Featured Artists
May, 2012
Vincent Mountain
Vince designed his first show, Julie Johnson, at the Purple Rose in 1998. This season’s production of White Buffalo is his 18th! In addition to designing at the Purple Rose, Vince does freelance design for other companies both in Michigan and out of state. This month he will be at the Philadelphia Theatre Company working on a production of Reasons To Be Pretty, by Neil LaBute. Vince enjoys the variety that comes with working for different theatre companies. Every company is unique and the opportunity to design different styles of plays in different theatre spaces keeps life interesting. Vince enjoys the family of people involved at the Purple Rose, the high level of artistry of the company, and the challenges working in an intimate thrust stage configuration. He has also worked at the Alley Theatre, LaJolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre (Seattle), Cucaracha (New York), and the Geffen Playhouse (Los Angeles). In addition, to designing professionally, Vince teaches scenic design for the BFA Design & Production program at the University of Michigan, as well as designs for the School of Music, Theatre & Dance’s main stage season every year. When not designing, Vince likes spending time with his family (Michelle, Henry, and Julian), reading books, cooking, and riding his motorcycle.
March, 2012
jeremy montange
It takes a village….to put on a Purple Rose play.
Jeremy Montange is a prime example of community support that goes into every single PRTC production. When properties designer, Danna Segrest needs a hard-to-find prop, Jeremy is the first person she calls. He helps with sizing rings and watches for costume pieces, engraving cigarette cases, wooden bird cages, and many of the drums and bead work for White Buffalo.
Born and raised in Chelsea, Jeremy is one of those people who knows everyone in town – and everyone knows him. You might find Jeremy at your dog’s obedience class (he teaches Dog Obedience for Chelsea and Dexter Community Education), banging a drum a the Tree of Life Studio, at any number of downtown storefronts (he’s worked at Winan’s Jewelry, Cranesbill Books and now manages Just Imagine, a locally-owned shop that sells books, toys, and musical instruments and supplies), or helping Danna hunt down special items for the upcoming play.
A big fan of the theatre, Jeremy has seen just about every show at the Purple Rose. As a child, he participated in some productions and acting camps with the Chelsea Area Players. As an adult, he’s become more interested in helping out behind the scenes. Jeremy’s involvement with the PRTC began when Danna Segrest approached him in 2005 for help ordering 10 copies of a book she needed for the PRTC production of The Late Great Henry Boyle. Jeremy was working at Cranesbill Books at the time, and recalls that Danna needed that particular book because “it had a purple cover.” After that, Jeremy became one of Danna’s regular go-to people for props. When asked what was the strangest thing he’s ever helped Danna find, Jeremy couldn’t answer: “none of it seems strange to me!” Although, he did admit to being surprised when Danna asked him to help her find an eyeglass chain for this winter’s production of A Stone Carver, “I just figured that was something the Purple Rose would already have!” The eyeglass chain wasn’t his only contribution to A Stone Carver. Jeremy was invited to attend a dress rehearsal of that production, and was unimpressed by the plastic crate that was being used for a bird trap. Jeremy knew a local woman who raises chickens and had a wooden crate that looked much better, so he got it in time for opening night. For White Buffalo, Danna needed a variety of hand drums, so she turned to Jeremy. He began taking drumming lessons at the Tree of Life Cultural Arts Studio in Chelsea about two years ago. Later, he started an apprenticeship under instructor, Sundance DiDomenico at Tree of Life, where he is learning to build drums himself. The drum in White Buffalo was custom built by Jeremy, and lent to the Purple Rose.
Jeremy says he enjoys helping out the theatre, “it’s like a scavenger hunt, and it’s fun to see what Danna needs and how I can help her find it.” He also finds pleasure in helping from a business perspective. As the manger of a downtown business, he sees value in what the theatre does for the local economy, “when the Purple Rose is between shows, I see the business drop by 10-15%.” Above all, Jeremy says he just wants to live and work in downtown Chelsea. He wants to provide the community with what it needs – whether it’s guitar strings for local music students, engraving or watch repair, or handmade African drums.
March, 2012
Rainbow Dickerson
White Buffalo is Rainbow’s first production with the PRTC and she couldn’t feel more blessed to be a part of this family. Thank you. Rainbow stumbled into acting when dreams of becoming a race horse jockey didn’t work out - darn puberty. She worked on every high school play and weaseled her way into almost every community theatre production in a 30 mile radius, even if they didn’t want her. Some sixty productions later, the arts have lead her to work with the Washington Opera in D.C., university in London, England, conservatory and work in New York City and collaborations with many amazing companies across the USA. Her journey takes her to Los Angeles next, where film and television will enter her world. An avid lover of odd things, she fancies moldy cheese and fermented grapes, vintage motorcycles, trees, the smell of a good book (and the words too), recurve bows, picking at dried skin, meditation, a certain nameless chap with voices in his head, the possibilities within our imagining, and a whole lot more. This journey is supposed to be fun; be the Captain! www.rainbowdickerson.com
February, 2012
Shelby Newport
A Stone Carver is Shelby's first costume design at the Purple Rose and the experience has been a delight! Shelby is currently the resident costume designer and an assistant professor at University of Michigan-Flint, where she designs costumes for 5 productions a year for theatre and dance. She is also designing costumes at Flint Youth Theatre and Tipping Point Theatre this season. Shelby is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and received her undergraduate degree in art and theatre from Cornell College. Her MFA in Costume Design is from Purdue University. During the design process for A Stone Carver Shelby got married and is happy to make Michigan home with her husband, Mark. Shelby has also worked at Glimmerglass Opera, Colorado Shakespeare Festival and Great River Shakespeare Festival. More of Shelby's work can be seen on her website www.shelbynewport.com.
January, 2012
Eva Gulotty
With her first show as a member of the Actors' Equity Association (Assistant Stage Manager for A Stone Carver), Eva is proud to continue her journey as a theatre professional. She started by working the curtain and lights in middle school plays, then went on to her first job working as a crew member for her school district’s auditorium at the age of 15. Since then she has worked constantly in theatres around Michigan. While working towards her bachelor’s degree in theatre, Eva stage managed her first show at the Bonstelle Theatre in Detroit, and continued to grow into her love of Stage Management. After completing her undergraduate studies, Eva joined the Purple Rose as an apprentice for the 2010-2011 season. She would like to thank her Purple Rose family for giving her so many opportunities to learn and grow with them!
December, 2011
Apprentice Class of December 2011
December 31 will mark the last day for four of the Purple Rose apprentices. These hardworking, talented and passionate individuals deserve recognition for their dedication, and they are this month's featured artists. Robert Caplis, Katie Mack, Brett Radke, and Melanie Reihing all hail from the Midwest and have spent the past year eating, sleeping, laughing, and bleeding Purple. Together, they stand on the edge of uncertainty; yet they move forward confident in their friendship with each other and in the skills they've learned. They have proudly called themselves Purple Rose Theatre Company apprentices and are now ready to pursue the next great thing. "India."
November, 2011
Wayne David Parker
With his role as "da Jimmer" in this fall's production of Escanaba in da Moonlight, Wayne David Parker is making it an even two-dozen productions at the PRTC, where he is also a resident artist. Other favorite shows include The Underpants, Book of Days, Thy Kingdom’s Coming and Duck Hunter Shoots Angel. Wayne has performed at over a dozen venues in the Detroit area, including Talley’s Folly and Greater Tuna at Williamston Theatre. He is a veteran of voice-over work, with more than 25 years of experience, and has worked on 14 feature films, most recently Mitch Albom’s Have A Little Faith.
October, 2011
Danna Segrest
Danna Dowsett Segrest is originally from South Lyon, MI and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Theatre from Michigan State University. She learned Jeff Daniels and his friends were starting the Purple Rose Theatre Company through the "welcome wagon" lady when she and her husband Wade bought their house. Danna has enjoyed being part of the PRTC family since volunteering backstage in February 1991 for the very first production, Blush At Nothing. By June 17th of that year, a permanent position was created for her and she was hired on full time as one of the team of 4 who would run the day-to-day operations of the theatre. She started her Actors' Equity Association membership process on Jeff Daniels' first play, Shoe Man and received her Equity card to stage manage Ties That Bind by Kitty Dubin . As the theatre grew and restructured, Danna took on the responsibilities of Resource Manager. She watched over all the stuff -- from props to light bulbs to office furniture. Following the birth of her son Reeve, Danna stepped down from her staff position to be an Associate Artist. Now a PRTC Resident Artist, Danna currently serves as archival photographer and helps out part time in our Box Office, in addition to her properties design duties. Danna has been Props Designer and helped with set dressing on all but 6 PRTC productions. There have been many prop challenges in shows over the years: reupholstering furniture (without putting a staple into your hand); the fish in Guys on Ice; the Polar Bear book in Apartment 3A; and guns, blood and body parts in Criminal Genius and Corktown. Set dressings in each of the time periods have been fun, too. David MacGregor topped them all with Gravity: creating Isaac Newton's laboratory was the most fun of all. Danna could not do any of it without the help of a community that supports the arts by lending props for the shows and the great teams that have worked together at the Rose. She would also like to recognize the support of Gary Ciarkowski, who makes special effects twinkle and shine, and maps that magically rise from the back of the sofa in Boeing-Boeing. She is so blessed to be working in this wonderful field, helping to create a different world for you to step into for a couple of hours of relief. She hopes you will enjoy many more.
August, 2011
Sarab Kamoo
Sarab grew up in Farmington Hills but currently resides in Lathrup Village with her husband and three children. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and English from Albion College and her Master's in Social Work from the The University of Michigan. Working as a part-time school social worker in the Rochester School District, Sarab has found a way to balance being a mom, a social work career and her acting career. She is so proud to say that she has been a part of the Purple Rose family in one aspect or another since she was 24 years old and credits much of her career to this theater. Sarab has also been seen recently at The Performance Network, Meadow Brook Theatre, Williamston Theater, JET, Tipping Point and Waterworks Theater where she was so honored to portray 9 different Iraqi woman in the one-woman show "9 Parts of Desire". Sarab's film credits include Stone (with Robert DeNiro), Conviction, Trust, Supersucker and the Lifetime movie Secrets in the Walls. Other films she has been a part of with upcoming releases include Giant Mechanical Man, This Must Be The Place, Contagion, Steel Town and Mitch Albom's T.V. movie Have a Little Faith.
July, 2011
Lily Prentice
Lily grew up in Traverse City, MI, and is currently an apprentice at the Purple Rose. She earned her B.A. in Visual Arts and English from Bowdoin College in 2010, after graduating as a Visual Arts major from Interlochen Arts Academy. While at Bowdoin she studied abroad for a semester as a Performance Costume major at the Edinburgh College of Art, and interned in the costume shop at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and with the Guildford Shakespeare Company in Surrey during the summer of 2009. Her costume design credits include The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Cloud 9, Rhinoceros, and 365 Days/Plays at Bowdoin College, as well as assistant costume design of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and full design of Macbeth at Interlochen Center for the Arts. From September-December 2010, Lily was a resident at the Quimby Colony in Portland, ME, where she was funded to pursue costume-related art projects. Lily is so grateful for the education she has gained at the Purple Rose, and the warmth of the people here. She plans to pursue her love of costumes during an internship in the costume shop at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, starting in September 2011.
June, 2011
Sally L. Converse-Doucette
Sally debuted with the Purple Rose team as a costume designer for Bleeding Red in the spring of 2009. Since then, she has designed costumes for Escanaba, Our Town, Best of Friends and now, Consider the Oyster. She has also worked in costumes for such distinguished organizations as Santa Fe Opera, NYC’s Costume Collection and England’s Royal Shakespeare Company. In addition to costume design, Sally has designed sets for Tipping Point Theatre, The Encore Musical Theatre, Williamston Theatre, Ann Arbor Comic Opera Guild, Eastern Michigan University, and President Bill Clinton’s EMU Commencement Speech, among others. Recently, Sally returned to school to work on a master’s degree in dietetics and nutrition. In her spare time, she writes and photographs for books, magazines and web publications. Working with the Purple Rose team has been rewarding and a pleasure.
May, 2011
Aphrodite Nikolovski
Aphrodite is a first generation Macedonian, hailing from the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Cellular & Molecular Biology and English, as well as her master's degree in Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Interestingly, Aphrodite worked as a toxicologist for the State of Michigan and research scientist at Karmanos Cancer Institute, and almost pursued a career in medicine, before she made a slight detour and discovered her passion for acting. Locally, she has performed at Tipping Point Theatre, Performance Network and Meadow Brook Theatre, to name a few. This past fall, Aphrodite portrayed Jaqueline de Severac in Murder On the Nile at Philadelphia's historical Hedgerow Theatre. She was honored at the 2011 Queens World Film Festival with the Best Actor Award for her work in the film festival favorite, The Spirit of Isabel. Aphrodite makes her Purple Rose debut as the dominatrix, also named Isabel, coincidentally, in Some Couples May... Working as a member of this company is the pinnacle of her theatrical career, not just because of the talent and prestige inherent to the venue, but because of the wonderful people that inhabit The Purple Rose Theatre Company.