Sound Design
Lone Stranger
Written by Matt Curtin
Directed by Amber Li
Produced by Molly Livingston
Lone Stranger is a narrative podcast produced by ODDio Studios. This comprehensive audio guide will teach you all you need to know about Snallygasters, Landsharks, and all other sorts of wyld beasts out in that big crazy world. Lone Stranger is available to stream on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Stalled
Written by Liesl Wilke
Music by Andrew Marsh
Directed by Cal Brady
Stalled is a new musical that was produced as part of Pacific Resident Theater's 2021-2022 season. Written by Liesl Wilke and inspired by her Raymond Carver Award winning short story “Stalled Symphony,” Stalled is an entertaining, perceptive, and rewarding study of the going’s on inside a high-end executive ladies room. Using music, song, and spoken word, Stalled follows four women, all stuck - but ready: to find their way forward. With music by Andy Marsh and Lyrics by Liesl Wilke and Andy Marsh, Stalled is a heartfelt, insightful, and compelling look into motherhood, love and identity.
I Build Giants
Written by Ryan Stevens
Directed by Erin Gray
I Build Giants was produced as part of the Shakespeare Company at UCLA's 2019-2020 season. An Engineer and a Technician, an Executive and a Volunteer, an Astronaut and a Monitor, an Ace; I Build Giants follows the complications and fall out of a huge new invention navigating the pulls and corruptions of capitalism, mega-corporations, politics, and ego. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the show was reimagined as a radio play. The entire show can be heard here.
Artwork by Urvashi Lele
Solar Explorer
Video Game Design Concept
Solar Explorer was developed during the spring of 2020 by a team of UCLA students from the School of Engineering and the School of Theater Film and Television. You can try our demo and learn more about the project here.
Photography by Michael Lamont
Set Design by Justine Law
Costume Design by Keilani Gleave
Lighting Design by Carolyn Gage
Pictured (left to right):
Kate Schott
Taji Senior-Gipson
David Kepner
The Rover
Written by Aphra Behn
Directed by Emily Chase
The Rover was produced as part of UCLA's 2019-2020 season. Fun-loving English cavaliers frolic in faraway Naples during their exile from home. Amorous adventures and salty exploits abound in this uproarious comedy from England’s greatest female playwright of the Restoration. Featuring M.F.A. acting students from the UCLA Department of Theater.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Written by Bertolt Brecht
Directed by Angie Scott
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was produced as part of UCLA's 2019-2020 season. Satirizing the rise of Hitler in the form of a corrupt gangster in the vegetable industry, Arturo Ui provides a sharp critique of rising authoritarianism that still resonates today. Featuring M.F.A acting students from the UCLA Department of Theater.
Photography by Michael Lamont
Scenic Design by BeiBei Hu
Costume Design by Reny Kim
Lighting Design by Carolyn Gage
Pictured (left to right):
Robert Arriaga
David Kepner
Michael Christopher Bauer
Taji Senior-Gipson
Photography by Kyle J McCloskey
Pictured (left to right):
Noelle Franco
Jessica Toltzis
Zoe Shyngle
Where the Lovelight Gleams
Written by Kyle J McCloskey
Directed by Claire Edmonds
Where the Lovelight Gleams is a new play about three incarcerated individuals in the California Restitution Program. The play examines a plethora of issues including the ongoing global fight against climate change, wildfires, queer identity, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and more.
This script is a recipient of the 2019 Paula Vogel Prize from the Kennedy Center and a Semifinalist for the 2020 Relentless Award from the American Playwriting Foundation.
The Answer to your Prayers
Written by Jeffrey Limoncelli
Directed by Jeff Maynard
The Answer to your Prayers is a new play by Jeffrey Limoncelli. It was produced as part of UCLA's 2018-2019 season. The play depicts an extravagantly wealthy magician getting revenge on his high school bully, and forcing him to confront his demons along the way.
Photography by Michael Lamont
Scenic Design by Oscar Escobedo
Costume Design by Alex Tan
Lighting Design by Ryan Marsh
Pictured:
Oscar Revelins (left)
Frank Demma (right)
Photography by Michael Lamont
Scenic Design by Jeff Behm
Costume Design by Alexa Weinzierl
Lighting Design by Jeff Behm
Pictured:
Carl Ballantine (left)
Hunter Saling (right)
Spring Awakening
Written by Frank Wedekind
Directed by Evelina Stampa
Spring Awakening was produced as part of UCLA's 2017-2018 season. The original play adaptation of the story was interpreted through the lens of German Expressionism by the director, Evelina Stampa. The show also served as her thesis presentation to receive her M.F.A in Directing from UCLA.
The Tempest
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kayla Erickson
The Tempest was produced as part of The Shakespeare Company at UCLA's 2017-2018 season. The show was produced at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, and was inspired by a David Bowie aesthetic.
Photography by Jacqueline Gerdne
Costume Design by Denise McCanna
Lighting Design by Benedict Conran
Pictured (left to right):
Andy Stratton
Bjorn Hedqvist
Jullian Ceballos
Sophie Cobarrubia
Josh Poon
Photography by Katia Kasputin
Scenic Design by Zach Titterington
Costume Design by Haley Simpson
Lighting Design by Cynthia Ayala
Pictured:
Sara Silva (left)
Lillie Muir (right)
Mala Hierba
Written by Tanya Saracho
Directed by Sylvia Blush
Mala Hierba was produced as part of UCLA's 2017-2018 season. Mala Hierba or Bad Seed takes a deep look at the wife of a border magnate and how she sacrifices everything for a small piece of happiness. Mala Hierba was the first show performed at the UCLA School of Theater with an all Latinx cast.
Writing
Paint Thinner
I am the first actor, and I play Amir
He’s in his mid 20’s, and is Persian
His text looks like this
I am the second actor, and I play David
He’s in his mid 20’s, and can be any race
His text looks like this
I am the third actor, and I play Daria
She’s in her early 20’s, and is Persian
Her text looks like this
Paint Thinner is told through the perspective of Amir, a high functioning addict slowly falling in love with his best friend/drug dealer. Paint Thinner is a full-length play with a cast of three. It has been explored in small workshops and is currently undergoing rewrites.
And he comes over
And sits next to me
And closes his eyes
And I take another hit
And blow out
Kinda in the direction of his face
But not too close
And the smoke wraps him tight
Like a noose
Or a necktie
And he opens his eyes
And smiles
Galatea
Advertisement by Jerry Ng
According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Pygmalion sculpts an ivory statue representing the "ideal woman" and falls madly in love with his own creation, naming her Galatea.
In a miraculous answer to his prayers, the goddess Venus brings this product of the male gaze to life, Pygmalion marries her, and they have two lovely children! An instant recipe for domestic bliss... or so we thought?
20 years later, Galatea is abducted and the family's life turns to utter chaos. While desperately scrambling to rescue their mother, Galatea's children stumble into a thunderous whirlwind of feuding gods and power-hungry generals, while Galatea struggles to secure her autonomy in a world seeking to control her.
Galatea was first produced during the Shakespeare Company at UCLA's 2018-2019 season. It was directed by Erin Gray, produced by Isabelle Smith, and designed by Mari Yoshida and Jared Davis. Galatea is a full-length play with a cast of twelve.
Pictured (left to right)
Emmanuel Okoye
Rosie Forster
Chloe Winnett
Mars Holscher
Photography by Victor Rocha
Scenic Design by Mari Yoshida
Costume Design by Jared Davis
Her youth preserved whilst cities rise and fall,
Such reign would last a thousand years and one
With kingdoms bowing, writings into scrawl,
Save only for a curse would be undone.
That Venus, tyrant of the soul, in her
Would place a limit to that life, an end.
Her moment of creation marked the spur:
When twenty years, a week, alone expend
Her time would cease and see no bloody war-
Her skin will turn to stone and be no more.
Blue Eyes
I am with my mother.
She never clips her nails.
They have grown
And grown
And grown.
They trail around the room.
They create ribbons in the walls.
They have formed a cocoon around her.
They have formed a cocoon around my family.
I try and trim them back.
She screams and strikes me.
She cries and says it hurts.
They are scratching into the walls.
Ripping into the couch.
Tearing into the floor.
She won’t let me cut them.
Why can’t I cut them?
In Blue Eyes, the relationship between a Mother and her Son is disturbed by the entrance of Blue Eyes, the Mother’s new husband and Son’s stepfather. All three struggle with what it means to be a family as the Son embraces his sexuality, the Mother searches for an identity and Blue Eyes hides a series of affairs, until the Son discovers his secret.
Blue Eyes was produced as an online reading by Theatre Viscera in the spring of 2021 and was directed by Lyla Meadows. Blue Eyes is a full-length play with a cast of three.
I am the first actor.
I play the son.
I am the second actor.
I play the mother.
I am the third actor.
I play Blue Eyes.
Any combination of actors from all races, genders, and body types can play all characters, but the actor playing Blue Eyes must be stunningly attractive, whatever that means.
Sunshine
Sunshine takes place after a devastating apocalypse destroys most human life on Earth. In this empty world, two survivors fight to stay alive and search for a sign that they are not alone. It is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Daniel Fielding.
Sunshine was produced by the Dually Noted Theater Company at St. Alban's Episcopal Church. It was directed by Natalie Faye Utria.
Photography by Victor Rocha
Costume Design by Jared Davis and Kaylin Riebli
Pictured:
Nick Rodriguez
Why did you trust me?
Why did you leave everything behind, and help me?
Because for the longest time I thought I was completely alone.
When I saw you, I felt like I had seen an angel.
Like the sun was finally shining on a new day.
I was able to breathe again.
The Sexy Sexy Milkmaid: The Moosical
The Sexy Sexy Milkmaid: The Moosical is a one-act musical comedy written and directed by Jacob Menke and Sophie Maras-Gillet with music by Elliona Li.
Milkmaid is a raucous and rowdy show about milkmaids, loving yourself, and overthrowing the establishment. There are cows with nicotine addictions, immature aristocrats, and a cowboy and cowgirl who are looking for a third. The Sexy Sexy Milkmaid: The Moosical was performed in 2022 at UCLA as a workshopped performance.
Photography by Lucy Wirtz
Costume Design by Elena Miller
Pictured:
Avery Beckman
Directing
Photography by Josh Behrens
She Kills Monsters
Written by Qui Nguyen
She Kills Monsters was produced as part of the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Art's 2021-2022 season, as their Fall mainstage production. I directed the show in APA's Blackbox theater, in the round. The show was performed, designed, and run by students from the Academy. Because the show coincided with the COVID-19 Pandemic, the cast, crew, and audience all wore masks, and abided by CDC procedures.
Info
Email: menkejacob@gmail.com | Tel: 714-717-0779
Professional resume:
Jacob Menke is a Los Angeles based sound designer and playwright.