Meet the Players: Cosmic Hostel
Written and Directed by Sally Oberstein
This colorful comedy tells a story of flames, gallivanting, and discoveries as Barb and her suave assistant-manager son run a remote Alaskan hostel with a sassy prankster handywoman-masseuse. Their guests include a smorgasbord of wayward globetrotting characters thrown together under unusual circumstances, leading to unexpected and amusing outcomes.
Cosmic Hostel played in 2022 at Pier One, but sadly the run was cut short due to COVID. We are delighted to welcome back many of the original cast this summer as they reprise their roles They are joined by other wonderful Homer performers. It’s time to meet the cast and crew!
Performances are May 26, 27, 28 @ 7:30 PM, May 28 @ 3:00 PM*
and June 1, 2, 3 @ 7:30 PM at Pier One Theatre on the Spit
Tickets are available at the Pier One Theatre Office; open Monday - Friday, 11:00AM - 5:00PM
332 E. Pioneer Ave. Suite #3 (above the Homer Bookstore) 907-226-2287 or MAKE A RESERVATION
$20 Adults, $10 Youth - family discount available
*masks required at the May 28, 3:00 PM Matinee
Christine Kulcheski (Barb) earns a living as a hospital nurse while juggling parenting, theater, singing sea shanties, creating various forms of art, and traveling the world. She “lettered” in theater acting in high school, studied art in college, then attended Vancouver Film School where she tried her hand at writing and directing. An adventurer at heart, she ended up in Alaska guiding and working as a deckhand. She would love to travel for half the year someday, like Barb. That said, Chris still sleeps with a blankie.
Ethan Martin (Marco) manages a peony farm on Diamond Ridge in Homer. His acting career began on the Mariner Theatre stage in high school and he’s since realized how you can create any experience you want through the magic of theater. Ethan can keep a beat as a band member but don’t let him take off his shoes and expose his two left feet. He’s a world traveler and dreams of finding the hole at the bottom of the ocean someday.
Cristen San Roman (Bonnie) formerly Head Filleter at Coal Point Trading, is now the Sushi Gal at our local box store. She’s a long-time theater goer and actor, grateful for the sense of community it brings. Cristen can get pretty dancey when there’s a live band playing, and she totally rocks at playing Xbox rock band. She spent the better part of a year in the Caribbean around fish and never fished. It wasn't until returning to her Alaskan roots that she became the amazing filleter and graceful salmon carver that she is today.
Brian Duffy (Graham – 1st weekend) works in community mental health in Homer and comes from a background of theater in Chicago with years behind him of acting, dance, singing, and improv. Brian is a philosopher, a writer, and dreamer who’s able to drink volumes of coffee throughout the day and still get to sleep at night. He has played the good, bad, and ugly onstage, is passionate about dancing, and does a remarkable impression of Chuck Berry right down the splits.
Rudy Multz (Graham - 2nd weekend) is no stranger to the stage. Though he dropped out of music lessons and was last chair during his music education, he’s tenured as the front man for a successful Homer band. He manages a children’s program our local behavior health facility and has a special talent for empathy. The Cosmic Hostel cast is especially appreciative of his knack for accommodating quirky behavior. Rudy is a sailor and world traveler with a list of places in the world he’s yet to explore with his family.
Leeann Serio (Ashley) is a theater junkie who works fulltime as paperwork expert for mental health services on the side. She once did a solo road trip around the western US and is an experienced Burning Man attendee. Leeann has not only been a guest at various hostels across the country, but she has also worked at as a host/caretaker of a hostel for a year! She is pretty terrible at telling jokes but makes up for it in ballroom dancing.
Ireland Styvar (Cassie) is a high school student who at age seven, was late to a Homer Jubilee performance because she stopped to help rescue a distressed baby seal (in her tutu and sparkles). She is one heck of a DJ as she can go from Adele to Celtic Woman to Hamilton then over to Abba within 10 minutes of her playlist. Ireland says she has some theater puns, but her cast members say they're a bad play on words. But seriously, Ireland is a stunning dancer, lovely actress, and above all, a great team player in all her theater productions.
Jenni Medley (Anna) is practical. She is an elementary school reading and math interventionist by day but because of theater, she has come to believe that magic is real. It is that magic that makes her excel in finding missing objects (one of her hidden talents). She has trouble keeping her hobbies in check and is holding her breath until the day she can witness the giant fruit bat migration in Zambia
Reece Cowan (Luke) is a marine electronics technician who’s been involved in theater for three years and is so enamored by it, he thinks about moving to try his hand in the California footlights. His talents beyond theater include improvising a kick-butt song on the spot. Where most of us find pencils and food scraps under our couch cushions, Reece finds memes he’s hidden from himself to find later as a surprise.
Dayus Geysbeek (Trevor) is a serious but funny full-time actor and high school student who has been performing on local stages since kindergarten. He has a special relationship with bad puns that causes listeners to groan but he’s improving and makes up for it with his praiseworthy singing, dancing, and acting skills. His favorite role was that of Jack in the recent production of Newsies. Dayus once swashbuckled his way to the edge of a tall cliff over the ocean, and jumped in. You know actors … drama!
Linda Ellsworth (Charlotte) is a retired barista having opened Homer’s first ever coffee shop, and before that a firefighter and fire department lieutenant of rescue. She currently splits her work schedule between one of Homer’s fisheries and Pier One Theatre. She has worn the hats of wife, mother, grandmother, concession manager, actress, director, and theater tech. Groups fight to include her in events as she’s a magnanimous volunteer and a baker extraordinaire who shows up with healthy home-baked sweet mouth-watering treats.
Dick Dunn (Oliver) is a retired boat captain and boat builder who stepped sideways into the world of theater late in life giving playwrights cause to create comedy roles like Captain Hook and the Evil Five for him in local musical productions. Dick’s explorer spirit took him from the comfort of his family home to Alaska 48 hours after he graduated high school. His lust for adventure still holds water as his bucket list includes floating the Grand Canyon.
Corey Geysbeek (Officer Stu) or as he prefers, Sir Corey Geysbeek, is a painter, but not the cool kind. He’s also a talented actor and drummer. He’s been a strong supporter of his kids participating in theater performances and for him, theater originally meant having nights and weekends to himself. Since being dragged in by both feet, it now means giving up nights and weekends to himself and instead appreciating a remarkable connection with a great group of Homer hams. A ham himself, we applaud him (and his wife Hope) for sharing his/their family with us.
Michael McKinney (George McCowan) is retired from playing rock and roll, performing in American Civil War reenactments, and from working at RAVN Alaska. His current life revolves around his family and theater. He co-writes musical comedy for local productions in Homer and entertains on and off stage. He’s adept at speaking in foreign accents, and does a wacky imitation of fast-talking DJ Larry Lujack, King of the Corn Belt. He insists he is very dull. That’s so funny!
Pier One Theatre veteran Peter Charles Norton (Jonathan McCowan) is retired from delivering your mail however his true calling has always been theater. His greatest adventure offstage has been raising his three kids, all of whom have performed with him at one time or another. You’d want Peter on your trivia team (if the questions didn’t go beyond the 1970s) and you’d be lucky to share breakfast with him as he makes a mean oatmeal with garbanzos and green salsa.
Javin Schroeder (Nurse Cummings & Backpacker) Began her acting career began with elementary school vaudeville and a solo as Athena in Jason and the Argonauts in 5th grade. As a child, her Javin Cheetah was an entertainment highlight for her family. Now she is a cross-country skier extraordinaire working on her CNA license. She secretly excels at making awkward faces and communicates with her dog Ruby in a language most of us wouldn’t understand.
Sally Oberstein (Playwright & Director) is playwright, director, producer, artist, and worldwide tour operator. She got her first whiff of stage makeup at age five and believes theater bonding is stronger than gorilla glue. She is an adventurer and has floated the Amazon River Basin on a log raft. She has slept in mixed dorm hostels across all seven continents and can effortlessly switch to left-hand drive in countries that require it.
Elizabeth Hanson (Stage Manager) is a retired school psychologist and recently moved to Homer. She has worked in theater every season since 2000 as an actor, house manager, stage manager, director, set designer, properties, board member, floor sweeper, stamp-licker between her previous digs at Valley Performing Arts in the Mat-Su and Homer. Elizabeth loves painting walls red, reading to grandkids and knitting hats, socks, and mittens.
