AIRPLAY

Deb knows women can change our country. Will she cooperate with Jack and give him the assistance he needs?
Shirley King's plays and monologues have been produced in the US, The UK, Canada, Scotland and Korea. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and The International Center for Women Playwrights.
Actors:
Christy Donahue: Christy’s acting credits span traditional theater, interactive dinner theater, commercial and film work, and staged readings - in person, online, and via livestream. When not acting Christy enjoys other creative pathways, such as mixed media, collage art, and wreath making.
An animal advocate, she has 2 rescue cats and a rescue dog and loves being home with them and her husband.
Timothy Regan: A graduate of Kean University, has done several Airplay readings and is always excited to return. You may have heard him last in Coni Koepfinger's “Unspoken Acts” and In Shirley King’s “Down with the Kindle!“.

Tonight we are dedicating our show
To Pat McBennett .
who left us. Our deepest sympathies to our cohost - as Pat was Christy Donahue’s mom. We are saddened by your loss Christy. Pat was an avid reader and no doubt cultured your creative spirit and mastery of Language.

Revolution, An Artistic Explosion is an exploration of what it means to be an artist and what happens when different forms come together and try to make their voices heard.

JESSICA ‘JES’ WASHINGTON is a New York City based actress, dancer, and writer; born and raised in Memphis, TN. She has a true love for storytelling. She is currently receiving her MFA at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City. Theater credits: Lena in ​Who Will Sing For Lena​, a one-woman show with huge acclaim; performed along the east coast. Awards include: Best Lead Actress in a Drama (3x), People’s Choice, Best Overall Production, winner of AACT National Festival 2019. Procne in ​Love of the Nightingale​, Francine/Lena in ​Clybourne Park​, forwarding an EMACT nomination: Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. Independent film credits: Riley (lead) in feature ​Uprising​, Ealey in action short ​MAAT​ (lead), Jasmine in ​Even​, and Young Belinda Royale in ​Half the History: Belinda Royale Story​. Voice Over credits: Isabelle Powell in ​Greater Boston​, becoming winner of Best Supporting Actress in Audio Drama.

Anel Carmona is a Mexican actor and playwright based in NYC. She has performed in dozens of plays in both countries including T​ales of the White Mountain ​(Rising Sun Performance Theatre), ​Catch me in America​ (Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble), and ​Ti Jean and His Brothers​ (Ma’s Playhouse). Her favorite writing credits include ​Adios Fjord​ (Off-Broadway), Chocolate en la Estación​ (Guadalajara, Mexico), and her play ​A seis pies de distancia​ was recently published in the Mexican Theatre anthology ​De Pandemia a Pandemonium​. She holds a MFA in Playwriting by the Actors Studio Drama School and is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild of America.

Isabel Faith Billinghurst is a freshly-graduated Musical Theatre major from Otterbein University. They moved to NYC this January, and are very excited to hop into their first project here! Past credits include Laura in ​The Glass Menagerie​ (French Creek Theatre), Banquo in ​The Tragedy of Macbeth, ​and Diana in Next to Normal​ (Otterbein University). For some laughs, feel free to check out their co-hosting on Did You Find This Helpful? available wherever you listen to your podcasts. ​Isabelfaithbillinghurst.com
Marcina Zaccaria is a Writer, Director, and Arts Administrator. Previous plays include "Village, My Home" performed at the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City, and "All About Image/ We Are The Elite" performed at the Fringe Festival in NYC. Monologues from "A Digital Stratosphere Platform for Peace" have been read at Dixon Place and on Salon Radio. Also, the "The Body Politic" and "On Becoming a Mermaid" were available on Amazon. She has directed readings and plays in venues that include New Dramatists, Theaterlab, HERE Arts Center, 13th Street Repertory Company, Soho Rep, Dance Theater Workshop, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Arts administration experience includes Audience Services work at the Roundabout, and providing support for the Executive Director/ Contemporary Programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. She is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She has reviewed plays and musicals at TheaterPizzaz.com. Clips can be found on Twitter​, Her theater articles have been published in The Theatre Times, Howl Round, and The Brooklyn Rail. ​https://marcinazac.weebly.com/

CHRISTINA ROSE ASHBY ​is an Alaskan theater artist living in Brooklyn. She is the founding artistic director of Permafrost Theatre Collective. Christina specializes in new work creation and the reimagining of classics. Christina conceived and directed PTC’s production of Are You Alice: A New Wonderland Tale, a classic reimagining that had several short runs in New York City and made its international debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August of 2019....

Cindy Cooper is an award-winning playwright, journalist and author. Her plays have been produced in New York at Primary Stages, the Women’s Project, Wings, Museum of Tolerance, Art and Work Ensemble, New Circle Theatre Company, and elsewhere, and in Chicago, Minneapolis, L.A. Montreal, Jerusalem, Budapest and more. Reviews of Running on Glass last year called the writing “extraordinary” and said “storytelling is, indeed, the mode of Cooper’s script.” Cindy has won awards from Pen and Brush, the Samuel French Play Festival, Malibu International, and is a two-time Jerome Fellow. She is also the author of eight books, including Mockery of Justice, made into a CBS-TV movie; her articles have appeared in Ms., The Nation, Glamour, National Law Journal and more. She lives in New York City. You can read more at her website, cyncooperwriter.net.

Lisa Pelikan, director, recently directed Cindy Cooper’s Heaven Scent, Ed Valentine’s Walk With Bright Candles, Christopher Goutman’s For Your Love, and Lori Goodman’s New Leaf with the New Circle Theatre Company. With the Ensemble Studio Theatre she directed Julia Specht’s Our Love Story Is Not Very Interesting. She received the ADA Best Director Award for her direction of ‘night, Mother for which both her actors were nominated and one received the Best Actress Award with the Interact Theatre Company. As an actor, Lisa made her feature film debut as the young 'Julia' in Fred Zinnemann's Julia sharing the title role with Vanessa Redgrave, her television debut as the ingénue in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of The Country Girl with Jason Robards and Shirley Knight, and her theatrical debut starring as 'Wendla' in Spring's Awakening with the Circle Repertory Theatre. In New York City, Lisa also starred in the world premieres of Panache, (ADA Award for Best Actress in a Comedy), Jim Leonard's The Diviners, and Arthur Miller’s The American Clock. More at lisapelikan.com

Anna Ewing Bull: Neighborhood Playhouse Graduate & 35 year Member of AEA Theater: NYC Playwrights Horizons: SMALL WORLD, WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, ALL IT TAKES IS SOMETHING SMALL. NagelburgTheatre: Paul Knox's KHALIGHAT. New Circle Theatre Co: Lori Goodman's THE GREAT DEVOURER, Robyn Burland's MADCAP, 2 plays by Edmund Wilkinson, Ed Valentine's CONSUMPTION. Regional: PA - NOISES OFF; NJ Shakespeare Festival: WAR OF THE ROSES, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, OUR TOWN. Montreal-BROKEN PLACES. Film: DOWN AT THE TRACKS, CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS, NY STORIES. For You, Mom.

Julie Voshell: Theatre: Barrow Group -The Pavilion (NY Times:Voshell is “Dryly Funny”); Origin-8, Fast and Fab, According to the Chorus, Letters to Sala /writer-Arlene Hutton;
BAM - The Beast; New Circle Theatre Company - Entrepreneur/ Writer- Cindy Cooper;B Street- Asher Lev; Bubbles comedy - Nuyorican, Fabaret; Palm Beach. Film: Al B/Eventually Z (lead), Diva, TBG-Ashes, Scary Movie 5; TV: Diabolical , Shadow of Doubt. Julievoshell.com. Luedtke Agency.

Hosted by Coni Koepfinger. Guests Cindy Cooper and Lisa Pelikan.

Cindy Cooper is an award-winning playwright, journalist and author. Her plays have been produced in New York at Primary Stages, the Women’s Project, Wings, Museum of Tolerance, Art and Work Ensemble, New Circle Theatre Company, and elsewhere, and in Chicago, Minneapolis, L.A. Montreal, Jerusalem, Budapest and more. Reviews of Running on Glass last year called the writing “extraordinary” and said “storytelling is, indeed, the mode of Cooper’s script.” Cindy has won awards from Pen and Brush, the Samuel French Play Festival, Malibu International, and is a two-time Jerome Fellow. She is also the author of eight books, including Mockery of Justice, made into a CBS-TV movie; her articles have appeared in Ms., The Nation, Glamour, National Law Journal and more. She lives in New York City. You can read more at her website, cyncooperwriter.net.
Lisa Pelikan, Director
Lisa recently directed Cindy Cooper’s Heaven Scent, Ed Valentine’s Walk With Bright
Candles, Christopher Goutman’s For Your Love, and Lori Goodman’s New Leaf with the
New Circle Theatre Company. With the Ensemble Studio Theatre she directed Julia
Specht’s Our Love Story Is Not Very Interesting. She received the ADA Best Director
Award for her direction of ‘night, Mother for which both her actors were nominated and
one received the Best Actress Award with the Interact Theatre Company. As an actor,
Lisa made her feature film debut as the young 'Julia' in Fred Zinnemann's Julia sharing
the title role with Vanessa Redgrave, her television debut as the ingénue in the Hallmark
Hall of Fame production of The Country Girl with Jason Robards and Shirley Knight,
and her theatrical debut starring as 'Wendla' in Spring's Awakening with the Circle
Repertory Theatre. In New York City, Lisa also starred in the world premieres of
Panache, (winning the ADA Award for Best Actress in a Comedy), Jim Leonard's The
Diviners, and Arthur Miller’s The American Clock. If you have further curiosities about
Lisa’s career, you can visit her website at www.lisapelikan.com
(Wendla is pronounced with a “V” – “Vendla”)

Will Kate and Duck Man rescue books from an insidious mob determined to destroy them?
Shirley King's plays and monologues have been produced in the US, The UK, Canada, Scotland and Korea. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and The International Center for Women Playwrights.
Tonight play has two actors .. returning actors actually from previous AirPlay works..
Christy Donahue: Acting is a lifelong love for Christy, who first stepped onstage at age 11. She has been blessed to be on stage performing traditional theater many times, as well as performing in interactive dinner theater, some commercial and film work, and of course staged readings, in person, online, and via live-stream. She is a big fan of Shirley King and is happy to be performing another of her works.
Timothy Regan: A graduate of Kean University, has done several Airplay readings and is always excited to return. You may have heard him last in Coni Koepfinger's Father as Dale. Hope you enjoy tonight's reading of Down with the Kindle!
-Timothy Regan
https://www.timothy-regan.com/

Sideshow by Coni Koepfinger :
Koepfinger’s SIDESHOW opened in
1996 as a finalist in the “Upstairs Théatre New Play “ Contest; it was revived in 2015 in the New York “Unfringed Festival “ ... please join me as we welcome the Chicago cast of “Koepfinger’s Sideshow “ under the direction of Andrew J Pond
Synopsis:
When a child has complications, every parent must make a choice. When family drama, self-doubt and medical and spiritual options seem to collide, will the couple accept advice from someone they know or a being from another dimension?

Bio’s:

Christopher John Grella is happy to be involved in such a unique play. Past projects have included: The Winter's Tale, 4x2, Change the Night Owl, Midsummer Night's Dream, Psycho Beach Party, Lady Macbeth, Emma, Unmatched, The Masque of the Red Death and Pride & Prejudice.

Jessica Lauren Fisher is a founding member and the casting director for Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. She has performed throughout the Chicago and Indiana area in theatre, musicals, and opera playing everything from mice to men. Favorite roles include Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde, Adele in Die Fledermaus and Sarah Daniels in Spinning into Butter. She has been a teaching artist for over 10 years and has directed and choreographed shows for people of all ages. She is ever grateful to her family and her partner in everything Andrew. LVYA Mom!

Christopher Wayland, originally from Baltimore, MD, currently works and resides in the Chicago area. There, he has worked at Porchlight Music Theatre, Marriott Theatre, 16th Street Theatre, Raven Theatre, Stage Left Theatre, First Folio Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Griffin Theatre, Teatro Vista, Haven, and Lifeline Theatre. Regionally he has worked at THEATREWORKS, Spotlighters Theatre, Fells Point Corner Theatre, and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. His television credits include neXt (FOX), Chicago Med (NBC) and APB (FOX). Christopher received an MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, is a proud member of SAG-Aftra, and is represented by Gray Talent Group

Jane Vincent is very happy to be part of this wonderful production. Jane has performed on stages throughout Chicagoland for many years. She is also known as a writer, having written a young adult novel, a stage play, and two screenplays, which are in pre-production, and as a producer.

Joshua Stewart A former student at Columbia College Chicago has been looking for an opportunity to get back into theater after a long hiatus. Much Ado About Nothing (Actors Equity of Columbus), You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Into The Woods

Kaeley Osterman is the Resident Stage Manager with Eclectic Full Contact Theatre. Her recent credits include Charley’s Aunt (SM, St. Sebastian’s Players), Richard III (SM/Costume Designer, EFCT), and Proof (Costume Designer, MadKap Productions). She is also a voice actor on the podcast Throwing Shade (EFCT). She has a BA from Huntington University.

Andrew J. Pond moved to Chicago in 2002 from South Florida, where he had studied with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, José Quintero, and Charles Nelson Reilly. While there, he taught and directed at both InterAct Summer camp, and the Miami Shores Theatre's summer camp. Since moving to Chicago from the tropics (for the weather), he has worked extensively as an actor, director, and playwright with several children’s theatres, is a founder of Eclectic Full Contact Theatre in Chicago, teaches drama classes for all ages, is an Elvis impersonator, juggler, magician, balloon artist, plays with puppets, does Muppet voices, performs stand-up comedy, and has a degree in philosophy so he can use words like “epistemology” at parties.Other than that, he is completely normal. Thanks to Jessica, his partner in all things.

A farcical intergalactic play in one-act
Penned by Sophia Romma
ABOUT THE PLAY

The Virus Corazón is causing chaos among the human population. This stoic and unruly viral infection infiltrates all those who show the ability to covet, to love and entraps those who possess the deep and insatiable desire to fornicate. Three outcasts have been weeded out to populate a new planet, called the Voon. These soon to be Vonanians are to be reformed and purged for their transgressions of depicting feelings and falling in and out of love. These natural human emotions deriving from the ardent passion and amorous adventures, which have particularly imbued the lives of these three slightly off-kilter but ardent fugitives and pariahs—are no longer desirable emotions and land all those who portray a propensity for showing feelings in the penitentiary or the psychiatric ward—as well as in freezers or in bathroom urinals. As punitive measures in the spirit of reformation. These outsiders are mandated to be beheaded by the guillotine at the hands of a sadistic otherworldly vengeful alien, an intergalactic trooper, who uses her bewitching powers and stark wit to, in a totalitarian manner, elicit confessions from these fugitives as she cannot merely deliver these inmates traveling in an out of control pod, to a novel full of hope planet without forcing these cellmates to repent first—as ordained by the dictatorial government of our unholy planet earth.




CAST OF CHARACTERS


IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Mr. Clas Duncan in the role of Chaz Cormier

Ms. Ana Maria Jomolca in the role of Milagros Alvarez

Ms. Maureen O’Conner in the role of Shannon Dooley

Ms. Victoria Guthrie in the role of Intergalactic Trooper Riley Wretched

And Ms. Sophia Romma as the Narrator






ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT AND THE NARRATOR

Sophia Romma, Ph.D., Esq.

Playwright/Screenwriter/Director, Dr. Sophia Romma is the author of fourteen stage-plays, produced Off-Off Broadway/Off-Broadway, three of which were produced at La MaMa E.T.C. Her play, “The Past Is Still Ahead,” which she also directed ran at the Cherry Lane Theatre, at the MITF and toured Montauk, London, Moscow, Montreal and Seoul. The Negro Ensemble Company presented "The Mire" at the Cherry Lane Theatre, heralded by the New York Times for “grinding down stubborn cultural borders with love’s symphony.” Romma’s “Cabaret Émigré,” was lauded by The Villager for: “Delving deep into the dislocated émigré’s soul in erotic quantum verse.” Romma graduated from Tisch School of the Arts (M.F.A), holds a Ph.D. in Philology from Maxim Gorky Literary Institute, and a Master of Laws from Fordham University School of Law. She directed plays by Leslie Lee, August Wilson and Austin Phillips at the Schomburg Center, FDCAC, and Mayakovski Academic Art Theatre. Romma served as Literary Manager and Dramaturg of NEC. She is the Producing Artistic Director of The Garden of the Avant-Garde Film and Theatrical Foundation and is an International Law and Human Rights attorney. http://gardenofavantgarde.com




ABOUT THE CAST
Ana Maria Jomolca as Milagros Alvarez: studied Film and Creative Writing at The New School and received her MFA in Fiction at Hunter College. She is an actress, director, producer and published writer.

Clas Duncan as Chaz Cormier: Clas is a twenty-six-year old from Washington DC Metro area born on August 15th. Lover of life, passionate creator, considerate being and an actor of the screen.


Maureen O’Connor as Shannon Dooley: I am an American actress of Mexican and Irish heritage, born in Philadelphia...

"When a lonely trucker stumbles into a church to ask for God's forgiveness, he finds compassion and mercy for his wornout wretched soul... but when justice comes to call, he learns that there can never mercy for someone like him, only condemnation."
Tonight's play will
Read by
Timothy Regan as Dale
Joe Izen as Fr. Frank
and Christy Donahue as the Narrator / the Young Girl and the Judge.

This play is about navigating your way in the world and figuring out how to survive and thrive while being true to yourself. Sometimes it involves compromise, other times it means not choosing the safe option and instead following your path to what makes you truly happy.
ACTOR: CHRISTY DONAHUE

Coni Koepfinger presents PLAYING HOUSE Read by Mary Ellen Ashley.
©2018 by Coni Koepfinger THE LEGACY OF BELLA ABZUG JULY 24, 1920 – MARCH 31, 1998