SMALL POND ENTERTAINMENT

Our Vision:
Small Pond Entertainment is the wheel that will sculpt the theatre practitioners of the future. By adding just the right amount of energy and artistic water to each individual we work with, we will form actors, directors, playwrights, film makers, and designers who may potentially become teachers of their art. Then, we will instill the fire of production into each of their dreams and create a gallery of beautiful art that includes brand new plays, dance, and performance pieces. Our audience will be the Manhattan Theatre community and our art will show a true marriage of Theatre and Education as seamless as the marriage of clay and water.



OUR SEASON

Michael Roderick (Artistic Director) Originally from RI, Michael started Small Pond Entertainment 4 years ago after moving to NYC to teach at LaSalle Academy where he currently holds the position of Sophomore English Teacher and Drama Director. He graduated from Rhode Island College with a BA in Secondary Ed. English and Theatre performance and will be finishing his Master's degree at NYU in Educational Theatre this summer. Michael has produced 10 shows since he began writing and directing in his undergrad and now produces three shows a year with LaSalle’s Drama Club. He has written 15 plays and his play PROPS has been selected as a participant in The Midtown International Theatre Festival this summer. He also plans on eventually publishing a book about first year teaching called “Stage Fright”, as well as a young adult novel titled “Norin’s Quest: Beyond the Gates of Lavender”

Lorli Dima-ala Villanueva (Managing Director / Exec. Producer) Lorli is has been in Philippine theater, television, and films for the last three decades. She has been awarded Best Supporting Actress in 1974 at the Manila Film Festival and has been nominated numerous times for awards including at the First International Film Festival in Manila, Philippines. She has directed the longest running daily soap opera in Philippine television and went on to direct TV Movies of educational and historical themes for commercial channels and the Dept. of Education. She ultimately put up her own production company, Tri-Media Productions, considered one of the biggest public relations, advertising, talent agency and commercial production company in the Philippines in the '90's. Lorli was president and CEO of Tri-Media which was ultimately renamed Emmaus Productions. Lorli started her career in the theater as a founding member of the Philippine Educational Theater Association in 1967 after completing an applied training program as an exchange artist with UNESCO. In 1972 she moved on to TV and Film and has since been a celebrated figure in the arts. She is also the founder of the Visual Artists Cooperative of the Philippines. Lorli is presently an active member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the United Stated and has featured in some films here. In New York, Lorli founded InArte Musical Theater Company which emphasizes in musical theater for children. Lorli is presently immersed in her full time job as Deputy Chair for the Graduate Program in Education & Special Education at Touro College in Manhattan. Lorli is very proud to be a part of Small Pond Entertainment.

Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago (Marketing & Advertising) Sibyl has been involved in stage, films and tv from the tender age of 3 when she featured in a movie "Manila in the Claws of Light" (US Title) - a Philippine movie that won critical acclaim in Asia, Europe and the US. She has since appeared in several films and television shows including the long running soap opera, "Flor de Luna". Sibyl has also trained with the Philippine Educational Theater Association under the direction of renowned late directors, Lino Brocka and Orlando Nadres, to name a few. Sibyl has also been a principal dancer for the Philippine Dance Company of New York where she performed for almost 14 years with the troupe, touring in various cities all over the country. Sibyl continues her work today on stage appearing in various off-broadway productions, and more recently working in films and television as a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Christopher C. Beier (Fund Raising, P.R., Associate Casting): Chris has been with Small Pond Entertainment for about 5 months now. He originally started producing for the company during the staged reading of Proof By Disproof, and is now the head of fund-raising. Ever since Chris moved to New York City, he has been organizing and producing fund-raising events at bars and clubs in the area such as Caliente, Phebe’s, and Crime Scene Bar. He and Chad Meador are currently strengthening Small Pond’s connection to West Virginia’s Regional Theaters in order to make Small Pond a regionally recognized name.

Amy Lerner (Associate Producer) Small Pond is the second theatre company that Amy has worked with. Last summer she founded the Walking Shadow Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., putting up Douglas Carter Beane's The Country Club.


Stacey Maltin (Associate Producer) has previously produced the show Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver at Stella Adler Studios which she also acted in, and along with Proof by Disproof will be producing Paul Rudnick's "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" which will go up at the Looking Glass Theater in New York City July 27-30. She is also acting in that.

Chad Meador (Associate Producer) Chad wishes he could play a larger part in this summers productions through Small Pond Entertainment with his colleagues Mike Roderick and Chris Beier. Chad was there at the beginning of this long and rewarding process and still is a contributor to the endeavors of these productions. Although he cannot be here, he's still working hard in his home state of West Virginia to provide new opportunities and avenues for him and his associates in New York. Currently Chad is working in conjunction with seasoned professional acting and voice instructors to establish a precedent for training in his region. Along with the classes he's facilitating in West Virginia he is producing a documentary film that will show an area on the cusp of a cultural renaissance.

Jeff Stevens (P.R.): Jeff received his BFA in Drama and Musical Theatre from Syracuse University. He has studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute of Film and Acting, and improvisation with The Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade. He recently was featured in the Touchstone Picture's Annapolis. He stars in the upcoming independent Mental Ward Film called Bamboo Shark. He also performs regularly with his improv group, New Format Improvisation. Check out their website for Live, Hardcore Improv Fun at www.newformatimprovisation.com