Director
Nikki GuckianAustin native, Nikki Guckian received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Texas State University. She worked in the Special Effects Sound Editing business, where her crew (under Alan Murray) won an Oscar for Best Sound Editing. After taking a hiatus from behind-the-scenes work, she joined the cast of the daytime television drama Passions on NBC.
Nikki began her teaching career at a boarding school in Sedona, AZ before returning back to the Austin area. After serving the communities of both Austin ISD and Leander ISD, she is now ecstatic to be a part of the Lake Travis family and to have the opportunity to work with such amazing and talented students.
She would like to thank her amazing husband, Alan Guckian and their children, Tristan and Hunter, for their constant support and of course her biggest fans, her parents, Bobby and Kay Spinosa. Big thanks, to K.J Bartosh, Aaron Stahlecker, and Laura Stokes for being such great co-workers and a fantastic team.
Production Manager
K.J. BartoshA native of Austin, Mr. Bartosh graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, which included advanced coursework in automated lighting design. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University Texas. Mr. Bartosh has worked as a lighting and sound designer & technician, and continues to light shows professionally. Mr. Bartosh is an active member of the United States Institute of Theatre Technology (USITT), where he serves as a Chapter Sponsor and is involved in the development of the BACKstage examination for high school students. He’s incredibly proud to have played a role in so many student successes.
Technical Director & Scenic Designer
Aaron StahleckerAaron graduated from Valparaiso University in 2004 with a Bachelor's of Arts in Theatre and Television Arts. Following graduation from college, Aaron moved to Chicago to pursue a career in film and theatre. While in Chicago, Aaron worked for the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre as well as the Goodman Theatre. In the Fall of 2005, he began working for Feld Entertainment with the tour of Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus as a Lighting Technician and Pyrotechnician, where he toured for a year. In 2006, he directed a feature film for submission into the Festival circuit.
Aaron has been teaching, directing, and designing since 2008. He has Directed / Scenic Designed many theatre / musical productions such as Kiss Me, Kate!, Guys and Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, As It Is In Heaven, and The Odd Couple as well as many others. He has also designed for shows in the Greater Austin Area for Zilker Theatre Productions (Little Shop of Horrors '13) and River City Pops.
Director of Stage Management
Laura StokesLaura Stokes has taught Theatre 1 and Technical Theatre 1 at Lake Travis High School going on three years. She has a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts and a Master's degree in Education. Laura has Stage Managed several shows including Metamorphoses, Steel Magnolias, and These Shining Lives. In 2016, she was a general production intern for Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Michigan. Laura is excited to continue her career here at Lake Travis High School, and grow student appreciation for Theatre Arts.
Asst. Technical Director
Will LocontoAsst. Technical Director
Iñaki ArriagadaLighting Designer & Master Electrician
Carson HammockSound Designer
Robyn KobayashiStage Manager
Zoe KalderonAsst. Stage Manager
Addy BiondiAsst. Stage Manager
David DolliverStage Crew Head
Evan FonsecaProperties Master
River OvsenSound Engineer
Margaret BridgesLight Board Operator
Maks TaraszewskiStage Crew
Tyler BodenstabStage Crew
Bergendy HooperProperties Crew
Ainzly ClementsPlaywright
John CarianiJohn Cariani is an actor and a playwright. He has appeared on and Off Broadway, at regional theaters across the country, and in several films and television shows. He’s been nominated for a Tony Award. He’s done movies with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Ed Asner. Most people seem to know him for his roles on TV’s Law & Order (Forensics Tech Beck), The Onion News Network (Reporter Michael Falk), and Numb3rs (Professor Otto Bahnoff).
History
Playwright, John Cariani started writing plays when he moved to New York City in the late nineties. He and his friends became known for an offbeat comedy show they would put on from time to time at any downtown theater they could find to perform in. They started to gather a little following, and one night, up-and-coming director Gabe Barre caught one of their shows and was taken by the odd, funny, sad, romantic and anti-romantic little plays and sketches that comprised the evening. A few nights later, Gabe met with John and asked him how many of these short plays he had written, and John said, “A couple dozen,” and Gabe asked if he could take a look at all of them and he did…and he noticed that many of the plays were surreal love stories, all set on a cold winter’s night in a strange little non-town in far northern Maine, and he said, “There’s a play here. Almost.”
And the rest is history.
ALMOST, MAINE was developed at the Cape Cod Theater Project (Andy Polk, Artistic Director) in 2002, and received its world premiere at Portland Stage Company, where it broke box office records and garnered critical acclaim. ALMOST, MAINE opened Off Broadway in the winter of 2005/2006 at the Daryl Roth Theatre (Jack Thomas/Bulldog Theatrical and Bruce Payne, Producers) and was subsequently published by Dramatists Play Service. To date, ALMOST, MAINE has been produced by nearly 5000 theater companies in the United States (and by nearly 100 companies internationally) making it one of the most frequently produced plays of the past decade.
