Ruthellen Cheney has appeared in over 30 plays and operas and more than 20 film and television projects, while also writing numerous plays and screenplays. She is the co-founder of Tall Poppies Productions with Georgia Long, whose debut short film Darling It’s Better is currently entering the festival circuit.
Alongside her longtime collaborator Alexis Confer, Ruthellen is a Founding Partner and New Works Curator of The Mechanicals Theater Company. In this role, she has co-produced over a dozen plays and performed roles including Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Imogen (Cymbeline), Jaques (As You Like It), and Olivia (Twelfth Night). With The Mechanicals she starred in the world premiere of her original play The Gothic Hour at The Flea Theater. Last fall, she premiered her original horror play Séance as part of the company’s ten-year anniversary season. She also wrote the company’s stage adaptations of Dracula and Frankenstein, developed for their annual Halloween programming.
In addition to her stage and film work, Ruthellen is a creator and producer of The Horror Digest, a horror-focused podcast and anthology film developed in collaboration with fellow artists. She most recently starred in, wrote, and produced the feature film Carsick, now distributed by X4 Pictures.