God Will Do The Rest – Digital Program

Nicholas Pilapil (Playwright) is a Filipino American playwright. His plays include The Bottoming Process (world premiere with IAMA Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival of New Plays) and if all that You take from this is courage, then I’ve no regrets (winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival). His work has also been developed with Geffen Playhouse, Playwrights Foundation, American Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, The Workshop Theater, and The Fountain Theatre, among others. Nicholas is a member of Artists at Play and is an alum of The Writers’ Room at the Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, The Vagrancy Playwrights Group, and artEquity.

Fran de Leon (Director) is a multi-hyphenate artist born in Downtown LA, who spent her childhood in both Manila and Hollywood. Her one person show, Faces of America, has been performed over 500 times across the country, including for the United Nations Association in NY and LA.  Recent directing credits: Sacrifice Zone: Los Angeles (Natural History Museum); Holy Shiitake (Whitefire Theatre & Santa Monica Playhouse); Into the Woods (Pasadena Playhouse), A Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill (Assoc. Dir; Geffen Playhouse) Valor (Writer/Director CTG’s Digital Stage). TV credits: The Brothers Sun, For All Mankind, For the People, General Hospital. Affiliations: Co-Artistic Director, Will & Company; Core Member, Critical Mass Performance Group; Adjunct Faculty, USC School of Dramatic Arts.  www.frandeleon.com

Marie-France Arcilla (Maggie) is a Drama Desk awardee for Stephen Schwartz’s Working. New York: The original cast recordings of Lizzie Borden, Shout!, The Ark, and Sidd; Perfect Harmony, Oklahoma, and Here Lies Love. Regional: Mamma Mia (La Mirada), Cash on Delivery (El Portal), Rain (Old Globe), Stuck Elevator (A.C.T.), The Orphan of Zhao (La Jolla Playhouse), Sondheim on Sondheim (Great Lakes), Our Town (Pasadena Playhouse & Deaf West Theatre), Simeon’s Gift with Julie Andrews (Bay Street Theater). Film and TV: Sex Lives of College Girls, The Conners, Mr. Mayor, Law & Order: SVU, Gossip Girl, Cinema AZN; award-winning shorts From Sea to Rising Sea and Johnny Loves Delores; Love and Gelato(Netflix). Proud Filipino immigrant, mother of two.

Jon Jon Briones (Ferdie) hails from the Philippines and lives in the U.S. Favorite roles include – Theater: Engineer, Miss Saigon (London, Broadway); Georges, La Cage Aux Folles and Magno Rubio, The Romance of Magno Rubio. Television: Dr. Richard Hanover, Ratched; Gabriel Alonto, Class of ’09; Augustus Ariel, American Horror Story: Apocalypse; and Modesto Cunanan, American Crime Story: Versace. Film: Engineer, Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Voice Over: Alex Molto, Transformers:Earthspark and Hank, Trese.

Ellen D. Williams (Connie) is most known for her recurring work as Patrice on the hit CBS comedy, How I Met Your Mother, and Nicole Baskets playing opposite Zach Galifianakis on the FX dramedy, Baskets. Other credits include: Barry, Superstore, I’m Sorry, Life in Pieces, The Mindy Project, Criminal Minds, to name a few.  A theatre graduate of CSU Long Beach, Ellen has also performed regionally in theatres in Los Angeles, the Pacific Northwest, and most recently Los Angeles’ Fountain Theatre’s 40th Anniversary of Last Summer at Bluefish Cove and The Ashland New Plays Festival.  Proud member of SAG/AFTRA and Actors Equity.

Josette Canilao (Fritzie) is a Filipina American actor. Right after receiving her MFA in Acting from Columbia University in NYC, she moved to LA to pursue TV and Film. She’s appeared in ABC’s The Crossing as Naomi, in NBC’s FBI’s Most Wanted as Kellie Reyes and in the first season of FOX’s The Cleaning Lady as Dara Oum. She loves theatre and her most recent (and favorite) credits include Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hero from Much Ado About Nothing. Josette is a huge advocate for authentic representation of Filipino voices in theatre, film and TV.

Kurt Sanchez Kanazawa (Alex) is an accomplished actor, opera singer, and model based in Los Angeles. He most recently starred in No No Girl alongside Academy Award winner Chris Tashima, as well as Amazon Studio’s Bosch: Legacy opposite Madison Lintz and Denise G. Sanchez and Grey’s Anatomy. He is a Juilliard graduate opera singer fluent in Italian, French, and Japanese, and his many award-winning audiobook, voiceover, and P-cap titles include Tribeca Festival premiere A Life in Pieces: The Diary and Letters of Stanley Hayami and NYT Bestseller To Paradise. Regional-Detroit Public Theatre, Boston Court Pasadena, LATW, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Artists at Play, Sierra Madre, JANM, Rogue, EWP, IAMA+L.A. LGBT Center, EST/LA, LATC, The Industry, Chautauqua, Met+Juilliard, New World, NCPA-Beijing, Edinburgh.

Melody Butiu (Babette) recently completed her run as Estrella in David Byrne’s Here Lies Love on Broadway. She plays Tita Yvonne in the film Easter Sunday, starring Jo Koy. Credits include Doctor Zhivago (Broadway), Here Lies Love (off-Broadway), as well as plays and musicals throughout the country, and as far as Thailand and Singapore. She’s also been involved in the development process of Stephen Schwartz and Lindsey Ferrentino’s new musical, Queen of Versailles, starring Kristin Chenoweth. Film/TV credits include: Untold: This is My Story, Call Me Kat, Mom, This Is Us, The Kominsky Method, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Kingdom, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Gotham, and True Blood. More at melodybutiu.com and Instagram @themelodybutiu

Alex Alcheh (Nate) is the VP of Podcasting at Shondaland by day and a multi-hyphenate artist also by day. Recent credits include multiple voices in the recently released Disney feature, Wish. He is an ensemble member of IAMA Theatre Company here in LA.

Brandon Cheng (Stage Manager) is excited to help present God Will Do The Rest with Artists at Play. He’s a San Francisco native and a graduate of CSULB, with a B.A. in Technical Theatre. Credits with Artists at Play include: The Chinese Lady, Two Mile Hollow and 99 Histories. Other Credits Include: Spring Awakening, Man of God, The Brothers Paranormal (East West Players); The Great Leap (Pasadena Playhouse/EWP); Fetch Clay, Make Man (Center Theatre Group); Sanctuary City (Pasadena Playhouse) and Allegiance (Japanese American Cultural & Community Center/EWP). Thanks to his family and friends for all their love and support! Enjoy the show!