JOELENE CRNOGORAC - WRITER/ DIRECTOR / PRODUCER

Acting. One moment you could be crying your eyes out professing your love to a merman, or crying your eyes out as your evil doctor father plans to harness ancient oceanic powers to destroy the free world, or crying your eyes out whilst being tortured by your kidnapper who has a penchant for incompetent psychics that can’t predict their own kidnapping. And before you ask, why yes, Joelene has done all three. 

Having started her career as a child star, she's had a front row seat at the circus. So she's written a show about it. Call it part catharsis. Part polishing the turds in her life.

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She began working professionally from the age of 13, starting out in the acclaimed kids series Round the Twist before going on to star in The Man From Snowy River, Ocean Girl, Raw FM, Neighbours, City Homicide, Thank God You’re Here and in feature films The Extra and Irresistible (with Susan Sarandon and Emily Blunt) to name a few. Most recently she can be seen in the Netflix comedy series Prince of Peoria. 

At the end of 2007, Joelene wrote the first incarnation of All the Way to the Top as a one-act comedy play – which was staged at the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne and the Seymour Centre in Sydney as part of the Short and Sweet arts festival.  It earned nominations in the Best Comedy and Best Director categories, while winning the Best Comedy Actress award. In 2016, All the Way to the Top had its Hollywood debut at the Stella Adler Theater and its second outing at the Pico Playhouse in 2017.

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During 2008, Joelene directed Australian comedienne and Barry award nominee Kate McLennan in her one-woman show The Enthusiasts, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

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In 2012, Joelene wrote and directed a comedy pilot called The Box. The pilot was shot on location at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood and stars Drew Powell (Gotham) and Jessica Pohly (Pee Wee’s Big Holiday). 

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Joelene is a passionate and dedicated binge watcher of television - it's her favourite story-telling medium and she could talk about it all day long. That, and soda stream. Three short, sharp bursts is all it takes to create the perfect glass of fizzy water. Don't f#@k it up. You've been warned. 

KELLY FRYE - PRODUCER / ACTOR - as Josie Jones

Kelly stars in the new Disney 1/2 hour series Sulpher Springs. Her television credits include recurring roles on Criminal Minds, Teachers, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, LA's Finest, The Flash, Rake, Anger Management, NCIS, NCIS: LA, The Family Business and film work includes: Legacy, Danger One and Exquisite Corpse.

Kelly produced a night of one acts in Los Angeles, With Love From California, to raise money for disaster relief in Houston and Puerto Rico in 2017 and recently produced her first short film My, What a Lovely Vase. Kelly is thrilled to be on All the Way to the Top as an actor as well as a producer.

Kelly hails from Texas and graduated from Loyola Marymount University and the conservatory program at The Second City.

MIKA GONDA - PRODUCER

A graduate of Webster Conservatory, Mika's career began on the stage, performing in Los Angeles, NYC and Regionally. After time in the hospitality industry and education, Mika returned to her entertainment roots in 2017, where she spearheaded the re-imagination and remodeling of The Pico Playhouse. Under Mika's leadership, The Pico has quickly become one of the preeminent multi-use art spaces in Los Angeles. She has established The Pico as a creative home for artists, committed to fostering the development of new and established voices in comedy, theatre, film, art, and education. Currently, Mika serves as Creative Director of The Pico and mother to two super awesome children.

ELLIE ANN FENTON - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Ellie Ann Fenton is a Cinematographer of both narrative and documentary feature films. Her most recent films are Mercy Black released on Netflix March 2019, Back Fork, released on several VOD platforms April 2019 and the documentary Running with Beto for HBO. She is also a member of the International Cinematographer’s Guild as a Camera Operator, most notably working on True Detective Season 3.

MICHELLE LUKES - as Edie Lawson

Michelle trained at the Royal Ballet School and performed as a lead singer/dancer in London's West End for several years before retraining as a classical actress at the Bristol Old Vic. She graduated from Bristol in 2007 winning the Newton Blick Award. She has worked extensively in film, television, theatre and voiceover both in the US and London. In 2017, Michelle won the Maverick Award at the Action on Film International Film Festival.

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Film credits: Samir, Go Back to China, Fake Empire, A New York Christmas, Nation, Alexander, The Lost Legion, Deserted, Nowhere Band and Francis McGee is not for Sale.

Television credits: The World Untold (host), Entanglement, The Fall of Reach (series regular), Strike Back (HBO - series regular), Doctors (recurring), Casualty, Uncle Max.

Theater credits: The Book, Pitching In, Nation, Othello, Abortive, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Seagull, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Beauty and the Beast, The Wind in the Willows, Basildon, Egyptian Products and The Haunted House.

Video Games: Fire Escape, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows and Kelly - 087 for the Halo franchise.

MADDIE MCCORMICK - as Claire St. Claire

A Chicago native, Maddie studied at the Piven Theatre and Chicago’s famed the Second City and earned a Goodman Theatre award, before making the move to study at UCLA undergrad.

TV credits include a recurring role on Season 9 of Shameless (Showtime), Christmas at Pemberley Manor (Hallmark), F**ked Up (HBOGo), VERSUS (AwesomenessTV), Self Promotion (MTV), and feature films Camera Store (Netflix) starring alongside John Larroquette, Unbroken: Path to Redemption (Universal).

You can look out for her next in feature film Timecrafters: The Treasure of Pirate's Cove opposite Malcolm McDowell and Denise Richards and Season 2 of Dead Girls Detective Agency on Snapchat. 

ALLIE LEONARD - as Deidre Vesnic

Allie Leonard is a Los Angeles based actor and writer. Originally from Washington DC, she has her BFA with honors from NYU Tisch School of the Arts (PHTS, ITW Amsterdam). She's also studied at Lesly Kahn & Co, UCB, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Studio Theatre, and Shakespeare Theatre Company.

TV credits include General Hospital (ABC), The Tick (Amazon), Billy on the Street (truTV). NY THEATER credits include The Wolves (dir: Lila Neugebauer), That Poor Girl and How He Killed Her (dir: Mike Donahue). 

On stage, she recently starred as Tess, the jaded campaign manager, in the world premiere of Holiday Kinard’s play Lincoln 2020.

She is currently in post-production on two short films directed by her mentor, Keith Powell, that she wrote, produced and starred in.