Joan Rivers*
(Co-Writer / Joan) The Joan Rivers Theatre Project is the third theatrical production that Miss Rivers has both co-written and starred in. Miss Rivers began her career in the late 1960's and if you want to know more please Google her or send a quarter backstage and she will come to your house tomorrow morning.

Doug Bernstein & Denis Markell
(Co-Writers) For the past 25 years, Douglas Bernstein and Denis Markell have taught the world to laugh.  Well, maybe not the whole world, but parts of it, anyway. They first achieved recognition with the revue Upstairs at O'Neals' (Off-Broadway) and the musical A Backers' Audition (Manhattan Theatre Club), both directed by Martin Charnin.  Other works include the revue, Showing Off (with Donna Murphy and Veanne Cox), and the musical Gotham! (with other people).  Their work is included in the musical revue, A - My Name is Still Alice (Second Stage), featured on the CD, Broadway Bound, and published in the anthology, One on One: The Best Monologues for the Nineties.  Bernstein is the co-creator and writer of the internationally acclaimed Allan Sherman musical, Hello Muddah!  Hello Fadduh! Bernstein and Markell have written special comedy material for everyone from Stiller and Meara to Nathan Lane, Brooke Shields and Alan Cumming, with Al Roker thrown in for good measure.  We won't even mention Connie Chung.

Mark Rucker
(Director) A graduate of Yale Drama School, Mark Rucker has directed over 50 professional productions around the country in the last 15 years.  While an Associate Artist at South Coast Repertory Theater, he directed premieres of plays by Richard Greenberg, Chistopher Shinn, Roger Rueff, and Annie Weisman. In addition, he has been involved in the development of new plays by David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeff Whitty, Beth Henley, Amy Freed, Kate Robin, and others. Rucker directed Richard III at California Shakespeare Theatre, Carey Perloff's Luminescence Dating at Magic Theatre, Amy Freed's The Beard of Avon at ACT, The Model Apartment by Donald Margulies at La Jolla Playhouse, and both How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel and The Taming of the Shrew at The Intiman in Seattle, The Birds by Culture Clash at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Dracula at The Globe Theaters. Rucker directed the premiere of Anna Deveare Smith's House Arrest at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C., several premieres with Yale Repertory Theatre, and over 20 Shakespearean productions at regional theatres and Shakespeare festivals across the country. He has been intimately involved with new play development at The Sundance Theater Lab, The Mark Taper Forum new works festival, A.S.K. and the O'Neil Playwright's festival. His first feature film Die Mommie Die! won a jury prize at 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

Lucas Rocco Alifano*
(Kenny) has just returned from playing Orlando in As You Like It and various roles in The Merchant of Venice at The Colorado Shakespeare Festival. On the West Coast Mr. Alifano has performed with The American Conservatory Theater, Marin Theater Company, Magic Theatre, TheatreWorks, Marin Shakespeare Company, and Western Stage where he recently starred as Batboy in Batboy: The Musical. He performed with Shakespeare Santa Cruz and toured with their Shakes-To-Go production of Hamlet.  A.C.T. MFA production credits include among others:  Mrs. Grogan in The Cider House Rules, Williamson in Glengarry Glen Ross, Robert in Company, and Daisy in Baby with the Bathwater.  The feature length film The Lost Coast directed by Gabriel Fleming, in which he is a principle, is being released this summer.  Mr. Alifano earned his M.F.A from A.C.T in the spring of 2007.

Susannah Livingston*
(Svetlana) Previous credits include productions at South Coast Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, California Shakespeare Theater, Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, Aurora Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, The Barbican Theatre in London, Geva Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Zephyr Theatre  and the National Tour of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

Carrie Paff*
(Evan) was last seen at the Magic in Charles Grodin's The Right Kind of People. Other Bay Area credits include the world premiere of After the War at ACT, the West Coast premiere of Craig Lucas's Small Tragedy and Betrayal (San Francisco Bay Guardian-Best Cast of 2004) at Aurora Theatre Company, The Haunting of Winchester at San Jose Repertory Theatre, How the Other Half Loves, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Becoming Memories (Shellie Award Nomination - Best Supporting Actress) at Center REP, and The Imaginary Invalid and Waiting for the Flood for ACT's First Look series. She has also performed with The Shee Theatre Company, Woman's Will, Word for Word, and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Film credits include Presque Isle (Rob Nilsson) and Opal's Diary (Dina Ciraulo). She holds a master's degree in educational theatre from New York University and is the co-founder of StageWrite, Building Literacy through Theatre.

Maggie Bell*
(Stage Manager) The Joan Rivers Theatre Project marks Maggie’s debut working at Magic Theatre and in California. New York City credits include TheatreWorks USA, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and the Marathon Plays series, Amas Musical Theatre Company, The Workroom (Dir. Moni Yakim; Circle in the Square Theatre). Regionally, credits have included work at the State Theatre and Zachary Scott in Austin, Texas and the Lewisville Theatre Co. before the move to New York. Maggie is a proud alumnus of UT and the University of North Texas (BA, stage management), and a proud member of Equity.

Erik Flatmo+
(Set Design) recently designed scenery for Luminescence Dating, God of Hell and The Hopper Collection at Magic Theatre. Other recent local projects include The Imaginary Invalid at ACT, Richard III at California Shakespeare Theatre, Playboy of the Western World at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Hunter Gatherers with Killing My Lobster.  He has designed several productions for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program and has worked regularly with Joe Goode Performance Group. Upcoming local projects include The Government Inspector at ACT and The Magic Flute at Opera San Jose. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and teaches set design at Stanford University.

Jessica Heidt
(Casting Director) is a Bay Area casting director and director.  She was the Associate Artistic Director at Magic Theatre, where she worked for 9 years, and currently serves as Artistic Director of Climate Theater.  She casts for many Bay Area theatre and film companies and teaches at the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking.  She will be returning to Magic Theatre to direct the premiere of Betty Shamieh's Territories this winter.

Sara Huddleston
(Sound Design / Production Director) is proud to make this her first design at the Magic. She has recently relocated from Los Angeles, where she had been designing sound for over seven years. Most recently she designed The Powerhouse Theatre’s “interactive theatrical experience” The Boomerang Kid and, in the Bay Area, she designed Encore Theatre Company’s productions of American $uicide and In On It. Other favorite design credits include: Preludes and Fugues (Son of Semele Ensemble), American Standard (Firefly Productions), How I Learned to Drive (Vox Humana), Swimming in the Shallows (Meta Theatre Company), and A Human Interest
Story (Son of Semele Ensemble).

Kurt Landisman+
(Light Design) is pleased to return to Magic Theatre where he designed lighting for The God of Hell, The Sweetest Swing in Baseball and Edna O'Brien's Triptych, which received the Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle Award for Best Lighting. He designed lighting for numerous new works at the Magic back in the 80’s and 90's, most notably the world premieres of Sam Shepard’s True West and Fool for Love. His lighting designs have been seen at most Bay Area theatres and have received numerous Bay Area Critics Circle and Drama-Logue Awards. Nationally, his designs have been seen in practically every state in the Union, as well as Off-Broadway in New York. Internationally his designs have been seen in Tokyo, Singapore and Shanghai.

Katherine Roth+
(Costume Design) New York productions: Dark Matters (Rattlestick); A Nervous Smile, Sugar Syndrome (Williamstown Theatre Festival); The Argument (Vineyard Theatre); A Steady Rain (New York Stage and Film); Arabian Night, Sakharam Binder, M. Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran (Play Company); Happy Days (Cherry Lane); Trestle at Pope Lick Creek (NYTW); Hard Feelings, The Chemistry of Change (Women’s Project); Model Apartment (Primary Stages); Lorca Project (INTAR); They Still Mambo in Havana (Bat). Regional Productions: Asolo Rep; California Shakespeare Theater; George Street Playhouse, Huntington; Intiman Theatre; Old Globe; Mark Taper Forum; Dallas Theater Center; La Jolla Playhouse; Yale Rep; Center Stage; South Coast Rep; Magic Theatre. Film/TV: Exiles in New York; All My Children (Associate Costume Designer). Yale School of Drama, MFA.

Brian Degan Scott
(Video Design) has been involved in theatre, television, and film production since arriving in San Francisco in 1980. He has appeared on stage in a number of critically acclaimed productions both in San Francisco and in Los Angeles and has produced and directed theatre in the Bay Area for more than 25 years. With his production company, O’Ollie Entertainment, Brian develops and produces video and editing projects for television, stage, and screen. Brian has taught acting and been a dialect coach at a number of celebrated schools here and in Los Angeles for more than 20 years and is currently teaching at the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. He is also the Executive Director of Berkeley Community Media, the Public, Educational and Government television station for the city of Berkeley. Brian is extremely proud to be a part of this amazing production and honored to be working with the inimitable Joan Rivers. He would also like to thank his wife Donna and daughter Olivia for enduring his obvious insanity.

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association
AEA, founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org.

+Member of United Scenic Artists local 829. United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.