Up & Away

Phin Fogg –

Fran has worked extensively within the world of Theater For Young Audiences for over twenty years. A professional playwright, director and producer, Fran can also be found in the classroom as a theatrical teaching artist and inclusion consultant. Fran serves as the Director of Accessibility at The Rose Theater, where he is leading an expansion of the popular Every Single Child Program (a multi-layered program that serves an average of 35,000 students each year at more than 70 school buildings). The expansion will develop production and residency programming for students in self-contained special education classrooms in the Omaha area. He also directs mainstage productions at The Rose. Some of his credits include Shrek: The Musical, Go,Dog.Go! and the Omaha premiere of Hanna’s Suitcase. Fran co-wrote the book/ directed the world premiere of The Doll Maker’s Gift at the Rose Theater in 2019. Fran is Executive Artistic Director of Circle Theatre.

Fran Fogg –

Jessica Johnson is a theatre and film artist based in Omaha, NE. Her dual Master’s Degrees in Acting and Speech Language Pathology allow her to use her love of story telling to the fullest extent, as an performer, director and educator, as well as a communication sciences and disorders professional. Jessica is interested in helping advance the ancient art of oral history through theatre, the modern art of visual story telling through film, and all of the unique and beautiful methods of communication between people that come in between, and is especially thrilled to be making her Rose Theater debut in Up and Away, a show dedicated to ensuring the magic of theatre is accessible to any and everyone! . Thank you to my Johann, Veronica and Gunnar for your unwavering love and support. EVERY STORY DESERVES TO BE TOLD.

Faux Fogg –

Katie received her Master’s degree in Theatre Performance from the University of Nebraska – Omaha in May 2018. Her Bachelor’s is in Theatre Education from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She is an adjunct theatre professor and has always believed in the power of imagination and creative play for kids and adults of all ages. She has acted onstage with The Rose Theater, Nebraska Shakespeare, The Bluebarn Theatre, among others, and has worked on film projects of all different genres. As a voice actor, she has worked on several audiobooks, video games, and educational videos. She is also a model and is featured on the cover of VC Andrews’ Whitefern.

Flip Fogg –

Jack Zerbe appeared at Shakespeare festivals in Chicago, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Lake Tahoe before taking a 21-year hiatus from acting. His favorite early roles include Caliban in THE TEMPEST and Guildenstern in R&G ARE DEAD and HAMLET. Since returning to the stage, he has appeared at Joslyn Castle in “Tales of Poe” and MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN, and in Omaha Symphony’s SOUTH PACIFIC IN CONCERT. Followers of Brigit St. Brigit Theatre might remember him from INCIDENT AT VICHY, ASSASSINS, BERNHARDT/HAMLET, and FIRESIDE MACBETH AND OTHER GHOSTLY TALES. He will soon appear in their production of GOD ON TRIAL. He is delighted to make his debut at The Rose Theater with this very special event.

Phil Fogg –

I am so happy to be a part of this amazing production! This is my first time working with the Rose Theater. I trained at University of South Dakota back in 2017 with a BFA in Musical Theatre. I have been involved in productions at the Omaha Community Playhouse (2017-19) - Shrek, A Christmas Carol, Annie.
I also enjoy working in the local film scene, doing films with Anarchy Film Studios and Dissolve Media. I am also a CNA in training with A Place At Home. My favorite hobby is swing dancing with the Omaha Jitterbugs; I have been dancing for 6 years. I also enjoy ballroom dancing as well as freestyle. My favorite genre(s) of music are Swing, Disco, 50s Rock n' Roll, and Doo-Wop. I have a cute 1 1/2 year old puppy named Milo and I want to thank all of my friends and family for supporting me on this amazing journey!

Flow Fogg –

Claire is a Pittsburgh-based actor and teaching artist. As a performer, she was most recently seen in Pittsburgh Public Theater's Playtime Series reading of BLACK BALLERINA (Taylor) and as various lead roles in City Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival. She serves as Jumping Jack Theater’s Artistic Director and lead teaching artist in classroom residencies. Claire has worked with folks of all ages around the country at organizations such as the Children's Theatre of Charlotte and Hartford Stage, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Media and more. She is also an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh Dept. of Theatre Arts. In 2018, Claire represented Jumping Jack Theater at the Big Umbrella Festival at Lincoln Center, the world’s first month-long festival dedicated to arts programs for children on the autism spectrum and their families where she first learned of UP & AWAY!

Fan Fogg –

Charisa is a teaching artist, actor, director, playwright, and crazy cat lady recently transplanted from the distant land of Lincoln, NE. She studied theatre performance at the University of Nebraska - Kearney and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction - Theatre Pedagogy at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Charisa is a member of the Angels Theatre Playwrighting Collective, and has had several of her short plays selected for performance at the annual First Flight Festival in Lincoln, NE. She was selected to be a Directing Fellow for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons at the Omaha Community Playhouse serving as both an Assistant Director for a mainstage production and a Director for a production in their Alternative Programming series. Charisa is thrilled to be a part of The Rose and looks forward to growing as an artist and teacher during her time here.

Carl –

Joe is excited to once again be performing with The Rose Theater. He holds a B.M. in Musical Theater from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and an MFA from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. He has been seen performing all over the world with Norwegian Creative Studios on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager and Navigator, Asolo Rep Theatre in All The Way and Ah, Wilderness, Portland Center Stage in Fun Home, Maples Repertory Theater in Boeing Boeing, and Crane River Theater in Mamma Mia!, Cinderella, Elf the Musical, Oklahoma! and The Wizard of Oz.

Frop Fogg –

Kevin Ehrhart has been a member of the Omaha Theater Company staff for over 20 years. While at the Theater, he has directed mainstage, studio theater and national
touring productions.

His directing credits include A Year with Frog and Toad the Musical and Treasure Island. Kevin directed The Bully Show at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' New Visions New Voices program. Most recently Kevin directed The Cat in the Hat at The Rose Theater.

As a professional actor at the Theater, Kevin has performed as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, Rooster in Annie, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Cat in the Hat in Seussical - The Musical, Baloo in Jungle Book, and The March Hare in Wonderland.

As an educator, Kevin has been involved in teaching students from preschool age through high school. He has developed drama curriculum for improvisation, movement, directing, playwriting and audition preparation.

Director –