Beau Allulli Off Off Broadway: Homesick by Individualist Ensemble (Ohio Theater).Productions with the International WOW Company include: You Belong to Me: Death of Nations V (Forum Fries Theatre, Germany), Limitless Joy (CSV), The Oresteia (Theatre Faction), Busted Jesus Comix (Blue Coyote Theater Group). Dance: Megan Metcalf’s 50 Friends (Joyce Soho). Beau was selected by Eric Bogosian for an artistic residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 2003 for solo performance and new play development. Beau is the cofounder of the Performance Laboratory. Besides performance, his other passion is photography: www.beauallulliphotography.com.
James Arden fostered/adopted a Tabby/Siamese/Egyptian Mau kitten last year and now divides his time between keeping his wife and the cat content. He has appeared in Pericles, Benefactors, Our Country’s Good, andThe Turn of The Screw with Folding Chair Classical Theatre Company, as well as Evilution, Outing Wittgenstein, Beyond the Veil, Trinity, Homeland, Titanic Voices, Importance/Earnest, Gaveston and Britannicus. TV/Film credits: 30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords, The New Adventures of Robin Hood and the upcoming Afterwards. A member of SAG, AFTRA and British Actors Equity, James thanks his beautiful wife for her endless support and love. www.jamesarden.net
Lisa Marjorie Barnes has collaborated with Barbara Kahn for the past decade as director, playwright and performer. She directed Barbara's COOP at Theater for the New City and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Cyma's Story for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and The Cat's Meow at New Georges, among others. Lisa directed her own plays: ForgetMeNot at Expanded Arts and Theater for the New City and A Small Miracle for Sisters On Stage and Theater for the New City. For the past five years, she has been the General Manager of Classic Stage Company. Lisa is currently in the process of launching her next venture, designing and creating couture handknit accessories for people and their pets. To design your customknit dog sweater, email lisa.barnes@mac.com.
Christie Booker received her MFA in acting from the University of Arkansas. She has been a member of the Terrapin Troupe for six years and has participated in their short play festival, 8 Minute Madness, as both an actor and a director. Favorite past productions include Tartuffe, The Shape of Things, Stop Kiss, Macbeth and Top Girls.
Gha’il Rhodes Benjamin most recently performed her one-woman show of spoken word/poetry and monologues in the Motor City with Urban Strings Quartet. Theater: Jade in Steal Away, Libby Price in Bee-Luther-Hatchee, Harriet Tubman in Her Reflection, Angela Davis in Love Songs/Reality. TV/Film: Reparation Blues (Al Santana), Harlem Sistas Double Dutch (Nicole Franklin), Call me on it (Shari Carpenter) and Americano (Carlos Ferrand). Ms. Benjamin has also performed as a solo artist at the Nuyorican Poets Café, Sistas Place, Lincoln Center’s Outdoor Summer Series, The Triad, The Knitting Factory and Symphony Space.
Kaseem Bristow, born and raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, got his start in theater at age 12 with the Abrons Arts Center's Urban Youth Theater, where he trained for five years and originated the role of Stanley in the NYC premiere of Louis Sachar’s Holes and played Daniel Beauxhomme in Once on This Island. After a year at Niagara University, he transferred to Pace University, where he graduated with a Theatre BFA. He is a proud founding member of both New Company Theatre and PieDreems Crew. He is happy to work with Playwrights for Pets on this incredible experience.
Susan Carey has been an Interpreter for the Deaf in a number of school districts on Long Island for the past 12 years. A graduate of Temple University's theater program, Susan has been able to blend her two interests by interpreting for the past 3 seasons at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts. Recently, she added Sidd, the Off-Broadway musical, to her list of credits. Her professional affiliation with Playwrights for Pets began in January 2006 when she interpreted FLYING SOLO at Baruch College.
Meghan Cary has previously appeared in Kathleen Warnock’s A Bushel of Crabs and Grieving for Genevieve. She has performed in more than 50 plays throughout the United States and Europe while simultaneously working in film, television and radio. Cary is a founding member of the NYCbased Actor's Shakespeare Company. She is also a nationally recognized singer/songwriter. Visit her at www.meghancary.com.
Alison Crane is an actress, playwright, animal lover, and aspiring knife-thrower (only aspiring because of the surprising lack of knife-throwing instruction in NYC). She grew up in Oklahoma City where she received her B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of Central Oklahoma and was a regular on the local theatre scene including eight seasons with Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park. Alison went on to receive her M.F.A. in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at The New School. Of her many New York and regional acting credits, favorites include Proof, Sylvia, Mud, Whiskey and Murphy, Poor Hearts, Turkey Day, Richard III, As You Like It, and A Winter’s Tale. Alison’s work in the theatre eventually led her to playwriting. Her first full-length play, The Abduction of Becky Morris, premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival last August. A staged reading of her current play, Coyote Katie’s Return, is scheduled for December. In her spare time she enjoys reading, knitting, and collecting vintage Victorian postcards featuring anthropomorphic chickens. Alison is a member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. www.alisoncrane.com
Erin Cronican is best known for originating the role of Cindy in the national tour revival of Suds, The Rockin’ 60s Musical Soap Opera. Regional favorites include: The Last Five Years, Angels in America, Wit, Avow, My Fair Lady, Camelot, and South Pacific. She has also appeared on the television shows Veronica Mars, Guiding Light, and One Life to Live as well as several short and feature-length films. Proud member of AEA, SAG and AFTRA. Erin is the founder of The Actors' Enterprise — a career coaching service for actors: www.theactorsenterprise.org. Learn more about her at www.erincronican.com.
Joe Cummings is excited to be acting in another one of Judd Lear Silverman’s plays. In the past, Joe has been seen as Jon in a short play by Judd entitled A Reason for All Things. Joe wants to dedicate this performance to his pet dog, Cocoa, as she recently passed away and was always forced to put up with his acting and singing shenanigans; much to her ears’ chagrin. Recently Joe was cast as the lead in a film for the 48hour film festival in DC. The film has been named a finalist and is awaiting awards. As well, you may have seen Joe on June 1st playing football on the Fox Sports Network in a show entitled Amazing Sports Stories. Joe thanks his friends and family, especially his brother, for their unending support.
Jim Dalglish is a former resident of New York. He recently moved to Cape Cod to become the managing director of Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT). Jim is a member of WHAT's Playwrights Alliance (WPA) and a former member of Chuck Maryan's Playwrights/Directors workshop in New York. Jim's full-length play Unsafe was a semifinalist at this year's Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference and his short play Daughter of the Regiment was seen in last year's Playwrights for Pets program. Jim is grateful to Sue Yocum for including his play The Black Eye in IN THE RAINBOW and is thrilled to support such a noble cause.
Marcus Davidson is a member of Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and was a 2003 recipient of the Berrilla Kerr Foundation Award for Playwrights for Birthday Letters and The Phoney War. Monologue For Three; Theatre Off-Park, 1993; The Bubonic Plays: ‘Triumph of Life’ and ‘The Position’; Irish Arts Center, 1994; The Living Room; Alice's Fourth Floor, 1995; Play Date; Samuel French One-Act Festival, 2003. Walks like an ex-con; throws like a girl. He has no hobbies.
Janet Demarest is a teacher, performer, playwright and director of adult and children’s educational productions. Original produced theatrical works include Land That I Love, now in its fifth year of touring; The More Things Change, a 19th Century vaudeville recreation; Dearest Abigail, a one-woman show based on the writings of Abigail Adams; and children’s works such as The Legend of the Milky Way, It’s Okay To Be Different and America – Of Thee We Sing. Janet is a proud member of Chuck Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and The Dramatists Guild of America. She lives on LI with husband, sons and a lunatic 60-pound Golden puppy named Daisy.
Dena Douglass has performed at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, The Image Theatre, The Westbank Theatre and numerous haunts on Theatre Row—before the demolition. A member of the Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and The Red Truck Writers Group. Recently her play Torn Genes was part of an evening of one-act plays performed at Neighborhood Playhouse. The joys of her life are her two amazing pups, Hunter and Knox.
Bill Dudley, a social worker with NYC’s Human Resources Administration, is delighted to contribute his plays to Playwrights for Pets to help support Animal Haven. His past works have been performed at the Pulse Ensemble Theatre, the Player’s Club, the Hudson Valley Players, the Present Tense Theatre and Staten Island Shakespeare. He has also authored several radio plays, all produced at the Museum of Television and Radio, and subsequently aired on WFUV. Bill is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Charles Maryan's Playwrights/Directors Workshop. He lives in Staten Island with his incredibly patient wife Maureen.
Judith Estrine’s Nothing Personal was first performed at the Friars Club in NYC and published by Brooklyn Publishers. Another ten-minute play, She & He, won 1st prize in Nantucket's Annual Short Play Competition and was on a national tour of short plays that focused on older women. Filming of the screenplay version was just completed. Her full-length plays include Ghost Mommy, which was a winner of the National Renaissance League’s “Out On The Edge” Festival and Pinochle and Roses, which was short-listed for the National Playwrights Conference and performed as an Equity Showcase at the Vital Theater in NYC. Judith is co-author of Midlife: A Manual, published in the U.S., UK, and Mexico. She is a member of Chuck Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and the Dramatists Guild.
Cristina Fernandez is an actress living and working in NYC. Recent work includes indie feature films and national commercials. She will soon be performing in the Ultimate Latina Theatre Festival at the Bank St. Theatre during the month of June, as part of the Yo Soy Latina ensemble and Jose Can Speak. Cristina is extremely passionate about promoting women and Latinos in the arts.
Mark Finley is the Artistic Director of TOSOS II Theatre. He has just returned from Ireland, where he directed the Emerging Artists Theatre’s production of Some Are People at the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival. He has directed and appeared in many shows in New York City, and is the author of several plays, including Better Now (Wings Theatre, 2007) and The Mermaid (TOSOS II, 2005).
Tamara Flannagan is a scholarship graduate of Circle In The Square. She is best known for her work in The Syringa Tree (a 24 character, one woman show about apartheid in South Africa). A lover of Shakespeare, she has played many of his women and men. She is a member of F.A.B. (For, About and By Women) and is currently filming Blue Wall: The Series.
Alden Ford is happy to be back on stage in a straight play (so to speak) after filling much of his last few years in the city performing improv and sketch with his comedy trio, Sidecar. Alden lives in Brooklyn where he spends his daylight hours taking headshots.
William Franke loves dogs & cats but has only ever owned (or been owned by) cats (most recent were tabby brothers Max & Roscoe, whom he & his wife adopted at 4 years old). NYC acting credits include Coyote Katie’s Return (in development) and The Abduction of Becky Morris (2012 Fringe NYC) both by Alison Crane; Edward Musto’s Evilution, directed by Judd Lear Silverman; Blizzard ’67 with PlaylabNYC (2013 FringeNYC); The Soldier Dreams, Eye of God and Pirandello’s Right You Are (if you think you are) (reading with Dominic Chianese) all with Theatre East; Washed Up on the Potomac (Ensemble Studio Theatre); Home Land (reading with Jay O. Sanders and David Strathairn at Lark Play Development Center); as well as work with New Georges, the Drama League, and other Fringe Festival performances. Back in his native Minneapolis, he has worked with The Jungle Theater, Park Square, and many others, as well as Out to Lunch Theater in Berlin, Germany. TV: All My Children, As The World Turns, Law & Order: SVU, The Electric Company, Living In Captivity (pilot). Film: Alone, After You're Gone, If the Trees Could Talk, Smokers, and others. Member of AEA & SAG-AFTRA. WilliamFranke.com
Ron Frankel is a former copywriter who has written commercials for Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Dick Cavett, Lily Tomlin and others. He has recently started writing short plays. He hopes that soon he will have written enough of them so that his bio isn't so ridiculously skimpy.
Brian Fuqua With Blue Coyote Theater Group: The Guest (also playwright); The Most Wonderful Love; Busted Jesus Comix; Saturday Night with Martin; A Bush Carol. Other notable productions: Candy and Dorothy; In Circles (5 DramaLogue Awards); Identical Twins from Baltimore (Tiffany Theater, L.A.); Des McAnuff’s Silent Edward (La Jolla Playhouse) directed by David Warren; Betty Rules (workshop) directed by Michael Greif. Television: The Best of the Chris Rock Show, Guiding Light, As The World Turns, Divorce Court, Onion News Network and numerous commercials. Film: Confessions of a Call Girl. www.brianfuqua.com
Carolyn Gage is a lesbian-feminist playwright, performer, director, and activist. She is the author of twelve books, seven of which are collections of her plays. Gage specializes in non- traditional roles for women, especially those reclaiming famous lesbians whose stories have been distorted or erased from history. Last year, her collection of plays The Second Coming of Joan of Arcand Selected Plays won the Lambda Literary Award in Drama, the top LGBT book award in the US. Her catalog is online at www.carolyngage.com.
Elizabeth Gee has appeared in Ed Musto’s Shute Branch, Mannerz, For All The Rude People, Louder Than Words, Porter Peace: Separate Flights, and Porter Peace: Armistice; Paul Eiseman’s Looking Back (the Happy Prince and Ensemble), The Bacchae (Agave) and Oedipus Rex (Second Messenger) for Cypreco (Jay Michaels, director); Turbulence: Rage II for Cockpit Ensemble; Ring Round the Moon (the Mother) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta), director Paul Eiseman; and Maggie’s Daughters (Jay Michaels, Director). Film and TV credits include upcoming SVA student films Lion Bold, and Taste, Kevin Segalla’s Thanks, Ed, Yonatan Regeur's So It Goes, and Lou Berger's Show on the Road.
Laura Gillis has previously been seen in Playwrights for Pets’ FAIRY TALES (family and adult versions), MONSTERS, MISCHIEF NIGHT, LADIES’ NIGHT, and THE MARRYING KIND. Previous theatrical experience includes national tours with the world-famous Prince Street Players and Off-off and Off Broadway performances with the critically acclaimed Art & Work Ensemble and American Globe Theatre. Laura has performed many summers at the Depot Theatre in Westport, NY. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and AFTRA.
William Goldberg is an eighth grade honors student who studies drama. His passions include playing tackle football, tennis, piano, and his cats Jake and Simon. Professional credits include: Buddy in Super Hero Blues at Gallery Players, Billy Joe in The Great Pie Robbery at New York City Fringe Festival, Phillie in Checking The Basement for Leaks at Gallery Players, and Robin in The Years Between for On Her Shoulders. He's honored to be in The Money Tree and to help support such a worthy cause. Love to Mom & Dad!
Evan Guilford-Blake’s plays have been staged internationally and won 29 playwriting competitions. He's also won awards for his short fiction and children's material. Playscripts publishes The Firebird and True Magic; his children's play, Telling William Tell, is issued by TYA Scripts. He and his wife, freelance writer and jewelry designer Roxanna Guilford-Blake, live in the Atlanta area with their two lovable, dumb-as-dirt doves, Quill and Gabriella. Learn more at www.guilford-blake.com/evan.
Paul Guskin, a recently retired food service executive, started his career as an actor, and was lucky enough to appear in Manny on Broadway, The Guys in the Truck, Off-Broadway, and movies, including Tootsie, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and Just Tell Me What You Want, among others. On television, Paul appeared in Kojak (9 episodes), and The Edge of Night. However, his most fulfilling experiences were as Artist-in-Residence at colleges and schools in the Northeast. A native New Yorker, Paul has his sights on becoming a ROMEO (Retired Old Man Eating Out).
Nell Gwynn is thrilled to be supporting Animal Haven with Playwrights for Pets. She most recently appeared in Ed Musto's Mass. Murder directed by Judd Silverman. Check out pure excitement at www.gwynnactress.com
Maureen Hennigan, a friend of the furry ones, is happy to be presenting her play Table for One at Playwrights for Pets and to help support Animal Haven. Her previous writing credits include three short films which she wrote, directed and acted in, as well as sketch comedy work. She has worked as a film editor and assistant director on many independent films. As an actor, Maureen has performed classical and new work in theater, appeared on television as both an actor and dancer, and spent too much time in comedy clubs and on the college circuit doing improv.
Jeremy Holmes is originally from Columbus, Ohio and is a graduate of Ohio University's School of Theater. Since moving to New York, he has acted in numerous productions, primarily with Yankee Rep Theater, and has danced for Stefa Zawerucha at Danspace Project. He has also had the unique pleasure of dancing for Ursula Eagly in Garden of Earthly Delights, at Danspace Project, Galapagos Arts Space and Dance Theater Workshop, and in Smearcase, also at DTW. Thanks to Judd, Ed and Alden. Love always to Abby.
Liz Honig is a graduate of the interpreter training program at SCCC and has been working as an educational interpreter for 15 years. She has interpreted for such luminaries as Governor Pataki and Senator Schumer. Along with Susan Carey, she interprets for the theatre season at Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts in Smithtown, NY, including such challenging works as Into the Woods, Amadeus, and Urinetown. She is pleased to be affiliated with Playwrights for Pets and enjoyed interpreting FLYING SOLO in January 2006.
Eric Hunt’s original productions have appeared at MCC at the Sage Theater, the Makor/Steinhardt Center, BRIC Studios, PSNBC@HERE, Rose's Turn, DUMBO Arts Festival, NY Fringe and various and sundry other venues.
Jim Ireland Off Broadway: Ephemera by John Yearley; The Shawl with Dianne Wiest, directed by Sidney Lumet (Jewish Repertory Theatre). Regional Theatre: Proof (Delaware Theatre Co.); Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Walnut Street Theatre); Julius Caesar (Orlando Shakespeare Festival); Man and Superman (Arden Theatre); Twelfth Night, directed by Greg Doran of the RSC. More recently, Jim played The Fool in King Lear at Orlando Shakespeare Festival, where he will return this fall to play Tom in The Glass Menagerie. Jim is a member of Blue Roses Productions, Polaris North, and Circle East theater companies.
David Johnston’s works have been performed and read at the New Group, the Neighborhood Playhouse, Henry Street Settlement, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre. He was named one of Time Out’s Playwrights to Watch for in 2006. New York productions: Blue Coyote Theater Group, a new adaptation of The Oresteia, Busted Jesus Comix (GLAAD nominee 2005), Busted Jesus Comix Plus Three More Plays!, A Bush Carol, or George Dubya and the Xmas of Evil, The Standards of Decency Project. With director Kevin Newbury, Candy & Dorothy (GLAAD winner, 2006) and The Eumenides. Los Angeles productions: Cow, For Those Of Us Who Have Lived in France, Saturday with Martin, and Busted Jesus Comix, Moving Arts, Candy & Dorothy, at Rude Guerrilla. Publications: The Eumenides, (Playing With Canons, published by New York Theatre Experience, Inc.) Leaving Tangier , (Samuel French, produced by Blue Coyote); New York Telephone Conversation and The Revolution Will Commence at Chase Manhattan, (Rosebud); Death is Cold Like Barbie and I Dream of Ezra Pound (Stage Press Weekly). Playwriting awards include the Alan Minieri Memorial Award, Theater Oxford Ten Minute Play Contest, Turnip Festival One-Act Play Competition, the B.W. Morris Playwright Residency at the University of Cincinnati, the Berrilla Kerr Foundation Grant, the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation and the Arch & Bruce Brown Foundation. Education: B.A. from the College of William and Mary, the Professional Workshop at Circle in the Square. Member: Actors Equity, Dramatists Guild, Charles Maryan's Playwrights/Directors Workshop and Blue Coyote Theater Group.
Barbara Kahn is an award-winning playwright/director. Honors include: Torch of Hope Award for “lifetime achievement in non-profit theatre,” (past recipients: Terrence McNally, August Wilson, Horton Foote, A.R. Gurney and other theater luminaries); James R. Quirk Award for “memorable contributions to American theatre;” “best playwright,” 2005 Fresh Fruit Festival. Barbara’s plays have been produced at Theater for the New City since 1994, at other New York venues, other U.S. cities and in Paris, France, and Mainz, Germany. Directed: New York, Paris and at the National Theatre in London. Acting and playwriting coach for many years. Member: Dramatists Guild. www.barbara-kahn.com
Yeauxlanda Kay Dubbed “America’s Poet” by the New York Times, and “Brilliant” by Inside New York, (member of 15th Floor and Dramatists Guild), Yeauxlanda has scores of produced plays to her credit thanks to being a Neo-Futurist. She has performed at The Public, Lincoln Center, Cherry Lane, MTC, Classical Theatre of Harlem and The National Black Theatre Festival 2001 & 2005. She is featured in SLAMNATION 2. Her one-woman play Untitled & Unfinished was seen in festivals all over the country including the Aspen Comedy Festival 2004. She was seen on two seasons of Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry Jam.
V.E. Kimberlin lives and works in New York City. Her professional theatre and writing career began in the 1980s with classical actors training at NYC’s National Shakespeare Conservatory. Her numerous plays, film shorts and comedy sketches have been produced/performed in various media in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando, Santa Fe, and in London, England. Also a published fiction and nonfiction writer, V.E. Kimberlin has contributed news and feature articles to several New York metro area print and online publications. She occasionally reviews for theatre websites in addition to freelance public relations writing and web design/development/content writing.
Stacey Lane’s plays have been seen at over seventy theaters from coast to coast in the U.S., as well as in Canada, England, and Australia. She was recently nominated for “Outstanding Playwriting for a New Script of a Play or Book of a Musical” at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Lane is published with Playscripts, Inc., Smith and Kraus, Manhattan Theatre Source, San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, and Scene4 Magazine. She is the recipient of a 2008 Helene Wurlitzer Foundation playwriting fellowship. Special thanks to Playwrights for Pets and you, the audience, for supporting new works and a worthy cause. StaceyLanePlaywright@yahoo.com
David Lapkin is a graduate and former company member of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and is proud to be back with Playwrights for Pets. Thanks to Sue and Erin for this opportunity.
Judith Leora is the author of the full-length plays broken, The Cookie Fight, Monkey-hearts and Bottomfeeders. Her one-acts Warming the Bench (Street Festival, Lower East Side) and Quickie Date (Arkham Playwrights) recently received showcase productions. Judith also co-produced Gate B23 for the NYC International Fringe Festival (2010). She is an inaugural member of 15th Floor Playwrights, NY Madness and attended the Southampton Playwrights Conference (2009). Judith has also written sketch for the Camera Shy Seniors (Red Room/KGB) and wrote the screenplays Bumping Ugly (Split Screenplay Award), Fat Planet and Star Gone Bad with Brandon Burkhart.
Janice Mann received an Outstanding Supporting Actress award for her performance in Monetizing Emma in the Planet Connections Festivity in 2009. She originated the role of Anna in Some Are People – by Kathleen Warnock – which debuted in the 2007 Spring EATfest, and was reprised at the Int'l Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in May 2008. Proud member of Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT), AEA, AFTRA.
Kevin May enjoys writing, as well as judo, music and movies, when he's not scrambling over rooftops to install Dish TV. He lives in Edison, New Jersey with his wife Kathy and their two cats Lily and Sophia. He is pleased to be part of Playwrights for Pets.
Sera-Lys McArthur is a screen and stage actor, producer, model, martial artist, horseback riding enthusiast, and a musical theatre nerd. She is a proud member of the Nakota/ Assiniboine Nation who was raised by her German-Canadian single mother in southern Saskatchewan.
Despite being raised in the middle of nowhere, she managed to become a working actor at age 13. She later moved to New York City to study musical theatre, and then went on to gain an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School, the University of Essex, UK. Sera-Lys has experienced success on both sides of the border, gaining Canadian household recognition with recurring roles on two series: Arctic Air and Hard Rock Medical. She recently had an unforgettable guest appearance on the hit Starz series Outlander, as Mohawk healer Johiehon on episode 412 “Providence.” She also had a comedic turn opposite Cobie Smulders on episode 203 of Netflix’s Friends From College. She is the female lead in Robbery, an independent feature film (now available on many digital platforms) and will be appearing as a large recurring character on season 3 of Burden of Truth (CW/ Hulu). She is also an emerging producer, with several finished short films under her belt, including: Pharmalarm, Magic Madeleines, & Wolf of Waubamik Woods; and recently produced an immersive theatre production in NYC called Among the Cedars.
Jonna McElrath has performed with a number of off-off-Broadway theater companies in New York as well as regional theaters. Most recently she was seen as Lizzie Borden in Nance O'Neil at Access Theater. Some other NYC productions include: “M”: Shakespeare’s Macbeth for 3 actors (NY Fringe), Conversations on Russian Literature, David Johnston’s Oresteia, Paradise, Leaving Tangiers (Samuel French Award winner), Busted Jesus Comix + 3, A Bush Carol (all with Blue Coyote Theater Group), Trip’s Cinch (Sackett Group/Primary Stages), and The Jilting of Granny Weatherall (NY Fringe, winner Best Ensemble Acting). Jonna is a member of AEA and an avid supporter of new works by emerging playwrights.
Courtney McLean is a solo performance actress hailing from Southern California. So far, she has written and performed two one-woman shows, Normal-C, a hilarious collection of autobiographical anecdotes challenging the definitions of normal, and Super Glossy!, a satire on women’s magazines. Selections from Normal-C were most recently performed in FLYING SOLO, a Playwrights for Pets benefit reading for Animal Haven. Courtney will be taking Normal-C on tour with the DC and Minnesota Fringe Festivals this summer and Super Glossy!, having just enjoyed an awesome debut workshop performance, is to be fully produced at the end of 2006. Favorite “traditional” acting roles include Bette in The Marriage Of Bette and Boo, and Rosalind in As You Like It. Courtney also spent close to three years on the New York City comedy circuit, performing in numerous clubs including The Comedy Cellar, Stand-Up New York, Gotham Comedy Club, and The Village Lantern. She now lives in East Harlem, NYC with her awesome cat, Gracie. Courtney is a proud member of the FCW Society: http://fcwsociety.blogspot.com. You can also check out her personal site at www.courtneymclean.com.
Griffin Miller has written and produced a number of plays including Waiting for DoDo, Channel to Channel, and, with Sue Yocum, Contents under Pressure. In the real world, she’s a writer/editor specializing in theatre and travel. For Griffin trivia buffs, she has a BFA in theatre from Case Western Reserve University, is an actress, singer, collage artist and scarf designer, and sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. With her husband Richard Sandomir, she is the proud parent of Animal Haven kitty adoptees, Cassidy and Fuzzy.
Zeus Moran is delighted to contribute to Playwrights for Pets to support Animal Haven. A former Franciscan Brother, he is a diehard fan of our brother and sister creatures.
John Moss Recent roles include: composer Arthur Freed in What a Glorious Feeling at ATF; Victor Hugo and Wilhelm Reich in one-acts directed by Martin Scorsese’s script supervisor, Martha Pinson; and the Medium in Hereafter. Also Casey Stengel, FDR, Kissinger in DiMaggio and reprise of Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace in NC. Film: Revolutionary Road, It Could Happen to You, No Looking Back. Television: Law and Order, The Dana Carvey Show. Regional: Hank Williams, How to Succeed..,Showboat, Fantasticks, Mikado, Steve Martin’s Picasso.., A Funny Thing... Off-Bway: Mamet’sEdmond, Our Town, Richard III. Graduate of Temple University (Alumni Award).
Joe Musso and his wife Kate live in Birmingham, Alabama. Over the years, they have worked with numerous rescue organizations in the southeast, including Alabama Pug Rescue, Southeast Pug Rescue, and Friends of Cats and Dogs. They are especially dedicated to animal hospice and palliative care. Joe's plays have been presented in 35 states. His full-length play Absinthe recently was named winner of HRC Showcase Theatre's 2010-2011 W. Keith Hedrick Playwriting Award and will receive a staged reading on May 7, 2011, in Hudson, New York. In 2010, his full-length play Republic County was produced in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois.
Edward Musto is the author of Genevieve, Blood Dues, Porter Peace, Boston Proper, The Game of Love, The Ninth Circle and The Money Tree. He also penned the "Evening of Murder" series, the first of which, An Evening of Murder and the Like, received an Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America as Best Play. Recipient of an Edward Albee fellowship, Edward is a member of Charles Maryan's Playwrights/Directors Workshop and The Dramatists Guild.
Arlene Nadel has appeared in New York productions on and off-Broadway, and for both the Roundabout and the Public Theater. Off-off Broadway includes Judd Silverman’s award-winning production of Never Wear a Dead Man's Shoes. She played Mrs. Dalton in Classical Theatre of Harlem's new adaptation of Native Son twice, also appearing there in Rhinoceros. She has recently done staged readings of 5 neglected classics for the Shaw Project, but regularly participates in new play development in New York. Her regional credits include roles from Shakespeare, Brecht, Wilde, Orton, and Chekhov. Arlene is a graduate of Northwestern University and a member of Actors’ Equity since age 16.
Charles Navarrette has had numerous roles in plays ranging from Mamet to Shakespeare. Favorites include Zach in A Chorus Line, Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross, and a Kaiser. Currently in a workshop for Viagra: The Musical. Movies: several independent films; TV: 26” Sony. Thanks to Michael for not playing his Game Boy while Daddy performs and to Sue for inviting me into the club.
Kari Nicolle is so happy to be helping pets. She was last seen on stage with Ted Danson for the 24 Hour Plays at the Atlantic. Favorite NY credits include King Lear (Take Wing and Soar), Twelfth Night (Queen's Co), PEACE (Target Margin), The Cherry Orchard and The Imaginary Invalid (Resonance Ensemble). TV: White Collar www.karinicolle.com
James Nugent Broadway: The Nerd. Off-/Off-Off Broadway: 2010 Spring EATFEST, 2009 EST OCTOBERFEST, 2008 FRINGENYC, Pearl Theatre Company, New Group, Playwrights Horizons, Lark Play Development Center, Hipgnosis Theatre Company, Theatre for the New City, HERE Arts Center, New Dramatists, Workshop Theatre, Medicine Show Ensemble,Hudson Guild, Riverside Shakespeare, Negro Ensemble Company. Regional Theater: Luna Stage, Playwrights Theatre of NJ, Airmid Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Source Theatre. TV: Law and Order: CI, Hope and Faith, Autopsy, Madigan Men, Welcome To New York, Spin City, The Guiding Light, As the World Turns, All My Children, Ryan's Hope (AEA, SAG, AFTRA).
James O'Shea is a graduate of Fordham University and The Neighborhood Playhouse school of the Theater. He can been seen weekly as a cast member of Off the Top of Our Heads, the mainstage improvisational comedy show in the Whose Line Is It, Anyway? vein, seen every Saturday night at 7pm at Gotham City Improv. (www.gothamcityimprov.com) In addition, he can be seen on various television projects, including a currently running commercial for Chuck E. Cheese.
Annie Pesch graduated from Wright State University with a BFA in Acting. She most recently performed in Pan-dam-nation, which won Best Show in Who Wears Short Shorts 5, Phare Play Production’s biannual 21-hour play festival. Her past credits include The Belle of Amherst, A Piece of My Heart, Sylvia, and eight years performing in the nationally recognized New Works Festival, FutureFest. Her New York theatre companies/venues include Ensemble Studio Theatre, Symphony Space, Wings Theatre, Urban Stages, eye-BLINK Entertainment, La Muse Venale, and Interart Annex.
Anna Podolak appears on stages both in Poland and the U.S. Her recent stage credits include: Mika in The Spring and Fall of Eve Adams written and directed by Barbara Kahn. Beth in Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind (Michael Chekhov Theatre Company) , Red Riding Hood (Polish Theater Institute), Mrs. Gould in Mrs. Gould’s Fourth Annual Holiday Special ( St. George Productions NJ), The Divine Comedy (Akt 21 Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Theatre of J. Osterwa, Poland). Anna is also a member of ALAT etc currently working on The Red Tent Fabric. www.annapodolak.com
Robbie Rescigno Theatre: Mannerz (Stan, La Muse Venale); ViolatingUncle Piggy (Mummy, Gallery Players); Twelfth Night (Feste, Syracuse University); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Quince, Syracuse University); and Kiss Me, Kate (First Gangster, Syracuse University). Robbie has also written and starred with his twin brother, Paul, in The Rescignos’ Variety Show (Syracuse University). Film: The Three Chances to Woo the Future Mrs. Harold Dowd (Harold). BFA Acting, Syracuse University.
Robin Rice - author of over 70 plays (21 full-length). Published, honored, produced from South Africa to Off-Broadway. Next up in the NYC area, a live podcast with The Parsnip Ship: An Eco-Fable - A Wolf, a Rabbit and a Crow Walk into Tomorrow (March 30). Member Dramatists Guild, 29th St. Collective, LPTW Playwrights Circle, Honor Roll!, Oracles. www.robinriceplaywright.com
Laurrinda Robinson is excited to step onto the stage after a nearly five-year hiatus in which she has been trying to raise a quality human being. Reviews won’t be in for quite some time. Before her role of Mother (not in Ragtime), she appeared as Sister Robert Anne in numerous productions of Nunsense, the Narrator in Joseph..., Little Red in Into the Woods, Martha in Secret Garden and Gloria in Damn Yankees.
David Rosenholtz is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College. He is currently pursuing a career in arts and entertainment while living in New York City. Theater credits include: The Seagull, In Pain, The Lion in Winter. Film/TV credits include: One Life to Live, White Collar, and Veronika Must Die. David is very excited to be involved with Playwrights for Pets.
Brian Schlanger is a native of both Nashville, TN and Charleston, SC. He received his MFA in Acting at The New School for Drama. He studied Shakespeare through BADA and spent a summer studying with the Moscow Arts Theatre/A.R.T. in their Chekov Intensive. He has acted in film, TV, commercials, regional theater and NY theater.
Gary Schrader is a founding member of Blue Coyote Theater Group. For Blue Coyote, he has appeared in and directed numerous plays, among them David Johnston's Busted Jesus Comix, Leaving Tangier, and A Bush Carol, the last with music and lyrics by Stephen Speights. This fall, he will direct the premiere of David Johnston's The George Place in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Susan Shafer's first play, Sadie and Ida, won both the 2007 Nor’Eastern one-act contest and the Theatre League of South Florida’s competition, and was part of the 6 Women @ 60 traveling play festival in 2006. Her Pass the Horseradish was produced this year on Martha’s Vineyard and in Rome, New York. A freelance education writer and former teacher, Susan has written five plays for children, all published by Benchmark Education Company. Susan is a member of Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and the Dramatists Guild.
Sande Sherr was a drama teacher in the New York City public high schools for 30 years. Currently, she performs in audio drama with the National Audio Theatre Festival and, most recently, with The Gotham Radio Players at The Friends of Old Time Radio Convention, in an original “Sam Spade” piece. She is doing voiceovers and has just recorded a web tour for a new educational product. Sande has been blessed with having had and loved 2 cats and now has her sweet dog, Tess. She is thrilled to be performing with Playwrights for Pets.
Judd Lear Silverman is a founding member of PFP—proving you can be allergic and still love animals! A grant recipient from the Berrilla Kerr Foundation, his plays have recently been seen at NYC’s Neighborhood Playhouse, Brooklyn’s Gallery Players, The Queens Players (in Queens!), Ohio’s Dayton Playhouse (FutureFest), the Samuel French One-Act Festival, Houston’s Theatre Southwest, Florida’s Caldwell Theatre Co., Stage 3 in Sonora, CA, Grand Junction, CO’s Two Chairs Theater Company, and Boston’s 11:11 Theatre Company, as well as in the Edinburgh, London and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. In June 2009, his play Heart was presented at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, AK. He has spent many years developing new work as a playwright and a director, with directing credits including Angels in America at Brooklyn Center; Wolf!, Holes, and The Brave Little Tailor at the Henry Street Settlement Abrons Arts Center; and, most recently, Edward Musto’s trilogies, Mass. Murder and Evilution. A longtime member of Charles Maryan's Playwrights/Directors Workshop, his first book for children, Eddie Has Allergies, is available at www.lulu.com/ErnestSilliman and through the Amazon Kindle Store.
Clare Melley Smith's plays have been produced in Chicago, Portland and Bangor (Penobscot Theatre) Maine, Milwaukee, and New York City. The Writing Room, a full-length play, won the 2006 Vermont Playwrights Award and was read at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Staged readings of Clare’s plays have been done at Opera House Arts/Deer Isle, the Freeport Players, and Schoodic Arts, Winter Harbor, Maine. A new play, Time Downeast, recently received a grant from the Cape Elizabeth, ME Arts Commission. Clare is a member of the Charles Maryan Playwrights Workshop in NYC, Actors’ Equity, AFTRA, SAG, and The Dramatists Guild.
Harry Smith is the author of 16 books of poetry and essays. He has been active in the Small Press scene as a publisher and as a founding member of COSMEP. He is known for his support of the literary arts through the Generalist Association and his publishing company, The Smith. Harry is the recipient of the Small Press Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award and of PEN’s Medwick (poetry) Award for his book-length poem, TRINITY. Harry lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Clare, dogs Teddy and Monty, and cats Dusty Roads and Jasper.
Donna Spector is a playwright as well as a poet. Her plays have appeared Off Broadway, regionally, and in Canada, Ireland, and Greece. Her play, Golden Ladder, was published in Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002 (Smith & Kraus). A member of The Dramatists Guild and Poets & Writers, she received two N.E.H. grants to study in Greece. A program of her poems was aired on Australian national radio, and her poems, stories, and monologues have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies, including The Greensboro Review, Poet & Critic, Sycamore Review, Gaia, and The Paterson Literary Review. She and her cats Smoke and Fog live in an old, New York farmhouse across from a wildlife sanctuary.
Barry Steely has appeared in numerous readings of new works in Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop, as well as productions of As Is and She Stoops to Conquer at Brooklyn Center and workshops of Light Up the Sky, Good Woman of Setzuan, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with other companies around town. He just completed a run in Edward Musto's Camera-Ready Art, in which he appeared as the Priest in A Wedding Album, and was recently seen in THE MARRYING KIND and FABLES & FAIRY TALES, both produced by Playwrights for Pets. He also appeared in the video installation, You Connect the Dots at the Whitney Museum of Art. In New York, he studied acting with Peter Thompson at the Michael Howard Studios. A native of Denver, PA, he has appeared in a variety of productions in his home state, including My Fat Friend and Bedroom Farce (both at Ephrata Playhouse in the Park), Fools, Play It Again, Sam, Baby,I Ought to Be in Pictures, The Apple Tree, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Pippin. When he is not acting or guarding paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barry is a painter who exhibits at Figureworks in Williamsburg and at Art-at-Large in Manhattan.
Tony Travostino’s acting has followed a circuitous path. As an undergraduate, he worked with Frank Galati at Northwestern and Roman Polanski in Paris. He then became an entertainment attorney, working in Los Angeles and then New York, where he founded a successful software company which he runs to this day. A few years ago he returned to acting, studying in New York with Doug Hall and appearing in productions of The Seagull and The Winter's Tale as well as new works like Lloyd Pace's New Orleans and Robert Gulack's The Six Husbands of Elizabeth the First. His 8-year-old German Shepherd rescue, Truman, would prefer that he didn't rehearse at home.
Steph Van Vlack last worked with Barbara Kahn, who wisely kept her hidden behind a dark screen with her hand stuffed up a puppet’s butt, at Theater for the New City. However, Barbara allowed Steph to be out in public in this production after Steph promised to behave herself. She most recently appeared at the Michael Chekhov Theatre as Amanda Wingvalley in Durang Durang; other previous roles include Truvy in Steel Magnolias, and Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter. She’s also appeared in several independent films, and regional and national commercials including for TLC and the Discovery Channel. More can be found at http://www.sceneinteractive.com/talents/StephVV/ . She thanks Barbara for allowing her this opportunity, and especially Steve.
Ed Vela is a native Texan, born in San Antonio. Vela began acting in 1978, and began writing plays in 1997, after moving to Houston in 1989. He has had many 10-minute plays produced in the Houston area, and his plays have also been seen in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wyoming, Vermont, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ohio and Debrecen, Hungary. He has won National Contests for playwriting from the Jewel Box Theatre and Theatre Oxford. Vela has full-length plays, one-act plays, and short play collections in print with three different publishers, in the United States and Canada.
Kathleen Warnock is a New York City-based playwright and editor, whose work has been seen in NYC, regionally, in London and Dublin. She is Playwrights Company Manager for Emerging Artists Theatre, and curator of the Robert Chesley/Jane Chambers Playwrights Project for TOSOS. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Dana Watkins is currently featured in My First Time off Broadway, and was last seen as Charlotte Corday in Marat/Sade at the Classical Theatre of Harlem. Other roles: F. Scott Fitzgerald in Allan Knee's The Jazz Age, Charles Smithson in the world premiere stage adaptation of The French Lieutenant's Woman, Prince Hal in Henry the IV Parts I and II, Franz Kafka in the U.S. premiere of Stanley Walden's Letter to My Father at the Kaye Playhouse, as well as Native Son (Jan Erlone), Macbeth (Banquo) and The Cherry Orchard (Trofimov) all at the Classical Theatre of Harlem, and the one-man show An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, which enjoyed a two-year run at the Waverly Inn. TV: One Life to Live, Guiding Light, The City. Film: The Empath, Dreamgirl, Unbridled. Dana has been performing since the age of seven, as a boy soprano, both in the chorus and as a soloist, at the Metropolitan and New York City Operas, working with such directors as Frank Corsaro, John Dexter and Franco Zeffirelli. He is a graduate of the acting program at SUNY Purchase.
Chris Weikel REGIONAL: Paper Mill Playhouse, GeVa Theatre, American Stage, Seaside Music Theater, Florida Stage, Sacramento Music Circus, and the New York State Theater Institute. WEST END: Dick Peaslee and Adrian Mitchell’s The Snow Queen directed by Pat Birch. TOURS: Meet Me in St. Louis (Also at Harrah's in Atlantic City). OFF-BROADWAY Robert Benchley in Talk of the Town at the Bank Street Theatre and The Algonquin Hotel Oak Room. PLAYWRIGHT: Weikel's critically acclaimed Penny Penniworth will return to off- Broadway this fall produced by EAT. AWARDS: 2008-09 Dramatists Guild Fellow, Robert Chesley Award for playwriting and the Irv Zarkower Award from Hunter College.
David Winitsky has directed or assisted on Broadway, off-Broadway, and regionally at Papermill Playhouse, Steppenwolf Theatre, California Shakespeare Festival and Philadelphia Theatre Company. His arts management experience includes commercial General Management with Blue Man Group and Broadway-on-Broadway, as well as non-profit leadership of the Obie-Award winning HERE Arts Center in Lower Manhattan and Playwrights Theatre in Madison, NJ. He holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern, a BA in Mathematics from Cornell, and is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Emerging Artists Theatre. David is the proud husband of playwright and painter Elizabeth Samet, and father to Ezekiel and Alexander.
Sue Yocum spends as much time as possible pursuing two passions: animal welfare and writing. In January 2005, Sue created Playwrights for Pets, which produces play-reading benefits for organizations that rescue and care for abandoned animals. As a volunteer at the New York Foundling Center from October 2003 to May 2004, Sue formed a writing/performance workshop for teens, which culminated in a variety show performed for clients and staff. Having begun her life in the theater as an actress, Sue decided to focus on writing after years of performing, writing, and directing sketch comedy with Five Card Draw and Out of The Blue. Recent New York City productions include All in a Day’s Work, Duet, Last Chance Saloon, and The Garden of Eden. Sue has written one screenplay, Greetings from Ocean Point, which was inspired by The Nerds, one of the top cover rock bands in the USA. Member: Dramatists Guild, Actors’ Equity, Screen Actors Guild, Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop and the Barrow Group’s FAB Women. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sue grew up in Edison, New Jersey. After graduating from Temple University, she lived in Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey, and has been a resident of Brooklyn for more than 20 years. To put food on the table, she has worked as a nurse’s aide, exotic dancer, and paralegal, to mention just a few past professions, and now freelances as a proofreader/copy editor. Sue thanks all past, present, and future supporters of Playwrights for Pets. You rock!
Offstage Friends
The Animal Companion
Animal Haven staff and volunteers
www.animalhavenshelter.org
Blue Coyote Theater Group
http://bluecoyote.org/
BPAC - Baruch Performing Arts Center
“an incubator for the arts”
www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac
John Malatesta, Managing Director
Ariadne Condos, Operations Director
Charles Maryan's Playwrights/Directors Workshop
777 West End Avenue, #6C
New York, NY 10025-5551
212-864-0542 / email: cmaryan@pace.edu
Colts Neck Yoga
Ann Yocum, Director
The Orchards
24 State Highway Route 34 South
Colts Neck, NJ 07722
732-866-9999
www.coltsneckhotyoga.com
Glen Wild Animal Rescue
Liz Keller, Director
www.glenwildanimalrescue.org
Roy Arias Studios & Theatres
Times Square Arts Center
300 West 43rd Street, Office 506
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-957-8358
Fax: 212-208-6847
http://www.royariasstudios.com
TBG Studios
312 West 36th Street
New York, NY 10018
212-760-2615
studios@barrowgroup.org
The Yocum Family
Support Services
Anonymous
Arch Carey
Gail Frydkowski
Denni Lee Heiges
Hillary aka Blue-haired Cat Lady
Cary Benjamin Portway
Debra Rhoades
Richard Sandomir
Joe Wehry
Stephen White
