The F*ck House Digital Program

Cast

  • Isabella Maria Valdés as Steff

    Isabella Maria Valdés, who also goes by Izzy (They/ She), is a Cuban American and Puerto Rican artist from Miami Florida. Their recent credits include: Hope to Defend Yourself (Snails on a Bike Theatre collective), Witch (The Understudy), Model Play (The Understudy), The Wonder (Eclectic Full Contact), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Steep Theatre, Jeff Nominated for best ensemble), The Moors (Rutgers Theatre Company), and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe). Short film credit: Beth . Izzy is a proud NWSA alum and a recent graduate from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with their BFA in Acting. They have also studied at Shakespeare’s Globe, Shauhbuhne in Berlin and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Website: www.isabellamariavaldes.com

  • Stephanie Fongheiser as Mo

    Stephanie Fongheiser (she/her) is so excited to be returning to this play after the workshop in January. Chicago credits include: The Brightest Thing in the World (u/s, About Face), A Christmas Carol (u/s, Drury Lane Theatre), Little Women (First Folio Theatre), Frankenstein (Oil Lamp Theatre), I Build Giants (u/s, The Plagiarists), Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (Black Button Eyes Productions), and ‌Fast‌ ‌Company‌‌ ‌(u/s,‌ ‌Jackalope‌ ‌Theatre). She has participated in several new play workshops with companies including Avalanche Theatre, The Plagiarists, and Rivendell Theatre. She is a company member at Avalanche Theatre and is represented by BMG Talent.

Christina Casano / Director

Christina Casano (she/her) is a theatre artist based in Chicago. Her training includes a BA in Theatre from Miami University, Victory Gardens Theater’s Director’s Inclusion Initiative, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Summer Professional Training Program. Selected directing credits: I Build Giants and Poison (The Plagiarists), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stone Soup Shakespeare), Socks & Co. (workshop, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre), Work in Progress (workshop, The Plagiarists) How To Murder… (workshop, Bramble Theatre), Blood of My Mother’s (workshop reading, Wayward Sisters), Plaid As Hell (Babes With Blades), Deep Shadows (audio drama, EFCT), Fame Heaux (staged reading, Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival), The Living Newspaper Festival (Jackalope Theatre). Other favorite projects: Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Some Like It Red and The Epic of Gilgamesh, etc. (The Plagiarists), How To Defend Yourself (Victory Gardens), Bury Me (Dandelion Theatre), The Light Fantastic (Jackalope Theatre). She is the Artistic Director of The Plagiarists and the Creative Producer at Remy Bumppo. www.cmrcasano.com

Susan H. Pak / Playwright

Susan H. Pak has taught playwriting, screenwriting, television writing and web series writing at the university level for over a decade, as well as at Chicago Dramatists where she was a resident playwright. Susan received an MFA in writing for the screen and stage at Northwestern University, and received both a BA in English and a JD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Susan’s plays center on the myriad ways in which Asian Americans, and in particular Korean American women, resist the seduction of protection through assimilation. Productions and readings of her work include Miguk Saram (Local Lab 2021); Election (Goodman Theatre); The Fixer (Steppenwolf Theatre); Marabar (Chicago Dramatists); Ghost Girl (Workshop Theater); T.A.B. (New York’s Downtown Urban Theater Festival and the Manhattan Repertory Theater Festiva; Haters (New York’s Midtown International Theater Festival); Baby Shower (New York’s Network One Act Festival); Incredible Invisible (Chicago’s Bailiwick Director’s Fest) and The Writers (Theater Unleashed in Los Angeles).

Production Team

Anna Vu / Stage Manager

Anna Vu (she/her) is a Chicago-based freelance stage manager originally from Atlanta, GA. Chicago credits include: Love Song, Blues for an Alabama Sky, and Galileo’s Daughter (Remy Bumppo), Richard III (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Producers (Music Theater Works), Toni Stone (Goodman Theatre), Buried Child and The Language Archive (AstonRep), Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins 2022 and Tarot Card Play (Strawdog Theatre Company). Some regional theatre credits include: Murder on the Orient Express and Over the River and Through the Woods (Cortland Repertory Theatre), Pericles and The Comedy of Errors (Utah Shakespeare Festival). She graduated from Auburn University with a BFA in theatre management. She currently serves as the production liaison at the Annoyance Theatre and Bar. She strives for women empowerment and diversity and inclusion in the art she creates. She would like to thank her friends and family for their constant support. Much love to Kenny the dog. vuanna.weebly.com

Karissa Murrell Myers* / Casting Director

Karissa Murrell Myers has been Strawdog’s Casting Director since 2019 and joined the ensemble in 2020. She is originally from the great state of Idaho and has a MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii at Manoa, a BA in Theatre Arts from Boise State University, and is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. She has been working professionally in Chicago as an actor, playwright, and director since 2015.

As a performer, Karissa has worked at Goodman Theatre, Remy Bumppo, The House Theatre of Chicago, and Renaissance Theaterworks. Television work includes working on Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Electric Dreams, and The Exorcist. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Represented by Gray Talent Group.

The BIPOC Residency Program is in partnership with The Factory Theater with funding from The Saints.