Bios

 

Kaitlin Rowe played Sonya Wills


Age: 18
Kaitlin has been acting for over 11 years. She began her career at age 7 with On Stage Theater Company (OSTC) performing in numerous musicals and attending theater intensive summer camps. She then went on to study theater in middle school and high school where she starred in many of the productions. Her most memorable roles include: Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, Ms. Hannigan in Annie Jr., Rapunzel in Into the woods, and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is currently a full time student at Northern Arizona University where she is studying business, advertising, and theater.

 

Josh Brennecke played Jason Wills

Josh is an eleventh grade student at Idyllwild Arts Academy focusing on theatre.   Josh has been in various productions at IAA including The Laramie Project, The People vs. B. B. Wolf, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  Josh especially enjoyed playing the role of Frederick in the Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music.  In 2003, Jay was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Award by the Desert Theatre League for his role as Lead Urchin/Turkey Boy in Coachella Valley High School’s production of “Scrooge.”  Other roles include a newsboy in the College of the Desert’s production of “Gypsy,” a lead role in 21st Century’s production of “School House Rock,” a national commercial for ememories.com and as a model for Fisher Price.

                                                 

Larry Gibson played Mr. Kelley

Larry Gibson has been a teacher for 23 years. This is his sixth year at coachella Valley High School teaching history, government, and sociology in the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. He moved to Palm Desert in 1988, and previously taught at Indio and La Quinta High Schools. Larry is a native of Washington State where he graduated from The Evergreen State College and taught in Seattle Public Schools. Before entering teaching, Larry attended Seattle’s Cornish School of Music and worked as a singer and trumpeter in several dance and jazz bands. In high school, Larry was president of the state champion Camas High School Choir and recorded a gospel ablbum with the famed Jester Hairston. Larry performed in productions of Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, The Mikado, and played the part of King Pellinore in Camelot. He has appeared in CVHS productions as Bob Cratchit in Scrooge; Wes Wanniker in Footloose; Vince Fontaine in Grease; Jacob in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; the Undertaker Sowerberry and Mr. Bownlow in Oliver; Master of Ceremonies in Salute to the Trooops; and Larry Banks in both Famous and Famous II.

Chris M. King played A.J.

School: Coachella Valley High, Senior Interests: Film making, acting, playing guitar, and screenwriting.

 Chris M King aspires to become a film director and plans on attending Chapman University in the Fall of 2009, enrolling into their Dodge Film Program. King directed his first 45 minute film entitled “Band Posers” his freshman year. Two of his short films were entered in the 2008 Palm Springs Short Film Festival and one of them, “The Boxist Manifesto”, received the Greatest Lasting Impression award. King has also starred in several of Coachella Valley High School’s stage productions including Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and The Grinch in Coachella Valley High School’s annual Christmas Extravaganza. His upcoming projects include another full length feature film and hopefully to reprise his role as A.J. if “Turning Blue” returns for additional episodes. 
 
 

 

Robert Fleck played Counselor Marcone

Robert Fleck-B.S. in Elementary Education, Fourth Grade Teacher, Commandant of California Cadet Corps at Andrew Jackson Elementary School, Assistant Football Coach at Jackson School, Founder’s Room Bartender at the McCallum Theatre of Performing Arts. Congratulations Kim on your screenwriting debut. May it open doors to many wonderful opportunities. Thank you for letting me be a part of the experience.

Sharon Deady:Director

 Sharon Deady- MA in Theatre Arts. Executive member of Desert Theatre League. Playwright, director, artistic director of Redhawks Live! and long time resident of the Coachella Valley. Many thanks to Kim Ussery for this awesome opportunity.

Lane G. Weinman: videographer

I have always had a passion for the movies, both watching and making them.  As a teenager in the late 1970’s I kept my parents Super 8 camera loaded with film and ready to shoot.  Later I took filmmaking classes at Los Angeles City College and at the Barnsdall Art Center in Los Angeles.  As film students, we created many original film projects all around Southern California. We wrote our own scripts, made our own costumes, built our own sets and created our own special effects.

In the years that followed I have had continued to study digital photographic touch-up and conservation, videography, film and sound editing, scripting, and many other aspects of film and video production.

Currently I am a part-time videographer and teach the art of filmmaking to kids and teens through my company YFI Productions.  For more information visit www.yfiamerica.com. 
 

 

Producer-writer: Kim Ussery

I recently received my MFA in Creative Writing at UCR-Palm Desert and I am interested in a career in writing. I have experience with screenwriting and fiction for both children and adults. Nonfiction with scientific and environmental themes is another area that interests me.

I have sixteen years teaching experience in science, English, and math at the secondary level. I believe storytelling is a powerful method of instruction and have written many short stories to teach scientific concepts. I have presented at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)Convention, California Science Teachers Association, and acted as a science trainer for teachers.  email: info@turningbluewebshow.com

 

Stephen Gabriel Torres is currently pursuing his M.F.A at UCR Palm Desert. Stephen continues to write fiction even though he has yet to be published. He’s been out of work since before the writer’s strike but feels that good times are coming.