DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Over the past 125 years, this play has been produced thousands of times. The message of future hope while struggling with the present to find meaning in work amidst the changing landscape of impending war and military buildup is strikingly resonant in our current moment. Our production places the sisters in the late 1950s of eastern California where military bases populated the landscape and created boom towns of new immigrants, conscripted soldiers, and families.  This script, co-created over the past three months with our cast and advisors and adapted from the 1916 translation by Constance Garnett, brought immense laughter to our rehearsals with a depth of compassion and willingness to explore the complexity of this modern masterpiece of dramatic literature. I hope you enjoy the play as much as we enjoyed discovering it and finding some truth, humor and insight into the puzzling behavior of family dynamics that continue to amaze and confound us.

CAST BIOS

Therese Bagsit (Anita; Caltech staff) is the operations lead in Caltech’s Office of the Undergraduate Deans. She is a native Angeleno and an active volunteer in the Pasadena community – as a baby cuddler at Huntington Hospital’s NICU, a gardener at The Huntington, and as a former Mobile outreach and pet therapy partner with Pasadena Humane. Although Therese claims to be “one click or tap away from becoming a Luddite,” she is proud that the late Anthony Bourdain once re-tweeted her to his 800k followers. Mahal kita, Mom, Dad, and Xabi. This is Therese’s first TACIT production.

Julie Belleville (Masha Culligan, née Prozorov; Caltech G4, Applied Physiccs) works on the active control of nanophotonic metasurfaces. While this is not her stage debut in the strictest of senses, all her previous stage experience is a decade past; so, this venture back into theatre certainly feels new. She’s thrilled to be part of this production of Three Sisters, which brings together three things she loves: writing, music, and angstily declaiming: “woe is me.”

Sullivan Braun (Lt. Nicholas Baron; community) is a writer, actor, and crew-person in the film and theater industry. He has contributed in various ways to TACIT productions since 2019, most notably writing and designing media for Earth Data: The Musical in 2024. When not endlessly iterating on his most recent scripts or attempting to produce original pieces at regional theaters around Los Angeles, he works with the Actors Studio in West Hollywood to hone his craft.

Jacob Buligan (Andrew Prozorov; community) has been doing theater since he was young. He remembers instantly falling in love with the stage during his first production and from that point on he decided he wanted to experience the joy and gift of theater as many times as he can. He is currently studying Theatre and Film at PCC. This is his first production at Caltech.

Dima Burov (Theodore Culligan; Caltech PhD ’24) has always had a passion for acting, and theater in particular, despite having devoted most of his professional life to academia – most recently earning a PhD from Caltech in May 2024 Since his first acting part at age 8, he has tried on many theater roles, from lighting operator, sound designer, stage manager, to actor, co-director and co-producer. These days, theater is a safe haven and a big part of his life.

Sarah Gates (Natasha; Caltech G1, Physics) is a first-year PhD student in physics studying observational cosmology. While she spends most of her time thinking about telescopes and the early universe, this is her first time appearing as an on-stage performer. Her previous theatrical experience includes several years in her high school pit orchestra, a tenure she maintains was only made possible by the director bribing her with cookies.

Michael Gutierrez (Cpt. Sully Sullivan; Caltech alum ’25) is a recent Caltech graduate and a staff member at Caltech Optical Observatories. He has been involved in several TACIT productions over the years including From the Earth to the Moon, Sunrise from the Moon, Another Revolution, Earth Data: The Musical, as well as the Storytelling for Scientists and Improv for Scientists programs.

Marcin Kurowski (Lt. Col. Alexander Vershinin; JPL) lives in a three-dimensional space around JPL, filled with science and breakthrough discoveries. When that space starts to feel a bit too small, he uses a topological trick and adds another dimension: theater. It brings new energy into his life and helps him appreciate things on many different levels, some of which may not even exist in near-Euclidean space. In this new dimension, theater magic feels like living another life. He enjoys interacting with the wonderful cast and is constantly astonished by the talents and creativity they bring to the table. Working with them is truly a gift and a reminder of the remarkable existence of life on Earth.

Rémy Morgan (Olga Prozorov; JPL) is a project engineer for the Deep Space Network at JPL who likes to spend free-time writing, acting, and doing educational outreach. She talks to far-flung spacecraft, curious science-enthusiasts, stage audiences, and perhaps most of all, herself. Rémy is looking forward to the challenge of bringing Olga to life on the stage with the rest of this delightful cast!

Ellis Spickermann (Irene Prozorov; Caltech G4, Materials Science) is a fourth-year graduate student in Materials Science. Her research is centered around decarbonization of industrial chemical processes and CO2 reduction. She has enjoyed performing in musicals over the years, yet no one had managed to convince her to be in a play until now. She is excited to take on challenge of Chekhov. 

Michael Vanier (Dr. John Chamberlain; Caltech faculty, PhD ’01) is a teaching professor in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences department at Caltech.  He was previously a graduate student at Caltech, where he appeared in a number of TACIT plays, including K2 (as Harold) and Inherit the Wind (as Bert Cates).  Three Sisters is his first play with TACIT in over 20 years, and he is very excited to be acting again!

CREW BIOS

Brian Brophy (Director; Caltech faculty) is a veteran actor in the film/TV/theater industry and is in his eighteenth year as Director of Caltech Theater. His roles in A Day Without a Mexican, Cradle Will Rock, Shawshank Redemption, The Player, and Star Trek: TNG‘s “The Measure of a Man” remain his favorites. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, Scholar in Residence at the Indian Institute of Technology (IITGn), and Yale-NUS Singapore Artist in Residence. He is a multi-recipient of the California Arts Council/Culture Affairs Department artists in community grant, and recipient of a George Soros Foundation funding award for a theater project in Bosnia. His research Interests include theater for social change and the transformation of culture through dialogue, storytelling, and friendship.  He is also the Artistic Director of Mach 33, Caltech’s annual festival of new, science-driven plays.

Laura Flower Kim (Producer; Caltech staff) has worked with Caltech’s International Student Programs for 18 years. She has attended numerous performances by TACIT and EXPLiCIT and enjoys supporting students and community members in their creative endeavors. Apart from her on-stage theatrics at International Orientation, being backstage or in the audience is more her style. She is honored to be in service to this wonderful cast and crew who bring this production to life. Laura dedicates opening night to her husband on their 20th anniversary!

Taryne Moyse (Stage Manager; Caltech staff) is a recent addition to the GPS Division at Caltech. She received her B.A. in Theatre from CSU, Fullerton, and her M.A. in Education from CSU, Long Beach. Taryne has also studied at CalArts and is a Lucid Body Teaching Assistant at Stella Adler Academy of Acting and to Acting Coach, Kennedy Brown. She has been nominated for several ACTF Irene Ryan Scholarship Awards and co-wrote Pieces of Her, which premiered at Downey Arts Center in 2016. Taryne is thrilled to be connected to the TACIT community and grateful to support the talented cast of Three Sisters.

David Delgado (Visual Strategist; community) is an artist and creative director who creates art-science experiences to expand public imagination and deepen our connection to Earth environments and the cosmos. More at davidjdelgado.com.

Linda Muggeridge (Costume Designer; community) loves storytelling. In every phase of her varied career, storytelling has been a goal and a joy. In theater, every time an actor inhabits a costume, that wardrobe needs to instantly tell the audience a very short but effective story about that character. Working with the director, the actor, and other designers to make that story is Linda’s idea of awesome. It is a whole other level of awesomeness to work together with students to use what they are learning in school – history, literature, physics – to sculpt their look and connect it with the bigger picture and the human experience. Her website is manyhatzcostumes.com.

Finn Swanson (Lighting; Caltech freshman) is an undergraduate student studying electrical engineering. He enjoyed helping out with lighting on his high school’s theatre productions and is excited to continue that at Caltech.

Cole Remmen (Graphic Designer, Marketing; Theater Arts Caltech Affiliate Artist) is a theater artist and scholar. He received his PhD from UCSB, researching intersections of performance and scientific knowledge production. A director, actor, playwright, and composer, he enjoys creating and staging works of science-driven theater. In 2016, he co-wrote with his brother a musical parody based on Star Trek title Boldly Go!. The musical premiered at Caltech, with a sold-out run in which he also performed in the role of Spock. He also co-wrote From the Earth to the Moon (premiered at Caltech in 2022) and Earth Data: The Musical (premiered at Caltech in 2024 as part of the Getty’s PST ART: Art and Science Collide festival). He also serves as Program Director of Launchpad, the early-development play lab within the MACH 33 New Science-Driven Play Festival.

Edvar Bautista (Sound Board; Caltech junior) is a junior at Caltech majoring in mechanical engineering. He has been involved in stage tech for over seven years, beginning in his freshman year of high school, and has continued that work at Caltech. Edvar previously worked on the technical crew for The Real Inspector Hound and Twelfth Night. He is excited to be part of this production and to take on one of his first roles running sound at Caltech.

STAGE CREW
Alicia Trevino (Assistant Stage Manager; community)
Yi Lin (Crew; Caltech undergrad)
Ronald Kouatchoua Djakou (Crew; Caltech freshman) 

THANKS

Thanks to Kari Coleman, Christopher Earl, Jon Nalick, Max Gorbachev, Nate Stuffel and his team at Campus Events, Provost David Tirrell, Hyesung Park, and Steev Kim.

We want to extend special thanks to our donors, whose generous contributions help bring productions like this one to life and ensure theater continues to thrive at Caltech!

SPONSORS