Cold Read Program 2022

FESTIVAL CURATOR

Melissa Crespo

STAGE MANAGERS

Erin Whyland* Em Piraino Audrey Flynn Logan Becker

Robert Hupp Artistic Director Jill A. Anderson Managing Director

Melissa Crespo Associate Artistic Director Kyle Bass Resident Playwright

SEASON SPONSORS

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Melissa Crespo is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union. Cold Read Festival of New Plays is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Syracuse Stage October 18 - 23, 2022

23

When Kyle Bass introduced Cold Read in the 2016/2017 season, his goal was to invite audiences into the creative process of the playwright at various stages of a play’s development. This season the festival returns under the direction of associate artistic director Melissa Crespo. An ardent supporter of new work development, Crespo has expanded Cold Read. In addition to a line-up of exciting new work, she has invited leading theatre artists to participate in digital panels to examine the challenges and rewards of developing new work, which, as many play incubators around the country struggle, seems more important than ever.

EVENT GUIDE

IN-PERSON READINGS

THEATRE

WRITE HERE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022, 7:30PM

A reading of a new hilarious and chilling absurdist play The High Cost of Heating by local playwright Craig Thornton.

IN-PROCESS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022, 2:00PM

A new play in-process that will premiere later this season by Ty Defoe. Our Words are Seeds explores the past, present, and future of Shenandoah, an Oneida Nation, non-binary, and self-proclaimed Indiginerd teenager, and their great-great-grandmother, who started their family calling of writing letters to the United States Government demanding land back.

SOLO ACT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022, 7:30PM

An intimate workshop production of a new piece Untitled written and performed by Jessica Bashline. Almost 10 years ago Jessica found herself on a journey, discovering the truth about the history of reproductive rights in pre-Roe United States.

DRAFT/PAGES

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2022, 3:00PM

A first-ever reading of a Syracuse Stage commission by Rogelio Martinez. In The National Pastime, baseball and espionage come together in an atmosphere of secrets and paranoia.

LIVE STREAMED PANEL DISCUSSIONS

“ON THE FUTURE OF NEW PLAYS”

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022, 12:00PM

This live conversation offers a rare opportunity to witness how creative artists envision a future and develop new work. Panelists: Kyle Bass, Melissa Crespo, Sarah Mantell, and Paula Vogel

“CREATING NEW MUSICALS”

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022, 12:00PM

What goes into making a new musical? From the classroom to Broadway, musical theatre creators discuss the trials and triumphs of what it takes to make a musical. Panelists: MaggieKate Coleman, Robi Hager, Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez, and Kathleen Wrinn

"NEW WORK FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES"

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2022, 12:00PM

What does it mean to create and present theatre for young audiences and families? Why is it important to engage young audiences at an early age? Join us for a live discussion about the creation and future of Theatre for Young Audiences. Panelists: Ty Defoe, Dwayne Hartford, Kate Laissle, and Karen Zacarías

"ON THEATRE & CRITICISM"

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022, 12:00PM

Theatre has managed to scrape by in our ongoing pandemic, but with all of the chal lenges facing live performance, where does criticism fit? Join our live discussion about the state of theatre and how critics navigate an ever-changing landscape. Panelists: Eric Grode, Sarah Rose Leonard, and Brittani Samuel

WRITE HERE

October 18, 2022

LIVE STREAMED PANEL DISCUSSION

“ON THE FUTURE OF NEW PLAYS”

This live conversation offers a rare opportunity to witness how creative artists envision a future and develop new work. How do these writers generate new ideas? What will playwriting look like in a postCOVID-19 America? How will their work impact the future of playwriting?

PANELISTS

Kyle Bass (he/him)is the resident playwright at Syracuse Stage where he previously served as associate artist director and was the founding curator of the Cold Read Festival of New Plays. Kyle is the author of Possessing Harriet (Standing Stone Books, 2022), which was commis sioned by the Onondaga Historical Association, premiered at Syracuse Stage in 2018, was produced by Franklin Stage Company in 2019, and most recently at East Lynne Theater Company in New Jersey. His play salt/city/blues received its first production at Syracuse Stage in 2022, and Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country, about a young James Baldwin, has streamed nationally since 2021. Other plays include Tender Rain, which will premiere at Syracuse Stage in 2023, To liver & Wakeman, commissioned by Franklin Stage Company through a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Individual Artist Grant, and Bleecker Street. His op era libretto Libba Cotten: Here This Day, commissioned by The Society for New Music, premiered in 2021. Kyle is the co-screenwriter of Day of Days (Broad Green Pictures, 2017), and, with National Medal of Arts recipient Ping Chong, Kyle is the co-author of Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, which premiered at Syracuse Stage and was subsequently produced at La MaMa Experimen

tal Theatre in New York City. He is a three-time New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) fellow (for fiction in 1998, playwriting in 2010, screenwriting in 2022). Kyle was faculty in the M.F.A. Creative Writ ing program at Goddard College from 2006 to 2018, taught playwriting in the Department of Drama and courses in dramatic literature in the Department of African Ameri can Studies at Syracuse University, playwriting at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, was the 2019/20 Su san P. Stroman Visiting Playwright at the University of Delaware, and is the Flournoy Visiting Playwright at Washington and Lee University for 2023. Kyle is currently assistant professor of Theater at Colgate Uni versity, where he previously served as Burke Chair for Regional Stud ies. A descendant of African people enslaved in New England and the American South, Kyle lives and writes in upstate New York where his family has lived free and owned land for nearly 225 years. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Kyle is represented by the Barbara Hogenson Agency.

Melissa Crespo (she/ her) is a director of new plays, musicals and op era. As a director, Melissa has developed work at New Dramatists, The Lark Play Development Center, The O’Neill Theater Center, and theatres

around the country and abroad. As a playwright, her play Egress, co-writ ten with Sarah Saltwick, was recently produced by Amphibian Stage, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Theatreworks Hartford. Fellowships and residencies include: Time Warner Fellow (WP Theatre), Usual Suspect (NYTW), The Director’s Project (Drama League), Van Lier Directing Fellow (Second Stage Theatre), and the Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fel low (Arena Stage). She is a founding editor of 3Views on Theater, an on line theatre journal conceived by The Lillys and was featured in the 2020 Broadway Women’s Fund “Women to Watch on Broadway”. Melissa is a recipient of the NYMF Director Award from The Lillys and received her M.F.A. in directing from The New School for Drama.

Paula Vogel (she/her) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose plays include Indecent (Tony Award for Best Play), How I Learned To Drive (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lor tel Prize, OBIE Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play), The Long Christmas Ride Home , The Mineola Twins , The Bal timore Waltz , Hot’n’throbbing, Desdemona , And Baby Makes Seven , The Oldest Profession and A Civil War Christmas . She is particularly proud of her Thirtini Award from 13P, and honored by three Awards in her name: the Paula Vogel Award for playwrights given by The Vineyard Theatre, the

Paula Vogel Award from the Ameri can College Theatre Festival, and the Paula Vogel mentorship program, curated by Quiara Hudes and Young Playwrights of Philadelphia. From 1984 to 2008, Paula Vogel founded and ran the playwriting program at Brown University; during that time she started a theatre workshop for women in Maximum Security at the Adults Correction Institute in Crans ton, Rhode Island. It continues to this day, sponsored by the Pembroke Center for Women at Brown University. From 2008-2012, she was the O’Neill Chair at Yale School of Drama.

Sarah Mantell (they/ she) Sarah's plays in clude Everything That Never Happened, The Good Guys, Tiny, In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, and Fight Call. They have been produced and developed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Boston Court Pasadena, The Play wrights Realm, Artists Repertory Theatre, Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, The Yale Cabaret, and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Sarah is under commission with Playwrights Horizons and Geva Theatre Center and has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, Wildacres, Hedgebrook, and SPACE on Ry der Farm, as well as a Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, Toulmin grant, Edgerton Foundation grant, first runner-up for the Leah Ryan FEWW award, and three nomina tions for the Susan Smith Blackburn

Award. Essays include “Touch the Wound, But Don’t Live There” in American Theatre Magazine and “On the Loss of a Play and Things

Worth Losing” on 3Views. B.F.A. Rhode Island School of Design. M.F.A. Yale School of Drama.

October 19, 2022

LIVE STREAMED PANEL DISCUSSION

“CREATING NEW MUSICALS”

What goes into making a new musical? From the classroom to Broadway, musical theatre creators discuss the trials and triumphs of what it takes to make a musical.

PANELISTS

Maggie-Kate Coleman (she/her)

brettist, playwright, curator, educator, and cheerleader for new work. She is a recipi ent of the Jonathan Larson Grant. Works include book and lyrics for Pop! (Yale Rep, Studio DC, City Theatre Pittsburgh, etc.) with com poser Anna K. Jacobs; lyrics for The Gift Of The Magi (Arkansas Rep) with Andrew Cooke and Jeffrey Hatcher; The Map Of Lost Things (Hangar Theatre). With longtime collaborator Erato A. Kremmyda, she has written Marie In Tomorrow Land (with director Sam Pinkleton - Polyphone/AMTP/), Field Trip: A Climate Cabaret (Superhero Clubhouse), The Way They Live (The Civilians at The Met) Hotel Medit eranee (Wild Project), among others. They are currently developing We Will Not Be Silent, a piece about youth resistance across generations. Her work has been developed at the Orchard Project, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Space on Ryder Farm, Ars Nova, Catwalk Institute, and The Civilians. She received her M.F.A. from NYU’s graduate musi cal theatre writing program, and her B.A. from Ithaca College in Theatre and English. She was a 2015 Mac Dowell Fellow and currently serves as the artistic director of The Poly phone Festival of New and Emerg ing Musicals at the University. www. polyphone.org @maggiehyphenkate

Robi Hager (he/him) is a Mexican-American musical theatre writer and performer living in Philadelphia. Shortly after moving to the US from Mexico City at the age of four teen, his passion for the arts grew rapidly and developed into a career choice. He appeared on Broadway in the 2007 Tony Award-winning musi cal Spring Awakening, as well as How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Bye Bye Birdie, and Doctor Zhivago. He toured the country with the 2015 Tony Award-winning mu sical Fun Home and Spring Awaken ing. Regionally he appeared at Arden Theatre Company in Ragtime, Next To Normal, Parade, and Fun Home. He played the role of Clyde Barrow in Bonnie & Clyde at Theatre Under the Stars. As a composer, he wrote songs “Quiero Soñar" and “Madu ros” along with friend Alex Mc Cabe which appeared in films Top Five and Can You Ever Forgive Me. His solo concert Robi Hager: So Far was part of the Arden’s 2021 virtual season, which featured his musical compositions, so far. His musical Little Duende was one of two musicals accepted for the 2021 NMTC at The O'Neill Center and was also featured as one of eight musicals in the 2021 NAMT festival in NYC. His other musical Si luetas was selected for this year's NMTC at The O'Neill Center and is being developed with Power Street

Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Robi is the composer and producer of LGBTQ musical Basic Witches, for which he received a 2018 Barrymore Award nomination for best original score. He's been commissioned by the Arden Theatre Company to write a new children's musical based on the legends of King Arthur. For more in formation visit robihager.com

is a Tony Award-winning producing team led by Ben Holtzman (he/him), Sammy Lopez (he/him), and Fiona Howe Rudin (she/her). P3 is dedicat ed to building productions from the ground level to uplift new voices and communities. Current projects in development include How to Dance in Ohio (World Premiere: Syracuse Stage 2022), Gun & Powder (World Premiere: Signature Theatre 2020), Midsummer, Bradical, and two ad ditional projects in development with award-winning artists John Leguizamo and Shakina Nayfack. Other Co-Producer/Investor credits include Hamilton, Moulin Rouge!, A Christmas Carol, Be More Chill, The Kite Runner, A Strange Loop (with A Choir Full Productions) on Broad way and Orlando in London’s West End. Holtzman and Lopez are proud graduates of Syracuse University.

KathleenWrinn (she/her) is an assistant professor of musical the ater at Syracuse Univer sity, as well as a musical theatre lyricist, librettist, and performer. As a faculty member at Syracuse, Wrinn has taught musical theatre performance, collaborative mu sical theatre writing, contemporary vocal technique, solo cabaret cre ation, and all levels of singing voice. As a lyricist and librettist, Wrinn’s fulllength musicals include The Bridge (music by Peter Hodgson; NYTB’s New Works Series; two-time semifinalist O’Neill NMTC; finalist SDSU New Musical Initiative; two-time re cipient Catwalk Art Residency; work shop Syracuse University); The Forgetting Of Snow (Music by Paulo K Tiról; reading NYU Tisch; concert Berklee College of Music; NAMT Songwriters Cabaret); and Ten: The Story Of Grace And Joe (Music by Wrinn, Brad Kemp, and Jessica Hunt; The Rev’s Pitch Se ries). Wrinn is currently developing Our Soliloquy, a new musical with composer Jessica Hunt, adapted from dozens of interviews with women and gender diverse performers in the mu sical theatre industry. Wrinn’s original songs have been featured at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, Barrington Stage, The Kraine Theater, and NYMF’s Women of Note Concert three years in a row. Favorite performance roles include Miss Honey (Matilda The Musical, Syracuse Stage/ Department of Drama co-production); Eva Perón (Evita, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra); Rona Lisa Per etti (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Papermill Theatre); Edwin

Ben Holtzman and Sammy Lopez P3 Productions

Drood (The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Papermill Theatre); and Henriette Henriot (The Woman In The Blue Dress, Syracuse Stage). Wrinn is passionate about amplifying the work of writers and composers whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the musical theatre canon, and

launched the New Works, New Voices developmental initiative at the Department of Drama in Spring 2022. Proud member AEA, Dramatists Guild, and Maestra (Directory Manager). M.F.A. NYU Tisch; B.F.A. Syracuse Univer sity. www.kathleenwrinn.com

October 20, 2022

LIVE STREAMED PANEL DISCUSSION

"NEW WORK FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES"

What does it mean to create and present theatre for young audiences and families? Why is it important to engage young audiences at an early age? Join us for a live discussion about the creation and future of Theatre for Young Audiences.

PANELISTS

Ty Defoe (he/him) (Giizhig), is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations. He is a Grammy award-winning compos er, a librettist, interdisci plinary artist, actor, Broadway choreog rapher, eagle dancer, and hoop dancer. Ty interweaves artistic projects with social justice, indigeneity, trans rights, Indigi-Queering, and environmental ism. Awards, residencies, and fellow ships: 2022 The Kennedy Center's Next 50, 2021 Helen Merrill Awardwinner, TransLab Fellow, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, Jonathan Larson Award, Cordillera International Film Festival Finalist, 2021 Cultural Capital Fellow, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center finalist, and the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop. Ty’s songs have been featured at: Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, 54 Below, The Met, and The Ken nedy Center. Ty’s theatrical work has been presented at: Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale In stitute of Musical Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Native Voices at the Autry, The New Victory Theater, First Stage, The Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt; Interna tional Music Festival in Ankara, Tur key; and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai. Works: TransWorld, Red Pine, The Way They Lived, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, Hear Me Say My Name, Hart Island Requiem, Clouds are Pillows for the Moon, Wind Changes Direction, Before the Land Eroded, BasketBall Is

'War, Minus the Shooting' In Sectar ian Lebanon, River of Stone, Firebird Tattoo, Trial and Tears (with Dawn Avery), and The Lesson (with Nolan Doran and Avi Amon). Ty is a core member of All My Relations Collec tive, recent piece: GIZHIBAA GI IZHIG | Revolving Sky

Dwayne Hartford (he/ him) is the artistic direc tor at Childsplay in Tem pe, AZ, where all of his plays for young audiences have premiered. Hartford has had six plays published by Dramatic Publishing. Eric and Elliot won the 2005 AATE Distinguished Play Award. The Imaginators was produced and aired on KAET TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate. His adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities was part of New York University’s New Plays for Young Audiences Workshop and has been performed at Seattle Children’s Theatre; People’s Light and Theatre in Malvern, Penn.; and Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston. The Bully Pulpit is included in the anthology The Bully Plays and is being produced in schools and communities around the country. His other published plays include The Color of Stars and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which has been professionally pro duced all over the country, including Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Md.; Dallas Children’s Theater; Chicago Children’s Theatre; and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA. Hart ford lives in Phoenix with his dog, Henry. He is originally from Maine

and received his bachelor’s in fine arts from the Boston Conservatory.

Kate Laissle (she/her) (Dramaturg) is the asso ciate director of educa tion at Syracuse Stage. During her tenure, she started the Young Adult Council, Educa tion Advocacy Board, and the first sensory friendly theatre performance in Central New York. She also di rects and devises Theatre for the Very Young productions. She has worked as a dramaturg and prop/costume designer on the Backstory program at Syracuse Stage for the past three productions. Kate has a Masters in Education and an undergraduate degree in theatre.

Karen Zacarías (she/her) was recently hailed by American Theatre magazine as one of the most produced playwrights in the United States. Zacarías’s plays include The Copper Children, Destiny of Desire, Native Gardens, The Book Club Play, and Legacy of Light, among others. She has also adapted for the stage Just Like Us,

The Age of Innocence, Into the Beautiful North, and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent. She is the author of ten renowned Theatre for Young Audienc es (TYA) musicals and the librettist of several ballets. She is one of the inaugu ral resident playwrights at Arena Stage in Washington, DC; a core founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons, a national organization of artists seek ing to update the American narrative with stories of Latinx; and founder of the award-winning Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT), which teaches play writing to young people and was cited by the Obama administration as one of the best arts education programs in the nation. In 2019, she was voted a Washingtonian of the Year for her arts advocacy by Washingtonian magazine and spoke at TEDxBroadway. She also received a Sine Fellowship at the American University School of Public Policy for connecting art with policy making; the League of Professional Theatre Women’s Lee Reynolds Award for social, cultural, or political change with theatre; and the Childrens The atre Foundation’s Medallion Award. Zacarías lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, three children, and two dogs.

NEW

BY KYLE BASS

BY RODNEY HUDSON

October 21, 2022

"ON THEATRE & CRITICISM"

Theatre has managed to scrape by in our ongoing pandemic, but with all of the challenges facing live performance, where does criticism fit? Join our live discussion about the state of theatre and how critics navigate an ever-changing landscape.

PANELISTS

Eric Grode (he/him) is the director of the Goldring Arts Journalism and Commu nications Program at Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He has worked since 2005 as a freelance theatre critic and reporter for the New York Times, and his articles and reviews have also appeared in the Village Voice, New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York, the Boston Phoenix and more than a dozen other publications. Grode is the author of Hair: The Story of the Show That Defined a Generation and The Book of Broadway: The Definitive Plays and Musicals.

Sarah Rose Leonard (she/her) is a dramaturg and creative pro ducer. She is currently a live events producer at KQED, Northern Cali fornia’s NPR and PBS member station. Previously, she was the literary manager at Berkeley Rep ertory Theatre and the literary associate

at Signature Theatre. Favorite drama turgy credits include This Much I Know (Aurora Theatre), twenty50 (Denver Center), Angels in America (Berkeley Rep), A Good Neighbor (Z Space), In Braunau (SF Playhouse), You For Me For You (Crowded Fire), Big Love (Sig nature Theatre), and The Hotel Colors (The Bushwick Starr). She is a co-editor of 3Views on Theater, an online the atre criticism publication dedicated to multiplicity.

Brittani Samuel (she/ her) is a CaribbeanAmerican arts journal ist, theatre critic, and the co-editor of 3Views on Theater. Her work has appeared in American Theatre Maga zine , Broadway News , Glamour , Observer , OkayAfrica , Zora, and several other places on the Internet. She is an alum of the BIPOC Critics Lab and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Critics Institute. To read more of her published work, visit BrittaniSamuel.com. To chat about how great Rihanna is, visit her on Instagram @brittaniidiannee.

WRITE HERE

PRESENTS A READING OF

THE HIGH COST OF HEATING BY

Craig Thornton DIRECTED BY Melissa Crespo STAGE MANAGER Erin Whyland*

THE HIGH COST OF HEATING CAST

Ricky Pak (he/him) (Husband) Ricky Pak is an assistant professor of acting at Syracuse University and teaching artist with the Tectonic Theater Project in New York City. He is thrilled to be working with Melissa once again and being able to perform with his wife, Whitney Tenney Pak. Recent directing credits: Home for the Holidays- Syracuse Stage, Danny, King of the Basement- Syracuse Stage Education. Recent acting credits: Regional Theatre: Yoga Play (Syracuse Stage/Geva Theatre Center), Here Comes the Sun (New York Pops Up/ The REV Theater Company), Sav ing the Country from Itself (Su Teatro, Denver, CO.), Valley of the Heart (el Teatro Campesino/Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA.). Film: I Love My Dad (Amazon Prime), The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (Hulu). www.RickyPak.com

Whitney Tenney Pak (she/her) ( Wife ), is an actor, director, and teaching artist based in Syracuse, New York by way of Los Angeles, CA. She is associate artistic direc tor of Circle Squared Collective, a theatre company creating new and devised work. Most recent projects include the virtual production, This Land, an exploration of the 2020 Election created bi-coastally using interviews from voters all over the country. In 2014, she trained with Tectonic Theatre Project (The Laramie Project) in their system of devis ing, Moment Work, and has col laborated to produce multiple shows using this method of creating new work in the years since. Recent work in CNY includes Home for The Holi days (Syracuse Stage), Shakespeare in Love (Central New York Playhouse), This Land (Circle Squared Collec tive). She is thrilled to be involved with the Cold Read Festival, and so grateful to Melissa Crespo for casting her opposite her favorite co-star in life, Ricky Pak.

THE HIGH COST OF HEATING PLAYWRIGHT

Craig Thornton (he/ him) studied dramatic writing at New York University (B.F.A.), The American Film Institute and Godard College (M.F.A.). His first play YooHoo Sheila was produced in New York City shortly after his graduation from Tisch School of the Arts. Other full productions include Happy Birthday, Tina Marie (LA and NYC), The Sweet Life, We’re a Close Family, Life on the Lawn (LA), The Moment, In My Shoes Productions or staged readings have occurred in Phoenix, Kenosha,WI, Bangor, ME, and upstate New York: Watertown, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. His docudrama In My Shoes telling true stories of teenagers whose par ents were actively deployed during conflict in the Middle East was fea tured in a national story on CNN and referenced in a congressional study on military communities. Sev eral of his plays have been finalists in nationally recognized playwrit

ing contests, most notably, The High Cost of Heating; The New Works Festival, The Northern Writes Fes tival, The Riva Shiner Award, Screencraft Stageplay and runner-up for the Yale Drama Series prize; considered one of the most com petitive and prestigious international play competitions. What We Hold Onto, which was developed at the HBO workspace was a finalist at The O’Neil National Playwrights Confer ence. His career in television has been recognized with two New York State Broadcasters Association Awards, an AP award, and two Syracuse press Club Awards. Other awards include NYSTA and TANYS and a Mac Dowell Colony Fellowship. He is a former artist in residence at Empire State College where he taught in the wounded warrior unit at Fort Drum guiding soldiers through memoirs. Also a screenwriter with several features optioned, he currently teaches screenwriting at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

THE HIGH COST OF HEATING DIRECTOR

Melissa Crespo (she/ her) a director of new plays, musicals and opera. As a director, Melissa has developed work at New Drama tists, The Lark Play Development Center, O’Neill Theater Center, and theatres around the country

and abroad. As a playwright, her play Egress, co-written with Sarah Saltwick, was recently produced by Amphibian Stage, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Theatreworks Hart ford. Fellowships and residencies include: Time Warner Fellow (WP Theatre), Usual Suspect (NYTW), The Director’s Project (Drama

League), Van Lier Directing Fellow (Second Stage Theatre), and the Al len Lee Hughes Directing Fellow (Arena Stage). She is a founding edi tor of 3Views on Theater, an online theatre journal conceived by The Lillys and was featured in the 2020

Broadway Women’s Fund “Women to Watch on Broadway”. Melissa is a recipient of the NYMF Director Award from The Lillys and received her M.F.A. in directing from The New School for Drama.

IN-PROCESS

PRESENTS A READING OF

OUR WORDS ARE SEEDS BY

Ty Defoe DIRECTED BY

Yarrow

MANAGER

OUR WORDS ARE SEEDS PLAYWRIGHT

Ty Defoe (he/him) (Giizhig), is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Na tions. He is a Grammy award-winning composer, a librettist, inter disciplinary artist, actor, Broadway choreographer, eagle dancer, and hoop dancer. Ty interweaves artis tic projects with social justice, indigeneity, trans rights, Indigi-Queering, and environmentalism. Awards, resi dencies, and fellowships: 2022 The Kennedy Center's Next 50, 2021 Helen Merrill Award-winner, TransLab Fellow, Robert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, Jonathan Larson Award, Cordillera International Film Festival Finalist, 2021 Cultural Capi tal Fellow, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center finalist, and the ASCAP Mu sical Theater Workshop. Ty’s songs have been featured at: Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, 54 Below, The Met, and The Kennedy Center.

Ty’s theatrical work has been pre sented at: Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Institute of Musical Theater, La MaMa Experi mental Theatre Club, Native Voices at the Autry, The New Victory The ater, First Stage, The Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt; Interna tional Music Festival in Ankara, Tur key; and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai. Works: TransWorld, Red Pine, The Way They Lived, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, Hear Me Say My Name, Hart Island Requiem, Clouds are Pillows for the Moon, Wind Changes Direction, Before the Land Eroded, BasketBall Is 'War, Minus the Shooting' In Sectar ian Lebanon, River of Stone, Firebird Tattoo, Trial and Tears (with Dawn Avery), and The Lesson (with Nolan Doran and Avi Amon). Ty is a core member of All My Relations Collec tive, recent piece: GIZHIBAA GI IZHIG | Revolving Sky

OUR WORDS ARE SEEDS CAST

Michelle Schenandoah (Kunukwe/she/her) is an inspirational speak er, thought leader and traditional member of the On^yota':aka (Oneida)Nation Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee Con federacy. She presented as a spiritual advisor to Pope Francis in the First Nations Delegation at the Vatican

that prompted his apology regarding residential schools. She is the founder of the non-profit Rema triation that is dedicated to uplifting Indigenous women’s voices. Inspired by her great grandmother Mary Cornelius Winder and her grand mother, Wolf Clan Mother Masie Shenandoah, who led generations of Oneida Nation land claims. Mi chelle carries her ancestors' passion

to rematriate her people’s lands and bring about the truthful telling of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s influ ence on the US Constitution and Women’s Rights. Through her storytelling as a filmmaker, writer and speaker, Michelle creates safe spaces to share tools and resources that she has learned from her own healing journey and lived experiences. She is also co-founder, owner and principal at Indigenous Concepts Consulting with her husband, Neal Powless; they help businesses and media compa nies develop their own organizational best practices through an Indigenous value based lens.

Talia Shenandoah (she/ they) is an Indigenous (Mohawk) Artist, Per former, and Entrepre neur. Currently the Audience Development Assistant at Syracuse Stage, Talia re cently passionately transitioned to a career in Theater following a decade of dedicated work as a Human Service Professional. Her areas of special focus included working with Tribal and Urban Native communities, the LGBTQ+ population, education, outreach, program development, and care management. Talia has served on many state level committees, fulfill ing administrative duties all the way through to Co-chair roles. She is also the co-founder and current Director of Salt City Burlesque LLC, an en tertainment troupe and production founded in early 2015 that prioritizes LGBTQ+ artistry and calls Syracuse home. Dedicated to art, advocacy,

and community, Talia hopes to bring a multi-faceted and passionate peoplecentered approach to every one of her projects.

Ty Defoe (he/him) (Giizhig), is from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations. He is a Grammy award-winning composer, a librettist, inter disciplinary artist, actor, Broadway choreographer, eagle dancer, and hoop dancer. Ty interweaves artistic projects with social justice, indigeneity, trans rights, Indigi-Queering, and envi ronmentalism. Awards, residencies, and fellowships: 2022 The Kennedy Center's Next 50, 2021 Helen Merrill Award-winner, TransLab Fellow, Rob ert Rauschenberg Artist in Residence, Jonathan Larson Award, Cordillera International Film Festival Finalist, 2021 Cultural Capital Fellow, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center finalist, and the ASCAP Musical Theater Work shop. Ty’s songs have been featured at: Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, 54 Below, The Met, and The Kennedy Center. Ty’s theatrical work has been presented at: Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Institute of Musical Theater, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Native Voices at the Autry, The New Victory Theater, First Stage, The Millennium celebration in Cairo, Egypt; International Music Festival in Ankara, Turkey; and Festival of World Cultures in Dubai. Works: TransWorld, Red Pine, The Way They Lived, Ajijaak on Turtle Island, Hear Me Say My Name, Hart Island Requiem, Clouds are Pillows for the

Moon, Wind Changes Direction, Before the Land Eroded, BasketBall Is 'War, Minus the Shooting' In Sectarian Leb anon, River of Stone, Firebird Tattoo, Trial and Tears (with Dawn Avery),

and The Lesson (with Nolan Doran and Avi Amon). Ty is a core mem ber of All My Relations Collective, recent piece: GIZHIBAA GIIZHIG | Revolving Sky

OUR WORDS ARE SEEDS DIRECTOR

Joann Maria Yarrow (she/her) is the direc tor for community en gagement and education at Syracuse Stage. She is a professional director and producer with over 35 years of experience and specializes in story development across serval platforms. Joann was the artistic director of Teatro Prometeo, where she directed and produced over 80 productions in Spanish, translated, adapted, and commissioned new works that have toured nationally and internationally in multilingual communities. Joann worked for Hal Prince on seven Broadway pro ductions and co-founded A Labora

tory for Actor Training with Vernice Miller inspired by their collaborations with Odin Teatret in Denmark and the ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology. At Syracuse Stage, Joann directed Backstory’s Citizen James, or the Young Man without a Country and Commanding Space, both touring nationally. She curates community dialogues, inviting the public to dis cuss and address topics that surface from Syracuse Stage’s productions or community projects. She is passionate about fostering multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary programs and productions that challenge and shift each individual in the world.

SOLO ACT

PRESENTS A READING OF

UNTITLED BY Jessica Bashline DIRECTED BY Margaret Ledford

STAGE MANAGER Audrey Flynn

Jessica Bashline CAST

UNTITLED CAST

Jessica Bashline ( she/her) is an assistant professor of theater at the University of Mi ami, where she teaches acting and theater creation. She was the artistic director and co-founder of Strange Sun Theater, a theater company in New York City dedicated to creating magical new theatre that ignites in audiences and artists the power of possibility. In addition, she was the consulting artis tic director of the Sheen Center when it opened in downtown Manhattan, curating a full season for two theatres. Before that she served as the artistic director of Wingspan Arts, an arts education company in New York City. Jessica works primarily as a free lance theatre director specializing in new play and musical development, her favorite credits include; Lov ing Repeating  (NYC premiere), Life of the Party (NYU-premiere pro duction of Larry O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s new musical), at NYU Steinhardt Gypsy, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, with Strange Sun Closer Than You Think (world premiere), The Drowning Girls (NYC premiere). As a playwright Jessica has

written two full length pieces. Wick edest Woman, the story of Ann Lohm an, midwife and abortionist in the 1800’s in NYC (finalist: Scrap Mettle Arts Playwrights Festival, production January 2019 NYC and slated for publication spring 2021). Garden of Memories the story of siblings dealing with the loss of their mother and the acceptance of their past. Runner-up W. Keith Hedrick Award at HRC Showcase Theater and semi-finalist Trustus New Playwrights Festival 2016. In addition to her work as a director and playwright, Jessica is an accomplished acting coach, focusing primarily on audition coaching and musical theatre work. She also works with people in all professions to in corporate theatre techniques into their daily lives, as a means of selfexpression and empowerment.Jessica has a B.F.A. in acting from Boston University and an M.F.A. from Goddard College. Her practical focus has been on theatre creation, primarily directing. Her research focuses on both feminist theatre and progressive pedagogical approaches to teaching acting and directing on both the uni versity and high school levels.

UNTITLED DIRECTOR

Margaret M. Ledford (she/her) (Director) is a dedicated, passion ate artist and creator. She is enthralled with storytelling and sto ries that leave audience members feeling, “There, but for the grace of God, go I,” and if they can laugh along the way, even better! Creden tial type information Margaret has directed many plays and musicals in South Florida, including Pro methean Theatre (resident director for eight years), Palm Beach Dramaworks, GableStage, Florida Repara

tory Theatre, Naked Stage, New Theatre, Delray Beach Arts Garage, Mosaic Theatre, Caldwell Theatre Company, Florida Stage, Island City Stage, Thinking Cap Theatre, The atre Lab, and City Theatre. She is an eight time nominee for best director for the SFL Carbonell awards and a multiple Silver Palm winner for Di rection. Margaret is a national re viewer for the National Young Arts Foundation, a panelist for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival, a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and a creator at Mangrove Creative Collective.

DRAFT PAGES

PRESENTS A READING OF

THE NATIONAL PASTIME BY

Rogelio Martinez

DIRECTED BY Margarett Perry

STAGE MANAGER Logan Becker

*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. The director of this production is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

23, 2022

CAST

(in alphabetical order)

Jose-Maria Aguila* Nick Deapo Eliud Garcia Kauffman* Javier David Padilla* Joel Perez* Samarra* David Studwell*

THE NATIONAL PASTIME CAST

Jose-Maria Aguila (he/him) is a Mexican born actor, writer, and fight choreographer. A graduate of the NYU graduate acting program, and has studied at the British American Drama Academy, Oxford University, and the National Theater Conservatory. Credits include, SWAT (CBS/Paramount+), Pose (FX), Blue Bloods (CBS), Madam Secretary (CBS), 5th of July (Amazon), Regional: Portland Stage, William stown Theater Festival, Denver Center, The Guthrie Theater. Jose-Maria currently teaches and has taught stage combat/ acting/movement for the actor at NYU graduate acting, The Stella Adler Conser vatory, NYU Tisch undergraduate acting program, The Dalton School, The 52nd Street Project, and Dream Yard. “Ense ñales quien eres..”

Nick Deapo (he/him) is thrilled to return to Syracuse Stage after last appearing 12 years ago as Ralphie in A Christmas Story in 2010. He just completed a repertory season in New

Hampshire at the Weathervane The atre: A Chorus Line (Vocal Ensemble), Intimate Apparel (Ensemble), Blood Brothers (Sammy), and Jesus Christ Superstar (Priest/Disciple). Other fa vorite credits include: 42nd Street (Os car/Doc/Thug) at The REV, Spring Awakening (Moritz), Bonnie & Clyde (Buck), Chaplin (Karno), and Dogfight (Birdlace). B.F.A. musical theatre, Nazareth College. Thank you to my family, friends, mentors, and everyone at Syracuse Stage. www.nicholasdeapo.com

Eliud Garcia Kauffman (he/him) is thrilled to be a part of The National Pastime team and to be at Syracuse Stage for the first time with this great festival. Theatre credits include OffBroadway: 72 Miles to Go (Roundabout) written by Hillary Bettis and directed by Jo Bonney, Last Jew of Boyle Heights (Ac tor’s Temple). Regional: Yasmina’s Necklace (Premiere Stages). Film: Hands of Stone, Bel Canto, The Intern, From Nowhere (SXSW Audience Award Fea ture); Television: Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Flesh &

Bone, Blacklist. www.eliudgarciakauff man.com

Javier David Padilla (he/him) is a proud Latino actor born and raised in California, based in New York City. Theatre credits: Do You Feel Anger? (Kitchen Theatre Compa ny), Witch (The Huntington Theatre Company) Romeo and Juliet (Classical Theatre of Harlem), A Dollzes House (Signature Theatre), The Rocky Horror Show (Artist Repertory The atre), Almost, Maine (L.A. Theatre Center), Commedia  (Atelier Teatro Fisico), In The Red And Brown Wa ter (Columbia University) Film: The Changeling (Apple TV) Education: B.A. in theatre with an emphasis in performance from San Diego State University (2016) M.F.A. in acting from Columbia University (2019)

Joel Perez (he/him). His stage acting work includes Fun Home (Broadway), Kiss My Aztec! (Hartford Stage) and Sweet Charity (New Group; Lortel Award). On screen in tick, tick… Boom! (Netflix), Jesus Christ Superstar Live! (NBC), and Odd Mom Out (Bravo). His writing includes The Black Beans Project (The Huntington Theatre) and Playing With Myself (Ars Nova). His short film that he wrote and stars in, Beautiful, FL, is a selec tion of Disney Launchpad and will premiere on Disney+ in 2023. He is a Warner Bros. Discovery 150 Artist for

his comedy pilot You’re Tired, You’re Poor. He won the 2021 Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition for his play From the Fountain. He is a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA artist fellow in playwriting. Follow him @misterjoel perez and www.misterjoelperez.com

Samarra (she/her) is extremely thrilled and honored to be here af ter a 12-year hiatus. Her previous full-time career was in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Roles included Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew with The Queens Company. Ranger Wilson in Shiloh Rules with Flying Fig Theatre Company. Articles were featured for both in The New York Times. We Got Issues cast mem ber at The Apollo Theatre, produced by Eve Ensler. Washington, D.C. credits include Kate in the Miracle Worker and understudy to Phylicia Rashad in Blue, both at Arena Stage. Inez in Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse at The Kennedy Center. Venus in Venus at The Studio Theatre and a company member of The Folger Shakespeare Library. She received her B.F.A. from Howard University graduating summa cum laude. Additional train ing includes The Shakespeare Theatre Summer Classical Workshop and The Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory. Love to my mommy, my partner, and my forever 7 kitties. Wishing peace and love to all. May your dreams al ways find their way home no matter how intense the storms.

David Studwell (he/ him) Off-Broadway; First North Ameri can Tour; The Band’s Visit (Avrum), NY City Center’s Encores! Ap plause! (Bert). Regional; Syracuse Stage: Little Women (Prof. Bahr), In diana Repertory; The Fantasticks (El Gallo). Chicago Shakespeare; Mary Stuart (Lord Burleigh), Ogunquit Playhouse; Ragtime (Grandfather), John W. Engeman Theatre; 1776; (Franklin), Theatreworks Silicon Val ley; Sweeney Todd (Sweeney), PCPA Theatrefest; Man of La Mancha (Cer

vantes/Quixote) -Santa Barbara Indy Award, Portland Center Stage; Fiddler on the Roof (Tevye)-Drammy Award, Westchester Broadway Theatre; Titanic (Isidor Straus). Hangar Theatre; Red (Rothko), Goodman Theatre; As You Like It (Oliver) Alliance Theatre; Falsettos (Mendle), Marriott’s Lincoln shire Theatre; Chess (Anatoly), Joseph Jefferson nominated, Fulbright Specialist - Pakistan, 2013, 2015; Theatre Wallay-director: Dagh, Dagh, Ujala; This Stained Dawn (https://www.you tube.com/watch?v=bUto1pMRn1E ), On Common Ground. www.davidstudwell.com.

NATIONAL PASTIME DIRECTOR

Margarett Perry (she/her) is an awardwinning director of new plays and has di rected and developed new work Off-Broad way and in regional theatres across the country and in the UK. She directed the world premiere of Ro gelio Martinez’s Born in East Berlin at San Francisco Playhouse. Other recent world premieres include: The House by Brian Parks (UK and US), Education by Brian Dykstra (59E59), Banned from Baseball by Patricia O’Hara (Human Race) and Seared by Theresa Rebeck (San Francisco Playhouse). Other favorites: Thanksgiving Play (Kitchen Theatre), Shrek the Musical (Con necticut Rep), Used to Was/Maybe

Did (Center Theatre Group), The Revolutionists (Human Race) and A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Hudson Stage).

During the shutdown, she ventured into the short film and music video world for passion projects such as #Hashtag That-Say Their Name (from the musical Crazy Make Cra zy), This Doesn’t Work written and performed by Darian Dauchan and Brian Dykstra and Time Passes for the Resident Acting Company. She also began exploring watercolor and her work was licensed by the New York Historical Society and was a finalist in 2020 Brush & Lyre Prize. Margarett was an artistic fellow with the Lark for years and considered it her theatrical home base. www.mar garettperry.com

THE NATIONAL PASTIME PLAYWRIGHT

Rogelio Martinez (he/his) is an awardwinning playwright whose plays have been workshopped and produced in theaters across the country and abroad. His play, Born In East Berlin, was first performed at the Stasi Museum, Berlin, in both English and German and then premiered at San Francisco Playhouse in February 2020. More recently, Martinez worked on The Seven Deadly Sins project for Miami New Drama. It was the largest the atrical production allowed by Equity during the pandemic. It won the Drama League Award - Outstand ing Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater. In 2021, Martinez worked on a new television project for Tom Fontana, based on the book, Year of Dangerous Days. His play, Blind Date, was produced at the Goodman Theatre under the direction of Tony nominee Robert Falls, with Tony Award winning actress Deanna Du nagan playing the role of Nancy Rea gan, and was awarded an Edgerton

Foundation New Play Award. Martinez is a recipient of a 2017 Gug genheim Fellowship, Princess Grace Award, and a Mid-Career Fellow ship at the Lark Theater Company. His work has been workshopped and commissioned by various theaters across the country including the Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Atlantic Theater Company, Arden Theater, Asolo Repertory, and Ojai Theater Com pany, and many more. Martinez’s plays include Illuminating Veronica, Arrivals and Departures, All Eyes and Ears, Blind Date (all published by Broadway Play Publishing). This year Broadway Play Publishing will publish Born in East Berlin, and I Regret She’s Made of Sugar (Princess Grace Winner). He is an alumnus of New Dramatists. Martinez teaches undergraduate playwriting at NYU and has also written for children’s television. Martinez was born in Sancti-Spiritus, Cuba, and came to this country on the Mariel boatlift.

SYRACUSE STAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

CHAIR

Rocco Mangano Partner Mangano Law Office, PLLC

PRESIDENT

Herman R. Frazier* Senior Deputy Athletics Director Syracuse University

PAST CHAIR/VICE CHAIR

Nancy Green Managing Member Edward S. Green & Associates

TREASURER

Gwenn Judge* Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Syracuse University

SECRETARY Sharon Sullivan Community Volunteer

AT-LARGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER Phil Turner Pastor

Bethany Baptist Church Jill A. Anderson** Managing Director Syracuse Stage

Janet Audunson Assistant General Counsel National Grid George S. Bain Freelance Editor and Writer

Barbara Beckos Retired - Syracuse Stage

Nancy Byrne Community Volunteer

Dr. Ruth Chen* Professor of Practice Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science

Robin Curtis NYS Lic. RE Asso. Broker Hunt Real Estate ERA Zellar Homes Rep.

Richard Driscoll Sr. Commercial Banking Relationship Manager Commercial Banking Division NBT Bank

Denise Dyce* Director of Labor Relations Syracuse University

Helene Gold Private Voice & Piano Instructor

Jacki Goldberg Community Volunteer

Bea González

Retired - Vice President for Community Engagement Syracuse University

Larry Harris EVP and CFO Saab, Inc.

John Huhtala Relationship Manager Middle Market Commercial Banking Chase

Robert Hupp** Artistic Director Syracuse Stage

Cydney Johnson* Vice President for Community Engagement and Government Relations Syracuse University

Rebecca Karpoff* Professor of Practice, Musical Theater/Coordinator of Vocal Instruction, Musical Theater Syracuse University Department of Drama

Kathy Kelly Retired - Health Educator, PNP

Larry Leatherman Retired - Bristol-Myers Squibb, MOST

Dan Lent Vice President Citizens Bank

Anthony Malavenda Retired - Duke’s Root Control

Julia Martin Partner

Bousquet Holstein

Kevin R. McAuliffe Partner Barclay Damon

Suzanne McAuliffe Retired - Educator

Rod McDonald Bond, Schoeneck & King

Molly Mulvihill Sr. Relationship Manager Global Commercial Banking Bank of America

Fran Nichols Retired - Mower, Inc.

Mona Paradis Stadium International Trucks

Virginia Parker Retired - Educator

Molly Ryan Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP

Robert Sarason Retired - Lawyer, Organizer, Fundraiser

L. John Steigerwald IV Marketing and Sales Representative Cathedral Candle Company

Melvin T. Stith Dean Emeritus, Whitman School of Management Syracuse University

Cora Thomas Radio Host and Office Manager, WAER

Michael S. Tick* Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts Syracuse University

Dr. Amy Tucker Chief Medical Officer SUNY Upstate Medical University

Ralph Zito** Chair

Syracuse University Department of Drama

Michael Zoanetti VP Senior Wealth Advisor Tompkins Financial Advisors

*University Trustee **Ex-Officio

Lafontant, Adam Secor

Meg Pusey

Maya

Weller Dorff, Seamus Doyle, Candaycea Edwards, Ethan Harpole, Henry Herbert, Sally Jewell, Yaneeka Nichols, Magdaliz Rivera, Kevin Sene, Julia Snoonian, Wesley Tipton, Malaika Wanjiku, Ada Wennstrom, Maya Zepeda

Díaz-Diez

Ianno

Laissle

The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation is proud to be a sponsor of the arts in Central New York. We recognize the deep importance live theatre plays in shaping the cultural and social vitality of our community. In these challenging times, theatre brings us together to be inspired and celebrate the richness of the human experience. We are delighted to continue to support Syracuse Stage and the Cold Read Festival of New Plays.

HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO

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