Kareem is thrilled to be directing The Alternate Theatre's first New York production. As founder and artistic director of The Alternate Theatre, Kareem directed the Canadian premieres (in Montreal) of Naomi Iizuka's Language of Angels and Suzan-Lori Parks' Venus. Other directing credits include Patrick Marber's Closer, Judith Thompson's Lion in the Streets, and his own original musical drama W/O U I'm Nothing.

Alexa is currently pursuing an MFA in Theatrical Management at Columbia University's School of the Arts. She recently spent two years managing the non-profit Cabaret Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. She has also worked with No Limits Theatre for Hearing Impaired Children on several New York and New Jersey productions. Upcoming projects include venue direction at the NY Fringe Festival.

Stephen is a recent graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts graduate design program. Stephen is originally from Missouri where he most recently has worked with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and The Muny. He is happy to make this his first collaboration with The Alternate Theatre.

Regional: Taming of the Shrew directed by Mark Lamos, Fighting Words (Yale Repertory Theater), Fran's Bed (staged reading directed by James Lepine; Long Wharf Theater), Rumours, Educating Rita, Art (Hope Summer Repertory Theater) Off Broadway: The Moonlight Room Off-Off Broadway: Jose Rivera's Sonnets for an Old Century (New York premier), Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Red Town Utah, Say You Love Satan, 2 Josh, St. Fatso's Lament, I Am Not Peter Pan Dance: Production Manager and Lighting Supervisor for Shen Wei Dance Arts, Lighting Designer for NYC Butoh Festival, Rate of Exchange (David Dorfman), Attracted to Accidents (KT Niehoff; U.S., Canada, Japan, Ecuador)

The Way to Begin will be Erin's New York debut. Prior to this production Erin's work could be seen in Seattle where she received her MFA from the University of Washington. Recent productions include Imaginary Invalid, Orestes 2.0, and The Suicide. She has also designed for the Next Stage dance Company and the UW dance department.

Sharon is a graduate of the William Esper Studio and studies with Wynn Handman. She also holds a Masters degree in English Drama and Literature from Yale University. Favorite roles to date include Angela Nightingale in Bedtime Story and Alma Winemuller in Summer and Smoke. New York stage credits include: Denise Van Gelden in The Wall of Water (Six Figures), Grace Dodge in Real! Live! America ! (NY Fringe Festival), Joan Hathorne in Witch Hunt (Finalist Samuel French Festival), and Marion in Father's Day (Handyman Productions). Sharon has appeared in numerous episodics and independents films.

Rick's New York credits include: Peer Gynt, The Laramie Project, Inspector General, The Idiot, The Glass Menagerie, West Side Story. Film credits include: Confess and Martini's Shot, coming out this fall. Rick holds a MFA in Acting from Columbia University.

Laura Heidinger has lived in New York City for 9 years and loved almost every minute of it. This summer, she appeared as a psychosis-inducing ethereal presence in Bixby Elliot's new play, Untitled and as a teacher of dramatic arts for 8-year old prodigies at P.S. 175 in Queens. Having just completed her first year at Columbia's graduate program in Theatre, she spent the previous 9 months immersed in Sophocles, Brecht, Webster and too many others to list. Highlights of the year (and quite possibly her life) included working on the roles of Mother Courage and The Duchess of Malfi. Previous life experiences include corporate thralldom (which fortunately required extensive travel throughout Europe), teaching high school in Denver, herding cattle in Oklahoma and playing Benjamin Bunny to capacity houses in South Carolina.

Keenan is a graduate of Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent many years playing basketball and appearing in local productions. Since moving to New York, he has appeared in numerous award-winning features and shorts and has done commercial campaigns for MTV, The Game Show Network and The Discovery Channel. He was last seen in playwright Ashlin Halfnight's workshop of Bird Bones. Keenan currently studies with teacher extraordinaire Anthony Abeson.

Born and raised in Papua New Guinea, James M Larmer comes from a background of stage and film in Australia. Recent leading roles in New York include Roy Darwin in Counsellor at Law (Bank Street Theatre), Garry Essendine in Present Laughter (Century Center), Detective Leon Zat in The Way to Begin (Horace Mann Theatre), Cosmo Disney in the New York premiere of Phillip Ridley's Pitchfork Disney (Greenwich Street Theatre), and a slew of characters Hair of the Dog's the extended run of He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. Other work includes the great roles of Dr Henry Block in Psychopathia Sexualis (Atlantic Theatre Company Studios); John D. Rockefeller in Laurel Vartabedian's epic musical, American Story (42 nd Street Workshop) and Hamlet in Mr. Shakespeare and Mr. Porter (The Medicine Show); and Chapin & Friends, Florida Studio Theatre's tribute to America's storytellers. James has also landed leading roles in several independent films including Mixing Nia and Gimme Some Lovin and the soon-to-be-released The Pondhoppers and Love From The Machine.

Brigg is very happy to be making his Alternate Theatre company debut with The Way To Begin. He has performed in regional theatres and tours across the U.S. and overseas, in addition to having a successful voice over career as well. Favorite roles include Valmont (Les Liasons Dangereuses), Judd (Oklahoma !), Lancelot (Camelot), and Petruchio (The Taming Of the Shrew).

Laura was born in Canada and raised in Lebanon, Iran, Brazil, Indonesia, and Egypt. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, she has been in New York for two years, and is still trying to catch her breath. Recent theatre credits include Goneril in King Lear, Toinette in The Hypochondriac, and Luciana in Comedy of Errors (all with the Texas Shakespeare Festival), Perdita in A Winter's Tale with the Hampton Shakespeare Festival, and an extended run in Finding Grafenberg, an original play produced by trip theatre company in NYC.

NY Theater: Kit Marlowe (New York Shakespeare Festival), Ice (NY Fringe), Song of Solomon (New York University). NY Film: Love the Hard Way, The Look, Bumping Heads, Slo-mo. TV: Scandalous Art (Bravo), Egg (PBS).

Adam Tsekhman's favorite roles include Matthew Stoddard in I Bet Your Life by Fred Carmichael. While living in Philadelphia, Adam starred in two separate productions: Leon Tolchinsky in Neil Simon's Fools and Archie in Unexpected Tenderness by Israel Horowitz. On film, Adam played the Jewish Groom in Khansenjah: The Jamaican/Jewish Wedding. In addition to this, Adam had the fortune of working in Moscow on Sonya the Golden Hand. Adam holds a B.Sc. in Economics with a major in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently studying at Columbia University's MFA program in Theatre Acting, entering his second year of study.