Meet Axial's Company Members

We are an ensemble of professional actors, writers, and directors, representing all ages, who meet weekly as a group to build and strengthen the fabric of our unit and to collaboratively create original theatre material.

Laura Credidio 

Laura Credidio began as a student of Howard Meyer's acting program nine years ago.  She went on to study at Circle in the Square in NYC, Shakespeare's Globe in London, and finally graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in acting and a concentration in directing.  This past June she completed a 10-month long children's tour as an actor with George Street Playhouse.  She has directed for Small Pond Entertainment, Collaborative Arts, and The Ridgefield Theater Barn.  With Axial Theatre Company Laura has directed Girl's Lunch and Mondays at Eight.  She's also had the pleasure of spending the last four years, alongside Rachel Jones, playing director, stage manager and vocal coach for HM Acting's performance workshops.  She's thrilled, as always, to be a part of the Axial community.

Lori Franzese
Axial Company Apprentice

FranzeseA student of Howard Meyer's Acting Program for many years, Lori is grateful to be an official member of the Axial family alongside such an amazingly talented group of individuals. She was most recently seen on the Axial stage as Lavinia in "Feathers Sometimes Soar On The Breath Of God". Some favorite stage roles include Charlotte; Moon Over Buffalo, Lois; Wonder Of The World, and M'Lynn; Steel Magnolias, as well as being the co-creator, producer and co-host of the local cable show, "Lights Up!" She had a featured role on the popular Canadian series "Creepy Canada", and has also appeared in numerous episodes of Cablevision's "The Play's The Thing" broadcast locally and around the world. Let the games begin!

 

Dale Furnia

Dale was most recently seen in Axial's Ten-Minute Play Festival's production of Freedom Tower by Gaby Fox. Other Axial credits include the Father in Marrow by Brian Quirk and a Stage reading of Sally in the Middle by Tony Howarth and an acting workshop production of Reunion. He can also be seen in movies, TV's "Sensing Murder" and commercials. Dale is a graduate of The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts and has also studied in NYC with Carol Fox Prescott, Sally Johnson Studio's, Actors Alliance and has been with Howard Meyer for more than five years. Dale is proud and honored to be asked in to the Axial family and allowed to work with such talented Artists. He is a member of SAG & AFTRA.

 

Linda Giuliano

Linda Giuliano is a co-founder & member of WritersGroup. Her past theatre works have been performed at: The Chocolate Church Annex, Grace Institute, HERE, The Grove Street Theatre, Playwright's Horizons Summerfest, Toronto Fringe Festival and The 78th Street Theatre Lab. Linda has collaborated as a writer for the film short by Nicole Gunther, "Domenica Mattutina". She is a writing mentor for The Trigorin Project in Bath, Maine. Her full length play, Crossing Over is to be produced by The Lanyard Theatre Company in Bath in December '06.

 

 

Mark Gorham

Mark began acting when attending the University of Georgia where he majored in Telecommunication Arts (Radio, TV, Film) and minored in Drama. After moving to New York in 1990, he studied with noted master teachers Herbert Berghof, George Morrison and Wynn Handman. New York stage credits include Eastern Standard (John Houseman Theatre), Hangman (Nat Horne Theatre), Tickets Please (Westbeth Theatre Center), His Own Song (Tyson Studios), Oedipus the King (American Theatre of Actors), Carmilla's Kiss (Samuel French Festival) & Line (13th Street Repertory Co.). He played lead roles in the independent film "Cog" and the made for cable film "Binocula". Other film and television credits include "What’s Going to Happen to Me?", "The Late Show with David Letterman", "Wright Verdicts", "Web of Deceit", "Law and Order" and his first film bit was playing Peter Boyles driver in Spike Lee’s "Malcolm X".

After moving to Westchester, Mark began studying with Howard Meyer in the Howard Meyer Acting Program and credits Howard with re-igniting his passion for acting and for influencing his overall outlook on life and art in general. He appeared in the Axial Theatre productions of Tunneling Through/Glimpses from the In Between, playing the role of Thomas in In Between Stops and in Inside/Out, playing the role of Tom in Junior. He also performed in Axial Theatre special engagement performances of Linda Giuliano's, Mondays at 8. He feels blessed to be a part of the Axial family and looks forward to the amazing work this company repeatedly brings to life.

Gail Greenstein

As an Axial Theatre member, Gail has performed as Inez Pierce, in Peter Kelly’s “Windows on the World” at the Schoolhouse Playhouse in Croton Falls; as the nurse in Brian O’Neill’s “Grass Island” at HERE in NYC; twice as Stella in Linda Giulani’s “Shroud of Turin”, once at HERE in NYC and then again at Axial’s “home” in Pleasantville; as Miriam in Tony Howarth’s “Vigil” at the American Globe Theater in NYC; as Nancy in Gabriella Fox’s “Freedom Towers” in Pleasantville; and triple roles in Ryan Mallon’s “Woes of the Unwittingly” in Pleasantville.

Way back when, Gail was in many Westchester productions, including “Last of the Red Hot Lovers”, “Mame”, “Sweet Charity”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, and Westchester Broadway’s “Damn Yankees” which also toured throughout the Northeast United States, as well as an extensive United States tour of “Stop the World---I Want to Get Off!”. A former member of the Westchester Ballet Company, Gail has also choreographed and been dance captain for many shows.

Gail has studied acting at the Warren Robertson Acting School in NYC and with Howard Meyer, Rachel Jones, and Melanie Noblit- Gambino for the past seven years, and voice with Sloan Wainwright and others. Love you, my Axial Family

Ann Gulian

Ann Gulian has been a member of Axial Theatre Company since 2008, most recently playing Carol in Matt Hoverman’s short play Indian Guys and Gwen in Baby Talk. Non-Axial credits include Kristina in Tony Howirth’s musical Troll-loll-la. Ann is also a published singer/songwriter. Ann is proud to be a part of Axial Theatre and very appreciative of this wonderfully talented and supportive group.

 



 

Anne Hammond

Anne Hammond has appeared in "The Forced Marriage", "The Doctor in Spite Of Himself", and "Rhinoceros" at Cincinnatti Playhouse-in-the-Park; The Playboy of the Western World, The "Tempest", and "Under Milkwood" at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre; The Maids at Poet’s Theatre, Cambridge; Dos Passos’ USA at Provincetown Playhouse; the film of Tolstoy’s "Power of Darkness", and the upcoming films "Last Fall and Spotless".

 

 

 

Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones toured the U.S. and Canada in the first Broadway national tour of David Henry Hwang's M Butterfly and has acted in several films (“Fresh Horses,” “Dracula's Widow”) and commercials. She was a founding member of New York's Avalon Repertory Theatre where she both acted and directed. Axial directing: Persephone Rising, The Kiss. Axial Acting: Today's Specials, Cherrie, All That's Fair, Billy Bubblehead, The Contract, Lost In Paradise. Rachel teaches acting technique and scene study for Howard Meyer's Acting Program.

 


Ryan Mallon

Ryan is a long time member of the Axial Theater Company. He grew up with Howard Meyer and his acting classes.

His past axial Performances have been; The Sexual Frustrated Ben in The Contract, The Insecure Waiter in Tony’ Howarth’s Maiden Voyage. The Muscle’s for Glory Tom in Linda Giuliano’s Two Hearts. The Troublemaker Mickey Katz in Howard Meyer’s Angel beast. And bicycle riding dude who works too much and can’t get a date Frank in James Christy’s The Ride. Next up you can see me playing myself in a monologue I wrote for the Love of Money show in May.

My playwriting Credits; The Tunnel in tunneling through, an evening of 10 minute plays. The wonderfully absurd The Woes of the Unwittingly in the Angels and Visions evening of one-acts. I Wanna go Home – Apersonal monologue of a year gone wrong- part of the For Love of Money Evening of Monologues Thanks to his Mother and Axial Family.

Howard Meyer
Artistic Director

Howard Meyer is a playwright, director and founding Artistic Director of Axial Theatre and Howard Meyer's Acting Program.
Howard’s plays include The Kiss, All That’s Fair, The Contract, (co-created with playwright Linda Giuliano, and the Axial company) Twenty, Lost in Paradise, AngelBeast, Cherrie & Jerry and the monologue, Calculus. Productions of AngelBeast and Cherrie & Jerry at Axial Theatre have both received critical acclaim (Gannett). Lost in Paradise has been optioned for a motion picture.

Howard’s most recent plays: Radiance was read at the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center in October, 2010. WELCOME, This is a Neighborhood Watch Community was read at The Hudson Valley Writers’ Center, The Barrow Group, and Naked Angels’ Tuesdays at 9 (2008-2009), and was presented in November 2010 at Axial in November, 2010 directed by Drama Desk award-winner, Josh Hecht. The production featured LABrynth Theater Company co-founder, David Deblinger, and Emmy-nominated actor, Jon Lindstrom.
Howard’s directorial assignments include the NYC premiere of Athol Fugard’s original text of Hello and Goodbye (New York Theatre Workshop, Rattlestick Playwright’s Theatre, co-produced by Kevin Spacey), the original workshop of Craig Wright’s The Pavilion (Playwright Center), Adam Rapp’s Train Story, Linda Giuliano’s The Last Delivery and his own Cherrie & Jerry and Lost in Paradise (Axial Theatre). He is an inaugural member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab.

In 1994 Howard founded the Acting Program that bears his name and in 1998, co-founded Axial Theatre now in its 12th season developing and presenting new plays in Westchester County, NY. Under his artistic direction, Axial has produced over 40 premieres of one-act and full length plays since the theatre’s inaugural performance in the winter of 2000. For more information about his specific projects, please log on at http://howardmeyer.info.

Aisling Mulhern

Aisling Mulhern hails from Dublin, Ireland and took her first step on the American stage at the ripe age of eight.  From that moment on she was hooked.  A graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater, her favorite roles include Ménage in TheA-Train Plays Vol 1 at the Neighborhood Playhouse Theater (NYC), the Nanny in The A-Train (re) Plays at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater (NYC), and Martha in A Piece of My Heart at Theater 54 (NYC).  Aisling is ecstatic to be an apprentice with the Axial Theater Company and to be working alongside a talented and determined group of performers.

 

 

Heather Nicolson

Heather Nicolson, a recent NY transplant from Denver, was most recently seen in Axial's evening of short plays, Angels and Visions, where she played Julian in Jessie Dickey's, Union. Non-Axial credits include two touring educational shows for The Denver Center Theatre Company, including a season with the reknown Living History program for High School-aged students, 1918 (And Beyond Theatre Company), Iph... (Curious Theatre Company in partnership with The Royal Shakespeare Company) and Rabbit Hole (Theatreworks) . Film credits include the award-winning feature, fERN hILL, and most recently, What Little Remains, a 3-minute film which won the "Audience Award" at the 2009 Brooklyn Film Race. Heather is proud of and grateful for the opportunity to be working in the company of the dedicated and supportive repertory of actors at Axial.

Ward Riley

Ward James Riley’s career has spanned over thirty years as a working actor, writer, producer and director, working in all phases of the business including stage, film, radio, commercials and educational and industrial video. His favorite credits include writing the screenplay for the award winning short film MY LETTER TO THE WORLD, co-starring with Emmy Award winner Theodore Bikel in the NPR production of AUGUST COUP, directing EXTREMETIES for the Westchester Showplace, and appearing Off-Broadway as identical twin brothers in SECOND SIGHT. 

 

 

Ryan Shams

Off-Broadway: Sudhir Singh in SOME WOMEN IN THEIR THIRTIES SIMPLY START TO FALL by Tina Howe (World Premiere, 59E59 Theater). Regional: Melissa James Gibson's THIS (Seattle Rep., West-Coast Premiere), AFTERMATH (NYTW Int'l Tour), Swiss Cheese in MOTHER COURAGE (La Jolla Playhouse, dir. Lisa Peterson), Aramis in THE THREE MUSKETEERS (Seattle Rep.). Film: SALT (dir. Phil Noyce), THE LAST AIRBENDER (dir. M. Night Shyamalan). TV: LAW & ORDER (original series), LAW & ORDER:CRIMINAL INTENT, AS THE WORLD TURNS, CSI:NY. Ryan has studied long-form Improvisation at Upright Citizens Brigade and with Mark Grenier and Armando Diaz at the Magnet Theater. He has also trained in physical theater with Pierre Byland. BA: Columbia University, MFA: UCSD.

Jaki Silver
Managing Director

SilverJaki could not be more pleased to be coming on board with Axial this fall. Additionally she currently works as the Creative Development and Marketing Associate at Spark Productions (Broadway-Stick Fly, The Miracle Worker, Ragtime, Thurgood, Coram Boy, The History Boys, and more) and as a Producing Artistic Associate with Prospect Theater Company. Recent credits include Associate Producer of With Glee (Theatre Row, dir Igor Goldin), The Hidden Sky (86th Street Theater, dir Kate Chisholm), Multistages’ Hell and High Water(Hudson Guild Theatre, dir Lorca Peress), Managing Producer for iRT Theater Company’s production of Carnival Round the Central Figure (dir Karen Kohlhaas)and as Venue Director for the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival. She started her behind the scenes career interning at Davenport TheatericalEnterprises in company management (Avenue Q, Power Balladz, Blind Date) where she went on to become the the Assistant Director of Creative Development while simultaneously working at Frankel Green Theaterical Management and the FidelityFutureStage Program to bring Broadway and it’s stars to underserved NYC students. She has worked as an actor, designer, stage manager, prop master, and acting teacher but has found her niche as a manager and producer and looks forward to creating wonderful work and creative initiatives to Axial, it's members and the community it serves.