Earlier works: the non-musical Drivers has been seen at NY’s Ensemble Studio Theatre; the musical Pirate Pip was commissioned and performed by the Lake George Opera Company, and a recent ode to technology, iFind You @ Last,
premiered at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz. Byron and songwriting
partner Tom Savoy are currently writing a full-length holiday musical
based on Booth Tarkington’s Beasley’s Christmas Party. Byron
also writes for Albany-area publications about music, food, theater and
books, and has written extensively about technology for national
magazines. As an actor, he has worked for over a decade with the
Troy-based New York State Theatre Institute, creating roles in their
productions of Miracle on 34th Street and A Wonderful Life, touring in A Tale of Cinderella, and acting and/or singing in many others. He has appeared with Syracuse Opera in The Merry Widow and Sunday in the Park with Sondheim, and recently sang in the first performance in a over a century of William Shields’s 18th-century favorite, The Poor Soldier.
He spent several years in an improvisational comedy troupe, and
regularly performs a cabaret revue with longtime partners Tom Savoy and
Malcolm Kogut at venues ranging from folk clubs to resort hotels. Like
every other actor anywhere near New York, he’s been on Law and Order and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
David has directed, among other things, a cabaret for the Republican party, a
ghost story in an historic crematorium and various plays at the oldest
performing arts camp in the country. Some of his favorite recently
directed shows include The Visit, Anton in Show Business, Boston Marriage, Stop/Kiss, Nickel and Dimed, and Proof.
As an actor, he has worked with The New York State Theatre Institute,
Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Seattle Fringe Festival,
Perry-Mansfield New Noises and the Asolo Theatre Festival. David has an
M.F.A. from Florida State University and B.A. from Washington
University in St. Louis. He is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at
Russell Sage College for Women and proud husband to Victoria and father
to Eleanor.
Off-Broadway credits include: Lansky and the Rise of Dorothy Hale (St. Luke's), None of the Above (The Lion), Mother Load (now on National Tour), Wasps in Bed (Beckett Theater), Retzach (59E59), Trolls (Actors Playhouse), Picon Pie (The Lambs Theater), Uncle Jacque's Symphony (SoHo Playhouse), em>Roman Nights (DR-2), Embers (Chelsea Playhouse). Regional: Stones in His
Pockets, Indian Blood (Florida Repertory Theatre), I Got Merman (The Majestic Theater-Dallas TX); Suddenly Hope (Denver Civic Center). Love to his girls.
A twenty-year veteran of the radio broadcasting industry, Martins was a
classical music producer-announcer on WMHT in Schenectady, NY and WFCR
in Amherst, MA, and presented a big bands and jazz program on WMVI in
Mechanicville, NY. He adapted and directed a radio dramatization of
Thomas Berger’s Who Is Teddy Villanova?, recorded as a live
performance for WPKN in Bridgeport, CT. He has designed sound for shows
throughout upstate NY, including work at StageWorks/ Hudson and in
collaboration with David Baecker at Russell Sage College in Troy. A
popular writer of cowboy fiction, he is the author of Death at Double-X Ranch.
Emily is excited to be joining the Fringe this year. She is a proud
graduate of Russell Sage College and holds a dual B.S. in Musical
Theatre and English. Favorite past roles include Estelle in The Full Monty (C-R Productions), Rizzo in Grease (Park Playhouse), Polly Peachum in The Three Penny Opera (RSC), Catherine in Proof (RSC), and Rosalia in West Side Story
(Park Playhouse). Thanks to DB for providing her with endless
opportunities! She would also like to thank Cam, her family, and the
BNB for being her rocks in life.
With a passion for Bach as strong as his passion for Oscar Peterson, Malcolm
Kogut has many published piano and choral books to his credit, as well
as two CDs. He is a winner of the National Association of Pastoral
Musicians Musician-of-the-Year Award. As a keyboard artist, he has
played in the pit for shows with all the major Albany-area theater
groups; he’s also in demand when visiting performers pass through. He
is a piano teacher and vocal coach, and has performed in cabaret
settings with Byron Nilsson since 1986. When away from the keyboard, he
loves exploring the nooks and crannies of the Adirondack mountains.
This Kansas-City based group is known for its tight rhythms and
freewheeling, almost improvisational approach. And it's been a breeding
ground for significant names over the years, including founders Jo
Jones and Buster Smith, Walter Page, Lester Young, and many others.
Significant achievements: Lady Be Good, Shoe-Shine Boy, Boogie-Woogie, and, of course, Evenin', which was characterized by the emotional intensity of James Rushing's work.
Liz is an upstate NY native and recent graduate of
SUNY Potsdam where she just received her Master’s in childhood
education. Prior to her mastery, she received a Bachelor’s Degree in
theatre from Russell Sage College in Troy. When not schooling, Liz
enjoys acting, and most recently originated the role of Ruth Hall in
Transfigured Night, a 2009 nominee for the Kennedy Center Theatre
Festival. Liz’s lifelong dream is to hunt down the Candy Man and take
over his throne, because although he makes the world feel good, Liz
feels as though she can do it better – and with fewer cavities.
