Artists,
Educators & Staff
Fringe Benefits Alliance Board of Directors
Fringe Benefits Alliance Advisory Board
Artists, Educators & Staff
Fringe Benefits is an ever-expanding alliance of artists, educators, parents,
social justice activists and youth. As there are hundreds of Fringe Benefits
allies nation-wide, it would be impossible to list everyone on this website.
Following are images of some of us, along with brief descriptions of the work
we do and have done with Fringe Benefits:
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Norma
Bowles
Founder and Artistic Director
Co-Director: People Who Live in Glass Houses…,
Street Dish & Friendly Fire
Lead Dramaturge and contributing writer: all productions
Editor: Friendly Fire & Cootie
Shots anthologies
Theatre for Social Justice Workshop & Institute Teaching Artist
Co-facilitator: Theatre Think Tank & Skills Sharing Workshop Series
Post-Show Discussion Facilitator: Friendly Fire,
Turn It Around!, Cootie Shots & Clothes Minded? |
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Stephen Allman
Contributing Writer & Dramaturge: Cootie Shots
& Clothes Minded?
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Actor: Cootie Shots & Clothes
Minded?
School Liaison 2001/2002 |
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Donald Amerson
TSJ Workshop & Residency Teaching Artist
Assistant Director, Community Liaison, Discussion Facilitator & Production
Manager: Cootie Shots |
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Christine Anthony
Contributing Writer & Dramaturge: Clothes Minded?
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Actor: Clothes Minded? and Shepard/Till
TSJ Workshop & Institute Teaching Artist |
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Natalya Brusilovsky
TSJ Workshop & Residency Teaching Artist
Co-facilitator: Theatre Think Tank & Skills Sharing Workshop Series |
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Dianne Carlin
Contributing Writer: Turn It Around!, Cootie
Shots & Clothes Minded?
Actor: Turn It Around!, Cootie
Shots & Clothes Minded?
TSJ Workshop & Institute Teaching Artist
Director of Development 2004/2005 |
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Alex Casillas
TSJ Workshop & Residency Teaching Artist |
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Eldon Cline
Contributing Writer: Cootie Shots
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Actor: Cootie Shots
Props designer: Cootie Shots & Clothes
Minded?
Costume designer: Clothes Minded? |
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Sabrina del Real
Business Manager |
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Hope Fitzgerald
TSJ Workshop, Residency & Institute Teaching Artist
Director: Cootie Shots, Westport Country
Playhouse |
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Mandy Freund
TSJ Workshop & Institute Leader
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Sara Monica Guerrero
School and Community Liaison
TSJ Workshop, Residency & Institute Teaching Artist
Co-facilitator: Skills Sharing Workshop Series
Actor: Cootie Shots |
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Michael Gudex
TSJ Workshop & Residency Teaching Artist
Producing Manager 2002/2003
Playwright: A Day of Silence (Audra's Ordeal) |
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Dr. Daniel-Raymond Nadon
Director: Cootie Shots Tour, Fall 2004
Artist in Residence: Fall 2004 |
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Cristina Nava
Contributing Writer & Dramaturge: Clothes Minded?
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Workshop Leader, Contributing Writer, Assistant Director & Actor: Mitos,
Ritos y Tonterias
Actor: Cootie Shots & Clothes
Minded?
TSJ Workshop & Residency Teaching Artist
Associate Artistic Director 2002/2003 |
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Mark E. Rosenthal
Contributing Writer: Street Dish, Friendly Fire
& Cootie Shots
Actor: Friendly Fire & Cootie
Shots
Associate Editor and Associate Project Director: Cootie
Shots
Development staff |
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Cynthia Ruffin
Contributing Writer & Dramaturge: Cootie Shots,
Clothes Minded? & Cootie
Shots video and TV projects
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Writer & Director: Gender Trans/Dance
Actor: Cootie Shots
TSJ Workshop & Institute Teaching Artist |
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Stephen Ruiz
Contributing Writer: Friendly Fire, Turn It Around!
& Cootie Shots
Actor: Friendly Fire, Turn It Around!, Cootie Shots
& Gender Trans/Dance
Play Development Workshop Leader: Cootie Shots |
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Shirley Salaki
Production Designer: Cootie Shots Tour,
Fall 2004
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Krista Schafer
Contributing Writer: Cootie Shots
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
Actor: Cootie Shots & Clothes
Minded?
TSJ Workshop Teaching Artist |
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Liane Schirmer
Contributing Writer & Director: Turn It Around!
Workshop Leader, Screenwriter & Director: Mitos,
Ritos y Tonterias
Theatre for Social Justice Workshop Teaching Artist |
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Paula Weston Solano
Contributing Writer: Cootie Shots &
Clothes Minded?
Play Development Workshop Leader: Clothes Minded?
TSJ Workshop & Institute Teaching Artist |
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Fringe Benefits
Alliance Board of Directors
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Fringe Benefits Board & Advisory
Board (some of us!) (top row, from left) Mike & Lydia
Gutierez (Advisory), Jan Tattam, Allison Hall (Advisory),
Bud Leslie, Barbara June Dodge Dart, Jay Cober, Diane Doyle,
Norma Bowles, Byron Bush and Sonja Berggren Seaver. |
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Norma Bowles, President
Founder and Artistic Director of Fringe Benefits; theatre educator in theatres
and universities throughout the United States since 1984; member of the Association
for Theatre in Higher Education, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Center for
Theatre of the Oppressed and Applied Theatre Arts, Los Angeles, and the National
Council of Education Activists. (See listing under "Artists,
Educators, and Staff" for additional information.)
Byron Bush
Head Counselor at Herbert Hoover Middle School; member and former Board Member
of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, Los Angeles (GLSEN/LA); contributing
writer, performer and host of Fringe Benefits shows.
Barbara June Dodge Dart
Artist/educator; teacher for California Institute of the Arts with the Community
Arts Partnership program at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Park; member of the
Theatre faculty of California State Summer School for the Arts; Artist-in-Residence
for the California Arts Council, and for the Taper’s “P.L.A.Y./L.A.’s
Best” after-school collaboration; participant in the study of Suzuki/Viewpoints
with Burning Wheel.; contributing writer to and performer in Fringe Benefits
productions; parent of two middle and high school Clothes
Minded? contributing writers.
Diane Doyle
Founding Director of South Coast Repertory Theatre's Young Conservatory, 1974
to 1994; currently, Entertainment Show Director, The Walt Disney Company; Producing
Artistic Director, Mind-Stretch Theatre Company; Ceremonies/Special Project
Show Director, The 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City; parent.
Sara Monica Guerrero
Director, Playwright, Artist and Activist. Artistic Director and Founding member
of Breath of Fire Theater; Recipient of the California Story Fund; "The
Mexican OC", Resident Children's Playwright of Education Outreach Program
/ E.O.P., the School and Community Liaison, Institute Artist of Fringe Benefits,
Teaching Assistant, Production/Stage Manager for Community Arts Partnership
program at Plaza de la Raza, and the Former associate director of Teatro Indigena
1999-2003. (See listing under "Artists, Educators, and
Staff" for additional information.)
Bud Leslie, MFT
Marriage and family therapist; professional actor and theatre educator at such
institutions as Cal State, Dominguez Hills, South Coast Repertory and the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts for over 15 years; active member of the Pop Luck Club
and of the Human Rights Campaign; parent.
Sonja Berggren Seaver
Actress and producer, member of Panndora Productions, community builder, mother
of three teen-agers. Formerly a partner in the law firm Latham & Watkins,
specializing in employment law. Board member of Excelsus, a new non-profit dedicated
to providing musical experiences for school-aged children. Founding Board President
of the Westerly School of Long Beach, former Board member of the Long Beach
Children’s Museum, Long Beach Symphony, and Newport Harbor Art Museum.
FB editor/contributor.
Jan Tattam, Secretary
Bilingual, 12th grade English Teacher and Peer Leadership Advisor at Mission
Viejo High School; active member of GLSEN/OC, Orange County Human Relations,
and Parents, Families and Friends/Orange County (PFLAG/OC);
volunteer as a writer and editor with Fringe Benefits since 1997; parent and
grandparent.
Kathleen Watanabe
Program Accountant for Boeing, Long Beach; Treasurer/Executive Committee, and
Legislative Advisory Committee for California National Organization for Women;
Board Member of Orange County Chapter of NOW; Treasurer/Board Member of Eleanor
Roosevelt Democratic Club of Orange County; Women's Legislative Analyst for
Lambda Letters Project; President of Long Beach Chapter of Boeing Employees
Association of Gays, Lesbians, and Friends (BEAGLES); political activist for
feminist and LGBT communities; volunteer service for numerous community events.
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Fringe Benefits
Alliance Advisory Board
Jehan Agrama
Jayne Atkinson
Megan Cavanagh
Corky Dominguez
Olympia Dukakis
Rabbi Denise Eger
The Reverend Sean M. Ewbank
Yvette Freeman-Hartley
Friends of Project 10
Lydia and Mike Gutierrez
Allison Hall
Chris and Lynn Hunt
Peter Sellars
Bob Stern
Billie Weiser, M.S.W.
Bruce Whitacre
Jaime Wolf, Esq.
Joanne Woodward
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