Emily Putnam (Margaret) Mammoth marks Emily's MuCCC debut. A Rochester native, she's appeared in local and regional productions including Les Miserables (Eponine), A Little Night Music (Anne), Jekyll & Hyde (Emma), and the world premier of The Cougar & The Cabana Boy at the 2014 Rochester Fringe Festival. Emily is a proud graduate of Ithaca College, where she earned her BA in Drama. She would be remiss not to thank the powerhouse collective of like-minded young artists who breathed life into Mammoth, and she owes Kate Royal a colossal "thank you" for writing such a tenacious, delicate and incredibly challenging role. Follow her online @ee_putnam or emilyputnam.com.
Luke Martin (Drew) is an actor/comedian originally from Albany, NY. He is a recent graduate of SUNY Geneseo (2014) and moved to Rochester to fulfill a contract as an actor in a local sitcom called The Church, playing the character of Matt. After wrapping up season one, he was asked to join the writing team for season two which he began in January. In college, Luke was lucky to explore interesting roles including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Melchior in Spring Awakening, Katurian in The Pillowman, Matt in Dog Sees God. Although Luke enjoys dramatic acting a lot, his fondest memories of college belong to his time with the college improv troupe No Laugh Track Required. His summer plans for 2015 are bringing him to Los Angeles to study at The Groundlings school of improv. Luke is thrilled for the opportunity to work with old friends Kate, Rory and Maddy in Mammoth, along with Emily, Mark, Claudia, and Shawn.
Marc Cataldi (Jeffrey) is the arts dept. administrative assistant and box office manager at the JCC of Greater Rochester, and holds a BA in Arts Administration and a BS in Music Business from SUNY Fredonia ('10). A native Rochesterian, he is grateful to be constantly surrounded by some of the most incredibly talented people, and to have opportunities to be involved in new works such as Mammoth. Past performances include Hair, Parade (Frankie Epps) and The Hit Factory with JCC CenterStage,Urinetown (Tiny Tom), Peter Pan (Slightly Soiled) and Jekyll & Hyde (Bisett) with Webster Theatre Guild, and the past two years of Give to Live Rochester, a benefit concert for Trillium Health and BC/EFA, for which he arranged music and helped vocally direct. He has also arranged music for various local artists and productions.
Kate Royal (Playwright/Director) is a playwright and director native to the Manhattan suburb of Tappan, New York. She is the author of such works as Other Women, The Weekends, and The Nameless Days of Gumdrop Smith which debuted at the 2014 Rochester Fringe Festival. Kate is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo (’13) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre/English and a minor in Film Studies. Her work as a director includes both original plays and well-known titles ranging from Romeo and Juliet to Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat. In 2012, she was awarded a Directing Assistantship with the Berkshire Theatre Group, where she worked alongside Tony Award-winning theatre artists on the world premiere of Kelly Masterson’s Edith. She is currently developing a play entitled Girls Can Tell, centering on the subject of campus sexual assault, which she hopes to premiere later this spring. Kate is a proud Artist-in-Residence at the Multi-use Cultural Community Center.
Claudia Nolan (Dramaturg) is a dramaturg and actress hailing from Rochester, NY. She earned her BA in History and Theatre from Wells College, where she played Kate in the world premiere of If You Ever Come By Here. She has done new play development and dramaturgy for the past few years, including serving as research assistant for Siouxsie Easter's performance art installation on fire hearth goddesses for Personal Mythologies at the String Room Gallery in Aurora, NY, partnering with Alex Riad on his workshops of Emerging Adults in New York City, and working Chinese playwright Rui Ding on his English translation of South of the South. After teaching English abroad in the Republic of Georgia for a year (მე მიყვარს საქართველო!), she was selected to serve as the Literary Intern at the renowned McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey for the 2013-2014 season.