Team | IMAGINARY GIRL

CREATIVE COLLABORATORS

This work has been developed with Creative Associates under the umbrella of 5DMEDIALAB, LLC

Book, Lyrics + Music – Leonard Dolivio Cetrangolo

Additional Music – Associate Composer Spencer Teeter

Creative Partner + Artistic Advisor – David Silverman

Interim Arrangements – Gary Adler

Script Consultants – Felirene Bongolan and Patricia Cotter

Race + Gender Advisor – Dr. Kathleen Tarr

Complex Trauma + Dissociative Identity Advisor – Dr. H L Schwartz

Author

Book, Lyrics & Music

LEONARD DOLIVIO CETRANGOLO

Associate Composer

& Additional Music

SPENCER TEETER

INSPIRATION + BIO

Leonard’s commitment to advocate for victims of the psychological & identity dilemmas presented in IMAGINARY GIRL is rooted in his unusual childhood in rural Vermont. Not one of his grandparents attended high school.) He was born into a multi-ethnic immigrant family with a legacy of transgenerational trauma and poverty. (He attended one-room-school-houses with both of his brothers in-the-same-room.

His family’s malevolent patriarch cruelly manipulated family-members to act out physical and psychological abuses on the others – forms of coerced perpetration, brainwashing, puppeting, and gaslighting, which are all central to this play’s story.

IMAGINARY GIRL was conceived while working as the principal editor of The Alchemy of Wolves and Sheep * by Dr. H. L. Schwartz. This book made a significant contribution to the psychotherapy literature illuminating “brainwashing” “internalized perpetration” and “identification with the aggressor” along with other ways trauma victims are manipulated into betraying their own moral limits.

( * Winner of the 2017 international Sandor Ferenczi Prize awarded by

The Intl Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation [SST&D];

Routledge, 2013 )

This inspiration was doubled-down while researching child soldiers and their deeply moving archetypal journeys into hell, and for some to redemption.

Further inspiration for IMAGINARY GIRL was kindled from the guerilla theatre deployed by all sides throughout the entire historic ordeal of Patty Hearst, the profound vulnerability and strength of its central figure, and the stunning archetypal arc that sustains a deep intimacy within the epic-scale story.

IMAGINARY GIRL illuminates many current socio-political challenges ranging from the legal and moral responsibilities of victims of human trafficking to the psychological pressures put upon impoverished US citizens to support campaigns to defund their own access to healthcare and to vote against their own self interests.

BIO

REWRITER / GHOSTWRITER of Studio & Indie FEATURE FILMS – Uncredited Work-for-Hire:

While performing work-for-hire rewrites on many indie and studio feature films in Los Angeles, Leonard became known for his rare ability to devise both tight story structures and compelling visual narratives – and then synthesize them into singular storyworlds.

He has performed work-for-hire screenwriting for OSCAR-winning director JJOHN SCHLESINGER (produced; MADONNA, RUPERT EVERETT, PAUL GIAMATTI) and OSCAR-nominated director LASSE HALLSTROM (produced; JULIA ROBERTS, ROBERT DUVALL, GENA ROWLANDS). He co-wrote a TV pilot commissioned by exec-producer/director ROLAND EMMERICH (unproduced), and co-ghost-authored the adaptation of the PHILIP K. DICK novel (The Second Varity) into a feature film SCREAMERS (produced).

WRITER-DIRECTOR of Award-Winning Film:

With his own short film, The Paris Crystal (writer/director) he received national and international awards; it aired repeatedly for several years on SHOWTIME.

VISUAL STORYTELLER / DESIGNER – Production Designer + Art Director:

After his schooling at Parsons School of Design and NYU/Tisch (full merit scholarship/top honors), Leonard designed concert-stage sets for LOU REED, JAMES BROWN, and DAVID BOWIE (The Tin Machine tour); album cover environments for STING and GEORGE MICHAEL; and music video set design for THE RAMONES and JOAN JETT.

He specialized in designing “the look” of worldwide print campaigns & TV commercials -- creating world-class production values for luxury brand FASHION EDITORIALS & celebrity portraits with WORLD-CLASS PHOTOGRAPHERS for most-every leading lifestyle and fashion publications – A PARTIAL list of clients & publications includes: LOUIS VUITTON, GUCCI, COACH LEATHER, L’OREAL, REVLON, LEVIS, ADIDAS, AMERICAN EXPRESS, BERGDORF GOODMAN, DREAMWORKS RECORDS, PARAMOUNT PICTURES, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, ARISTA RECORDS, CAPITOL RECORDS, DISNEY— VANITY FAIR, DETAILS, VOGUE, HARPER’S BAZAAR, PREMIER, ROLLING STONE, GQ, NEWSWEEK, HIGH TIMES, THE NEW YORK TIMES, and many more.

STORY ARCHITECT for Award-Winning Transmedia Game Company + AWARD-WINNING INFORMATION-SYSTEM DESIGNER:

Further influences on his multileveled construction of MAGINARY GIRL have been his “day jobs” including: engineering manifold narrative pathways and alternative storytelling for the transmedia game company LudInc in Berlin, Germany; and his concept and design for an original knowledge-banking system for which he received the $25K 1st-place in BearingPoint’s Innovation Award international competition.

Performing and composing music at an early age, Spencer was still a teenager when he released his debut solo-album. This launched his troubadour wanderings with performing gigs across Canada and the US.

His follow up album with THE SPENCER TEETER BAND enjoyed great popularity and a cult-like following with its live events. Several songs from the LP charted on the radio – a few of the singles are still getting airplay on Canadian radio today.

One of his favorite side projects was the indie rock-blues-funk band THE LOTUS EFFECT based out of Vancouver. He’s also worked extensively as a songwriter for other recording artists.

Spencer has performed professionally as a screen actor in several Canadian and American indie films; a US television series (a small recurring role in BRAVO’s dramatic series GIRLFRIENDS’ GUIDE TO DIVORCE); along with some American national TV commercials.

Soon after teaming up with Leonard Dolivio Cetrangolo, Spencer’s belief in the power of songwriting/storytelling as a vehicle to transport and awaken audiences caught fire.

As a key creative collaborator on IMAGINARY GIRL, he’s confident this project can harness the emotional depth and melodies of indie rock music – and by extension, engage, entertain and enthrall younger audiences who previously would’ve turned their noses up at “conventional” musical theatre.

"When I was first introduced to IMAGINARY GIRL and its story of the Patty Hearst ordeal, I was stunned to discover a story so mythic and epic and downright beyond bizarre is in fact a real true-life story that actually happened – wow. "

Interim Arranger

& Interim Music Director

GARY ADLER

Gary was the Music Director of AVENUE Q (*Best Musical - TONY AWARD WINNER) for all six years of its Broadway run. He arranged the dance music for the Jimmy Buffett’s Broadway musical, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. Gary received two 2005 Drama Desk nominations as the co-writer of the music and lyrics for the Off-Broadway hit ALTAR BOYZ. Other New York playing/conducting credits include THE FANTASTICKS, IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU, NUNSENSE, URINETOWN, HAIRSPRAY & KINKY BOOTS.

Dramaturg

& Arts Activist

FE BONGOLAN

Fe is the Principal Dramaturg for Rhodessa Jones’s award-winning & internationally recognized “THE MEDEA PROJECT: Theater for Incarcerated Women.” An arts program using THEATER AS A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. The Medea Project methodology reinterprets Ancient Myth for the present day, (Persephone in the case of Imaginary Girl) and places the woman at the center of her own story.

Consultant on Race

& Gender Representation

DR. KATHLEEN TARR

Kathleen is a Harvard Law School graduate and former human & civil rights attorney. She lectures at STANFORD UNIVERSITY on race and gender representation in The entertainment industry, including her series "Bias and The Business of Show."

She works closely with the team to identify improved methods for incorporating socio-political issues of class, race, inequality, advocacy, and activism – with consideration for the narrative’s use of moral ambiguity, and its use of “charged” historical verbatim language.

LDC Resume / CV

ETHOS

Collaboratively create transformative theatre & film experiences that guide our audiences to see, hear, feel & examine their own everyday lives as newly illuminated mysteries SO THATWE MIGHT COME TO KNOW OURSELVES BETTER.

Our projects explore alternative perspectives on the human condition addressing the urgency of “now” while speaking to the future that will inherit our work.

Creative Partner

& Artistic Advisor

Dramaturg

& Consultant

PATRICIA COTTER

Patricia Cotter (dramaturg, dramatist and librettist) is the recipient of the EMMY AWARD, The RICHARD RODGERS AWARD for musical theater, the Ovation Award & Garland Award, as well as a WGA AWARD. Her work has been produced in Theatre works 17th Annual New Works Festival; The Actors Theatre of Louisville; Humana Festival; Chicago’s Jackalope Theatre; The Vineyard Theatre, among many others. She has been a FINALIST at the 2016 O’NEILL NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE, and was a SEMI-FINALIST AT the 2018 O’NEILL NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE.

DAVID SILVERMAN

INSPIRATION

“ One kind of gift turns moldy bread into penicillin.

It takes another kind of instinct and commitment

to get it out there saving lives. ”

-- Catherine Bohm ( The Floating Point )

Associate Producer

& Outreach Liaison

REBEKAH D. VEGA

Rebekah grew up in a Pentecostal religious cult where musical theatre was essential to the proselytizing of, and expression of, a deep evangelical passion. As a teenager, she wrote, directed, choreographed and produced music videos and live stage plays, performing her till-then career-defining role of Satan. After her spirited homeschooling,

Rebekah reached out to a secular life beyond the cult, yet she remained an indoctrinated true believer in the transformative power of theatre. At college assistant stage-managed, and/or performed, in many full-length shows, before graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in Musical Theatre.

After seeing an early showcase of IMAGINARY GIRL in SF, Rebekah immediately fell in love with the show and its complex female lead. Inspired by the story that includes mind control and cult-like indoctrination, she was stunned by how – at its core – its characters’ emotional conflicts are universal. Rebekah believes theater can change lives – and she believes IMAGINARY GIRL can do just that with audiences around the world.

BIO

David has performed in professional theatre, television, radio and films. His debut stage performance was at the age of six in a community theater in Detroit.

His feature film work has included scenes performed with SIGNOURNER WEAVER and HOLLY HUNTER (COPYCAT, 1995); EDDIE MURPHY (METRO, 1997); and WILL SMITH (PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS [sic], 2006).

As a fine art painter he has had various solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, most notably inclusion in two juried group shows at The de Young Museum: A TRIBUTE TO GILBERT AND GEORGE (2008); and WARHOL AND BEYOND (2009).

He is a featured contributing artist in the internationally acclaimed book SAN FRANCISCO STREET ART: MISSION MURALISMO that documents three decades of the artistic, social, and political forces that shaped the Sand Francisco street art movement (Abrams, 2009).

Psychological Consultant

DR. HARVEY SCHWARTZ

Harvey provides ongoing consultation on Complex Trauma, Coerced Perpetration, and Dissociative Identity to ensure the highest-level of psychological accuracy across all aspects of the play.

He is an internationally acknowledged clinical psychologist with a career dedicated to the treatment of survivors of Complex Trauma and Dissociative Identity, and is the author of award-winning books on the psycho-dynamics of how trauma victims are manipulated into betraying their own moral limits.

He a Sub-Investigator and Co-Therapist in MAPS-Sponsored Clinical Trials for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy; he is Co-Founder of Polaris Insight Center (the first psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy clinic established in the US). He is the Director of Training for Polaris Insight Training Program, which is training the next generation of psychotherapists to treat trauma with Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy.

THE BAY AREA ACTOR

PODCAST INTERVIEW

IN CONVERSATION WITH JIM JARRETT

Exploring The Backstory & Creative Process

Behind IMAGINARY GIRL

IMAGINARY GIRL has been developed in collaboration with

SYNTHESIZING: INSTINCT VISION VOICE EMOTION & MEANING

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