Creative and Technical Team

Michael Sgouros (Composer/Musical Director/Percussionist)
Michael has served as music director and composer for the Off-Broadway shows Percussion People, The Selfish Giant, Treasure Island, Stone Soup, A Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Phantom of the Opera (Sgouros and Bell), The Little Mermaid, Alice In Wonderland, Tico Tales, Sleepy Hollow, Beauty and the Beast and Frankenstein the musical.   A native New Yorker, Michael has enjoyed performing as drummer/percussionist in a variety of musical settings which have included the American Symphony, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Ethos Percussion Group, Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus and the Broadway productions of The Secret Garden, Falsettos, The Goodbye Girl, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera. He has toured nationally with A Chorus Line and has traveled to Singapore and Costa Rica with the touring productions of Anything Goes and Tico Tales. Mr. Sgouros has worked professionally with Eartha Kitt, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Rupert, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Danny Aiello, Michael Kamen, Alison Janney, Laura Linney and Richard Thomas. He has also collaborated with notable percussionists Glen Velez, Stefan Harris, Michael Markus, Danny Druckman and Samir Chatterjee.

Brenda Bell (Book & Lyrics, Director)
Brenda founded Literally Alive Theatre in 1999 and Be Bold! Productions in 2009. She has written the book and lyrics for each production, including 12 with composer, Michael Sgouros. Her adaptations of A Christmas Carol and original musical Tico Tales where featured in Costa Rica at Teatro Jaco. Rumor has it that she wrote, produced and directed her first show at age 6 when the summer proved to be too boring. Her first love has always been dance and Bell is committed to increasing the role of dance in Off-Broadway musicals.  As the owner of the Showboat Theatre, she wrote and produced shows for theatre legends including Mickey Rooney, Jamie Farr, Van Johnson, Mimi Hines and Frank Gorshin. Her writing credits also include Reading is Cool for Reading is Fundamental and Chasing Phantom: a travelogue that traced the novel of Phantom of the Opera through Paris.  She would like to thank this talented cast and creative team for bringing Dickens classic to life and the Players Theatre for providing the perfect home for her whimsy and always encouraging her to be bold!  Special thanks for Michael Sgouros for his unending support and trust.

Chrisy Kakurai (Choreographer)
Chrisy Kakurai is excited to be joining A Christmas Carol as a Choreographer this year. Choreograph: Little Mermaid the Musical, OMOTENASHI, NY Got Trent. Off-B: A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleepy Hollow, Little Mermaid, Angels at Work (Angel). Other: Wild Party (Jackie), Annie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and The Diamond Horseshoe Revue (DanceCaptain, Tokyo Disneyland). JazzRootsDanceCompany lead dancer. Teaching dance at BDC NY. Many thanks to Be Bold! and everyone! www.chrisykakurai.com

Emma Ruopp (Production Manager)
NYC: Picnic; Asleep at the Wheel (Brooklyn College), The Misanthrope; A Doll’s House (BMCC), Dadabomb (Giants Are Small), I Am Not I, Colorblind’d (FringeNYC), The Gulf (Samuel French OOB). She is a Production Supervisor for Literally Alive and Be Bold! Productions at the Players Theatre, and is thrilled to be back for her third year of A Christmas Carol!

Elizabeth Chaney (Scenic Design)
Elizabeth is an Associate Professor of Theatre at BMCC/CUNY. Her scenic and lighting designs have been seen at The Players Theatre, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Central Park Zoo Wildlife Theater, Abingdon Theatre, Roulette, The Whitney Museum, Alaska Theatre of Youth, New Orleans Shakespeare Festival and the SconfinArti Festival in Bolzono, Italy. Elizabeth adapted, designed and produced Dark Hollow, an Appalachian Woyzeck for the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. elizabethchaney.carbonmade.com.

Nicholas Thomas (Stage Manager)
Nick is an actor, writer, and director from Melbourne, Australia. He works on theatre, film and T.V. and is thrilled to be part of this production,

Kelley Alogna (Assistant Stage Manager)
Kelley Alogna (Assistant Stage Manager) is a Connecticut based Stage Manager who commutes daily to pursue theatre in NYC. This production of A Christmas Carol will be her 10th show working with Literally Alive. Off-Broadway credits include: Frankenstein, Little Mermaid, Sleep Hollow, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast.

Eric Fletcher (Vocal Director)
Eric is very pleased to return to the role of Scrooge for the 12th year. His Off-Broadway credits include Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein), Hollow (Henry and Van Ripper), Phantom of the Opera (The Phantom), Beauty and the Beast (Papa), The Little Mermaid (Fish Witch), Cinderella (Madame), Alice in Wonderland (Queen of Hearts), The Selfish Giant (Giant) and Treasure Island (Ben Gunn). Eric earned a BFA in theatre per-formance form Virginia Commonwealth University. He can also be seen around New York as his drag persona Sparkle Monster. Thanks to friends, family and Michael Capecci.

Courtney Hansen (Costume Design)
Courtney is thrilled to be back haunting Scrooge in this production of A Christmas Carol. She has been part of The Players Theatre, Literally Alive, & Be Bold! teams for over a decade. Love to her niblings and mechanic.

Jessica Choi (Light Design)
Jessica Choi: is the Lighting Designer for The Christmas Carol at Players Theatre. Past shows include: Alice, In Wonderland, The Stranger, The Mystery of Mosaic Bridge, The Little Mermaid, Frankenstein, And Then There Were None, Somewhere I Can Scream, Murder on the Links, Cinderella, Sleepy Hollow, Christmas Carol, and Beauty and the Beast at Players Theatre. She studied and graduated in Entertainment Technology at NYC College of Technology. In addition to her design work, she is a freelancer in the positions of a technician, assistant/associate lighting designer, light board programmer/operator working in the field of theater and fashion.

Jessica Lausell (Wardrobe)
Jessica graduated with an Associates in Theater Arts from BMCC. She is co-owner of Screwdriver Studio. Previous roles include Viola (Twelfth Night) at The Players Theatre, Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) with the Richmond Hill Park Players, Olivia (Twelfth Night) at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Miss Sandra (All Shook Up) at Royal Star theater, and Rose (Bye Bye Birdie) with the Broadway Blockbusters. She will be playing Lady M in February at The Players Theater! Special thanks to MJ, Mommy loves you! Follow her @jessicalausell and @screwdriver.studio on instagram for upcoming projects!