Twelfth Night Cast & Crew
Cast
Dani Asafov (Officer/Priest) A vagabond physicist, who spends time studying, travelling, and being fascinated with humankind even at its lowest. Playing two small roles in the play and a big role in the hearts of the cast.
Sullivan "Sully" Braun (Sir Toby Belch) Is a writer, actor, and crew-person in the film and theater industry. He has contributed in various ways to TACIT productions since 2019, most notably writing and designing media for Earth Data in 2024. When not endlessly iterating on his most recent scripts or attempting to produce original pieces at regional theaters around Los Angeles, he works with the Actors Studio in West Hollywood to hone his craft.
Arabella Camunez (Olivia) Arabella is a second-year undergraduate student studying Chemical Engineering on the Sustainability Track with hopes of pursuing science policy. Outside of theater, she is active in Glee Club, the Caltech Y, and the Caltech Christian Fellowship. She also loves exploring the National Parks. She played Felicity last year in EXPLiCIT's production of The Real Inspector Hound and is thrilled to be back on stage with such an amazing group!
Carol Cyr (Antonio) A recent PCC graduate, Carol is currently studying theater at CSULA, but she's led many lives, including working in entertainment, politics, and at JPL. Acting is her very heart and soul, doing so in whatever medium will have her, whether it be theater, film, or voiceover. Twelfth Night is the seventeenth production at Caltech that she's acted in and her first full production here since March 2020. A homemade Ouija board told a 14-year-old Carol that she was Shakespeare in a previous life. Since she's pretty good with words and her birthday falls two days after good Ol' Will's observed birthday, she's decided to run with it. Take care, Caro.
Max Gorbachev (Malvolio/Sound Design) Max feels lucky to reunite on stage with Solvin Sigurdson. He thanks Mahak Mathur, Laura Flower Kim, Brian Brophy without whom this production would have been a pain in the derrière on a scale of 10 or simply not possible in its current form. A special thanks goes to Eitan Levin, president of EXPLiCIT. Despite being in the final years of his PhD, Eitan has kept the club up and running. This is probably the best time to say that Max won't be able to return the $7000 Eitan lent him this month. Ah…yes, the biggest thanks go to Max's wife, the future Nobel laureate in Physics, who happens to be the ideal woman (No, Max didn't lose a bet).
Reggy Granovsky (Sebastian) Reggy killed the previous two Sebastians to get this part. They would like to note that this play is definitely not cursed. When they are not falling in love and getting into fights on stage, they're pursuing their offstage loves of fighting, dancing, crafts and storytelling. They dedicate this performance to their wife Sebastien, who wouldn't give them his shoes; and their second wife Alice, whom they dearly miss--although their aim is getting better; and their third wife Dani.
Joyce Kim (Fabian/Captain) Joyce is a staff member working at a Caltech center and whose interest in performing arts activities led her to become part of the "Twelfth Night" cast. Prior theater experience proved useful when the time came to act as a dual-role cast member, a challenge which she looked forward to rising to. She hopes everyone who watches the play enjoys a production so improbably comedic from whatever its stars can say or see on the stage!
Ting-Juan Liao (Valentine) Ting-Juan is a planetary science graduate student who spends most of her time simulating the atmospheres of Jupiter and Venus. Deciding it was time to escape the digital simulations and dive into some real-life make-believe, she took a bold leap into the world of theater. Twelfth Night marks her stage debut, where she plays Valentine. She hopes this experiment in live simulation doesn't crash.
Mahak Mathur (Viola) Mahak is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering student with an interest in aerospace applications. Though she loves watching theatrical productions, this is her first time performing in one - and she's not throwing away her shot! She's incredibly excited to be playing Viola, and thanks her parents and (real-life) brother for all their support and encouragement.
Cai Tong Ng (Maria/Assistant Director) Cai is a biochemistry graduate student studying DNA replication regulation in the Dunphy lab. On occasion she decides that it is wise to occupy all her spare time with theater and film. Playing Maria has been a necessary creative outlet for Cai, and she wishes to share this play with her beloved guinea pigs, Mochi and Kiwi. Alas, they seem fully satisfied with burrowing in hay at home.
Solvin Sigurdson (Feste the Fool) Solvin is delighted to welcome you to this hilarious production of Twelfth Night. He is a 2nd year graduate student doing research in robotics, which really just means he always wanted to be a Skywalker. Solvin has appeared in EXPLiCIT's production of The Real Inspector Hound, TACIT's production of Earth Data: The Musical, and looks forward to more theatre at Caltech. He hopes you enjoy the show, finding yourself full of smiles and in a most admirable fooling. And that you may always be a witty fool, rather than a foolish wit.
Eric F. Smith (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) Eric is an Electric Propulsion Technologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a Caltech alum. Eric has previously performed with TACIT and the Caltech Playreaders, and is excited to play Sir Andrew in his first Shakespeare production!
Damian R. Wilson (Duke Orsino) Damian is a physics/English sophomore at Caltech who does research at INQNET, Prof. Maria Spiropulu's alliance for quantum information and high energy physics. Damian is drawn especially to projects that fuse the arts, humanities, and sciences—Caltech's theatric specialty. Among other roles, he was ne'er-do-well oil executive Bill Suthaby in Earth Data, Caltech's recent (and to his knowledge, the world's first!) musical adaptation of a published ecotoxicology paper. More than an inveterate thespian, Damian also loves poetry, classical and jazz music, baking, and pretending that in-depth statistical analysis is the key to gaming the stock market.
Lihang Zhou (Curio) First-year PhD in physics. Loves classical music, plays guitar and violin, and enjoys getting lost in Haruki Murakami's stories.
Production Team
Edvar Bautista (Light Board Operator) Edvar is an undergraduate sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering at Caltech. He has been involved in stage tech for five years, starting in his freshman year of high school. His experience includes working backstage, building sets, and running technical equipment for productions. Last year, he served as the light board operator for EXPliCIT's production of The Real Inspector Hound, and he is excited to return as the light board operator for Twelfth Night. Outside of theatre, Edvar enjoys going on late-night drives with friends, exploring new places, and finding new ways to stay creative and inspired.
Crystal Dilworth (Choreographer) Crystal is a neuroscientist and science communicator. With a PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Caltech, Crystal is the host of the historic Watson Lecture Series at Caltech. As a frequent contributor on media networks such as Voice of America and Al Jazeera, she unpacks the technical complexity of science and highlights the human impact of innovation for audiences in over 120 countries. Saturday mornings on CBS, her alter-ego "Dr. Brain" reaches millions, exploring topics about "my brain, your brain, and everyone's brains", on the Emmy-nominated television show Mission Unstoppable. Dr. Brain has been recognized as one of the most influential on-screen STEM figures of the past decade. https://www.drbrain.phd/
Laura Flower-Kim (Producer) Laura has worked with Caltech's International Student Programs for 17 years. She has attended numerous performances by TACIT and EXPLiCIT and enjoys supporting students and community members in their creative endeavors. Apart from her on-stage theatrics at International Orientation, being backstage or in the audience is more her style. She is honored to be in service to this beautiful community of cast and crew who bring this production to life.
Joyce Hutter (Scenic Designer) Joyce is excited to support Caltech's production of Twelfth Night, directed by Miranda Stewart. The topiary garden for the production was created with a whimsical flair while staying within a limited budget. As an artist, designer, filmmaker, and puppeteer, Joyce is thrilled to be part of the theater community. She has been awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her puppet and mask design achievements. Her recent designs include the sets for *Medea Comes to Our Town*, *Hurricane Kate*, *Brushstroke*, *Shrek the Musical*, and *Eurydice*. Joyce's theatrical designs have enriched several Hollywood Fringe productions, such as *Pure Cinema* and *The Planet Earth Farewell Concert*. Additionally, Joyce is the artistic director of Strings & Things Puppet Theatre and produces "Nite At The Puppet Asylum," a unique puppetry slam for adult audiences that is part of the Puppet Slam Network. https://stringsnthingspuppettheatre.wordpress.com/artistic-director/.
Seri Jane Kim (Assistant Stage Manager) Seri Jane Kim is a sophomore at the California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley (CSArts) in the Production & Design conservatory. She enjoys using her creativity to build sets/props and working behind the scenes. She has crewed several high school productions and most recently Caltech's original production of EARTH DATA: The Musical. She is proud to be involved in EXPLiCIT's Twelfth Night as the Assistant Stage Manager.
Eitan Levin (Marketing/EXPLiCIT President) Eitan is a graduate student in applied math at Caltech, and he has had the privilege to take part in reviving EXPLiCIT after the pandemic and participating in some of its productions since then. He is excited to contribute to their most ambitious project yet and watch this play come to life!
Sofia Lyon (Stage Manager) Twelfth Night is Sofia's second production with the Caltech Players, and she is endlessly amazed by their passion and showmanship. When not taking blocking notes or making schedules, she is in pursuit of her own creative career as a writer, designer, and performer. Past productions as stage manager include TACIT's Earth Data, The Secret Garden, and the Now Boarding one-act play festival.
Linda Muggeridge (Costume Designer) Linda loves storytelling. In every phase of her varied career, storytelling has been a goal and a joy. In theater, every time an actor inhabits a costume, that wardrobe needs to instantly tell the audience a very short but effective story about that character. Working with the director, the actor, and other designers to make that story is Linda's idea of awesome. It is a whole other level of awesomeness to work together with students to use what they are learning in school - history, literature, physics - to sculpt their look and connect it with the bigger picture and the human experience. manyhatzcostumes.com
Miranda Stewart (Director) Miranda is a film and theater director. She is excited to bring Shakespeare back to Ramo for the first time since she was a Caltech undergrad. Twelfth Night is her first foray into Shakespeare as a director. She recently graduated from CalArts with an MFA in Film Directing where she wrote and directed a short film adapting the final tablets of The Epic of Gilgamesh with a female protagonist. Prior to attending CalArts, she directed a feature film, Fishbowl, and several short films. Her theater directing credits include Eleemosynary (Hollywood Fringe Festival), Catalyst (Loft Ensemble), ‘Tis Pity She's a Whore (Archway Theatre, an LA Weekly Pick of the Week), A Part and Funeral Party (Hollywood Fringe Festival), Old Times (Occidental College), The Ash Girl, Little Shop of Horrors, Metamorphoses, and The Real Inspector Hound (all at Caltech), and a number of radio plays with Open Door Playhouse. www.mirandastewart.net