Dave has hit bottom. Jobless and alone, he's in a mandatory meeting with Stoddard, a government employee who's skilled at getting people to sign "The Bliss Option." Multitudes - the poor, the ill, the unemployed - have entered The Bliss. But Dave resists. Will Stoddard persuade him to sign? Will he persuade her that she's selling suicide? Or will something else happen in this room?
(The show runs about 75 minutes without intermission.)
Stars Mary Murphy* as STODDARD and Eric Percival* as DAVE.
(*Member AEA. This show is an Equity-approved Showcase.)
ANDREW R. HEINZE (Playwright & Director): Andrew’s plays have been produced in NYC, LA, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Dallas, Denver, Tucson, Albuquerque and regionally. A 2025 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Playwriting Fellow, Andrew is a member of the Dramatists Guild and PEN America. He serves as Dramaturg and Workshop Leader for the American Renaissance Theater Company in New York City. (andrewheinze.com)
EVA MINEMAR (Co-director): Award-winning producer/director Eva Minemar is a proud member of the Actors Studio Director’s Unit and NYWITF. She conceived and directed the touring women's theatre staple, Angry Jellow Bubbles (performed at the U.N. for International Women's Day) and directed many one-woman shows, including international hit SOLO ANNA, the story of iconic Italian actress Anna Magnani. Co-founder: LA LUPA Italian Cultural Arts Festival and Mulberry Queens. Films. (mulberryqueensfilms.com)
MARY MURPHY (Stoddard): Mary is delighted to play the role of Stoddard in The Bliss Option. Her work spans all mediums. A few of her recent credits include the one-woman play An Evening With Lola Montez, Racked!, a full cast recording of Oedipus at Colonus, It’s A Wonderful Life, and the audio drama
Chinook. She can currently be heard voicing roles for Disney, GoKidGo, The Center for New American Media, Leap Frog, the series Muzzy, along with numerous audio dramas. She is also a regular performer in Fireside Mystery Theatre’s live radio plays and podcast series.(marymurphyonline.com)
ERIC PERCIVAL (Dave): Eric is an award-winning actor who has performed on stages throughout the US and Europe. Film: The Lepers, Carol’s Last Chance. TV: Farm Story. Off-Broadway: My Purple Wig (Lion, Theatre Row), Snowfall in Berlin (Nylon Fusion), Island (NY Shakespeare Exchange). Awards: Outstanding Supporting Actor - Planet Connections, Dorian Grey; Outstanding Lead Actor - MITF, Bubby's Shadow. Training: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (London), T. Schreiber Studio (NY). (ericpercival.com)
CHRISTINA SHREWSBURY (Set & Art Design): Christina holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and is a production and set designer for theater and film. Theater credits include Eurydice (Dir. Cassidy Kepp), Arsenic and Old Lace (Dir. Matt Gehring), and In the Shadow of Her Father (59E59 Theaters). Film credits include The Game, Glasgow, Back to the Present!, American Girl (Dir. Andrea Riba), and Screaming Laughing. She currently assists Emmy-winning designer Jason Ardizzone-West. (ShrewsburyDesign.com) | IG: @Shrewsie_
GEORGE PORT (Sound/Projection Design) is originally from New Zealand where he was involved in front of and behind the cameras for a variety of different film and television projects such as Xena Warrior Princess, Power Rangers, Braindead, Meet the Feebles, Forgotten Silver and The Frighteners. He is currently in New York not performing improv, not acting in plays and not directing, not writing and not acting in short films.
DARIEL GARCIA (Light Design) a Dominican Republic native and Brooklyn College graduate, brings a vibrant and dynamic lighting design to the stage. He has served as the lead lighting designer for NYU’s Ultra Violet Live and The Chain Theatre’s One Act Festival, with a portfolio mostly rooted in New York City. His most recent work includes the Reykjavík Fringe Festival in Iceland.
TONY LEPORE (Technical Operator): Anthony Lepore has been involved in theater for over 25 years, serving as a producer, composer, stage manager, lighting designer, sound designer, and playwright in cities across the US, UK, Canada, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates. Films for which he scored the music have won awards at international film festivals. You can find him playing jazz drums in clubs around town. (tonylepore.com )
A. KASPER (Stage Manager): A. Kasper, a musician and conductor, has conducted Into the Woods, Chicago, The Fantastiks! and TEXAS Outdoor Musical. Kasper has stage managed premieres in NYC, including: October 7, Mario: The Maker Magician, Tiananmen Requiem, NYC circa 1909, Bronx Opera Co.’s La Clemenza di Tito, The Joe Hill Revival, Tammany Hall. His voice work has been heard on television shows, radio, TV ads, independent films, corporate interactions, and as an announcer for AT&T “Cowboys” Stadium.
M.C. CROSBY (House Manager & Box Office): MC (she/they) is a playwright and educator produced in New York, Scotland, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and Madagascar. They were a finalist for the McKnight National Residency, won a Kaufman Playwriting Award citation, and are published in Smith and Kraus. With a fusion of dance and poetry, MC’s plays address mental health, Queerness, identity, and body image.