Meet Our Players
Janey Hirsh comes from a New England family of more serious published writers - two sisters, a brother and father, who nonetheless seem to appreciate her zanier approach to the written word. After years working and touring in live theater and puppetry, Janey finds that writing comedy for this particular group is what gets her out of bed in the morning.
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A New Jersey native, Michael Monahan studied philosophy in college in Boston, then moved to the West Coast, where he experienced a career shift to boilermaker working on ships at San Francisco's Hunter's Point. A later career shift led to acting - possibly an inheritance from his grandfather, a vaudeville street performer in NYC. Michael particularly loves playing the more eccentric characters in our stories.
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Born near Chicago, Illinois,
Roxanne Jacobs was surrounded by Pentecostal and Puerto Rican neighbors. The storytelling, music and food of the different cultures she grew up with, made a lasting impression, and drew her to theatre arts. Love of theatre was postponed: A family was raised, alongside a corporate career in the natural products industry. Backyard herbalism, landscaping, and creating stories with accompanying illustrations, were sustenance prior to her first acting gig. Member of the ADP for the past five years, Roxanne feels her dream of acting has now come true.
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Watch out for the Quiet Ones!
Cheryl Leighton enjoys showing off her creative side when she can. As a youngster she often entertained her friends and family with foreign accents and famous impressions, a real ham at heart! … with plans for a creative life ahead. She looks forward to doing more creative projects when she retires from her Nursing career.
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Having performed stand-up comedy through the nineteen-seventies,
Steve Hastings continued to perfect his skills in the eighties as actor, musician, tap dancer and set designer, while also writing songs and touring with the band Air Whale. When the group disbanded, Steve continued as an actor, taking on many roles in film, radio and live theater productions.
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Lainie Perry's love for theater started early, well before her high school role in the comedy, "Harvey". She went on to study with Stella Adler, AADA in Pasadena, and ACT, subsequently starring in many community theater productions, including "Gentlemen prefer Blondes", "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "Play It Again, Sam".
Lainie also has served on the boards of several theater groups, including the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group, where she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Madam Gertie.
Having recently moved from San Francisco's East Bay to the North Bay just in time for a major fire and the Covid lockdown, Lainie persevered, and has found a new home for her sanity-restoring theater passion in video roles with americandreamplayers.org. “There are no small parts.”
Born and raised in London, UK ,
Arnold Levine ran the infamous pirate radio station, Radio Concord, in the '70's. After picking grapes in Southern France and hanging out with Bedouins in Egypt, he spent his most recent 40 years in California, as a mechanical engineer, promoter of energy conservation and vegetarian activist. A fan of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, rollerblading and Monty Python, Arnold hosts the show tommysholidaycamp.com every Friday at 7PM, PST on www.kows.fm radio.
A native New Yorker who grew up in Los Angeles, Sandy Feldhorn is a multi-talented musician (sax, flute, piccolo, percussion), as well as gifted comic and serious (when necessary) actor. A teacher of the deaf for thirty years, he now plays in the musical groups 'Old School', a rock band so-named because its members are mainly former schoolteachers, the 'Lithium Jazz' band, and the 'Windsor Jazz Ensemble'.
Born and raised in San Francisco,
Joan Ambrosini enjoyed summers in Guerneville, a resort town on the Russian River, where her family owned a popular restaurant. Joan got into trouble early on, when she chose the Confirmation name 'Paula" after Paul McCartney, instead of taking a saint's name, a situation which became fuel for her later career on the stage. Joan studied art in Europe as well as with luminaries Bill Wheeler and Carol Watanabe. An original member of the Occidental Readers' Theater, Joan performs in the 'Cemetery Walk' every October, playing a deceased individual, and considers this another opportunity to hone her acting skills - which she is thrilled to now share with American Dream Players.
Kitty Rutherford is a third generation San Franciscan who loved growing up in the City - so many things to see and do. She later moved to Marin and then on to Sonoma County. Performing in musical theater as a singer, dancer and actress is her passion. Mt. Play, 6th Street Playhouse, Santa Rosa Junior College and of course, American Dream Players are only a few of the groups on her theater resume. Kitty is thrilled to be joining the Players to send out joy and laughter over the air waves.
Gig Hitao is a sociologist, community organizer, statistician, musician and videographer. He started Video Spark Productions in 2010 and has produced hundreds of long and short videos for a wide range of clients. His experience with lights, microphones, cameras, camcorders and computers adds to his strategic video camera work, because he thinks about the editing and final product when he's shooting, as each situation unfolds. The Video Spark Productions website, Youtube channel, Facebook page, Flickr account and LinkedIn profile display the variety and scope of his videography career.
Long-time Sonoma County resident, Gayle Goodbread, was bit by the acting bug when she landed the only speaking role in her kindergarten play (Mother Hen). Later, she acted and directed with the Mountain Rose and Camp Rose Players in Healdsburg, CA, then went on to start her own radio theater company. After a hiatus, Gayle's back in theatre, acting in videos with American Dream Players and writing a play for the stage.
We'd like to acknowledge Tom and Margaret McIntyre and Ella Linsley
for their contributions to our radio plays.
Special thanks to Marc Hirschman,
who, from our earliest days, provided true thespian brilliance in any role he undertook.
Profound gratitude to Joe Hoffmann,
beloved friend to The Players,
and our kind and conscientious guiding light
in the world of audio performance.
