Meet the Cast for The Lifespan of a Fact

Joe Szalinski as Jim Fingal

Joe is a writer and performer from West View, Pennsylvania, where he currently lives with his girlfriend, Brenna, and their dog, Maeve. They met at Slippery Rock University, where Joe studied creative writing and fell in love with theatre. His writing has appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies, as well as across social media, and helped him earn second place in the Pittsburgh City Paper’s “Best of the Burgh” competition in the Best Poet category. Since graduating in 2017, he’s been busy working in film and TV, performing comedy and spoken word, and making music. Joe returned to the theatrical stage last fall with the Pittsburgh area’s The Rage of the Stage Players in their original production, Miserable Creatures, as Detective Robert Walton.

Stefan Altomari as John D’Agata

Stefan is thrilled to be back on stage at the Butler Little Theatre, where he last appeared in 2020 as the Inspector in An Inspector Calls. Unfortunately, the show’s run was cut short due to the COVID pandemic, which Stefan says he is still a little bitter about it. You may have caught him this past summer in Hobnob’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing as Don John or last April as Sky Masterson in the Butler Musical Theatre Guild and Butler Symphony collaboration of Guys and Dolls in concert. Stefan lives in Penn Hills with his incredible wife, Sarah, and their six cats and two dogs. He is celebrating 14 years living in Pittsburgh since he moved here from NYC in 2009. Enjoy the show! 

Laura Crago as Emily Penrose

Laura is delighted to return to the Butler Little Theatre stage for the first time since 1991. After graduating from Clarion University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to dance in Jubilee! at Bally’s Las Vegas. She also appeared on stage in Las Vegas and Charlotte, North Carolina productions. In 2006, Laura moved to New York City to continue a dance career where she was an assistant at Radio City’s Summer Intensive program. In 2011 Laura started a fitness career teaching Barre at Physique57 and indoor cycling for SoulCycle that took her all over the country. An avid biker herself, Laura has biked across the United States. Laura is honored to perform here again at the BLT with a fantastic cast, director, and crew.