Meet the devising ensemble of The Oil Project. These artists have spent the past several months researching, creating, and rehearsing The Oil Project, which premiere’s August 13 & 14.
The Company:
Cole Bartels
Cole is currently in his junior year at Concordia College studying Trombone Performance. He performs as Principle Trombone of the Concordia Orchestra. Cole also performs in many other ensembles and as a solo artist. This is his first project with Theatre B. He has lived in Moorhead nearly his whole life where he has seen countless trains pass by carrying oil.
Matthew Collie
Matthew is working on his third collaboration with Theatre B, having previously been Anton Schindler in 33 Variations and Dr. Jason Posner in Wit. He was also Basil Bennett in FMCT’s The Diviners. Matthew grew up listening to the soothing rhythm of rail trains and whistles in southern Minnesota – now a center for silica sand mining. A recent(-ish) transplant to the prairie, Matthew enjoys again living in a rail town and watching the trains. Rail sends sand west; rail brings oil east. Matthew works for CoreLink Administrative Solutions in Fargo.
Brad Delzer*
Brad is an Ensemble Member and the Program Coordinator of Theatre B, where he’s directed 33 Variations, The Pillowman, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among many others. He is a life-long resident of the tall grass prairie. The family farm he grew up on is just outside of the southeast edge of the Bakken Formation. If you climb the hill two miles from the farm, you can see the gas flares at night.
Matthew Dryburgh
Matthew is a sophomore at NDSU and is pursuing his B.F.A. in theatre performance. This is his first project with Theatre B. He has moved around a lot but has always lived on the prairies of North Dakota. He spent many days in his childhood out in the Bakken on his uncle’s ranch and has witnessed the entire state of North Dakota’s reaction to the Boom.
Colin Holter
Colin is a musician whose activity includes instrumental and vocal composition, improvisation, and music for theatre. His music was featured in Theatre B’s productions of 33 Variations, Wit, and Gruesome Playground Injuries as well as muss es sein at the Fargo Public Library. He was born in in Frederick, Maryland but has lived in Moorhead – squarely in the oil trains’ blast zone – since 2012.
Mia Miller
Mia is going to be a freshman at Emerson College this coming fall, where she will be pursuing a BFA in acting. Past Theatre B credits include Metamorphoses, Big Love, and 33 Variations. Mia was born in the Midwestern gem that is Minot, ND, and dearly misses the ability to take a weekly trip to the local Big Boy.
Jay Nelson
Jay is a commercial realtor at Archer Real Estate Services and a relative newcomer to performing. Recent roles include Beethoven in Theatre B’s 33 Variations and Rick “The Nerd” Stedman in The Nerd. Jay is married to Kristi and they have lived in Fargo in a “Potential Impact Zone in Case of Oil Train Fire” for 30 years.
Chelsea Pace
Chelsea is the Assistant Professor of Movement at NDSU. She specializes in devised work and large scale installation. While this is her first official Theatre B production, she was one of the creators of muss es sein, a collaboration with Colin Holter, Jess Narum, and WinterArts, and she led the Theatre B devising intensive in June. She moved to North Dakota from Arizona a year ago, but she lived in upstate New York when the tap water was flammable.
Pam Strait*
Pam Strait is a member of the Theatre B ensemble, recently appearing in Vanya and Sonja and Masha and Spike, 33 Variations, and Clybourne Park and directing Vino Veritas, Next Fall and Gruesome Playground Injuries. Working at the library, Pam sees the local impact of the Bakken boom through the eyes of those seeking leads on jobs and housing in Williston, and helping them find access to social services here when they can’t afford to get there.
Stage Manager: Blaine Edwards*
Production Manager: Shea Hittman*
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