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Are You Ready to Die? Just Kidding!

Written by Reese Villella

Synopsis

A hitman's latest assignment takes a twisted turn when the target, a controversial public figure, proves to be anything but an easy mark.

Bios

Reese Carmen Villella, Writer & Director, is a playwright and filmmaker based in NYC. A recent graduate of NYU, she majored in subversive storytelling and is passionate about queer and female-centric narratives, body horror, and knowing how to have fun. As a filmmaker, she has written and directed the short films Boy Mom, Glutton, and Helene. This is her fourth time working with The Chain One Acts Festival. Her other plays have been presented at The Red Pavilion, The Tank, The Hudson Guild, Under St. Marks, The Producer’s Club, and at NYU. She previously worked in SNL’s script department during Season 50 and currently works as the Senior Culture & Politics Staff Writer at Gut Instinct Media. She wants to thank her stage manager and cast for being frequent collaborators and great friends. You can find her @reesevillella on Instagram and Holy Wound on Substack. And for anyone out there hiring, she is #OpenToWork.  

William Owen, Stage Manager, is delighted to be a part of the Are You Ready to Die? Just Kidding team and having the opportunity to collaborate with writer/director Reese Villella once again. Previous credits include Swinewomb (dir. Reese Villella & Jacksyn Ivy Jayne), LOSERS (dir. Ellen Mimi Schlecht), and Moonstone Orchard (dir. Reese Villella). William is thrilled to be returning to The Chain theatre, and wishes to thank everyone for coming out to support the One Acts Festival.

Ricky Bizzaro as The Killer is finishing up his final Semester of training in the NYU Tisch drama department. He was most recently seen in ‘And all the Angels Cried’ at The Maker’s Space, and in Reese’s own, ‘Swinewomb.’ He’s thrilled to be back in the Reeseverse, and is grateful to his mom and siblings for the endless love and support. 

Mikey Bogardus as The Writer is a multi-faceted creative and could not be more thrilled to play an apostate of satan. They enjoy collaborating on all cylinders of the performance world, from directing to wardrobe styling and everything in between. Mikey thanks The Tank for housing their recent acting exploits, from “The Apologetics” this past May to Reese-verse staples like “Dinner With the Headmistress.” Congratulations to all the acts in the program! Mikeybogardus@gmail.com, @mikeybogardus on Instagram. 

Chris Cavazza as The Handler is thrilled to be making his second appearance in the Reese-Verse! He recently finished his studies at The Lee Strasberg Film & Theater Institute, and would like to thank his friends, family, girlfriend, and acting coach Sam for all their support. Previous shows: Sunday In The Park With George (George), The Fantasticks (El Gallo), I Hate Hamlet (Andrew), PVT. Wars (Silvio)

Waiting For Gadot

Written by Annabel McConnachie

Synopsis

Three neighboring worlds — a café, a film set, and a park bench — all consumed by one absurdly specific hope: that Gal Gadot is coming. Mara, a baker, obsessively prepares; a director scrambles to capture every possible moment; and two fans measure speed, strategize stamina, and speculate wildly about superhero training.

BIOS

Director - Hannah Pederson (She/Her) is a New York-based stage director and graduate of The New School's BFA Drama and MA Arts Management and Entrepreneurship programs. She is passionate about arts administration work that brings new and innovative works of theatre to a wider audience. As a director, she's most excited by new works exploring women and queer people as their whole, messy, and imperfect selves.

Writer /‘The Assistant’- Annabel McConnachie (She/Her) is an Australian actor, writer, New School BFA (Honors) graduate and flame fan-er of celebrity culture currently based in New York City. Wise beyond her years, Annabel made her professional debut at the age of 3 as the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera at Australia’s internationally acclaimed hub of the arts, the Sydney Opera House (her performance inspiring its name). Her most recent credit is writing and starring in New York Theatre Festival’s Best Production winner Archive of My Own. One of these statements is true and one of these statements is false, however accusing an Australian woman of lying is a hate crime - so please accept this all as fact and be on the right side of history.

Stage Manager - Chelsea Castro is a professional NYC Stage Manager and Actress. Recently she has served as the PSM for Archive of My Own (NYTF), Bird Play (IRT), Doing a Bradbury (The Tank), and Give Our Regards to Broadway: Bob Fosse Tribute (Madison Theatre). She is a trained Stage Manager, Board Op, and Deck Hand. In addition to the tech side, she performs on stage as an actress. Choose joy! @chelsea.a.castro

Mara - Isabel Criado (She/Her) is a Spanish/Peruvian multidisciplinary theatre artist based in New York City who wants to tell diverse stories that voice the experiences of multicultural immigrants. A graduate of The New School’s School of Drama (BFA, with Honors), Isabel has developed a rich body of work spanning directing, stage managing, and performing across both classical and contemporary productions, her most recent credits including; Anthony Y Cleopatra’s Cleopatra for Elsewhere Shakespeare (Art Barrio Space), Midsummer Night’s Dream’s Hermia (Under St. Marks) and Viola in Prague Shakespeare Company’s production of Twelfth Night. She also produced and starred in NY Theatre Festival’s winner of Best Production and Best Director, Archive of My Own by Annabel McConnachie. More @isabelcriadob

Len - Spencer Gibson Hazen (He/Him) is an actor originally from Illinois, and based in NY for just over two years after graduating from the Neighborhood Playhouse in 2025. His most recent credit is Dracula, A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really as Jonathan Harker, and while living here, he has discovered a love of improv; taking classes at UCB and the BCC. He loves singing, using silly accents, and dying onstage; someday, he hopes, he might also die in real life. He'd like to thank his friends and family for never doubting him, and the lady who first helped him figure out a turnstile for correctly doubting him.

‘The Director’ - Nicole Marie Lado (She/Her) (The Director) (but not the director director, like, The Director™ as in the role of The Director within the universe of the show) (just to be clear) (also are you guys mad at me??) is a New York-based theater and film actress who is ecstatic to dive into this wacky world from the brilliant mind of NYC's most iconic Australian playwright, Annabel McConnachie! Nicole made her New York Theater debut last summer in McConnachie's instant cult-classic play "Archive of My Own” as Girlie Ensemble 1/Rachel Berry, which won Best Production and Best Director at the New York Summer Fest 2025. Outside of theater, she enjoys working on short films with the next generation of [insert your favorite film maker's name here] and working front of house for NYC's #1 magic show for all ages: The Broadway Magic Hour. 

‘The Producer’ - Kaia Parnell (She/They) is a performer and teaching artist originally from Colorado. Select credits include Information for Foreigners (Jersey City Theater Center), Antigonick (Torn Out Theater), Machete Mary (Players Theater), and The Wallpaper is Yellow but I'm Fine (The Tank). Kaia can also be found with puppet in hand at New York City Kids Project and Puppetsburg.

Jay - Ellie Lauthner (She/Her) is a Brooklyn-based singer and actor with a BFA in musical theatre from LIU Post. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Ellie is thrilled to be entering the GCU (Gadot cinematic universe), and hopes her enthusiasm for the scientific method comes through in her performance. She doesn’t know what a Mediterranean muffin is and at this point she’s too afraid to ask.

Morgan - Gabi Schwartz (She/Her) is a Brooklyn-based actor originally from Baltimore, who is passionate about telling stories that help people feel seen, spark curiosity and learning, or offer fresh perspectives; whether that be through laughter or tears. She most recently trained at The Barrow Group and Act First Studios in NYC, and her latest theater credit was playing Margot Frank in “The Diary” by Claude Solnik at Theater For The New City. Gabi is thrilled to be a part of this hilarious production, and will admit that prior to this show she didn’t know that “Godot” in the play “Waiting For Godot” by Samuel Beckett is in fact spelled differently than Gal Gadot’s last name. IG: gabi_schwartz