Born and raised in Paris, France, Boris Wexler moved to the United States when he was 18 and has produced and directed several short films that have screened at juried festivals around the world. In addition of creating Pillow Talks, Boris is also in development for two feature films, Roundabout American, a comedy about a young French man who comes to America and lives a twisted version of the American dream, and Fall Away, a drama about love and intolerance set in Nashville, Tenessee.
 
Prior to filmmaking, Boris created and managed several businesses ranging from a furniture import operation to an Internet software provider, and has been trading on the stock market for several years.

Elaine Tuman, an Army veteran and mother of three, served stateside as well as overseas on several continents. During her military career she worked as a Morse Code Interceptor, Russian linguist, Psychological Operations specialist, Broadcast Journalist and Interrogator. More recently, she worked for the Department of Labor and the Illinois Film Office. She received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago and made several short films, to include, the documentary, “65 Plus,” featured in the Columbia College Student Film and Video Festival.
Elaine has written several screenplays and has published in military and civilian newspapers. Her short story “Volcanoes,” is upcoming in the literary magazine “Kestrel,” and her essay, “Edit and Spin” was included in the recently published Kore Press anthology, “Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks from Vietnam to Iraq.”

Paul Peditto began writing in London in 1978. He traveled and lived throughout Europe and Jerusalem, settling in New York in 1983, where he worked as a horse and carriage driver, and vibrating pillow salesman. Later in Atlantic City he worked as a craps dealer, before settling in Chicago from 1988 to the present.
With 4 plays published, over 25 productions of his work have been performed in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles by igLoo; the Theatrical Group; Prop; Live Bait; L.A. Theatre Works; Ensemble Studio Theater and the Shooting Gallery.
In 1997 he wrote/directed Jane Doe, a Unipicts Films release starring Calista Flockhart. His screenplays have been Semi-Finalists for several prestigious competitions, including the Nicholl Screenwriting Award.

Ken Lubinski concentrates his practice in moderately amusing stories. He has written numerous screenplays and teleplays, none of which have won any awards, all of which have been rejected from most major and minor production companies, agencies, and managers. His most recent screenplay, is a deeply personal story based entirely on true-life events from his college years, and is called Dirtasses. If you have any comments, concerns, or questions about anything contained in this brief but informative bio, Mr. Lubinski can be reached at k.lubinski@sbcglobal.net.

Susan Veronika Adler is delighted to embark on her first web adventure. Mostly known for her theatrical work in and around Chicago, she was last seen as Ma in Torch Song Trilogy (Hubris Productions). Other Chicago theatre credits: My Favorite Year (Bailiwick), House of Bernarda Alba (Circle Theatre), Devil’s Arithmetic (Apple Tree), Sound of Music (Light Opera Works), Six Characters in Search of an Author (Promethean), Happy End (Brown Couch), Wintertime (Reverie), Over the River and Through the Woods (Attic Playhouse & Mercury Theatre), Diary of Anne Frank (Moraine Valley Performing Arts Centre), Do Not Go Gentle (Village Theatre Guild), among others. She can also be seen in the award winning indie film Bloom. She will soon be seen in as Amalia in Pangs of the Messiah at Silk Road Theatre Project. Thanks to Boris and the entire Pillow Talks team for the joyous journey.

Born and raised in Southern and Eastern Africa, Usman arrived in the states 8 years ago from Tanzania. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Florida and has been a Chicago actor for 2 years now. He recently completed work in the David Cromer directed Celebrity Row at American Theatre Company for which he was named one of the top 5 male performers of 2008.
He has worked with Boris Wexler on the short feature The Group, and can be seen around the city working as an actor, teacher and SLAM Poet. Other credits include Steppenwolf Theatre, Lookingglass, Red Orchid, Victory Gardens and Remy Bumppo.
Usman is also an ensemble member with Stage Left Theatre Company. 

Anita's thrilled to be part of Pillow Talks! As an actress she's worked with Next, Lookingglass, Organic, Remy Bumppo, Pegasus, Collaboraction, Stage Left, Silk Road, Live, Center Theatre and Rasaka – for which she was Founding Executive Director and co-producer of the Jeff Citation-winning The Masrayana.  In NYC she worked with Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwright’s Horizons and Open Eye New Stagings.  Most recently, Anita appeared in Rasaka’s Yoni ki Baat, inspired by The Vagina Monologues. Anita is also a writer. Her first full-length play Gandhi Marg won 2nd place in the 75th Annual Writers Digest Stage Play Competition.  Her short play Success and the City was seen with The 24 Hour Project. Her monologue “Helpline” received positive reviews in Rasaka’s January 2009 production of Yoni ki Baat.  Instant Recall will be produced by Rasaka in August 2009.

Mary Ann de la Cruz was last seen in Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of Kafka on the Shore at Steppenwolf Theatre. Other stage credits include Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee, Silk Road Theatre Project, Greasy Joan & Co., American Theater Company, Trap Door Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Prop Thtr and The Goodman Theatre. She has performed in several stage productions and served in community outreach programs as a long time member of Pintig Group.

Carlo Lorenzo Garcia: serves as company manager for Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. and is an artistic associate with Greasy Joan & Co. and Collaboraction. Previous film work includes: HELIX (an indie feature starring opposite Alexa Vega and Austin O'Brien), short films, and industrials/commercials for Converse, Sears, De Paul University, and NBA on TBS.

Jeff is a native to Illinois, raised just South of the Route 80 line in Streator, IL.  With a Big 10 University Engineering Degree and being employed by a Fortune 500 company, he’s working hard to get his acting career to be something he can fall back on...  in case his day job cannot pay the bills in these tough economic times.   Jeff likes to keep his plate full and enjoys hunting for that next juicy film role, just as much as he enjoys being on the project, itself.  You can find more of his work at www.jeffgarretson.com <http://www.jeffgarretson.com>

Ann is excited to be a part of the “Pillow Talks” family as Miranda. She recently finished filming the feature “Hannah Free” with Sharon Gless ( Burn Notice, Nip Tuck, Queer as Folk), playing the role of Rachel. “Hannah” will be released in theatres this summer and has already been given top honors by the Frameline Film Festival, where it will premiere in San Francisco June 28. Ann can also be seen as Dixie in the independent feature, “The Showdown”, released on DVD April of ’09, and as Becky’s Mom in “One Hr. Fantasy Girl”, which played at the ‘08 Toronto Film festival. Some of her favorite stage roles are Catherine Holly in Suddenly Last Summer, Kate in Taming of the Shrew and Nancy in Oliver. She trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and has studied as well at ATC, and with Catherine Head, Rachel Patterson, Micki Paskal, Jennifer Rudnicke, Tim Gregory, and David Petro. When not acting, Ann loves to play flyball with her Border Collie, Eliza, and make out with her husband…but not in that order!!!

As a young man, Charles Harris performed in over fifty stage productions with regional theaters in Texas and Illinois.   A thirty-five year stint as a professor and administrator in Illinois State University's English department interrupted his acting career.  Now retired, he has returned to his first love.  Over the past two years, he has appeared in the short films The Group, directed by Boris Wexler, and Death by Broadcast, directed by Jon Steinhorst, as well as in several central Illinois theatrical productions.  

Ask Kate Henley to tell you something about her that you might not know, and she’s likely to respond in Turkish. The writer and actress with Midwestern roots, who has lived on three continents and speaks several languages, has returned to once again call Chicago her home. After completing a 13th year at a Swiss Boarding school, Kate returned to the States to earn a BA in English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Shortly after, she headed for Los Angeles, then relocated to Istanbul and Cyprus. In 2004 Kate decided to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and writer. After completing the Professional Screenwriting program at UCLA, Kate has written several feature length screenplays and recently published a short story in “They Lived to Tell the Tale”, a collaboration of stories written or narrated by well-known Explorers Club members. Kate has appeared in several commercials, industrials, and short and feature length films. She did red carpet interviews during the Gen Art Film festival, appeared in multiple webisodes, and became the face of an online dating company. She was also featured in both Warner Brother’s Batman sequel The Dark Night and The Unborn.

Howie was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He has performed at Second City Skybox, Trapdoor Theater, EP Theater, Mary-Arrchie Theater, Illinois Theater Center, Pegasus Players, and is an alumni member of The Boxer Rebellion Ensemble. He also toured with Leaving Iowa for almost two years in many theaters around Chicago and throughout the Midwest. He has been in many independent movies around town including The Door, Pyrite, The Site and The Group. He has been seen on the small screen as Lt. Zuelke on E.R. and as Lukasz the super on Prison Break, and he can be seen in The Express with Dennis Quaid coming to DVD soon and The Informant with Matt Damon out this year. He would like to thank Susie for bringing home the bacon and allowing him more then his share.

After graduating from Western Michigan University, Miaken moved to Chicago to pursue her career in acting. She found herself deeply drawn into the "improv scene", and has been seen there ever since! Most recent credits include "Horse!" at Donny's Skybox Theatre, as well as "A Drink Cart Named Desire" and "Mother of a Memoir", which she co-wrote and co-produced. Miaken is also a member of The Senate, a member team at the Playground Theatre. Film credits include "The Zero Point" and "Highlights". She thanks Boris for the hilarious script he put her in, and the whole Pillow Talks production team for being so awesome. And to her mother, who insisted on watching (a mortified) Miaken's first webisode (and then sharing it with her father and grandmother) and for having such a great sense of humor.

Marty's love of acting is well known throughout chicagos acting community. Over the years Marty has acted, produced, and or directed in more than 50 theatrical productions. He has appeared in more than 2700 performances of the Chicago hit comedy Tony &Tina's wedding, he has also worked in film and on TV with such well known actors as Frank Vincent (Sopranos, Raging Bull, Goodfellas), Gordon Jump (WKRP), Kyle Chandler (Early Edition,Friday Night Lights), Vincent Pastore (Sopranos), Daniel Baldwin (Mullholland Falls), Ron Dean (Early Edition), Mike Starr (Uncle Buck, Goodfellas) and academy award nominated actress Tess Harper. Marty has also acted in more than a dozen independent film projects from shorts to features, as well as been casting director, production manager or writer in a dozen more. Most recently, as well as working on Pillow Talks, he has recently finished acting work on two feature films, Devils Dominos, which was just released worldwide on home video and Chicago Overcoat which is due out in theaters early next year.

Raymond Shoemaker is an actor and writer living on the north side of Chicago. His recent stage credits include David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, David Rabe's Streamers, and Wendy McLeod's Sin to name a few. Recent film credits include, in addition to Pillowtalks, the Chicago shot Take A Number and A Little Respect. He is respresented by the Shirley Hamilton talent agency and actorsacess.com.

Whit Spurgeon is a Chicago actor recently transplanted to Los Angeles, where he moved in January to see if he could arrive just in time to enjoy the total lack of work provided by an actor's strike. He's worked with Boris Wexler previously in the short film, "The Group." He's appeared in many Joseph Jefferson Citation-winning Chicago theatre productions and over a dozen TV commercials, and hopes to do more of the same in the future.