Mr. Mendieta recently played Caesar Octavius in the Nevada Shakespeare Festival's production of Antony and Cleopatra. He performed the title role in Hamlet for that company the previous season.

In Los Angeles he appeared as Amos in the first US revival of Arthur Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck with the Antaeus Company. He also was seen as the vampire in Tainted Blood at the Road Theatre in North Hollywood as well as numerous projects at the Group Repertory Theatre and Will and Company.

Originally from San Francisco, Mr. Mendieta has worked with many theatre companies including the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the San Jose Repertory Theatre, the California Shakespeare Festival, El Teatro Campesino, Thick Description, and the Phoenix Theatre. Other credits include The Garden, The Wicked Do Prosper, Skyline, Reality Check, and Killer Instinct.

Mr. Mendieta is currently directing the world premiere of Mr. Loverde's play Beauty, Brains, and Personality in Los Angeles.

Mr. Arkin is a veteran of dozens of professional stage, film, and television productions in the U.S. and abroad. Santa's Letters is his second collaboration with Mr. Loverde, the first being the acclaimed L.A. mounting of Mergers and Acquisitions at Hollywood's Hudson Theatre.

Mr. Arkin was born, raised, and trained in New York (his teachers include Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof, F. Murray Abraham, and Lynn Redgrave) and his earliest appearance on stage was with his father, Israeli mime Juki Arkin, at the age of 3 1/2. In Israel, Jonathan appeared in many commercials and starred in his own television vehicle as the befuddled space-man "Otus."

In the U.S. he toured the country as Cyrano de Bergerac, directed himself as Hamlet, and most recently won praise for his portrayal of Diana (the virgin) in an all-male production of Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends
Well at the Knightsbridge Theatre, of which he is a member. In January 2002 he will play Feste in the Knightsbridge's Twelfth Night.

Visit Mr. Arkin's website at www.jonarkin.com.

A native of Chicago and proud of it, Ms. Laina has appeared in numerous film, television, and stage productions. Some of her roles include Seta in Beast on the Moon, Regan in King Lear, Rosalind Franklin in Portrait of a Scientist, Loretta in Homecoming, Uno in Hair of the Dog, and Snow White in Snow White. On television, Ms. Laina has been seen on "General Hospital" and "Port Charles". She starred in the motion picture Obstructed and danced with Michelle Pfieffer and Treat Williams in The Deep End of the Ocean. She also co-starred as Lynette in Mr. Loverde's play Beauty, Brains, and Personality in Los Angeles.

She has performed stand-up and improvisational comedy and been a talk show and game show hostess. As always, she thanks God for the love and support of her family and friends and for all that He has graciously given her.

Mr. Schanley considers himself very fortunate that, aside from the occasional convenience store robbery, he makes his living solely as an actor. His credits range from TV's "Dynasty" to Courage Under Fire to "Melrose Place". Mr. Schanley also graced the stage in Shakespeare Festival/Los Angeles' recent production of Julius Cesaer.

He has appeared in many of Mr. Loverde's stage and screen productions, including Love Fax, Till You Get To Baraboo, Real Power, and Little Secrets.

Mr. Schanley can also be seen right now online in Mr. Loverde's film Snacking.

Ms. Crane's recent film appearances include Election with Matthew Broderick.

On television, she has been seen in "The Practice".

She is also an accomplished singer and playwright, and is a member of Los Angeles' Circle X Theater Company.

Mrs. Marshall has a broad resume of theatrical work in Los Angeles. Among her favorite roles are Sarah in Beau Jest and Maggie in The Man Who Came to Dinner at the Glendale Centre Theatre, Diana in Ring Around the Moon, (Robbie Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress) and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Colony Studio Theatre Playhouse, Kitty in Charlie's Aunt at the West Coast Ensemble, Sorel in Hay Fever at Theatre Palisades and Fay in The Boy Friend at the La Mirada Civic Center.

Mrs. Marshall is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts West and the Joe Blasco School of Makeup.

She has appeared in several of Mr. Loverde's stage productions including Mergers and Acquisitions and Beauty, Brains, and Personality.

If Mrs. Keller could be any animal, she would be a flying squirrel. Until that dream materializes, she is actively pursuing her Divine Mission of global domination beginning with West LA, where she resides with her husband and their enlightened mutt, Jethroe.

She is a transplant from Florida, where she enjoyed humidity, thunderstorms, interstates (not freeways) and roaches that fly. A theatre graduate from the University of Florida.

She has an extensive theatre and television résumé, neither of which are as interesting as her ability to suck the cream out of a twinkie using only a straw, which brings her much adoration and free drinks at watering holes nationwide. When she's not hanging out with the fabulous members of the WomenAct Theater Company, she most likely is performing improv at Second City, auditioning, and learning how to make the perfect roux.

Ms. Otto is a veteran of the music and recording industries. Past posts include a vice presidency at Virgin Records America. She is currently an executive at Warner Brothers Records.

She is also an accomplished actress and singer and has appeared in several of Mr. Loverde's stage and screen productions including Uneasy Overture, Till You Get To Baraboo, and The Maginot Line.

Santa's Letters is her first foray into film production.

E. Charles is a highly successful inventor of alternatives to static cling (he favors hot glue or, in a pinch, spit to keep one's clothes stuck together).

He is a firm believer that "the disco look" is on its way back in, as evidenced by his photo at right.

He believes that his heartfelt portrayal of "The Nice Lady's Son" in Santa's Letters is by far the most important moment in the film.