Lost Laughs: The Slapstick Tragedy of Fatty Arbuckle

Kristen is thrilled to be making her Lowell debut as both an actor and MRT Patriot in Lost Laughs... She recently completed a year and a half on the road in the First National Tour of the Tony Award winning musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Off-Broadway she has performed in NEWSical The Musical, and many editions of Forbidden Broadway (including the original cast recording of FB Goes to Rehab). Regionally she has performed at Geva Theatre Center, Gateway Playhouse, Moonlight Stage, North Coast Repertory Theatre, The Theatre in Old Town (Miracle Theatre Productions), The Welk Theatre and Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre. Television: Veronica Mars (Co-Star). From 2007-2009, Kristen was the co-founder/co-producer of Ampersand Theatre Company in New York City. Kristen is a graduate of San Diego State University’s Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre program. Following graduation, Kristen taught for two years as a part-time professor with the same university.  A native of Wichita, KS, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Emporia State University. Love and admiration go to Aaron Muñoz and Andy Bayiates for writing this story, Aaron for being the best Roscoe to this Will, and to Nathan Keepers for helping us bring this crazy #losttruehollywood story to life. kristenmengelkoch.com

Nathan is Co-Artistic Director of The Moving Company in Minneapolis. Since 2009 MoCo has been creating original work including: Come Hell and High Water, Werther and Lotte, Out of the Pan Into the Fire, All’s Fair, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Liberty Falls 54321, Every Sentence is for the Birds, Refugia (in association with The Guthrie Theater), and most recently Speechless. Along with these productions, MoCo has held residencies at Stanford University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and UC Davis. Nathan spent 11 seasons as a company member of Theatre de la Jeune Lune (2005 Tony Award winner). In the Twin Cities, Nathan has performed at The Guthrie, The Jungle Theater, Ten Thousand Things, Sod House Theatre, and Children’s Theatre Company. Nationally, Nathan works regularly, as an actor and director, with Actors Theatre of Louisville and has traveled to Berkeley Rep, American Repertory Theatre, The Alley Theatre, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, The Shakespeare Theatre (DC), The Folger Theatre. Nathan studied at The Burlesk Center with Pierre Byland in Switzerland, and Ecole Philippe Gaulier.

Selected credits: Cute Activist (The Bushwick Starr, dir. Morgan Green); Once (Weston Playhouse, dir. Michael Berresse); Harbored (River to River Fesitval, dir. Jimmy Maize); The Temple Bombing (Alliance Theater, dir. Jimmy Maize); Peer Gynt and the Norwegian Hapa Band (Ma-Yi Theater Company, dir. Jack Tamburri); The Snowy BingBongs Across the North Star Combat Zone (film, dir. Alex Fischer and Rachel Wolther); Heartbreak (The Bushwick Starr, dir. Ariel Stess); The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go (Ma-Yi Theater Company, dir. Ralph Pena); Hamlet (Yale Repertory Theater, dir. James Bundy). Selected Associate Design: Amélie the Musical (dir. Pam MacKinnon, des. David Zinn), The Spongebob Squarepants Musical (dir. Tina Landau, des. David Zinn). Meredith is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Yale School of Drama.

Recent credits: Medea, Margherita, Risurrezione (Wexford Festival Opera), La bohème (Opera di Firenze); Star Wars en Concert (Orchestre National de Lyon); Don Giovanni, The Importance of Being Earnest (Northern Ireland Opera), world premiere of 4.48 Psychosis (Royal Opera House – Lyric Hammersmith); Norma (Gran Teatre del Liceu); Don Giovanni (Bergen Nasjonale Opera); L’heure espagnole, Gianni Schicchi, Candide, The Importance of Being Earnest (Opéra National de Lorraine); Silent Night, Don Bucefalo, Salomé (Wexford Festival Opera); La Favorite (Oper Graz); L’Enfant et les sortileges (The Bolshoi); Il trittico (Royal Opera House – Convent Garden); Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème (Boston Lyric Opera); Maria Stuarda (Seattle Opera); Anna Bolena (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Euryanthe (Bard Summerscape); Kansas City Choir Boy (New York, Boston, L.A., Miami) and El Chico de Oz (Teatro Municipal – Lima, Preu). Ms. Wood’s work in theatre includes designs for Young Vic, American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF), Primary Stages (NYC), NYSF – The Public Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Children’s Theatre Company – Minneapolis, Baltimore CenterStage, Trinity Repertory Company, and Philadelphia Theatre Company. Ms. Wood received the U.K.’s 2012 Knight of Illumination Award for her design of Suor Angelica (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden). Upcoming designs: 4.48 Psychosis (Royal Opera House – Lyric Hammersmith), Medea, L’eliser d’amore (Opera Omaha), and Mamzer Bastard (Royal Opera House – Hackney Empire).