THE
TRAUMATIST
Where trauma lives out its greatest fantasy
STARRING EMMY NOMINEE ROBERT PICARDO
(from Star Trek’s Voyager and Innerspace)
A young woman haunted by her traumatic past seeks the help of a controversial therapist who helps patients live out their most violent fantasies against those who have wronged them. But Avery is carrying a secret even the doctor may not be ready for.
In this psychological thriller, Avery Vaughn, played by Amelia Workman (Anita Tucker, A Thousand and One), searches for retribution and release from her childhood traumas. She enlists the help of Dr.Theodore Hubbell, a questionable character with an unorthodox method of trauma therapy. The “Immersive Retribution Trauma Therapy” (IRTT) program provides a cathartic release through vengeful and violent reenactments.
Starring the talented Robert Picardo (The Doctor, Star Trek Voyager) as Dr. Hubbell, this stirring piece of fiction is told with suspense, passion, and humor.
See how one person’s trauma can last generations and the lengths someone will go to make their oppressor pay.
THE
STORY
CAST & CREW
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Michelle Beck is a director, writer, producer, actor, and teaching artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her short film, The Snakes, is currently screening on HBO and HBO Max. The Snakes is set in a parallel future where an isolated Black woman responds to a culture of fear with violent fantasies. The film has screened at the American Black Film Festival as an HBO Short Film Finalist, RSF Martha’s Vineyard African American, Pan African, Brooklyn Short Film Festivals, and more.She is currently in post production for an original text 45-minute film version of Romeo & Juliet set in the Bronx. She has also produced various commercials and narrative projects. As an actress, she has had recurring roles on Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost and Marvel’s Luke Cage. She can also be seen on The Good Fight; Fleischman is in Trouble; Manifest; Homeland; Claws; Madam Secretary; Ovum; Ambition’s Debt; Death of a Prince; Spinning Into Butter and more. Michelle is the Director of Film at Epic Theater Ensemble, where students from Title 1 schools generate original theater and film pieces focused on social justice issues. She runs the Brooklyn-based production company: Beck to the Future Films. thisismichellebeck.com
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Robert Picardo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he spent his whole childhood. He graduated from the William Penn Charter School and attended Yale University. He became involved in television, where he soon was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Coach Cutlip on the series, The Wonder Years (1988). Robert appeared in several other series: China Beach (1988), Frasier (1993), Ally McBeal (1997), Home Improvement (1991), The Outer Limits (1995) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996). In 1995, he got the role of the holographic doctor on Star Trek: Voyager (1995), where he also directed two episodes.
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Amelia Workman is an actress, singer, and writer in Brooklyn. She has originated many groundbreaking roles in the American theatre and helped reimagine several rarely seen theatrical masterpieces with award-winning playwrights and Tony-winning directors. Intellectual rigor and emotional honesty are a hallmark of her work and process. She has performed at and/or developed work for Second Stage, The Public, Lincoln Center, The Delacorte, Soho Rep, Yale Rep, Playwrights Horizons, The Atlantic, Signature Theatre, Ars Nova, and Theatre for a New Audience (selected). She debuted on Broadway as Kerry Washington’s understudy in American Son.
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Patrick Andrew Jones is a New York City based actor, writer and producer and is thrilled to share this story with the world. He is interested in telling stories about outsiders, addiction, mental health issues, cults and more through a darkly comedic lens.
He recently received his MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and has worked extensively in theater, commercials and film. Select credits: ART/NY, The Lark, Hudson Stage, The Brick, The Kraine, SF Playhouse, Capital Rep, Pacific Rep, Berkeley Rep, ACT, Livermore Shakes, Teatro Delle Due (Italian tour), The Food That Built America, Empires. He co-wrote, produced and acted in two films The Brandon Tree and Eleven Eleven.
He also is a co-founder of Studio 9A, a production company which produced sold out runs of Harold Pinter’s The Dumbwaiter and Annie Baker’s The Aliens. He is a proud member of Filmshop, a collective of filmmakers based in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. Read more about him at patrickandrewjones.com.
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Rafael Jordan is a Director, Producer, and Actor working extensively on stage and screens. In 2018 Rafael and sister Aisha founded Village Park Productions with their award-winning sketch show #HashtagTheShow. Rafael co-wrote the VPP produced feature film Another Karamazov, and is currently adapting Unapologetically Black: Here for Facilitating Harm Reduction Services for Those in Need Incorporated, originally a short play by Itoro Udofia.
Rafael has performed as an actor in large regional theaters around the country, off-broadway New York City, and in living-rooms everywhere on Law & Order SVU, FBI: Most Wanted, Godfather of Harlem, City on a Hill, Blue Bloods, and One Life to Live. Rafael stars in the forthcoming indie feature The Nurse, and short film Christmas Eve currently on Amazon. Rafael holds an MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theatre. Instagram: @Rafaeliscoolbutrude, @hashtagtheshow, Twitter: @Blackachusetts. More info at RafaelJordan.com.
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Aisha Jordan is an Actor, Writer, and Producer in new media. She received her B.A. in The Arts from The New School, Eugene Lang College, and her M.A. in Arts and Politics from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is a Podcast Producer at A+E Networks for Lifetime podcast, I Love a Lifetime Movie, The Table is Ours, and A&E’s Origins of Hip Hop. She is a Staff Writer at the popular culture media site Black Nerd Problems highlighting women of color in media. Jordan has been featured in Title X’s PSA on reproductive rights, and HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. Jordan is a current member of the Writer’s Guild of America East.
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Born in Romania and raised in NYC, Nona Catusanu-Popp is a cinematographer and visual artist. She graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor’s degree in Film and TV and went on to study in the Cinematography Master’s Program at The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in the Czech Republic. She is a recipient of the ASC Vision Mentorship Award.
She is a member of Illium Pictures, an independent production company based out of Brooklyn, NY, currently serves on the advisory board for Pano and is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG Local 600).
Nona has mounted productions both large and small across three continents, including long and short form narratives, documentaries, commercials and music videos for such diverse clients as ASICS, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, History, Food Network and Vice among many others. Her projects have been showcased at festivals around the world.
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Laura Vargas is a Colombian production designer based in New York City. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and an M.A. in Production Design. Her passion for storytelling led her to pursue a career in film and move to the USA. Laura is an advocate for diversity and representation in the film industry, recognizing its immense power to transport audiences to different worlds and cultures while shifting perspectives. Her portfolio includes a diverse range of projects, with a particular focus on feature and short films. Laura has found great inspiration working with Latinx and BIPOC directors and writers, as their stories often resonate deeply with her own cultural experiences.
She’s particularly drawn to Dispatchment because of the potential to convey the story's oddness through familiar design elements. She believes that production design can reveal much about the characters' mental universes, which is ultimately the heart of this story. Besides production design and film, Laura enjoys discovering and learning about coffee, as well as escaping the concrete jungle from time to time by exploring the natural beauty and nature of upstate New York. lauravargasrc.com
Post-Production
Post Production Sound Facility. PostWorks New York Sound Editor. Rae King
Re-Recording Mixer. Rae King
Sound Project Manager. Kelly Hrebenak
Chief Audio Enginer. Phil Fuller
Audio Systems Engineer. Keith Sengbusch
Account Executive. Jay Rubin
Post Production Picture Services. PostWorks New York
Finishing Colorist. Allie Ames
Finishing Editor. Ryan Rolandelli
VFX Artist. Sean Perry
Finishing Producer. Matt Medeiros
CSO. Carol Jazwinski
Crew
Editor. James Donahue Composer. Aurelio Valle Costume Designer. Ivy Payne Associate Producer. Epic Theatre Ensemble
Production Coordinator. Kiara Diana Sound Mixer. Darius Green 1st AC. Yasmeen Jawhar 2nd AC/DIT/Stills. Amoy Gill Gaffer. Jared Watson Key/Dolly Grip. Rachel Parrella Grip. Helena Holland Breger Art Director. Sanae Marilia Ueyoshi Art PA. Micah Baptiste Key Hair and MU. Shaniya Geiger Addl Hair and MU Naohmie Nelson Wardrobe Assistant. Kate Lader Script Surpervisor. Emory Sullivan Production Assistant. Thomas Lovely
Cast
Jaime Lincoln Smith Mariko Takai Timothy Allan James Wallert Anayah Avin Bianca Laverne Jones Michelle Feza Kuchuk Henry and Pierce Eckmann
A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR
The Traumatist is a haunting, visceral exploration of how people are attracted to using violence for psychological release. Through Avery, we see firsthand the effects of her past traumas and the lengths someone will go to for restitution. This film is a valuable investigation of the line between power and violence, especially in the hands of someone we rarely see with either, a young black woman. I believe stories about Black women will be the gift this decade leaves behind. As storytellers, we must tell many truths, and breaking apart the fabric of generational trauma is to show those truths and the many sides of healing. For Black women, the relationship to our trauma is nuanced and spans generations. How it manifests is just one piece of our story. This film gives a glimpse into the vicious side of our healing journey.
Michelle Beck, Director