KRISTEN BROWN - Soprano - The Mayor

Texas native Kristen Brown is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she received her Master’s in Vocal Performance. Favorite credits include Magda Sorel in The Consul with Cinnabar Opera, and the title role in Carmen. A winner of the East Bay Opera League Competition and the Pacific Musical Society Competition, Kristen’s recent recital engagements included the World Premiere of David Garner’s Mots d’Heures: Gousses, Rames, as well as The Vagina Monologues at San Francisco Conservatory.

ROBERT J. COWAN - Bass-Baritone - The Butcher

Robert J. Cowan, bass-baritone, is a Master's student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Originally hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, he has performed opera and musical theatre across the west coast including roles as Lord Tolloller (Iolanthe), Jud (Oklahoma), and The Cat in the Hat (Seussical, the Musical). As a soloist, Robert has performed in locales from the Catholic Cathedral of Spokane, WA (Haydn's Theresienmesse) to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (Masses of di Lassus, Victoria, and Hassler). Robert is also a director of liturgical music, educator, pianist, writer, and, in an ironic twist for this production, a vegetarian.

ROSS HALPER - Tenor - The Hairdresser

Having recently made his debut with Los Angeles Opera as Kromov in The Merry Widow, versatile tenor/actor Ross Halper has been called “Opera’s mad genius” by conductor Kent Nagano, “Opera’s man for all seasons” by famed heldentenor Jess Thomas and “Our modern Schikaneder” by the great lyric tenor Leopold Simoneau. With a repertoire of 200 roles, he has sung under solo contracts with San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Long Beach Opera, San Jose Opera, Carmel Bach Festival, Eugene Opera, Festival Opera, Sacramento Opera, Berkeley Symphony and many, many others. His many opera translations have been conducted by the likes of Kent Nagano (a frequent collaborator) and Nicholas McGegan, while his English Magic Flute has been sung around the nation. Ross’ first opera libretto, The Hot Iron, based upon a play by the historical minnesinger Hans Sachs, was premiered at Cinnabar Opera, with music by Michael Kimbell. Besides serving 15 years as director in residence at North Bay Opera in Fairfield Calif., he has served as stage director with Eugene Opera, Opera Idaho and just returned from directing Don Giovanni at Pacific Repertoire Opera in San Luis Obispo. Ross has also trained singers at UC Berkeley, at San Francisco’s Basoti summer opera program, Calpoly Univ. and at Mannes College of Music, N.Y. Recent projects include singing the Scribe in Khovanshchina with Kent Nagano, directing Abduction, Hansel, Dido and translating Mozart’s Abduction (Lyric Opera Cleveland) and Oscar Straus’ Merry Nibellings (Dicapo Opera, N.Y.).

NATHAN MARKEN - Baritone - The Animal Seller

Nathaniel Marken is a recent graduate of the SF Conservatory of Music (M.M.), where he performed the opera and music theatre roles Ben in Menotti's The Telephone, Snug in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as well as Cinderella's Prince (Into the Woods), Dickon (The Secret Garden), and Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls).  Nathaniel hails from the Midwest where he completed his voice degree at Illinois Wesleyan University, performing the roles of Uberto in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona and Dr. Falke in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. This Fall, he will join the cast of Insignificant Others at Pier 39. He thanks his loving family and fabulous friends for their motivating support.

KINDRA SCHARICH - Alto - The Grocer

Mezzo-Soprano Kindra Scharich has been praised for her warm voice and expressive singing. Ms. Scharich’s performing experiences include roles such as Rosina , Hansel, Dorabella, Cherubino and Perichole.  She will be singing her first Mercedes in West Bay Opera’s Carmen this fall.  Oratorio experience includes the alto solos in Handel’s Messiah and the great choral works of J.S. Bach.  Kindra received her training at the Eastman School, University of Michigan and San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is currently a singer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

RAIÑA SIMONS - Soprano - The Saint and the Cat

Raiña Simons received her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has delighted Bay Area residents most notably in her roles as Cio Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, La Bergère, La pastourelle and  La chauve-souris in Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges, ’Five Year Old in Milton Grangers’ modern opera, The Proposal, Adina in Donizetti`s L`Elixir d`Amor, and Doralice in Scarlatti's Il triumfo del honore. An alumnus of the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, Ms. Simons was cast in the role of Madame Ledoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, and has performed in master classes, supporting roles, scene programs and ensembles with Opera Academy of California, Berkeley Opera, Oakland Opera Company, The Singer’s Gym and The Lamplighters. She currently coaches with noted linguist, Marcie Stapp, and continues her vocal studies with San Francisco Opera’s Merola program director, Sheri Greenewald

KIMARIE TORRE - Soprano - The Fortune Teller

Ms. Torre has captivated audiences as the leading lady of numerous operas including La Traviata, La Bohème, Pagliacci, Faust, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Don Pasquale, Don Giovanni, and Le Nozze di Figaro with many companies such as Opera San José, Eugene Opera, SF Lyric Opera, West Bay Opera, Pacific Repertory Opera, North Bay Opera, and on tour throughout Europe. She has garnered many prizes by the Orlando Opera Rehfuss Competition, NATS, East Bay Opera League, and Marin Symphony, to name a few. She served as advisor on Oakland Mayor Dellums' Arts Advisory Task Force and currently serves on the BOD for Oakland Opera.

BOLA ORIGUNWA - O'stella

I am 10 years old and in the sixth grade. I have experience with the Oakland Opera in Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie. In May 2008, we had eleven shows. About six months ago I did story telling with a little bit of acting in it. I did it with my father Obafemi Origunwa and two of my brothers. We also did Nigerian plays every month of the school year from the time I was in kindergarten to the time I was nine in my dad’s after school program. When I was about 3-5 years of age, my dad played in drum circles at the Berkley Flea Market and I would always wear a traditional lapa(skirt) and dance for hours. Yomi, the male child/mime in the play, is also my real-life little brother.

YOMI ORIGUNWA - O'stello

I am eight years old.  I am in the 4th grade and I live with my mom, two brothers and two sisters. I am the middle child so that is five children in all.  I play soccer for the Oakland Bay Oaks soccer team.    I received a trophy in soccer.  My favorite subjects in school are math and science and my favorite hobby is soccer.    I LOVE sports because they are fun and I don’t get fat and I burn calories.  I have also been in lots of other plays and one of them is Agapa and the three children.  I have done a martial art called “capoeira" and I received a green belt at my annual baticado.  I have also done some plays in my dad's after school program at my first school called “ EBCC”  that is short for East Bay Conservation Corps Charter school.

KRISTA WIGLE - Soprano - The Businessman

Krista Wigle is known on the West Coast as an accomplished Lyric Coloratura with a sweet, warm and flexible sound that can express a wide range of emotions. Most recently, she has performed the roles of: Blonde in The Abduction from the Seraglio with Sonoma City Opera, Musetta in La Bohème with Livermore Valley Opera, and Jenny in The ThreePenny Opera with The Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra. Other roles include: The First Lady in The Magic Flute with Pocket Opera, Clorinda in La Cenerentola with San Francisco Lyric Opera, The First Lay Sister in Suor Angelica with Opera Santa Barbara,  both Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Adina in The Elixir of Love with The San Francisco Opera Guild, Atalanta in Serse with  B.A.S.O.T.I., Adele in Die Fledermaus with Berkeley Opera, Frasquita in Carmen with West Bay Opera, and Carlotta in San Francisco’s production of The Phantom of the Opera. Upcoming roles include: Musetta in La Bohème with The San Francisco Opera Guild, and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Rogue Opera.

JON ARNESON - Oboe

Jon Arneson, oboist, began his studies in Los Angeles with Frank Desby continuing with Adrian Gnam at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  He played two seasons with the Colorado Philharmonic, seven seasons with the Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela, appearing as soloist with both orchestras, and in recital in San Francisco, Cincinnati, Maracaibo and Caracas.  In the Bay Area he has performed with the Baroque Arts Ensemble, West Marin Music Festival, Pocket Opera, Oakland Opera, San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, Noontime Concerts, Berkeley Opera, Lamplighters, and the Golden Gate Park Band.  Also a tenor, Jon has sung with the Berkeley Chamber Singers, the Baroque Arts Ensemble, in several Bay Area churches, and in recital in San Francisco.

SKYE ATMAN - Piano

Skye Atman performs regularly as a pianist with many leading Bay Area soloists and ensembles and is a highly regarded vocal coach and accompanist.  She is a versatile musician who enjoys working with theatrical companies such as Berkeley Repertory Theater, North Bay and Berkeley Operas, the Mendocino Music Festival, and the Marin Theater.  For the past 8 years, she has served as Assistant Music Director, accompanist, and coach at Oakland Opera Theater. Skye completed her graduate studies in accompanying with Jean Barr at the University of Southern California and worked as a free-lance musician in Los Angeles and London before moving to Berkeley in the ‘90s.

KARRA DUCHI - Cello

Karra began her cello studies at the age of 11 and gained acceptance to the San Francisco Conservatory and the San Francisco School of the Arts 3 years later. Ms. Duchi is a graduate of the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts and has degrees in cello performance from San Francisco State University, Brandeis University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigne. She is currently a student of Irene Sharp. Ms. Duchi's performances have taken her to several countries and many of the finest concert halls in the world. She served as an American representative to the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, a group dedicated to promoting world peace, for the 1998-99 season and toured Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Germany and Luxemburg. She currently teaches and freelances in the San Francisco bay area.

HALL GOFF - Trombone

Trombonist Hall Goff received his BA from Oberlin College and MM from the Yale University School of Music, where his principal teacher was John Swallow.  Other teachers include Tom Cramer, Douglas Edelman, Tyrone Breuninger, and Ned Meredith.  Hall has been a member of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra since 1977, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players since 1979, and the Paradigm Brass since 2002.  Hall has performed locally with orchestras in Santa Rosa, Monterey, Oakland, Napa, Marin, the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera, nationally with the Eastern Brass Quintet, the Wall Street Brass Quintet, Paul Lavalle‚s Band Of America,  the New York City Ballet, and internationally at the Spoleto Festival and the Macerata Opera of Italy.  Raising his bell in the popular realm, Hall has performed with the likes of Frank Zappa, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Hope, Nelson Riddle, Diane Carroll, Linda Ronstadt, Vic Damone, John Pizzarelli, and The Manhattan Transfer.  Enjoys Italy and things Italian, collecting records, making noise, chamber music for fun, and spending time with family.

ERIKA JOHNSON - Percussion

Erika Johnson began studying percussion in her hometown of Olympia, Washington. Ms. Johnson has received a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from Indiana University-Bloomington and a Master of Music in percussion from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has held the position of Principal Timpani in the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra and has played for numerous professional ensembles. Ms. Johnson was a concerto competition winner performing Deja vu by Michael Colgrass on timpani with the Indiana University Concert Orchestra. She was also a Founder's Day Honors Scholar from 1994 to 1998 and has received such awards as the Indiana University Percussion Ensemble award, the Jorge Estebanez Scholarship, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music Departmental Awards for Percussion and the New Music Ensemble. Her teachers have included Gerald Carlyss (Philadelphia Orchestra) and Jack Van Geem (San Francisco Symphony). Currently, Ms. Johnson freelances in the Bay Area and enjoys arranging popular music for percussion.

ANGIE SPINELLI - Keyboard

Angie Spinelli, a recent transplant to the San Francisco Bay Area, is a classically-trained pianist with experience in a wide variety of styles, including jazz, Latin, R&B, hip-hop and funk.  She performs with various singers and ensembles around the bay area, as well as actively free-lancing as a solo pianist.  She plays weekly at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, and has appeared at such venues as Anna's Jazz Island in Berkeley and the Top Of The Mark Hopkins Hotel.   A native of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Angie studied classical piano performance at the University of Wisconsin, where she received a full music scholarship and was a two-time winner of the Beethoven  Competition as well as the UW Concerto Competition.   She has performed throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona before moving to Oakland in 2007.

MICHAEL MOHAMMED - Stage Director

Winner of the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for his direction of Wilde Boys (New Conservatory Theater), Mohammed’s recent directing credits also include X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (Oakland Opera Theater), I Pagliacci (Cinnabar Theater), and Group Therapy (Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco). He is on staff with San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Opera and Musical Theatre Department and holds degrees from Columbia University (B.A.) and San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M.) Mohammed’s recent directing credits include Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie (Oakland Opera Theater), Men in Uniform (world premiere, New Conservatory Theater), and The Emperor’s New Clothes (world premiere, Ragazzi Boy’s Chorus).

COLE THOMASON-REDUS - Music Director

Music Director and Conductor, Cole Thomason-Redus is an avid performer and educator throughout the bay area. As an educator, Cole is well known and liked at San Francisco's School of the Arts where he has served as an Artist-in-Residence since 2000. During his time there, Cole has instructed singers and instrumentalists in Advanced Placement Theory and serves as Music Director for the school's musical theater program. Some of his notable productions have included Fiddler On the Roof, City of Angels, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As a singer, Cole performs with the local choral ensemble, Schola Cantorum San Francisco. His voice and his own compositions can be heard in their live performances as well as on their sought after recordings. The renown vocal group specializes in sacred choral music throughout the centuries. Last year's season brought them acclaim in performances for the Early Music Society and Cal Performances, among many others. Internationally, Cole has performed in over a dozen countries, both on stage and from the podium. Future international engagements include performances of Dames At Sea at the 2009 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Also a musicologist, Cole works as a Classical Music Analyst for The Music Genome Project at Pandora Media, Inc. (Pandora.com). A fifth generation San Franciscan, Cole holds a degree in Music Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Cole is delighted to know that what ever comes of his career, a small foot note in history will credit him as the former theory teacher of the soon to be famous opera composer, Red Bennett.

GILBERT JOHNSON - Set and Costume Direction

An accomplished designer for stage and film for several decades, Johnson's credits include productions of Arsenic and Old Lace, A Christmas Carol, Gigi, Gizelle, Gypsy, Hamlet, Hedda Gabler, Magic Afternoon, My Fair Lady, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sleuth, Woyzeck, and many others. He holds graduate degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute and San Francisco State University. You can see his work here.

RED BENNETT - Composer / Librettist

Red Bennett is a composer as much as he is a human. As such, life and music are often inseperable, so he is inspired equally by Igor Stravinski, war, love, Steve Reich, bicycling, Tom Waits, paintings, Jello Biafra, fairy tales, Willie Dixon, the city, Johnny Rotten and stuffed dogs. Graduate: Interlochen Academy of the Arts. YoungARTS Award. Honorable Mention, NFAA. Honorable Mention award from the MTNA/California. Red played all kinds of music at The San Francisco School of the Arts (SFSOTA) and The San Francisco Community Music Center (SFCMC) for 3 or 4 years, and punk music in The Painkillers.

SHERRY BOSCHERT - Librettist / Co-producer

A journalist, novelist, and now librettist, Boschert is best known for her non-fiction book, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America (New Society Publishers). Her 17-year career as a medical news reporter for International Medical News Group has been interspersed with independent creative writing projects of all types, ranging from essays and articles in the mainstream press to fiction and poetry on the side. She was drawn to What They Seem by the deep humanity of the story line and the challenge of writing a libretto to appeal to both adults and children. Sherry is also co-producing What They Seem. She is in charge of Public Relations and Marketing.

KRISTA FATKA - Milliner / Costumes

MEG NEWMAN - Co-producer / Costumes

Meg Newman is fortunate to be the life partner of Sherry Boschert, and
chosen family of Noam Szoke and Red Bennett. She is involved in this
project because she was deeply moved by the composition work of Red
Bennett. When she is not producing Opera, she works at the UCSF Positive
Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital taking care of people
living with HIV/AIDS and teaching.

ANN SCHAPIRA - Stage Manager / Props

Ann Schapira was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina and has been in and around theaters for what seems like her entire life. She has a B.A. in theater from Oberlin college, but has been seen onstage only rarely since graduation, performing with the Lesbian/Gay chorus of San Francisco. Ann's professional theater career has mostly consisted of stage management and lighting for various productions in NC, and with LGCSF here in the city.

NOAM SZOKE - Co-producer / Almost Everything Else

Noam loves music, theatre, and his kid, among other things. He is thrilled to be part of the talented group that is creating "What They Seem." He is a freelance techie and teacher. He lives in a sunny San Francisco flat, where he sings, plays scrabble, does all kinds of geeky things, and dabbles in whatever he can, including opera production.