Step behind the curtain and meet the talented individuals who brought the world of Blind Fury to life. Get to know the cast and crew who have made this musical a reality.
Playwright
Kirsten Brandt
Book & Lyrics
Kirsten Brandt is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose practice embraces inquiries into gender, technology, climate justice, and politics. An award-winning theatrical director, playwright, and artistic leader with over 25 years of experience, her passion lies in igniting the imagination of audiences through visceral storytelling and visual poetry to encourage dialogue and ethical engagement. She specializes in Experimental Theater, devised and ensemble-created events, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Musical Theatre, and the intersection of live performance and digital media. Her areas of research include: Frankenstein and Mary Shelley, Beowulf, Norse Mythology, and Greek Mythology.
Brandt served as Associate Artistic Director of San Jose Repertory Theatre where she directed Rabbit Hole, Groundswell, The Big Meal, Legacy of Light, Splitting Infinity, Doctor Faustus, and Next Fall among others. Additionally, she was the casting director, literary manager, and mentor for the Emerging Artists Lab. She has directed for The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Arizona Theatre Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Marin Theatre Company, San Diego Repertory, City Lights Theatre, African-American Shakespeare Company, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, The Jewel Theater, North Coast Repertory, Diversionary Theatre, Show & Tale Productions (Canada), Playwrights Project, and Sierra Rep. She has directed readings and workshops for NYU (Strasberg Studio), New Dramatists, San Francisco Playhouse, New Fortune Theater, Mo’olelo Theatre, and ASK Theatre Projects.
As a playwright, her plays/musicals have been produced at City Lights Theatre Company, Sledgehammer Theater, Unbound Productions (Wicked Lit), The Old Globe, Southwestern College, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). Her rock musical The Snow Queen (co-authored with Rick Lombardo and Haddon Kime) originally premiered at San Jose Rep and continues to be produced nationally and internationally (available through Broadway Licensing). Her telematic play The Thinning Veil received its premiere at UC Santa Cruz.
As an educator, Brandt has taught or directed for San Jose State University (Associate Chair, Artistic Director of Theatre), UC Santa Cruz (continuing lecturer), UC Davis (Granada Artist-in-Residence), UC San Diego, and American Conservatory Theatre’s MFA Program. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Executive Director of the Nevada Conservatory Theatre. She has taught courses in Directing, Playwriting, Acting, Experimental Theatre, Voice and Movement, Women in Theatre, Musical Theatre, Theatre History, Walt Disney, and Shakespeare. She is currently exploring the intersection of virtual reality spaces and live performance.
She received her BA in Theatre from UC San Diego where she took part in the Education Abroad Program in Birmingham, England. Her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College focuses on gender in performance, performative technologies, and environmental justice. She is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and The Dramatists Guild of America. She is on the Board of the National Theatre Conference. Ms. Brandt served as an Instigator with the Bay Area Women’s Theater Festival and on the Theatre Bay Area Gender Parity Committee. She is a Consent-Forward Artist (IDC), a Public Voices Fellow with the Op-Ed Project, and an Extramural Affiliate at The Center for Monster Studies.
Visit Kirsten’s website at https://www.kirstenbrandt.com
David Kautz
Music
David Kautz, a graduate from SJSU (BA Music) has written the musicals: Have Faith, The Bojiff Dodang Show, How to Succeed at Failing by Really Trying, Primordial Dew, and Breaking Convention. Credits: Roger (Rent, Ohlone), Angel (Kinky Boots, City Lights Theatre), Mark Anthony (A Chorus Line, West Valley Light Opera), LeFou (Beauty and the Beast, Starstruck), Willard (Footloose, Starstruck), Tommy Dijilas (Music Man, Lyric Theatre), Ozzie (On the Town, South Bay Musical Theatre), Accompanist (Tick Tick…Boom!, Ohlone College). He has an actor/writer credit for Parrhesia 2021 on IMDB.
Piano/Accordion videos at Portfolio website: https://www.davidkautz.com
Kevin Prasad
Additional Music & Lyrics
Coming soon!
Production Team
Fred Alim
Scenic Designer
Fred has worked in live theatre, the motion picture industry, on national road tours, and the music video industry. Fred has worked with many artists such as Janet and Michael Jackson, Leonard Bernstein and Barbara Streisand, among others, as well as for the Oscars, Grammy Awards and MTV. He produced the Gala Opening of the Smith Center, at Ohlone College, designs and produces a variety of productions/ events at the college and other venues. Most recently – Hairspray, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Jesus Christ Superstar, Proof, Phantom of the Opera, Animal Farm, RENT & other stuff. Fred is also a composer/writer/musician developing a variety of music/ theatre/ fashion/ art events. Coming soon to a theatre near you!
Ramonia Collins-Polk
Costume Assistant & Hair Stylist
Ramona is happy to be assisting Lisa Danz in this year’s production. Ramona is a former graduate of Ohlone College. She majored in Entertainment Design and Technology: Costuming. Ramona has assisted Costuming in several shows at Ohlone, such as Animal Farm, Spectramotion, Rent, Frankenstein, Summerfest shows, and more. Since graduating from Ohlone, Ramona has had the privilege to work with Lisa Danz as Costume Assistant. Ramona is also a licensed Cosmetologist, and she loves all things hair, fashion, makeup, and costuming. She is so grateful to have been taught by some great professors, such as Matt O’Donnell and Fred Alim here at Ohlone College.
Liza Danz
Costume Designer
Lisa is happy to be part of the Ohlone College Theater and Dance department. She has been costuming shows in the Bay Area for the past 15 years. Ohlone’s credits include Animal Farm, Frankenstein, The Government Inspector, Rent, Grease and the spring dance shows. She is grateful to her team and to her assistants. Enjoy the show!
Diana Contreras Fernandez
Props Coordinator & Deck Manager
Diana Contreras Fernandez is ecstatic to be working on Blind Fury! Past works include sound assistant on shows like Little Shop of Horrors and Grease, microphone mixing technician on Alice by Heart, and lightboard operator on Shakespeare in Love and The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. She’s been involved in theatre for almost 7 years and can’t wait to see what else the future holds for her in theatre and live shows!
Paige Hutchinson
Stage Manager
Paige is excited to be stage managing a show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! They have previously performed in the Festival with Milpitas High School as an actor in the original devised work 5 Stages in 2019, and they’re so happy to be back in Edinburgh with another show. They have stage managed several shows with Ohlone College prior to this one, including Shakespeare in Love and The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon.
Melanie Muñoz
Choreographer
Melanie Muñoz is currently a student at Ohlone College. She is excited to tell this story with some of her closest friends. She was most recently on stage as Alice in Alice by Heart and Olive Ostrovsky in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She is so grateful for this opportunity. Life is beautiful and everything works out always!
Matthew O’Donnell
Lighting Designer & Technical Director
Matthew O’ Donnell is an associate professor and coordinator of the Entertainment Design Technology program here at Ohlone College and is excited that you have joined us to see this innovative original production of Blind Fury. Matt’s recent lighting design credits include this past Summerfest’s Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, Frankenstein, RENT, Rock of Ages, Animal Farm, Eugenie Chan’s The Reluctant Vampire, The Phantom of the Opera, Wendy and Peter Pan, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd and the award-winning production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Spring Dance designs include Spectremotion, From the Page to the Stage, The Box and Disconnected. He has also designed for several companies in Los Angeles, winning Dramalogue and Garland awards as well as an Ovation Award nomination. While in LA, Matt was a touring lighting designer both in the U.S. and internationally with The Chick Corea Elektric Band, Herbie Hancock, and Isaac Hayes. Matt received his BA from SJSU and an MFA from the University of Washington School of Drama.
Michael Navarra
Director
Michael Navarra has worked as a SAG-AFTRA/AEA actor in both theatre and film. He played leading roles with TheatreWorks, San Jose Stage Company, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Word for Word, B Street Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Pacific Repertory Theatre, Sierra Repertory Theatre, Central Works, Oakland Theater Project (formerly Ubuntu Theater Project), AlterTheater, and the Teatro di Cestello in Florence, Italy, among others. His feature film credits include Being Us (opposite Alanna Ubach), Quitters (with Saffron Burrows), and White Tiger Legend. He has worked as a voice and motion capture actor on the video games The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, BioShock Infinite, and Mafia 3. Michael has also worked as a film and theatre producer, director, and casting director. Producing credits include: Being Us, a feature film, which received distribution through Gravitas Ventures; the pilot episode for Finding The One, which he wrote and directed; the documentary Resurrecting Love, with author China Galland and actor/producer Nate Parker; Savasana, a short film which was seen at festivals all over the world; Sam Shepard’s play Fool for Love, in Seattle, Washington; and he is the founder and producing director of the Ohlone College Playwrights Festival. As a director, Michael directed the production of Dog Sees God, which was a regional finalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, the professional regional premiere of Bonnie & Clyde: A New Musical at San Jose Stage Company, Jesus Christ Superstar, where he received a Meritorious Achievement Award in Direction from Kennedy Center ACTF, and world premieres by Jeffrey Lo and Eugenie Chan, among others. Michael holds a BA in Drama from UC Irvine, an MFA in Acting from the University of Washington, and studied many years with actor/director Cliff Osmond in Los Angeles. He has taught at the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, San Francisco Acting Academy at Beau Bonneau Casting, Napa Valley College, Pacific Union College, University of Washington, Zhejiang Academy of Art (China), Liaoning Normal University (China), Dalian Art College (China), and is the Director of Theatre and Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at Ohlone College. For more information, please visit: http://www.michaelnavarra.com
Mikala Slotnick
Assistant Director
Mikala is excited to be back at her alma mater. She currently goes to UC Davis studying sociology, psychology and biology. Her previous credits include ASM for Yellowface (Shotgun Players), Stage Manager for Doomers (BCTR) and Helena from River Bride (Chanticleers Theatre).
Bella Drew Starkey
Costume Coordinator & Deck Crew
BellaDrew is thrilled to be a part of this year’s Fringe Festival. This is their first time out of the country and is so exciting to see all of the beauty Scotland has to offer. Some previous favorite roles are Yogg in Ill Met by Cave Light. Leaf Davis in Black Skull, Miss. Lynch in Grease and The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz. BellaDrew would like to thank their wonderful teachers Michael Navarra Smith and Mathew O’Donnell for making this once in a lifetime opportunity come true.
Chava Suarez
Arranger/Orchestrator/Music Director
Chava Suarez is very excited to be playing a part in the creation of this project. They have worked with Ohlone College many times, playing Will Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Danny Zuko in Grease, Hlestakov in Government Inspector, and Victor Frankenstein in Nick Dear’s Frankenstein. They have also assisted in Vocal Directing a production of Octet performed for their advanced acting class and directed Alice by Heart. They hope you enjoy and love Blind Fury with all of your heart.
Shuyi Wang
Assistant Stage Manager
Shuyi Wang is delighted to be the assistant stage manager for Blind Fury. This isn’t the first show that they’ve done abroad but definitely the first musical which they find super exciting. Recent credits include assistant stage managing Shakespeare in Love + The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, stage managing Chimera + Moana, and lighting designing The Proposal + Black Skull in the 2025 Ohlone College Playwrights Festival. They’ve been involved in theatre for almost 15 years now and they’re excited to see what else theatre has in store for them in the future!
Cast
Angel Castro
Lebowski, dormouse
Cassidy Chase
Flora
Jack Dellandre
Mercury, Hatter
Ray Ann Fuentes
Thorns & Jabberwocky
Blind Fury 