BGSU Falcon Flames find success in the entertainment industry

Alums Tiffany Trainer '06 and Cory Stonebrook '09 win accolades for their short films

By Cherie Spino

After meeting in a stage production at Bowling Green State University, Falcon Flames Tiffany Trainer ’06 and Cory Stonebrook ’09 have gone on to build successful careers in the entertainment industry. Their latest short film, "Florence in Customer Care," has garnered awards at film festivals nationwide.

The 2023 horror film, which Stonebrook wrote and co-directed, stars Trainer as Florence, a customer care representative who begins to unravel as a mysterious rash appears on her body.

"Florence in Customer Care" gained traction at film festivals, scoring several top awards – best short at the Phoenixville (Pennsylvania) Film Festival, best drama short at the El Dorado (Arkansas) Film Festival and best performance in a short for Trainer at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Trainer and Stonebrook’s previous short, "When This All Ends," also won accolades. Both films were produced by the couple’s company, yeah yeah yeah films.

“I’m so proud of them for working so hard to forge their own paths and create their own stories,” said BGSU associate professor emeritus Dr. Michael Ellison, who taught Stonebrook and Trainer and also worked with them on productions.

Stonebrook and Trainer met in 2006 while performing at BGSU in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." They started dating a year later after Trainer graduated and moved to Chicago.

Stonebrook followed her to the Windy City after he graduated, and the pair worked in professional theater there. They married in 2012, just before relocating to New York City.

Trainer has a day job at Apple TV Plus in its safety department and works as a stage and screen actor. She won best supporting actress for her role as a hustling mermaid in a short film called "Bait & Tackle," a finalist at the First Run Film Festival at New York University.

Stonebrook’s film and TV work includes directing and creating shorts, as well as acting roles on "The Equalizer" (CBS), "That Damn Michael Che" (HBO Max), "Orange is the New Black" (Netflix), "the Blacklist" (NBC) and "Brian Regan Live!" (Comedy Central). The web series, "City Boyz," which he a created and directed, was a runner up for best in show at World Webfest Mania.

Trainer and Stonebrook, who was a theater major with a minor in film, remember their former BGSU professors fondly, especially Ellison, Tony Horne and Dr. Geoff Stephenson.

“They propped me up in a way that made me confident to go out into the world and know that my skills were enough,” Trainer said.

Stephenson directed Stonebrook in “A Christmas Carol” (Stonebrook played Scrooge) and taught voice to Trainer at BGSU. He said the pair have always been talented.

“But becoming successful in entertainment takes more than talent. It takes a sense of self,” Stephenson said. “It’s about running a career. And both of them have been very smart about creating the opportunities that they can succeed in.”

When he was younger, Stonebrook considered foregoing college and moving to LA to get started in the business. But he said college gave him a chance to grow up and experience life outside of Mentor, the Cleveland suburb where he grew up.

“Meeting people who weren't like me – that all has helped me in my screenwriting because I'm not always just writing about myself,” he said.

Deciding to attend BGSU was pretty much a no-brainer for Stonebrook. His parents were Falcon Flames and his sister also attended BGSU.

The sense of community at BGSU and in the theater and film programs is something that both actors are grateful for.

“We are still best friends with the people we graduated with and were in our program,” Trainer said. “Having people that understand your passion and then also be there for you is huge.”

While they don’t plan to give up acting, the pair said they want to challenge themselves to keep growing.

“We have produced three or four shorts now, and each time we do more festivals and get in bigger festivals,” Stonebrook said. “We've been trying to figure out how to make a budget-friendly feature film.”

“It's all about pushing yourself and learning new skills,” Trainer adds. “I still love acting, but I also really enjoy producing. It's exciting to watch a group of people come together to do this hard thing.”

Stonebrook is writing more features, TV pilots and shorts. He studied comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade, a theater and comedy training center founded by Amy Poehler and other comedians. While he has written TV comedies with a partner for a long time, horror films have a special place in his heart.

“I love horror films that say something – like Jordan Peele and a lot of the 70s horror that was really character based,” he said. “It's fun to think about how you can play with either a social commentary or the character in the confines of the horror genre.”

Stonebrook said he is interested in getting to the crux of the story – what is this character fighting for? He said he wrote the character of Florence for Trainer because she expresses vulnerability well and “figuring out how to make the audience really feel for Florence was my main goal.”

Trainer said she gets excited when characters like Florence allow her to explore a different part of herself and connect to other people.

The two said they will continue to work together as they follow their dreams.

“When the person who you have built a life with and is your partner is also super excited about working toward one goal that you're both passionate about,” Trainer said, “there's nothing better than that, right?”