Digital Program

Nick is excited to return to Fuse Theatre ensemble while making his debut with BlaQ OUT. Nick’s has worked with the American Conservatory Theater and Killing My Lobster in San Francisco, locally with Fuse Theatre Ensemble and Artists Repertory Theater. Nick has his MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater and is a “proud” member of AEA. Much love to all my theater family here in Portland. 

Anthony Harden is excited to work with BlaQ OUT, and Fuse Theatre Ensemble on Ronald Reagan Murdered My Mentors. Anthony is a proud Chicagoan who is excited to make his Portland Acting debut.

Notable roles include Nurse Larkin in The God Committee, the King of France in All’s Well That Ends Well, Mitch Mahoney in The 25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Adam in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Henry Davis in Street Scene, An American Opera, and Peter in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Anthony would like to thank his friends and family for their continuous support.

Janelle Rae graduated from Western Oregon University(2017) receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a minor in American Sign Language.

Rae’s over- and underlying passion is storytelling with the purpose of human connection and acknowledgement.

Noteworthy performances on stage by Rae include roles in The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors (Oregon Children’s Theatre); Jane Doe in Wonderland (Game Over); and Hamlet (Valley Shakespeare Company).

When Rae is not on the stage they are busy with a 9 to 5, making music or materializing an assortment of crafts with as many strange trinkets they can get their hands on. As a Black, trans, nonbinary artist, Rae strives to make space for any and every kind of person they may encounter with the desire to understand and empathize.

Sam Gordon is a classically trained actor and theatre-maker, with a MA in Theatre Laboratory from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He was most recently seen in his original show Don't Stick Your Fingers Into the Hole, but has performed in productions all over Portland, including Richard III, The Importance of Being Earnest, Romeo and Juliet, Our Town, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

He is honored to be part of telling such an important story through such a remarkable piece, and would like to thank his friends and family for their ongoing patience, love, and support.

Sean Kirkpatrick is a writer/actor/director based out of Portland, Oregon. Sean graduated in 2015 from the University of Montana with a BFA in Theatre Practice & Performance.

Selected acting credits include Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Holocene, and The Little Mermaid. Sean was voted “Missoula’s Third Favorite Actor” by readers of the Missoula Independent.

When not on stage, Sean can be found at home splitting a pint of vanilla ice cream with their cat, Harris Littels.

After a decade of performing in New York City, Angie is thrilled to be making their Portland stage debut with Fuse.

Select off-Broadway credits: Boys Will Be Boys (59E59), The Dead, 1908 (Irish Repertory Theatre) & Somebody's Gotta Be... (The Working Theater). Regional credits: For Worse, Snake Eggs, & The Circus Train Wreck (New Jersey Repertory).

Angie holds an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama, and is a proud member of Actor's Equity, New Light Theatre Company, & New Jersey Repertory Company. They have also joined the teaching faculty at Cathedral Park Performing Arts Collective here in Portland, and offer private acting coaching.

You can find out more about their performing & teaching here: www.angietennant.com

James R. Dixon is a Portland-based creator and the Producing Artistic Director for BlaQ OUT. He focuses on creating through an equity lens to bring people closer to the stories telling the beauty of the human condition. He most recently served as the EDI Chair for the PATA Board and is an active member of the Accountability Collective which primarily supports the Portland arts community.

Favorite directorial credits include Bootycandy with Fuse Theatre, Matter with Many Hats and Portland Playhouse, Lost in a Place Called America with Ten Tiny Talks, #Matter with Shaking the Tree, Gender-fication with 360 Labs, and Hair with Staged as a Cultural and Directorial Advisor.

Welcome to the revolution!

C. Julian Jiménez is a Queer, Puerto Rican & Dominican playwright. They hold an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama. Playwriting awards include: New Dramatist Residency (Class of 2025), Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellow at The Lark (2019/2020), Pipeline Theatre Company PlayLab (2017 & 2018), LaGuardia Community College’s LGBTQ History Project Grant (2018), Queens Arts Council Grant (2015), and The Public Theater Emerging Writers Group (2009). Productions include: Man Boobs (Pride Films & Plays, 2011), Nico was a Fashion Model (Counter-Productions, 2013), Animals Commit Suicide (First Floor Theater, 2015), Locusts Have No King (INTAR, 2016), Bundle of Sticks (INTAR, 2020), and Alligator Mouth, Tadpole Ass (Theatre Rhinoceros, 2020), ¡OSO FABULOSO! & The Bear Backs (INTAR/McKittrick/Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, 2021), and Bruise & Thorn (Pipeline Theatre Company 2022). Other plays include: anOTHER (Distinguished New Work Award and Citizens Artists Award, The Kennedy Center, 2017), The Guilt Mongers or Los Traficantes De Culpa (Winner - Nuestras Voces at Repertorio Español, 2017), Julio Ain’t Goin’ Down Like That (Commissioned by CUNY/NYC Council through the Office of Speaker Corey Johnson, and the Office of Daniel Dromm- District 25, 2019), and Oh Deer! (INTAR Theatre Commission, 2020). Julian is a co-producer and co-writer of the hit web series, Bulk, and is currently writing the book for the rock musical, The Navigator, featuring music by Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, commissioned by The Public Theater. Julian is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Queensborough Community College and Chair of the Department of Communication, Theater, & Media Production. Their work is published through TRW plays.

Devon is thrilled to be working on his third production with Fuse Theatre Ensemble!

Devon is a professional theater artist in Portland Oregon who wears many hats in theater. Recently Devon produced, designed and directed The Way You Made Me (Coho Productions), Stage Managed The God Cluster (Fuse) and pre-covid, he designed lights for Everything You Touch (Vertigo), Directed and Managed the collaborative design process for Stupid Ghost (Vertigo). They have worked with Profile Theatre (Baltimore Waltz, Assistant Director), Bootycandy (Fuse, Assistant Director) Crossing Mnisose (PCS, Assistant Director) and PSU (Victims of Duty, Director). Devon is an alum of Theatre Vertigo (2019–2020), the Drammy Committee (2019-2020), and The Orchard Project (2018).

Devon would like to thank their cat, Bolin, for always being so damn cute, his family for always being so damn loving and his friends for always being so damn special. Devon will be directing two One Acts at the 21ten Theater in March and will be acting in Salt and Sage’s upcoming Rep Productions of Titus Andronicus (Lucious) and Macbeth (Macbeth Understudy).

Rowan Dery is a nonbinary stage manager and performer who has been working in the Portland area for the past four years. You can typically find them working on stage, behind the scenes, and everywhere in between as a board member for The Canon Shakespeare Company (https://www.canonpdx.org). This is their first show with both FUSE and BlaQ Out, but hopefully not their last!

Ian Appell has been writing and producing some of the hottest Billboard dance tracks for over 20 years under several moniker’s including E-N, Furdog and More Than Enuff Prods. As well as working on productions for Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rozalla, The Cover Girls and more.

Blaise Bonfire is a queer & trans visual artist. An accomplished leatherman for over two decades, Blaise is invested in the history and future of the Leather community.

Originally from Chicago & New York, Blaise trained in industrial design & construction at FIT (NYC), Mr S. Leather (San Francisco), and the radical faerie school of get-it-done-glamor. His work has appeared at the MIX NYC Queer Film Festival, Splatterpool (NYC), the Brecht Forum (NYC), the International Ms Leather/ Ms Bootblack contest (San Jose), the International Mr. Leather/ Mr. Bootblack competition (Chicago), and queer stages coast to coast.

You can see more of Blaise’s previous and current collections on FAT•BONE•LEATHER, providing custom gear, battle drag, and leathers for unique queers & kink players of all shapes, sizes and genders. Queer by design.

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When he’s not in the workshop, Blaise can be found nesting in the far north of Portland with his amazing Sir and their perfect pibble, exploring the Oregon coast, or taking long drives in old vans.  

Kate Faye Cummings is an actress, producer, and stage manager. She is the Managing Director of Fuse Theatre Ensemble and the creator and producer of Cause Cabaret (https://causecabaret.wixsite.com/home), an organization created to raise funds for urgent charitable causes through theatrical events.

She is principally known for her roles in Fuse Theatre Ensemble’s Cabaret and Pursuit of Happiness, the Funhouse Lounge’s Die Hard and BatMusical parodies, and Theatre Berk’s Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. She is a member of the Funhouse Lounge improv troupe and a singer.

Aleks Hollis is a performer, live foley artist, and video editor. They were recently the live video game designer for Space55’s The Hidden Sea. They have worked as the video editor for The Bridge Initiative’s RomeroFest production of The Dalai Lama is Not Welcome Here, UCAT’s production of The Last Five Years/ Los Últimos Cinco Años, and as a live foley artist for Space55’s Night of the Chicken. They have won 3 ariZoni awards: 2 for Artistic Specialization and 1 for Sound Design. 

A Korean American adoptee who grew up in rural Michigan and is currently based in Portland, OR. He is an actor, writer and director. He holds a MFA in Creative Writing with a focus in playwriting from Goddard College and a BA in Theatre with a focus in performance from Humboldt State University. He also studied Korean dance and performance styles in Jinju, South Korea with USD Modern Dance. He
studies intimacy direction with Theatrical Intimacy Education and Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc.

As an Intimacy Director credits with Shaking the Tree (Family), Fuse Ensemble (Our Town, The Queers, Svetlana! Svetlana!), Salt and Sage (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Holy Name), and consulting work with Lakewood Theatre Company (Camelot, Elf the Musical) and Chapel Theatre Company (The Belongings).

Bio to come!

Ara is a mixed, disabled Armenian/Jewish scenic designer. Ara believes in the potential of theater as an act of care, and scenic design as a living love letter to fellow trans, SWANA, and disabled folks. They are innumerably grateful to their past and current mentors, their professors, and their chosen family for their guidance and support.

Bio to come!

Alex Santorufo is a sound designer, sound engineer and musician based in Portland, Oregon.

Alex moved here from Las Vegas, Nevada after graduating from UNLV in 2020 where they studied Theatre Design and Technology as well as Music Technology and Film. They recently sound designed for The Play That Goes Wrong at Magenta Theatre in Vancouver, Washington.

Kemba received her BFA from Towson State University and trained at the Alvin Ailey American Theater, Martha Graham School, The Edge, Lula Washington, Peridance, and Morgan State University. She has taught dance classes at UCLA, Loyola Marymount, El Camino College, Portland State University, and others. Kemba's stage credits include The Lion King (LA cast), The Color Purple (Broadway cast), Zumanity  (Cirque du Soleil), Aida, and FAME.

Kemba's ambition and drive won her world recognition with musical icons such as Madonna (Drowned World Tour), P!nk (Try This World Tour), Celine Dion (Taking Chances World Tour), Rihanna (Nike RockStar World Tour), Kanye West and Fantasia to name a few. Her television credits include American Dreams (NBC), Oscars  (Chicago Performance), MTV Music Awards (P!nk performance), the Emmys (Kristin Bell performance), World Music Awards (Kanye West and R. Kelly), NAACP Awards, and the Grammys.

Kemba currently teaches at Arts Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton, Oregon where she teaches dance to over 200 kids every day. 

Rusty Tennant is the Artistic Director of Fuse Theatre Ensemble. They have an MFA in Directing and Performance from the University of New Orleans.  

Selected Regional Credits: Directing:The Reason for the Season (Director, Artists Rep), Ten Chimneys (Asst. Director, [Dámaso Rodriguez, dir.] Artists Rep), A Streetcar Named Desire (Asst. Dir., Fight Choreographer [Jon Kretzu, dir] Artists Rep). As an Actor: Carousel (Gary English, dir. Connecticut Rep), House of Plunder (Ryan Rilette, dir. Southern Rep), Mother Courage (Robert Benedetti, dir. Nevada Conservatory Theatre).  

Recent Portland productions: Directing: Cabaret (Six 2019 Drammy Awards including: Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Director), Fear of Speaking, I am an Actress, Sordid Lives, Stupid Kids, Under the Influence (Director, OUTwright/Fuse), Holiday OUT! (Metropolitan Performing Arts), King Lear (Director, Post5), Rope (Director, Bag&Baggage), The Last Days (Director, Post 5), A View from the Bridge (Co-Director, Fuse), Sonnetscape (Director/Performer, Fuse), Suburban Tribe (Co-Director, Fuse), Tether (Director, Fuse). As an actor: The God Cluster: a Queer pandemic revenge tragedy (Howard, Fuse), As You Like It (Touchstone/Jaques, PAE), The Importance of Being Frank (Fuse), Richard III (Buckingham, Post5), HenryIV 1 (Falstaff, Post5), A Midsummer Night's Somnambulism (Bottom, Fuse). 

Rusty serves as the Technical Director at Reed College and is a regular adjunct faculty and guest artist at multiple local colleges and universities. They are also the Producing Artistic Director of The OUTwright Theatre Festival, a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ contribution to theatre that is held annually in Portland, OR.  They have won Drammy awards in directing and design, a Storer Boone Award for directing, and an OOBR award for performing in The American Globe’s Hamlet.