your faithful reader

Miriam Wasmund is an Alvin Ailey trained dancer living and creating work in NYC since 2001. She has had the great fortune to work with many inspiring choreographers and travel with dance which ultimately lead her to find her love for movement, creating and community as a choreographer and producer. Miriam also works in fitness as a Personal Trainer and a Group Coach and knows how important it is for us to live in our bodies, cultivate our passions and find wellness in sharing our spirit to its fullest. She is beyond grateful to her cast , contributors and long time supporters who have been by her side in all the good and all the struggle, and would like to say a very special thank you to Britton and Melena Fisher for the seed of opportunity to find herself in this again.

Mercedes began her journey performing with the Your Faithful Reader in April of 2023, where she also penned her first letter, “Dear Mama”, which opened up the floodgates to her writing more letters. She has a BA in Acting from C.W. Post, Long Island University and has studied with the late Sande Shurin. She is thrilled to work and perform again with a team of incredible and talented people, especially Miriam Wasmund. Mercedes continues to pursue her passion for creative expression through art and spirituality, believing everyone has what they need within to be magical.

Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Leah grew up doing ballet and modern with Dance Theater West's Storybook Ballet Company. Later on, during her undergraduate studies at Occidental College, Leah was a member of the school's dance team, performing at sports games and competitions. Also while at school, Leah led Occidental College's largest student-run club, Dance Production, where students choreographed dances of all styles for over 400 dancers of all levels, culminating in an annual performance. Leah also attended NYU's Tisch School summer dance intensive, taking courses with leading modern dance companies in the City. Leah is thrilled to be back with Your Faithful Reader for her second show!

Shane Nielsen is an actor, writer, and comedian who is most often seen improvising at Upright Citizens Brigade with ASSSSCAT, Rumpleteaser Musical Improv, and The Prophecy. He also improvises at Caveat Theatre as a cast member of Raaaatscraps. Recently, he graduated from the Stella Adler Summer Evening Acting Conservatory. He makes very serious videos on TikTok as a part of @BrandonAndShane.

Sarah Sakita Mozeson is a Japanese/Jewish/American actor and NYC native who is thrilled to be returning to Your Faithful Reader. Film: Your Labs are Normal, Sid is Dead. Theatre: Syracuse Stage, New York Stage & Film. Sarah is an Associate Director and Teaching Artist for the DreamStreet Theatre Company, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization that provides theatrical production opportunities to developmentally disabled performers with a passion for the performing and creative arts. Training: BFA, Syracuse University. Special thank you to Miriam! 

www.sarahmozeson.com

Carrie James is a performer, writer, and co-producer for Your Faithful Reader. Her theatre background and training is in experimental and movement-based performance. She earned her theatre degree from C.W Post and has done workshops with Teatro delle Radici and the Dah Theatre, the latter while attending the first US Magdalena Festival (an international group of female theatre makers). She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the International Theatre Festival in Paphos, Cyprus. She joined the Your Faithful Reader team in 2019, a return to the stage after an extended break in which she studied international relations and law.

Liz Dutton is a Brooklyn-based actor, hailing originally from Rochester, NY. She studied theater at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and has appeared in many productions and readings in New York, DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania—from Shakespeare to devised works to farce, and just about everything in between. Recent credits include The Concertmaster (Borrowed Landscape), Rabbi (The Minotaur), Clytemnestra (Iphigenia), and Eva (Collaborators). Thanks to Miriam and Robert and the whole YFR team for the opportunity to work with this wonderful and supportive cast!

Dorky at her best and flirtatious at her worst, Alexandra is an actress that began as a writer. Reading stories like Sula, The Grapes of Wrath, and Postcards from No Man's Land, invited Alexandra to extend her artistic outreach beyond reading, into writing, music and then finally into acting.

As a first generation Jamaican-American, she has experienced life through conflicting perspectives that allow nuanced art to pour out of her. Born in Queens, raised out in Brooklyn, and then interrupted by a swift shift to the suburbs of New Jersey, Alexandra grew up on ackee and salt-fish, Bollywood movies, and lots of My Chemical Romance shower renditions.

With such a versatile cultural background, her acting training continued that trend. Rutgers University provided her with a four year scholarship which she used to acquire a BA in Theater and Journalism, with a focus on Meisner techniques. She later received an MFA in Acting from East 15 Acting School, a British drama school where she studied Shakespeare and Laban. In between school terms she performed with Car Crash Productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Drayton Arms Theatre.

She is so grateful for another opportunity to explore the bravest parts of humanity with Your Faithful Reader.

Callie Short is a drama therapist, combining her love of storytelling and theatre to provide support to people across NYC. Callie holds an MA in Drama Therapy from NYU and a BS in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago, where she could also be found performing in both main stage and second stage theatrical productions. Callie is thrilled to have been part of YFR as both a writer and performer since 2023. Love and hugs always to her family, friends, and the entire YFR crew!

After living abroad in Japan for the past five years, Nick has recently returned to NYC and this amazing creative community. Despite working behind the scenes and being Involved in YFR's initial fundraising campaign back in 2019, Nick is excited to finally join Miriam and the rest of the YFR company as a performer. He has studied and received accreditation in Classical acting, and has performed both locally in New York as well as regionally in Connecticut. In addition to Your Faithful Reader, Nick also works for Physical Lab, an international laboratory for performance, which focuses on the body as the point of emotional focus. You can also find more of Nick's work on Typed Out, a digital social platform and podcast, which he founded back in 2018 as a means to expand understanding and awareness.

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Performance training: RADA, LAMDA (London, UK)