For more than 30 years, Ken’s been the founding, producing artistic director of Orphean Circus,
serving as creator, director and choreographer of multifaceted, music theater works. He’s been
commissioned by Center Theater Group in Los Angeles, to create two musical spectacles, and
was invited to participate in CTG’s resident writers program. Other grants and commissions
include Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Disney’s REDCAT, Los Angeles Grand
Performances, Eagle Rock Arts Center, Evidence Room Theatre and Bootleg Theatre, Boston
Court Theatre, Playwrights Arena, Durfee Foundation, Plum Foundation, Common Ground
Festival, Dance Theater Workshop and California Arts Council. Audrey Skirball Kenis Theatre
Projects awarded Ken the prestigious $50,000 TIME Grant. His outlandish spectacles in Los
Angeles were a popular holiday mainstay for eight years.
Recently, Ken was the producing artistic director of Daniel’s Art Party, based in Daniel Arts
Center, in Berkshires, Massachusetts. There he created a performing arts festival and many
community-engagement projects. Bringing international artists, Broadway performers, local
professionals, amateurs and college students together during his three-year artist-in-residency
program cultivated awareness of the center, brought together a widely diverse community of
enthusiastic participants, and entertained thousands of audience members.
As a director/choreographer of established works, Ken has served at Bard Summerscape
Festival in New York (Offenbach!!!) , Long Beach Opera (Kurka’s Good Soldier Schweik,
Poulenc’s Breast of Tiresias, Martinu’s Tears of a Knife ), Chicago Opera Theatre ( Duke
Ellington’s Queenie Pie ), the John Anson Ford Amphiteatre (O-Lan Jones’
Iceland ), Largo at the Coronet ( Dark Root of the Dream, by and starring Donovan Leitch ),
Theatre Memphis ( Bark, a revue by many songwriters), Sacred Fools ( Burglars of Hamm’s
award-winning and now published The Behavior of Broadus, co-directed with Matt Almos. )
As a producer/writer/director, Ken's film Perfect Cowboy screened during the opening weekend
of Los Angeles’ OUTFEST, which celebrated Ken as one of their top five writer/directors to follow,
"5 in Focus". An accomplished actor, Ken acted the title role. Perfect Cowboy is available
on Amazon Prime. Ken wrote and directed another feature film, The Bloody Indulgent , starring
Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson and Diva Zappa.
As a choreographer, Ken collaborated on Monodramas and Rossini’s Moses in Egypt
for New York City Opera, and Philharmonic 360 for New York Philharmonic, both for director/designer
Michael Counts. And, he choreographed Moises Kaufman’s production of Bent,
and CTG Associate Artistic Director Neel Keller’s production of Stones in His Pocket, both at the
Mark Taper Forum. Other choreography collaborations include those for New York’s Playwrights
Horizons, Bard Music Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory, Opera Boston, Oregon
Shakespeare Festival (seven seasons), Getty Villa, Kirk Douglas Theater (aa CTG theatre),
Lookingglass Theater in Chicago and The Roxy in LA.
As a performer, Ken has an extensive, eclectic background as an actor, singer and dancer. As a
rock opera tenor, Ken appeared as Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar; as the tenor lead in an
original rock musical starring actor Billy Zane and Grace Jones; and as Eros in a microtonal
opera, performed at Symphony Space NY with prominent New York opera singers. Ken danced
with Florence in a Florence + the Machine music video, and co-starred with an alligator in a
System of a Down music video. Along with film and television acting, Ken is proudly featured in
two international museum pieces by celebrated video artist Bill Viola.
Producer/Director/Writer/Choreographer
DANIEL'S ART PARTY Artistic Director of a professional/community-engagement, performing arts festival,
MISS JULIE(N) Music Theater adaptation of Strindberg classic,
99c ONLY SAME-O, AN ELECTRIC BALLAD Holiday Collage Theater Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles
PERMISSIBLE UNION One act opera, LA Dept Cultural Affairs COLA grant Grand Performances, Los Angeles
99c ONLY CALENDAR GIRL COMPETITION Holiday Extravaganza, Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles
GUY/KEN, MEDIA MASH-UP A media fusion with filmmaker Guy Maddin Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles
PAGEANT OF THE SEASONS Holiday Extravaganza, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
ORANGE STAR DINNER SHOW, THE MOVIE Orphean Circus Productions, Los Angeles
ORANGE STAR DINNER SHOW Holiday Extravaganza, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
JONI MITCHELL'S "SONG TO A SEAGULL" Tribute Concert / Fundraiser Evidence Room, and Renaissance Arts Academy, Eagle Rock
BOOTLEG Video Short, Orphean Circus Productions, Los Angeles, Heart Project, Los Angeles
PEACE SQUAD GOES 99 Holiday Extravaganza, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
LAST RESORT Staged Opera Workshop, REDCAT, Los Angeles
GROWING WITH GHOSTS Site-specific Theatrical Installation, Center for the Arts,
TRIBE Theater for Young Audiences L.A. Future Projects - Edgefest, 24th Street Theater, Los Angeles
SPLENDOR, 99 CENT ONLY WONDERAMA, Holiday Extravaganza, Evidence Room,
HE POUNCES Progressive Music Theater, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
99¢ ONLY WORLD OF BARGAIN ENTERTAINMENT, Holiday Extravaganza Dance Extravaganza, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
MANKILLER Musical Commissioned by Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects Actors Gang, Los Angeles
ORPHEAN CIRCUS Rock Theater Buena Park Civic Theater, Various Los Angeles locations
BIG, BIG CHRISTMAS WINNERS! Site Specific Musical, Commissioned by the Buena Park Mall, Buena Park, CA
KEN AND THE MERRY KENDALLS Rock Theater, Whirligig Music Festival Ivy Substation, Los Angeles
LARRY SWELL’S BIG BANG Progressive Music Theater, Los Angeles Theater Center, Los Angeles
AN ENJOYABLE EVENING WITH THREE SPECIAL GIRLS Performance Art / Cabaret, Los Angeles Venues
SOLOMON'S LANDING Dinner Theater, Catalina Island, Los Angeles
Director/Choreographer
ICELAND Folk opera by O-Lan Jones and Emmett Tinley, John Anson Ford Amphitheater, Los Angeles
DUKE ELLINGTON’S QUEENIE PIE (also adapted), Music Theater, Long Beach Opera/Chicago Opera Theater
BREASTS OF TIRESIAS/TEARS OF A KNIFE Surrealist One-Act Operas Long Beach Opera, Long Beach, CA
THE BLOODY INDULGENT (also wrote), Low budget feature film starring Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson, Los Angeles
THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK Czech Opera, Long Beach Opera, Long Beach, CA
DARK ROOT OF THE DREAM (also co-wrote), A Gypsy Rock Musical w/ Donovan Leitch, Largo at the Cornonet, Los Angeles
DODOBIRDIE Original Student Play, Occidental College New Play Festival, Los Angeles
BARK! THE MUSICAL Musical theater revue, Theatre Memphis, Tennessee
OOPS I DID BUFFALO BILL Music video for Rob Kendt, Brooklyn, New York
OFFENBACH!!! An Evening of Offenbach Operettas, Summerscape, Bard Summerscape Festival, New York
ECHO'S HAMMER (also wrote/choreographed), Progressive Music Theater Boston Court Theater, Pasadena
ORPHEAN CIRCUS RETROSPECTIVE PAH-TAY (also wrote) Theatrical Concert, Evidence Room, Los Angeles
BAD BAND AND THE FAIRY PEOPLE (also co-wrote), Student-Generated Play L.A. Leadership Academy, Los Angeles
ROYAL PAIN (also co-wrote), Student-Generated Play, L.A. Leadership Academy,
TEMPLE OF RA Snake Dance Extravaganza, Sowden House (F.L. Wright Jr. landmark), Los Angeles
IMPERIALIST AT THE CLUB CAVE CANUM (also co-wrote, w/Chuck Mee) Evidence Room, Los Angeles
1ST ANNUAL QUEEN OF SILVERLAKE PAGEANT Beauty Pageant, Sponsored by the Silverlake Chamber of Commerce
ANGEL’S LADIES (co-director), Video/Film Documentary about a Nevada brothel Kitchen Productions, Los Angeles
THE BIRDS (also conceived), Musical Adaptation of the Aristaphones, Theater of NOTE, Los Angeles
GUYS AND DOLLS (directed only), Musical Theater, Buena Park Civic Theater, Buena Park, CA
ROUGHHOUSE SMASHAROO Cabaret-Betty Hutton Revue, Rose’s Turn, New York City
ECHO’S HAMMER (also wrote), Workshop, Progressive Music Theater, Audrey Skirball Kenis Common Ground Festival, Los Angeles
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN Progressive Adaptation, Wilson High School, Long Beach
7 SEALS AND A RIDING MONKEY (also wrote), Progressive Music Theater, Playwrights Arena, Los Angele
LARRY SWELL’S SCHOOL OF DANCE (also wrote), Two Video episodes, TSG Productions/Century Cable, Los Angeles
Choreographer
BENT Martin Sherman play, Mark Taper Forum/Dir. Moises Kaufman
MOSES IN EGYPT, Rossini opera, New York City Opera/ Dir. Michael Counts
VERY MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, IOWA Adaptation of Shakespeare Oregon Shakespeare Festival/ Dir. Christopher Liam Moore
AMERICAN NIGHT Culture Clash w/Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse and Kirk Douglas Theaters/ Dir. Jo Bonney
VERDI’S MACBETH Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Shubert Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts/ Dir. David Schweizer
AMERICAN NIGHT Culture Clash w/w/Oregon Shakespeare Festival Denver Center Theater Company/ Dir. Sam Woodhouse
DIE LIEBE DER DANAE Strauss Opera, Bard Summerscape Festival, New York/ Dir. Kevin Newbury
THE SHAGGS, Philosophy of the World Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons, NY/ Dir. John Langs
MONODRAMAS Progressive Opera,, New York City Opera/ Dir. Michael Counts
IMAGINARY INVALID Adapted Moliere Farce, Oregon Shakespeare Festival,Great Lakes Theater Fest./ Dir. Tracy Young
MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM Shakespeare play, South Coast Reparatory/Dir. Mark Rucker
AMERICAN NIGHT Culture Clash w/ Oregon Shakespeare Festival Oregon Shakespeare Festival/ Dir. Jo Bonney
bobrauschenbergamerica Chuck Mee play, SpyAnts Company, Dir. Bart DeLorenzo
PROJECT WONDERLAND Progressive music theater piece, Bootleg Theater/ Dir. Robert Prior
JAMIE CULLUM MUSIC VIDEO “Wheels”, Pulse Films-London, Minneapolis, Minnesota/ Dir. Marc Silver and EMMA
PEACE Culture Clash adaptation of Aristophanes Getty Villa, Los Angeles/ Dir. Bill Rauch
RUDE AWAKENING A short film, Los Angeles/ Dir. Max Faugno and Charley Allen
HANGIN' OUT A Naked Revue, Macha Theater/ Dir. Robert Schrock
LUNIK MUSIC VIDEO Lodger Films, Los Angeles/ Dir. Adam Egypt Mortimer
SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS Commedia-based adaptation, Oregon Shakespeare Festival/ Dir. Tracy Young
HELLO KITTY MUSIC VIDEO for Sanrio Company, Lodger Films, Los Angeles/ Dir. Rob Schroeder
IF YOU ASKED ME music video for Meaghan Smith (Sire Records), Lodger Films Los Angeles/ Dir. Adam Egypt Mortimer
POWER OF ATTRACTION music video for Natalia Lesz, Lodger Films,
COMPLETE VICTROLA SESSIONS Silent Dance Film, New York City/ Dir. Winsome Brown
ORPHEUS AND EURIDICE Opera by Ricky Ian Gordon, Long Beach Opera, CA/ Dir. Andreas Mitisek
MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM (also co-composed), Oregon Shakespeare Festival/
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Sondheim musical, South Coast Reparatory, Costa Mesa CA/
ON THE RAZZLE Tom Stoppard play, Oregon Shakespeare Festival/ Dir. Laird Williamson
TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA Shakespeare Play, Oregon Shakespeare Festival/
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Pop-rock Musical, Starring Donovan Leitch, The Roxy, Los Angeles, Dir. Joe Witt
HABEAS CORPUS an English Farce by Alan Bennett, South Coast Reparatory, CA/
STONES IN HIS POCKETS A Play, Mark Taper Forum/ Dir. Neel Keller
THE SHAGGS, PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD A Musical Lookingglass Theater, Chicago/ Dir. John Langs
THE SHAGGS, PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD A Musical Inside the Ford, Los Angeles, Dir. John Langs
LA PERICHOLE opera by Offenbach, Long Beach Opera, CA/ Dir. David Schweizer
BODY OF FAITH, by Luis Alfaro and the LGBT Community, Cornerstone Theater/
STEPS IN TIME Musical Revue, Hyperion Theater, Disney’s California Adventures, Anaheim CA/ Dir. Damian Grey
QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY Experimental Theater, L.A. Festival, New York City and European/ Dir. Reza Abdoh
Special Skills
Astute Problem-solver, Actor, Singer, Songwriter/Choreographer/Dancer/Creepy Characters, Proficient at Final Cut X and Adobe Photoshop 7
KEN ROHT, PERFORMER HIGHLIGHTS: (performer resume upon request)
Featured in a short film by photographer/filmmaker Jacob Sutton, choreographed by Ryan Heffington
Featured dancer in Florence + the Machine music video, choreo by Ryan Heffington
Solo performer in two video art projects for Bill Viola
Performed a lead role in a rock opera with Grace Jones and Billy Zane
Performed Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar
Featured in abstract artist Paul McCarthy’s “Caribbean Pirates” installation
Starred with a live alligator in a System of a Down music video
Performed with Reza Abdoh’s company Dar a Luz for seven years
Sang tenor lead in opera for MacArthur genius/ electronics pioneer John Eaton w/NYCO singers
TRAINING
ACTING: Sam Christensen, Gloria Molina, Dr. Keith Fowler, Pamela Gordon
VOICE: James Partridge, Fredric Myrow, Jim Berenholtz
SONG AND DANCE: The Young Americans, UC Irvine
Plum Foundation
Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, COLA grant Good Works Foundation
Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects, $45, 000 TIME grant Cultural Innovations
C.A.D.
Durfee Foundation
L.A. Future Projects
Flintridge Foundation
Dance Theater Workshop
California Arts Council grants
MASTER CLASSES, Lecturer/Teacher/Director
Brentwood School, Los Angeles
University of South Dakota
Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
CSU Summer Arts, Cal State Fresno
Occidental College, Los Angeles
Cal State Northridge
University of Oregon, Eugene
Cal State Los Angeles
Wichita State University
The Heart Project, high school
LA Leadership Academy, middle school
Renaissance Arts, Eagle Rock, CA, middle school
Spaufford Detention Center, Brooklyn NY, high school
AWARDS (list upon request)
PUBLICATIONS
Chromogram October 2018
Los Angeles Times, November 2010
American Theater Magazine, October 2007
LA Stage, May/June 2005
Lifestyles Magazine, 2004
Los Angeles Times, March 2004 Backstage West, January 2002
... and countless reviews
MORE INFO
Producing Artistic Director, Orphean Circus (since 1990)
Panelist: Community Arts Resources (CARS) Arts Congress
Panelist: Durfee ARC Review
Choreographer/Performer – Reza Abdoh’s Dar a Luz (1988-1994)
Member: Evidence Room Theater Company, Lincoln Center Directors Lab Alumni
Young Americans
Professional Music Supervisor for video and film
