PROGRAM 15

PROGRAM #15 (3rd FLOOR)

Peter Doyle's Incredible Head by David Andrew Laws

The Secret by Judith Ruskay Rabinor

Where There's A Will by Megan Kemple

Xandra Abney (Producer/Director) is a producer, performer, and all-around collaborator. She is a managing partner at Durnmoose Entertainment, and has a particular love for interactive experiences, uplifting femme & LGBTQ+ stories, and all things nerd-adjacent. You can hear her voice in I Fell In Love With a Video Nasty wherever you get your podcasts, and find her everywhere online @astrallyalex. Other selected credits: She Takes Flight (Co-Producer; NYC), the Kobold Show! (Producer; NYC Fringe); A Night of Drama (Associate Producer; NYC, London, & Edinburgh Fringe); Smut & Sensibility (Producer; Podcast); Icarus (Sarah); Beware the Box Folk (Jamie); The Twenty-Sided Tavern (Game Master/Tavern Keeper), Peekaboo (Hulda)

David Andrew Laws (Producer/Playwright) (he/they) is a Brooklyn-based bard. Founder of Durnmoose Entertainment and founding artistic director of Hamlet Isn't Dead. Co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern and playwright of Attack! of the Killer Man from the Sun!. Game designer (Pigou, Eight Days in Heaven), performer (Drunk Shakespeare off-Broadway), producer (F***ed Up Fairytales, A Night of Drama, the Kobold Show!), poet (Poems My Dad Wrote Before I Was Born and Ones I Wrote After He Died). For more, visit davidandrewlaws.com.

Nick Freedson (Peter) (they/them) is a Brooklyn based actor, writer, and VO artist. They spent two years in UC Santa Barbara’s BFA acting program before transitioning to a playwriting emphasis. Acting credits include Richard II and Two Gents of Verona (Prague Shakespeare Company), Hamlet and King Lear (Naked Shakes), Mead and Stu Teach a Seminar (Skypilot Theatre), Cambriolage (Gallery Players), and Four Evangelists Walk into a Fog (Theater For The New City). Their plays have been produced by multiple theaters and festivals including New York United Solo Festival, Whitefire Solofest, and Skypilot Theatre Company. Their solo show, Anna, received both a Best of Fest Award at Whitefire Theatre Solo Fest and a Second Rounder laurel at Austin Film Festival.   nickfreedson.com

Stephen Solomon (Head) (he/him) is a New York Based actor and model. He is represented by Bright Artists Management and Eris Models. He’s excited to be back at the Chain Theatre Festival! He was in their one act festival last year in Unidentified Female, Felicity Winter. Other notable credits include: I Fell In Love With A Z Grade Director in Brooklyn, Kenichi Ugana, The EXorcist, Vanessa Brown, Sissy, Noah Devine, The Importance of Being Earnestly LGTBQ+, Maarten Cornelis, and many more short films, plays, commercials, etc. He is currently seeking a tv/film agent. Keep up with him on Instagram @sleepystevo.

Gene Soo (Phillip) (he/him) is thrilled to make his professional stage debut in Peter Doyle’s Incredible Head. His acting journey began in school productions like The Sound of Music and The Laramie Project. Recently, his work has included short films, TV, and commercials, but he is excited to return to the stage. Outside of acting, Gene enjoys playing tennis, running with friends, and trying new cuisines.

Jaxin Hruby (Swing) (he/him) is a recent alumni from LIU Post’s theatre program who recently moved to Brooklyn to begin his professional career. Recent roles include Alf in Peter and the Starcatcher, Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, and Adrian in Lavender, a short film directed by Aidan Serviss. Jaxin is thrilled that this gets to be his first project post-grad and would like to thank the entire production team for the opportunity as well as all of the teachers and mentors that have helped get him to this point!

Duvall O Steen is a working New York City actor. A graduate of the William Esper Studio, a loyal ongoing student at MN Acting Studio, and a founding member of workinggirls productions, Duvall’s on-screen credits include guest stars on CBS’s Bull and NBC’s TheBlacklist, as well as appearance on FBI Most Wanted, Difficult People, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Jessica Jones. Most recently, she appeared in the short film Shameversary which won first place in the nationwide 24-Hour Film Race. Duvall has written and produced a one-woman show entitled Thrive, which achieved sold out performances in the United Solo Festival on Theatre Row. New York stage credits include the world premiere of Bad Evidence, a female version of Art, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Crimes of the Heart, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Talking Heads, Danny the Deep Blue Sea, Romeo in an all-female Romeo & Juliet, and Molly in the longest running Off-Off Broadway show in history, Line. On the big screen, she played the title role in the award-winning short film Gina’s Music and wrote, produced, and starred in her own original comedic short Dick Pic. www.duvallosteen.com

Alex is a singer, writer, performer, and producer of The Reckless Romantics comedy-ish variety shows, concerts, and ROM COM IRL: a musical improv dating show. Alex debuted her one woman musical, Crave, at the Cherry Lane directed by Gretchen Cryer. Insta:@alex_petrullo.

Judith Ruskay Rabinor, PhD is a clinical psychologist, author, workshop leader and playwright.  “The Secret” is adapted from her most recent  memoir:  The Girl in the Red Boots: Making Peace with My Mother. A frequently invited speaker, she is the author dozens of articles, chapters and two non-fiction books:  A Starving Madness: Tales of Hunger, Hope and Healing in Psychotherapy and  Befriending Your Ex After Divorce: Making Life Better for You, Your Kids and Yes, Your Ex.

DeMone Seraphin is an actor, director, artistic director & educator. 

As an actor, DeMone has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway, Regionally and  Internationally as a principal & featured performer in such shows as RAGTIME,  MISS SAIGON, RENT, J.C. SUPERSTAR, MEMPHIS, SIDESHOW (Jeff Award  for Best Supporting Actor In A Musical), AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, THE BEST OF  BOTH WORLDS, UNCLE VANYA, OTHELLO, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, BIG  RIVER, CROWNS, and SWEET CHARITY. On screen, he has appeared in  PERSON OF INTEREST, LAW AND ORDER SVU, THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT  OF MISTER AND PETE, HUSH, THE SUBJECT, THE MAGIC DOOR, and BAD  STREET. 

As a director, DeMone’s work has been seen Off Broadway, Internationally, and  Regionally. Most recent credits include FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE at The Fulton  Theatre, the Regional Premiere of CHICKEN AND BISCUITS at Virginia Rep  Theatre, TOPDOG UNDERDOG (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding  Direction of a Play), THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS, and HOW I LEARNED WHAT  I LEARNED at Avant Bard Theatre where he serves as a Lead Producing  Partner. Other directing credits include; the German premiere of August Wilson’s  JITNEY, ONCE UPONZI TIME: AN AMERICAN SCHEME at The McCarter  Theatre in association with Princeton’s Triangle Club, the Off Broadway Revivals  of DUTCHMAN and SPLIT SECOND, and the world premiere of THE KING: THE  FINAL HOURS AN ELVIS PRESLEY MUSICAL. 

As an educator, DeMone has been a guest lecturer, artist in residence & a  visiting professor/director at such prestigious institutions as HARVARD  UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, RYDER UNIVERSITY, NYU  STEINHARDT, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, and the UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. 

DeMone is also a member of the Tony Award winning BROADWAY  INSPIRATIONAL VOICES.

MEGAN KEMPLE (Veronica/Playwright): Megan Kemple is a multidisciplinary performance and teaching artist. Her plays “The Algorithm” & “The Rules” were selected for The Player’s Theatre’s SPF (2023).  She has a BFA in Theatre from Niagara University and an MA in Drama Therapy from NYU Steinhardt. Her full-length, “Accidental Intimacies” won the 2022 Fresh Fruit Spirit Award for “Fostering Pride, Survival, History, and Progress”.

MICHAEL WHANG (Will): Stage debut! Michael Whang (he/him) is a former investment banker and rising second-year MBA student at Yale with a lifelong passion for the performing arts. He has trained at Nick Conti’s Professional Actor’s Studio in Atlanta and is currently participating in the Atlantic Acting School’s Summer Intensive. Michael is thrilled to make his stage debut in this powerful production and is deeply grateful to the phenomenal cast and crew, as well as his endlessly supportive parents. You can find him on Instagram @michaelwhang (he swears he’s working on posting more!).

ELLE PRADO (Callie): Elle is thrilled to bring the role of Callie to life in When There’s a Will… A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and The New School, Elle has appeared in a range of TV and film projects, and is a passionate educator. In addition to acting, she is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter with a deep love for storytelling in all its forms. Elle is grateful to the cast, crew, and everyone who still believes in the magic of theater. @ellepradoofficial

CHELSI KERN (Co-Director): Chelsi Kern (they/she) is a queer, non-binary, neurodivergent, and  fearlessly silly creative artist with a Master’s degree in Drama Therapy and a passion for developmental theatre. As a director, casting director, producer, and VO artist, they have worked on Off-Broadway and regional productions, short & feature films found on various streaming platforms (Hulu, AppleTV+) and in the festival circuit, top charting Apple podcasts, and countless industry readings and workshops. Connect with them on Instagram! @chelsikerrn

SARAH VISHNEV (Co-Director): Sarah Vishnev is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist. Recent work includes “The Algorithm” and “Accidental Intimacies”. She's also worked professionally as a seamstress, dresser, prop designer, and board operator. Along with her backstage experience, she's also performed in jazz clubs around NYC and regional theatres across the country. She's sung in cabarets, fundraisers, and musicals and has most recently toured with the premiere of Disney/TheatreWorks production of  "Clementine".