Bread and Wine Theatre Co.
Presenting The Time of My Life, Written by Owen Brown with Michael Cox & Directed by Hannah Baartman
Hannah Baartman: Director
Hannah (Geisz) Baartman was shocked and honored to be asked to direct this timely and timeless story. During the day she serves as the Education Coordinator of the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, directing and teaching educational Shakespeare programs. As a performer, she has received a St. Louis Theatre Circle award and has worked with the Festival, The Muny, Metro Theatre Company, SATE, and other STL theaters. Fond thanks to Owen for his good-faith, to the production team and cast for their trust and patience, and to Peter Baartman for his Christ-like care and wisdom during this season of growth. Ephesians 6:1-4
Owen is a late bloomer in the theater world. With no formal training, Owen's passion grew out of a fascination with Thornton Wilder and a desire to bring more beautiful Christian art similar to the style of Wilder's into Christ's earth. He has produced and directed staged readings of Measure for Measure in 2019 (in his grandparents' backyard), Pullman Car Hiawatha in 2020 (via Zoom), and Cement Hands in 2023 (in his dad's living room). His major production credit as co-producer of The Time of My Life in 2024. In addition to writing and producing plays, Owen also enjoys VBS curriculum for children.
Owen Brown: Producer; Writer; Stage Manager
Our Cast
Nicholas Urbanowicz: Chris
Nick is so excited to have his very first lead in The Time of My Life! His past acting credits include Mulligan Stew at Webster Groves, Violet at Over Due Theatre Company, as well as Midsummer Jersey, Xanadu, These Shining Lives, Almost Maine, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Hancock Place High. Nick loves that acting creates a unique way for us to be anything we want. He enjoys delving into characters to learn about and become who the character is and then show that to an audience. Even as a young boy, Nick was looking at the character development of actors on the big screen telling his dad that he was gonna be up there too. Being an actor has been his dream ever since. The stage is Nick’s canvas and he is the paint.
Yulia Mashburn: Actress
Yulia (Julia) is a versatile actress, director, and producer who relocated to the United States from Ukraine in 2023 following the full-scale invasion of her homeland. A graduate of Kyiv University with a B.A. in Theater Directing, she brings over a decade of professional theater experience to her craft. Together with a team they created groundbreaking immersive productions where audiences became active participants in the story, interacting with the actors and even influencing the plot. As an actress, director, stage manager, and producer, Julia wore many hats to bring these productions to life. Since moving to the U.S., she has continued her creative journey through Murder Mystery games, where she wrote original scripts and acted as a game host, as an actress at Mad Scientist, and now in the ToML, her first full production in America.
Travis is a native St. Louis actor and singer. Travis has a B. A. in Theater from Graceland University. He has been doing community theater for decades including Trekkie Monster (Avenue Q, Meramec Theater), Man in Chair (Drowsy Chaperone, Act Two Theater) and Scuttle (The Little Mermaid, Family Musical Theater). Travis does song and skit performances on his YouTube Channel, Rudrose Entertainment. He is very grateful for the opportunity to perform, The Time of My Life! Enjoy the show!
Brian Stith: Ben
Brian Stith is excited to be joining the cast for his first real play! Prior to The Time of My Life, Brian enjoyed participating in the Shakespeare Studio for two summers, and was one of the three little pigs in the Fairytale Network. Outside of acting, Brian has many interests that include chess, origami, games of all kinds - especially reading the rules - swimming, piano and trumpet, reading Shakespeare, and fencing. Brian loves being homeschooled and living in St. Louis with his parents, older sister, and twin brother.
Travis Pfeifer: Actor
Nicholas Urbanowicz: Chris
Nick is so excited to have his very first lead in The Time of My Life! His past acting credits include Mulligan Stew at Webster Groves, Violet at Over Due Theatre Company, as well as Midsummer Jersey, Xanadu, These Shining Lives, Almost Maine, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Hancock Place High. Nick loves that acting creates a unique way for us to be anything we want. He enjoys delving into characters to learn about and become who the character is and then show that to an audience. Even as a young boy, Nick was looking at the character development of actors on the big screen telling his dad that he was gonna be up there too. Being an actor has been his dream ever since. The stage is Nick’s canvas and he is the paint.
Yulia Mashburn: Actress
Yulia (Julia) is a versatile actress, director, and producer who relocated to the United States from Ukraine in 2023 following the full-scale invasion of her homeland. A graduate of Kyiv University with a B.A. in Theater Directing, she brings over a decade of professional theater experience to her craft. For ten years, she worked in immersive theater. Together with a team they had been creating groundbreaking productions where audiences became active participants in the story, interacting with the actors and even influencing the plot. As an actress, director, stage manager, and producer, Julia wore many hats to bring these productions to life. Since moving to the U.S., she has continued her creative journey through Murder Mystery games, where she wrote original scripts and acted as a game host, as an actress at Mad Scientist, and now in the ToML, her first full production since coming to America.
Travis Pfeifer: Actor
Travis is a native St. Louis actor and singer. Travis has a B. A. in Theater from Graceland University. He has been doing community theater for decades including Trekkie Monster (Avenue Q, Meramec Theater), Man in Chair (Drowsy Chaperone, Act Two Theater) and Scuttle (The Little Mermaid, Family Musical Theater). Travis does song and skit performances on his YouTube Channel, Rudrose Entertainment. He is very grateful for the opportunity to perform, The Time of My Life! Enjoy the show!
Brian Stith: Ben
Brian Stith is excited to be joining the cast for his first real play! Prior to The Time of My Life, Brian enjoyed participating in the Shakespeare Studio for two summers, and was one of the three little pigs in the Fairytale Network. Outside of acting, Brian has many interests that include chess, origami, games of all kinds - especially reading the rules - swimming, piano and trumpet, reading Shakespeare, and fencing. Brian loves being homeschooled and living in St. Louis with his parents, older sister, and twin brother.
Our Crew
Hannah Baartman: Director
Hannah (Geisz) Baartman was shocked and honored to be asked to direct this timely and timeless story. During the day she serves as the Education Coordinator of the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, directing and teaching educational Shakespeare programs. As a performer, she has received a St. Louis Theatre Circle award and has worked with the Festival, The Muny, Metro Theatre Company, SATE, and other STL theaters. Fond thanks to Owen for his good-faith, to the production team and cast for their trust and patience, and to Peter Baartman for his Christ-like care and wisdom during this season of growth. Ephesians 6:1-4
Owen Brown: Producer/Writer/Co-Stage Manager
Owen is a late bloomer in the theater world. With no formal training, Owen's passion grew out of a fascination with Thornton Wilder and a desire to bring more beautiful Christian art similar to the style of Wilder's into Christ's earth. He has produced and directed staged readings of Measure for Measure in 2019 (in his grandparents' backyard), Pullman Car Hiawatha in 2020 (via Zoom), and Cement Hands in 2023 (in his dad's living room). His major production credit as co-producer of The Time of My Life in 2024. In addition to writing and producing plays, Owen also enjoys writing biblical stories and curriculum for children and is currently in the process of writing his own Vacation Bible School curriculum. He has a B. A. in Christian Studies from CBU and his M. A. in Biblical Studies from Covenant Seminary.
Our Crew
Gabe Maupin: Sound Technician, Assistant Stage Manager
Lexie Johnson: Costumes
Rusty Wandall: Sound Designer
Luke Steffen: Light Designer & Technician
Michael Cox is an actor and playwright based in St. Louis and helped co-write the original first version and helped stage the first production of The Time of My Life in July 2024. He has written other works and hopes to get them on a stage in the near future. He hopes wherever this show is taken, it's taken down the right path.
Michael Cox: Co-Writer
A Special Thanks
I would like to express my incredible gratitude to Southgate Church. This production only happened because Pastor Scott Joggerst so graciously invited us in so that we could tell this story. Without Pastor Scott believing in this story and its need to be told, it would have never come to you in this way. Southgate has been generous from beginning to end and supportive to us in countless ways. If it weren't for Southgate, I imagine I likely would not have had the opportunity to do this production on this scale and as such, I might not be starting Bread and Wine Theatre Company right now. But even more than this, I am thankful for Southgate because of Michael Cox, the Southgate congregant without whom I could have never written this play. It was Michael who believed in me enough to work tirelessly with me on finishing our getting a draft of the script written and produced back in July 2024. God used Michael's friendship and the creative work we did to launch me into the theatre world. Now, as I continue to rework this play without Michael and as he was not a part of this production, I want to specifically express my thanks to him. Any success I have in the future is in no small part indebted to you, the friend who helped me tell my story and learn my craft. Thank you.
- Owen Brown: Producer, Writer, and Stage Manager of The Time of My Life