PLAY CRAWL LEADER BIO'S
MICHAEL GURSHTEIN
Michael Gurshtein began attending the theatre as a small child while growing up in Moscow, Russia. Upon moving to Grand Junction, CO, he took part in high school productions as a stagehand with sporadic appearances on the boards. After a nine-year hiatus, Michael returned to the theatre in 2011, and has been working around Denver nonstop ever since. Some favorite roles include Ali Said in And Toto Too's regional premiere of The English Bride, Duvid in A Shayna Maidel and Nevile Strange in Towards Zero (Firehouse Theater), Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest and Max Garrett in Becky Shaw (Coal Creek Theater of Louisville), Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (Boulder's Upstart Crow Theatre), and Dr. Rufus Griswold in Evermore (Byers-Evans Theatre Company). Michael recently transplanted to Los Angeles to attend the acting conservatory program at the Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio.
SUSY HICKEY
Susy Hickey loves theatre and is honored to have been part of The Play Crawl from the beginning. Created and developed by Susan Lyles and And Toto, too, The Play Crawl is a unique fundraiser that embraces everything “magical” about the theatre. Susy wishes to thank Susan and company for supporting women playwrights.
DOUG BLONDIN
Doug has been coming to The Play Crawl since the beginning and became a play crawl leader in 2013. He might be a familiar face as he's all around town seeing 140 to 200 plays a year. In his spare time, Doug reads (including play scripts for theatres), does genealogy, cycles, visits National Parks & other scenic areas, and rides steam trains (Cumbes & Toltec, Durango Silverton)
HARRISON LYLES-SMITH
Harrison is a Junior at the University of Northern Colorado. They are an AEC, and are SAG eligible. His work includes, Eurydice; Jean and Beatrice; Murder on the Orient Express (University of Northern Colorado)Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Aurora Fox), Jerusalem (Edge Theatre), Medea (Edge Theatre), Appropriate (Curious Theatre), A Chorus Line (Denver School of the Arts), Book of Will (Denver School of the Arts), A Scouts Guide to Brutal Honesty, and Blow Ins (And Toto too) Film credits include: 7th Son, Son of Lies and Whispers, Second String Villians, Chasing Christmas the feature film The Engagement Plot, and the indie short film Reed Gig. They would like to thank all their friends and family for their support.
STEVE KRAMER
DARREN SMITH
Darren is a successful business owner, stage designer and filmmaker. He has been a crawl leader since the first Play Crawl in 2011. Success is a result of tenacity, and a willingness to fail and learn from those experiences. Darren Smith’s bio is likely the only one you will read where the word “fail” appears four times.Darren’s approach to filmmaking comes from more than 30 years of experience both on-stage and in almost every capacity behind the scenes in theatre, along with 20+ years as the co-founder of the leading B2B customer reference software company Point of Reference. How do these translate to filmmaking? Preparation, organization, problem solving, and applying a mantra from software development to filmmaking: fail fast, fail forward. Or put another way: Fail - Analyze - Improve - Repeat. Originally from Birmingham, England, Darren Smith has made Denver Colorado his home for the last 25 years. Since 2015 he has directed more than 31 short films, garnering awards including winning 3rd Place for Best Film at the London 48 Hour Film Project in 2024. His aim with storytelling is to immerse the audience in situations that feel familiar to them, even if they have never personally experienced the exact scenario that is unfolding on the screen. They should see themselves or someone they know reflected back to them, and through these stories gain a little more insight into the beautiful, inevitably flawed, human condition. Oh, and he is thankful that when his ego surfaces his actor-producer wife knocks it swiftly back into its proper place!
JEFFREY WOLF
Jeffrey Wolf is a playwright from Centennial and theaters all over the world have produced his plays. He recently wrote a murder mystery for the Aurora History Museum and Northglenn Arts performed his children's play, The Worst Play in the History of Ever. He thinks the play crawl is amazing! jeffreywolfplays.com.
JOHN ASHTON
John Ashton is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Theatre Guild. He has been actively involved in stage and screen activities -- as an actor, director, playwright, producer, and even a critic -- since Euripides was a stagehand. He is proud and delighted to be a part of Play Crawl, now for the third time.
CAROL TIMBLIN
PENNY COLE
Penny Cole is a lifelong theatre maker, educator, and award-winning director. She has directed in multiple theatres and universities in the US. Favorite shows include, The Tempest, The Cradle Will Rock, Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off, and Hamlet. She has 20 years of experience in developing new work, directing staged readings and workshop productions and serving as the former chair of the Playwrighting Symposium of the Mid America Theatre Conference. In 2018, she founded Flying Solo! Presents with the expressed purpose of fostering new work by American artists on the international stage. Since the premiere season in Edinburgh in 2019, Flying Solo! Presents has supported more than 47 artists in 28 productions in Edinburgh, Denver, and New York City. Productions, live and online, include four concerts by American based musicians, a dance production, multiple solo shows, new musicals, and audio plays in collaboration with This is Not a Theatre Company. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022 and 2023, Flying Solo! Presents produced a showcase of new American work and emerging American artists featuring 25+ artists. Follies, A Showcase of Bits and Bobs.