The Outsider: New Short Plays

Grades 9 & 10 Play

The Outsider: New Short Plays Directed by Cynthia Babak Playwrights Monica Flory, Miranda Rose Hall, Nylda Mark, Gabe Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Wong Thursday & Friday, October 28 & 29, 2021 7:00 PM | Richard Perry Theatre

P O LY P R E P P E R F O R M I N G A R T S D E PA R T M E N T P R E S E N T S:

The Outsider: New Short Plays Directed by: Cynthia Babak

— Nourishment

by Gabe Rodriguez

The Early Adopter, Part One

by Nylda Mark

The Outsiders

by Monica Flory

Rocky Mountain National Park

by Miranda Rose Hall

Supergirls Versus the World

by Elizabeth Wong

The Early Adopter, Part Two

by Nylda Mark

These plays were commissioned by Poly Prep Performing Arts for the students of Grades 9/10.

Cast Nourishment by Gabe Rodriguez MaKiyah Turner-Hicks.................................................................................................... Paige Genevieve Fitzpatrick................................................................................................. Marissa Ensemble.................................................................................................... Students & Others The Early Adopter, Part One by Nylda Mark Matthew Brooks, Ocean DeGraaf,................................................ Sellers in the Market Wendy Zhou, Isabelle Gerling Juliet Michaelis, Rani Green, Ryan Geisler............................... Buyers in the Market Drew Waldman....................................................................................................The Outsider MaKiyah Turner-Hicks...................................................................................................... King Genevieve Fitzpatrick....................................................................................... Royal Helper The Outsiders by Monica Flory Juliet Michaelis.....................................................................................................................Ava Isabelle Gerling....................................................................................................................Irina Ryan Geisler .......................................................................................................................Noah Rocky Mountain National Park by Miranda Rose Hall Matthew Brooks..................................................................................................................One Ocean DeGraaf..................................................................................................................... Two Supergirls Versus the World by Elizabeth Wong Ensemble......................................................................................................... Climate Deniers Drew Waldman.................................................................................................................. Greta Wendy Zhou........................................................................................Ou Hongyi (Howie Ou) Rani Green............................................................................................................................... Isra The Early Adopter, Part Two by Nylda Mark Genevieve Fitzpatrick, Rani Green, Wendy Zhou...............Aristocrats at the Party Ryan Geisler, Juliet Michaelis............................... “New Money” Guests at the Party Isabelle Gerling, Matthew Brooks............................................................. Royal Helpers Ocean DeGraaf, Drew Waldman....................................................... The King & Queen MaKiyah Turner-Hicks......................................................................................The Outsider

Production Staff Cynthia Babak.............................................................................................................. Director Hannah Chalman.....................................................................................Costume Designer Andrew Murdock............................................................................................. Scenic Design David Higham............................................................ Lighting Design/Technical Director Ashley Hacker................................................................................................... Choreography

Director’s Note Last year we had our first-ever commission for new short plays—a bold response to the challenges of doing theater in COVID times. These new plays centered on the theme “Ghost Story” and were tailored to the Zoom environment in which we were creating theater at that time. The project was a great success, and I was thrilled when Michael Robinson, Head of Arts, suggested that we continue the commission process this fall.

I suggested that we ask for plays on the theme of “The Outsider” this year for several reasons. One was to acknowledge the isolation so many people, especially teens, have been experiencing during these long COVID months—months spent looking at live images of other people framed in little squares. Another was to explore our current relationship to nature.

COVID lockdown certainly made me more aware of my need for the solace of nature! And the break we gave the planet briefly, with fewer cars on the roads and planes in the skies, made us all take a deeper look, I believe, at our unsustainable levels of consumption. When the plays rolled in, I was delighted to see our theme explored in these ways and more, and in settings and styles that varied so greatly. It’s been a memorable process bringing these plays to life—live and in person!—with this talented group of young actors and our amazing designers, Hannah Chalman (costumes), Andrew Murdock (scenic design), and David Higham (lights & sound). And, of course, none of this would have been possible without the brilliance and generosity of our playwrights, Monica Flory, Miranda Rose Hall, Nylda Mark, Gabe Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Wong. Enjoy.

Cynthia Babak Brooklyn, NY 2021

A Note from the Performing Arts Department It is always a joy to kick off the year with our Grades 9 & 10 production; however, this year brings a greater sense of elation. After 18 months of navigating all that has come with the pandemic: safety protocols, testing, Zoom, productions by film, and so much more, we are beyond excited to welcome you back to our theater for our first in-person show of the 2021–22 season.

We are extremely proud of our students and community—especially our director, Cynthia Babak, our designers, and the cast and crew of The Outsider: New Short Plays—for their ingenuity and willingness to get back into the process of live theater. Their compelling creativity, heart, and drive deserve congratulations.

We welcome you and hope you enjoy tonight’s presentation.

Ashley Hacker MS/US Dance, Debate, & Drama Coordinator

Playwright Bios Monica Flory (The Outsiders) is a playwright, director, and educator who is thrilled to collaborate with the artists of Poly Prep. She was the Middle School drama teacher at Poly from 2003–2009, where she wrote and directed Last Summer.

Additional works for Poly include: Little Rose & Silence (Upper School) and Lively, A Duckling and Goldiblox and the Three Worlds (Lower School). Other recent original works include Monster (Ghostlight), Because of Dragons (Wing Repair), and Brown-eyed Rapunzel (Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival, Philly Fringe). Her published plays include The Jungle Book, Once Upon a Pandora’s Box (Playscripts), Last Summer (Brooklyn Publishers), and Third Wheel (Smith & Kraus). She is the Education Director and playwright at Philly PACK, where she has adapted Frankenstein, Through the Looking Glass, The Little Mermaid, Robin Hood, The Secret Garden and many others.

Miranda Rose Hall (Rocky Mountain National Park) is a playwright whose works include Plot Points in Our Sexual Development (LCT3 / Lincoln Center Theater), A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction (finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, upcoming Theatre-Vidy, Switzerland), and The Kind Ones (upcoming Magic Theater). She is the recipient of a 2020 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, and she is currently under commission from LCT3, Yale Repertory Theater, and Playwrights Horizons. She is a co-founder of the NYC-based LubDub Theatre Co. She holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

Nylda R. Mark (The Early Adopter) works, lives, and goes to school in the Tri-State area. She is a member of Hook & Eye Theatre Company and has her MFA in acting from University of California, Irvine. This is her second time writing for Poly Prep, and she has truly enjoyed the experience. She is continually grateful for Cynthia Babak and the Poly Prep performers. “I hope everyone has as much fun and joy building and performing this play, as I did getting to write it! Thank you!”

Gabe Rodriguez (Nourishment) is an award-winning filmmaker, playwright, critic, and lyricist. His short film Susie in the Afterlife won the Spirit Award at The Queens World Film Festival in 2011.

In 2015, his first short play Zora’s Collar premiered at Manhattan Rep Theatre. His second short play, Mother’s Peak, premiered at the same venue the following February and had four seperate productions within a year. His full-length play, Club Silencio, produced by The Cuban Cultural Center of NY, premiered in Manhattan in June 2017. He is currently in post-production on his first feature film, The Sisters Kardos, a loose retelling of Little Women set during the era of COVID. You may view some of his work at FallenHeroFilms.com.

Elizabeth Wong (Supergirls Versus the World) is a Los Angelesbased playwright/director. She’s written many award-winning plays for family audiences. Her commissions include Prometheus, Goloshes of Fortune and Amazing Adventures of the Marvelous Monkey King (Denver Center Theatre); Tam Tran Goes to Washington (East/West Players); and two pop operas, Ibong Adarna: Fabulous Filipino Folktail (Honolulu Theatre for Youth) and The Play Formerly Known as the Happy Prince (Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); and Rupert the Robot Does My Homework (Chicago Children’s Theatre). She teaches at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Meet the Production Staff Cynthia Babak (Director) is a multi-disciplinary theater artist and educator, and 2015 recipient of the Tanne Foundation Award. She is a core member of Hook & Eye Theater for whom she has devised several plays and scripted the historicalfantastical She-She-She. For Brave New World Rep, she directed Arthur Miller’s The American Clock, and Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation, as well as several readings for their Brave New Works series. Her full-length play, Where I Dwell has been workshopped at Lanyard Theater and Florida Rep, and her one-act, In the Skin, was a finalist at the O’Neill Playwriting Conference. At Poly, she has directed a dozen plays for Grades 9 &10, helms the Young Actors club, and oversees the Performing Arts Camp in summer. She is also a master teaching artist with Roundabout Theatre Company.

Hannah Chalman (Costume Designer) is a costume designer, costume technician, and makeup artist from Tennessee. Ms. Chalman received her MFA in Costume Design from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BA in Theatre from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Before joining Poly Prep, Ms. Chalman worked as the Costume Design Assistant for Long Wharf Theatre’s 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 seasons. Other credits include working as Assistant Costume Designer for Othello (The Public Theatre—Shakespeare in the Park), Assistant Costume Designer for Admissions (Lincoln Center Theatre), and as a Personal Assistant to Toni-Leslie James for Come from Away (Broadway).

Andrew Murdock (Scenic Designer) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator.

He has worked at Puppetry in Practice and Marquis Studios teaching classes in video, puppetry, and stop motion animation (K–12 in NYC public schools). His personal work often bridges the tangible and digital by utilizing techniques in video, physical theatre, and puppetry. He holds a customized BFA dual major in Sculpture and Film, Animation, Video (FAV) from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College focusing on collaborative theater-making and the integration of technology. Recent credits include: Video Designer and Livestream Technician for 36.5 / PROCESS by Sarah Cameron Sunde (Socrates Sculpture Park/Hallett’s Cove, NYC), commissioned video project Amass (ArtYard, Frenchtown, NJ), and Co-director/Co-creator of Be(ings) (Center at West Park, NYC). This is Mr. Murdock’s second year at Poly Prep and he is very excited to help highlight the students’ work and contribute to the space live and onstage.

David Higham (Lighting Designer & Technical Director) is in his thirtieth year at Poly, where he has been responsible for designing the lighting, sound, and scenery for over 170 productions. In addition to his work at Poly, Mr. Higham has designed lighting for productions at The Public Theatre, Lincoln Center, the Irish Arts Center, The Women’s Project, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, and The National Shakespeare Company, among others. Mr. Higham also has worked as a lighting designer for several New York City architectural and landscape design firms.

A Note About Our Rehearsal Process and Safety Protocols Due to the current health and safety protocols, we made several adjustments to our rehearsal process, which are outlined below.

In preparation for our auditions, rehearsals, and productions, we worked closely with Sarah Zuercher, Director of Health and Well-being, and Renae Beauchman, COVID Safety Coordinator, to create these protocols: •

Students were masked and socially distanced while rehearsing.

If unmasked (which was allowed two weeks before curtain and for performances), students maintained 3–6 feet distance at all times and only had their mask off while onstage. Crew were expected to wear their masks for the entirety of the production/rehearsal.

• The first three rows of theatre seating were blocked off and students were asked to sit in the theatre or be backstage while unmasked students were rehearsing onstage two weeks prior to opening night.

• Staging and choreography adhered to state and national guidelines for social distancing: 3 feet apart for speaking, 6 feet for dancing & singing.

• Any students who were unvaccinated were rapid-tested upon arrival or tested the day prior to all weekend rehearsals and shows.

Our Production Would Not Be Possible without the Generous Support of: Audrius Barzdukas P’20 Head of School Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18 Assistant Head of School, Academics Sarah Bates Head of Upper School Michael Robinson Head of Arts Daniel Doughty Director of Music Ashley Hacker MS/US Dance, Debate, & Drama Coordinator The members of the Performing Arts faculty, the Engagement & Communications Department, the Poly Prep IT Staff, the Facilities and Maintenance Department, the Security Staff, the Kitchen Staff, and the Upper School Deans.

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Join Us for These Upcoming Performing Arts Events Grades 11 & 12 Play: Museum by Tina Howe Friday, November 19, 2021 7:00 PM | richard perry theatre Saturday, November 20, 2021 2:00 PM | richard perry theatre Winter Arts Festival Thursday, December 9, 2021 7:00 PM | memorial chapel Middle School Play: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Stage Adaptation by Jill Bolstridge Thursday, December 16, 2021 7:00 PM | richard perry theatre Afternoon of Student Choreography Sunday, January 30, 2022 3:00 PM | richard perry theatre

Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming events!