The Dog Project

Department Chair
E.J. Westlake

Producer and Production Manager
Sherée Greco

Director
Mandy Fox

Scenic Designer and Properties Designers
Brad Steinmetz
Megan Wells

Costume Designer
Alexis Miller

Lighting Designer
Robbie Wilt

Sound Designer
Keya Myers-Alkire

Technical Director
Chris Zinkon

Theatrical Intimacy Choreographer
Francis Miller

External Relations and Publicity Coordinator
J. Briggs Cormier

Ticketing Services and Audience Services Specialist
Julia Buttermore

Business Operations Manager
Dev Singer

Graphic Design
Jack Seal-Roth

Technical Director
Chris Zinkon

Scenic Studio Manager
Chad R. Mahan

Master Carpenter
Scott Stiles

Scenic Studio Teaching Associates
Kaitlyn Crosby, Katherine Simon, Megan Wells

Scenery Construction Crew
Has Albano-Seitz, Ben Ault, Veronica Ball, Rex Bammerlin, Avani Bhalla, Miles Carlson, Matthew Fisher, Grace French, Alivia Hall, Matt Henry, Audrey Nelson, Lilli Nelson, Sophie Reynolds, Kyle Santoro, Maya Stepnick, Katherine Swift, Jason Tang, Gabe Willenberg

Set Run Crew
 Grace Lamparyk, Varun Pillai

Costume Studio Manager
Coco Mayer

Stitcher
Cat Tope

Costume Studio Teaching Associate
Alexis Miller

Costume Construction Crew
Hannah Allen, Veronica Ball, Hannah Byers, Macayla Childs, Olivia Dearth, Gerald Fitzpatrick, Maddie Green, Ray Hahn, Vivian Hall, Terra Miller, Sophie O'Leary, Sabine Smaili, Denize Totonchi, Leticia Wang, Persis Yoder

Wardrobe Crew
 Elize Aultman, Joe Blair, Lica Li

Lighting Studio Manager
Eric M. Slezak

Production Electrician
Sarah Herkert

Lighting Studio Teaching Associates
Sarah Herkert, Evan Lane, Robbie Wilt

Lighting Crew
Isabel Brunner, Eris Dale, Matthew Fisher, Gregory Goldberg, Lauren Klein, Lillian McClure, Chris Mendoza, Kyle Santoro

Light Board Operator
 AJ Bach/Matthew Fisher

Sound and Media Studio Manager
Keya Myers-Alkire

Sound Crew
Matthew Fisher, Gregory Goldberg, Ray Hahn, Hato Hu, Darrian Ippolito, Ruth Luketic, Rosaline Lyle, Othman Shuri, Ida Zheng

Sound Board Operator
 Matthew Fisher

Ticket Office Staff
Fatoumata Kante, Brenda Ramos Perez, Logan Thomas, Julie Wietholter

House Managers
Fatoumata Kante, Julie Wietholter
 

Noah Bennett (Sal), graduate student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Wilderness; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Jalen Carr (Owen), graduate student
Hometown: Houston, TX
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Wilderness; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival; August Wilson's Seven Guitars

Paitton Lewis (Naomi), graduate student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Soldotna, AK
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Everybody; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Shannon McCarren (Evie), graduate student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Butler, PA
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Wilderness; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Alexis Miller (costume designer), graduate student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Frisco, TX
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: 1st department production

Francis Miller (Logan/Tank; theatrical intimacy choreographer), graduate student
Pronouns: they/them
Hometown: Sandpoint, ID
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Everybody; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Josh Mink (David/Sal understudy), sophomore
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Shaker Heights, OH
Major(s): moving-image production; Spanish
Minor(s): screenwriting; theatre
Department Productions: She Kills Monsters; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Sophie O'Leary (Evie/Naomi understudy), sophomore
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Major(s): music; theatre
Department Productions: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Moors

Chris Quiroz (David), graduate student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: New York, NY
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Everybody; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Joshua Smith (Lennie/Rex), graduate student
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Gresham, OR
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Everybody; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Angelina Steshenko (Charlotte/Kazu), graduate student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: Wilderness; Blood Wedding; MFA Solo Festival

Megan Wells (scenic & properties designer), graduate student
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI 
Major(s): theatre
Department Productions: August Wilson's Seven Guitars; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The opening of a door, the pressing of a button, hearing the sound of a tea kettle; we often take the simplest things for granted. Able-bodied folks can move through the world with relative ease, mounting staircases and retrieving necessary medications without registering the effort. This independence can feel inherent and permanent, a never-changing factor in the rhythm of our lives. This is simply not the case for a gigantic portion of our population. People with disabilities is the largest minority group in the United States, with almost 20% of the population living with a disability, and this membership often comes with limitations in independence. 

Elsewhere, many citizens find themselves in an in-between place; not quite disabled, but in need of assistance and support with activities of daily living. This can be a calming presence, a warm weight, a calm and easy exhale. This consistent and subtle presence can offer those unsettled by terror or illness a sense of peace, focus, or calm. The presence of a dog can change a life.

The Master of Fine Arts in Acting Class of 2025 with Professor Mandy Fox has partnered with Canine Companions, The Ohio Prison Dog Coalition and Pet Partners of Central Ohio to create this piece of theatre to speak for and advocate on behalf of those with disabilities who utilize working dogs to live move independent lives. In disability advocacy work, there is an oft-repeated phrase of “Nothing about us, without us”, and this partnering with these community organizations offer us an opportunity to embody this phrase in an authentic and honest way. By partnering with these groups, we have had the incredible privilege to work directly with those impacted by unjust or incomplete systems and legislation, and to attempt to use our work as artists to serve those who utilize the care that dog-assisted intervention provides. We are incredibly fortunate to present The Dog Project, in the hopes that this small work will further the work of these incredible community organizations.

Stick around after the performance on Friday, February 28th for a post-show discussion with the cast and representatives from our community partners about the play's themes and the creative process for this type of project.

This production includes brief moments of simulated military sounds, mention of animal harm, and discussions of death.