Pinocchio

Taha Mandviwala

Taha is thrilled to be returning to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for the touring production of Pinocchio! He is a 2016 graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he earned a BA in Theatre with a minor in Psychology, and he was a recent member of the 2016-17 Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern Company at the Playhouse. Recent Playhouse credits include Shakespeare in Love, A Christmas Carol, as well as touring productions of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Robin Hood. Taha has a love and respect for movement, shown in express practices of martial arts, parkour and stage combat. As an actor combatant status with the Society of American Fight Directors, he is also certified in unarmed, knife, rapier and dagger and quarterstaff combat. In his downtime, Taha enjoys epic sessions of Dungeons and Dragons with his close friends. His future aspirations incline to continued work in the theatre, television, film and voiceover. He would like to thank his family, friends and mentors for their unwavering support.

JT Stocks

JT is a New Yorker who’s originally from McFarland, Wisconsin. He is so happy to be working at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park for the 2017-18 season where he has appeared as Ax/Tree in The Last Firefly directed by Timothy Douglas. In New York, he trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, a three-year conservatory where some of his favorite roles included Touchstone in As You Like It, Kenneth Talley in The Fifth of July and Poseidon in The Trojan Woman. JT would like to thank his family for all the support they have provided. He has a BS in Biology and Theatre Arts from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Clarie.

Kevin Renn

Kevin is ecstatic to be joining Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park as a member of the Bruce E. Coyle Acting Intern Company! A native of New Albany, Indiana, he is a recent graduate of Indiana University with a BA in Theatre/Playwriting. Credits include In the Red and Brown Water (Ogun), Dogfight (Fector), Cock (John), Into the Woods (Milky White), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (St. Thomas) and The Exonerated (David). Shout-out to his friends and family for their never-ending love and encouragement!

Cait Robinson

Cait’s Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park credits include directing Pinocchio and assistant directing A Prayer for Owen Meany, August Wilson’s Jitney, Jane Eyre, Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End, Shakespeare in Love and the upcoming production of Marie and Rosetta. Other directing credits include Proclamation at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.); Carrie and Winesburg, Ohio at Greater Boston Stage Company; The Maids and 4.48 Psychosis for Portland Stage Company’s Studio Series; the world premieres of The Singularity at Science Fiction Theatre Company (featured in American Theatre) and kates at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival; and Gidion’s Knot at Dramatic Repertory Company. She has assistant directed work at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), City Theatre Company and Portland Stage Company, and held a guest observership at Contemporary American Theater Festival. Cait is an alumna of Bowdoin College (summa cum laude), Lincoln Center’s Directors Lab, Directors Lab West and the Celebration Barn, as well as a former dramaturgy fellow at A.C.T. and an SDCF Observer.

Kenton Brett

Mr. Brett is a Cincinnati-based scenic artist, illustrator, designer and animator. Heavily influenced by collectibles, children’s toys and puppetry, his art embodies qualities shared by all: multi-functional, poseable, humorous and easily repurposed to create new expressions. The spirit of play is further reinforced through public venues where the audience can directly interact and experience the work; this translates particularly well in theatrical performances and art installations. Stylistically, the work emphasizes a sophistication of line quality with psychedelic motifs that echo graphic designs from the 1960s creating a distinct visual buzz through repeated lines, shapes and patterns. In some ways Mr. Brett will never stop being a big kid and enjoys playing board games, bike riding and long walks with his wife and two dogs.

David Arevalo

David is thrilled to be making his Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park design premiere with Pinocchio. His most recent credit was as the Associate Costume Designer for Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's 2017 production of Pelléas et Mélisande. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin who moved to the Queen City in 2008 to build costumes for the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. He currently splits his time between freelancing out of his home studio in East Price Hill, traveling to work as a Draper/Tailor in regional theatres across the country, and spending his summers at the Santa Fe Opera.

Trey Tatum

Mr. Tatum is a displaced hick from the Alabama Gulf Coast. He writes plays and music about the dirty, magical underbelly of this world. Recent credits include Ken Ham's Journey to the Center of the Earth (Know Theatre of Cincinnati), Slut Shaming (Xavier University), Andy’s House of [BLANK] (written with drinking-buddy Paul Strickland), The Midnight Express (2016 CincyFringe), Shelter (2015 CincyFringe with Pones, Inc.), Mars vs. the Atom (Know Theatre) and The Complete Tom parts one through four with his theatre company, Queen City Flash. Other projects include a residency at Robert Wilson’s The Watermill Center, a public presentation at Lincoln Center, inclusion in Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, the Samuel French off-off-Broadway Festival and the 2013 Women’s Center Stage Festival at The Culture Project. He is a Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive alumnus and the former programming director for The Tank in Midtown Manhattan. Mr. Tatum makes mischief and theatre with his wife, director Bridget Leak. To learn more, visit treytatum.com.

Tracy Hoida

This is Ms. Hoida’s fifth season at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. She has been involved in various aspects of theatre since she was 12 years old. Ms. Hoida received a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 2011 with a focus in stage management. She is an Equity Membership Candidate and has worked across the country at many summer stock and regional theatres, including Goodspeed Musicals, Florida Repertory Theatre and Shakespeare & Company, among others. This season Ms. Hoida is returning to the Education Department as an Education Associate in charge of productions and logistics for all education programming and the Acting Internship Program. Among other duties, she is in charge of the production aspects and tour management of each Off the Hill show. Above all else, Ms. Hoida loves watching a production go from a simple idea to a fully staged creation and being a driving force of that process.