‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ wins 9 Communicator Awards

​Episodes 1 and 2 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz audio play, which aired on WFIU Public Radio this past February, received nine Communicator Awards on May 2.
 
WFIU partnered with Starrynight Productions and Soundbooth Theater on this four-part series adapted from L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Writer/director Russell McGee (Big Finish Doctor Who plays) and producer/actor Michael Brainard (All My Children) collaborated with Soundbooth’s Jeff Hays to produce The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as both a radio series and podcast. Previously, McGee and Brainard worked with WFIU on the podcast and radio series The Ernie Pyle Experiment!, released in 2020.
 
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz received two Communicator Awards of distinction for general production and craft original music and seven awards of excellence for craft writing, craft original music, craft sound design, craft on-air talent, and general production.

---

The Communicator Awards is an international awards program recognizing excellence in communication across a spectrum of industries, championing effective and meaningful work. The Communicator Awards receives almost 5,000 entries from companies, agencies, studios, and boutique shops of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards shows of its kind globally.
 
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz follows the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto. After their Kansas home is swept away by a cyclone, Dorothy and Toto find themselves in a strange land called Oz. Here Dorothy meets the Munchkins and joins the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powerful Wizard of Oz. Along the way, Dorothy and her friends must fend off the Wicked Witch of the West.
 
The audio series features the talents of actors Franc Ross (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Deadwood), P.J. Ochlan (Emmy nominee for Young Sheldon, Little Man Tate, Police Academy: The TV Series), Greta Lind (Rudy, All My Children), Bert Rotundo (Silicon Valley, Marvel’s Agent Carter), and Leraldo Anzaldua (Gatchaman, Highschool of the Dead, Starship Troopers: Invasion), among others.  
 
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is made possible with support from Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations.
 
EPISODE 1 – THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS
 
Communicator Awards:
Distinction in General Production
Excellence in Craft Writing
Excellence in Craft Original Music
Excellence in Craft Sound Design
Excellence in Craft On-Air Talent

The adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog, Toto, begin as their Kansas house is swept away by a cyclone and they find themselves in a strange land called Oz. Here she meets the good witch, Locasta Tattypoo, and the Munchkins. Then she joins the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City, where lives the all-powerful Wizard of Oz. 
 
Cast list:
Michael Brainard
Narrator/L. Frank Baum

Ellise Chase
Dorothy

Josh Burkholder
Toto

P.J. Ochlan
Scarecrow

Franc Ross
Cowardly Lion

John Kraft
Tin Woodman

Megan Massie
Locasta Tattypoo

Annie Ellicott
Wicked Witch of the East

Roy Sillings
Uncle Henry, Boq

Kate Braun
Aunt Em

Emily McGee
Malvonia

Andrea Emmes
Premonia, Nimmie Amee

Sheryl Doades
Semponia

Nicholas Krohn
Peter Pop, Crow Three

Thomas Tiggleman
Tommie Top, Crow Two

Eric Shelley
Simon Slick, Old Crow, Farmer
 
Steve Scott
Ku-Klip, Crow One, Robbie Rock

EPISODE 2 – THE JOURNEY TO THE GREAT OZ
Communicator Awards:
Distinction in Craft Original Music
Excellence in Craft Writing
Excellence in General Production
Excellence in Craft On-Air Talent
 
Dorothy and the company of friends continue to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Along the way, they have countless adventures, from the monstrous Kalidahs to the field of deadly poppies. They also make many new friends who help them, like the Queen of the Field Mice. But will the great Wizard of Oz grant Dorothy and her friends their hearts’ desires? 
 
Cast list:
Michael Brainard
Narrator

Ellise Chase
Dorothy

Josh Burkholder
Toto

P.J. Ochlan
Scarecrow

Franc Ross
Cowardly Lion

John Kraft
Tin Woodman

Jeff Hays
Oz, all parts

Greta Lind
Mouse Three

Annie Ellicott
Mouse Two, Jellia Jamb

Brandon Wentz
Guardian Gruph

Emily McGee
Queen Mouse, Oz Woman

Andrea Emmes
Mouse One, Oz Child

Leraldo Anzaldua
Omby Amby

Zach Johnson
Oz Man
 
EPISODE 3 – THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST
The Wizard sends Dorothy and her friends to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West but before they may act, the Witch sends her minions to foil their plans. Soon King Crow and his flock descend upon them, followed by a pack of ferocious wolves and the mischievous Winged Monkeys! Will Dorothy ever get back to Kansas or will she spend the rest of her days as a slave of the Wicked Witch? 
 
Cast list:
Michael Brainard
Narrator

Ellise Chase
Dorothy

Josh Burkholder
Toto

P.J. Ochlan
Scarecrow

Franc Ross
Cowardly Lion

John Kraft
Tin Woodman

Greta Lind
Mouse Three

Annie Ellicott
Mouse Two, Gayelette

Roy Sillings
Grandfather Winged Monkey

Kate Braun
Wicked Witch of the West

Nate Erdel
Winged Monkey Leader, Wolf Two

Brandon Wentz
Guardian Gruph, Wiljoy

Emily McGee
Queen Mouse, Kamie Soforth, Kitten

Andrea Emmes
Mouse One, Peasant Girl

Leraldo Anzaldua
Omby Amby

Bert Rotundo
Wuzzlegum, Wolf One

Thomas Tiggleman
Winged Monkey Two, Crow Two

Eric Shelley
King Crow, Winged Monkey One

Zach Johnson
Winged Monkey Three, Quelala, Wolf Three

Steve Scott
Leader of the Wolves, Crow One
 
EPISODE 4 – THE MAGIC ART OF OZ
The Wizard is true to his word, and he grants each of the company of friends their hearts’ desires. However, as Dorothy prepares to leave, Toto is missing and the Wizard is unable to delay the balloon’s launch. And so, the group of friends set out yet again across the marvelous land of Oz, meeting the Porcelain Princess and the obnoxious Hammer Heads, as they seek Glinda the Good to help Dorothy find another way home. 
 
Cast list:
Michael Brainard
Narrator

Ellise Chase
Dorothy

Josh Burkholder
Toto

P.J. Ochlan
Scarecrow

Franc Ross
Cowardly Lion

John Kraft
Tin Woodman, Mr. Joker

Jeff Hays
Oz, all parts

Greta Lind
Glinda

Megan Massie
China Princess, Fox One, Beatrix

Annie Ellicott
Jellia Jamb, Lyrix

Roy Sillings
Uncle Henry

Kate Braun
Aunt Em

Nate Erdel
Winged Monkey Leader, Wolf Two, Hammer Head Three

Brandon Wentz
Guardian Gruph, Tiger One

Andrea Emmes
Hammer Head Four

Sheryl Doades
China Milkmaid, Fox Two, Farmer’s Wife

Leraldo Anzaldua
Omby Amby, Hungry Tiger

Thomas Tiggleman
Winged Monkey Two, Crow One, Hammer Head Leader

Eric Shelley
Winged Monkey One, King Crow, Hammer Head One

Zach Johnson
Winged Monkey Three, Wolf Three, Hammer Head Two

Steve Scott
Spider Monster

CREW BIOS
 
Russell McGee (Director, Writer, Executive Producer) is 2021 Audie Award finalist, a nine-time Telly Award winning writer/producer, a three-time Communicator Awards winner, and a 2019 and 2020 Regional Emmy-nominated writer. Russell received his master’s in TV/film production at Indiana University in 2013 and his bachelor’s in theatre with a creative writing minor from Indiana State University in 2001. He works as the on-air promotions producer at WTIU, teaches screenwriting and sound design at Indiana University, has written multiple Doctor Who short stories including a Subscriber Short Trip, and is a sound designer for Big Finish Productions LTD on their Doctor Who full-cast audio plays. He was also nominated for Best Audio Adaptation in the 18th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, nominated as a Producer, Writer, & Editor in Children’s Programming 2018 Regional Emmy Awards, won the Best Vocal Direction Award in the 2019 Audio Verse Awards, and won the Bronze Festival Favorite Award in 2019, 2020, and 2021 at the Hear Now Festival.
 
Jeff Hays (Executive Producer) believes in versatility as a voice actor. His dedication to animating characters in audio has elevated the material he narrates in a way that inspires listeners to follow him in the same way they follow authors. As a musician, he has always loved sound, immersive storytelling, and collaboration with other actors. This passion led Hays to found Soundbooth Theater in 2017. Originally conceived to produce even more audiobooks with other narrators teaming up for multicast performances, he began experimenting with sound effects and music in productions. His path led him to create fully produced audio dramas and start his own independent audio distribution and listening platform. Partnering with Russell McGee and Starrynight Productions to bring this adaptation The Wizard of Oz into audio is another exciting step deeper into his exploration of audio theater. 
 
Michael Brainard (Producer) is a writer/producer/actor living in Los Angeles, California. Brainard is most well-known for his roles in daytime television drama, including ABC’s All My Children and NBC’s Santa Barbara. His recent work includes WFIU’s The Ernie Pyle Experiment!, MyNetworkTV’s American Heiress, the independent film Killing Ariel, Disney’s Invincible, and a starring role in Robert Fontaine’s feature Mi America.
 
Andrea Emmes (Producer) is a 2020 Audie Award finalist and multiple SOVAS winning voice over actor/audiobook narrator who has been performing on stage, TV/film, and voice over for more than 25 years. Diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in 2006, Emmes has carved an empowered new path in life as differently abled. Emmes’s previous credits include Voyage of the Little Mermaid (sang as Ariel at Walt Disney World), best-selling audiobook narrator (Little Women and the Max Einstein series), Best Female Narrator (Independent Audiobook Awards), voice over announcer for Pencil First Games, Vegas headliner (sang/danced in the girl group The GG Girls), recording artist, and producer of the award-winning animated short film, Mil.
 
Emily McGee (Producer) is an Emmy-nominated actor, who received her master’s in music specializing in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has been seen on stage and behind the scenes as an actor, voice over artist, director, producer, and puppeteer for various film and theater companies, including the Phoenix Theatre, Cardinal Stage, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Breakfast Anytime! Improv and Sketch Comedy, WTIU, and Forbidden Films.   
 
Nicholas Krohn (Script Editor) has been involved in the arts for more than 30 years as an actor, writer, director and sound designer for stage, film, and audio. His most recent role was Doctor Victor Frankenstein in an award-winning radio adaptation of Shelley’s novel. His writing has also been recognized at the 2019 Hear Now Festival. He would like to thank his mother and Linda Reising, who conspired many years ago to set him on this path.
 
John Kraft (Dramaturg) is an Arizona-based opera singer and actor with over 13 years of stage experience. He was born in Connecticut, received his bachelor’s at DePauw University in Indiana, and his master’s in opera at Arizona State University. Kraft regularly performs with Arizona Opera and the Chandler Opera Company and has recently appeared with Prescott Pops Symphony, the Euphony Ensemble, and with several orchestras and ensembles. 
 
Chancellor Edmaiston (Sound Designer) is a recent Indiana University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from The Media School. He has worked on many productions throughout his time at IU as a sound designer, and intends to carry his experiences into this production. Chancellor was recently awarded a 2022 Communicator Award for his sound design on the episodic audio drama series, The Ernie Pyle Experiment!
 
Ryan Chase (Composer). Balancing the extremes of the familiar and the experimental, music by Emmy-nominated composer Ryan Chase has been described as “the stuff of memory” (The Herald-Times) and hailed by the New York Times as “whirlwind… deftly explored contrasts of mood, from bombastic to introverted.” Accolades for his work include the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fromm Commission, and multiple awards from ASCAP and BMI. He currently serves as assistant professor of music at Colgate University.
 
Francis Criscione (Music Assistant) is currently a student at Colgate University, majoring in computer science with a strong passion for music composition. For the past academic year, he has worked with Ryan Chase through independent study to expand his experience with music production and as composer’s assistant. In addition to working on The Ernie Pyle Experiment, he is currently writing music for several other projects.
 
CAST BIOS
 
Leraldo Anzaldua is a Houston, Texas, based actor, performance and motion capture for film and video games performer, anime voice over artist, and fight director with the Society of American Fight Directors. He is a voice over talent for more than 100 characters with Sentai Filmworks with his most prominent roles including Ken/ G-1 (Gatchaman); Takashi (Highschool of the Dead); Ralph (Halo Legends), Noda (Angel Beats), Kei Tsukishima (Haikyu!); Ryo Kurokiba (Food Wars!), and Yuta Togashi (Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions). With Funimation, he has voiced Largo (One Piece) and many more roles. He has many titles currently on Netflix, Hulu, and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. He has been a motion capture performer and fight director with Sony Pictures in Tokyo, Japan and a motion capture fight director and talent for video games in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden. Anzaldua received a master’s in acting from the University of Houston and is currently an assistant professor of movement and stage combat with the Department of Theatre, Drama & Contemporary Dance at Indiana University. 
 
Kate Braun has appeared in many plays and films. She is looking forward to the playing the Wicked Witch of the West, a character who gave her nightmares for years according to her poor mother! 
 
Michael Brainard is a writer/producer/actor living in Los Angeles, California. Brainard is most well-known for his roles in daytime television drama, including ABC’s All My Children and NBC’s Santa Barbara. His recent work includes WFIU’s The Ernie Pyle Experiment!, MyNetworkTV’s American Heiress, the independent film Killing Ariel, Disney’s Invincible, and a starring role in Robert Fontaine’s feature Mi America.
 
A cornfed native Hoosier, Josh Burkholder found his passion for the performing arts early while he studied at Indiana University in Bloomington. Recently finding the fun and joy in doing podcasts and vocal performances, he is happy to be included in such an incredible cast.
 
Ellise Chase is an Erie, Pennsylvania, native with a master’s in acting from Indiana University in Bloomington. She was last heard on The Ernie Pyle Experiment! as Amelia Earhart. The majority of Ellise’s acting has been on stage, with her favorite roles being Hester Swane (By the Bog of Cats), Stella (A Streetcar Named Desire) and Smeraldina (The Servant of Two Masters). Ellise is thrilled to be back in the world of podcasts and is recording from her home studio in Erie.   
 
Sheryl Doades is originally from New York and now based out of Bloomington, Indiana. Doades has performed and directed across the US, Canada, and overseas. Doades’s audio credits include Back Issues, written by Nicholas Krohn and directed by Russell McGee (Anne Marie Redmond) and Flashback to Never (Linda Kramer). On the stage, Doades’s favorite credits include Evil Dead the Musical (Cheryl), Seussical the Musical (Gertrude McFuzz), Bloomington Playwrights Project’s The Enlightenment of Percival von Schmootz (Mother), Urinetown the Musical (Ms. Pennywise), and Hercules and Hero School (Medusa). 
 
Annie Ellicott is a jazz vocalist and songwriter who in recent years has expanded into the voice over world, acquiring a substantial fan base from her work with Soundbooth Theater. She has toured the US and Europe, from Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park to Caveau de la Huchette in Paris, singing traditional jazz and original compositions. Ellicott has appeared with Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, performing jazz and bebop with smatterings of comedy improv at San Francisco Sketch Fest 2016-18, Glastonbury Festival 2019 in London, and is a recurring guest entertainer with the band. 
 
Nathan Erdel is a writer, actor, and filmmaker, whose screenwriting credits include the films Unwelcome, The Legend of Wasco, and the indie cult hit Headless, which won Best Feature at Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Horror Festival. He has also contributed stories in two volumes of the horror-anthology comic book Tales from the Cryptic Closet. Erdel originated the role of Ed Wood in the musical comedy audio drama Ed Wood: The Musical and can also be seen as himself on The Travel Channel’s True Terror with Robert Englund. He is a senior crew member for Sammy Terry, the world’s longest running horror host, where he portrays Sammy’s loyal butler, Ghoulsby. 
 
Andrea Emmes is a 2020 Audie Award finalist and multiple SOVAS winning voice over actor/audiobook narrator who has been performing on stage, TV/film, and voice over for more than 25 years. Diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in 2006, Emmes has carved an empowered new path in life as differently abled. Emmes’s previous credits include Voyage of the Little Mermaid (sang as Ariel at Walt Disney World), best-selling audiobook narrator (Little Women and the Max Einstein series), Best Female Narrator (Independent Audiobook Awards), voice over announcer for Pencil First Games, Vegas headliner (sang/danced in the girl group The GG Girls), recording artist, and producer of the award-winning animated short film, Mil.
 
Jeff Hays believes in versatility as a voice actor. His dedication to animating characters in audio has elevated the material he narrates in a way that inspires listeners to follow him in the same way they follow authors. As a musician, he has always loved sound, immersive storytelling, and collaboration with other actors. This passion led Hays to found Soundbooth Theater in 2017. Originally conceived to produce even more audiobooks with other narrators teaming up for multicast performances, he began experimenting with sound effects and music in productions. His path led him to create fully produced audio dramas and start his own independent audio distribution and listening platform. Partnering with Russell McGee and Starrynight Productions to bring this adaptation The Wizard of Oz into audio is another exciting step deeper into his exploration of audio theater. 
 
A performer from a young age, Zach Johnson has translated a lifelong love of accents, impressions, characters, and acting into a thriving career in audiobooks. With over 100 titles to his name or one of his pseudonyms and training in stage acting, vocal performance, narration, and even mathematics lecturing from some of the best in the business, Johnson has brought books—both fiction and nonfiction, spanning virtually every genre—to life. When he’s not narrating, you can find him performing standup comedy, deep into an epic campaign of Dungeons and Dragons, memorizing mathematical proofs, and expanding his considerable repertoire of dad jokes. 
 
John Kraft is an Arizona-based opera singer and actor with over 13 years of stage experience. He was born in Connecticut, received his bachelor’s at DePauw University in Indiana, and his master’s in opera at Arizona State University. Kraft regularly performs with Arizona Opera and the Chandler Opera Company and has recently appeared with Prescott Pops Symphony, the Euphony Ensemble, and with several orchestras and ensembles. 
 
Nicholas Krohn has been involved in the arts for more than thirty years as an actor, writer, director and sound designer for stage, film, and audio. His most recent role was Doctor Victor Frankenstein in an award-winning radio adaptation of Shelley’s novel. His writing has also been recognized at the 2019 Hear Now Festival. He would like to thank his mother and Linda Reising, who conspired many years ago to set him on this path.
 
Greta Lind is an actor, author, and bodyworker. Lind is a lifelong creative whose work spans diverse mediums including theater, podcasts, television, and film, where she’s appeared in All My Children and the hit film Rudy. Her recent work includes the audio drama series The Ernie Pyle Experiment!, a finalist in the Audie Awards. Lind’s debut novel, Split Open, was published in 2021 by Pond Reads Press (audiobook coming soon), and she has co-facilitated writing circles with Young Women Writing for (a) Change in Bloomington, Indiana, where she currently lives. She raised two wonderful boys into young adulthood. 
 
Megan Massie is a film, stage, and voice over actress with a love for positive stories that radiate hope. She has voiced spots for top brands including Universal Studios, Sara Lee, P&G, Bayer Advantage II, and Tire Discounters. When not in the booth, she treads the boards, most recently performing as Ada Lovelace in Cardinal Stage’s Ada and the Engine and Lucy in Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Dracula, and directing the world premiere production of Ossietzky: A Peace Play. Her recent film credits include Adeline, Wretch, Just One Life, and the upcoming comedy web series Bagged and Bored.  
 
Emily McGee is an Emmy-nominated actor, who received her master’s in music specializing in vocal performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has been seen on stage and behind the scenes as an actor, voice over artist, director, producer, and puppeteer for various film and theater companies, including the Phoenix Theatre, Cardinal Stage, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Breakfast Anytime! Improv and Sketch Comedy, WTIU, and Forbidden Films.   
 
Award-winning actor, producer, and coach P.J. Ochlan has been working in the entertainment industry for 35 years. His diverse career has included Broadway, the NY Shakespeare Festival under Joseph Papp, critically acclaimed feature films, and numerous television guest star and series regular roles. Along the way he’s worked with countless icons including Jodie Foster, Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, and Al Pacino. He recently appeared on Young Sheldon as Rene Descartes. Ochlan is best known behind the microphone as a widely acclaimed and record-setting audiobook narrator of more than 500 titles. His work has been recognized with multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, Voice Arts Awards, and the Odyssey Award. Ochlan is also one of the industry’s leading dialect and performance coaches. He is the founder of Dr. Dialect (drdialect.com), co-founder of the Deyan Institute of Voice Artistry in Los Angeles and teaches from coast to coast at conferences and universities. Ochlan is the official dialect coach for Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so he’s one of the only people on the planet who actually teaches at Hogwarts.
 
Franc Ross graduated from the American Conservatory Theatre’s MFA program and has spent the last 40 years on various stages throughout the country, appearing in classical plays, including pieces by Shakespeare, Chekov, Ibsen, and Gorky. He has frequently appeared as a guest star on popular television series, from The West Wing and ER to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Ross greatly enjoys voice acting and is delighted to be a part of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz project. 
 
Bert Rotundo has appeared on stage both in New York and Los Angeles, on the big screen, the little screen, and has voiced my many characters as a voice over artist.  Some of his recent credits include HBO’s Silicon Valley, ABC’s Famous in Love and Marvel’s Agent Carter. He recently wrapped the feature film The Naked Umbrella, which he also co-produced, starring opposite Emmy-winner Jeremy Davies, Tom Arnold, and Taryn Manning. Rotundo is an executive producer of the web sensation Generation Awesome whose viral series The Bartender Hates You was featured on the pilot of TOSH.0. 
 
Steve Scott has performed in 16 theater and voice acting productions since stepping on stage for the first time in 2012. He appeared in Bloomington Playwrights Project’s performances of 30 Day Mourning Period (Larry), Beating a Dead Horse (Fritz), The Oregon Trail (Clancy), and Fortunato Heist (The Spider). Before the pandemic, Scott was cast as serial killer Ralph Ian Wantage in Monroe County Civic Theater’s production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen. He also voiced the characters Dick and Denver in WFIU’s The Ernie Pyle Experiment! and the voice of Fred Porlock in Cardinal Stage’s radio drama Predisposed to Violins. 
 
Eric Shelley is a native Hoosier and a graduate of Indiana University’s Theatre and Drama program. Shelley’s credits include Lost Letters (Bloomington Playwrights Project), Shortly After Takeoff (Harbor Theatre Company, NYC), Only a Lad (New York International Fringe Festival), Harold & Maude (Theatreworks Palo Alto, Dean Goodman Choice Award), Peter Pan (Asolo Repertory, Pioneer Theatre Company), Grease (European Tour), Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Secret Garden (Fulton Opera House, Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Oliver! (Westchester Broadway Theatre, West Virginia Public Theatre, Gateway Playhouse), Disney Dreams, Hercules The Musical (Disney Theatricals). Film: The Talented Mr. Avery (Neon Films), Second Born, Spider-Man, and the web series Absolution: The Series. Shelley has been a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association since 2000. 
 
Roy Sillings has been active in Bloomington, Indiana, theater for the last 20 years. He has performed major roles in over 20 Shakespeare productions including Cymbeline, Malvolio, Prospero, and Lear. Numerous other non-bard roles range from Dracula to Humpty Dumpty. He has appeared professionally in Cardinal Stage plays and acted in several films and audio programs. Sillings has performed several times at the Indy Fringe Festival, designed and executed several stage sets, and written for the theater. He serves on the board of Monroe County Civic Theater. 
 
Thomas Tiggleman immerses himself in all aspects of entertainment. From singing on stage as Jacey Squires in IU Opera’s The Music Man and Inspector Newcomen in Ivy Tech’s production of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, to film combat in Tugboat Films’ Thin Brothers and Grumpy Golden’s Mirror Station. He has also served a decade as the master electrician for the Bloomington Playwrights Project. Returning to his first love with some of his favorite people, he proudly joins the cast of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 
 
Brandon Wentz is an actor and voice over artist from Indianapolis. He is the co-host for the PBS/WTIU show Journey Indiana, the host and GM of the award-winning actual play podcast The Critshow, and most recently the voice of William Shakespeare in ShakesFEAR at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre. 
 
LOOP GROUP BIOS
 
Bonnie Bogovich is an active vocal artist, director, and sound designer in the video game, educational interactive, and audio drama scene. In addition to voice acting as both humans, and critters/creatures, she also regularly sings in operatic, choral, and musical ensembles and has been featured on video game tribute albums and soundtracks. Learn more about her projects at blackcatbonifide.com
 
Eric Doades is a native of Washington, Indiana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in musical theatre performance from Oklahoma City University, and has been teaching choral music for 14 years. Eric has toured the US with Missoula Children’s Theatre and performed internationally though Gyeonggi English Village in Paju, South Korea.  While in South Korea, Eric also wrote and composed for the various productions at English Village. Eric has been heard in audio productions of Ed Wood: The Musical! and Back Issues and has appeared in productions of The Light in the Piazza, Batboy: The Musical, Gianni Schicci, Brigadoon, Crazy for You and Oklahoma!, among others.
 
Michelle Wafford has been an actor (primarily on stage) in the Indianapolis area for 30 years. She has starred in musicals, Shakespeare, and everything in between at Booth Tarkington Civic, Bard Fest, Beef & Boards, Mud Creek Players, Catalyst Repertory, Betty Rage Productions, Footlite Musicals, and more. She has also been a major contributor of livestreamed movie script readings via an online group called Kevin Pollack’s Zooming the Movies since January 2021.