Constance Christie (Francis) began her acting career after earning her undergraduate degree from SUNY Stony Brook by taking acting classes at night and on weekends while working as a legal secretary during the day. She spent nearly her entire weekly salary on classes and on books at the Drama Book Shop while also reading everything free she could find about working in the business. Almost all her free time was dedicated to reading plays and learning as much as possible. Constance booked several student films, several of which won awards at film festivals. Constance also participated in the NYC Fringe Festival and several other Off-Broadway productions. In 2009 Constance left NY to go to law school in Michigan. While Constance always believed her foundation helped her with her classes in litigation, Moot Court, Mock Trial and Trial Skills classes, performing still pulled at mind and heart. Several years after passing the NYS Bar Exam, Constance decided to stop silencing her love of the arts and performing. She began training and auditioning again.
Sharon Zaslaw (Marya) is a NYC Actress/Singer/Dancer whose recent credits include the comedy series “A Sketch of New York” and a Short Film “CLAN” which won the Hudson Valley Film Festival. She adores creating original roles and has done so in NYC with Manhattan Rep, Planet Connections, Looking Glass Theatre and the Strawberry 1-Act Festival. Sharon spent over a decade teaching at Alvin Ailey for the adult dance program and as a fitness and Les Mills Body pump instructor in many NYC gyms. A graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music, Sharon is THRILLED to be part of the cast that will bring Hanging Cow’s latest INCREDIBLE creation to life on the NYC Stage!
My name is Marie Zaccagnino! (Funky) I live in Manhattan New York. I am an Alumni of Pace University Performing Arts BFA in Acting for Film, Television, Voice-Overs & Commercials Class of 2018. A few of my productions I have performed include, “A Sketch of New York” , “Lysistrata”, “12 Angry Women”, “The Laramie Project”, “A Seussified Christmas Carol” as well as the musical “Candyland” I was also cast as “Cora” in the Production of “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” The show was canceled due to COVID but am planning on officially opening the show soon! I am also a teaching artist with Bloom Performing Arts. I am so passionate about my craft and being onstage is one of my most favorite places to be in the world. I am happiest when I am performing. I want to thank Elise for giving me this opportunity to perform in her incredibly moving show. And thank you to my family and friends for your endless support!
Matthew Digeratu (Punky) studied acting at Marymount Manhattan College; his other training includes Meisner work at the Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory. He was awarded Best Male Vocalist (2016) by the regional Metro Awards. Matthew has also done voiceover work and background work forNickelodeon. Matthew’s last turn at the stage was in the role of Lev in Lynda Crawford’s Night Shadows. This piece headlined the 2020 Women’s festival at Irondale in Brooklyn. Matthew is bilingual in English and Romanian, and he is without a doubt one of the best acts in his price range.
Lela Smith (Inna) is a NYC based actor whose credits include “A Sketch of New York”, “The Comedy of Errors”, “Love and Information”, “Dating Disconnect”, “Julius Caesar” and more! Lela received her BA in Theatre Performance with a minor in Media Studies from Colorado State University, as well as a degree in Classical Acting from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Lela found her passion for the stage and storytelling in her first school play in the third grade and has been utterly hooked ever since. Nothing in this world makes her feel more alive than breathing life into the inspiring characters and stories that the world of theatre can bring us, which is why she’s so excited to be a part of this production! She would like to thank Elise and the entire “Exist” team for the opportunity to be a part of this beautiful piece as well as thank her family and friends for their unwavering love and support! Instagram: @lelasusu
Matthew McLaughlin (Jon Greer) is a NYC based actor, who studied fine arts and theatre at Millersville University, Pennsylvania. His credits include lead roles in “Heathen Valley,” “Teibele and Her Demon,” as well as, “Lonestar” at M.U. He most recently played Gerald Strange in Agatha Christie’s “The Stranger” in Maine’s Gaslight Theater, as well as making his directorial debut of, “Love is Murder.” This will be his first off Broadway production and he is excited to be working with Elise, the cast and crew of “Exist,” on a play that is perfect for the times we live in.
Caitlyn Geiler (Janie) moved to New York from Cape Cod, Massachussetts to study at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting where she graduated in 2018. Since then, she has appeared in “Goodville” at the Off-Broadway New York Winterfest, and several award winning short films such as “Out of Boredom”, and Luperca Returns, which have been featured at New York Film Awards, The Brightside Film Festival, and Oaxaca Film Festival. She will be appearing in the upcoming short “We’re-Flutter: A Quest for Truth” and is delighted to be making her Hanging Cow Productions debut as Janie!
Ty Norris (Sachel) is originally from Yorktown, VA and is so very excited to be a part of his second show with Hanging Cow Prods! He graduated with a BA in Music-Theatre with a minor in Dance from Christopher Newport University. He was most recently seen Off Broadway in “All Because of Infidelity,” (as Nordic.) His favorite roles in the past have included Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone & Ray Gosling in Photograph 51. He would like to thank his family for always pushing him and supporting him in his dream. He would also like to thank the entire team of ‘All We Know is That We Exist” for allowing him to be a part of this amazing show. Final thanks to anyone who had any help in getting him to where he is now. Love to you all. Instagram: @tynorris11
Allison Masulis (Tracy) is delighted to be making her debut with Hanging Cow Productions. In her most recent credit she played Sumner (Men On Boats) at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She began her theater career at a young age and then went on to study Musical Theater at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Some of her musical credits include Working, Mamma Mia, Stoop Songs and The Spitfire Grill. This past May, she graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater where she trained in the Meisner Technique. She values diversity and inclusivity and is actively working to find opportunities to share the voices of all women and gender non-conforming people in the new theater collective she co-founded and performs in. She gives a huge thanks to Josh Sassanella and the people at the Anne Steele Agency and the Neighborhood Playhouse. A special thank you to her mother and father, three squeezes for the both of you!
Elise Maurine Milner (playwright/producer/director) is thrilled to be producing her 17th play with this amazing cast! “Exist” was inspired by the new culture and attitudes the world has cultivated since the pandemic. The play however, having nothing to do with the pandemic, is about re-evaluating our lives and attitudes, our purpose here, and how small encounters can have large impacts. Elise is living her dream of writing/producing/directing for Off Broadway since 2002, she is so grateful for the opportunity to continue to bring her all original scripts to life on stage in NYC and beyond! Elise recently produced the 4 time hit, “Angels Among Us” last fall, and was seen in “An Awkward Inheritance” in northern Nevada last June (her adapted television script to hit comedy for the stage) Elise has written 17 produced plays, has over 350 performances under her belt as a producer, and is also a voice over artist. She would like to thank her husband and soulmate of 20+ years Christopher, her family, her long time friend Rob, this cast & crew, her BFF Suzanne, and especially her late grams who is her angel always. Dreams really do come true if you choose them! Love to all!
Tori Kraese, (stage manager and assistant director) is an aspiring off-broadway producer who is finally reuniting with the theatre world after being derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in 2020 with degrees in Producing & Management, Psychology, and Business Management. Outside of Hanging Cow Productions, she works for a high end interior design firm by day and front of house at New York Theatre Workshop by night. Production credits include “Good News” (2020) at the Theresa Lang Theatre and “The Birds and the BS with Jordan Roth” web series (2018-2019). This is her second show with HCP and is so excited to be working on this new play!
Robert Mark (co-director) was just seen this past April on Off Broadway in “All Because of Infidelity” as Frank and at the Yorktown stage in ‘Angels Among Us’ as the narrator last fall! Robert started his acting career in 1997 by playing the lead role in the musical Bye Bye Birdie. Robert continued his Off Broadway career with credits such as Fiddler on the Roof, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Best Little Whore House in Texas, Damn Yankees, and other Hanging Cow hit plays such as An Awkward Inheritance, The Accidental Awakening, and The Sixth Session. You can also see Robert in numerous indie’s such as “Fists of Love,” “Licentious,” “The Dash,” & “B.O.A.T.S.” Robert has had a long standing friendship with Elise Milner and is also thrilled to co-direct this brand new production! He thanks his family and his wife Kim for their ongoing love & support. Dare to Dream…
Christopher Berlino (photographer, and sound/lighting tech) is originally a Studio Art major in college on Long Island where he was raised, his artistic expertise at the time was painting and sculpture. In 2001, he took a serious interest in photography and avidly began his photography business. Chris photographs everything and everyone in the NYC-tri state area and beyond in all areas of digital photography from glamour, weddings, red carpet/VIP events, acting/modeling portfolios, and travel and photo journalism. Chris is thrilled to be working with his talented wife Elise as in house tech and has taken on a true love for the theater since working with his wife full time since 2019. He and Elise have traveled the world from Europe to Australia honing his craft as a photographer and an artist. He LOVES what he does and he is excited to work on this project with his soulmate and best friend, this cast, and his dear friends behind the scenes! In his spare time he enjoys horseback riding, roller skating, long walks on the beach, dog walks, cat walks, and Chinese woks! Here is to living life fully! Click here to view his website!
Danielle Rossi (Sofia) is originally from Miami Fl. She first began acting in NYC in a gritty, 80’s rock rendition of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, at Marymount Manhattan College in 2019 and taking classes at The Barrow Group Performing Arts shortly after. She’s been in various shorts and student films since then. She has a deep affinity for indie films, biopics, poetry, and of course theater- all of which inspire her to perform!
Born and raised in the Bronx, this is Gary Vargas’s (Punky) third Off Broadway theatrical production with Hanging Cow Productions! Gary was recently seen in “All Because Of … Infidelity” at the American Theatre for Actors. He took his first acting class just over 3 years ago at Westchester Community College and has fallen in love with performing and has not looked back. He is a Human Resources Manager for a Not-For-Profit organization in New York. However, acting is a passion for him that he finally found the courage to pursue! A few of Gary’s biggest inspirations are Tom Hanks, Gary Oldman, Paul Giamatti, and Walton Goggins. When Gary is not working his day job or passion, he is performing non-stop for his wife and child. His hobbies include motorcycle riding, off-roading trails, and reading graphic novels. Gary is extremely excited to be part of this production! He would like to thank Hanging Cow Productions for taking a shot with him and giving him the opportunity to pursue his dream, making him feel like family! He wants to thank his biggest supporter, his wife, who continues to give him the push to pursue his dream, along with his son, who he hopes to grow up to pursue his dreams no matter what life throws at him. He dedicates this performance to his mother, Sadie Vargas: “I hope I’m making you proud as you look down from above.”