RODRIGO JORGE — FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
His productions have been awarded grants from National Theatre, Arts Council England and the Weiner Foundation (NYC), Curitiba Cultural Foundation, as well as the Utah Film Center’s Documentary Fiscal Sponsorship.
In theatre, Rodrigo produced, directed and co-wrote Count To Five, which was nominated to the prestigious Popcorn Awards (in partnership with BBC Writers) at Edinburgh Fringe 2024. His UK-developed production of Clerc’s Inferno (multi-grant recipient) is now heading to its US premiere in 2025, supported by Gallaudet University. He also produced The Importance of Being Anxious, which premiere at Camden Fringe 2022, played TADA! Theater in New York City, Hollywood Fringe 2023 (where it won the Encore Award), and New York Fringe 2024. He is an associate producer of Emilie Biason’s I Killed My Ex, which premiered at The Space in EdFringe 2023 and has since been produced in Austria. Currently, Rodrigo is developing his next two shows for the 2025 season.
In film, he directed and produced Clerc’s Inferno: From Page to Sign, which received several international accolades, including Best Documentary at the New York Short Film Festival in 2021. Rodrigo also directed the award-winning short animation Animaminded, the short doc [Des]Dobrar (which has been featured in dozens of architectural publications worldwide), and produced Rosana van der Meer’s Old Lady and the Sea, a stop-motion short that premiered at the prestigious Anima Mundi International Film Festival. He was associate producer and animator in the feature documentary The Killings of Tony Blair.
Most recently, Rodrigo wrote the screen adaptation of Nicola May's best-selling novel The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay, which was optioned by Can Can Productions and is being developed into a six-part series, with him attached as Writer-Producer. Rodrigo also developed and script-edited the feature script adaptation for Nicola’s Working It Out, which was optioned by Aston Productions and Troy TV.
CAROL SCHNEIDER — PLAYWRIGHT & CO-FOUNDER OF CHERRY ENTERTAINMENT
Schneider trained at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Circle-In-the-Square Theatre School, (Paulette Goddard Remarque Fellow), Interlochen Arts Academy (Young Artists Award). Her short plays, Of Concern, and Rockets Under the House were produced at Berkshire Playwrights Lab. Her essay, I’ll Take the Usual, which she also narrated, featured in the Voice Arts and Earphones award winning, Audie-nominated anthology, Nevertheless We Persisted: Me Too. Clerc’s Inferno had a 2023 workshop at London’s National Theatre. Previously CI workshopped in London twice with Dreamatorium, receiving two Arts Council England grants. In NYC, CI had extensive development with assistance from New York Theatre Workshop, Gallaudet University, HERE Arts Center, Lexington School for the Deaf and private philanthropies. Schneider’s acted on Broadway (Vivian Beaumont, Lincoln Center), Off Broadway (Mitzi Newhouse LCT, Ensemble Studio Theatre & Samuel Beckett Theatre), in regional theatres, feature and independent films which premiered at Sundance, Tribeca Film Festival and Slam Dance. She is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.
JOE CACACI — DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER OF CHERRY ENTERTAINMENT
Joe has directed plays at The Public Theatre (for Joseph Papp), Westport Playhouse, 5959 Theatres, Coconut Grove and commercially in NY & LA. His own plays have been produced at The Public, Long Warf Coconut Grove, The Alley Theatre, and commercially in LA. Joe produced the Boston premiere of Mamet’s AMERICAN BUFFALO, and co-produced the Obie winning NY premiere of Mamet’s EDMOND. As founding Artistic Director of East Coast Arts, he produced 20 new plays. A founding member of Berkshire Playwrights Lab in Gt Barrington, MA, he directed the world premiere of James Tyler’s SOME OLD BLACK MAN, then directed and co-produced the NY premiere, featuring Wendell Pierce and Tony winner, Roger Robinson. SOME OLD BLACK MAN is headed to the West End in late 2023, starring Wendell Pierce and with Joe directing. Joe co-created the CBS series THE TRIALS OF ROSIE O’NEILL and has been Executive Producer of three series, Showtime’s THE HOOP LIFE, CBS’s THE EDUCATION OF MAX BICKFORD (starring Richard Dreyfuss, Eli Wallach, Marcia Gay Harden, and guest starring Peter O’Toole), and PBS’S COP SHOP. Joe directed the pilot. He has written movies for ABC, CBS, and NBC and directed two indie features. He teaches TV and film writing in the graduate film program at Columbia University and the undergraduate Film Studies program at Wesleyan University.
ZAMALISA MDODA — PLAYWRIGHT & PRODUCER