Julianne Grossman

From Bonkers to Botox is Julianne Grossman's playwriting debut. After having emerged from a "Great Depression," she set out to educate, entertain, and inspire others who may be dealing with depression. She has appeared in numerous theatrical productions, including Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna's Bermuda Avenue Triangle off-Broadway in the Fall of 1997, following its West Coast premiere at the Tiffany and Canon Theaters. She appeared in a multi-city tour of Godspell, and starred in the one woman show The Year of the Bridesmaid in various venues for three years. After garnering a Drama-logue Award for her work as a founding member of Theater Geo, Julianne starred in Carrying On, a play written for her by theater/film critic and columnist, Bruce Feld. During the past decade, Julianne has established herself as a voice actor, working consistently in commercial, promo, and animation voiceover work. Los Angelinos can currently hear her voice on all California National Bank radio spots, which she also co-writes. Julianne is the owner of Voicetel Productions, which produces English and foreign language audio, including on-hold messaging, voicemail system prompts, interactive voice response systems, and radio commercials. Through her work on From Bonkers to Botox, Julianne hopes to provoke a dialogue about and an awareness of depression, its effects and its treatments. By shedding light on this sensitive topic, she hopes to lessen the shame surrounding depression and encourage others to become better educated about medication, which she feels can be both a blessing and a curse. Julianne is currently at work adapting From Bonkers to Botox to a novel.

Diana S. Stein [Producer]

Diana Stein has spent her career utilizing entertainment for its power as an educational tool. By day, she is a political activist, by night, she is making her debut as a theater producer. She has served as management supervisor at Rogers & Associates, a strategic communications and public relations agency in Los Angeles where she worked on a variety of cause-related and social marketing accounts. She was responsible for entertainment industry activities on behalf of the White House ONDCP's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. She also managed the agency's activities for KCET, the Los Angeles flagship station for PBS.

Previously, Stein was the Director of Communications for Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Steven Spielberg after the filming of Schindler's List to interview Holocaust survivors and witnesses throughout the world. Additionally, Diana was the production coordinator for writer, actor, comedian, Steve Allen.

A native of Los Angeles, she has been a youth director and teacher, creating an annual musical theater workshop for kids. Additionally, she has served on the board of American Women in Radio and Television, where she created its mentor program. She helped found the Sheldon Weisman Cancer Research Fund at the Norris Cancer Center at the University of Southern California.

Diana received her bachelor's degree in Radio, Television and Film production from California State University, Northridge.

Devon M. Schwartz [Director]

relocated to Los Angeles from New York in the summer of 1998 with "Mortal Coil," an award-winning drama he produced here at Stella Adler.  Favorite NYC directing credits are Henry Becque's Woman of Paris for Chain Lightning Theatre, plus the world premieres of:  "Intimacies" for EST's OctoberFest, "Night Travel" at the Trilogy Theatre, "Conjuring the Moose" and "Window Pain" for the Bread & Circuses Festival, and "Enter Attendant Disguised or What You Willy" at both Expanded Arts and Theatre-Studio Inc.

While at Yale University, where he graduated with a Theater Studies and Psychology degree in 1995, Devon directed Ionesco's Rhinoceros and the musical Rags, which gave him his Broadway debut as an actor eight years earlier.  Other acting highlights include King John and Richard II at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, three other New York Shakespeare Festival productions at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre, "The Little Rascals" at the Goodspeed Opera House, and the title role in Johnny Pye & the Foolkiller at the Lambs Theatre.  During this time he worked with such actors as Mandy Patinkin, Joan Cusack and Peter MacNicol, and such directors as Joseph Papp, Stuart Vaughan and David Hare.

Since moving to LA, Devon has directed Who Made Robert DeNiro King of America by Jason Katims, Katherine Snodgrass' Haiku, "The Straight Bozo" by Tim McNeil, Len Jenkin's Pilgrims of the Night, and What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton.  He also just recently wrapped the short film "Work," which he co-directed and adapted from Gordon Pengilly's critically acclaimed The Work Play.

Devon currently serves as senior production coordinator for the Stella Adler Theatre.  Over the last few years he has also found time to produce, direct and edit over a dozen documentary videos, including "The Eternal Now," a life-affirming portrait drawn from interviews with residents at the Actors' Retirement and Nursing Home.  He is honored to be involved with this remarkable production.

Che'Rae Adams [Original Direction]

is the former Co-Artistic Director of the award winning Road Theatre Company, which has produced new plays by Los Angeles playwrights for over a decade. She has developed, directed and produced new work for over fifteen years, and has worked in the TV and Film industry for Showtime Networks, Melba-Jake Productions, Alliance-Atlantis Films & Television, Laser Pacific Media Corporation, and Viacom Productions.