Songonauts

JONATHAN MANN (Jojo, songwriter, co-creator) has been writing a song every day since January 1st, 2009. His work has appeared everywhere from The Rachel Maddow Show to on stage at an Apple event. Previously, he was GameJew and before that he wrote a rock opera based on The Super Mario Bros. He studied music and recording at Bennington College and got an MFA in writing from CalArts. You can see his Song A Day project at songaday.org. Follow him on twitter at @songadaymann or shoot him an email: jonathan@jonathanmann.net Stay metric!

ELENA SKOPETOS (Penny) is an actress, improviser and writer based in New York City. She graduated Marymount Manhattan College with a B.A. in Theater Arts. She studied Physical Theater, Mask and Clown at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. She loves dogs and believes Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the greatest show ever written, and would like to talk to you about it. Follow Elena on Twitter! @elenaskopetos

BIANCA CASUSOL (Doc) lives in Harlem with her dog, Stella and sometimes they go on adventures. She has been lucky enough to study with Alex Marino, Louis Kornfeld, Megan Gray, Mark Grenier, Russ Armstrong, and Armando Diaz. When she’s not doing play pretend to make people laugh, she can be found baking foodstuffs, gluing glitter to things, or adding metal umlauts to her last name. \m/

TOM LIGON (Buzzkill) is a character actor and sometimes leading man of Cajun ancestry. He appeared in the films Paint Your Wagon, Jump, and Bang the Drum Slowly as well as the TV series The Young and the Restless, and Oz.

LOUIS KORNFELD (Sammy16) is a teacher and ensemble member at NYC's Magnet Theater. He can be seen regularly performing there with house improv team The Boss as part of Thursday Night Out, as well as Theory of Everything and MegaLou. Louis has appeared in countless other shows at Magnet and elsewhere, including The Armando Diaz Experience, Tiny Spectacular, and a stint touring with The Second City onboard the NCL Gem. He still hopes you're enjoying your cruise.

JIMMY O'CONNELL (Stewart) is an actor and writer originally from Decatur, Georgia now based in Brooklyn, New York. He has a web-series called Kevin and Jimmy's Guide to New York City, which he created with his high school chum Kevin Cobbs. Jimmy and Kevin also perform together in The Great American Country Drifters, what some people have called, "America's greatest country-rock-and-roll band". Jimmy was a two-year starter for the St. Pius X Catholic High School Golden Lions football team in 2002 and 2003.

AMY WARREN (Laney Duncan) actor, singer and voiceover artist. Credits include Lincoln Center Theater's Act One, August: Osage County (and national tour) (Karen Weston). Off- Broadway: The Gabriel's-Election year in the life of one Family at The Public Theater (Joyce Gabriel), Melancholy Play (Frances) with 13P, Schlemiel the First (Mrs. Schlemiel) with TFANA, Adding Machine: A Musical (Daisy: Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lortel noms.). Film: Mistress Amercia, Gravity (voice of Explorer Captain). TV: "The Good Wife," "Boardwalk Empire," "Law & Order." Other VO includes BBC radio dramas, video games Hail to the Chimp, Stubs the Zombie, and Leisure Suit Larry.

DAN FAIRALL (Virgil) A graduate of Iowa State University, Dan has had the good fortune of working with many talented artists. Dan has been improvising since 1994, roughly, 2000 in earnest. He has been acting and directing since 1991. Since moving to New York he has studied at UCB, Magnet, and that lady that comes on the F train crying. Some of his shows? Pax Romana, The Wisdom Circle, The World of Tomorrow, Stillife, and Mountain Manprov. Dan misses the wilderness and can't get enough sushi. He also derives a reason to exist from the stage and can't thank The Magnet Theater enough for their outlook and generosity.

JOHN ROSS BOWIE (Dr. Staccato) is an American actor and comedian. Bowie is a regular sketch comedy performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and Los Angeles. TV: Speechless, The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Episodes, The Wrong Mans, House of Lies, Glee, 2 out of 3 CSIs and Reno 911! FILM: The Heat, What The Bleep Do We Know?, Santa Clause 3 (which, come on, is the best one) and Road Trip.

JO FIRESTONE (the Girl) is a comedian and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She has created and hosts several live shows around the city that usually fall under the genres of "low-brow" and "recurring". She can be seen at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater hosting The Incredible Game Show Showcase and The Unexpectashow and at Littlefield hosting Punderdome 3000 with her dad, Fred. You can also see Jo doing stand-up in different basements around the city. Hope you like basements!

MATT RUBANO (Receptionist) is an Electric and Acoustic Bassist from New York.  After attending The Berklee College of Music, Matt began his session career at age 21 playing bass on the Grammy Award winning “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” which went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide. In 2003 Matt joined Taking Back Sunday and immediately began working on the band’s sophomore album “Where You Want To Be” which debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 selling 160,000+ copies in the first week. During his years with TBS, they signed to Warner Bros., toured the world, sold millions of albums and earned 2 RIAA certified Gold records.

LIVIA SCOTT (Gina Staxx) is an actress and comedian named "One of our favorite female comedians" by The Huffington Post, along with Amy Schumer, Amy Poehler, and Sarah Silverman. You'll see her in the upcoming season of Difficult People on Hulu, sometimes in spots on Comedy Central, VH1, Above Average, College Humor, and currently on HBO movies on demand - WOWWWW!!! - where she pulls a Peter Sellers by playing multiple roles in "National Lampoon's Dirty Movie" directed by Christopher Meloni. Her music video "I Like You Better On Facebook" was featured everywhere including the front page of Funny Or Die and called "Funny as hell!" by her hero Adam McKay.

PHIL PROCTOR ((The DJ) is an internationally known actor, singer, writer, composer, director and producer. His musical and linguistic gifts have taken him from Broadway (The Sound of Music, A Time For Singing) to cities across the U.S., Canada, France, and to the former USSR.

ERIN REGAN (Singer of "The Origin of The Songoverse") - Erin Regan’s music is the perfect accompaniment for a long car trip, a bright winter day or a solitary sunrise. Her poetic songs sung in a heart-stopping dark alto over sparse acoustic arrangements touch on confusion, pain and transcendent beauty in family, mortality and childhood. Songwriter and playwright Dan Fishback describes this record as “smack dab halfway between Elliott Smith and Suzanne Vega.”

NIKIYA MATHIS (Fermata) - Nikiya Mathis is a New York-based actress who's love for the craft has fueled her writing, directing, and teaching work. She has a BA in Theater & Communications from Temple University and an MFA in Acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She has originated roles in award-winning plays, with New York and world-premieres. Most recently she guest-starred as Donna in CBS's Blue Bloods, originated the role of Renee Shapiro-Epps in Hurricane Diane (directed by Tony-award winner, Leigh Silverman at Two River Theatre Company), and completed a feature film entitled ALL THESE SMALL MOMENTS starring Molly Ringwald. And catch Nikiya's new Dunkin Donuts commercial!

JONATHAN MITCHELL (Director, producer, co-creator) has contributed a wide range of work—documentaries, fictional stories, non-narrated sound collages, and original music—to all sorts of programs: RadioLab, Studio 360, This American Life, All Things Considered, Planet Money, Snap Judgment, and PBS’s Nova, to name a few. His work has won many awards, including the Peabody, Third Coast Festival, The Sarah Awards, and the Gold Mark Time Award for Best Science Fiction Audio. He studied music composition at University of Illinois and Mills College.

KERRY KASTIN (Associate Producer) came to NYC from Virginia by way of Stockbridge, Massachusetts and the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Since moving to New York, she has worked as a performer, director, and stage manager with companies such as The New York Shakespeare Exchange, Vineyard Arts Project, and Lincoln Center. She studied improv at Gotham City Improv and Magnet Theater. Kerry is the Associate Producer for The Truth podcast and Artistic Director of the Blowout Theatre Company.

JOSH PERILO (writer) After attending North Carolina School of the Arts, Josh Perilo moved to New York and was almost immediately cast in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Corpus Christi, directed by Tony award-winner Joe Mantello. He then turned to writing and performing alternative comedy at the UCB Theater, which has included several long runs in the award-winning sketch group Mr. A$$, Talk Show with Jake Fogelnest, Sketch Show, and a one-person show, Most Likely to Sleep With His Briefcase, amongst others. He has also appeared on Late Nite with Conan O'Brien and Chappelle Show.