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Birth of a Witch: A response to "The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare

Written by Emma Rey Dias

Directed by Kayla Platania

CONTENT WARNINGS: Descriptions and brief depiction of sexual assault, loud & sudden sounds, physical/emotional abuse, misogyny, suicidal thoughts/behavior, death/threats of death & murder

Synopsis

1850. Shortly after Alice is married to Sir Peter, she attacks him with inhuman abilities that the townspeople are calling witchcraft. Alice’s brother, William, arrives days later, determined to smooth things over. Instead, Alice teaches him about the horrors of womanhood and he orchestrates her escape.

Bios

PLAYWRIGHT/PRODUCER: Emma Rey Dias (she/they) is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and ecstatic to have a cast and team chock-full of MMC students and alum. An up-and-coming playwright whose work centers the mentally ill experience,  her work has most recently been produced by Chain Theatre, Sapphest NYC, and the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. In 2025, she was a Top 10 Finalist for the Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize. Emma would like to thank her parents, her brother, her best friends Chloe and Em, her therapist, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani for being bright sources of hope in her life. Instagram: @emmareydias

DIRECTOR: Kayla Platania (she/her) is a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College’s BFA Musical Theatre and BA Directing programs. Recent directorial credits include The Wolves by Sarah Delappe and Emote: A New Musical by Tim Carullo both at MMC and Waiting For The 6 Train by Elisabeth Shannon at the Downtown Urban Arts Festival. She wants to thank the playwright Emma Rey Dias for trusting her with this piece and the wonderful cast for their incredible artistry and contributions to making this piece come alive. Ig: @kaylaplatania

ALICE: Callista DeFeo is so excited to be making her Chain Theatre debut with the wonderful Emma Rey Dias’ new work, Birth of a Witch. Callista is a junior Musical Theatre major at Marymount Manhattan College with a minor in Media Production. When not on the stage, she can be found writing, making music, and watching season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Callista would like to thank Kayla and Emma for all their hard work with this production as well as the rest of her cast and crew, whom she loves dearly. <3

WILLIAM: Will Tully (he/him) is simply ecstatic to be a part of this production! He graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in Musical Theatre in 2024. He would like to thank his spine for always having his back, his arms for always being by his side, and his friends/family for their continued support.

SIR PETER: Lukas (he/him) is so excited to make his Chain Theatre debut! Lukas is a junior in the Musical Theatre program at Marymount Manhattan College and has also performed with Possum Point Players, Community Players of Salisbury, and Lower Shore Performing Arts Company. Lukas is incredibly grateful for such an incredible cast and crew! :)

WILLIAM/SIR PETER U/S: Joey Soto (he/him) is an actor based in NYC. Recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Most recently played Nice Guy in Waiting for The Six Train by Elizabeth Shannon. Instagram: Joey.soto625

MAGIC: Elisabeth Nordeen (she/her) is a performer, producer, and director based in New York City. A graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, she secured her BFA in Musical Theatre and BA in Directing. She has worked with several prestigious cabaret venues as a performer, including 54 Below–where she has also frequently produced and directed shows of her own– the Green Room 42, Don’t Tell Mama’s NYC, and Joe’s Pub. Her most recent performance was with Performance Check Productions in their show: Crits and Kisses at The Green Room 42. Instagram: @elisabethnordeen

MAGIC: Paige McAllister (she/they) is an actor, singer and writer with a passion for new work. She is so excited to bring Birth of A Witch to life! A recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, favorite credits include: A Thousand Years (MMC), The Secretaries (MMC), and Star Lake (Chain Theatre).

Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Written by Henrietta Steventon

Directed by Andy Ingalls

Synopsis

A few glasses of wassail deep, The Macbeths clash over what their next step as a couple should be: killing the king or having a threesome.

Bios

Henrietta Steventon (PLAYWRIGHT & LADY MACBETH) 
Henrietta is a British/New Zealand writer and actress. She trained in sketch comedy and improv with The Second City and The Groundlings and was shortlisted for JFL New Faces; Characters in New York in 2025 and 2024. Her original TV pilot Balls and her screenplay Crybaby have been recognized by Shore Scripts, ScreenCraft and the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Henrietta has written and performed in her one-woman musical 16/32, and her plays Crybaby and Ennui: An English Comedy with a French Title for an American Audience. Recent acting credits include Delly in Pierre, directed by Doug Hughes, Stanislavsky in Uncle Stan in Berlin, directed by Dmitry Krymov, and The MBA Follies at The Second City NY. Henrietta is also the host and creator of ‘The Quotidian Collection’, a performance series in which actors, writers and comedians present original pieces inspired by an everyday prompt. MFA: NYU Grad Acting. BA in English: Columbia University. Henrietta is represented by Innovative Artists and Framework Entertainment. She is extremely grateful to The Chain for supporting her work, and Andy and Joe for being such wonderful collaborators.

Joe Nugent (MACBETH)
Joe Nugent is an actor/comedian who is originally from Orlando, FL. It was there that he got his start in comedy after training and performing at Sak Comedy Lab. Joe then moved to NYC to pursue his dreams and has since studied at Magnet Theater, The Second City and UCB. He has also performed theater in NYC, most recently in an original play called "St.Hospital City" at The Tank Theater. Joe attributes any of his success to his family, who are some of the most funny, loving and supportive people in the world.

Andy Ingalls (DIRECTOR) 
Andy Ingalls is very grateful to Hen for the opportunity to direct her work again, having very happily collaborated on her play “Crybaby” and contributed to her recent inaugural Quotidian Collection. His recent work also includes directing “CZAR” by Allison Frasca and Miles Purinton, producing Studio Tisch—a summer festival of new work at NYU Grad Acting featuring 36 alumni projects, performing in the 52nd Street Project Songmaking Show, and narrating “Cahokia Jazz” by Francis Spufford (Audible Earphones Award). MFA:NYU.

Where We Lay Our Scene

Written by Halley Platz

Directed by Saturday Lawson

Synopsis

Luke-- a theatre student who would definitely be cast as Romeo-- and Layla-- a young theatre student who would definitely NOT be cast as Juliet-- are cast together as the star-crossed lovers in their religious university's production of the classic romance, directed by none other than their problematic, passionate, imposing Dean of their Theater Department. Initially enthusiastic and excited to work together, they descend into star-crossed hatred throughout an arresting, overstimulating, and highly intimate rehearsal process that may make them better actors AND worse artists. An exploration of educational impressionability, workplace toxicity, and the consequences and intensity of forced creative intimacy.

Bios

Halley Platz (playwright) is a New York City–based writer, performer, and producer originally from Rockwall, Texas. She specializes in “traumedy,” blending comedy and drama to explore intimacy, identity, and femme societal norms through emotionally direct, sensory-driven storytelling that examines the chaos of living in a body and mind that defy expectation, especially around neurodivergence. Her work has been developed and recognized by the Ojai Playwrights Conference, SheNYC LA, SheDFW Summer Fest, the Re Venue Festival, Theatre 68 NYC, the Moxie Theatre Reading Series, and the Maryland Ensemble Theatre METLab Festival. May and June was an Ojai Playwrights Conference Finalist and a finalist with SheNYC LA and SheDFW Summer Fest, and was featured in the Re Venue Festival in 2025. Her Off Broadway debut, A Real Bitch, premiered at the Hudson Guild Theatre, followed by I Can Mansplain at the Triad Theatre. Additional works include Privates, HALZ: A Musical Traumedy, and the punk rock concert-musical Just LITTLE WOMEN, workshopped by Sour Grapes Productions at The Vino Theatre. She is a member of Theatre 68 NYC and the alt comedy film collective WATCH PARTY, and is the founder of Space Cowgirl Productions and Sibling Code Productions.

Saturday Lawson [she/her] (director) is an NYC based writer, actor, and director! She has recently directed a production of “The Secretaries” by the Five Lesbian Brothers and wrote and directed her own original parody musical “Alice in Tinderland”. She also frequently writes and performs with her sketch comedy group Punchline Loading! Saturday is so grateful to be working with this talented group of actors again on this incredible piece that Halley wrote! She would love to thank her wonderful cast, her supportive boyfriend Kevin, and her two cat sons- Umbreon and Snorlax. Enjoy the show everyone!

Lauren Winnenberg (Layla) is a queer, socially engaged director, writer, actor, and producer. She holds an MA in Arts Politics from NYU Tisch, where she received the Lew & Edie Wasserman Research Grant for Arts Activism. With her company, Space Cowgirl Productions, she’s collaborated on A Real Bitch (NYTF), and directed I Can Mansplain (The Triad), Halz: A Musical Traumedy, May and June, and Just Little Women. Lauren is a member of Theatre 68, where she directed Triangle: Scenes from a Prosecution and Love or Death Inside a House, and performed in String of Pearls. Other credits include Cherry Jam (IRT), It Came from Beyond (St. Luke’s), Coming Out (NYTF), Purgatory (Manhattan Rep), Love Magic Ritual Spell (Dixon Place), and Dystress (Kimmel Galleries).

Jeremy Byron [He/Him/His] (Luke) is an actor/director born and raised in New York. He received training from Pace University with a BFA in acting. He has taken on camera classes at Stella Adler and Alexander technique classes from the Barrow Group. Jeremy has appeared on a micro budget film, Set Me Free, Theatre 68 One Act festival, and a Stony Brook Student Film, Fine Dinner. He loves to stay active, play video games and is a barista that makes a mean latte.

Ryan Scott Thomas (Doctor) is an actor/writer from Baltimore, MD. He can be seen on HBO shows, Task, We Own This City and The Flight Attendant, as well as episodes of FBI, and New Amsterdam and others.