About us
ULU Theatre Collective is a theatre/film independent artist collective, founded in 2008, with a mission to create art that is not only fun, innovative, and entertaining but also helps to inspire social change. An ULU is an all purpose knife and a tool passed down from generation to generation because it was believed that an ancestor’s knowledge was contained within the ULU and thus would also be passed on. Much like this tool, throughout history, stories have been the greatest tool for teaching and passing down knowledge from one generation to the next and thus why we chose the name for our company.
ULU is also a platform for emerging artists to showcase work they feel passionate about, not because it’s commercial or profitable, but because they truly believe in the value of their work and because they simply HAVE to. We dream big, and we don’t pigeon-hole ourselves. We are producers as well as actors, as well as writers, as well as singers, etc., etc.. Because everybody needs a creative team to draw from when trying to put your artistic vision on stage or screen.
While ULU isn’t strictly highlighting only female artists, we do notice the trend for theatre to have a great deal less opportunities for women, and so we aim to create more equal opportunities for both men and women. ULU Theatre Collective is sponsored under the Umbrella of Theatre Resources Unlimited as a not for profit company.
Members:
Hannah Wolfe (Co-founder, Producer, actress playing Julie in The Pizza Man) – Hannah recently completed a tour with the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth. She has also toured with the Obie Award-winning children’s theatre company The Paper Bag Players, the National Theatre for Children and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. New York credits include the world-premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks 365 Days/365 Plays at the Public Theatre, HER KIND (self written & produced) at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity and the New York & San Francisco Fringe Festivals, The Laramie Projectwith Prism Players, RIPfest #7 short film festival, Midnight Hour at Riant Theatre Strawberry One-Act Festival (Best Actress finalist), A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Blunt Theatre Co. and ShakespeareNYC, It’s Called The Sugar Plum at the American Theatre of Actors and Harry & The Dirty Dogwith Manhattan Children’s Theatre.
Susan Rankus (Co-founder, Producer, actress playing Alice in Pizza Man) Susan is currently the International Artistic Director for the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Most recently she produced and stared in the short film Previous Tenants, which was an official selection of the Big Apple, New Filmmakers, and Twin Rivers Film Festival, where it won Fifth Place. For more information on Previous Tenants, please visit www.previoustenants.info. Susan produced Outroverted and her One Woman Show, Renaissance, at the 2007 Midtown International Theatre Festival where it played to sold out houses every night and was nominated for Best One Act. Susan Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Point Park University in 2001. Immediately afterwards she was awarded the 2001/2002 Dorothy Haas Acting Apprenticeship at the prestigious Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia where she had the pleasure of understudying the roles of Biddy/Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations and the joy of performing on their main stage as ensemble in Damn Yankees, Dori in School House Rock, and The Ghost of Christmas Past/Mrs. Cratchet in A Christmas Carol. Some of her favorite roles include: Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Caliban in The Tempest, Rita in Sisters, Bertie in the Club, Lady Elaine in Avalon, and Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. For more information on Susan, please visit her website www.susanrankus.com.
Bricken Sparacino (Director- Pizza Man) Bricken was selected to be on of the “People of the Year ‘08” by nytheatre.com for her directing work on American Badass, Mother May I and Those Whistling Lads and for co-creating Until Midnight. Bricken producing credits include: Medication (FringeNYC) BACKSTAGE’s theatre gem of ’03 and the Time Out NY highly recommended, 10:17 Comedy Night. She is also an award winning/nominated director including the recently published American Badass by Chris Harcum for last years Frigid Festival. She has performed sketch and other original works all over NYC including work with her all female comedy troupe Comedy Period. Bricken was last seen acting/writing and co-directing Are We Freaks for Frigid ’09. She is happy to be working with the cast of Pizzaman. bricken@rcn.com
Sam Albertsen (The Pizza Man) Sam was last seen in the melodramatic thriller, The Way Knights Fall playing the role of Vernon Niles, performed at the Roy Aries Theatre Center II in Midtown. He was also honored to be a part of Tom Sime’s series of staged readings performing with a world renouned rock princess, Debrah Harry from Blondie. Sam is a Co-founder, producer, writer and performer for the up and coming improv/sketch comedy group, Do You Like This In Your Face? They recently finished a very small tour in NYC performing at the Tank theatre and the Broadway Comedy Club, which will now be a monthly host for the group. Theatre credits include: Don’t Hug Me (Kanute Gunderson); The Pump House, dir. Ann Drektra. Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ching Ho); Fountain City River Players. Film credits include: Snow On Daffodils; dir. Corey Snyder. Changing Lives: The Peter Cooper Story (Peter Cooper); The Gardner Documentary Group. When It Comes To Love…(Clay); a short film, dir. Nat Namdokmai. The Final Product; a short film, dir. Harrison Harbers which can now be seen on youtube.
Bob Teague (Stage Manager) Bob is tickled to the brink of exhaustion to be involved in this production of “Pizza Man” and with the people in the ULU Theatre Collective. At various times an actor, director, playwright, stagehand and producer — Bob recently returned to New York Theater after two decades as a journalist, writer and performer in the hinterlands of the American Deep South. His most recent New York efforts include having two of his plays, ”Two in the Chamber” and “Nerve Damage”, performed at The Gene Frankle Theatre. He has also directed “Nikita”, by Rosebud Ben-Oni at The Producers Club and stage managed “Try, Try Again” at The 45th Street Theater. He just co-produced and served a stint as stage manager for the Summer Shotgun Theater Festival, where he also wrote “Going Over” and directed “Odd Jobs” by Jennifer Marvel. Contact him at bobteague@ymail.com.
