Welcome to the Show Page for Thursday, August 6, 2020
You can drop a tip for the artists during the performance in our virtual tip jar through Venmo @daniel-swern or through PayPal.me/colabarts.
Tonight’s Program
Tired of Sleep written and performed by Chris Sanders
Ms. Brown’s Home written and performed by LaChrisha C. Brown
I Am the Bear / Bad Apple Myth written and performed by Jerrell L. Henderson
(For I Am the Bear: Enter URL bit.ly/bearsiren on your smartphone, or click the link to participate)
Our deepest gratitude for technical support from Joe Ciampi and Hannah M’Lynn
Artist Bios
LaChrisha C. Brown is an actor, writer and vocalist in NYC. As a result of her work with Donkeysaddle Projects (There is A Field) and coLAB Arts (Life, Death, Life Again) she has been a pioneer in the development of new works and a facilitator of political conversation inspired by Social Justice Theater. Film credits: Pillow Talk (Lyric), Teacher Problems (Amy Lovett), MADD (Detective), Sub-Par (Creator). Theater credits: Richard III (Lady Anne), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Mattie Campbell), For colored girls… (Lady in Red), Peter and Wendy (Tinker Bell).
Jerrell L. Henderson is a Director, Puppeteer, and an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies at Chicago State University. Recent directing credits include Mlima’s Tale with Griffin Theatre (Jeff Award Nomination for Direction and Best Play) and Thurgood with Walnut Street Theatre. Other credits include The River with BoHo Theatre, Untitled with Inis Nua Theatre (Barrymore Award Nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Play) and Something Like A War: A New Musical with 11th Hour Theatre. His shadow play adaptation, 3 American Myths: A Riff in Shadow & Light in 3 Rhythmic Movements was a finalist for a 2019 Jim Henson Foundation Grant. As an assistant director, Jerrell has worked with The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Lookingglass Theatre. He received an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University, is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab (2012), an Artistic Associate of Black Lives Black Words, and a Henson Foundation sponsored participant at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Puppetry Conference (2020).
Chris Sanders, a native of New Jersey, was most recently in Noises Off at Theatre 3 in Dallas, TX. Their other theatre credits include Frankenstein , A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center, 2016), The Learned Ladies, Much Ado About Nothing, Timon of Athens (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Our Town (George Street Playhouse), Artist Descending a Staircase (Amphibian Stage Productions), Obama-ology, Split Second (Jubilee Theatre), Straight White Men (Second Thought Theatre), and the World Premiere of The Monarch (Soul Rep and Echo Theatres). Chris teaches Theatre at the University of Texas at Dallas. Chris earned their BA in Theatre from Kean University and their MFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University. Chris Sanders is a member of AEA and represented by the Mary Collins Agency.
June 24, 2020 PROGRAM
MICKLE FUST
By Rich Armstead, Illustrations by Mariella Klinger, Music by Dave Seamon + Katie Liu + Mariella Klinger, Livestream managed by Joey Braccino Directed by Dave Seamon, Featuring: Maggie Wood - Rachel Matusewicz, Martin Hamilton - Eugene Armstead, Commissioner Fitchie - Kevin Seamon, D. Macon Webster - Ralph Saro, Narrator - Richard Armstead
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE MICKLE FUST NYC WALKING TOUR HERE
Demon Hunters International: Live!
By Nicholas Busch + Christopher Busch + Christopher Pasi, Technical Director Devin Massih, Directed by Chirstopher Pasi, Featuring: Dr. Pete Crazy - Christopher Pasi, Lt. Rick Brush - Nicholas Busch, Chrissy from Dallas - Chris Sanders, Cindy Snapplestein - Lauren Ashley Orlando, Intern & Cameraman Dan - Daniel Robertson, Tommy Pastrami - Thomas Pasi, Marc-André Bordeaux - Christopher Busch
STOLEN
by Karuna Lynne Elson, Directed by Nicholas Anselmo, Featuring: Frank - John Jezior, Glorie - Vida Manalang, Virginia - Sabrina Profitt, THE UPS Guy -Gary Bowman
A few of our favorite restaurants to enjoy with your show
New Jersey
East Windsor - Kesar's Indian Thali
Highland Park - Aposto
Newark - Vonda's Kitchen
North Brunswick - Cozy Room Chinese Restaurant
Orange - Sandwiches Unlimited
New York City
Pennsylvania
Primo - JT Brewski's
West Philadelphia - Abyssinia Restaurant
Philadelphia - The Common
ARTIST BIOS
MICKLE FUST
Richard Armstead (Playwright), affectionately known as "Big Rich", is an artist from Somerset, NJ. He is a co-founder of Solid Footing Sketch workspace. Rich has fond memories of performing in several productions with the talented members of the NJ Theater Community, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, as well as a few Off-Broadway shows. He is abundantly thankful for his Friends and Family. Richard dedicates this production to the memory of his grandparents Richard and Shirley Howell.
David Seamon (Composer and Director) is a composer, playwright, and actor. He works as a teaching artist for George Street Playhouse and McCarter Theatre, and is the playwright and composer of Lovers' Lane: A Rumor Inspired by the Hall-Mills Murders. David has an extensive background as a musical director and touring children's theater performer, and has a degree in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University. Awards and Recognitions: College TV Emmy Award, Everything’s Fine: A Panic Attack in D Major (Co-composer); Best Score/Best Production at the New York Theatre Festival, The Eleventh Hour(composer/playwright).
STOLEN
Lynne Elson (Playwright) is a writer/educator working to inspire and promote compassion in all that she does. Lynne won the 2014 Firehouse Theatre Festival of New American Plays and was a semi-finalist in the 2013 Eugene O’Neill Theatre Festival with her play, A Blessed Unrest. Her play, Crazy, Crazy on You, had a successful run in the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival and was the first play published in The Kelsey Review, 2012. Her one-act play Stolen Glorie was the winner of the Great Platte River Playwrights Festival of 2001 which is now a full-length play entitled, Stolen published with indietheatrenow.org. She has two popular monologue books for teens entitled Girls Rule! and Guys Rule! published by Meriwether. Holiday Shmoliday, is a holiday-themed script that you can find online at playscripts.com. Lynne also teaches Yoga for Kids in workshops, youtube videos, a Music CD and children’s books entitled, Swami Cat Says, SonnyBee Learns Ahimsa and The Candle Who Lost Her Light. Find out more at SwamiCat.com. When not writing, she teaches theatre & film at a junior high school, as well as, directing the drama club shows every year. She lives in East Windsor, NJ with her husband, Anker, a musician and two very vocal pups who sadly have not any interest in harmonizing.
Nick Anselmo (Director) is thrilled to be working on this amazing play. He is the Director of the Theatre and Mandell Professionals in Residence Project at Drexel University, and the Founder/Executive Director of the Mantua Theater Project - a replication of New York’s 52nd Street Project. He has directed shows for Drexel, Pulse Ensemble-NYC, Passage Theatre’s Youth Programming, The National One Minute Play Festival, Temple University, and Mainstreet Musicals. He recently directed the world premiere of Brennan and White’s musical ALiEN8. He has an MFA in Musical Theater from University of California-Irvine, a certificate in Arts Administration from NYU, and is currently working on a certificate in Meisner Acting Training with Larry Silverberg.
Gary Bowman (UPS Guy) is an undergraduate student at Drexel University, majoring in Entertainment and Arts Management with minors in Business Administration, Legal Studies, and Theatre. He thanks Nick and Lynne for being such great collaborators and for trusting him with this show. Next up, you can see him in “All American Boy,” an independent feature in the festival circuit created by Moving Forward Films, a production company focused on telling specific, untold LGBTQ+ stories. He hopes you enjoy!
John Jezior (Frank, STOLEN) was a philly-area stage actor for 25 years before shifting into television and film. He has appeared on stage with the Philadelphia Shakespeare theater, Bristol Riverside theater, and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare festival, among others. He is slated to appear in the first season of the HBO series MARE OF EASTTOWN later this year.
Vida Manalang (Glorie) is a student and theater maker based in Philadelphia with a love for telling generous, empowering, and subversive stories. With experience as an actor, devisor, and teaching artist, Vida is passionate about the use of theater as a medium to invoke change, expression and healing in individuals and communities. Vida is a published scientist with her work in creativity psychology, process drama, and theater-based education. Favorite projects/credits: The Harrowgate Park Play (Shakespeare in Clark Park), RE:SHE (the-after-image for Philly Fringe), The Devil’s Auction (SwimPony Performing Arts), Tartuffe (Mauckingbird), The Diary of Anne Frank (Drexel Co-Op Theater Company). Love to Gary Beans.
Sabrina Profitt (Victoria Castle) has performed on area stages and regionally around the country as a proud member of Actors Equity for over 25 years. Recent local credits include the critically acclaimed one woman show Donna Orbits the Moon with Tiny Dynamite and Awake and Sing! at Quintessence Theatre. Regional credits include: the Walnut Street Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Florida Studio Theatre, The Asolo Theatre, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and Bristol Riverside Theatre. She is endlessly grateful for her three astonishing daughters and her three far less astonishing dogs.