CAST

Nick Jones stars as Jeff. He studied acting at The New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, performed with numerous theatre companies and has worked on many film projects. Nick has also taught acting classes and workshops for The Academy of Cinema & TV, EVCT, and high schools throughtout Arizona. He lives in Mesa, AZ with his lovely wife.

Anthony Padilla plays Marty, the ever-helpful and enterprising best friend. He is a real-life stand-up comedian who performs regularly at the Tempe Improv and you can catch him performing  just about any night of the week, not to mention at one of a handful of shows he runs at various venues.

Chrissy Gerik stars as Becky, Jeff’s tireless and concerned sister. Her film credits include Hell on the Border directed by Randal Lee Smith, and she starred in director Carol Benwell’s 2007 short film Protection. Recently, she starred in the stage production of On The Jump.

Alexandra Hutterer plays Cassie, Jeff’s wise-beyond-her-years niece. Alexandra has been acting for 3 years and won the AriZoni Award for best actress as “Annie” in 2007. She can be seen every year in Actors Theatre’s A Christmas Carol at the Herberger Theatre. She is currently pursuing a tv/film career in Los Angeles but continues to be part of the Arizona SUG team.

Aaron Seever plays the part of Becky’s boyfriend, Tom, an undercover policeman.  Aaron’s film credits include numerous independent films shot in Arizona, including Red Corvette, Charles, Degraded, Blue Velvet, Survive The Day, and Happy Hour. He has also performed in various stage performances around the valley.  Aaron also has his own filmmaking aspirations.

CREW

Carol Benwell
Writer/Director

Carol is a filmmaker with a diverse background in design, multimedia, writing, and visual arts. She has several editing awards under her belt, including top prize in an MTV-sponsored competition and the Avid “Billy” Award for student editing. Deciding to focus on directing and cinematography two years ago, she has come a long way in a short time. She and her production partner, Alex Delgadillo, recently completed an award-winning short film with their new production company, cineGenius Films.

Alex Delgadillo
Camera/Audio

Alex Delgadillo is an award winning filmmaker and stand up comedian. His films have been awarded top prizes by a local 72 hour film festival, and through an online “King of Cars” contest. He is in the planning stages of to producing feature length narrative films and major network television shows. He is currently studying film production at Tec de Monterrey in Mexico.

Benjie Messer
Music

Composer Benjie Messer has written music for various short films, as well as the feature-length comedy At Best Derivative and the television special A Magical Valley Christmas. He is a full-time composer and arranger at One Light Music Productions, creating custom backing tracks for television, theater, and live performance. Benjie also performs on trombone and tuba around Phoenix, and leads the Bad Cactus Brass Band, a New Orleans second line group.