Actor Biographies
Annette: Natalie Beltrami: Natalie was born in Washington, D.C., where she began her theatre career on her back porch at the age of eight. When her family moved to Michigan, she studied and performed at Will-o-way Theater in Bloomfield Hills. She performed in college theater productions at Mills College and University of California at Berkeley.
She moved to Oregon and became involved with the Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego. She was given the OTAS award for her performance as Evdokia in “Romanoff and Juliet.” She also received critical acclaim for her performances of Agnes Gooch in “Auntie Mame,” and, Florence, one of the two leads in the female version of “The Odd Couple.”
When Natalie moved to Florida, she didn’t leave her zest for theater behind, however, she took some time out when she joined the hot air balloon circuit and then the barbecue contest circuit. She returned to theater as Annette in Limelight Theater’s 2000 production of Lorraine Portman’s “Sophie’s Wedding” and as Mama in Jack McGrath’s “House Rules”. She also worked as a production assistant and an extra on the Hallmark Hall of Fame production, shot in Saint Augustine, of “Flamingo Rising.” She reprises her role as Annette in Lorraine Portman’s film, “Saving Sophie.”
Natalie is also a storyteller and member of the Tale Tellers of St. Augustine guild. She is an award-winning writer and artist. She also is a member of the Comedy Mask Theater of St. Augustine, which performs Commedia dell’ Arte (improvisational comedy street theater).
Pamela and Margaret
Velda: Margaret Kaler: Margaret was also Velda in the first stage production of “Sophie’s Wedding”. She has a great interest in new scripts, and has worked on several including Ian Mairs’ play “Parts Unknown”, Kat Candler’s film “Cicadas”, Tiger Paw Productions’ film “In the Shadows”, and Lorraine Portman’s third short, “Falling for Andy”. She works frequently at St. Augustine’s Limelight Theater as actor or stage manager. Her roles have included Lillian in “I Hate Hamlet”, and Dr. Van Zandt in “The Passion of Dracula”. She also does solo performances as Susan B. Anthony and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and is a core member of Commedia Dell’ Arte of St. Augustine. Margaret is currently Mother Superior in Pendulum Productions touring company of “Nunsense”.
Estelle: Julie Moss: Julie has been acting since she was four when she was the caboose on Captain Kangaroo’s short train at the Robin Hood Dell in Philly. Although acting is in her blood, she currently pays her bills as a D.J. on ‘WTNT Country’ in Tallahassee. Special talents include singing the standards, annoying her children and adopting stray cats and dogs. Her 21 year old is convinced she’ll end up with 110 cats in a studio apartment somewhere. She should be so lucky!
Marion: Pamela Shook: Pamela has decades of professional theatre experience as an actor, puppeteer, director, and award-winning playwright. She is the founding director of Blue Moon Puppets, now a Charlotte, NC based company combining children’s theatre and puppet plays for adults. Her one woman show “Dr. Quack” has been performed at PS 122 in NY, and she performed in “Box of Night” at the Henson International Festival at the Public Theatre. In 2000, she was one of three playwrights to receive a Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Fellowship.Pamela directed the one act “Sophie’s Wedding” during the Florida Playwright’s Festival during the summer of 2000 at the Limelight Theater, starting her journey with Lorraine and the characters of “Saving Sophie”. This is her film debut.
Sophie: Kate Daniels: is an aspiring actress and theatre professional. She comes to Florida by way of Cincinnati, Ohio where she got her first taste for performing after seeing the Cincinnati Ballet and countless theatre productions. She has been in numerous plays during her time at Flagler College and has also done some directing and design work. Favorite roles at Flagler include Lucky in “Waiting for Godot” at Flagler College as well as Amanda Wingvalley in Christopher Durang’s “Desire Desire Desire”. “Saving Sophie” is her first film experience.
Morley: Gerard Curti: Jerry trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. “Saving Sophie” is his first film appearance. Jerry has been acting and directing in theatre for 30 years. He has worked in New York and Florida and now calls the Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine, Florida, home. He most recently directed the stage version of “Diary of Anne Frank”.
Rhonda: Christa Longo: Christa is 14 years old and has been on stage since she was 5, performing in musicals and other productions. Her most recent stage adventure has been as the lead character in the musical “Dear Edwina”. She has come a long way since entering a scene early to deliver lines and running off stage in tears in Aladdin. “Saving Sophie” is her first movie and she had a great time doing it. She was 13 during principal photography. “Rhonda was my favorite character to play because I could never go too big. Some days I would go home with a sore throat from really letting Rhonda loose,” reports Christa. Acting is but one passion, the other is softball and she currently plays in the position of catcher.
Marty (“The Dog Guy”): Guido Roncallo: Guido is a native Floridian, born and raised in Miami. He entered military service in 1968 and spent his “war years” in North Dakota, Illinois, Florida and Alabama. Along the way, he received an engineering degree from the University of Florida. Moving to Cocoa Beach, Florida in 1984, he settled into the dull roar of life until meeting an actor who suggested that he and his wife give acting a try. Uh-oh. They were both bitten in 1998, and have enjoyed both the art and the people immensely.