Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard's
The Greater Tuna

Cast

Judy Almy • Pearl Burrus
Shannon Foster • Didi Snavely
Michael Holcombe • Thurston Wheelis
Cornelia Kjaernes • Charlene Bumiller
Rachel Korkoske • Vera Carp
Melodie Mackey • Bertha Bumiller
Cynthia Parkin • Chad Hartford, Ronnie, Judge Buckner
Denise Schanbeck • Petey Fisk
Josh Schmidtlein • Stanley Bumiller
Michael Sharp • Arles Struvie
Danny Sparrell • Elmer Watkins, Leonard Childers
Lisa Sparrell • Harold Dean Lattimer
Jay Stevens • Reverend Spikes, RR Snavely, Hank Bumiller
Gianna Giusti Thornton • Jody Bumiller, Yippy
Adam M. Warwas • Coach Raymond Chassie

Crew

Director • Dawson Moore
Rehearsal Stage Manager • Denise Schanbeck
Poster Design • Ryan Adkins
Program Design • Ryan Adkins
Soundboard Operator • Scott Frank

Cast Biographies

Judy Almy

is a speech pathologist whose last adult acting experience was in Lysistrata, many years ago. Children's radio theatre has since captured her interest, particularly Tundra Blueberries, a series of programs dealing with various language areas. Through this, she has portrayed several characters from a cat obsessed with Nordstrom’s to a paranoid monkey.

Shannon Foster

is the Registrar at PWSCC. This is her first time on stage since junior high, but she has been a big supporter of the Last Frontier Theatre Conference over the past six years.

Michael Holcombe

is coordinator of Adult Basic Education at PWSCC. This is his first time on stage, but he has a passion for the theatre arts, which he proves year after year by volunteering as a behind the scenes facilitator for the Last Frontier Theatre Conference.

Cornelia Kjaernes

is a foreign exchange student from Norway, where she studied drama/theatre, dance, and music at Manglerud Drama High School. Cornelia has been in plays including Grease, Hair, Henrik Ibsen’s A Dollhouse, The Lion King, and others. Here in Valdez, she’s a senior at VHS, where she was co-director for two of the fall plays: The Open Window and The Princess Who Wouldn’t Marry.

Rachel Korkoske

was born into theatre. Her grandfather, Sir Alec McGuiness, nicknamed her “Judy Garland Jr.” when she was only 2 years old. After refusing the role of Juliet (to allow her friend Claire Danes to get a break in the biz), Rachel began her illustrious career in small town theatre. She is an avid collector of beer bottle caps; unfortunately, this hobby has proved an intense struggle due to her lack of interest in drinking beer. It’s from her personal struggles that Rachel draws her inspiration on the stage.

Melodie Mackey

was involved in all sides of theatre production, both in high school, college and her early years of teaching. Tuna is her first production, however, since 1990 - although she considers standing in front of her classes every semester to be "acting.”

Dawson Moore

runs the theatre programs at the college, including the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. He has directed most of the Drama Department’s past productions, including Love and a Wide Moon, Past Perfect, Our Town, The Crucible, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, and Harvey. Find out more about the college’s theatre offerings on their website, www.pwscc.edu.

Cynthia Parkin

has lived in Valdez for four years. She made her stage debut 24 years ago in her high school's production of Bye Bye Birdie. A year later she played Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress. Cynthia dusted off the theatrical cob webs to join in the 2007 PWSCC production of Harvey and she remains an active volunteer with the Valdez Arts Council.

Denise Schanbeck

Over the last two years, has been very involved in the Valdez theatre community. She played Mrs. Chumley in Harvey, Jill in All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, and was stage manager for Love and a Wide Moon. Unfortunately this will be Denise’s last performance for the Valdez theatre community as she will be leaving Valdez this summer.

Josh Schmidtlein

is a senior at VHS, and has been performing and acting in local productions for over eight years. He hopes to continue performing through college, either as an actor on stage, or just as a magician for his friends.

Michael Sharp

was last onstage as E.L. Finkelmeyer, the emcee for the 33rd Annual Valdez Christmas Show, and more formally in 1991 as Tim in a Colorado production of Noises Off!. Michael lives aboard a 36' sailboat with his wife and big fuzzy dog, with whom he sailed from Portland to Valdez in 2006. When he's not sailing, telemark skiing, climbing, kayaking or mountain biking, Michael is a Technology Consultant for small business and nonprofits and is studying haute cuisine plating techniques.

Danny Sparrell

not only plays a radio station manager on stage, but in real life too. Since moving to Valdez he has reverted back to his youthful days of trying to be a thespian, and asks no one to hold it against him. He most recently played Judge Gaffney in PWSCC’s production of Harvey, and he has read in the Play Lab for the Last Frontier Theatre Conference.

Lisa Sparrell’s

This is first appearance on stage since her performances as Joan of Arc’s brother in The Lark and Townswoman #2 in a play written by her theatre professor in the very late 1980s. You may recognize her from her repeat appearances as “ticket taker” for numerous PWSCC productions. Lisa performed as a reader at the 2006 Last Frontier Theatre Conference and had two of her own plays presented in the Play Lab in 2006 and 2007.

Jay Stevens

has been a member of the Valdez theatre community for over three years now. He officially jumped into the world of theatre when, with only a few weeks remaining in the high school production, he stepped in and took the role of the policeman in See How They Run. He has also appeared in productions of The Mouse That Roared, Twelve Angry Men, Fools, Love and a Wide Moon, and The Master Builder.

Gianna Giusti Thornton

(Jody Bumiller, Yippy) is originally from San Francisco, where she studied the art of theatre and dance at Ohlone Jr. College, San Francisco State University, American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), Calaveras Repertory Theatre, The San Francisco Mime Troupe and ComedySportz. Ms. Thornton was recently seen as Hilde Wangel in PWSCC’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder, and had the privilege to perform this past January in the Thirteenth Annual Alaska Overnighters in Anchorage. Some of her favorite performances include I Want to Be a Border; a Night of Yiddish Vaudeville, A Flea in Her Ear, The Vagina Monologues, and Lysistrata. She would like to dedicate her performance to her two dogs, Doc and Nala; they gave her great guidance in preparing for her role.

Adam M. Warwas

has performed in PWSCC's Our Town, Bile in the Afterlife, The Crucible, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, and Harvey. He also has acted and directed in a few one-acts. He most enjoys writing, directing, and considers directing last semester's The Master Builder his greatest theatre experience. Now, we just want you to know that Adam's part in this play tonight is gigantic, and he had to prepare for months... so don't blink.