CAST:

Leah Cardenas (Bartender) is a Colorado native who lived in Omaha, NE for two years, where she worked on multiple theatrical productions, including the immersive series, Walk the Night, as an actor and Assistant Director. In 2019, she moved back to Colorado and was invited to the Immersive Design Summit in San Francisco. Later that year she was selected to be a Fellow with Odyssey Works. She has worked with Control Group Productions as an ASM for their production, Cutting Room Floor; and with the Public Works Theater on Luster of Lost Things. Leah has a B.F.A. in Acting from NWU.

Rhianna DeVries (Bartender) is a multi-industry creator, with passions in acting, stand-up comedy, producing, and directing. Theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet/The Tempest with Colorado Shakespeare Festival School Tour, Appropriate with Curious Theatre Company, The Misanthrope and Cradle Two Grave (Drama Ensemble Best Actress) at the University of Denver, and the titular role in Antigone (Broadway World Best Actress Nominee) with Fearless Theatre Company. Rhianna is also in film and video games, most notably as the lead motion-capture and voiceover actor in the BAFTA-nominated game, Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Rhianna has a B.A. in Theatre and a B.S.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Denver. For more information, visit www.RhiannaDeVries.com.

Jason Maxwell (Bartender) is over the moon to be taking another crack at The Whisky Tasting. An avid adventurous theatre maker, Jason is a company member of The Catamounts and appears in his 16th production with them. Some favorites of his include a turn as Stuff/Everybody in the acclaimed 2019 production of Everybody, and John N. in Failure: A Love Story. He most recently appeared this last Christmas in The Polar Express at the Colorado Railroad Museum. He is represented by Radical Talent.

CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION TEAM:

Amanda Berg Wilson (Co-Conceiver/Adaptor/Director) is co-founder and Artistic Director of The Catamounts, where she has directed 15 of the company’s 23 productions, including God’s Ear (2011 Camera Eye Award, Best Director), Failure: A Love Story (2013 True West Nomination, Best Director), and Rausch (2018 True West award; 2018 Colorado Theatre Guild nomination, Best New Work); and where she has performed as Ellen in There Is A Happiness That Morning Is (2014 True West Award, 2015 Westword Best of Denver Award), and Warrior #1 in Beowulf, A Thousand Years of Baggage (2017 Colorado Theatre Guild Nomination, Best Choreography.) Elsewhere in Colorado, she has directed for DCPA Off-Center (The Wild Party, Between Us: The Whiskey Tasting) and for Creede Repertory Theatre (9 to 5, Pride and Prejudice), and performed  with Curious Theatre Company (Detroit) and DCPA Off-Center (Sweet and Lucky). She is Assistant Director on the postponed Theatre of the Mind, produced by DCPA Off-Center and written by Mala Gaonkar and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.

Wayne Breyer (Assistant Production Manager) is excited to reunite with The Catamounts for a fourth time, having previously stage managed for their productions of The Rough, Shockheaded Peter, and Everybody. Other recent stage management credits include The Music of Black Nativity (Aurora Fox Arts Center), Recipe (Theater Artibus), Come to Your Senses (Phamaly Theater Company), and F*ck7thGrade (Colorado New Play Festival).

Melissa Cashion (Producing Director).  Melissa is thrilled to be working for the first time with The Catamounts as Producing Director for The Whiskey Tasting. She serves full-time as Artistic Producer at Denver Center for the Performing Arts Theatre Company & Off-Center.  Prior, she was DCPA Theatre Company’s Associate Production Manager & Production Manager for Off-Center, where she was the production manager for many large-scale, immersive projects including: Carpe Nocte/Itchy-O, Sweet & Lucky, & The Wild Party.  Before moving to the Denver area, Melissa was the Production Manager and Special Events Coordinator for Dallas Children’s Theater in Dallas, TX where she served on Senior Staff.  In Dallas, she held many roles on productions for Dallas Children’s Theater, Kathy Burks’ Theater of Puppetry Arts, and Lone Star Circus including voice over, stage manager, lighting designer, puppeteer, and associate director.  

Meghan Anderson Doyle (she/her) is pleased to be joining The Catamounts for the first time with The Whiskey Tasting. Select costume design credits include A Doll’s House, American Mariachi, The Wild Party, Sweet & Lucky and nearly 20 other productions (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); The Moors, The Electric Baby, Waiting for Godot, and The Drowning Girls (Arvada Center); Twelfth Night, You Can’t Take It With You (Colorado Shakespeare Festival); The Cake, The Brother/Sister Plays (Curious Theatre Company); The Old Globe, Local Theatre Company, Theatre Aspen, The National Theatre Conservatory. Training: B.A. University of Denver, M.F.A. University of Florida www.DoyleCostumeDesign.com

Heidi Echtenkamp (Assistant Production Manager) has worked in the theatre industry as a Venue Manager, Production Facilities Manager, Event Coordinator and Stage Manager. Some of the Theatre’s that she has worked for throughout her career: DCPA Theatre Company in Denver, CO; DCPA Off Center in Denver, CO; The Catamounts in Boulder, CO; Seven Devils New Play Foundry in McCall, ID; Lone Tree Arts Center in Lone Tree, CO; STAGES in St. Louis, MO; NOLA in New Orleans, LA; Teatro ZinZanni in Costa Mesa, CA; Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco, CA and American Musical Theatre of San Jose in San Jose, CA.

Eileen Garcia (Properties) Eileen has worked as the Proprieties Master and Scenic Charge at Purdue University, and was the Properties Master at the Signature Theatre in Shirlington, Virginia. She freelance designed and propped for the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, The Adventure Theatre in Maryland and for the Washington Shakespeare Company. She has worked at the Santa Fe Opera as Assistant Properties Director for over a decade and is currently the Associate Properties Director of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Theatre Company and has been working as a scenic artist for Adirondack Studios for Denver’s Meow Wolf.

David Jacobi (Co-Conceiver/Playwright) David’s plays have been performed and developed throughout the U.S. and in China, including Sideshow Theatre, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival, RISK IS THIS, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Kennedy Center MFA Playwright’s Workshop, SLC Playwrights Lab and PlayPenn. He is a winner of the Holland New Voices Award, Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences Award, and Relentless Award semifinalist. David’s play Ready Steady Yeti Go is currently receiving a Rolling World Premiere through NNPN. David was the 2015 Shank Fellow at Pig Iron Theatre Company and currently is working on a commission for EST/Sloan and South Coast Rep. He received a BFA in Dramatic Writing from Purchase College and an MFA from UC San Diego.

Charlie Miller (Multimedia Designer) is happy to be coming out of retirement as a designer to make his Catamounts debut with The Whiskey Tasting. Before joining the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Artistic Team full-time as Associate Artistic Director and Off-Center Curator (his day job), Charlie divided his time between leading Off-Center and the Theatre Company’s Multimedia Department. As the DCPA’s Resident Video Designer, Charlie designed and created projection/video content for 35 productions over nine seasons.