LIFE SUCKS. Creatives

Playwright

AARON POSNER

Aaron Posner is a theatre director, playwright, teacher, former Artistic Director of two major regional theatres, and a tenured Professor in the Department of Performing Arts at American University. He was the founding Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company, and ran Two River Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. He has directed nearly 200 productions at major regional theaters across the country, including Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, American Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, The Folger, Ford’s Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Round House, Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre, South Coast Rep, Studio Theatre, and many more. As a playwright, his re-imaging of Chekhov’s The Seagull, entitled Stupid F*cking Bird, was one of the ten most produced plays in the country in 2015 and has had more than 250 productions worldwide including productions in Australia, Canada, England, Luxembourg, Romania, Sweden and more. His other widely produced and published plays include JQA, No Sisters, District Merchants, Who Am I This Time? (& Other Conundrums of Love), The Chosen, and My Name Is Asher Lev. He has won 20 regional theatre awards, including Helen Hayes Awards, Barrymore Awards, The Outer Circle Critics Award, and the John Gassner Prize.

Producer & Director

BARRY HEINS

Barry Heins is the Artistic Director of Interact Theatre Company (ITC). A graduate of The Juilliard School and alumnus of The Acting Company, Heins has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at leading regional theaters across America, and in film and TV. Los Angeles stage credits include Much Ado About Nothing at the Ford Theater (Drama-Logue Award, Outstanding Performance) and the critically acclaimed ITC productions of Counsellor-At-Law (Ovation Award, Best Ensemble), Other People's Money, and Nice Fish. He has worked extensively as a voice-over artist, lending his talents to everything from film trailers to political ads, and has been a dialect consultant on Broadway and for PBS. Heins has served on the faculties of several professional actor training conservatories, including NYU Tisch School of the Arts/Playwright's Horizons Theater School and SUNY Purchase College. His producing credits include two series of ITC staged readings for the Los Angeles Public Library's LA Made cultural enrichment program: "The Tony Award® Winners," which was seen worldwide on BroadwayOnDemand.com during the pandemic, and "The Pulitzer Prize Winners: Ten Plays from Ten Decades" (dir: You Can't Take It With You and The Great White Hope). Heins produced and directed two impactful short films for ITC (Faultless and Just Another Birthday in Bedlam), which garnered international recognition and received multiple honors at prestigious film festivals, including a 2021 Bronze and 2022 Gold Telly Award. Both films can be enjoyed on ITC's official YouTube channel, @InteractTheatreCompanyLA.

Scenic Designer

EVAN BARTOLETTI

Scenic designer Evan Bartoletti (Lechetti Design) is accomplished in design conceptualization and implementation with a host of divergent projects and world premiere productions that showcase Evan’s creative skillset. Projects include the West Coast premiere of Home Front at the Victory Theatre Center along with Pie In The Sky: The Movie, musicals such as Rent or Les Mis for the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the production of Strings Attached for Voices Carry Inc. which successfully combined contemporary dance with abstract puppetry. Work done in a wide range of media and environments, demonstrates Evan’s creative, collaborative and detail oriented approach to scenic design.

Costume Designer

MICHAEL MULLEN

Michael is a costume designer, actor, writer, and producer. He’s excited to work on Life Sucks! Among his theatrical design credits are Dreamgirls, The Boy From Oz, Siamese Sex Show, Fugue, When Jazz Had The Blues, Burners, Cabaret, Year Of The Rooster, Fixed, Sweeney Todd, American Idiot, The Legend Of Georgia McBride, A Little Night Music, The Wild Party, Guess Who‘s Coming To Dinner, and L.A. Now And Then. He has received several awards and nominations for his work both onstage and off from such organizations as L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, L.A. Weekly, N.A.A.C.P., StageSceneLA, Stage Raw, Robby, Broadway World, Ticket Holder, Eddon, and Desert Theatre League. Michael hopes you enjoy the show!

Sound Designer

JOSEPH "SLOE" SLAWINSKI

Sloe is a multi-award winning sound designer. He has designed a multitude of productions including God Looked Away with Judith Light and Al Pacino, Redemption of a Dogg with Snoop Dogg and Life Sucks, the wonderful production you are here to see. He would like to thank the incredible and amazing Gabrieal Griego for her continuous support during all of his creative endeavors. He is proud to be part of this great production.

Prop Master

ERIC BABB

Eric Babb [they/them/theirs] is thrilled to be returning to work on props for another ITC production! Their previous ITC prop credits include Nice Fish, and some specialty props for All American Girl. A few of their favorite companies they’ve Prop Mastered for include: Center Theatre Group, The LA LGBT Center, Latino Theatre Company, and Independent Shakespeare Company. Eric’s other Prop Master work this summer can be seen on stage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Fetch Clay Make Man, and Our Dear Dead Drug Lord.

Lighting Designer

CAROL DOEHRING

Production Stage Manager

GINA DeLUCA

Gina DeLuca is a stage manager from Los Angeles. She received her Bachelor’s at California State University Northridge in Theater Arts, a certificate of completion in Technical Theater at Los Angeles City College, and a Master's in Stage Management at California Institute of the Arts. She stage managed productions like The Servant of Two Masters, Top Girls, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Waiting for Lefty, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Children, and other productions around the Los Angeles area. She was recently assistant stage managing at the Fountain Theatre for Lifespan of a Fact and the outdoor production of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. She worked with Interact Theatre Company on their production of Nice Fish and excited to work with them again this year.

Musician

MADISON LEINSTER

Madison Leinster is a classical violinist with over 20 years of training and experience, working alongside artists such as Billie Eilish, Zedd, FINNEAS, and more. After graduating as a music major from Idyllwild Arts Academy in 2015, she moved to Los Angeles to continue pursuing violin and songwriting at Pasadena City College. During her time there, Madison won the 2018 concerto competition where she performed the Butterfly Lovers Concerto with the PCC orchestra, and garnered over 40,000 subscribers on YouTube through her violin cover videos. She has since continued to work with other musicians and artists while also writing and producing her own work.

Musician

DYLAN GORENBERG

Dylan Gorenberg is a guitarist from Pleasanton, CA who currently attends the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music for his Doctorate in Musical Arts on full scholarship. Dylan also holds his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Thornton School. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2015, Dylan has toured throughout the United States, EU, and UK performing in spaces ranging from small clubs to venues that have held over 10,000 people. He has lent his skills to recording projects spanning diverse genres and styles, contributing to feature films and streaming platforms such as Disney+ and TTV (Taiwan Television Enterprise). Notably, he has performed as a featured instrumentalist with the Budapest String Orchestra. Fender Guitars currently contract Dylan under their Fender Play division. Fender Play is a video-centric learning platform that eschews traditional theory-based lessons in favor of instructor-guided videos with over 1 million users Dylan has also maintained a sizable roster of private students in addition to performing and recording. Some of his students have gone on to study at USC, UCLA, the University of Washington, and the University of Idaho on music performance-based scholarships.

Projection Designer

LY EISENSTEIN

Ly is a queer visual artist located in Los Angeles. They are a CalArts graduate with a dual degree in Projection and Lighting Design and combine these skills to create thoughtful immersive installations and shows. They have worked on plays like Love and Information, She Who Was No More, and Kubrick’s Aryan Papers, and have created multiple projection-centered installations. @museumofmess

Producer

KRISTEN EGERMEIER

Kristen is thrilled to continue her work with ITC as the new Managing Director. While she is a trained Actor first, Kristen has served as operational support for theatres across the county for the past 15 years. She has also produced, written, and managed multiple productions on stage and film. As a graduate of Cal State University, Northridge with a BA in Theatre Arts and a minor in Chemistry, her well rounded education has combined her love of the theatre with her organizational business skills. After working and studying with multiple theatre companies back east, she returned to Los Angeles to dive further into her roles as an actor and operational consultant, with an emphasis on nonprofit organizations. Kristen has aided in administratively supporting and developing multiple theatre and community programs. Her 20 years of experience in management and hands-on roles in accounting, data analytics, editorial writing, and operations management has created her specialty in working with small businesses and nonprofit organizations to . develop business practices and streamline financials. A background of industries outside of the theatre world include environmental research and services, federal and state government services, manufacturing, and GIS data services.

Welcome!

Dear Patron,

Welcome to Interact Theatre Company’s first production since
emerging from the pandemic!

Interact has proudly been a part of the L.A. theatre scene for thirty-
one years, and while our journey has been long, in some ways it

feels like we’re just getting started. Just before the pandemic, we
underwent a transformative structural reorganization, and when
the world around us shut down, we refused to stop working.
We embarked on a journey of reinvention, commissioning a
sparkling new logo and revamping our website. We forged new
partnerships with esteemed organizations such as The Los Angeles
Public Library, the Department of Cultural Affairs Performing
Arts Division, the American Theatre Wing, and The Pulitzer Prize
Board. Even during the darkest days of the pandemic, Interact

remained committed to its mission. We proudly employed thirty-
eight actors on Equity contracts—more than any other theatre

company in L.A. at that time.
2023 has brought monumental achievements for our company.
This past summer, we received a commission from the City of L.A.
Department of Cultural Affairs to transform INTERPLAY (our
performing arts workshop for underserved kids, now in its 26th
year) into SPAC, a full-day, month-long Summer Performing Arts
Camp. It was a thrilling success. And today, we are humbled and
excited to be entrusted by Aaron Posner to lovingly present to you

the Los Angeles premiere of LIFE SUCKS., winner of the 2020 Off-
Broadway Theatre Alliance Award for Best New Play.

If you enjoy what you see tonight, we encourage you to spread
the word to your friends! Word of mouth is our best advertising,
and your endorsement means the world to us. Additionally, please
consider donating to Interact during your visit. While ticket sales
and grants are crucial, your generosity—whether large or small—is
deeply appreciated, and essential in helping us sustain our artistic
endeavors.
Whether you’re joining us for the first time or are a returning
patron and friend, we extend a warm welcome. Thank you for
choosing to spend this evening with us. We’re honored to have
you here.

With gratitude,

Barry Heins, Artistic Director
Kristen Egermeier, Managing Director