THE BAD AND THE BETTER
Derek Ahonen (Playwright)
co-founded the award-winning Amoralists Theatre Company in NYC. Mr. Ahonen is the author and original director of the following full-length plays: The Bad and the Better (2012), Like the Fog to the Sun (2012), Pink Knees on Pale Skin (2011), Happy in the Poorhouse (2010), The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side (2010), Amerissiah (2010), Pokin' the Bears in a Zoo (2008), Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter (2008), and While Chasing the Fantastic (2007). Mr. Ahonen is also a guest director at his alma mater, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC, where he has directed the post-graduate company's productions of No Exit (2011) and Escape From Happiness (2010). His work is regularly named to New York Theatre top ten lists and he has been profiled in The New York Times, The New York Post, The New Yorker, Backstage and Time Out New York, amongst others.
Daniel Aukin (Director)
most recently directed Amy Herzog’s critically lauded 4000 Miles at Lincoln Center. His selected credits include Marius von Mayenburg’s The Ugly One at Soho Rep, Melissa James Gibson’s This at Playwrights Horizons and for Center Theater Group, and Adam Rapp’s Paraffin at Rattlestick. His other credits include Melissa James Gibson’s [sic] (OBIE Award for Direction), Mark Schultz’s Everything Will Be Different, Quincy Long’s The Year of The Baby, Melissa James Gibson’s Suitcase and Brooklyn Bridge, Mac Wellman’s Cat’s-Paw and Maria Irene Fornes’ Molly’s Dream (OBIE Award), all world premieres. He also directed Itamar Moses’ Back Back Back, Elmer Rice’s The Adding Machine and Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. His work has been seen at Center Theater Group, Rattlestick, Lincoln Center, The La Jolla Playhouse, The Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, Manhattan Theater Club, Playwrights Horizons and Woolly Mammoth. From 1998-2006 Daniel was Artistic Director of Soho Rep where he developed, produced and occasionally, directed plays by many of the country’s most iconoclastic playwrights and theater-makers including Richard Maxwell, Adam Bock, The Flying Machine, Anne Washburn, Big Art Group and Young Jean Lee.
The Creative Team
Alfred Schatz (Set Designer)
a Brooklyn-based artist with a fine arts degree from Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. He is the Resident Set Designer and Associate Director of Production with The Amoralists Theatre Company. His theater credits include design work for the critically acclaimed The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, Happy in the Poorhouse, Amerissiah, Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter and Adam Rapp’s re-staging of Ghosts in the Cottonwoods. He most recently designed shows for Wide Eyed Productions staging of The Trojan Women, Camisade Theatre Company’s inaugural production of Samuel Brett Williams’ Derby Day, as well as The Amoralists’ highly successful HotelMotel. As an accomplished painter and draftsman, his artwork is exclusively represented online by the MDH Fine Arts gallery.
Natalie Robin (Lighting Designer)
a NYC-based lighting designer of liveperformance. She is the associate producer and production manager of AMERICANREALNESS, a festival of contemporary performance curated by Ben Pryor; afounding company member of Polybe + Seats; an Associate Artist of Target MarginTheater; and an adjunct faculty member in NYU's Tisch Department ofUndergraduate Drama. Natalie is the winner of the Apollo Lighting 2011 Standing OAward and was chosen as a 2008 Young Designer to Watch by LiveDesign Magazine. In 2009 and 2010, she participated in the Lincoln CenterDirectors Lab and has been a guest artist at Williams, Bard and MuhlenbergColleges. Natalie is a contributing writer to Live Design Magazine and StageDirections. Natalie also tours both domestically and internationally as a lightingsupervisor and production manager for artists including Miguel Gutierrez andTaylor Mac. This spring, Natalie returned to BAM and Williams College and hasmade her design debut at Dallas Theater Center with Next Fall and God of Carnage.BA: Columbia. MFA: NYU/Tisch. www.natalierobinlighting.com
Moria Clinton (Costume Designer)
Phil Carluzzo (Sound Designer)
Judy Merrick (Props Designer)
Judy is thrilled to be on stage with The Amoralists with such an amazing cast and team on all spectrums. Past Amoralists credits include The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, Happy in the Poorhouse, Bring us the Head of Your Daughter, Pokin the Bears in a Zoo, Amerissiah, and HotelMotel as Props Designer and Associate Production Director. PA, scenic artist and props assistant: The Hallway Trilogy, Asuncion, Horse Dreams, Yosemite, Massacre (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre). Assistant Director: Obie award-winning 4000 Miles (Lincoln Center Theater). Award-winning Director: Zombie Girl, Float (EndTimes Productions). Actress: Vignettes for the Apocalypse in Derek Ahonen's "The You Knows Know," Madhouse, Kitchen Scenes with Nightmares and Naked Holidays (EndTimes Productions); Blood Brother Present, Otty and Lullaby (Nosedive); Noah's Arkansas, Trojan Woman, Early Michgan and A Girl Wrote It (Wide Eyed Productions); New York Premiere of Arthur Kopit's Chamber Music (Mortals). Favorite role was Trish in Knuckleball, which appeared in Iowa, New York, San Francisco Fringe (Best of Fringe), and Edinburgh's Fringe, receiving rave reviews. School: USC and AADA. Works and loves all aspects of theatre. Much love to her family for all the love and support.
Jenna Lloyd (Assistant Lighting Designer)
Christopher Metzger (Assistant Costume Designer)
Lisa Kopitsky (Fight Choreographer)
Danica Novgorodoff (Artwork)
Alexis Buatti-Ramos (Graphic Designer)
Sam Shane (Assistant to the Director)
Joanna Tomasz (Assistant to the Director)
The Production Team
the Artistic Director for At Play Productions, Producing Member of The 24 Hour Company, and Producer for The Exchange NYC and Orchard Project. Recent productions include: HotelMotel (The Amoralists, The Gershwin Hotel); Herman Kline’s Midlife Crisis (At Play, Theatre Row); Bring Us the Head of Your Daughter (The Amoralists, P.S. 122); Ghosts in the Cottonwoods (The Amoralists, Theatre 80 St. Mark’s); The Arden Project (Old Vic New Voices, 3LD); You’re Invited (Showcase at the Old Vic Theatre, London); Al’s Business Cards (At Play, Theatre Row); 24 Hour Plays on Broadway (Celebrity Gala at the American Airlines Theatre), Off-Broadway (The Atlantic, Theatre Row), and The 24 Hour Musicals (Joe’s Pub, The Gramercy Theater) for four years running. Kelcie also did a three-year stint as an Associate/Segment Producer on the MTV reality show 16 and Pregnant and freelances in Series Development.
Anthony Francavilla (Producer)a recipient of the GLAAD Award for Best NY Theatre and was recently described by Bloomberg News as an “impresario.” Artistically, his productions have been lauded as “nasty, weird and uncomfortably funny” (Oliver Parker, Time Out New York) and “thoughtful and sensitive” (When Last We Flew, Time Out New York). His producing credits include Oliver Parker (starring John Larroquette and Johanna Day); When Last We Flew (GLAAD Media Award 2011 - Best NY Theater, 4 Stars - Time Out New York); And She Said, He Said, I Said Yes (Joe’s Pub); The Living Newspaper (Joe's Pub, American Repertory Theatre); Erotic Broadway at the Triad (starring Brenda Braxton, Nick Smoke, Jennifer Cody and John Selya); The Importance of Marrying Wells (Best Play, Theatre Web); The Fartiste (Outstanding Musical, Fringe NYC 2006); Semi-Permanent (Outstanding Solo-Show, Fringe NYC 2007); Platforms (Outstanding Choreography, NYMF 2007); and Fell (FringeNYC 2008; 4 Stars, Time Out New York). Anthony is the author of the Off-Broadway Alliance's Economic Impact Report. His professional memberships include the Broadway League (Adjunct Member) and Mensa. He was personally awarded the President’s Award for Academic Excellence by President Clinton and President Bush. Currently Anthony is a Dean’s Fellow in Columbia University’s Theatre Management and Producing MFA Program.
Zachary Laks is a proud partner of Form Theatricals, an innovative consulting firm for the Off and Off Off scene. Zach has held numerous positions at a variety of performing arts organizations around the country, most notably at 59E59 Theaters, the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Center, Santa Fe Opera, and The Goodman Theater. All thanks to Jesse.
Caroline Hendrix (Director of Development & Events)
works full-time in event coordination and communications strategy at the British Consulate New York. Previously, she was Development Associate at The New 42nd Street, where she coordinated strategy and administration of all fundraising activities, helping to bring in $2 million annually for the New 42nd Street projects: The New Victory Theater, New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street theater. Her major focus is on managing special events of a diverse range of sizes and budgets as well as the integration of marketing and social media. She has helped execute special events and coordinate marketing and fundraising strategy for a variety of artistic and nonprofit projects, including The Amoralists Theatre Company, Trickle Up, Trusty Sidekick Theatre Company, Preview of the Arts and When Last We Flew at the 2010 NYC Fringe Festival.
Seena Hodges (Director of Marketing)has worked at Boneau/Bryan-Brown, developing audiences and creating media opportunities for several Broadway shows including: Fences (with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis), The Scottsboro Boys, Anything Goes, High, The People in the Picture and The Book of Mormon. She has also worked at the Theatre Development Fund (TDF)—recruiting not-for-profit organizations, students and other community groups to participate in “New Audiences for New York”—and at the Guthrie Theater. At the Guthrie, Seena created and implemented marketing and audience development initiatives for The Scottsboro Boys as it headed to Broadway and coordinated press activities for God of Carnage and H.M.S. Pinafore. 
She was Marketing Director for the 2010 Fringe NYC show—When Last We Flew by Harrison David Rivers. The show was honored with a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Play in early 2011.
Larry Cobra (Spiritual Advisor)Matthew Pilieci (Spiritual Advisor)
a graduate and company member of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and has been working in theatre and film for the past 13 years. In 2007, Matthew co-founded The Amoralists, a critically acclaimed theatre company and artists collective based in New York City. Recent credits include The Menemonist of Dutches County (The Atlantic Theater Company) and HotelMotel (The Amoralists).
Whitney Dearden (Production Stage Manager)Nick Trotta (Assistant Stage Manager)
Christina Bracco (Assistant Stage Manager)
Amanda Clegg Lyon (Master Electrician)
Nick Kolin, Carly McCollow, Stephanie Palmer, Rob Signom, & Chris Tompkins (Electrics Crew)
Jamie Torres (Wardrobe Supervisor)
David Gibbs (Press Representative - DARR Publicity)
Katie Kopajtic (Assistants to the Producer)
Jenny Soo (Assistants to the Producer)
Ryan Leach (Development & Communications Assistant)
Theresa Speziale & Caroline Cincaruk (Marketing Assistants)
Arshia Panicker, Olga Sergev, Nicole Richards, & Vassilea Terzaki (Production Assistants)