PROGRAM 6

Binge by Samantha Fairfield Walsh

Down the Fox Hole by Blake Merriman

Function by Duncan Pflaster

Stand Naked in the River of Shame by Evan Edwards

Samantha Fairfield Walsh is a New York based playwright and multi-disciplinary artist. Her full length plays include The Mountain (Finalist, Chain Theater Playwriting Lab 18'), Break (Staged Reading, Team Awesome Robot, 19', Semi-Finalist Play Penn 20'), Ether (Semi-Finalist Unicorn Theatre New Play Reading Series 20'), The Things We Say (First Fridays, The Barrow Group 21'), Should You Find Yourself Prepared (Semi-Finalist National Playwrights Conference 21'), The Visible, Salem!, and The Sunshine State. Her short plays include The Body (Pussyfest 18'), I'm Gonna Vote (ESPA Detention Series 18'), BINGE (Chain Theater One Act Festival, 21'), Miles (ESPA Detention Series 19'), and Should (ESPA Detention Series 19'). She graduated with a BFA in Acting from the University of Florida and has spent her years in New York as a performer and artist developing new work.

Christopher Diercksen is a Director and Dramaturg of new work. They are the artistic director of Team Awesome Robot, a collaborative theater initiative. Past Team Awesome Robot credits include: Break, by Samantha Walsh; Let's Do That Hockey by Madhur Shekar; That True Phoenix by Daniel John Kelley; Rush by Callie Kimball. Christopher is an alum of The National Theater Institute and Albright College. www.teamawesomerobot.com

Alexander Dean is an actor, improviser, and marketer based in Brooklyn, New York. He has received training from the Magnet Theater, Upright Citizens Brigade, Theater Emory, and the Yale Summer Conservatory for Actors. Previous credits include Richard III in Richard III and Celia in As You Like It at Theater Emory. He spent the past year performing virtually with co-star Eden Neuendorf in their improv duo show, Little Weasel. This is Alexander’s NYC stage debut. Eden Neuendorf is an actor, producer, and improviser making her NYC stage debut. She spent many years working in the SF Bay Area before relocating to NYC. She has performed professionally in 20+ productions with companies such as Eugene O'Neill Festival, TheatreWorks, Custom Made, and many more. She's the former Associate Producer and Casting Director for Bay Area Children's Theatre where she dove into her passion for new play development.

John DeSilvestri has provided voice-over for animation, live events and video games. He recently lent his voice to a new attraction opening at Universal Studios Beijing, and continues to work with The Hanford Challenge as a narrator. www.johndesilvestri.com, Twitter: JohnnyDVoices, Insta: JohnnyDVoices

BIOS:

Joshua Warr (Co-Director): Stupid F**king Bird (13th Street Theatre); Pizza Man (13th Street Theatre); Brilliant Traces (WorkShop Theatre [now the Chain Theatre]), Orion (Theatre Row/Studio Theatre), Lady Gay: All of Me (Feinstein's/54 Below), The Blue Djinn (The Wild Project), An Infinite Ache (Access Theatre), Tape (Abingdon Theatre/Dorothy Strelsin). Film: Haywire. Joshua is the founder of Art of Warr Productions.

Valentine Aprile (Co-Director) is an award winning artist in multiple disciplines including painting, dance-theater creation/direction, and filmmaking. Her eclectic arts education includes The University of the Arts (PA - BFA in Painting and MA in Arts in Education with a focus on interdisciplinary methods), The Art Students League of New York, Nimble Arts (VT - aerial arts), The Maggie Flanigan Acting Conservatory (NY), and various dance studios in Philadelphia and New York. She is currently based in New York working on multiple projects and painting. Her paintings have been published in American Art Collector-April 2019, LINEA (published by The Art Students League of NY), and Create! Magazine. Her past work with Art of Warr Productions includes Brilliant Traces (assoc. dir.), and Stupid Fucking Bird (movement dir.). Valentine is so pleased to be back to work, in person, with this talented team. Member - NAEA, NAWA, PoetsArtists, Portrait Society of America, Audubon Artists, The Warr Room https://www.valentineaprile-artist.com/ Rizzle.tv sponsored content - https://rizzle.tv/u/valentineaprile Instagrams - @valaprile @valtheseries @vandoactorservices IMDB - http://www.imdb.me/valentineaprile

Alexander Stine (A): Host and Producer of the Dungeons & Dragons 5E Podcast The Floor is Dungeon. TV: Mindhunter, Orange is the New Black, The Affair, TURN: Washington’s Spies, Mysteries of Laura, Boardwalk Empire. Film: Wild Men, The Incoherents. Theatre: King Lear w/ Austin Pendleton, Servant of 2 Masters, Knight of the Burning Pestle, Macbeth, Stairway to Hell. BA: Theatre - University Northern Colorado.

Blake Merriman (B): Favorite theatre credits include Aaron Posner’s Stupid F**king Bird (13th Street Theatre), Cindy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces (The Workshop Theater), Matthew McLachlan’s ORION (Theater Row), Anthony P. Pennino’s A Thousand Deaths (FringeNYC), and Ben Holbrook’s Alone with Friends (Fundamental Theater Project). TV: HBO’s Crashing. FILM: The Graduates (Amazon) and Drinking Games (now available on iTunes). Blake trained at Northwestern University, the School at Steppenwolf, and the Maggie Flanigan studio. For more, visit BlakeMerriman.com.

Zachary Sherry (C): Zachary Sherry is an actor and writer excited to be playing C in Down the Foxhole. Trained with Florida State University and Maggie Flanigan Studio. Zach would like to thank everyone involved with the show! www.zachsherry.com

Aaron Lee Battle (FRANKLIN) is an actor/singer who has performed on off-Broadway, in Northern Europe and Istanbul Turkey. Aaron is a Bistro Award winning cabaret performer. I'm pleased to once again to be involved in project with the Chain Theater.

Ido Gal (CALEB) is a New York-based actor and producer. Originally from Palo Alto, Ido performed in productions in San Francisco and San Jose before receiving his acting training from the University of Southern California. Since graduating, Ido has performed for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, Columbia University Stages, Audible Studios, and on-camera in numerous independent short films. Ido is excited and thrilled to be back on stage for The Chain Theater One Act Festival!

Callie Stribling (she/her) is a Manhattan based stage manager. Previous credits include Abnormal (Theatre Row), Friendly's Fire (Rising Sun Performance Company), Spring Awakening (the Secret Theatre), and various other shows, readings, and festivals around the city. With many thanks for all the support and hard work that has kept the lights on in our theaters the past year and a half, even the purchase of this ticket.

Evan Edwards (WRITER/DIRECTOR) is a polyonymous multi-ethnic, multi-hyphenate theatre professional and member of DG, AEA and AGVA. As Steven Hamilton, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre from Niagara University. His works include the full-length book musical McGurk’s Suicide Hall, a fictional account of actual events, for which he won the Great Performances Fellowship and the Playlight Featured Musical Award. His play Members of the Choir was chosen for the Broadway Inclusion Project, NYC, Ready for my Close- up premiered at London’s AAUK E-plays Vol 3: Renewal, Falling was seen at WildFlower Theatre’s virtual opening gala and two of his monologues Tonsil Hockey with the Help and Independent thinking were featured at the Prince William Sound College Monologue Workshop. His full-length drawing room farce, Mixed Messages, is in development with American Theatre Group PlayLab, a professional space for BIPOC and Queer playwrights to develop works for the stage. EvanEdwardsAEA.org

Booker Vance (YOUNG GUY) is a 24-year-old actor and writer from Chicago, Illinois. He is a rising third year MFA student at The New School of Drama and a graduate of Morehouse College and the British American Drama Academy (BADA). Booker has performed in theatrical productions such as Hamlet, God of Carnage, The Piano Lesson, Romeo & Juliet, Milk Like Sugar, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning and The Colored Museum. He also guest starred in The Next Big Move pilot and is set to recur on Away From Home, an upcoming web-series from VOX Films.

FUNCTION

by Duncan Pflaster

Synopsis: Dr. Rodgers is brought in to interview Cody, an android, to determine his humanity. But the questions she poses to him are not necessarily leading where she thinks they are.

Heather Lee Rogers (Dr. Rodgers) is a proud fixture of the NYC indie theatre community. Favorite roles include Nurse Constance in the serial-theatre soap opera It's Getting Tired Mildred, Richard II in This England w/Strange Harbor, Pentheus in The Bacchae w/Dysfunctional Theatre, Ase in Peer Gynt w/Gorilla Rep, Hermione in The Winter’s Tale w/Hudson Warehouse, Mariah in The Douchegirl Play w/Cross-Eyed Bear, and a murderer in the Miss Jane Periwinkle mystery series on Governors Island w/Dysfunctional Collective. She also does film projects and voice overs. heatherogers.com Wes Bourland (Cody): Wes grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas and would love to meet you if you know where that is. Previous credits include Cleansed (Robin), subUrbia (Jeff) and a lot of musical theatre. Wes also directs (most recently the NY premiere of The Walls), writes, music directs, arranges, and moonlights as a bass player. Love to Allison and Sourie.

Duncan Pflaster (Playwright): Duncan has won awards for many of his plays, especially The Underpants Godot, The Empress of Sex, and 1460 Sketches of your Left Hand. His film Strapped for Danger and its sequel can be found on the Internet. www.duncanpflaster.com

Aliza Shane (Director): Aliza is grateful to be back. THANK YOU, DUNCAN. Aliza is a director, playwright and producer. Aliza was Co-Artistic Director of 3 Voices Theatre which produced multiple staged reading events, as well as Mein Uncle, an absurdist fairytale about the seeds of inhumanity, written and directed by Aliza. Also written/directed by Aliza: Are You There Zeus? It’s Me, Electra, (PCTF Awards), The Imaginary Invalid: By Prescription Only (PCTF Awards), and The Three Sillies, (NYIT Award). Credits include: NYC Fringe, Cross-Eyed Bear Productions, Spotlight On Fest, The Dirty Blondes, COTE, The Bechdel Group, Project Y, Abingdon Theatre, Urban Stages, and more. Krystal KC Wilson (Stage manager): Krystal is excited to be back in a theatre after a long time away focusing on producing and working on films. She’s ready to have a great show and hope you enjoy.