HIT THE MAT! Cast list and bios

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CAST for "DRAMA CLUB TAG TEAM":
Referee – Captain Zorikh
Hamlet – Sasha Strenger
Guildenstern – Luis-Miguel Torres
Rozencrantz – Mike Zartman
Wallace – Armond Cecere
Man in Black – Michael McCann
Buttercup – Ginger Baker
Questions 1 – Eric Sobel
Questions 2 – Melvin Glover
Mortician – Ginger Baker
Cart – Michael McCann
Customer – Jacqueline Hart
Dead Person – Jenna Hellmuth
Inigo – Michael McCann
Man in Black – Melvin Glover
Vizzini – Everyone
Lichas – Joy Kelly Smith
Hercules – Armond Cecere
Shirt – Jenna Hellmuth
King Arthur – Melvin Glover
Black Knight – Luis-Miguel Torres
Darth Vader – Mike Zartman
Luke Skywalker – John Loobie
Charlie – Sasha Strenger
Terry – Eric Sobel
Costello – John Loobie
Abbot – Joy Kelly Smith
Tybalt – Michael McCann
Mercutio – Luis-Miguel Torres
Romeo – Simon Munoz

CAST BIOS:
Armond Cecere: An adventure junkie whose list of credits include being a member of the NY Jets and wrestling professionally as Kid USA. A SAG member who is primarily a stunt performer, having worked as Mickey Rourke’s double in The Wrestler and 13. On screen he has recently worked on The Brotherhood. Some of his past "normal jobs " have included training llamas for mountain hikes, driving demolition derby cars, and being a bounty hunter. For kicks he enjoys shark fishing and lifting weights in the gym. Contact him at Kidusa11@aol.com

Eric Sobel: I’m honored to be a part of this production. My first acting was starring in Green Acres in a school play in the 4th grade. I worked with Zorikh in his movie Redemption. I always had an interest in wrestling but as a teenager I was consumed with racing street cars and owned a 70 Chevelle Super Sport, 454 with 450 HP. I have trained with Shiro Oishi at the Oishi Judo and Wrestling Club, Eddie Roland in Lodi N.J, at Kioto BJJ in Long Island and Twin Towers Wrestling Club in Manhattan, I also enjoy singing old school rock and roll and freestyle rap.

Ginger Baker is fascinated with different ways of moving and performing. She's studied myriad forms of dance, from ballet to bharata natyam, and has recently gotten involved with partner dancing of various sorts, mainly salsa and tango. Getting into Brazilian jiu jitsu, she's been particularly interested in exploring the similarities between lead-and-follow in dance and the interaction between practitioners in the martial arts. She also performs burlesque – because everything is better with glitter!

Jacqueline Hart: Although she is the youngest member of the Hit the Mat cast, Jacquie makes up for her youth with passion. Since she began stage fighting less than a year ago she has been in several lightsaber performances but this will be her first foray into wrestling. Boasting no formal training in any fighting discipline she has picked up bits and pieces of various styles from different sources. She considers herself to be a bit of a geek and spends her spare time making costumes and writing stories.

Jenna Hellmuth: Jenna just moved to NYC from Orlando, Florida, the land of mice and palm trees, and boy is she happy to leave 80 degree weather for the snow. There she worked in entertainment at Universal studios, and worked on some independent movies. She moved here to pursue a dream to be a stunt woman, and Hit the Mat was right up her alley. She enjoys horror movies, comic books, and nerdy things in general.

Joy Kelly Smith: Actor, director, and storyteller. Has performed on screen on Late Night with David Letterman, several soap operas, and in the 1997 independent film Out of Season|. As a storyteller, has performed in various parks, museums, libraries, and schools in the New York area, The New Jersey Storytelling Festival, The Mohegan Festival, and Story Grove at the Clearwater Festival. She is currently serving on the board of the New York Storytelling Center. On stage, recently performed in Ishuri Ryachu and Due Diligence at Theatre for the New City and Yanagai! Yanagai! at La Mama. Also directs for Theatreworks, USA.

Luis-Miguel Torres: A geek, a gamer, and a martial artist, all into one! I enjoy any outlet for my creative energy; the more hands-on, the better.

Melvin Amin Glover III: Melvin is a 21 year old amateur kickboxer and mixed martial artist from New York City. As a film major, he's acted in and directed several student films, and well as choreographing and performing stunt-work and fight sequences. This is his first theatrical venture.

Michael McCann: A writer, artist, and performer, Michael is nonetheless a functional person! Despite the "limitation" of a liberal arts education, he's managed to keep afloat in New York City while alternating between average blue-collar by day and vigilante artist of mind games at night. He has a love of non-beer alcohols. Despite seeming almost normal to many, one conversation quickly invalidates that, and Ghu save you should he be drunk, tired, on a sugar/caffeine rush, or-saints preserve-all of the above. Then you may be subjected to an hour long illustrated dissertation on creating a monkey-salamander army (no, not an army of monkeys and salamanders, but of one type of animal that... oh nevermind).

Mike Zartman: Born a small shrubbery outside Schenectady. He has also appeared in many Faux-Real Theater Co. productions, including William Shakespeare’s Haunted House with Captain Zorikh and Joy Kelly.

Simon Peter Munoz: Born and bred in The Bronx NY. He is an aspiring professional wrestler training at WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz' School at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn. Simon comes from a gymnastics and multi discipline martial arts background.

Captain Zorikh is a multi-talented entertainment impresario. He has appeared in feature films, documentaries, and shorts, and on both network and cable TV. Theater credits include work with the Faux-Real Theater Co, Gorilla Rep, tours, summer stock, theme parks, and elsewhere as an actor and fight director. He has directed the absurdist comedy short Combat Twister and the Further Battles of Kim Fu Yu and Jenny Rancid and the feature Redemption. He has published his own comic books and produced 5 albums of original songs. He competes in armored swordfighting with the Society for Creative Anachronism and trains and competes in Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Sponsorships are actively being sought. This is a great opportunity for a martial arts or wrestling school, company that produces or sells grappling clothing, sports drinks, mma gear, or a website or TV show that covers the wrestling, grappling, or mma community to reach an enthusiastic, forward-thinking, cutting-edge audience that is ready to try something new. We have a variety of sponsorship options to fit any budget. Contact Captain Zorikh at zorikh@yahoo.com for details.

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