AIRPLAY

Sharon Barnett, who wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music and book with Michael McFrederick and Adam Shorsten, respectively, told Playbill.com that she has a very personal connection to the old club, which stood at 267 Bowery, today the site of a German restaurant. “My father, Mark Barnett, was one of the emcees. The emcees would always wear top hats. My father was a singer and a dancer, told jokes, and often also did the scenery. My sister Marcelle and I grew up in this club. As children we also sometimes performed as a sister act, doing show tunes and such, and we often sang with my dad. We were children, and we loved it.”
She put all those memories into her show, Sammy’s Bowery Follies, which she described as ”a new feel-good musical, set in the 1940s, about a young man who returns from the war seeking fortune, and his name in lights at the renowned nightclub Sammy’s Bowery Foll

Show Synopsis: ACT I, SCENE 1 OF ELECTRIC SERENADE
Down, despondent, and a little drunk over the seeming end of a long-term relationship, Joanna is at her lowest point while at a friend’s anniversary party when in walks Mark. Immediately she vents her frustrations to him before they formally introduce themselves to each other, and he tries to lift her spirits with empathy and encouragement. They get to know each other as she expresses her hopes and dreams and he talks about his own aspirations. They become acquainted by the end of the scene, and their budding relationship will take more twists and turns over the course of the play before unforeseen events bring Joanna to a crossroads at play’s end.
Carrie Wesolowski (Director/Joanna)
Born and raised in NYC, Carrie Wesolowski is a NYC-based Actor, Director, Host, and Singer who is a seasoned film, television, theatre and now Zoom actor. Carrie studied acting with Michael Harney, Phil Gushee and Joe Anania. Carrie hosted Movie Talk Show from 2014-2018 and served as its Associate Producer, giving indie actors, writers, and directors a platform for their work. Carrie is thrilled to once again be a finalist in Manhattan Rep’s Stories Film Festival. Her work as Director/Actor in Coni Koepfinger’s The Unusual Chauncey Faust can be seen in Manhattan Rep’s Stories Film Festival from September 15-October 3, 2021. You can catch her Q&A with Festival Director Ken Wolf, get a festival ticket and vote for The Unusual Chauncey Faust @ https://www.manhattanrep.com/stories-film-fest
It's always such a joy for Carrie co-hosting, directing, and acting on AirPlay.
Juan Perez (Mark)
Juan studied film, theater, and acting at New York University, Brooklyn College, and Michael Howard Studios. He has performed in theatrical and cinematic productions for over a decade. Theatrically, he has performed in productions including ‘A View from the Bridge,’ ‘Wait Until Dark,’ and ‘Pulp Shakespeare.’ In video productions, Juan parlayed his memorable performance as Bernardo in ‘Jose’s Place,’ into the uniquely manic lead in ‘La Casa Loca’(Maverick Entertainment). Juan currently produces videos for corporate clients and artists in Los Angeles. Juan was most recently seen in the NYC production of Still, Birth.

Robert Kirkendall (Playwright)
Robert Kirkendall grew up in San Jose, California, and presently lives over the hill in Santa Cruz. He was a member of the Briefly Scene playwriting workshop where he developed a number of scripts, and his short plays have been performed at Actors’ Theater of Santa Cruz and Community Television of Santa Cruz. Last February, his two-act workplace drama Dermalogic was performed as part of Theater for the New City’s On the Air series and Robert hopes to someday give it a fully-staged production. He is currently co-writing a screenplay named Twenty with director Hilary Davidson for Nineteen85 Films, and has written a screenplay he plans to direct about a man trying to escape Santa Cruz called Leaving Paradise. You can read more of his work on his website @ www.robertkirkendall.com

Byron C. Saunders (Narrator)
Byron is an Arts Management Consultant / Actor / Director / Producer / Dramaturge / Historian Byron’s highlights and many credits currently include working as an independent Arts Management Consultant helping artists and arts organizations with grants administration, fund development, marketing, public relations, event planning, and capacity growth and development. Based in Washington, DC…most recently, he produced a theatrical/film short…SIMON SAYS…as a finalist for the 1st Annual Playbill Virtual Theater Festival 2020; and directed The Fannie Lou Hamer Story an award winning theatrical production starring Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye; and he was the Acting Assistant Director...

RACHEL RUBIN LADUTKE (Playwright) has written full-length plays, 2 musicals, and numerous short pieces, many of which have been excerpted in monologue and scene anthologies. Last winter, THE WICKHAM WAY was selected for inclusion in the inaugural New Works VIrtual Festival, a series of plays recorded by prominent actors and aired as a benefit for The Actors' Fund. Last March THE UNDERSTANDING, her play about the legacy of Argentina's Dirty War, was streamed as a successful fundraiser for the North NJ chapter of Amnesty International. Her newest full-length play, RICHMOND UNDERGROUND is about a ring of Union spies operating in the heart of the Confederacy. Rachel holds an M.A. in Theater from Hunter College. She is a proud member of New Play Exchange, Playwright's Center, The Dramatists' Guild and the International Centre for Women Playwrights. Along with most of this wonderful cas, she is hard at work on a full demo recording of NERISSA'S QUEST!
Carrie Wesolowski (Narrator/Co-Host) Born and raised in NYC, Carrie Wesolowski is a NYC-based Actor, Director, Host, and Singer who is a seasoned film, television. theatre and now Zoom actor. Carrie is a graduate of the Gushee/Anania Studio where she studied with Phil Gushee and Joe Anania. Carrie hosted Movie Talk Show from 2014-2018 and served as its Associate Producer, interviewing indie film actors, writers, and directors and giving them a platform for their work. Carrie is thrilled to once again be a finalist in Manhattan Rep’s Stories Film Festival. Her work as Director/Actor in Coni Koepfinger’s The Unusual Chauncey Faust can be seen in the upcoming Manhattan Rep’s Stories Film Festival from September 15-October 3, 2021. You can catch the Q&A, get a festival ticket and vote for our project @ https://www.manhattanrep.com/stories-film-fest It's always such a joy for Carrie co-hosting, directing, and acting on AirPlay.
MARISA DOLKART (Fionnuala) has been an active member of the Northern New Jersey theater community since moving to the area from the Finger Lakes Region of NY in 2002 She is currently a member of the Bergen County Players and The Players Guild of Leonia. She has also worked with Elmwood Playhouse (Nyack, NY) and as a wardrobe assistant for Menopause the Musical in NYC with the 92nd StreetPlayhouse. She is a costume designer and stage manager, who has costumed designed/dressed more than 2 dozen shows (a Perry Award nominee for Costume Design for The Man Who Came to Dinner), and recently ventured into lighting design. She has been seen locally onstage in Closer Than Ever, The Secret Garden (Ayah/Fakir), The Pajama Game (Virginia), Lovers and Other Strangers (Joan), Ballroom (Diane), Murder at Café Noir (Maria LaRue), The Actor's Nightmare (Loralee) and in The Vagina Monologues. She is very excited to participate in Nerissa's Quest, and honored to be a part of it.
LEXI OWGANG (Nerissa) is THRILLED to be reading (some of) beautiful play! Some recent/favorite credits include Little Red (INTO THE WOODS), Anna (SPRING AWAKENING), Elmer (NEWSIES), Elle Wood (LEGALLY BLONDE), Fredrika (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC), Annie (ANNIE), Dipper (OLIVER), Shelly (HAIRSPRAY), Little Lucy (THE ORPHAN TRAIN). Lexi has performed in many children's plays with Studio Playhouse in Montclair. Lexi is also a competitive dancer and has participated in the Paper Mill Playhouse summer conservatory program. She is currently a junior at Montclair High School.
LOU ANN SALKIN (Shannon) holds a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the Asolo Conservatory/Florida State University. Upon graduation, she performed in regional theater and at Radio City Music Hall. She has worked in New York professional theater for over 30 year and has recently reignited her love of performing through New Jersey community theater. She is a 2015 Perry Award Nominee for Outstanding Leading Actress.With her daughter,...

A Tribute to Shirley King.

On tonight’s Determined Women Coni Koepfinger Interviews Mary Ellen Ashley/ Star of Broadway Stage, film and television.
Mary Ellen Ashley is an Actress, Singer, Dancer, and Pro- ducer of Broadway, Television, and Film, has been rec- ognized as a Distinguished Professional in her field through Women of Distinction Magazine. Mary Ellen Ashley will be featured in an upcoming edition of the Women of Distinction Magazine in 2016.

"The world is ending and the Omniscient One has come to save humanity, by guiding them to a second Earth, Mars. But who is the Omniscient One really and does he have an ulterior motive? Leave it to a father, daughter and a couple — or two sets of lovers? — to find out."
Bios: Marina Rebecca Chan (Playwright/Sarah): Marina is a Brooklyn-based performer, playwright and producer, who has produced readings of her play Elizabeth’s Wonderland and recently had her Covid play, Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, Zoom-produced by Little & Fierce Theatre Company. She has also conceived and produced the Asian Americans in Theatre: Art and Activism series at Asia Society and Barnard. Marina's excited to share with you this utterly ridiculous play, which she swears is by far the worst play she's ever written!
Neil Chan (Director):
Neil Chan, a blooming Boomer, is versed in the ancient methods of filmmaking, cutting and taping film by hand, etc. He’s done some work as writer, producer, director, editor and actor in TV and films in the US and France—most notably Erich Rohmer’s The Aviator's Wife, in which Neil wrote and acted a part. Other credits include a Hong Kong film with Chow Yun-Fat and even a Japanese-themed Puerto Rican soap opera, in which he played a rickshaw boy. Bad casting. This is his first “garbage play.” Wish him luck.
Carrie Wesolowski (Sara and Young Adult 2): Carrie Wesolowski (Actor, Director, Host, and Singer) was born and raised in New York City and has appeared in countless film, television and theatre productions. Carrie’s recent projects include ACTOR/DIRECTOR of Coni Koepfinger’s Simon Says--a festival finalist in Playbill’s VTF Live and Manhattan Rep’s STORIES Film Festival, and playing Mandy in Dermalogic, which can still be seen on Theater for the New City's YouTube Channel. It's always such a joy for Carrie co-hosting, directing, and acting on AirPlay.
Juan Perez (Jerry and Young Adult 1): Juan has performed in theatrical and cinematic productions

Bios:
RACHEL RUBIN LADUTKE (Playwright) recently returned to writing after a too-long hiatus,and she is determined to make up for lost time. She is deeply grateful to her "theatre family" for their support and encouragement, and she looks forward to a productive, fun, and creative summer! Rachel is delighted that Nerissa's Quest is a part of AirPlay 21, and she thanks Coni and Brandy for their interest in her work.
LEXI OWGANG (Nerissa) is THRILLED to be reading (some of) this beautiful play! Some recent/favorite credits include, Anna (SPRING AWAKENING), Elmer (NEWSIES), Elle Wood (LEGALLY BLONDE), Fredrika (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC), Annie (ANNIE), Dipper (OLIVER), Shelly (HAIRSPRAY), Little Lucy (THE ORPHAN TRAIN). Lexi has performed in many children's plays with Studio Playhouse in Montclair. Lexi is also a competitive dancer and has participated in the Paper Mill Playhouse summer conservatory program. She is currently a sophomore at Montclair High School.
LOU ANN SALKIN (Shannon) holds an MFA in acting from The Asolo Conservatory/FSU and has worked professionally at Radio City Music Hall and other regional and NYC productions. She is the co-founder of Eccentric Theater Company, a local theater company that she runs with her daughter Veronica.. She has performed locally with a number of companies and was fortunate to play characters from Violet in August Osage County to Bette Davis in Legends and Bridge.

Accidental Death by Anne Marilyn Lucas
Synopsis: Leah Langley, an elderly woman driving at night has been arrested by the police in a poor neighborhood in Lynn, Massachusetts. As Officer Johnson questions her, we learn more about Leah Langley's story and what has brought her to this moment in time.
Carrie Wesolowski (Director) Born and raised in NYC, Carrie Wesolowski is a NYC-based Actor, Director, Host, and Singer who has appeared in international news programs, film, television and theatre productions. Carrie is a graduate of the Gushee/Anania Studio where she studied with Phil Gushee and Joe Anania. Carrie hosted Movie Talk Show from 2014-2018 and served as its Associate Producer, interviewing indie film actors, writers, and directors and giving them a platform for their work. Carrie’s recent projects include directing and playing Destiny in Coni Koepfinger’s SIMON SAYS which was a finalist in the 1st Annual Playbill Virtual Theater Festival 2020 and was most recently streaming worldwide as part of Manhattan Rep’s STORIES Film Festival, and playing Mandy in Dermalogic as part of Theater for the New City's "On the Air'' series which can still be seen on Theater for the New City's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0WP3ZVOAaY&t=355s It's always such a joy for Carrie co-hosting, directing, and acting on AirPlay. She would like to thank the playwright Anne Marilyn Lucas and the actors who helped bring this to life.
Mary Ellen Ashley (Leah Langley) Actress, Singer, Dancer, and Producer of Broadway, Television, and Film, has been recognized as a Distinguished Professional in her field through Women of Distinction Magazine. Mary Ellen Ashley was featured in a 2016 edition of the Women of Distinction Magazine. Born and presently living in the Big Apple of New York City, Mary Ellen Ashley has spent time living and working throughout the United States, including Los Angeles, California, as well as in Europe. Performing in her very first theatrical role.
Jacqueline Youm (Officer Verna Johnson) is a Senegalese American actor, lawyer, and French|English|Spanish teacher. She also coaches mediation and negotiation. She thanks her family & friends for continuously listening to her acting screams and tears. Since the pandemic has started, she has produced, directed, and acted in a myriad of plays and monologues, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMP7Wn5hXuo&list=PLcz56rfup6GzQsVH3RDqUedrQucAYCe6e

Anne Marilyn Lucas (Playwright)
Playwright, Director, Actress, Singer, College Professor: DGA, EQUITY,SAG/ AFTRA
Anne’s first full-length play FROM SILENCE, the journey of a Holocaust survivor finding her voice, was produced in NYC at THE THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY in 2016, at MLT 2017, THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE in NYC 2018 directed by Arin Arbus. staged at GLOUCESTER STAGE 2019 and produced by COTTEY COLLEGE near Kansas City in 2020. RECOVERY, the struggle of three sets of mothers and their daughters with the disease of addiction was staged at BOSTON PLAYWRIGHT’S THEATRE, produced in NYC at THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY Oct 2018, north of Boston at MLT in Oct. 2019, BILLERICA POLICE PARTNERSHIP Dec. 2019 , and in Greece at FACTA NON-VERBA THEATER COMPANY, in Greek MARCH 2020. RECOVERY won three MASS CULTURAL COUNCIL GRANTS. SAY THE NAME, was staged at Harvard University and used as a text in the Divinity School. The nine commissioned musicals she has written have played to sold out crowds at MLT for 11 years. The most recent was a Vimeo offering this summer. One act plays ‘Dearest Dove’, ‘Legacy of the Hanging Judge’, ‘Spirits of the Gables’ have run annually for 20 years at THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES in Salem. Other 10min. plays have been produced in the Boston...

“The True Colors of Weedle embodies my wish for all people in our world to love and accept themselves and each other no matter what colors we are “
June Rachelson-Ospa is an award-winning Book writer and Lyricist for musical theater as well as producer. Her shows have been performed at the Kennedy Center, NYC, NJ, Texas Paris, London, Whidbey Island (Seattle) always receiving wonderful reviews along the way. June was a board member of the League of Professional Theater Women and a member of the Dramatist Guild and ASCAP. She is a former Board member of Theater Resources Unlimited and was Secretary for the New York City Tourette Syndrome Association and the Artistic Director of Identity Theater for 8 years. The True Colors Weedle is her first published book based on her musical. She's thrilled to share it with you today.
She co-wrote with Daniel Neiden:Welcome To Tourettaville (Kennedy Center); Rapunzarella White (NYTimes Pick); Tourettaville Cartoon starring Dr. John, Michaël Imperioli and Courage the Cowardly Dog; Bollywood And Vine, Imaginary Boy( ImaginaryBoy.org, Stupid Wig Other work :The Hotel Belleclaire Premiered at the Outcast Theatre in Seattle November 2018 ,The True Colors of Weedle (Book and Lyric), Allison Brewster-Franzetti(Music) Weedle illustrated book on Kindle, The Never-Ending Line (Song Cycle)Jaime Lozano (Composer and Concept) Premiered in Paris and Players, In development Hyde and Seek The Life of Young Master Henry Jekyll, Rockin' The Planet with Peppy Castro (Producer Steve Leber) selected by GoodSpeed Author Colony 2017, Premiered in San Antonio (won a Texas Globe Award) and The Gringo Who Stole Christmas and The Truth Stops Here (In London). As an independent producer her credits include Broadway's Godspell, A Christmas Story the Musical (Lunt Fontaine and Madison Square Garden). June has also mentored special needs children through YMCA After-school Programs and was the Academy Director at AMAS Musical Theatre. June was a board member of the League of Professional Theater Women, Dramatist Guild, ASCAP, she is a former Board member of Theater Resources Unlimited and was Secretary for the New York City Tourette Syndrome Association, Artistic Director of Identity Theater www.identitytheater.com

LINDA S. NELSON is an Actor, Director, Dramaturge and Producer.
 
As an actor, Ms. Nelson has predominately been seen on stage, including Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, Regional Theatre, and with companies such as Whitehorse Theatre, Oberon Theatre Ensemble, Boomerang Theatre and NJ Rep. Her Film and TV credits include “Imaginary Heroes” with Sigorney Weaver, "Orange Is The New Black", “Seven Deadly Sins” and the award winning short film “Lipstick Ladies”. 

In addition to directing dozens of readings, short plays and 24-Hour Festivals for companies such as Boomerang, TRU, Oberon, and New Light Theatre, her New York directing credits include Toast, Boast or Roast – A Tribute to Austin Pendleton featuring Olympia Dukakis, Louis Zorich, F. Murray Abraham, Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker at the Players Club, produced by Oberon Theatre Ensemble;  Tongue of a Bird by Ellen McLaughlin; The Necessary Disposal by Bob Ost; and the Backstage Bistro Award winning Three Tenors in Search of an Act. She also directed and produced the World Premiere and Tour of Missa Solemnis or The Play About Henry by Roman Feeser; the North American Premiere of The Choice by Claire Luckham; and two interactive murder mysteries The Art of Murder and Delicious Death, both of which she co-wrote. 
 
As a dramaturge Ms. Nelson has worked with dozens of writers including playwright/novelist, Cailin Heffernan; Screenwriter, Michael Lee Stever; and playwrights, Cyndy Marion at Whitehorse Theater Company, Stu Richel, Roman Feeser, Bob Ost, and Phil Olson on his popular musical series, Don’t Hug Me. 
 
Founder of Shotgun Productions, she served as its Producing Director for 19 years and produced theatre, dance, opera and classical concerts throughout the New York area and in Europe. Since leaving Shotgun she has independently produced plays in NYC and on tour throughout the US. She was an Associate Producer on the Off Broadway production of “Silence” the musical parody of “Silence of the Lambs”. Currently she represents the multi-award winning “Sweet Texas Reckoning” by Traci Godfrey and the solo performance “Vietnam…through my lens” written and performed by Stu Richel. With “Vietnam…” she started as its dramaturge, then produced and directed the NYC Premiere in 2014 and has continued as its producer/director of the tour, which has been running since then. “Vietnam…” was also made into a film last summer by Two Seas TV, on which she worked as the AD to the Emmy Award winning director, Tony Ceglio.