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The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity show poster

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Chance Theater

Dates: (9/23/2022 - 10/23/2022 )

Theatre:

Chance Theater

Chance Theater

Online
Anaheim,CA 92807

Phone: 888-455-4212

Tickets: $29-$36

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  3. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity


Experience pro wrestling in a whole new light or perhaps for the first time in Kristoffer Diazs Pulitzer Prize-nominated play. Chad Deity follows the life of wrestler Macedonio Guerra. As a lifelong fan, he has followed wrestling only to become a jobber, one who is paid to lose to bigger-name stars in the ring. Macedonio meets Vigneshwar Paduar, and together they find a way to push it to the limit and say what needs to be said. But will it finally get Mace his big shot at Chad Deity himself? Unspoken racism, politics, and courage are all woven into this play that leaves it all on the mat.NOTE: This show contains strong trash-talking language.
Ages: NOTE: This show contains strong trash-talking language.

 

Cast and Creative team for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Chance Theater

Cast

Rudy Solis III

Macedonio Guerra


Londale Theus Jr.

Chad Deity
Londale Theus Jr. is an actor, comedian, and comedy coach from Los Angeles & founder of the online comedy school You Got Jokes Academy. After a knee injury ended his days of Division 1 College Basketball, his interest in comedy & performing led him to CSU Long Beach’s Theatre Program. Upon finishing his two years in the program, he started working as a full-time actor in TV (CBS’s 2 Broke Girls, HULU’s Future Man, HBO’s Insecure), Film (Greener Grass), and National Commercials (State Farm, HP/Intel). He does stand up all over LA, was a writer & actor for the 2015 & 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase, & performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for several years.


James Michael McHale

Everett K. Olson
James Michael McHale is an actor, director, writer, and musician. As an actor, he’s had the pleasure to work with Tony Award winning director Kathleen Marshall at The Old Globe in Much Ado About Nothing, play Hamlet at the Lyceum Theater, and Buzz Aldrin in the World Premiere and National Tour of APOLLO 11 for Troika Entertainment. He received a Staged Scene LA Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role for his work in Middletown at Chance Theater. Other theater credits include the musical Once at both California Center for the Arts Escondido and Lamb’s Players Theater (San Diego Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Musical and Best Ensemble). He recently directed the Regional Premiere of American Idiot at Chance Theater, where his directing credits also include the OC Premiere of Edges, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. He has written and directed a number of storytelling concerts for Pacific Symphony and presented at Segerstrom Concert Hall including, Beethoven: Trials to Triumph, A Dream of Tchaikovsky, Pacific Symphony and the Curious Case of the Vanishing Violin, and Music From the Movies and More! Connect with him on IG @jmcnavy, and at jamesmichaelmchale.com


RJ Navarra Balde II

Vigneshwar Paduar
RJ Navarra Balde II is stoked to return to Chance Theater after joining the cast to launch the company’s TYA Series as Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland in 2015. Hailing from Oxford, Michigan, he attended theatre programs at Oakland University and Western Michigan University before moving to Southern California. RJ now works as a full time actor in theatre (José in Lilies of the Field with Detroit Lighthouse Theatre, Maat Gxastly in Sockhop on Saturn with Klubhouse Arts, and Pozzo in Waiting for Godot and Antonio, the Merchant of Venice, in 2021’s virtual theatre A Wilderness of Monkeys with Ophelia’s Jump Productions), national commercials (Hims, Amazon Alexa, Ford, IQOS Philippines) and UGC (Carpe, Jiffy Lube). You could be anywhere tonight and RJ is grateful to you for choosing live theatre. Peace, love, and mango lassi. IG/Twitter/TikTok @RJtheCunning


Aaron McGee

The Bad Guy
Aaron McGee previous credits include: The Legend(s) of Sleepy Hollow and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. His most recent stage performances were James Larrabee in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure at Glendale Center Theatre and Thomas Shelley in SCR’s A Christmas Carol.


Matt Takahashi

Referee
Matt is very excited to be revisiting this show having been in the 2018 production as Lionel. A proud Resident Artist here at the Chance, he has been seen in A Wrinkle in Time (Mrs. Whatsit/Man with Red Eyes), A Charlie Brown Christmas (Charlie Brown), Ragtime (Harry Houdini), Big Fish (Zacky Price), the world premiere of Loch Ness, A New Musical (Angus Ogilvie), and She Loves Me (The Waiter). A graduate of AMDA Los Angeles, some of his other credits include Solly in Love U: The Grad School Musical (RCC), a bunch of parts in Cyrano (Alchemy Theatre Co.), LeFou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (TACFA), Donald in the world premiere of Comedy of ERROR (ACTC), and William Barfée in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (One More Productions). Much love to his ever-supportive family and the one who puts up with his tomfoolery, his fancy wife Laura M. Hathaway (you’re the bestest of the bestest!).


Steven Linhares

Macedonio Guerra Understudy
Steven is a classically trained actor and has performed in a wide range of the theatrical spectrum, playing roles by William Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He received his degree in Theatrical Arts from Modesto Junior College and has studied performance arts extensively, training in subjects ranging from Operatic Voice and Vocal Training to Fight Choreography and Stage Combat. He was most recently seen with Alchemy Theatre Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Flute and at Stage Door Repertory performing as Steve Hubbell in A Streetcar Named Desire. Steven is an amateur musician, playing both the piano and ukulele, as well as a little guitar. He thanks the people closest in his life for always being there to support him, even in the hardest of times.


Duane Robinson

Chad Deity Understudy
New to the theater, Duane comes to Chance Theater with some knowledge of how to operate within a theater. While a student in college, he was a part of multiple plays on stage and behind, pre- and post-production. With a fresh perspective and an eagerness to learn, Duane is excited to have an opportunity to meet good people and be a part of telling a great story.


Jeff Lowe

EKO, Bad Guy, Ref Understudy
Jeff is proud to be returning to the Chance for this important and impressive production. Jeff has previously appeared at the Chance as Edward Bloom in Big Fish, Mr. Knightley in Emma, and Mrs. Which (and others) in A Wrinkle in Time. Jeff studied at Cal State Fullerton and produces, acts, and directs independently as a member of Alchemy Theatre Company. Other credits can be found at jeffloweacting.com. Jeff would like to thank his wife Kelsey, friends, and family for supporting his horrible theatre habit, especially when it means missing special events and game nights.


Creative Team

Kristoffer Diaz

Playwright
Kristoffer Diaz is a playwright and educator living and working in Brooklyn. Full-length titles include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Welcome to Arroyo’s, The Upstairs Concierge, and The Unfortunates. Awards: 2011 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award; finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; winner, 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play; winner, 2011 OBIE Award, Best New American Play; and the inaugural Gail Merrifield Papp Fellowship from The Public Theater (2011). He is a recipient of the Jerome Fellowship, the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant and the Van Lier Fellowship (New Dramatists). Kristoffer holds a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, an MFA from NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing, and an MFA from Brooklyn College’s Performing Arts Management program.


Jeremy Aluma

Director
Jeremy Aluma, an award-winning, Jewish-American theatre director & producer of Iraqi descent. He founded the internationally touring company, Four Clowns and served as artistic director during their first seven years. He was the Executive Director for Alliance for Jewish Theatre from 2020-2021. Directing credits include: Abraham & Isaac (MuBe Cultural Theatre, São Paulo, Brazil); Pinocchio and Robin Hood (South Coast Repertory, CA); Sublimity (Theatre Row, NYC); The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Theatre on the Lake, Chicago); Lunatics & Actors (Shakespeare Center, LA); Henry’s Potato (REDCAT, LA); Beyond Dark (Odyssey Theater, LA); Jonah (Annenberg, Santa Monica); Crumble (Sacred Fools, LA). Four Clowns, a show Aluma conceived and directed, toured to La MaMa (NYC), Chicago, Minnesota, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Arizona, Las Vegas, and all over Southern California. Aluma received his MFA in Directing at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Aluma is a member of SDC, the union for stage directors. http://www.jeremyaluma.com


Martin Noyes

Fight Director
Martin Noyes is from Irvine, California where he works as a teacher and fight director. His most recent work was fight directing Oliver Twist, Lie of the Mind, The Mexican Play, Carousel, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Macbeth, ART, Anon, Fahrenheit 451, IMPROV!, 3 Musketeers, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Julius Caesar, Indian Summer, and Hamlet at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. At the Chance Theatre, in Southern California: Shakespeare’s R and J, Big Love, Cabaret, Never in My Lifetime, Hot n’ Throbbing, and A Christmas Story. Mr. Noyes also has worked at South Coast Repertory fight directing such shows as Hitchcock Blonde, The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, Ridiculous Fraud (with Sharon Ott,) Bach at Leipzig, Nothing Sacred, and System Wonderland. At Shakespeare Santa Cruz: King Lear, As You Like It, and Pygmalion. Mr. Noyes is a Certified Teacher in the Art of Stage Combat through the Society of American Fight Directors and has been fight directing for 32 years. Mr. Noyes received his BFA from Southern Oregon University and his MFA from the University of Alabama, both in Theater with an emphasis in acting. Martin Noyes is the founder and CEO of ADVENTURE THEATER LLC, which is an interactive roleplaying theater experience. Mr. Noyes is also an avid gamer and Dungeon Master.


Fred Kinney

Scenic Designer
Fred Kinney has been with the Chance for over five productions. Past productions: Claudio Quest, A Chorus Line, Loch Ness, Passion Play and The Laramie Project & Laramie 10 Years Later. Other recent designs include Ordinary Days, Sight Unseen, Robin Hood, A Wrinkle in Time, A Year with Frog & Toad and Sunlight (South Coast Repertory). Intimate Apparel (San Diego Repertory Theater); End Game and Taming of the Screw (Cutting Ball Theater, San Francisco), Peter Pan and Wendy (Prince Music Theater); A Picasso (Pittsburgh City Theater); The Price and Old Wicked Songs (Vienna’s English Theater); The Good Daughter, The Adjustment, Color of Flesh, Winterizing a Summer House (New Jersey Repertory). He is recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Program and holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.


Bradley Allen Lock

Costume Designer
Bradley has costume-designed a number of productions with Chance Theater and he is ALWAYS thrilled to be back. He previously designed the costumes for A Chorus Line, ROOMS: a rock romance in January of 2012, Lysistrata Jones and Maple and Vine in 2014, Hairspray, Big Fish and Goosebumps, The Musical. Bradley received his MFA in costume/scenic design from CSUF in 2012 and is currently teaching at Cerritos and Cypress College. He is also enjoys freelancing all over SoCal.


Kara Ramlow

Lighting Designer
Kara Ramlow is excited to be working with Chance Theater on this production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. Other designs include: The Revolutionists – Tempe Center for the Arts, Gunmetal Blues and 21 Chump Street – A/C Theater Company, Maddi’s Fridge, Tomás and the Library Lady, Interrupting Vanessa, and The Grumpiest Boy in the World – Childsplay, Quilters, The Cradle Will Rock, Curse of the Starving Class, and Jungal Book – SU Main Stage, Three by Tennessee with SU Black Box Players. She is currently the Lighting Supervisor at South Coast Repertory and has a BFA with concentration in lighting design from Syracuse University.


Nick Santiago

Projection Designer
Nick has worked for numerous universities and theatre companies including Skylight Theatre (Forever House, Church & State, Obama Ology), Rogue Machine (A Permanent Image, Luka’s Room, Honky), USC (Trojan Women, On The Town), Pasadena Playhouse (Ham), and LA LGBT Center (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life Revisited). He received an Ovation nomination and a LA Drama Critics Circle Award for his work on Rogue Machine’s A Permanent Image.


Marc Antonio Pritchett

Sound Deisgner
Marc Antonio Pritchett is a working Actor, Director, Fight Coordinator, and Session Singer in the Los Angeles area. He is also one of the Artistic Directors at Sacred Fools Theatre Company. Recent sound/music credits include The Mousetrap at Theatre Palisades, The Latrell Show at IAMA Theatre, Sweat at Chance Theater, and An Octoroon at the Fountain Theatre. He is represented by Nucleus Talent Management. For additional info visit: http://www.marcantoniopritchett.com


Amanda Zarr

Assistant Director
Amanda Zarr – professional actor, director and adjunct theatre professor. She earned her BFA from Chapman University, her MFA from the prestigious PATP program at the University of Washington. She currently directs and teaches at Chapman University and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Notable directing work includes She Kills Monsters, Elephant’s Graveyard, Hamlet (Chapman/Associate), Merchant of Venice (Chapman/Associate) and 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress and Men in Boats. She was a member of Shakespeare Orange County for over 10 years. Some notable roles include Juliet, Lady Anne, Helena, and Titania. She has been a guest artist with Ophelia’s Jump play Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet at Goldenwest and Natalia in the Electric Baby, Pensacola Shakespeare Company, ACTC, Need Theater of Los Angeles and Santa Fe University of Art and Design where she worked with Jon Jory and Robert Benedetti. At the Chance theater, Amanda has appeared in In a Word, Good People and Vandal. She was proud to work with Santa Fe playwright Joanna Garner on her new work Gutting as a part of the OTR series in 2018.


Kaylee Mesa

Stage Manager
Kaylee Mesa (they/them), who goes by just Mesa, is a recent graduate from CSU Fullerton with a BA in Theatre Design and Technical Production, Stage Management emphasis. During their college career, they stage managed over seven productions ranging from musical theater, dance, and orchestra. Mesa is a fierce advocate against racism, homophobia, and transphobia in theater and everyday life. They bring their experiences and expertise to every project as a queer BIPOC stage manager. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is their first show with Chance Theater as well as their first professional show. Mesa is beyond excited to be part of this fantastic show and talented team.


Joseph Galiza

Dramaturg
Joseph is ecstatic to once again return to the production team for his favorite play, Chad Deity. He had the pleasure of working on the show with director Jeremy Alumna back in Chicago, where Joseph resided for over 11 years performing as an actor/circus performer for numerous theatrical venues including: Lookingglass, House Theatre, Black Ensemble, and several productions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he continues his pursuit of theatre, film, and television. Joseph also works as a journalist for the pro-wrestling publications Wrestling Inc and Lords of Pain. He’s written over 1,000 news articles, had the pleasure of interviewing dozens of pro-wrestlers, and covered events all across the U.S. Love to his wife Marissa and his baby dog Phillip.


Catt Fox-Uruburu

Assistant Stage Manager
Catt is thrilled to be Stage Managing her first show with the Chance and is so glad that Gregg, Louis and Scott let her join in on the ridiculously funny journey of Hymon and Parfunkel. You may have recently seen her work on Cypress College’s All Together Now or Fullerton College’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She hopes you enjoy the songs of the show because they’ll definitely be stuck in your head just like they’re stuck in hers.




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