Situated in West Texas (1955 & 1975), and although it hasn’t rained in a really long time, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is drenched with talent. Mona (1955) played by Regina Rose is no stranger to Cockpit, this is her 8th production. Her first show was Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Dundalk Community Theatre, her role was Blanche. She has also performed in a variety of theatres from Michigan, to Canada, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Regina enjoys not only acting but also writing her own performances, this allows her to learn more about the character. When she’s not on stage at Cockpit she’s presenting unique living history performances where she portrays famous females such as Grace Hopper, “Mother” Jones, and Katharine Wright.
In 2008 Jen Skarzinski enrolled in an acting class taught by CCBC’s Theatre Coordinator, Julie Lewis, just for fun. Julie told the class about academic auditions and Jen was off to shine under the stage lights. She began acting with Cockpit in Daddy’s Dying Who’s Got the Will in 2010. She’s also lived in San Francisco where she enjoyed improv classes and wondered what it would be like to have lines, a script. This lead to acting classes at San Francisco Community College. Back at the Cockpit stage, Jen relates to her character Sissy, dealing with the fear of abandonment and her relationship with Lester who eventually fades away. On the other hand, she feels Sissy doesn’t have empathy for Mona and confronts her too harshly. Jen works full time at CCBC and lives close to campus which makes it easy to commit to the time required for rehearsals and shows. On opening night she experiences a bit of stage fright but just keeps going over her lines. Jen says she knows she’s not alone, other cast members will back her up and improv training kicks in, if needed.
Liz Hunnicutt, who is cast as Juanita, enjoys performing in shows and often has difficulty finding time to do both directing and acting. Her directing schedule doesn’t allow much time to act, so when she gets the opportunity it is like a true vacation, she feels at home. Liz says being able to direct children is one of her greatest joys – it is her favorite job in the world! Being able to do both acting and directing is fantastic She finds her character Juanita interesting, she knows what she believes and her world gets a bit jolted in a single evening. Her ability to change is a wonderful trait and Liz enjoys how feisty she is, this makes her so fun to play. Liz says working with Linda Chambers is always such a joy! She is an amazing director who understands the nuances of every single moment and character, she has an incredible ability to bring out the best in all of us.
In the midst of the female cast, Jake Schwartz who plays Joe joined the production in June. The original actor chosen for this role had to leave and a friend recommended he try out. By day he is a camp counselor for 5th and 6th graders at the Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills. Jake enjoys performing stand up comedy at local venues like Magooby’s Joke House in Timonium. His goal is to be in film and on t.v. His dream super hero is spiderman, there’s something magical about being able to climb up buildings.
