/intimate (TPLLA/intimate). www.matthewmccray.com

Betsy Moore

After earning her BA in theatre arts, Betsy Moore performed with Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Her career in Southern CA started with the role of Connie in Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding, leading to several stints in improv theatre. Work with experimental writer/director John Sinner led to successful productions at REDCAT’s Studio and the New York and Amsterdam Fringe Festivals. Among her recent films, she is especially proud of her work in Sissy, a stunning short directed by Bonnie Root, and was awarded best supporting actress for her work in Light as a Feather. She received rave reviews for her work in the groundbreaking Bill and Joan at Sacred Fools. She is a proud member and completely smitten with Son of Semele.

Michael Nehring

Michael Nehring, Full Professor of Theatre at Chapman University, is a multiple award winning actor whose career includes over 60 professional productions. During his twenty-year association with Shakespeare Orange County he played such leading roles as Shylock, Prospero, Iago, Malvolio, Bottom and Benedick. Most recently he received a 2014 Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Circle Award for his performance as Abram in Son of Semele Ensemble’s Our Class. He is a proud member of Actor’s Equity.

 

Cindy Nguyen

Born in San Diego and brought up in Las Vegas, Cindy Nguyen failed at many sports before she found theatre. Being a SoCal girl at heart, she returned back to California and graduated from Chapman University in 2014 with a BFA in Theatre Performance and a minor in Psychology. Shortly after graduation, she joined one of LA Theatre's most modest yet insanely creative ensembles--Son of Semele Ensemble. Cindy has then starred in recent SoSE hit productions like If You Can Get to Buffalo by Trish Harnetiaux and Love and Information by Caryl Churchill. She is currently continuing to fine-tune her craft, on-stage and on-screen.

Melissa Randel

Melissa made her Broadway debut playing Judy Turner in A Chorus Line. While in NYC, she received critical acclaim as Shelby, in Shooting Stars with The Actor’s Space, originated the role of Wally in Schiele, and was a member of The Kraine Theatre Company. In LA, favorite roles include Pfeni in The Sisters Rosensweig, Kate in Cover Of Life, Woman in Talk To Me Like The Rain, and Trevor in SOSE's production of Shelia Callaghan’s Roadkill Confidential. Original works include Asylum, a devised collaboration exploring vice, sin, and consequence, and The Hat, a duet interweaving text, choreography, and live jazz. Asylum was presented at SOSE's Company Creation Festival 2013, and The Hat premiered at the NY International Fringe Festival, in August of 2013. Melissa is a professional dancer and has trained extensively with SITI Company in Suzuki and Viewpoints. She is Co-Chair of the Theatre Department at Glendale College. AEA; SAG-AFTRA.

Paula Rebelo

Paula Rebelo is a Brazilian actress, director and CalArts Alumni. She has performed with various acclaimed theater companies in Los Angeles including CalArts Center for New Performance, Theatre Movement Bazaar and Speakeasy Society. Paula has performed in venues such as Getty Villa, Hammer Museum, LA Human Resources and Bootleg Theater. Theater credits include Prometheus Bound, Kitchen/Sugar/Bullet/Blank, Into the Fog, Portrait of a Lady and The Three Penny Opera (in Brazil). Internationally she has performed at FITA (Festival Internacional de Angra) in Brazil, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Stratsnoy Theater in Moscow, Russia. Rebelo was recently seen in Dara Friedman’s film PLAY.

Ashley Regan

Ashley is very cool.

Sarah Rosenberg

Sarah has been a SOSE member since 2011 and has appeared in the US Premiere of The City by Martin Crimp, Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek and most recently Jason Grote’s Civilization (all you can eat). She also works in television and film most recently on the indie flick Killing ‘Em. Sarah is also an artistic associate for Urban Possibilities facilitating theater workshops on Skid Row.

Flor San Roman

Flor has been a member of SOSE since 2010 and first began her association in 2008 when she stage managed Melancholy Play. She was the dramaturg for Civilization (All You Can Eat), Roadkill Confidential and On Emotion. Flor also stage managed Slaughter City, Wallowa and Roadkill Confidential. Other theatre associations have included Playwright's Arena, Open Fist Ensemble and Fabulous Monsters. Flor earned her BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California and is pursuing a voice over career.

Adam Sherman

Born and raised in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, Adam has been performing in plays since he was in 6th grade, when he was cast as Billy, Ziggy and Harry in Caruso Middle School’s world-renowned production of Dear Edwina, Jr.. Adam graduated in 2015 with a BFA in Theatre Performance at Chapman University (where he was taught by fellow SOSE member, Michael Nehring!). In addition to acting, Adam is also a singer and an improviser, currently studying with The Groundlings. He previously worked with SOSE’s founder, Matthew McCray, in Chapman University’s production of Machinal, and has been a fan of this theatre ensemble ever since. Now living in LA, he is proud to finally be a part of this crazy, wonderful family of artists.

Ryan Stathos

Ryan was born and raised in Portland, Oregon where he began working in theatre, film and television. At age 16 , Ryan studied with NYU Tisch in Paris where his love for the craft of acting was confirmed and impassioned. Ryan has acted with numerous theatre companies in Portland and locally, including a leading role in Theatre of Note’s critically acclaimed show Dysnomia . While in Portland, Ryan premiered the role of Jonas in The Giver and worked personally with author Lois Lowry and the playwright, Eric Coble, to develop the script. Also a working voice over artist, Ryan has worked for numerous clients including NCAA College Football, Laikia Entertainment and The Holocaust Museum. Ryan is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

Ashley Steed

Ashley Steed is a theatre maker and creative producer. In Los Angeles you’ll most likely find her at the award-winning Son of Semele Ensemble where she is the social media manager and the Solo Creation Festival manager. She's also worked with Ghost Road, the Colony, the Road Theater, and LA Stage Alliance (and is a writer for @ This Stage). In New York, she co-created a devised piece called The Visceral City Project. In London she assisted directed Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (both dir. Andrew Shepherd) and Bunbury Banter’s Mortar radio series (dir. Ali Anderson-Dyer), and she co-produced Guns, Love and Chemistry with Define Choice. Ashley holds a BA in Theatre from USC and an MA in Theatre and Performance from Queen Mary, University of London. @ashleysteed www.ashleysteed.com

Dan Via

Dan has performed in recent SOSE productions The City, Our Class and Civilization (All You Can Eat) and became an official company member in Spring 2013. In Washington, DC, Dan was a member of Catalyst Theater Company and performed with many of that city's leading theaters. His play DADDY enjoyed a sold-out run in New York, followed by a four-month run in Los Angeles and is now being developed for the big screen. www.danvia.info

Alexander Wells

Alex Wells appeared in SOSE's Civilization (All You Can Eat) as Big Hog; also: Our Class, Roadkill Confidential, Wallowa, Slaughter City, Melancholy Play and Iphigenia Crash Land Falls on the Neon Shell That Was Once Her Heart and did props for Wilhelm Reich in Hell. In 2005, Alex created SOSE’s first company-devised play, The Labo(u)r Project with Aaron Henne. Other venues: King Berenger in Ionesco’s Exit the King, Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Classical Theatre Lab; title role in Need Theatre's Fatboy (LA Weekly Award, "Best Male Comedy Performance"), Kulygin in The Three Sisters with Circus Theatricals, James Forrestal in Ken Urban’s The Absence of Weather with Moving Arts. Alex (a.k.a. “Sandy Wells”) has also worked as an on-air news reporter with KABC-AM in Los Angeles and KSFO-AM in San Francisco. Alex has been a SOSE member since 2004.

Jonathan CK Williams

Jonathan studied ensemble-based, experimental, physical theater at CSULA, and trained with Mary Overlie and Anne Bogart, as well as LA’s Diavolo Dance Theater. Jonathan performed in The Night Fairy at South Coast Repertory; with Opera del Espacio in The Way of Water, Meet Me @ Metro II and III, and Space: The Final Frontier for SOSE's 2013 Company Creation Festival as well as multiple site-specific productions; and with SOSE in The Mysteries, Iphigenia (A Rave Fable), Tragedy: a tragedy, Wallowa and Fencerow to Fencerow. A professional puppeteer, Jonathan manipulates a saber-tooth cat at the La Brea Tar Pits and was recently Iago's puppeteer in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular at Disney’s California Adventure. He was a puppeteer in Clouded Sulphur: Death is a Knot Undone, part of Radar LA. Jonathan has extensive on-camera actor and puppeteer credits. AEA, AGVA and SAG eligible.

Inga Wilson

Inga R. Wilson was born in Minnesota and has been performing since she was a little girl belting out “Tomorrow” from Annie in every revue and talent show around town. She received a BFA in Theatre Performance from Drake University and went on to study at the O’Neill National Theater Institute and Chautauqua Theater Conservatory. Inga is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA, having worked professionally in California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. In addition to acting, Inga served as Artistic Director with Planet Ant Theatre and has passionately taught acting and theatre to diverse audiences for over 15 years.