Jill Zaitchick (Lavinia Penniman) Jill has a BFA in Theatre from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has also studied acting in California and New York City. “I am so fortunate that Center Players wants to cast me in their shows.” Jill Zaitchick recently played the role of Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web right here at Center Players last summer. She has enjoyed acting in many different venues for over thirty years. Some favorite roles include Mina in Dracula for Creative Theatre Group in Orange County, NY and M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias for County Players in Duchess County, NY. She has also worked as a Director in Community Theatre, winning a Best Director award for her direction of The Diary of Anne Frank. Jill works in the real world as a Tax Consultant and is married to her life-time love, Paul. Their fifteen year old son, Grant is also an actor (and has recently appeared in Center Players’ Charlotte’s Web) and they live in Colts Neck. She practices Yoga, enjoys photography, and is focused on continuing her relationship with Center Players. She thanks Paul and Grant for their support and love during the rehearsal period of The Heiress.

Lauren Valasa (Catherine Sloper) Lauren is so very excited to be making her debut at Center Playhouse as Miss Catherine Sloper. Favorite roles include Cassie in Rumors, Queen Marie in Exit the King, and Alice in You Can’t Take it With You. When she is not acting, Lauren enjoys dancing/choreographing. She would like to thank Carly for her support and encouragement as well as Center Players for this amazing opportunity!

Carla Eve Zackson Heller [Elizabeth Almond] is delighted to join Center Players and work with such a delightful cast and crew. In addition to directing CP’s upcoming summer comedy, SYLVIA!, Carly's other directing credits include:  Rumors, A Night in Provence, Wonderland, China, Brother and  more. Onstage, she has been seen in performances of:  Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Good Doctor, Noises Off, The Secret Garden, Music Man, The Royal Family, What The Butler Saw, Murder on the Nile, The Incorruptible, Enchanted April, Father of the Bride, Arsenic & Old Lace, Daughters, Book of Days, Lend Me A Tenor, Jake’s Women and Plaza Suite. Professionally, Ms. Zackson is a Producer/Writer who runs ZMX Inc., a corporate events and media production firm www.Zackson.com. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America and has worked on the production teams of such feature films as Working Girl and Mystic Pizza. Many thanks to Bernice, Anthony, Siobhan, Mimi and my Billy.

Zach Berman (Arthur Townsend) This is Zach’s first performance after a reading of Sylvia at Center Players. Other notable roles he has played were Smith in Murder on the Nile and various roles in The Laramie Project and Godspell at his undergraduate college. He would like to thank his friends, family, cast members, and director for their continuing support in his acting and personal endeavors.

Yvette Cataneo (Marian Almond) is a native of Champaign, Illinois, and now a proud home-owner in Historic Freehold Borough.  Yvette received her Bachelor’s Degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and her Master’s from the University of Illinois, both in vocal performance. She has channeled her lifelong love of the Arts in many ways over the years, via teaching and fund raising, for example, but performing is her first love.  Equally at home on the operatic or musical theatre stage, her roles include Papagena in The Magic Flute, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Molly in Girl Crazy. 

Anthony Greco (Morris Townsend) After being seen this winter as Paul in Barefoot in the Park and many years earlier as Jay in Lost in Yonkers (Perry Award Nomination - Best Youth Actor) he is honored to be taking the Center Playhouse stage with such a talented cast! An active board member, Anthony directed our productions of 20th Century, 12 Angry Men, Doubt, and Barefoot in the Park. Although he has directed many plays and musicals throughout Monmouth County he has appeared in a great many number of productions, some of his favorites include: Bye Bye Birdie (Albert Peterson), Children of Eden (Noah), Lend Me a Tenor (Max), Arsenic and Old Lace (Jonathan Brewster), and Brighton Beach Memoirs (Eugene - Basie Award Best Actor.) Anthony is the resident director at Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls and at Seashore Day Camp & School in Long Branch. Many thanks to Bernice, cast, and crew for welcoming him and making him feel so comfortable in this production.

Annie Flanagan (Mrs. Montgomery) Annie has proven her love for the theater both onstage and behind the scenes at Center Players and other area theaters. She has entertained both children and adults alike in her various rolls in Little Red and the Magic Dragon, Charlotte's Web, 6 Rms Riv View, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf and The Vagina Monologues.  Annie’s energy and enthusiasm has led her to take on many varied roles at Center Players that along with each show’s cast and crew bring quality productions to a wide variety of audiences.  “Center Players is the perfect venue for me to cultivate my talents and skills and to give back to the community”, Annie says. “I take pride in being part of such a fabulous group of people who all have the same goal in mind – to entertain and bring joy into people’s lives. Whether I work backstage, onstage, or behind the scenes as a member of the board, I know I am contributing and making a difference.”  She is very happy to be working with such a wonderful and dedicated cast and amazing crew.  Annie sends a special hug to the love of her life, Richard, and those extraordinary people that support her and encourage her to continually push to the next level.  You know who you are!

Bernice Garfield-Szita (Director) Bernice is so proud of Center Players and its award winning productions that have graced the stage of Center Playhouse for the past ten years. She has been involved in community theater for over forty years as an actor, designer and director. Some of her favorite pieces she has directed for Center Players are: Real Women Have Curves, Lost in Yonkers, Driving Miss Daisy, and most recently, I'm Not Rappaport.

She is thrilled to bring the deeply moving drama of The Heiress by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, suggested by the Henry James novel Washington Square, to the stage at Center Playhouse. Bernice has always been drawn to dramatic material that educates, illuminates and expands the audience's experience, by highlighting the value of meaningful relationships in one's life. The Heiress is set in New York City in the parlor of a mansion owned by the wealthy Dr. Austin Sloper in the year 1850, is just such a play! Bernice has been a long time collector of Victorian jewelry, furniture and accessories and is delighted to use some of her collection to enhance this beautifully mounted production.

In her day job as a psychotherapist in private practice for the past thirty something years specializing in the modality of Psychodrama, she has helped many people understand the deeper meanings of the actions of others and themselves. When she directs, she uses all her skills and experience to help her cast find the essence of the soul of their characters. The transformational story of Catherine Sloper resonated deeply with her own life experience and others she has worked with.

She is deeply grateful to her wonderful cast and crew, and especially Lauren Valasa as Catherine and Anthony Greco as Morris who joined the show at the eleventh hour and have risen to the challenge beyond Bernice's greatest expectations! She is also very delighted to have Mimi Lichter back in the role of Stage Manager. She really appreciates Mimi's professionalism and the friendship they share. Of course, Bernice knows that no Center Player's production would be as fine a quality without the lights, sound, and technical expertise of Mark Lamhut of Paul-Mark Printing. Bernice owes a great debt of gratitude to her wonderful husband Bob for producing this show with her, always being encouraging of her dreams and loving Center Players and it's wonderful contribution to the arts in the community as much as she does.