Angela Jo Strohm (Gless Dresden)
Angela Jo Strohm, after taking a long break from acting, has found a renewed love and passion for theatre and film. In the past year, she has produced 2 original plays, been a student at The Victory Gardens Theatre, and had the wonderful opportunity to work with Vincent Truman, Ricky March and Melissa Malan on "Today Is Stupid". Her experience on "Gless" has been the most challenging and rewarding experience to date. She is thankful everyday for the love and support of her friends and family and she carries her mother's spirit and love in her heart.
 Melissa Malan (Bless)
Melissa has spent the last five years working in Chicago as both an
actor and director in film and theater. "Gless" is the second Herbivore
Productions film Melissa has been involved with and she looks forward to
many more. She continues to study acting with the Victory Gardens
Training Center and The Acting Center Chicago and will begin splitting
her time between Chicago and Los Angeles in October 2010..
 Julie Schlesinger (Julianne Dresden)
Julie has been acting on stage and off in Green Bay, WI (her hometown) and in Chicago for the past 17 years. She has studied extensively at Victory Gardens Theatre and has been a part of the casts of "Love Letters", "The Laramie Project", and "War In Pieces". "Gless" is Julie's first foray into film and what a film it is! Nothing like jumping in with both feet! Julie especially thanks her husband, Chas, for letting her practice all her evilness on him during the filming of "Gless".
 Jaimelyn Gray (Angel)Jaimelyn Gray has called Chicago home for just over two years now, having spent most of her years in the vast Wisconsin wilderness. Primarily a stage actress, her most recent theatrical success came as the Bride's Sister in TUTA Theatre Chicago's production of Bertolt Brecht's "The Wedding". The production has since received a Jeff Equity Award nomination for Best Ensemble. Other favorite past roles incled The Cow in "Marie's Field" (TUTA), Shelly in "Buried Child" (Little Sandwich Theatre), and Helen McCormick in "The Cripple of Inishmaan" (UWO). As for the big screen, "Gless" marks Jaimelyn's Chicago debut and she is thrilled to be in on the action. She would like to thank Rick for giving her the opportunity to scream and mope about a lot. She would like to extend further thanks to her cast mates for putting up with her and her husband Leszek who has absolutely nothing to do with the film.
Most of all, Jaimelyn hopes "Gless" receives worldwide attention and makes her a face mothers can love.
P.S.: Jaimelyn is pronounced JAY-muh-lin.
 Barbara Zahora (Patricia Manning, LCSW)
Barbara Zahora has been performing on Chicago stages for the past ten years, such as Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and, most recently, ShawChicago. She's also an adjunct instructor in the Theatre Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, a freelance acting and dialect coach, and the new Associate Artistic Director for the Shakespeare Project of Chicago. She'd like to thank Rick and the entire Herbivore family for a wonderful experience.
 Joseph Bowen (Andrew Dresden) Joseph's Chicago acting credits include "Leaving Iowa" at the
Royal George Theatre, "Sunday At The Park With George" at Ravinia, and many
productions with ShawChicago where he is a company member. His regional
theatre credits include "Richard II" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" at PlayMakers
Repertory Co., "The Crucible", "She Stoops to Conquer", "Amadeus", and "The
Importance of Being Earnest" at New Harmony Theatre, "Great Expectations" at
Mill Mountain Theatre and "A Christmas Carol" at Meadow Brook Theatre. His film
and television credits include "Conversations With a Serial Killer" for TwoFour
Broadcast in London, "Ten" for Project Greenlight, "The White Handkerchief", "The Age of Fiction", and "Nenu".
 Jenni Schenk (Make Up Artist)
Jenni went to the University of Wisconsin, Paltteville and graduated in 2006 with Bachelor's degrees in psychology and graphic design. She later attended the Aveda Institute for Beauty and Wellness in Milwaukee and finished in 2009 with certificates in aesthetics and make up. Jenni plans on attending a special effects make up school in the near future but, in the meantime, will continue to work in the Wisconsin / Illinois area on whatever films come her way (most of which are found on Craigslist.) Jenni's love of horror movies and fascination with gore developed early in her childhood and she has thus since then adopted the mantra "The bloodier, the better." Jenni's involvement with "Gless" went far beyond that of just a make up artist as she also worked as one of the film's cinematographers in addition to being a boom mic operator, lighting technician, set designer, art director, photographer, and, most importantly, giant potted plant notifier.
 Tony Colon (Production Manager)Tony is a Communications, Media, and Theatre major at Northeastern Illinois University. He will be graduating at the end of the fall 2010 semester, yet still remains unsure of his career trajectory. This past spring, Tony performed in the NEIU Children's Theatre Workshop's production of "Totally Red". Over the summer, Tony juggled between the "Gless" production schedule and stage management duties for the NEIU Stage Center Theatre's production of "My Sister Eileen". An avid reader of funny books and graphic novels, Tony hopes to operate a comic book store if his Hollywood dreams do not succeed. If all else fails, Tony, much like the X-Man Wolverine's origins, intends to become a rabid recluse in the Canadian wilderness, consumed by his own base, berserker rage. Just in case, Tony would like to express his apologies in advance to the Herbivores.
 Brenda Arsenault (Production Assistant / Equipment Manager)"Gless" is the second film Brenda has worked on with her husband Rick for Herbivore Productions and she is extremely grateful that absolutely no filming occurred in her apartment (there are still blood stains on her bedroom walls from "A Loving Memory".) Brenda is currently a student at Loyola University where she will be graduating this December with a Master's degree in social psychology, a degree she will be using to her advantage every time she and her husband engage in an argument. When asked what kind of movie she wishes her husband would direct next, she replied, "A romantic comedy about me." Unfortunately, this will not happen. Brenda is the proud owner of two fluffy pet rabbits (Norah Fangora and ohGr) and is also a published photographer in Scandinavia.
 Rick Gawel (Writer / Director)When not playing skeeball or managing his fantasy football team(s), Rick enjoys spending time with his wife Brenda and trying to convince her that "The Human Centipede" would be a quality rental from Blockbuster. To Rick, the most gratifying part of the entire "Gless" experience was having the power to name one of the films' characters after his favorite non-Indianapolis Colts football player Marshawn Lynch (a.k.a. Beast Mode.) He would like to thank the entire cast and crew of "Gless" for all of their hard work, patience, and cooperation. It can truly be said that, without them, this film would not have been possible.
 In addition to the cast and crew above, there are so many other people to thank for their contributions to "Gless". Thank you to Mr. Krist Neumann, our special effects make up artist, who's brilliance and diligence helped to transform the character of Gless into the severely disfigured woman we see in the movie's second act. Thank you to Mike Shimon who acted as one of the film's cinematographers as well as lighting technicians and set designers. Thank you to Elliot Taggart who composed and performed the film's closing score, an incredibly powerful piece of music that served as a nice punch in the gut before everything faded to black. Thank yous and hugs to our key grip Marvin Schaefer, financial advisor Dan Swartz, technical advisors Ted Weiner Jr. and Napalm Eberlein, production assistant PA Alex Graves, location managers Terri Miller and Nate Lyon (who were brave enough to allow us into their homes!), and, for their support in a variety of ways, Susan Anderson, Diane Morgan, Chris Tyre, Tony Zupancic, Vincent Carbone, Jennifer Midori Vance, and Susan & Stephen Hauer.
And, last but not least, THANK YOU for supporting Herbivore Productions!! We hope to continue to bring fine, quality films (probably short, if we're lucky, full length) to you in our on going effort to make the world a better place.
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