Gospel Gus’s Godly Good Time Get-Together - Digital Program

Cast/Crew Bios:

Amy Walus - Stagehand/Puppeteer (Monster Gus, MC Thusala, Twinklepede)

Amy is excited to return to Horror Fest for the second year in a row! A born and raised theater kid, she's been making her journey across the Twin Cities over the past several years including roles in Footloose with Fridley Community Theater, Heathers with The Play's the Thing, Frankenstein/Monster with Locally Grown Theater, and Shrek with Arts Garden. Beyond traditional acting, she has found a love for puppetry, working with Phantom Chorus Theater & Shambles Theater Company.

Andrew Erskine Wheeler - Gus

This will be Andrew’s second TCHF production following last year when he wrote & performed in The Wrench. Andrew began his career as a child actor in Hollywood in the 1970’s on Sid & Marty Kroft’s FAR OUT SPACE NUTS. He’s played The Genie at Disneyland, Anaheim and was a 20-year member of Tim Robbins’ theatre company, The Actors’ Gang, in Los Angeles. Andrew has performed in Actors’ Gang touring productions at The Public Theatre, NYC, London’s Riverside Studios, Brisbane, Australia, Bangalore, India, and has led workshops on social justice theatre on college campuses and universities across the US. In 2015, Andrew moved back to Minnesota to be close to family. His Twin Cities’ theatre highlights include Walking Shadow’s THE CHRISTIANS and THE RIVER. He’s performed at Mixed Blood, Open Eye, and History Theatre along with his award-winning original solo performances of BOOTH’S GHOST & WHOOSH at Minnesota Fringe Festival. Andrew is incredibly honored to announce that WHOOSH! will be remounted in an all new expanded version at History Theatre in January 2026. When not writing or performing, Andrew loves spending time with his fiancé, Siri Hammond, taking their dog Banjo to local dog parks, and working at his neighborhood Trader Joe’s in beautiful St. Paul. Come say, Hi!

Angela Fox - Izzy

Angela Fox is an actor/singer/dancer/choreographer with such theater companies as the Jungle Theater and Artistry. She is a published composer specializing in educational music for voice and piano and musical theater, including the award winning "Next: The Musical (A Sidekick Story)" and "No Small Parts". A staged reading of her new show, "Fighting Unicorns" will debut in November. For more information about Angela, check out angelafoxmusic.com.

Eric Eichenlaub - Harv

Eric has degrees from Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Central Florida. He's performed on stages in a bunch of different states. In these Twin Cities, he has done shows with Ghoulish Delights, Theatre Pro Rata, Gray Mallard, Skylark Opera, Lyric Arts, Theatre in the Round, and several companies that do not exist anymore. One time, in Orlando, Eric got mercilessly booed by a theater full of tiny children because he was playing a cat that tried to eat Stuart Little's best friend, Margalo, and he's probably never been happier in his life.

Jennifer D'Lynn - Rayna

A long time fan of all things spooky, Jennifer is excited to be making her TC Horror Festival debut and jumped at the chance to get involved with Gospel Gus!

She has survived everything from Shakespearean tragedy to YA inspired fantasy portraying Kazul in Dealing with Dragons with Phantom Chorus, the title role in Julius Caesar with Hopkins Theatre, Marion in On Tidy Endings in Theatre in the Round’s director’s showcase, Phyllis Buckman in the world premier of Flora & Ulysses with Stages Theatre Company. and Florence Unger in The Odd Couple- the Female Version. But, will she survive the reunion of an evangelical children's show? She bloody well hopes so! Watch for her in Third Space Theatre's Plano - coming in January!

Kristina Jansons - Puppeteer (Twinkles, MC Thusala, Twinklepede)

This is Kristina's 3rd Twin Cities Horror Festival. She has performed with Phantom Chorus Theatre in 2022 ('Victor Invictus') and in 2024 ('The Alchemist's Bargain').

Mike Postle - Serge

Mike is excited to be returning to the TCHF after last appearing in 2016’s “Severed”. Some Twin Cities representational theater includes Theater in the Round, Park Square, Mu Performing Arts (Kung Fu Zombies versus Cannibals) Artistry, Lyric Arts, the History Theater, Pioneer Place, MN Festival theater, Troupe America, Freshwater Theater, Pigs Eye, Fifty Foot Penguin, and the MN Fringe Festival. Mike works from home in New Brighton with his wife and kid and is proud to also work with the City Council Equity commission on accessibility needs for the city.

Natavia Lewis - Nina

Natavia Lewis is an actor and educator living here in Minneapolis. She has been present in the Minneapolis Theatre community since 2017. Since then she is happy to say that she has had the pleasure of being part of a number of different styles of theatre, from educational, to devised, and even taking part in a professional murder mystery company. This is her second Horror Fest show, the first being a summer camp slasher called Handpicked in 2018. Like the rest of the cast, she loves the horror genre and all of the nuances that make it as interesting as it is frightening!

Ryan Voss - Rook

Ryan is thrilled to be joining TCHF as a performer for the first time! He has been acting around the Twin Cities since 2012, specializing in physical performance and stage combat. He most recently performed in Phantom Chorus Theatre's "Dealing With Dragons," and "Neon Breeze" at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and can be seen later this year at the Historic Mounds Theater's "It's An Honorable Life." When not on stage, he's often behind it, doing ill-advised things with electricity, or just generally being a strange little goblin with his wonderful partner and cats.

Tom S. Tea - Caspian

Known in some circles as Minnesota's favorite deep sea horror, and most recently seen in The MacScottish Play at the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival, Tom S. Tea is very excited to make their Horror Fest debut in Gospel Gus! They've previously appeared in other Minnesota Fringe shows and worked with a variety of local theater companies, but their main claim to fame is placing first in an erotic fanfiction competition with a spicy Cutthroat Kitchen story. Other hobbies include riding bikes, reading tarot, and maintaining their monster claws.

Marc Berg - Puppet Design/Build, Puppetry Direction, Gus Logo Design

Co-artistic director of Phantom Chorus Theatre Marc Berg has been working as a theatrical designer, director, and performer in the Twin Cities since 2011. He studied Theatre Arts at UW-River Falls and Graphic Design at MCTC. He has worked with Mad Munchkin Productions off and on since 2013. He was assistant director at The Matchbox Theater where he directed, designed, and performed in Razia’s Shadow: A Puppet Rock Opera. He taught theatre and art at Twin Cities elementary schools, and does props design for Stages Theater and other local companies.

Thalia Kostman - Puppet Design/Build, Puppetry Direction, Original Music

Co-artistic director of Phantom Chorus Theatre Thalia Kostman has been a performer and creator in the Twin Cities theatre community since 2012. She studied physical theatre and mime at Macalester College and Studio Magenia in Paris. Thalia has coordinated Brooklyn Center Community Center’s Puppet Playhouse since 2012, and is logistics coordinator for American Immersion Theater’s Minneapolis Troupe. She has created works in Red Eye’s Works In Progress series, at the MN Fringe Festival, and with the Twin Cities Clown Cabaret. She is also employed as a princess, a carrot, and a private French tutor!

Jacob Gulliver - Videography, Video Editing, Video Effects

Jacob is a writer, filmmaker, and all around geek recluse. His past theatrical writing credits include "Shadows Under Wabasha", “Remy Raygun”, “Waiting for Gygax”, and the podcast anthology series “Dead North” & “Blight Christmas”. He also contributed video work for Rogues Gallery Arts' "Charcoal Moon". He earned a BFA in Filmmaking while attending MCAD, and is thrilled to be doing some strange video work with the Twin Cities Horror Festival once again.

Sam L. Landman - Playwright

Sam is an actor, writer, musician, improvisor, comedian, and all around awesome gent. A regular fixture in the Twin Cities Horror Festival (including "The Regular") along with Gospel Gus, Sam is performing in "The Walls" by The Improv Movement Project Project and co-directing "Familiar" by Special When Lit. You can catch Sam on screen in the premier of "Dead Media" a horror feature film by Joseph Scrimshaw on October 20th at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.

Josh Vogen - Set Design and Build

Josh has been a professional in the Twin Cities theater community since graduating from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Theatre in 2007. He has worked with a variety of theater companies including Swandive Theater Co, Gonzo Theater Co, Mad Munchkin Productions and many others. He is proud to be a member of Phantom Chorus Theatre and excited to create and perform with this amazing group of artists!

Jenn Jensen - Stage Manager

Jenn Jensen is a performer and educator based in the Twin Cities. She was most recently seen onstage in It's An Honorable Life at the Mounds Theatre in 2022 and singing with the choir Singers In Accord for their last two fall projects under the direction of Dr Rene Clausen. Upcoming she will be caroling with a capella group DeCantus this holiday season and singing in a couple of projects with ImPulse in 2026, and she's hoping to make a return to the stage one of these days as well. Jenn has worked as a stage manager for Fearless Comedy Productions and has been involved in the Minnesota Fringe Festival nearly every year since 2008 as a performer, stage manager, box officer, house manager and enthusiastic audience member. She is excited to be involved in the Horror Fest for the first time this year, despite being such a scaredy cat that she's not sure she would be seeing this show if she wasn't a part of it.

Kyle B. Dekker - Creator/Director

Kyle B. Dekker is a jack of most trades theater professional in the Twin Cities. He’s produced and worked on several original world premier shows for the Minnesota Fringe and Twin Cities Horror Festival and beyond. This is his second show working with Phantom Chorus Theatre in 2025 ("Dealing with Dragons")! His solo storytelling shows have toured in five states and he was the recipient of the 2023 Elgin Fringe Festival Chris & Kathleen Mau Spirit of the Fringe Award. His work has been described "High concept, but incredibly low brow." He can't wait to unleash part of his childhood nightmares onto audiences this year with Gospel Gus!

Director’s Statement

This show started as a small spark as a whole section of my solo show He-Man is the Devil: A Satanic Panic Tale that had to be cut for time and narrative cohesion. I had an entire five minute monologue about Evangelical Children’s entertainment and how much of it was low quality. But specifically there was a show called Psatly The Singing Songbook which was about a talking and singing Hymnbook name Psalty and his crew of other puppets and mascots that would sing and dance with kids while telling them bible stories and Evangelical moral lessons. There was a character in the show named Blooper which was a dog, but was a nightmare fuel uncanny valley monster for 6 year old Kyle. I would have nightmares about Gus and Blooper chasing me down in the halls of my church and hunting me at my house.

I wanted to bring a version of that nightmare to stage for the Horror Festival, but never thought I’d have the resources or know how to pull it off. Fast forward to the fall of 2024 and I was cast in Dealing with Dragons by Phantom Chorus Theater. I was absolutely blown away by their amazing nine foot tall dragon puppets, moving walls and other stage magic. And on top of that they and amazing team to work with, a true joy of creative collaboration. I knew they were the key to making my nightmares of Evangelical death machines come to life. I brought in long time collab partner Jacob Gulliver to help build a videoscape of a show within a show to sell the “terror in vintage VHS” feel I wanted for the production. Once I recruited Sam Landman (who has his own Evangelical background and dark stories about Evangelical kids shows) to write a wicked script, I knew I had the all-star production team needed to pull off something of this scope. Once we added this amazing cast the alchemy began to brew and my nightmare came to life in ways I never dreamed of.

My wife asked me why I wanted to bring a nightmare to life? Well horror at it’s best is a fun house mirror of our own society. And the script, puppets and characters of Gospel Gus are very much rooted in the real world of right-wing Evangelicals and the propaganda entertainment they make. I wanted to be blatant and show that world is literally filled with monsters. And the real terror they unleash upon us will never be as scary as anything I could unleash on stage.

-Kyle B. Dekker, October 18th 2025