+30NYC:  new plays imagining the next new york

An all sustainable project, this evening of short plays examines how our actions today will directly affect our lives in 30 years. 

Playwrights include: Bekah Brunstetter, Victor I. Cazares, Christine Evans, Michael John Garcés, Ashlin Halfnight, Mac Rogers, and Tommy Smith

Directors include: Dominic D’Andrea, Scott Ebersold, Jessi D. Hill, Portia Krieger, Daniel Talbott, and Melanie Moyer Williams

+30NYC was performed March 4-21at Center Stage NY located at 48 West 21st Street, 4th floor; Between 5th/6th Avenues.

Press Representation by Katie Rosin / Kampfire PR.
For press inquiries, please email katie@kampfirefilmspr.com or call 917-438-9223. www.kampfirefilmspr.com

Look at what people had to say about +30NYC:

BWW by Duncan Pflaster

“The cast jumps into the radical world with aplomb”

“Deb O's scenic design is great for all of the plays, with the novel idea of piling up in full view of the audience the set pieces from each previous play, which slowly becomes an ominous heap behind the action. James Clotfelter's lighting design and Daniel Kluger's sound design are both quite impressive, going the extra mile for unusual effects.”

FlavorPill by John Peacock

“Overall, the show is a thoughtful, detailed plunge into our metropolitan destiny.”

Lively-arts by Richmond Shepard

“This entire project was a bold undertaking obviously carried out with energy and care by a large group of talented hard-working Theatre people, and, as a totality, quite successful as an experimental evening of Theatre. I look forward to Red Fern’s next undertaking.”

Shows Showdown by Wendy Caster

“In all, +30NYC is a strong evening of theatre and far better written, directed, and acted than many other collections of one-acts I have seen.”

+30NYC is registered with the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, new awards specifically for Off-Off-Broadway theatre, and your vote will make a difference.  Vote for us at www.nyitawards.org!

We participate in the TDF voucher program.

Friends of Materials for the Arts (FOMA)
Chosen for +30NYC

Since 1978, Materials for the Arts has provided thousands of New York City's arts and cultural organizations, public schools and community arts programs with the supplies they need to run and expand their programs. Materials are gathered from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributed to the artists and educators that do. In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, helping to sustain our environment and promote reuse and waste reduction. MFTA helps artists realize their visions, provides students with a richer educational experience and furnishes businesses and individuals with a simple and efficient way to enhance the cultural life of their city.

Friends of Materials for the Arts was established to help support Materials for the Arts (MFTA) and its work in servicing artists, educators, and community members throughout New York City. FOMA does so by implementing and sponsoring several Initiatives including vibrant Education, Volunteer, Transportation, Evening Shopping and Technology programs. You can learn more about each of them by visiting our Initiatives page.
FOMA is comprised of a talented and energetic Board of Directors who work to sustain and enhance programs, initiatives and the MFTA shopping experience. Financial support for FOMA's on-going initiatives is provided by many dedicated individuals, corporations and foundations. If you are interested in supporting FOMA please read more about becoming a friend of Materials for the Arts.

+30NYC is made possible by generous grants from the following foundations:

The Dramatists Guild Fund

The Puffin Foundation

The Josephine Foundation

+30NYC is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency:

New York State Council of the Arts

Bios:

Actors:

Brian Robert Burns*, Young Man in Thirty Story Masterpieces

Brian was most recently seen as Chet in ONE NIGHT WITH RAEL at Ars Nova.  Other recent credits include CAILIN AND THE SWAN, THE EROTIC DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, and THE ENGLISH CHANNEL by Robert Brustein. Regional credits include Percy in RICHARD II and Young Larch/ Angel in THE CIDER HOUSE RULES I/II.  Other credits: IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN TO CHARLES DARWIN, PERICLES, and Cressida in TROILUS vs. CRESSIDA. MFA Yale School of DRAMA.

Jessica Cummings*, Clara in Remembrancer Vessel

Jessica Cummings was most recently seen in Ashlin Halfnight's BALATON(Electric Pear Productions). Previous credits include: Broadway: THE SEAGULL (u/s); Off Broadway: CRIMES OF THE HEART (Roundabout Theatre Company): Other NYC credits: ALL ABOUT EVE (Actors Fund Benefit Reading with Annette Bening), CEPHALOPOD (FringeNYC). Television: LAW & ORDER: CI. Jessica is a graduate of Northwestern University. AEA.

Andrea Day, Hanna in Fishbowl

New York: LIVE BROADCAST (FringeNYC), THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME (Red Fern Theatre); MACBETH (American Globe Theater) THE CHERRY ORCHARD (Columbia Shapiro Theater); and Vampire Cowboy's SALOON SERIES. Regional Credits:  Pennsylvania Centre Stage, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Rep, Napa Valley Shakespeare Festival, Sonoma County Rep, and The Twelfth Night Project: Ashland,Oregon. MFA, Penn State.  Next Up for Andrea: Midsummer Night's Dream (New Theater House, www.newtheaterhouse.org)

Richard Gallagher*, amo in in the Zone

Off-Broadway: MISSIVES; 59E59 Theaters. Other New York – Women’s Project: GLOBAL COOLING; NY Fringe: HORATIO; A TASTE OF HEAVEN.  Regional – Baltimore Centerstage; McCarter Theatre; Yale Repertory Theatre; North Shore Music Theatre; Theater Aspen; Marin Theatre Company; TheatreWorks, Palo Alto; The Magic Theatre. Film/TV – EL CAMINO (with Elisabeth Moss); LAW & ORDER. Education – Yale School of Drama.

Garrett Hendricks, Michael in Fishbowl

Garrett is glad to work with Red Fern and Melanie again after a fantastic run with MISS EVERS' BOYS last year.  He was last seen onstage winning the Manhattan Monologue Slam. He recently guest starred on White Collar, has appeared on Nurse Jackie and Law and Order, and will soon be seen in the upcoming theatrical release Cafe, with scenes opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy. Love to his wife Nikoa.

Stephanie Janssen*, Theresa in Footprint

Recent work includes PTSD (E.S.T’s 2009 Marathon), ABSALOM (the Humana Festival), THE UMBRELLA PLAYS (wrote/acted in at Fringe NYC 2008; winner, Outstanding Play, dir. Daniel Talbott).  Other theatre includes: CRIMES OF THE HEART (Roundabout), BLACKBIRD (MTC), CRAVE (Potomac Theatre Project), BEIRUT ROCKS (Barefoot @ Theatre Row, Innovative Theatre Awards Best Actress nominee), THE SECRET OF MME.BONNARD’S BATH (Gloucester Stage Company). TV/Film: “Law & Order” “Everything is Ordinary”; BA, Middlebury College. MFA, NYU. 

Jordan Kaplan*, Harold in Remembrancer Vessel

Jordan's NYC credits include: Electric Pear Productions, Prospect Theater Company, Astoria Performing Arts Center and Guerrilla Shakespeare Project (with whom he is an Artistic Associate).  Regional:  American Conservatory Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Stanford Summer Theater.  Proud graduate of Stanford University and the Brown University/Trinity Rep Consortium.  As always, he thanks his family and friends for their unyielding support.

Kathryn Kates*, Lorraine in Remembrancer Vessel

Kathryn Kates has recently returned to New York after spending over 25 years in Los Angeles where she was a Founding Member (and producer, actor and co-general manager) of the award winning Colony Theatre; she has many television and film credits but is probably best known for her recurring role on SEINFELD as The Babka Lady.  Since relocating to New York, she has appeared in over 15 plays including Rising Phoenix Rep’s Suzan-Lori Parks 365 Days/365 Plays at the Public; WAXING WEST, which was performed at La Mama and subsequent festivals in Bucharest, Sibiu, and Stockholm; SA KA LA, directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde;  THE SEXUAL NEUROSES OF OUR PARENTS directed by Kristjan Thor; Crystal Skillman’s NOBODY, directed by Daniel Talbott; the 2009 NYC Fringe Festival’s POPULATION 8 by Nicholas Gray; and, most recently, in BALATON directed by Kristjan Thor at Urban Stages. Kathryn spent part of the summer in McCall, Idaho with the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference where she perfomed in Caridad Svich’s A Patriot Song. She is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep.

Haskell King*, Glen in Footprint

Theatre credits include THE GREAT PRETENDERS/BITTER TASTE/ HEAVEN KNOWS/ PTSD(Ensemble Studio Theatre) BROTHER (Paradise Factory) AFTERCLAP(Rising Phoenix Rep) TAKE ME OUT (Caldwell Theatre) MOONS OF JUPITER/TALES FROM THE SCHMINKE TUB(One Solo Arts Festival) SWEET EROS (Mary’s Space, dir. Austin Pendleton) ELVIS AND JULIET(Abingdon Theatre with Fred Willard) MOTHER(The Wild Project with Buck Henry/Holland Taylor) Film: Brother, In Praise of Shadows(dir. Jay Anania) Cannonball Luke. Television: Law and Order: Criminal Intent; As the World Turns. Member of EST

Anna Kull, Rosa in Rosa's Little Jar of Fear

Anna is delighted to be part of +30NYC!  Recent shows include BRINK! and ROANOKE at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Exposition at the Brick, Mac Roger’s SPIKE in Gideon’s BLUEPRINT PROJECTand workshops with Abingdon, Lark Play Development Center, New Georges, Ma-Yi and Orchard Project.  She is the co-writer/performer of DRESSING MISS JULIE (FringeNYC Excellence Award).  This spring Anna will play Veronica in New Georges’ production of MILK.  BA from Vassar College.

Corinna May*, Woman in Thirty Story Masterpieces

Recently starred in the independent feature SPLIT ENDS, directed by Dorothy Lyman (http://www.splitendsthemovie.com/).  National Tour: THE GRADUATE with Jerry Hall/Linda Gray/Lorraine Bracco/ Kelly McGillis/Morgan Fairchild (Benjamin’s mom, u/s Mrs. Robinson). Regional:   Berkshire Theatre Festival, Syracuse Stage, Capitol Rep., Rep. Theater of St. Louis, Studio Arena Theatre, Virginia Stage Co., Philadelphia Theatre Co.    Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA (20 yr. member) favorites include: TWELFTH NIGHT, ENCHANTED APRIL,  MACBETH,  AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE,  JACK AND JILL,  BETRAYAL,  MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING,  SONGS FROM THE HEART,  FORTUNE AND MISFORTUNE,  HOUSE OF MIRTH,  A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM,  HAMLET.   Other film :  RAIN WITHOUT THUNDER;  A SECRET LITTLE WAR.  Television: “Bourbon Street”  (pilot) ;  “Law & Order”; “PBS: Evening at the Pops”.   Playwright: DANCING WITH THE CZAR.   Corinna is a Designated Linklater voice teacher, and proud to be a card-carrying member of Actor’s Equity Association.

Kelley Rae O'Donnell*, Flight Attendant in Rosa's Little Jar of Fear

Member of New York’s LAByrinth Theater Company. Host/Creator of WE Buzz with The Video Chick for Women’s Entertainment Television (WEtv.com) NY stage credits include: THE NINJA CHERRY ORCHARD, FIGHT GIRL BATTLE WORLD, CYNTHIA & THE DREADFUL KITE, THE 6-PACK, THE 24 HOUR PLAYS. Film credits include: THE THORNY ROSE, THE SAINT OF AVENUE B, ON YOUR MARK, ACME PICTURES SUMMER PROJECT.  Television credits include: GUIDING LIGHT, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, THE IT FACTOR.

Maria-Christina Oliveras*, jamf in in the Zone

Off-Broadway: NIGHT SKY (Power Productions); SLAVEY (Clubbed Thumb); LONNIE-JAKE (The Barrow Group); THE CRAZY LOCOMOTIVE (Classical Theatre of Harlem-AUDELCO Nomination); Numerous workshops and readings with Manhattan Theatre Club, NYTW, Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, The Public Theatre/NYSF, Lark, New Dramatists, NAMT, Packawallop, Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Partial Comfort (of which she is a member), among others. Selected regional: BOLEROS FOR THE DISENCHANTED (Huntington Theatre); FABULATION (Baltimore Centerstage); RENT (Hangar); world premiere of UNBEATABLE (AriZoni Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress-Phoenix Theatre), Denver Center (2 seasons); Westport Country Playhouse; Berkshire Theatre Festival; Colorado Shakespeare Festival. TV: “Nurse Jackie”; “Ugly Betty”; “Law & Order: CI”; “All My Children”.  Education: B.A., Yale University; M.F.A., National Theatre Conservatory.  www.mariaoliveras.com 

Andy Phelan*, Josh in Dodo Solastalgia

Off-Broadway: RICHARD III (Classic Stage Co), THE CHIMES and MISSING CELIA ROSE (SPF), LADIES OF THE CORRIDOR (Peccadillo).  Regional: HONOR AND THE RIVER (Luna Stage), MEASURE FOR PLEASURE (Florida Studio Theatre), THE BEARD OF AVON, INHERIT THE WIND(Cape Playhouse), OVER THE TAVERN (Riverside Theatre).  Other NYC: MILKMILKLEMONADE, (The Management), TORCH SONG TRILOGY (Gallery Players), AH, WILDERNESS! (St. Bart’s).  Also several films including PROM NIGHT, and BECOMING CHRISTOPHER.

Jeff Pucillo*, John Ramsay Jr. in Rosa's Little Jar of Fear

Jeff Pucillo is a native New Yorker who has performed in countless productions at some of New York City's most prestigious theaters and theater companies.  He recently performed in The Transport Group's Off-Broadway production of BURY THE DEAD.  In 1999 he performed at the Harold Clurman Theatre in the one-man show FÉLICIEN entirely in French.  He plays the lead role in the feature film THE STANDARD MAN and also can be seen in MEMORIES OF OVERDEVELOPMENT, an official selection of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  Jeff has appeared in numerous TV shows including “Rescue Me,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and more.  Jeff is married, has two daughters, and works on vintage cars for relaxation.

Ian Quinlan, pri in in the Zone

Ian Quinlan (Pri) Broadway: THE LION KING (Young Simba). Off Broadway: TOPSY TURVY MOUSE (dir. Dianella Topol, Cherry Lane Mentor Project). Ian is a recent graduate of Fordham University. Fordham Credits include: 21 POSITIONS (dir. Lisa Peterson), THE ROVER (dir. Michael Goldfried), BIG LOVE (dir. Suzie Agins) Thanks Dominic.

Ivan Quintanilla*, Adán in Dodo Solastalgia

THEATRE: ACTS OF MERCY (Rattlestick Theater), THE SILENT CONCERTO (FringeNYC), THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED (Signature Theatre-DC), Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue (Alliance Theatre), Sonia Flew (Huntington Theatre), SPINNING INTO BUTTER (Stamford Theatre Works), DEATHTRAP (St. Michael's Playhouse), CHICAGO (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma),PIPPIN (Paper Mill Playhouse), SKYLIGHT(Stage West). TV: “Law & Order”; “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”; “All My Children” EDUCATION: Southern Methodist University-BFA Theatre; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Gayton Scott*, Moran in Footprint

Broadway: GYPSY starring Bernadette Peters director Sam Mendes, THE WOMEN starring Cynthia Nixon, PRESENT LAUGHTER starring Frank Langella.  Other New York, ABIGAIL'S PARTY The New Group director Scott Elliott, WHITE CHOCOLATE The Culture Project, INDISCRETIONS director Jonathan Silverstein, THE OCTOBER CRISIS fringe festival among others.  Regional includes Barrington Stage, Capital Rep., Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf, GeVa among others.  T.V/Film: "Law and Order:CI", PBS Great Performances, "As The World Turns", "Guiding Light", P.S I Love You.

Nalini Sharma, xiu in in the Zone

Nalini has a long list of hometowns across the world as part of her upbringing but now lives and loves New York. Workshops: New Dramatists,The Lark, Second Stage, Salaam Theatre. Regional/Off-Broadway: The Flea Theater, 365 Series by Susan Lori-Parks at The Public, Vital Theatre Co., Gorilla Rep Shakespeare, People's Light & Theater Company. Thank you Dad, Mom, Abhi, Raja and my friends for all the love. Training: The Maggie Flanigan Studio. Excited to be working with Red Fern!

Playwrights:

Bekah Brunstetter, Playwright

Bekah Brunstetter recently made her Off-Broadway debut with OOHRAH! at the Atlantic Theater (Stage 2). Plays include BE A GOOD LITTLE WIDOW (Commissioned by Ars Nova, 2009), OOHRAH! (Ars Nova outloud reading series, developed in London at the Finborough Theater), TO NINEVEH (NY Innovative Theater Award for Best new full length play, 2006) SICK (winner, Sam French short play festival 2006), GREEN (finalist, Alliance Theater’s Kendeda Competition; national finalist, Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival) SPACE (semi-finalist, Princess Grace Award 2007) I USED TO WRITE ON WALLS (published and licensed by Samuel French,) FAT KIDS ON FIRE (published and licensed by Playscripts, Inc), YOU MAY GO NOW: A MARRIAGE PLAY (Winner, 2008 NYIT award for best new Full Length Play (Babel Theater Project), Cenentary Stage 2009), LE FOU (The Atlantic Acting school), HAPPY BIRTHDAY/ I’M DEAD (Samuel French Short Play festival Finalist, 2007), MISS LILLY GETS BONED (nominee, 2008 L. Arnold Weissberger Award; Lark Playwright’s week 2009; GAP festival / AURORA 2010), TORCH NUMBER 2 (SOHO Think Tank), and FUCKING ART (winner, Sam French Short play Festival 2008.) Her plays have been read and produced by the Babel Theatre Project, New Georges, The Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater, the Ohio Theater (Think tank), NYU, Centenary Stage, NC New Voices, The New School for Drama, Working Man’s Clothes, Flux Theatre Ensemble, Phare Play Productions, Old Vic/ New Voices, The Drama League, Boston Theatre Works, Manhattan Theatre Source, SPF, and The Alliance Theater. Her plays are published by Sam French, Playscripts, Original Works, and Smith and Krauss. She is a member of the Ars Nova play group, the Playwright’s Center, At Play Productions, and the Dramatist’s Guild. She is proud to be the 2009 playwright in residence at Ars Nova, and a member of the Women's Project Writer's Lab and the Naked Angel’s writing team. She received her BA (Theater/Fiction Writing) from UNC Chapel Hill, and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the New School for Drama. Bekah is currently working on commissions for the Roundabout Underground, Naked Angels, and the Keen Company. She will be the 2010 Playwright in Residence at the Finborough Theater in London, and a member of the Primary Stages writer’s group. www.bekahbrunstetter.com

Victor I. Cazares, Playwright

Victor I. Cazares is a native of the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border region. With new theater house, he was an artist-in-residence at Amherst College where nth presented his new work, The Whale Play. Other plays include The Dead Women of J-Town & Smiley, (workshops: Yale School of Drama and Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and American (tele)Visions (readings: Red Fern Theatre Company and the Yale Playwrights Festival). He holds a B.A. in Art History from Yale University.

Christine Evans, Playwright

Christine Evans (Playwright, MFA, Ph.D.) Productions include the multi-award winning TROJAN BARBIE (American Repertory Theatre, 2009; University of New Hampshire, 2010 and Playbox Theatre, U.K. 2010); YOU ARE DEAD/ YOU ARE HERE (CHAT Festival, Chapel Hill 2010); WEIGHTLESS, MOTHERGUNand ALL SOULS’ DAY(Perishable Theatre, RI); SLOW FALLING BIRD (Crowded Fire, San Francisco; Metro Arts, Brisbane) and MY VICIOUS ANGEL (Belvoir St. Theatre and Adelaide International Festival, Australia). Christine teaches playwriting at Harvard.

Michael John Garcés, Playwright

Michael John Garcés is the Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theatre Company in Los Angeles. Playwriting credits include LOS ILLEGALS at Cornerstone and Teatro Bravo in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as POINTS OF DEPARTURE (INTAR Hispanic American Arts Center) and ACTS OF MERCY (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); short plays include tostitos, (Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon of One-Act Plays) ON EDGE AND THE RIDE (Humana, "The Open Road Anthology"), AUDIOVIDEO (The Directors Project) and SANDLOT BALL (Mile Square).  He collaborated with composer Alexandra Vrebalov on the oratorio STATIONS, which received its premiere at the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra and was recently performed at the NOMUS Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia. Next season, needtheatre in Los Angeles will be producing the premiere of his play THE WEB.  Directing credits include plays at New York Theatre Workshop, The Cherry Lane, The Atlantic Theater Company, Repertorio Español, Under the Radar, Second Stage, and, regionally, A Contemporary Theater, The Walker Art Center, Hartford Stage, Woolly Mammoth, The Children's Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Yale Repertory Theatre and The Guthrie.  Michael is on the executive board of SDC and is a recipient of the Princess Grace Statue, the Alan Schneider Director Award, and a TCG/New Generations Grant. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists. www.CornerstoneTheater.org

Ashlin Halfnight, Playwright

Ashlin Halfnight’s plays include BALATON, GOOD PICTURES (Outstanding New Play – Summer 2008 – Talkin’ Broadway), GOD’S WAITING ROOM (Best Play, 2005 NYFringe Festival), DIVING NORMAL (Plays and Playwrights 2007), and ARTIFACTS OF CONSEQUENCE.  He is a Fulbright Award winner, and is the recipient of a TCG Travel Grant, a Ludwig Volgelstein Artist Grant, and the Howard Stein Playwriting Fellowship. He was an artist in residence at the National Theater of Hungary in 2005/2006, was member of The Royal Court’s New York Residency, and is a member of MCC’s Playwrights’ Coalition. Ashlin received a BA from Harvard and an MFA from Columbia.  He is currently the Artistic Director of the award-winning theater company, Electric Pear Productions.  www.electricpear.org

Mac Rogers, Playwright

Mac Rogers is a playwright and a performer based in Brooklyn. He’s had a great 2009, with his play UNIVERSAL ROBOTS garnering an Independent Theater Blogger Award and four New York Innovative Theater Award nominations and VIRAL winning an Outstanding Play citation from FringeNYC. He thanks Dominic, Melanie, Daniel, and everyone at Red Fern for the opportunity to continue his streak of working with amazing theater artists.

Tommy Smith, Playwright

Tommy Smith is a New York based playwright.  His plays include SEXTET (upcoming, Washington Ensemble Theatre; Roger Benington, director), THE WIFE (upcoming, IRT Theater; May Adrales, director), WHITE HOT (produced at Here Arts Center; May Adrales, director), PTSD (produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Billy Carden, director), THE BREAK-UP (produced at Flea Theater; Sherri Kronfeld, director), BEAUTIFUL NIGHT (commissioned by E.S.T.; Evan Cabnet, director), AIR CONDITIONING (selected for Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference; Steve Cosson, director), GOODNIGHT MECCA (produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Gabriel Kahane, composer & lyricist; Kip Fagan, director), among others.  His work has also appeared at PS 122, Yale Cabaret, The Ontological Theatre, The Lark Play Development Center, A Contemporary Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, The Huntington Theatre; internationally, he has been produced in Prague, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Montreal and Athens.

He is a two-time winner of the Lecomte du Nouy Prize, a recipient of the E.S.T. Sloan Grant, a winner of the Page73 Productions Playwriting Fellowship and a member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer’s Group at Primary Stages.  Publications include WHITE HOT in the 2008 New York Theatre Review and STREAKin “Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays”, printed by Vintage.  He is a graduate of the playwriting program at The Juilliard School, and serves as Artistic Associate for The Cape Cod Theatre Project.

Tommy co-created (with Reggie Watts) the theatre piece DISINFORMATION, which played at the Under The Radar Theatre Festival at The Public Theatre, The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time-Based Art Festival, The Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), The Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh) and ICA (Boston).  Tommy won the MAP Fund Award and Creative Capital Award for their follow-up show TRANSITION, which played at the PICA: TBA Festival, Under The Radar and On The Boards.  Other collaborations include RADIO PLAY (Ars Nova, Redhouse, Bumbershoot), OCCURRENCE (Galapagos, The Tank, Ars Nova, Portland’s Leftbank, ICA) and DUTCH A/V (IRT Theater). http://smithsmith.wordpress.com/about/

Designers:

James Clotfelter, Lighting Design

James Clotfelter is a New York based lighting designer committed to the creation of collaborative and socially conscious work for theatre, dance, and the living space. He is in constant exploration of light as a character and pursues process driven work that is frequently experimental in its approach to the form.

James is the Resident Lighting Designer and Production Manager for Miro Dance Theatre, an Artistic Associate with Pig Iron Theatre Company, and company member of johannes wieland. In 2005 James co-founded Mlab with design partner and filmmaker Tobin Rothein. Created as a laboratory for innovations and design technologies in the live arts, Mlab has realized numerous scenic, light, and video designs for the stage specifically tailored for touring.

James has had the pleasure of collaborating with choreographers and directors such as Rennie Harris, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Bill Shannon, Reggie Wilson, Antony Rizzi, Dan Rothenberg, David Szlasa, and Thaddeus Phillips as well as companies such as Dayton Contemporary Dance, Southern Repertory Theatre, Z Space Studios, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gas & Electric Arts, and Lubelski Teatr Tanca. His work has been presented at the Walker Center, Yerba Buena, Jacob’s Pillow, Fall for Dance, The New Victory Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Whitney Museum Altria, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and a myriad of national and international festivals. www.jcld.net

Scott Dougan, Costume Design

Scott is proud to be designing his first show(s) for Red Fern.  In 2009, he designed sets for DEATH OF A SALESMAN (Yale Repertory Theatre), THE BLOOD DAZZLER (Voice and Vision), IN THE CYPHER (Nuyoricans Poetry Café), THE SEAGULL (Columbia University), KAFKA PARABLES (Columbia University).  Scott is the creative director of new theater house (nth) a company of theater artists he help found, who performed The Whale Play as artists-in-residence at Amherst College this August.  Scott has also worked extensively in film and this summer art directed the film THE BACK UP PLAN, set to be released this April.  BA Amherst College 2004, MFA Yale School of Drama 2009.

Daniel Kluger, Sound Design

WELCOME TO YUBA CITY (Pig Iron Theatre Company), THE OLDSMOBILES (The Flea Theatre), PETER PAN (Arden Theatre Company), DOV & ALI (Playwrights Realm), THE TEMPERAMENTALS (MAN underdog/Barrow Group), Jailbait (Cherry Lane), WHORE, THE ONES THAT FLUTTER (SPF/The Public Theatre), HARDLY WONDER (Columbia University), The Greeks Part III (Juilliard), MELISSA ARCTIC, HEARTBREAK HOUSE, A MURDER, A MYSTERY AND A MARRIAGE (Two River Theatre Company), THE PERSIANS (People's Light & Theatre), METAMORPHOSES (Weston Playhouse), THE DINING ROOM (Keen Company), PLATONOV, UNCLE VANYA (Lake Lucille/Brian Mertes).

Deb O, Scenic Design

Some of her recent set and costume credits include MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Helfaer Theatre, WI), DEEP COVER (NY Music Festival), UP FOR ANYTHING (Premiere, The Kraine Theatre, NY), THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION (Old Globe, CA), PANIC (Witness Relocation, Dance New Amsterdam), HONK THE MUSICAL and ONCE UPON THIS ISLAND (Young At Arts, NY), HAGGADAH (Witness Relocation, LaMama, NY), THE GREEKS PT 3 (Julliard, NY), SCROOGE THE MUSICAL (Fairmont, WV), UNCLE VANYA and PLATONOV (Lake Lucille, NY), EXPATRIATE (Culture Project, NY), SALSALANDIA (La Jolla Playhouse, CA), THE WITLINGS (The West End Theatre, NY), ELIZABETH ALMOST BY CHANCE A WOMAN (Stillwater, NC), THE LACY PROJECT (Premiere, Yale & Ohio Theatre, NY), JIHAD THE MUSICAL (Edinburgh Festival, Scotland), The MISTAKES MADELINE MADE (Yale Rep, CT). Some up and coming designs will include Toshiki Okada’s FIVE DAYS IN MARCH and Charles MEE’S HEAVEN ON EARTH. To see more of her work go to her website at www.debodesignstudio.com  

Directors:

Dominic D’Andrea, Curator/Director

Dominic D'Andrea is happy to be collaborating with Melanie and Red Fern for a second season. He is a frequent director for programming at the Lark, the Brick, Vampire Cowboys, & NYU's Grad Writing Program; and, he has directed recently at INTAR, Primary Stages, the Public, HERE Arts Center, Fringe NYC, the Ontological Incubator, EST,and others. He is the creator and curator of the NY One-Minute Play Festival, which has produced over 300 new short plays. He has held numerous fellowships and residencies, and is an ODK honors graduate of the University of Maryland. He would like to thank the amazing team of writers, directors, and designers who collaborated on this production. 

Scott Ebersold, Director

Scott Ebersold enjoys working with playwrights to develop new plays. Directing credits: Children at Play by Jordan Seavey (Collaboration Town); Nerve by Adam Szymkowicz; marea, the silent concerto (Best Director, FringeNYC), the october crisis (to laura), william bell, and expat/infero (Best Production, FringeNYC) by Alejandro Morales, among others. His work has been seen at Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, HERE, INTAR and New Dramatists. Film: The Moment written by Adam Szymkowicz (Premiered at Gotham Screen Film Festival). Scott is a founder and Co-Artistic Director of Packawallop Productions. He is also a Lincoln Center Director's Lab alum; Directing-Mentor at Tisch School of the Arts PHTS; and former member of Tectonic Theater Project's Literary Department.

Jessi D. Hill, Director

Recent directing credits include:   Alena's Smith's It or Her (Horse Trade Theatre Group/Frigid Festival), The World Premiere's of Mia McCullough's Lucinda's Bed (Chicago Dramatists), Jeff Grow's Creating Illusion for terraNOVA Collective's soloNOVA Arts Festival (3 NYIT Award Nominations),  and two new plays by Johnna Adams: a workshop of Sans Merci for The New Group and Angel Eaters for Flux Theatre Ensemble (6 NYIT Award Nominations).  She has also recently been Staff Repertory Director for The Acting Company, a Director-in-Residence at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and is currently Director of terraNOVA Collective's Groundbreakers new play development program as well as a guest artist at NYU and Fordham University.  Jessi is recent transplant to NYC from Chicago where she was a freelance director and Artistic Director of Stage Left Theatre, an ensemble based company dedicated to developing and producing new plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues.  Hill has been a recipient of the Denham Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and was recently named a finalist for the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

Portia Krieger, Director

Portia has recently directed for Red Elevator at HERE, Ars Nova's ANT Fest, EST/Youngblood, Williamstown, Origin @ 59E59, and Slant Theatre Project. She collaborates with playwrights including Lucy Alibar, Sam Forman, Mira Gibson, Amy Herzog, and Ursula Rani Sarma.  She's directed readings of new plays at Rattlestick, The Woodshed Collective, and the Abingdon, among others.  She is a Resident Artist at Examined Man Theater, where she is creating and developing a new play currently titled THE SECRET KEEPER.  Portia has assisted directors Michael Greif, Nicholas Martin, Henry Wishcamper, Carolyn Cantor and Will Frears at WTF, LCT, Atlantic, MTC and MCC.  She's an alum of the Drama League and of the 2009 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and a co-founder of the New Georges Jam.

Daniel Talbott, Director

Daniel has most recently worked as an actor on The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis), Master Builder (Irish Rep), Rocket City (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Tartuffe (McCarter Theatre/Yale Rep), Marat/Sade (Classical Theatre of Harlem) and the feature film Pretty Bird. Recent directing work includes Birthday and Nobody, both by Crystal Skillman (Rising Phoenix Rep at the Seventh Street Small Stage at Jimmy’s No. 43), The Umbrella Plays (the teacup company/FringeNYC – Overall Excellence Award: Outstanding Play), Fall Forward (Sitelines/River to River Festival produced by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council), and The Reaching (Rising Phoenix Rep). His play Slipping was produced at Rattlestick this past summer with Piece by Piece Productions (named on of the top ten plays of 2009 by The Advocate), premiered in Chicago at The Side Project in Chicago, was part of the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, and will be published in 2010 by Dramatists Play Service. His play What Happened When was produced at HERE Arts Center and The Side Project and was published as part of the Plays and Playwrights 2008 anthology. He received a 2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for directing, a Drama-Logue Award, two Dean Goodman Choice Awards and a Judy Award for acting, and was also named one of the 15 People of the Year 2006 by nytheatre.com. He is a graduate of Juilliard and of Solano College Theatre’s ATP, a literary manager of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and the artistic director of Rising Phoenix Rep (recipient of the 2007 NYIT Caffe Cino Fellowship Award).

Melanie Moyer Williams, Executive Artistic Director/Director

Melanie, a cum laude graduate of Duke University, is also Founder and Executive Artistic Director of the Red Fern Theatre Company.  Her credits for the company include the New York Premiere of Shirley Lauro’s ALL THROUGH NIGHT, MISS EVERS' BOYS (NYIT and AUDELCO Nominations), AN IDEAL HUSBAND, A PIECE OF MY HEART, WHO WILL CARRY THE WORD?, THE EXONERATED, THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME, FOUND A PEANUT, TWO ROOMS, AND PATIENT A.  In December, Melanie directed a staged version of Handel’s MESSIAH for Pocket Opera NY.  Melanie worked with Shirley Lauro on a reading of her new play, THE RADIANT at the Actors’ Studio and Ensemble Studio Theatre.  For Woodframe Productions, Melanie directed a reading of MEMORIAL DAYS by John Attanas and the World Premiere of HENRY KISSINGER in FringeNYC where they received rave reviews.  She has also directed A TRIBUTE TO ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of El Salvador in El Salvador with Wanderlust Theatre Company. She directed THAT IS THE QUESTION in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (named one of the Best in the Festival).  Other New York credits include MEDEA excerpts for CYPRECO and the New York Public Library; FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS, WHEN THE WORLD WAS GREEN and ICARUS’S MOTHER for the Michael Chekhov Theatre Company.   Prior to moving to New York, Melanie was also a founder and Managing Director of the Camden Shakespeare Company in Camden, Maine. 

Production Team:

Laura Luciano, Stage Manager

Laura is thrilled to be a part of another Red Fern Theatre production! For the last three seasons, Laura has acted as stage manager for the Red Fern Theatre Company. Other credits include: POLAROID STORIES (director/SUNY New Paltz), STRIKING CHORDS (playwright/Creative Place Theatre), HENRY KISSINGER (stage manager/NY Fringe Festival), KATE SMITH: THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN IDOL (stage manager/dir. Vincent Scarza), WHO WILL CARRY THE WORD? (Madeleine/Red Fern Theatre), STARS IN A DARK SKY (stage manager/NY Fringe Festival), and LOVE AND SEX (Stage Manager/Turtle Shell Productions). Laura received a BA in both performance and design technology from SUNY New Paltz.

Fatima Amr, Production Associate

Fatima is proud to say that this is her first production with the Red Fern Theatre Company. She has previously collaborated with Baruch College, HERE Arts Center, The Strivelli Players and The Ridge Chorale. Fatima has also been recognized as a performer in numerous productions in NYC.

Matt Dickson, Assistant Director

Acting credits include; The Coast of Utopia, The House in Town (Lincoln Center Theater), The Confidence Man (Woodshed Collective), How I Won the Campbell Prize (Triskelion Arts), Wallflower (Stages Repertory Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Playmakers Repertory Company), The Sisters Rosensweig, Sonia Flew, The Rose Tattoo, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Huntington Theatre Company), King Lear (Actors Shakespeare Project). Television: All My Children, New Amsterdam. Directing credits include: NYFringe Festival, 7Devils Playwrights Conference, and the Valley Arts Festival.

Shaun Dozier, Assistant Director

Shaun Dozier is excited to be a part of another RFTC production! Other directing credits include Pericles and Guys and Dolls, both at Duke University. Shaun has directed several short films, and is currently finishing a short documentary filmed in Peru to be screened in March. B.A. Duke University 2008.

Matthew Tesoro, Production Associate

Matthew has acted, worked as an assistant director, and/or participated on other technical jobs in numerous productions throughout the city. Recent shows include Baruch College's staging of Machinal and Einstein's Dreams, Dog's Lie in the Midtown International Theatre Festival, and in HERE Art Center's 3rd Annual One Minute Play Festival. This is his first show with The Red Fern Theatre Company and is excited to be a part of this production.