Head Over Heels

Gerilyn Brault (Pamela) Gerilyn was last seen on the Diversionary mainstage in The Moors and is so happy to be back telling a story of acceptance and embracing who you are! Other San Diego theatre work includes: New Village Arts, Moonlight Amphitheatre, Intrepid Theatre Company, Oceanside Theatre Company, San Diego Musical Theatre, and North Coast Rep. She is an Associate Faculty member in Theatre at MiraCosta College and Grossmont Community College, a guest teaching artist at the Meisner/Chekhov Integrated Technique Studio, and the current Artistic Director for Carlsbad Playreaders. She has an MFA in Acting from Purdue University and a BA in Musical Theatre from Chico State. Endless gratitude to her major support system: her parents Tom and Linda, her sister Robyn, and the Banvilles. Pamela is one of the first body positive roles, if not the first, in musical theatre written with a fat woman in mind. I sincerely hope she isn’t the last. 

Faith Carrion (Pythio; she/they) is a Los Angeles native just getting started with her career in San Diego. They were just seen as Candy Starr in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Lamplighters). Some of her favorite LA credits include Gloria in the World Premiere of Orange is the New Black: A Musical Parody (LA Theater Center), Sour Kangaroo in Seussical (Candlelight Pavilion), and Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables (Haugh Performing Arts Center). She spends her days as Head of Customer Experience for An’s Gelato and cooking for her friends. She’d like to thank her father for always encouraging her as a performer, Sondra for loving her so fiercely, and her “unofficial” manager Alexander Mendoza for getting her back on the stage.

Audrey Deubig (Understudy)

Berto Fernández (Dametas; He/Him) is thrilled to be making his Diversionary debut in this fabulous production of Head Over Heels! Favorite credits: How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (The Old Globe); Kinky Boots, Ragtime (Moonlight Stage); La Cage Aux Folles, Rock of Ages (Cygnet Theatre); The Addams Family (Welk Theater); In The Heights, Catch Me If You Can (Craig Noel Award nomination), Sister Act! (SDMT); Beauty & The Beast (Disney World); Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors (Lyric Theatre of Puerto Rico). Berto was named 2022 Actor of the Year by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he has shared the stage with superstars like Ricky Martin and Andrea Bocelli. bertoworld.com

Alyssa “Ajay” Junious (Associate Choreographer; she/her) Alyssa “Ajay” Junious is an interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, pilates practitioner and creative entrepreneur from Oceanside, California. She has a BFA in Performance, Choreography, and a Certificate of Arts Management from the University of California, Irvine. For the past 10 years, she has performed and choreographed professionally throughout San Diego. Some of her professional theater credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Cygnet Theater, New Village Arts, Teatro San Diego, and Oceanside Theater Company. She is the founder of Continuum Arts & Pilates, a movement training and performance company. She is also Co-founder of Soultry Sisters Arts + Wellness Collective and curates an annual Summer Solstice Festival in North County San Diego. Ajay is excited to have her debut performance with Diversionary Theater this season! Follow her creative adventures on instagram @miss_ajay

Joey Kirkpatrick (Musidorous) is beyond grateful to be joining the Diversionary family, debuting on their stage in a show that is so beautifully relevant to the moment we are living in. Last seen as Frank in The Rocky Horror Show at OB Playhouse. Previously Pageant (Miss Deep South), Urinetown (Bobby), Avenue Q (Rod), Altar Boyz (Abraham), Spamalot (Herbert), Chicago (Fred Casely), and Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour). Joey graduated from SDSU with a minor in Theatre, majoring in Political Science and spends his days frustrated with our corrupt political system, but proud and grateful to be queer and stand with the LGBTQ+ community in pursuit of a more just and inclusive society. Thanks to his husband Josh, their 3 cat children, Alejandro, Toots, and Hedwig for being a constant source of support, love, and encouragement; and to Diversionary for always telling the stories we all need to hear.

Sutheshna Mani (Ensemble 1/Understudy) At age 6 Sutheshna started learning Bharatanatyam. Did it serve her well on the playground? Maybe not. But did it set the stage for her obsession with acting? Absolutely. Not content with just dancing her way through life, she dove headfirst into singing – singing in the high school choir for 4 years, and learning Carnatic music for four more. Since college, she’s performed across San Diego in musical theatre, contemporary theatre, and Shakespeare productions. Some of her favorite include Rocky Horror at OB Playhouse (Janet), The Taming at Scripps Ranch Theatre (Bianca), Comedy of Errors at Coronado Playhouse (Adriana), and Pleasure Trials at Moxie Theatre (Callie). She’s excited to see where this passion takes her from stage to screen.

Adelaida Martinez (Philoclea) Adelaida is grateful to be performing at Diversionary for the first time! She is a proud Puerto Rican performer, teacher and Titi to three amazing kiddos. Additionally, she is one of the
co-founders of ABC Theatre Company (@abctheatreco) and is dedicated to providing a platform for unheard voices. Credits: Brenda Strong in Catch Me If You Can (SDMT), Ensemble and Nina u/s in In the Heights (SDMT), Casey in First Date (Onstage Playhouse), Swing in Evita (SD Rep), Cinderella in Into the Woods (OB Playhouse), Sam in The Mad Ones (Grossmont College). Gracias a mi familia y amigos por todo su apoyo. Te amo mucho. Instagram: @adelaidamaria._

Amanda Naughton (Gynecia) Diversionary mainstage debut. Broadway: Into the Woods (2002), The Secret Garden. Tours: Fun Home, The Secret Garden (Jeff Award nominee) Off-Broadway: Romance in Hard Times, Hundreds of Hats, 3Postcards, Mr. President. Locally: Fun Home (SD Rep, Craig Noel nominee), Bethany, A Doll’s House, Dr.
Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Jane Austen’s Emma, Lost in Yonkers, The Women, The Constant Wife, Loves & Hours, Paramour (The Old Globe). Come From Away, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Jolla Playhouse).
And: The Public Theatre, Circle Rep, WPA, L.A. Opera, South Coast Repertory, La Mirada, PiNsburgh CLO, The Hangar Theatre, Forestburgh Playhouse, Eugene O’Neill Center, George Street, Walnut Street, Geva.
TV: BeNy Roberts on “Remember WENN” (SAG Nominee), “Law & Order: C.I.”, “Law &Order SVU”, “Chappelle’s Show.” Film: The Secret Life of Walter MiQy, Mexico City. Grateful to MaN and the Diversionary community. Love always to Ralph and Sophia.

Kevin Phan (Ensemble 2/Male Understudy) is feeling immense joy to be a part of Head Over Heels in his inaugural show at Diversionary. His most notable roles are Jack/Rapunzel’s Prince – Into the Woods (New Village Arts), Brad Majors – The Rocky Horror Show (OB Playhouse), St. Jimmy – American Idiot (Southwestern College). He has received awards for his performances in How to Succeed in Business… and American Idiot (Patio Playhouse). Kevin’s grateful for the support of his loved ones. Follow his social media platforms @kevphantom.

Scott Ripley (Basilius; he, him) is delighted to make his Diversionary debut with this beautiful, important piece. Other professional (AEA) acting credits: Moscow Art Theatre, Taiwan National Theatre, Folger Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, American Conservatory Theatre, Portland Stage, three seasons in the acting company of the American Repertory Theatre, four seasons at Playmakers Repertory Company, three seasons at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and one season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland. He has directed productions at Theatre Row (NYC), Zeeheldentheater and Theater Aan Het Spui (The Hague), Actors Theatre of Charlotte, Connecticut Rep, and Cape Rep Theatre. Love and Gratitude to Matt, Skyler, Liliane, and (especially) Candace.

Skyler Sullivan (Understudy)

Lauren King Thompson (Mopsa) Lauren is thrilled to return to Diversionary after previously appearing in The Loneliest Girl in the World (Craig Noel Nomination) and Divine Sister. Lauren has performed nationally in the tour of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and locally at numerous theatres including Cygnet Theatre, Lamb’s Players Theatre, New Village Arts, Moonlight Stage Productions, San Diego Musical Theatre, Backyard Renaissance, Intrepid Shakespeare, and the Welk. Lauren received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Cal State University, Fullerton.

Stephen Brotebeck*** (Co-director) is a Professor in the MFA Musical Theatre program at SDSU where he has directed and choreographed numerous productions including Postcard American Town (World Premiere), Steel Pier, Pippin, James and the Giant Peach, The Full Monty and The Drowsy Chaperone (Craig Noel Award Nomination). Broadway: Ghost, Peter and the Starcatcher (Movement Associate). Former Artistic Director of the Okoboji Summer Theatre. As a director Mr. Brotebeck has helmed the Off and Off-Off Broadway productions of The Shark Play, Breaking The Shakespeare Code, St. Francis (NY Fringe – Excellence in Directing Award), The Maltese Walter, Greasemonkey and Scenes from a Balcony. Kennedy Center: Spring Gala (Director), My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Children of Eden (Associate Director/ Choreographer). Additional credits as a director and/or choreographer include Ghost at the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival; Girlfriend and The Loneliest Girl In The World at Diversionary Theatre; Peter and the Starcatcher, Monty Python’s Spamalot, And The World Goes ‘Round (Oscar Wilde Nomination), and I Love A Piano (Oscar Wilde Nomination) at Farmers Alley Theatre; Looking For Roberto Clemente at Imagination Stage; The Great American Songbook Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony presented by Michael Feinstein. Internationally, Stephen has directed productions for Creativiva Caribbean, and choreographed multiple projects in Indonesia, China, and Guatemala for Passport to Broadway.

Matt M.Morrow (Co-director; He/Her/They) Since joining the organization in 2014, Matt has helped to grow Diversionary Theatre’s operating budget by 100%. Under their leadership the theatre has been nominated for 29 San Diego Critics Circle Awards, winning two Outstanding New Play Awards in 2017 and 2019. Alongside Diversionary’s Board of Trustees, Matt led the Securing Our Future campaign, a $2.5 million renovation project for the theatre’s home in University Heights, slated to reopen early Fall 2021. Notable productions Matt has directed and/or produced with Diversionary include the 20th Anniversary production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Winner, 2019 Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, SDCC Award), Miranda Rose Hall’s The Hour of Great Mercy (Winner, 2019 Best New Play, SDCC Award), the World Premiere of Gordon Leary and Julia Meinwald’s musical The Loneliest Girl in the World, Georgette Kelly’s Ballast (Winner, 2017 Best New Play, SDCC Award), Justin Huertas’ Lizard Boy The Musical (Winner, Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical). Matt was honored with the inaugural Larry T. Baza Arts & Culture Award from San Diego Pride, and was a Creative Catalyst Fellow with The San Diego Foundation and La Jolla Playhouse. He has developed new work with The Sundance Theatre Institute, The Old Globe, The Banff Centre, Center Theatre Group, American Conservatory Theater, Lincoln Center, PlayPenn, and Page 73 Productions in residence at the Yale School of Drama. Matt served as The John Wells Professor of Directing at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama (Graduate & Undergraduate Directing programs), and is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. Matt is currently adjunct Professor of Directing at UCSD’s Graduate Directing program. He holds a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. mattmmorrow.com

Katie Banville (Choreographer; she/her) Choreography credits: Cygnet Theatre – Cabaret (Choreographer), Rock of Ages (Choreographer/Assoc. Director), Spamalot (Choreographer/Assoc. Director), A Christmas Carol (Choreographer), Gypsy (June/Asst. Choreographer), Company (April/Asst. Choreographer); Okoboji Summer Theatre – Beehive: The ‘60s Musicals (Dir/Chor); Freaky Friday – San Diego Musical Theatre (Co-Director) and Moonlight Amphitheatre; Backyard Renaissance –Tarrytown, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Smokefall; San Diego State University – Company; The Old Globe – A Doll’s House (Movement Coordinator). Performance credits: The Heart of Rock and Roll, Benny and Joon – The Old Globe; Freaky Friday, Escape to Margaritaville – La Jolla Playhouse. MFA Musical Theatre, San Diego State University. Co-Chair Theatre Arts, Grossmont College. katiebanville.com

Patrick Marion (Music Director; he/him) is thrilled to be back at Diversionary again! Select credits: Diversionary Theatre: Hedwig And The Angry Inch, The Loneliest Girl In The World; Cygnet Theatre: La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Five Years (SD Critics Circle Nominee), Rock Of Ages, Shockheaded Peter (SD Critics Circle Nominee), The Rocky Horror Show, A Christmas Carol, Company, Assassins; LPT (associate artist): Million Dollar Quartet, Oz, West Side Story, Les Miserables, miXtape; Welk Resorts Theatre: Nunsense.

Justin Humphres (Scenic Designer)

Elisa Benzoni** (Costume Designer; she/her) is thrilled to be back working at Diversionary Theatre where she previously designed Hedwig and the Angry Inch, A Kind of Weather, The Hour of Great Mercy, Significant Other, Ballast, The Mystery of Love and Sex, Homos . She has worked on over 100 professional productions both locally and internationally including work with The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Geffen Theatre, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Laguna Playhouse and San Diego Repertory Theatre. She is also resident costume designer at North Coast Repertory Theatre. Elisa has an MFA in costume design from UC San Diego where she is currently adjunct faculty.

Joel Britt (Lighting Designer; he/him) – Selected Design work includes The Skin of Our Teeth (SDU), American Buffalo (Backyard Renaissance), A Kind of Weather, Significant Other, Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre), A Raisin in the Sun, Taming of the Shrew(d), Vieux Carré, Angels in America (UCSD) The Who’s Tommy Benefit Concert (La Jolla Playhouse), Little Women and Peter and the Starcatcher (The Barn Stage Company). Selected Assistant/Associate work includes Hamilton (National Tours/Germany), Summer, The Donna Summer Musical (La Jolla/ Broadway/National Tour), Come From Away (National Tour/Apple TV+), The Band’s Visit (National Tour), Freaky Friday (La Jolla Playhouse), The Lorax, Taming of the Shrew, Midsummer (The Old Globe). Joel is a proud member of USA829. joelbritt.com

Alyssa Kane (Props Designer; she/her) Alyssa is extremely proud to be working with Diversionary once again. She is a queer woman working full time in scenic design, props design, and scenic painting. Recent projects include Lost in Yonkers (Scripps Ranch Theatre), Sharon (Cygnet), The High Table (Diversionary), Ripped (Loud Fridge), The Great Khan (SD Rep), Sapience (Moxie), and Yellow Wallpaper (Write Out Loud). She is also a performer and founding member of a burlesque and variety troupe in Southeast Alaska. Portfolio: AlyssaKaneScenicDesign.com

Harper Justus (Sound Designer) Harper Justus is a first-year MFA Sound Design candidate at UC San Diego and hails from Dayton, OH. She holds a BFA in Production Design from Ohio University. Selected design credits: The Ferryman (New Village Arts), Dance Nation (UCSD), Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tantrum Theatre), An Iliad (Brick Monkey), Pluto (Ohio University).

Alyssa “Ajay” Junious (Associate Choreographer; she/her) Alyssa “Ajay” Junious is an interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, pilates practitioner and creative entrepreneur from Oceanside, California. She has a BFA in Performance, Choreography, and a Certificate of Arts Management from the University of California, Irvine. For the past 10 years, she has performed and choreographed professionally throughout San Diego. Some of her professional theater credits include La Jolla Playhouse, Cygnet Theater, New Village Arts, Teatro San Diego, and Oceanside Theater Company. She is the founder of Continuum Arts & Pilates, a movement training and performance company. She is also Co-founder of Soultry Sisters Arts + Wellness Collective and curates an annual Summer Solstice Festival in North County San Diego. Ajay is excited to have her debut performance with Diversionary Theater this season! Follow her creative adventures on instagram @miss_ajay

Kandace Crystal (Intimacy Design)

Jacob Bruce (Fight Choreographer) (AEA, SAG/AFTRA, IATSE) is an actor, director, educator, and builder, having appeared onstage at the La Jolla Playhouse, Mo’olelo, San Diego Rep., Knightsbridge Theatre, North Coast Rep, and Intrepid Theatre, among others. He has directed for Bodhi Tree Concerts/SD Opera, USD, and Finest City Improv, and has served as a violence/staging choreographer and consultant for LJP, UCSD, Diversionary, SD Opera, and USD. Jacob is adjunct faculty at USD, where he is also currently serving as Associate Production Manager, and is a long-term member of the Production Staff at LJP. Film and TV credits are available on IMDB.

Shannon Humsiton* (Stage Manager) is excited to be returning to Diversionary for Head Over Heels. She is a Kansas City native who now calls San Diego home. Select credits include Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre), Stroll Thru Shushan (San Diego REP), Hairspray (Kansas City Starlight Theatre), King Lear (Saratoga Shakespeare Company), and Avenue Q (Nebraska Repertory Theatre). When she is not in the theatre, she can be found working with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance as an entertainment performance manager for their many seasonal events. She would like to thank her parents, brother, friends, and the Frentrops for all of their support and always encouraging her to chase her dreams.

*Appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
**Appearing courtesy of United Scenic Association
*** Appearing courtesy of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

Head Over Heels bravely confronts the rapidly changing social, sexual, and gender dynamic of our day. I love that this story is told in verse, paying homage to its roots in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia. And even though it’s a jukebox musical, The Go Go’s songs are interwoven so fluidly with intelligence and heart, that it feels like they were written for this story specifically. The mash up of rock music and verse create an altogether fresh and new mode of storytelling that is an explosion of pure joy!  

James Magruder (Adaptation) James Magruder is a playwright, translator, and fiction writer, currently represented on Broadway as co-bookwriter on Head Over Heels, the musical mash-up of Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia and the song catalogue of the Go-Go’s. His other translations and adaptations for the stage include Marivaux’s The Triumph of Love (Center Stage, Classic Stage Company, La Jolla Playhouse), the book for its musical version, Triumph of Love (Broadway and beyond, Germany, and Japan), Labiche’s Eating Crow (Dallas Main Street Theatre), Lesage’s Turcaret (Catalyst Theatre), Dancourt’s Knight Errant, Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid (Yale Repertory Theatre), Bougie Man, a version of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme for South Coast Rep, The Miser (Center Stage, Northlight Theatre), Gozzi’s The Love of Three Oranges(La Jolla Playhouse), Christmas Carol 1941 (Arena Stage),The Madwoman of Chaillot (American Conservatory Theatre) and Der Bourgeois Bigwig, a reconstruction of the Molière/Hofmannsthal/Strauss musical comedy for Princeton University. His Three French Comedies (Yale University Press) was named an “Outstanding Literary Translation” by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA).

His short fiction has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, New England Review, Subtropics, The Hopkin Review, Bloom, The Normal School, the anthologies Boy Crazy and New Stories from the Midwest, and elsewhere. His début novel, Sugarless, (University of Wisconsin Press) was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and shortlisted for both the 2010 William Saroyan International Writing Prize and the VCU Cabell First Novelists Award. His second and third books of fiction are Let Me See It, a linked story collection (2014), and Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall (2016). Current projects include a musical version of Bertram Cope’s Year with composer Polly Pan; Save Yourself, a novel set in a summer stock theatre; and Staying in the Moment: Yale Rep at 50, a commissioned chronicle of the first fifty years of Yale Repertory Theatre.

He is a four-time fellow of the MacDowell Colony and a six-time recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. His writing has also been supported by Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, the Kenyon Playwrights Conference, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the New Harmony Project, the Ucross Foundation, the Blue Mountain Center, the Jerome Foundation, and the 2010 Sewanee Writers’ Conference, where he was a Walter E. Dakin Fellow in Fiction. He holds degrees in French literature from Cornell and Yale and an M.F.A. and D.F.A. from Yale School of Drama.

He has worked as a dramaturg at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, South Coast Repertory Theatre, The Stratford Festival in Canada, and on Broadway. He has taught, off and on, at Swarthmore College, Princeton University, the University of Baltimore, and the Yale School of Drama.