La MaMa Umbria Playwright Retreat Alumni Readings

The playwrights of the 2019 La MaMa Umbria Playwright Retreat will present 10 new plays as staged readings. The 2019 Retreat was led by Master Playwright Lisa Kron, two-time Tony Award Winner and Pulitzer Prize Finalist, with the theme of the biblical story of Exodus.

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Friday, May 13, 2022 | 7:00 PM — The Ladies Room by Elliot Kreloff

Summary: While Christine, a prim, beloved town librarian and her ultra-conservative best friend, Janice, powder their noses in the ladies’ room, they are interrupted by what appears to be a man in women’s clothing. Janice wants to call the police and have the "molester" arrested. Christine vociferously jumps to their defense and surprisingly (even to herself) outs herself as transgender, setting off a raucous chain of events that ultimately forces her to publicly embrace her identity and put the town on the road to acceptance.

Cast:

Christine Wellworth: Jessica Valerio
Janice Brompton-Beaumont: Madison Merlanti
Terence Flenster: Patrick John Moran
Sheriff Howard: Larry Darnell Penn

Creative Team:
Directed by Marcus Gualberto‍

Run Time: 40 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

‍Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 12:00 PM — FAULTLINE by Bob Rossi

Summary: A family drama that chronicles the dysfunction of the Stefano Family. As they gather for the wake of their patriarch, Jimmy Steffano, long held anxieties, resentments, and lies are exposed.

Cast:

Jessica Baird*
Jonathan Erickson Eisley*
Darrie Lawrence*
Ryan Scott Thomas*
Luigina Vecchione*

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by Elizabeth Bove

Run Time: 70 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 1:45 PM — The Biddy Contract by Ann Mary Mullane

Summary: Margaret Frances Rafferty is a young Irish immigrant who comes to New York City to work for a wealthy family.

Cast:
Tyler Gardella
Michael Gnat*
Meg Hennessy*
Maura Huelbig
Elda Luisi*
Sean Quigley*
Jeanne Lauren Smith*

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by Susan Tenney+
+ Courtesy of SDC

Run Time: 75 Minute

RSVP: HERE

Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 3:30 PM — Alone With Nina Simone by Debra Khan-Bey

Summary: The Highs and lows of Nina Simone. The Music, The Mental Illness, The Loneliness, The Revolutionary, The Racism, The Abuse. How much can one take before one breaks?

Audience Advisory: Strong Language

Cast:

Nina Simone: Debra Khan-Bey
Narrator: Jes Washington

Creative Team:

Directed by Carla Brothers  

Run Time: 60 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 5:00 PM — Footprints Disappear in the Desert by Sol Ji Kim

Summary: Hee-Seok has been living in New York for 6 years. He had an odd dream where he was a butterfly following a Boy’s journey in a magical desert. It was when the Boy lost his only family and wandered in an endless desert trying to find himself. He encountered a pyramid, a half-bird man, and a girl with her sheep. While not sure if it was a dream or not, it tells a mythical story about “self”.  

Cast:

Veronica Dang
Joanna Eisenberg
Joseph Im
Yessenia Rivas
Jon Okabayashi

Creative Team:

Directed by Dana Boll

Run Time: 60 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 6:30 PM  27 MOTHS by Tracy Carns

Summary: In the beginning was Coca-Cola. Then Robert Oppenheimner begat the Gadget which begat Godzilla, which begat a low flying, one trillion megatron Hello Kitty filled with radioactive rainbow sprinkles and glowing plutonium moths...

A doomsday device has passed over, and a new messiah has emerged--a charismatic teenager called Justine. She conjures visions of desert journeys to dazzle the masses, but how far must she go to convince her brother that she’s The Real Thing? 27 Moths is an atomic dream play that explores what it takes to reawaken belief when the world is burning.

Cast:

Justine: Kaila Wooten
Berg: Alphonso Walker Jr.*
Lola: Macy Lanceta
Provisions Man: Finn Kilgore *

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by Ran Xia

Run Time: 75 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

Sunday, May 15, 2022 | 1:30 PM  Exodus by Lisa-Erika James

Summary: Elizabeth has had several brushes with death. Exodus is an otherworldly play, in which her spirit guides—in Heaven—compete to help her while she is on Earth.

Cast:

Kailah S. King
Laura E. Johnston*
Carmen Gill
Jeane Cummins
Brenda Crawley
Logan Pitts
Daniel Korngay
Josh Musgrave
Gordon Gatherer

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by Kathleen O'Neill

Run Time: 60 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

‍Sunday, May 15, 2022 | 3:00 PM  All the Wild Horses by Glory Kadigan

Summary: Sylvanna - the sister of the King (otherwise known as the President, otherwise known as the Pharaoh and otherwise known as our Supreme Ruler); flees to a women's colony in the middle of the country to live a life of seclusion away from the publicity surrounding her ethically questionable brother. She is pursued by her conservative mother Mary who desperately hopes to reconcile the two siblings and convince Sylvanna to return to the capital.

Cast:

Mary: June Ballinger*
Sylvanna: Alison Preece*
Catori: Tandy Cronyn*
Jasmine: Laura E. Johnston*
Celeste: Yael Haskal
AJ: John Kroft
The President: Dave Quay*

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by Kristen Lowman
Stage Managed by Sanja Kabalin

Run Time:  85 Minutes

RSVP: HERE

Appearing Online via LaMama's Website — Dead Reckoning by Lezlie Wade (book and lyrics), Music by Scott Christian

Summary: When 12 year old Betty Klenk sees the portrait of Amelia Earhart on the cover of the 1933 February edition of Town & Country magazine, she is forever changed. Told in the vein of a song cycle, Dead Reckoning follows a hero’s obsession with flying and a young girl’s obsession with her hero until the startling moments of Amelia’s final flight.

Cast:

Chorus: Sara Shahnazarian
Amelia: Laura Larson
Chorus:  Aisha Jarvis*
Betty: Kelsey Falconer*
Chorus: Alicia Barban*

*Actors Equity

Creative Team:

Directed by: Lezlie Wade

Run Time: 60 Minutes

WATCH: HERE