the people bringing rational creatures to life

Kristina Pupo is an actor, filmmaker and indie music artist from Miami, Florida. She completed her film studies in Los Angeles while putting out a pop album only to continue her adventures in New York City, acting for web, tv as well as a sketch comedy team. She has penned her own pilots and series and is set to direct a short in Chicago while continuing her acting and music career as a Lakeview resident.

Benjamin Mills is a queer multidisciplinary artist and actor based in Chicago. Recent credits include Spring Awakening, Bonnie & Clyde The Musical, Mean Gurlz parody (The Second City,) Hedwig and The Angry Inch (assistant Dir,) and many more. You can find Benjamin on instagram @bxnmills

Stephanie Fongheiser is thrilled to be a part of Rational Creatures. As someone who loves Austen and acting, being part of an Austen adaptation is a dream come true. Most recently she has appeared in Kiss Me Kate (ensemble), Beauty and the Beast (Babette), and Avenue Q (Christmas Eve). Her biggest accomplishment since graduating college in 2017 was painting 100 watercolor paintings the following year. Her next planned accomplishment: get an MA Jane Austen in England.

Ayelen hails from Toronto, Ontario. She holds a Master's Degree in Media Production from Ryerson University, where she wrote and directed "Nottingham", a gender-bent Robin Hood web series and transmedia experience. 

We were super lucky to have Savanna with us for the first day on set as a PA and photographer! When she wasn’t slating or making more coffee, she snapped some fun BTS shots and cute cast photos. 

Dr. Eric Johnson is Rational Creatures official spreadsheet formatter, beta reader, and sometimes slate jockey. A lifelong band and theatre nerd, he has enjoyed supporting this project in a variety of ways!

Peter Giessl is a Chicago based actor originally from Rochester Hills, MI. Peter has a BFA from Oakland University in MI and performs on stage and in front of the camera. Recent stage credits include The Aliens (Aegis Theatre), Arcadia (Edge of the Wood Theatre), and Hay Fever (St. Sebastian Players).

Though she spent much of her life in Africa, Leticia has been happily calling Chicago home for the past three years. When not working at Bonus Round Game Cafe, she can be found curled up under a pile of blankets with a good book or binge-watching Netflix. Her dream is to one day be cast in a long-running fantasy TV show and own a house with a room full of books. She is excited to be a part of Rational Creatures and join all the illustrious actors before her who have brought Jane Austen's stories to life.

Armando Reyes is a Chicago based stage, film and voice actor who most recently appeared in “The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?” at Interrobang Theatre Project. He has performed with Silk Road Rising, Pride Film and Plays, Oil Lamp Theater, The Agency Theater Collective, Urban Theatre Company, Teatro Vista, and many others. Film and TV credits include “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Med,” “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain,” “Nowhere Mind,” “The Origins of Wit and Humor,” and “When Icarus Fell.” Armando is represented by Gray Talent Group.

Hazel lives in England and began working with the Rational Creatures team while writing and developing her series "Away From it All", a modern retelling of "Far From the Madding Crowd." She was also a team member on "The Misselthwaite Archives," based on "The Secret Garden."

I'm Georgina from New Zealand and I got roped into helping some randos make a web series. All they did was make fun of my accent the whole time.

Elise joined us during our first shoot of Season Two as a PA and as Ollie’s personal assistant/wrangler. We could not have gotten through the shoot without her and her sense of humor. Thankfully, Elise’s skills as an RN were not needed. 

Derek Quesada is a Chicago-based actor, singer, & dancer. Originally from Miami, Florida, he has a theatre degree from Florida State University. A couple of his favorite credits include: Avenue Q (Princeton), A Chorus Line (Mark), and Beauty and the Beast (Lumière). He is currently dancing with Matter Dance Company in Chicago. Derek is very excited for Season 3 of Rational Creatures to be produced and cannot wait for it anymore (;P). @DerekQuesadilla // www.derekaquesada.com

Cat McKay is a Chicago-based actor/playwright. Her play Plaid as Hell was selected as Babes With Blades’ Joining Sword and Pen award winner for 2019-2020 and will receive a full production in the fall of 2022. Pre-pandemic, recent productions included Poison with The Plagiarists (u/s Vigoreaux), and Hell Followed With Her (Jesse) with WildClaw Theater.

Ollie is a rescue pom who enjoys the great outdoors, networking, and eating his own harness. He is excited to be starring in his first film. Ollie would like to thank his mom for always encouraging him to pursue his dreams.

Anya is a writer and sometimes filmmaker. Her previous series “Merry Maidens” a queer, gender-bent Robin Hood tale, was an official selection at the MN WebFest in 2017.

Julia also joined us for Season One Day Two on set as a PA and brought her enthusiasm and sense of humor with her, even when we asked her to lay on the floor to capture sound! We’re so glad we got to work with her. She and Eleni (along with cast member Stephanie) were the ultimate PA team for that super hectic day on set!

Gabriela Diaz is ecstatic to be a part of Rational Creatures. Originally from Houston, TX, Gabby has thoroughly enjoyed her first year in Chicago. While this will be her on camera debut her previous stage credits include: “La Ruta” (Ivonne Understudy), “The Escape” (Mrs. Gaines), “The Wolf at the End of the Block” (Miranda), “50 Shades of Shakespeare”, “Julius Caesar” (Portia), and “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding” (Sister Terry Swing). Gabriela has a BFA in Acting from Webster Conservatory and is represented by Lily’s Talent.

Cooper is a Chicago-based actor who recently appeared on Chicago PD and short films entitled Intervention and Giallo. He is originally from Wisconsin, loves the Milwaukee Bucks, and streams on Twitch in his spare time.

Riley is a young miniature pinscher mix from Homestead, FL. After a modeling stint in NYC, Riley has found a passion in storytelling and bringing characters to life on screen. His hobbies include burrowing in blanket forts as well as sleeping in between humans. “Life is like a patch of sun light, sit in it - or be cold.” - Riley.

Jessamyn resides in Eugene, OR, where she has worked on several literary inspired web series in various capacities. Her latest foray as a showrunner was "Twincidents", a genderbent update of Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. Jessamyn loves storytelling in all forms, bringing her performing arts background and love of collaboration to all her creative projects. 

Eleni joined us as a PA extraordinaire for one day on set, which also happened to be our busiest! Despite never having met any of the team before, she jumped right in. We’re so grateful she chose to spend the day with us, we could not have gotten through day two of shooting without her.