The Cast of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Paul Cotten (Vanya) is honored to take part in this production with Valley Players. Paul last appeared as The Man in Christopher Durang’s Laughing Wild at the Berkeley Waterfront Playhouse in 2017. He won the Daily Republic’s 2015 Arty Award for Best Actor as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and the 2014 Arty for Best Supporting Actor as Dr. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest. Paul has appeared as Macbeth with the Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park, “M” in Cock and Allen in God of Carnage with On the Fringe Theater. Paul was trained at ACT and Bay Area Theater Sports in San Francisco.

Linda Howard (Masha) came to Northern California from Chicago in 1985, and has been involved in local theater ever since.  She has been seen in productions at Napa Valley College, Dreamweavers, The White Barn, Solano Community College, Fairfield Community Theater, Left-Hand Theater Company, and others. Some of her favorite roles include: Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Laurie in Oklahoma, Desiree in A Little Night Music, April in Company, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Amalia in She Loves Me, the Baker’s Wife and Cinderella in Into the Woods, Annette in God of Carnage, various roles in The Laramie Project, and Mrs. Fleming in Heathers, the Musical. She is retired after 30 years as a music therapist, and has been a member of the local Irish band, Kith & Kin, for over 25 years. She wants to thank David for all his love, understanding and support.

Michael Hunter (Spike) is a native of Los Banos, CA, and has been on the North Bay theatre scene for nearly a decade, performing mainly in Sonoma County. A graduate of Sonoma State University, Michael has performed at various theatre companies including 6th Street Playhouse, Spreckels Theatre Company, Napa Valley College, Sonoma Arts Live, The Raven Theater, and North Bay Stage Company. Michael’s previous roles include Rochefort in The Three Musketeers, Diesel in West Side Story, Armand in Once on this Island, Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Renfield in Dracula and Ruckly in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. When not acting Michael can be found at his day job as a cook at Ram’s Gate Winery.

June Alane Reif (Sonia) has a B.A. in Theater, Interpretation and Communication from  Louisiana State University, furthered her acting studies in San Jose at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, in private classes with Ed Hooks and Barbara Titus and is also a graduate of Bay Area TheatreSports in San Francisco. Some of her favorite theatrical roles include Sarah in The Lover, the various characters of Parallel Lives (The Kathy & Mo Show), Mac in Three Viewings, Elvira in Blithe Spirit and Bella in Lost in Yonkers.

Courtney South (Nina) is excited to be performing in her first play as an adult. She comes from a musical theatre background and has had the honor of playing roles as Annie Warbucks in Annie, Sandra Dee in Grease, and chorus roles in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Wizard of Oz. Courtney is currently studying theatre through Solano Community College and hopes to make theatre a larger part of her life in the future. When not on stage she enjoys sipping a cup of tea and getting lost in a good book, playing piano, and serving her church.

Randi Storm (Cassandra) is a bit ambivalent about her role as Cassandra, the psychic cleaning lady. On the one hand, she has always had psychic leanings, yet on the other hand she HATES cleaning! She has grown to love all of the folks connected to this show … it’s been such fun. And she extends a big thank-you to everyone in her life (especially her husband) who encourages her and supports her love of being on stage.