The Ensemble

Rand Harmon

Artistic Director, Actor, Artisan

One of twelve founding members of Specific Gravity, Rand recently directed in the Louisville area: Sweet Bird of Youth, by Tennessee Williams, NOISES OFF!, by Michael Frayn, and William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, all at Indiana University Southeast where he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre. Also, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for the Public Theatre inBowling Green,KY, and a premier staged reading of The Honey Harvest, by Liz Bussey Fentress, at Kentucky Repertory Theatre inHorse Cave,KY.Other directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antigone, Two Booths and aLincoln, Dream of a Common Language, The Sound of a Voice, Two Rooms, No Exit and Zoo Story among others in Louisville,KY,Austin,TX,San Diego,CA, andGalveston,TX.Randalso served as Directing Intern/Assistant Director to Artistic Director Des McAnuff at the La Jolla Playhouse for a production of Macbeth starring John Vickery. Rand has also been seen onstage lately in Bent and The Laramie Project, both by Pandora Productions inLouisville. Other favorite acting roles include, Pantelone in The Three Cuckolds, Dunning Foster in The Stephen Foster Story and Chorus in Silence, Cunning, Exile.Randalso produced and directed two large-scale theatrical educational attractions for the 2001 Cal Expo State Fair, Wonders of the World Ancient Egypt and Ancient China, while working for Ballyhoo Entertainment, LLC.

Over a twenty-two year career as a theatre professional, Rand has worked as a director, actor, producer, executive director, programming manager, scenic designer, scenic artisan, props artisan, stage hand and has owned his own marketing and arts consulting firm.Randhas led non-profit performing arts organizations of varying sizes, with annual budgets of a few thousand dollars to in excess of $2 million. Most recently as Interim Program Director for Indiana University Southeast’s Theatre program,Randwas also the co-founder and Executive Producer of the Blue Sky JAMFEST on Louisville Waterfront in 2002. Rand also served as the first Executive Director of theSpencerTheatrein rural southernNew Mexico, completing construction and opening the doors of a new, state-of-the-art $22.5 million complex. He has also served as Executive Director of the restored vaudeville theatre in Waco Hippodrome, and Programming Assistant and special projects administrator for theUniversityofTexas Performing Arts Center.

Rand holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Directing from The University of Texas atAustinand a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dramatic Arts fromCentreCollege.

Christopher Shiner

Actor, Writer, Web Designer, Business Manager

As a founding member of SGE, Christopher is thrilled to be on the ground floor of such an exciting new theatrical experience. Christopher has been a member of The Footnotes at Derby Dinner Playhouse inClarksville,IN, has performed at Story Station, inLouisville,KYand also performed in a murder/mystery for Mayor Jerry Abramson on The Star of Louisville as part of a benefit/fundraiser. Some of his favorite roles include: Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls” at Clarksville Little Theater, as well as Fredrick Fellowes in “Noises Off!”, Mark Antony in “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”, Boss Finley in “Sweet Bird of Youth”, Trotsky in “All in the Timing”, all at Indiana University Southeast. He is perpetually finishing up his B.A. in English and Theater. He is a three time nominee for the  ACTF Irene Ryan National Acting Scholarship, as well as a published author for his one-act “The Fifth Wall.”

Christie Baugher

Actor, Writer, Musician, Literary Manager

Christie Baugher is pleased as punch and then some to be joining forces with SGE! And alumna of NYU’sTischSchoolof the Arts Summer Musical Theatre Writing program (Cycle D), she is currently hard at work on “Blue Flame”, a full-length new wave rock opera, and “Sevens”, a play chronicling an alternate history of colonialAmerica. Onstage credits include “A Funny thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” (IUS) “Working and “The Santaland Diaries” (Kandel Theatre), “Children of Eden” (International Thespian Festival – Lincoln), “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” (local tour), “Don Carlo” (Kentucky Opera).

Corey Long

Actor, Director

Corey Long, resident of Southern Indiana, has long since worked with or around the stage. Starting at the age of five, he began working with the Louisville Ballet and has since worked with numerous companies around the area. Some of his favorite roles include: Chance form “Sweet Bird of Youth”, Dr. Einstein from “Arsenic and Old Lace”, Wadsworth from “Clue”, and Jack from “Into the Woods”. Corey also belongs to two improve troupes and sat on the board of directors at Hayswood Theater for two years. He has also been a three time recipient of the IUS Rassmussen Theatre Award and has been nominated twice for an Irene Ryan. He is currently working for his BA in Theatre Communications at Indiana University Southeast and hopes to graduate very shortly.

Jennifer Poliskie

Actor

A Southern Indian native, Jennifer is a 2002 graduate of Indian University Southeast, holding a B.A. in Theater and English. While in college she has the distinction of being a two-time Rasmussen Theatre Scholar as well as a two-time Irene Ryan Scholarship nominee. Since graduation, she has spent the past few years honing her craft with various theater companies in and around the Louisville area. Her theatrical experience covers an array of periods and styles, ranging from classical to contemporary and comedic to tragic. Moliere, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee Williams, Paul Rudnick and David Auburn are just a few of the playwrights whose words she has had the pleasure of bringing to life. Although equally at home in either dramatic or comedic works, Jennifer regards musical theater as her specialty. She has had the privilege of performing works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Stephen Sondheim, Frank Wildhorn and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among many others. She seeks to further her growth as an artist and to continue to explore the conditions of the human experience through theatrical performance.

Barb Harmon

Designer, Artisan, Patron Relations Manager

With 25 years experience in performing arts, entertainment and tourism, marketing and public relations, barb is also an accomplished and award-winning illustrator, graphic artist, and writer. She has worked as a sales and marketing executive in the private sector for the past nine years for both Time Warner Cable and Insight Communications. In the non-profit performing arts industry, Barb served as Associate Director for Marketing and PR and Development at the Spencer Theatre in Ruidoso, NM, and Marketing Director at the University of Texas Performing Arts Center where she oversaw campaigns for the ten season and marketed over 1000 shows in five theaters. Barb also founded, with husband rand, Bacchus Associates, a performing arts and tourism marketing and management consulting firm. Barb has designed and executed national tourism marketing plans for the Ruidoso, NM Convention and Visitors Bureau, and presented workshops for the New Mexico Tourism Association’s annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Her past graphic design clients include 3M, IBM, numerous major pharmaceutical companies, various performing arts presenters around the country, tourism groups in New Mexico, Time Warner cable in Texas, and her art direction has been featured in Print and television advertising in Texas, New Mexico, and Kentucky. She has also been a published feature writer in periodicals in Texas and New Mexico. Barb’s PR work ahs led to front page articles in USA Today, the Austin-American Statesman, and the Albuquerque Journal, as well as featured articles in the Los Angeles Times, the Dallas Morning Herald, the Denver Post, and numerous other U.S. daily newspapers.

Sarah Feldman

Actor, Sponsorship Manager