Once Upon a Mattress - 2019
once upon a mattress - cast and crew bios
Alex Aubuchon, Minstrel - Alex is a Junior at Hazen, and has participated in drama since he was in fifth grade. He has been a part of 13-ish shows, including this one (he has lost count). When he has spare time, (which is not a common occurrence) Alex enjoys swimming, baking, reading, singing, listening to music that is louder than it should be, and hanging out with his dogs. Alex would like to thank his best friend Nicole (and Becky :)) for being super supportive and buying him fries, and his sister Meghan, for getting him into theater and helping him to believe in himself.
Bea Avery, Lady - Beatrix has been in Newsies and Big Bad the musical with Hazen. Her favorite character that she has ever played was Buttons/Elmer/Bowery Beauty/Bunsen in Newsies (I think we may have too small a cast...).
Rebekah Cloutier, Lady and Nightingale - Rebekah is a freshman at Hazen. She has been in 7 shows at Hazen Union, such as Newsies and Into the Woods. In her free time, she enjoys writing and playing music, spending time with her friends, and making horrible puns. She would like to thank her mom for getting her into theatre arts in the first place.
Mariana Considine, Winnifred - Mariana Considine is a senior (yikes) at Hazen Union. She has been involved in countless productions with Hazen, most recently in Blithe Spirit for the regional and State one-act competition. She enjoys theater, (duh,) but also spends her time offstage in other creative endeavors. She hopes to attend college in the fall for music composition and theater, and just see where life takes her... She would like to think all the crazy people who helped dream up this show and make her years in high school less miserable. Enjoy the show!
Abby Demers, Princess #12, Lady - Abigail has been acting since she was very young. She has been in a number of shows including Amaryllis in the Music Man, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Brigitta in the Sound Of Music, Miranda in Miranda and many more. She is so excited to be in this show with her friends! Abigail would like to thank her parents for supporting her, Tess Martin for getting her started, And Deanna and Léo for making her believe in herself!
Thanh Bich-Thao Do, Lady - Bich-Thao is a German exchange student. She is 16 and a Senior at Hazen. This is her first year being in Drama and her first show! In her free time she plays piano and soccer. Bich-Thao likes being in Vermont, and likes trying new things: like soccer and theater in America. She’s excited for her first American show, and hopes you enjoy. She’d like to thank people for encouraging her to start drama and hopes you enjoy the show!
Maddie Foster-Pudvah, Queen Aggravain - Is a Senior at Hazen Union School. She’s been in 14 plays and musicals throughout her life, such as a Nun in Sound of Music, Mrs. MacAfee in Bye Bye, Birdie, Doctor in Witness, the doctor’s wife in Blithe Spirit and Lydia in The Princess, and Newsies as many different characters. She enjoys baking, acting and reading. She would like to thank everyone who has been to her performances supporting her.
Deanna Gann, Lady Rowena - Deanna is a junior at Hazen and has been in numerous shows before this. She most recently played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and then played Katherine in Newsies. She would like to thank her family for always supporting her and her dreams. Deanna is super excited to be a part of this production and future productions put on by Hazen Drama Club.
Megan Gifford, Lady Maybelle - Megan Gifford is a 14 year old student that is currently in the 9th grade and has been in 8 shows. Megan loves working with plants and animals, usually spending time grooming both of those things, while occasionally baking some desserts for her fellow classmates. She’d like to thank her mom for always picking her up and dealing with her when she’s grumpy. Megan would also like to thank her friends for always supporting her through the show and hope they will be at the performance.
Olie Grant, Jester - Olie grant is a junior at Hazen Union. They’ve been performing with Hazen for many years, and they are very glad you get to watch their first solo!
Kaitlyn Kaiser, Lady Larken - KK is a senior at Hazen union. Her favorite roles from past shows have been Medda Larken from Newsies and Ms.Petterson from Bye Bye, Birdie. She wishes to major in theater after high school and pursue her love with the arts. KK wants to thank all her castmates for not only being fantastic friends, but a caring family.
Emily Kimball, Lady - Emily Kimball is 14 and lives in Hardwick, Vermont. This is Emily first time performing in a play led by the Hazen Drama Club. She enjoys reading, playing her violin, and playing with her 11 pets. She’d like to thank Atlas, Tofu and Chopstick, Blessing the Chicken, Luna, Mustachio, Leo, Spot and whatever the last one’s name is, for always being there for her. She would not like to thank her cat Dottie because she’s a big poo poo head.
Sophia Kittredge, Lady, Dancer - Sophie is an 8/9th grade homeschooler. She enjoys sleeping, singing in the shower, hanging out with friends and dancing. This is her second musical, her first being Newsies. She would like to thank her mom for driving to all the rehearsals and everyone coming to the shows! She hopes you enjoy!
Abe Leveillee, Sir Studley - Abe is an 8th grader at Hazen this year. He's been in 4 Hazen shows and is very excited for this one. In his free time he enjoys playing guitar and procrastination and he hopes you enjoy the show.
Leo McMurtrie, Prince Dauntless - Leo’s a Junior at Hazen Union and is pretty much ready to graduate. He has now been in over 10 shows with Hazen and plans to do more. He was Crutchie in Newsies and Charles in Blithe Spirit, but after a handful of serious roles it's always nice to be in a comedic one again. He’d like to thank everyone for coming to see the performance and for also reading these words right now and hopes you have a great day
Elias Robertson, Wizard - Elias is a freshman at Hazen. In his free time he enjoys singing, and making inappropriate jokes. His first drama club show was Wizard of Oz in 2015, where he played a flying monkey. Nothing has changed since then. He was Finch in Newsies, which was his personal favorite show. He was also in the Sound of Music, Bye Bye, Birdie, The Princess, and Complaint Department to name a few. He would like to thank Audrey for writing his bio, with his supervision of course, and his dad for being super cool (love u Phil). He hopes you enjoy the show!
Jenna Thomas, Lady - Jenna is a seventh grader at Hazen Union. This is her first show with the Drama Club. She can be found sleeping, listening to music, and listening to music while sleeping. She enjoys learning, is indifferent to cats and dogs, and wants to be an armadillo. She hopes you enjoy the one song she’s in, she worked very hard at it.
Lucas Whitaker, King Sextimus - Lucas Whitaker is a 15 year old sophomore who is excited to be working with the Hazen Union Drama club this year. He enjoys music and theatre in and outside of school and hopes to go to school for it after graduating. He would like to thank Audrey grant for existing as well as Leo McMurtrie for (horribly) teaching him the cotton eyed joe. A huge thanks goes out to Baby Kata for being a huge inspiration and a wonderful role model with his hit single, 'peepeepoopoo'. As a closing statement he'd like to add that elementary is pronounced 'ele-men-tree' and not 'ele-men-tare-ee' despite what most Vermonters insist.
Ryker Willett, Sir Harry - Ryker is a Sophomore at Hazen Union High School. This is his second production performing with the Hazen Drama Club. Ryker is also an active member of Hazen's varsity soccer team, and JV basketball team. In his free time, he likes to hang out with his friends, play guitar, playing his trumpet, and playing two sports that he adores. in the future, Ryker is hoping to go to college for music or sports. He hopes to attend either UMass because of their amazing music program, or UNC because of the basketball team.
Crew and Artistic Team
Talan Bryant, Music Director - has been the choral director at Hazen Union for the past six years also teaching guitar, piano, and middle school general music courses. When not conducting Hazen’s Choirs or teaching a seminar on music theory, Mr. Bryant can be found gardening, working in his woodshop, and jamming on his guitar.
Marc Considine, Artistic Director - Mild mannered science teacher by day, director by night. After getting involved in theater by breaking his leg in high school, he has been a part of theater groups around the country for thirty years. Since 1999 he has led, directed, and written for the Hazen Drama club. He also likes to spend his time with his family and outdoors, ideally at the same time. His favorite shows are the ones he gets to do with his family.
Madelyn Emers, Makeup Artist - Madelyn graduated from Hazen in 2017, having performed as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music in 2016 and many more. She is happy to be back helping Hazen Drama with makeup for this show which is a nice change of pace from adulting.
Maya Fliegelman, Stage Manager - Maya is a 9th grader at Hazen. In their free time, they love listening to music and crocheting. Maya has been a part of seven shows at Hazen including Into the Woods and Newsies, and they want to continue doing tech theater after graduation. They would like to thank their family for always driving them to rehearsals, especially when they don't end until 8:00 at night. And, most importantly, Maya would like to thank their cat Macaroni and Cheese for being soft and fluffy, and always being there for cuddles.
Bruce Fortmann, Drummer - Bruce is a sophomore at Hazen. He has been playing drums for 10 years, and this is his third show playing for the Drama Club. He enjoys playing the bass, playing soccer and running in track. He’d like to become a pilot someday, and he hopes to see you in the skies. He’d like to thank Mark Violette for being his sidekick and being such a great musician and playing partner.
Audrey Grant, Production Manager - Audrey is glad to be in her senior year at Hazen Union. While every day is one closer to leaving, she loves the family she’s been a part of here. Looking back, it’s been a long time since her 5th grade year when she played a bunny in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 2012, or “stage managed” Wizard of Oz in 2015. While every show is different, she’s proud of Blithe Spirit, Newsies and Bye Bye, Birdie, as those were her favorites of the 22 she’s been a part of. She’s also worked for Vermont Vaudeville in the past three years, and many other things. She’d truly like to thank her techies this year for being patient, the cast for being fabulous, and anyone whose come to support the Hazen Drama Club.
Xavier Hart-Marion, Backstage Tech - Xavier is excited to be doing tech for Once Upon A Mattress. He’s been in Sense and Sensibility, Bye, Bye, Birdie, and Newsies. This is his first time backstage for a show, and has enjoyed the learning process.
Tess Martin, Costumer - As always, it's such a pleasure to be a part of this club and contribute to the stage magic that is created. These opportunities allow me to be the best kind of stage mom, or not. They will always let me know! :)
Brandy Ofciarcik-Perez, Choreographer - Brandy has been teaching dance for over 25 years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in dance from Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been a member of the Vermont Dance Collective, taught at Johnson State College, and has collaborated with many local choreographers, teachers, and dance studios all over Vermont. Brandy currently teaches dance at Ballet Wolcott, directs their Youth Company, and creates original choreography for performances, community events, and ballets.
Calvin Robertson, Spotlight Operator - Calvin has been doing spotlight work and tech work with Hazen for the past 3 years, and this marks his last year at Hazen and in turn, his last year working with this crew.
Bailey Shepard, Spotlight Operator - Bailey Shepard is in 9th grade. He has been in 8 shows and this is his second show as a techie. some of bailey hobbies are riding bikes and playing his trombone. Bailey is in a lot of clubs and organizations he is in so many it usually turns out to half an hour later. Bailey loves to eat pizza and drink Mountain dew.
Nicole Thomas, Backstage Tech - Nicole is a 15 year old in 10th grade at Hazen. This is the second show she has done tech for, the first was Little Women in middle school. She would like to thank her whole family for supporting her.
Mark Violette, Accompanist - Mark Violette has been the accompanist for Hazen for four months now, first starting with the Drama Club in 2016’s The Sound of Music. He also plays the piano for Hazen’s Chorus, and has sung with the choir last year.