miss american bellyflop

BY irasia ann reilly

DIRECTED BY aimee Todoroff

Cristina Morales is a blackjack dealer working at a casino in Atlantic City, when the ghosts of Miss America past offer to turn her into a pageant queen. Little does she know, the queens have their own malevolent agenda. Can Cristina become Miss America without rejecting her community and the people she loves the most? 

SATURDAY, MARCH 5th AT 5PM

SUNDAY, MARCH 6th AT 2PM

All performers are vaccinated. All audience members must be masked and provide proof of being fully vaccinated to enter. You can provide proof through the Excelsior Pass app or a hard copy of your Vaccination card. There will be no refunds if you are unable to provide proof of vaccination.

Iraisa Ann Reilly: Playwright

Iraisa Ann Reilly (She/Her/Ella) is a Jersey-born artist passionate about bilingual and cross- cultural storytelling. Select full-length plays include Good Cuban Girls (Teatro del Sol, at The Arden Theatre), The Jersey Devil is a Papi Chulo ( Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinx New Play Prize, Second Place Mark Twain Prize for Comedic Playwriting 2021) Madame Anastasia’s Crystal Ball (Semifinalist, Bay Area Playwright’s Festival 2021), Medallas Por Un Abrazo (New Light Theatre Dark Room Series) and One Day Old (Philadelphia Fringe). Iraisa Ann performed her original one-woman show, A Beginner’s Guide to Interpreting Aphasia, as a part of Philadelphia’s Solow Fest. She was semifinalist for the Page 73 Fellowship, 2019 and a recipient of the Chair Award from NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing 2021. She was Development Studio Fellow in 2021 with NYU’S Production Lab, where she wrote her original screenplay, La Reina Del Bronx. MFA in Dramatic Writing, NYU, BA Theatre and English University of Notre Dame. iraisaannreilly.com. 

Aimee Todoroff: Director

Aimee Todoroff is an award-winning freelance director and producer working in New York City.  She has been a part of two Obie Award-winning projects, performing in Peculiar Works Project’s Off Stage-the East Village Fragments and directing Green for the Metropolitan Playhouse’s 2010-2011 Season. She has also directed at Primary Stages, The Living Theatre, HERE Arts Center, The Westside Theater and at various site-specific locations around New York City. She has directed the premieres of works by Cusi Cram, Daisy Foote, and frequent collaborator Chris Harcum, including We Haven’t Told Anyone About This, Rabbit Island, American Gun Show, a 5-star reviewed show in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As Artistic Director of the independent theatre company Elephant Run District, Aimee conceived and developed the popular Brecht in the Park Series, bringing free, outdoor performances of Brecht’s lesser knows plays to the community. She also created ERD’s Stampede Labs, a curated evening of independent work that mixes the heritage of off-off broadway with the artists making today’s most exciting work. Aimee received her MFA in Directing from Stony Brook Southampton Arts, studying with Marsha Norman, Nick Mangano and Rinde Eckert, and has taken master classes with Karen Kohlhaas, Joanna Merlin, and the SITI Company. Aimee was the Assistant Director under the director John Rando and the playwright David Ives for Classic Stage Company’s production of The Heir Apparent. Most recently, Aimee directed a touring production of Deborah Karpel’s The Midwood Miracle and the American Bard Theater production of Ross Hewitt’s Echoes in the Garden. Currently, Aimee is the Acting Director of the arts advocacy organization The League of Independent Theater. Tina Landau once liked one of Aimee’s tweets. Please visit aimeetodoroff.org or elephantrundistrict.org.

Starring:

Denisse Estefany Mendoza - Cristina Morales

Joshua Gutierrez - Manny

Kit Carter - M'Erica

Deb Offner - Old Miss

Pamela Osowski - MUSA

Jessica Vera - Bellyflop/Stage Directions

Victor Rodriguez Jr. - Izzy Morales

Denisse Estefany Mendoza (Cristina with no H)

Denisse Estefany Mendoza studied at the University of Texas El Paso, Playhouse West: Brooklyn Lab, and the Magnet Theatre. She is a resident performer for the improv show Chemical X at the Vino Theater.  Other theater credits include Host in “Niños Show Up!” at the Kraine Theater, Maria in “Separated” with Headwall Theatre Company, and “Water by the Spoonful” Yasmín (u/s) for Premiere Stages. Some film credits include “Seams” by Sierra Nutkevitch, “Frenemies” by FourWalls Productions, and “Daddy Hotline” by Michelle D’Angelo. 

Jessica L. Vera (Bellyflop, stage directions): 

Recently returned from her lead work in the world premiere of Egress by Sarah Saltwick and Melissa Crespo at Amphibian stage in Fort Worth, TX, Jessica has made a career out of new play development, world premieres and is a regular reader for the 36th Street Writer’s Block group.  She credits her ability to find the character of Bellyflop from her time working on an educational farm for kids in Ohio. 

Joshua Gutierrez (Manny)

Before the pandemic took over the world, Joshua just finished puppeteering Off-Broadway for "Pip's Island" before their closing in January 2021. He's stayed active doing numerous short films and even a pilot, and even started to get into voiceover during the quarantine times. Joshua is thrilled to be back on the stage infront of actual people once again and hope things will continue to get better (just for life in general). 

Victor Rodriguez, Jr.  (Izzy)

Victor is excited to once again help to bring to life one of Iraisa's magical, magnificent plays! In one of her previous works, he portrayed "Hermano/"Tio Juan" in, ONE DAY OLD, at The Arden Theatre (Hamilton Family Center), Philadelphia, both as a staged reading, and as a full production. Some of the other hats he wears include working in Musical Theater, Voice-Over, Industrial Film, Indie Film, TV Commercials, and as a Vocal Coach. Youtube: SuperMusicvictor AEA

The Queens

Deborah Offner (Old Miss) 

Deborah Offner is an actress, songwriter, playwright and theatre director. She studied with teacher and coach Mira Rostova, as well as at Sarah Lawrence and NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Theatre, film and TV include: "Act One" at Lincoln Center,” “Hair” on Bway, "Shiva Baby”, "Orange is the New Black”, “Blue Bloods”, “The Last OG,” “Six Feet Under,” “Law and Order”, “Home,” “Black Swan,” and several Jonathan Kaplan projects, including, “Unlawful Entry” and “ER”.

Pamela Osowski (MUSA)

Theatre NYC: “A Late Snow” revival directed by Francine Trevens. New Short Play Festivals: "Southern Hospitality", "Down the Rabbit Hole", "A Teaching Moment", “Geraldine”. Staged Readings NYC: Patrick Fenton’s “Stoopdreamer". Independent Films: “Forefathers”, “Verdict: Guilty”, “Assassin Nation”, “Tammy Smoke”, “Wasted Justice”. Member of “The Red Lipstick Gang”, which can be seen on YouTube. Training/Teachers: Graduate AADA Evening/Weekend two-year program. Caymichael Patten, Karen Kohlhaas, and at ESPA with Jackson Gay, Daniel Talbott and Andrew Leynse. AEA, SAG-AFTRA

Kit Carter (M’Erica)

Kit Carter is an Actress, Comedy Writer, and Voiceover Artist in NYC. She has recently studied comedy with Squirrel Comedy Theatre and The UCB. Kit spends her free time mastering a myriad of mediums such as card magic, and balloon animals. For more, please visit KitCarterKitCarter.com.