Chris Charais (Max Bishop) Chris has trained extensively with some of the most respected acting coaches in the United States including the Will Wallace Acting Company of Los Angeles, the Rich Remedios in Meisner Technique Training, Bill Cooper, Jr. and Michael Curran-Dorsano. Chris has played the lead role in films including Soul Survivors, Lucked Out and Anathema, among others. After first collaborating with writer/director Jack Beranek on the ensemble short film Daytimers, Chris and Jack reteamed three years later for Max Bishop.
Iris Seifert (Lucy) Iris has been acting for several years and has had supporting and starring roles in shorts, feature films, commercials and promotional content. Iris has shared scenes with Milo Gibson and Abigail Hawk in the feature film Brother’s Keeper from Winter State Entertainment. Additional acting credits include Relativity, Devil’s Night and the TV-movie Badland Wives. As of 2019, Iris says her favorite role has been Lucy in Max Bishop and she can’t wait for the world to meet this character.
THE TEAM
Cast
Katie Troske (Ruby) Katie has enjoyed acting since she was 5 years old and has spent her summers participating in workshops at Children’s Theatre Company, Stages, and Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. She loves storytelling in all forms including photography, videos, and stop motion. In addition to university film productions, voice-over and on-line media work, Katie has had the opportunity to play opposite Rachael Harris and Matthew Glave in the upcoming International Falls, a dark comedy filmed in Minnesota and Los Angeles. Katie was thrilled to be part of Max Bishop and enjoyed the challenge of bringing Ruby’s unique character to life. Outside of acting, Katie loves writing, swimming, horseback riding, and art
Joel Thingvall (Sal) Thingvall is a Midwest based character actor who has performed in more than 100 plays and 100 films in a career spanning five decades. He has had featured roles in Insectula!, American Beast, and Remake, all available on Amazon Prime. In his youth, Joel was an accomplished mime and an original member of the Minnesota Playwrights Lab. When not acting he reads and collects comic books. Joel first worked together writer/director Jack Beranek on the ensemble short film Daytimers. Three years later, they have reunited on Max Bishop.
Don Peterson (Don) Growing up in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, Don enjoyed watching all sorts of movies and worked at the six-theater Movies at Maplewood in high school. Years later, one of the sales consultants he worked with asked him, out of the blue, "Have you ever thought about acting?" Don's answer was "No." With this on his mind, Don started taking classes with the Lex-Ham Community Theater as well as classes at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The training must have done its job as Don started getting cast in one short film after another and things have continued from there. After first working with writer/director Jack Beranek on a proof-of-concept project, the two reunited five years later on Max Bishop.
Timothy Meinke (Principal Warta) Prior to starting his film career, Tim participated in many theater productions and developed an understanding of performance in comedy, musicals and drama. Tim started his film career in 2003 when he played a juror in The Last Word. Since then, Tim has followed his passion for filmmaking with roles in shorts and feature films such as Turtle, Fall Into Me, Demon with the Atomic Brain and Doomed to Consume, the latter of which he has described as his favorite set experience. Tim first worked with writer/director Jack Beranek in 2007-08 on the feature film Health Freaks in a supporting role. Ten years later, Tim was excited to reconnect with Jack on Max Bishop.
Rachel Grubb (Ms. Partridge) Rachel is an actress from the Twin Cities area. She has done several films with Christopher R Mihm such as Cave Women On Mars, Weresquito Nazi Hunter, and Queen of Snakes. Recently, she wrote and starred in Hammered by JL Sosa. She won Best Breakthrough Screenplay for her script Why Am I In A Box? from the New York International Independent Film And Video Festival. She also won Best Supporting Actress in A Short Film from the International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema. Rachel first worked with writer/director Jack Beranek on the feature film Health Freaks in 2007-08.
Douglas Sidney (Mr. Hubert) Douglas is a professional Minneapolis-based actor and spokesperson in film, television, commercial, print, and voice. His experience includes on-camera hosting, spokesperson representation, film and television acting, and print media alongside professional voice ads, audio book narration, and product presentation. His feature and short film work for independent and studio releases include Gateway Films/Vision Video’s Until Forever, Mechanically Separated Cinema’s The Weight of Darkness, Avocado Refrigerator Studios’ Four Boxes, and Rockford Road’s proof of concept pilot for The Domestics. Commercial campaigns represented include Best Buy, Ford, Hersheys, Anytime Fitness, Target Corporation any many more.
Alan Fiene (Sergio) Al has been acting for most of his life. Much of his work is on the stage and includes a national tour of The Fantastiks with Troupe America, a stint with the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, MN, and Summer Stock at Paul Bunyan Playhouse in Bemidji, MN. His film credits include Harry Putter and the Sorcerer’s Phone, Monday Morning, Night on Has Been Mountain and Health Freaks, the latter being his first collaboration with writer/director Jack Beranek.
Bruce Purcell (The Stranger) Bruce Purcell has been an actor/performer since the age of 10 and has worked in stage, screen and television. He is also a musician and an acting coach. He settled in the Twin Cities after 30 years in Los Angeles where he worked in the entertainment industry in a variety of capacities, most notably as a producer/director where he garnered an Emmy nomination for one of his documentaries and was part of the launch team for three cable networks. He brings a tremendous knowledge of the entertainment industry which he will share with anyone within earshot, whether they ask him or not.
Crew
Jack Beranek (Writer/Director) Jack has had a passion for cinema since childhood and at the age of 17 he wrote and directed his first feature film Health Freaks. Upon its theatrical premiere, Jack was invited to write a sidebar for Lloyd Kaufman’s bestseller Direct Your Own Damn Movie. Since graduating from MSU Moorhead in 2012, Jack has worked for Film Independent in Los Angeles, co-founded the video production company Flying Buttress Media in southern Minnesota and has written/directed three short films including Daytimers, on which he worked with future Max Bishop collaborators including lead actor Chris Charais, cinematographer Billy Straub and others.
Billy Straub (Cinematographer) Originally from Lindstrom, MN, Billy Straub has shot films and music videos in Los Angeles, England, and his home state of Minnesota. After graduating from MSU Moorhead in 2012, Billy dove into the Minneapolis production scene on commercials and films while developing his skills as a gaffer and camera assistant. During that time Billy was also taking on the role of cinematographer on films like Some Calming Music, A Good Cigar, The Long Goodbye and music videos for the Swiss band Howlong Wolf. After first collaborating in film school, Billy and Jack Beranek reconnected to make the short film Daytimers three years before reteaming on Max Bishop.
Kirstie House (Art Director) Kirstie graduated from Bethel University with a Bachelor's degree in Media Communication with an emphasis in Production. She spent a semester in Los Angeles studying film at Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC). During her time in LA, she specialized in production design and acting, and had an internship at a prestigious talent agency in Santa Monica. She is now one of the Media Producers for the Twin Cities Film Fest and does freelance video and film work. She was the Assistant Director for the 2017 Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Challenge Best of Fest Film Contractions and was nominated for Best Production Design at the 2018 Z-Fest Film Festival for her work on GreyDuck Productions short film Hostess.
Kevin Ackley (Assistant Director) Kevin is a filmmaker in Fargo, ND, where he co-owns Chamber Six Media, a partnership that produces videos and short films. Chamber Six Media has produced a wide array of award-winning work, ranging from a 33 minute documentary about the closing of an underground music venue (The New Direction) to a 10 minute psychological thriller (Eviction) to a colorful 2 minute drama (Fine Line), with several more projects on the horizon. In 2019, Kevin wrote/directed the short thriller Michael! Kevin was brought onboard Max Bishop after he and Jack Beranek reconnected several years after film school.
Jamie Heisler (Co-Producer) Jamie is a writer and artist currently based in St. Paul, MN. In addition to serving as a co-producer during pre and post-production, Jamie created the film's storyboards and, during production, worked as a Set Dresser assisting Art Director Kirstie House. Outside of filmmaking, Jamie works with watercolor and acrylics in addition to writing poetry and fiction.
Jack Guggisberg (Co-Producer) Jack first worked with writer/director Jack Beranek on commercial video productions before joining Max Bishop as a co-producer and, during production, as 2nd Assistant Camera. Jack attends Southern Illinois University for Radio, Television and Digital Media while also producing short films.
Steven Sherman (Producer) Steven earned a degree in filmmaking in 2012 from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He currently works as a video producer for New Ulm Community Access TV. He was nominated for an Upper Midwest Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Achievement for a Lifestyle Program/Special for his work on the art documentary series "The Process". Steven previously collaborated with Jack in 2015 on the short film "Daytimers" as a producer/co-editor. He also coordinates regular events for the New Ulm Film Society including the 2019 New Ulm Film Festival filling the role of Festival Director.