MINDSET Announces Capital Fringe Festival Cast

MINDSET, a surrealist rock opera, today announced four professional teen actors have been cast in the Capital Fringe Festival show. The actors join original cast members in the OFF THE WALL THEATRE COMPANY remount on Saturday, July 14, 21 and 28 at First Congregational Church in Washington, DC. MINDSET fuses pop, rock, and classical music with nine dance numbers, a live band and narrative to define a new genre. MINDSET follows an artist through innocence, confusion, and fear of failure.

The professional actors performed with MINDSET director and choreographer Jace Casey in the 2007 production of Ford’s Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol.” They reunite for the Capital Fringe production with even more experience. “I am pleased to be back on stage with some of the young performers that I started my professional acting career with. Since then, we have all grown and continued to hone our craft, which pays off big time for MINDSET,” said Casey.

The professional MINDSET actors include:

Jace Casey (Director, Composer, Playwright, Choreographer, Music Director, Musical Arrangements, Teenager, Principle Dancer, Vocalist, Ensemble) THEATER: Off The Wall Theatre Co.: Mindset, [stop] culture (Director, Playwright, Choreographer, Teenager); Signature Theatre: The Happy Time (Bibi); Olney Theatre Center: Peter Pan (Michael Darling); Ford's Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Urchin Boy/Ignorance). TV/FILM: Gracie The Apartment People; Crazy Lulu Productions: Z is for Zebra; Nail Gun Productions: I Wanna Go to Friendly’s. EDUCATION: Laurie Nelson (Voice), Margie Haber (acting), Lorrie Ellicott (piano), Broadway Artists Alliance (voice, acting).

TAYLOR DAWSON (Cosmic Love, Principle Dancer, Vocalist, Ensemble) THEATER: Theater J: Honey Brown Eyes (Zlata); Ford's Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Want); Washington National Opera: Turandot (Chorus), Way Off Broadway Dinner Theater: Sound of Music (Brigitta); Damascus Theater: Gypsy (Louise) . TV/FILM: JC Penney, Verizon/NHL. EDUCATION: Baltimore School for the Arts (Dance Major), Kirov Academy of Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem Pre-Professional, Future Shock DC Hip Hop Troupe (Dance); Broadway Artists Alliance: (Dance); Joan McFarland (Voice), Cheryl Rhoades (Acting).

Brittany O'Grady (Siren, Principle Dancer, Vocalist, Ensemble) THEATER: Synetic Theater: Othello (Ensemble), Don Quixote (Andrea), A Midsummer Night’s Dream Teen Production (Oberlon); Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Fan - two years, Belinda - one year); Signature Theatre: Witches of Eastwick (Little Girl); The Little Theatre of Alexandria: The Secret Garden (Mary); Encore Theater: 12 Dancing Princesses (Princess Cindi); TV/FILM: America’s Most Wanted (Girl in a re-enactment) EDUCATION: Metropolitan Fine Arts Center (Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet), Synetic Theater (Mime), Broadway Artists Alliance (voice, acting).

CAITLIN O’GRADY (Lady In Green, Principle Dancer, Ensemble) THEATER: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Martha Cratchit); Washington-Lee: The Sound of Music (Ensemble), Godspell (By My Side duet), Grease (Ensemble), Fiddler on the Roof (Golde); Metropolitan Fine Arts Center: Hook: An Original Musical (Captain Hook). TV/FILM: AAUW: Sexual Harassment PSA; Smithsonian: Dig it! The Secrets of Soil exhibit: Matters of Life and Death; Star Thrower Entertainment: Jamesy Boy. EDUCATION: Vicky Forde (Piano, voice); Metropolitan Fine Arts Center (Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet), Broadway Artists Alliance (voice, acting).

NADIA ROSS (Principle Dancer, Vocalist, Ensemble) THEATER: NATIONAL: National Tour: The Lion King, Young Nala. LOCAL: Kennedy Center: Debbie Allen's Brothers of the Knight (Church Kid), Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker (Chinese Doll) and Porcupine (Judge); Ford's Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Belinda), Children of Eden (Zorah), and The Wedding Band (Teeta). TV/FILM: First Flock Pictures: My Turtle's Name is Dudley (Young Jade) (Winner, Haydenfilms Film Festival; 2nd Place, GPSFF); Midnight Films : The Weekends are For Us (Veronica), Slavery and the Making of America (PBS); Nightline-Moment to Shine (ABC); The Doo-Its (Pilot, PBS) Babysitting Training Video (American Red Cross). EDUCATION: Dance Theater of Harlem (Balt); Debbie Allen Dance Academy (Hip Hop, Dunham); Washington National Opera (Voice).

MINDSET will be performed Saturday, July 14 at 8pm and July 21 & 28 at 4pm and 7pm.

MINDSET is an original musical created, directed, choreographed, arranged and staged by Arlington teen and DC area actor Jace Casey, whose theater credits include Signature Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.  The production brings together some of the Washington area’s experienced young actors and the original cast members to tell the story of the inner struggle of an artist’s fear of failure.  Casey and Cassandra Kendall – MINDSET’s assistant director, choreographer, lighting designer and technical designer – bring the production to the DC Fringe Festival after workshopping the musical in March.  Visit the MINDSET website at www.MINDSET-onstage.com. Watch the MINDSET Trailer on YouTube at MindsetFringe2012.  Follow us on Twitter @mindsetfringe12. Friend us on Facebook at MindsetFringe2012.