Rick Bergmann (Zeus) has been involved in theater in various roles since he was a child. He has done just about every job there is in the industry and made sure he wasn't paid for any of them. Rick has acted, directed, stage managed, production managed, light designed, sound designed, produced, tech directed, set constructed and any other job you can think of just because he loves being in the theater. In the past, he served as president of the board of directors for the Prince George's Summer Teen Theater for eight years, has been the drama ministry leader at Emmanuel UMC in Beltsville, MD since 2001 and has been the artistic director of The Parkland Players at Parkland Middle School in Rockville since 2005. Recently he directed Elf the musical, Jr. for Parkland, assistant directed Oliver for Laurel Mill Playhouse and directed Jeff Dunne's Another Door Opens, also for Laurel Mill Playhouse. Currently, he is directing Disney's Aladdin for Parkland. It has been a real pleasure working with Jeff and the cast of Psyche. He hopes you enjoy the reading!

 

This is John Cusumano’s (Mr. Jacobs) first time in a Jeff Dunne play reading and is very excited to be reading the part of Mr. Jacobs. John has acted in all three states, NY, NJ & PA. And now Maryland. Some of John’s favorite roles are Fredrick/Philp in Noise's Off, Uncle Louie in Lost in Yonkers, Oscar in The Odd Couple, Mel Thorn in Star On The Door & King Balthazar in the Operetta Amahl and the Night Visitors. Thank you, Jeff, for casting me and to my Kat, thanks for letting me come out and play.

 

Joe Downs (Eros) is excited for his role in this mythic piece, which happily marks his third part in one of Jeff Dunne’s works. The cast has been a pleasure to work with, and he hopes that none of them get on Aphrodite’s bad side. He comes from the world of improv comedy, but he enjoys acting for the opportunity to have a smarter person’s words coming out of his mouth.

 

Jeff Dunne (Providence/Shade) developed a love of acting in college back when theaters were still lit using pixies trapped in glass cages.  Reading the part of Providence/Shade is both exciting, for he loves the role, and sad, as it was the result of another original cast member being unable to participate at the last moment.  Rise of Psyche, Jeff’s fifth full-length play, is perhaps his favorite for the statements it makes about the criticality of respecting love and soul over the, alas, currently more focused-upon trinity of physical beauty, technology, and war.  He is immensely thankful for the amazingly talented cast who are bringing these words to life; to Christine Hurst, who was so instrumental to the writing of the script; and to his incredible wife Patty, whose endless support and patience enabled him to be a playwright in the first place.

 

Shawn Fournier (Hephaestus) is happy to be reading a role in another one of Jeff's plays. Last year, Shawn performed at West Arundel Creative Arts (WACA) in two of six short plays written by Jeff. Shawn has been performing in plays since 2014. Some of his favorite roles include Donald in You Can't Take It With You, Officer Abe Klein in Arsenic & Old Lace, and Mr. Welch in It's A Wonderful Life. Last year, Shawn was also briefly involved with a movie and television show. When not performing, Shawn spends every moment he can working between two part-time jobs.

 

Ciahna Heck (Pysche) is very excited to be a part of this incredible original piece with an extremely talented cast. Some of her favorite roles include Jaquenetta in Love’s Labour’s Lost the Musical, Reingn in Love’s Fire’s Bitter Sauce both at CCBC Essex, and Mrs. White in Clue: The Musical at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore. She’d like to thank all of her family and friends for continuing to be supportive and keeping her soul alive. See what I did there?

 

Kelly Morgan-Lallo (Stage Directions) is a local playwright whose works have received a number of staged readings. She is a Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter who specializes in interpreting the performing arts and works regularly at Baltimore Center Stage.

 

John O’Brien (Apollo) is a video producer/director who enjoys doing live TV production, acting and improv. John has also had the pleasure of acting alongside Jeff in several shows and "Psyche" marks the 5th Jeff Dunne original show in which John has participated. John lives in Laurel with his wife Debbie and he thanks his fellow cast for bringing this outstanding drama to life.

 

Sharon Preator (Kaitlyn) is honored to appear in another of Jeff's creations. While most of her 25+ years in theatre have focused around musicals (wide range of roles and shows, Minne Fay/Hello, Dolly!, Streetwalker#2/Little Shop, SugarBowl/Beauty and the Beast, Dancing Zebra/Children of Eden), she thanks Jeff for the opportunities to shine in straight theatre, as Juliet in Dunne's Romeo and Juliet (and Gertrude), Gwythonain in Mortal of Grace, and subsequently Director of Atypical Perspectives- an evening of one acts by Jeff Dunne. She shares her passion for the arts, and sometimes the stage, with her talented daughters Emily (Excellence) and Kaitlyn (Purity).

 

Heather Travaglini (Gladys) makes her adult acting debut in The Rise of Psyche. Heather was bitten by the acting bug in high school, where she performed in Up the Down Staircase, Crazy for You, The Odd Couple (the female version), and Once Upon a Mattress. She attended the University of Maryland College Park and today uses her journalism degree in her career as Content Marketing Manager for a global legal executive search firm. Heather also runs her own photography business subjecting her two beautiful daughters to a lot of time in front of the camera. Heather would like to thank Jeff Dunne for the opportunity to ease back into acting and looks forward to spending more time back on the stage.

 

Diane Alexis Wolcott (Aphrodite) studied Radio, Film, and Television at Sam Houston State University in Texas with hopes of being a director.  After raising a family for over 25 years, Diane returned to the Creative Arts in 2012.  She was cast as Mother Gigonne in a stage production of The Nutcracker, a role which required her to dance on drywall stilts while wearing a 6 foot diameter hoop skirt.  Diane's passion for performing and production is now re-ignited as she pursues film and television throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Light design, producing, production assistant, second director, prop master, set design, and special effects are a few of Diane's talents. Landing supporting, lead and background roles in major motion pictures, independent films, and series television, Diane is now pursuing live theatre, a medium in which she hopes to continue.