Hugo Armstrong (Quasimodo)

Hugo Armstrong’s extensive stage career includes productions at Rogue Machine, Pasadena Playhouse, Theatre of NOTE, UCLAive, REDCAT, Echo, Ghost Road, Critical Mass, The Ahmanson, Sacred Fools, The Geffen, The Kitchen, Quantum, The Kirk Douglas, Kennedy Center and many more. His film credits include Coherence, LUCKY, The Only One, 8 Confessions, ‘OK GOOD’, and ‘Excursions’ (writer/producer), DRIB and academy award nominated ‘Jane Austin’s Period Drama’. Upcoming television includes Monster and Frisco King. He is a CalArts grad.

Andy Hopper (Beethoven)

Andy Hopper is a CalArts graduate whose work spans theater, film, and television. His Los Angeles stage credits include Picnic at A Noise Within and Girl on a Bed with Padua Playwrights. On screen, he has appeared in CSI: NY, Silent Night, Zombie Night, Political Disasters, Before Turning the Gun, and Carrots for Hare, directed by Academy Award winner Waleed Moursi. As a writer, his original works include the acclaimed Dateline: Macbeth and Radio Deluxembourg, which premiered in New York before running at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He also co-wrote Licorice Stick with Emmy-nominated Cosmo Segurson. Andy is thrilled to return to LA for this special staged reading of The Hunchback Variations.

Mickle Maher (Playwright)

Mickle Maher is an award-winning Chicago playwright who has been hailed as "one of the most original voices in American theater today." A co-founder of the experimental ensemble Theater Oobleck, his plays have been produced at theaters throughout the United States and internationally. His works—including The Hunchback Variations, The Strangerer, There Is a Happiness That Morning Is, It is Magic, and Song About Himself—are celebrated for their inventive forms, intellectual wit, and emotional depth. Maher has taught playwriting at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, and the University of Houston.

GZ Rebecca Gessert (Producer and Director)

GZ Rebecca Gessert is a CalArts graduate whose work spans directing, costume design, wardrobe supervision, and economics education. Professionally, she has worked with Disney Live Entertainment, The Kennedy Center, Intiman Theatre, Jacob's Pillow, and international schools in Japan and China. The Hunchback Variations marks her Los Angeles directorial debut.

Clay Morrow (Props Master)

Clay Morrow is an Emmy Award-winning animator, writer, director, and storyboard artist whose career spans nearly three decades in television and feature animation. A CalArts graduate, his credits include Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Camp Lazlo, Chowder, Disney's Emmy Award-winning Mickey Mouse shorts, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, and Netflix's The Cuphead Show!, where he served as Supervising Director. He has also contributed story work to feature films including Shrek 4, Puss in Boots, and How to Train Your Dragon. For The Hunchback Variations, Clay brings his lifelong passion for visual storytelling to the world of live theater as Props Master.

Cosmo Segurson (Poster Artwork)

Cosmo Segurson is a filmmaker, cartoonist, and storyboard artist whose live action and animated projects have appeared across television, streaming, and film festivals nationwide. Recently he served as a showrunner on Netflix's Annie award winning series The Cuphead Show! His original artwork for The Hunchback Variations captures the playful, surreal spirit of Mickle Maher's world.

Steven Carlino (Soundtrack Contribution)

Steven Carlino is an arts administrator, production manager, company manager, and tour manager whose career has taken him around the world with some of today's leading modern and contemporary dance companies, including Paul Taylor Dance Company, Malpaso Dance Company, and Twyla Tharp Dance. He previously worked at The Auditorium in Chicago and currently serves as Production Manager at the Meany Center for the Performing Arts in Seattle. Drawing on his background in sound design, Steven created a sonic landscape for two of the variations by layering, distorting, and juxtaposing a collection of field recordings to evoke the play's mysterious and imaginative world.

Markus Engel (Dialect Consultant)

Markus Engel is an Austrian filmmaker, writer, and director. A graduate of CalArts, he has directed acclaimed productions including the television series SOKO Linz and Letzter Wille, as well as the award-winning short films Nachtschwimmen and Der letzte Gast, which have screened at international film festivals around the world. For The Hunchback Variations, Markus generously provided Austrian German voice recordings to assist in developing the production's dialect.

Jessica Hanna (Special Thanks)

Special thanks to Jessica Hanna for her generosity, encouragement, and support in bringing The Hunchback Variations to The Outside In Theatre. Her commitment to fostering adventurous, independent artists helps create opportunities for new voices and innovative productions to find an audience in Los Angeles.

Mark Johnson (Special Thanks)

Special thanks to Mark Johnson for his generous encouragement and support of this production. A beloved history teacher at the American School in Japan and former nationally recognized Academic Decathlon coach at El Camino Real High School, Mark is known for inspiring generations of students through his passion for history and storytelling. He is also the author of a forthcoming book, Capital of Cool: Los Angeles in the 1960s and the Making of Modern America. 

Additional Special Thanks

Heartfelt thanks to the many friends, artists, collaborators, and generous minds who made themselves available to discuss this play long before rehearsals began. Among many, these include Asitha Ameresekere, Mark Sikes, John Cook, Mary Onions, and Mark Gould. Your conversations, questions, ideas, and support helped shape this production from its earliest stages. Every thoughtful exchange made this journey richer, and your creative generosity is deeply appreciated.

The Outside In Theatre

Located in the heart of Highland Park, The Outside In Theatre is an intimate performance venue dedicated to supporting emerging artists, new work, and creative collaboration. By providing an accessible home for independent theater makers, the venue cultivates bold ideas and innovative storytelling. The production team is grateful for the theater's partnership in presenting the West Coast premiere of The Hunchback Variations.