PROGRAM 18
Maybe Life Will Be Better the Third Time Around by Maeve Aurora Chapman
Spirit by Tony Patryn
The Gap by Joseph P Krawczyk
The Waiting Room by Eva Gozé & Barbara Moreno & Yael Aarts
life will be better the third time around
Written and Directed by Maeve Aurora Chapman
Synopsis: It's Arden's twenty-seventh birthday and she's sitting in an expensive Williamsburg restaurant at an empty table. Only Tatum, basically a stranger, comes (two hours late!) to her birthday party. But maybe a near-total-stranger is exactly what Arden and Tatum need to discover they aren't alone as they thought they were. 'Maybe Life Will Be Better the Third Time Around' is a 'snowglobe' moment of life, that captures how lonely adulthood can be, but also how impactful little moments can be, if you let them.
Maeve Aurora Chapman (Writer/Director)
Select credits of Maeve’s work as director and playwright are Home's Kitchen (World Premiere, NOCCA, Broadway DNA), A Woman of No Importance (Central Square Theater Cambridge), & Mary and the Shelleys (54 Below, Under St. Marks, 3 Dollar Bill, Dixon Place, Rat NYC) Her work has been seen at 54 Below, 59E59, The Chain, Emerson College, Open Jar, Vino Theater, The Tank, Fresh Fruit Festival, EAG Short Fest, Red Hill Theater, and many more. Her film credits include Coda (Actor, Oscar Winning Best Picture). Maeve's work focuses on LGBTQ+ rights, the meaning of home, and emotional abuse. She is an associate member of the STG and the Dramatists Guild and current resident video game developer and First Kiss Theater Company (NYC) and the resident playwright at Blue Theater Company (New Orleans). @maeve.aurora
Sam Drust (Arden)
Sam Drust has been seen staring as ‘Mari’ (Home’s Kitchen) at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Open Jar Studios, and The Tank. Select film credits include Urchins (2026 release), Sideways for Attention, FEIGN, Strangers Yet, and How to Cry on Command. SamDrust.com
Sebastian Zuniga (Tatum)
Sebastian Zuniga is a Mexican/Puerto Rican actor, creator, and teaching artist. He teaches at Brooklyn Acting Lab and The Strasberg Institute. He’s been onstage at INTAR, The Working Theater, Under St. Marks, The Sol Project, The Tank, and more. He’s excited to return to The Chain, where he starred in his own original play, Baked. Recent credits include: Bounce: The Basketball Opera (Ardea Arts), Revelations (LIU TV Pilot), Northbound Escape (Ind. Film), Word of the Day (Classic Stage Company), The Happy Hour (BAAD!), and Young Lords: the Musical (Producer’s Club). Currently, he’s a Company Member at the American Mime Theater. NYU Alum. Insta: @sebastianzuniga_
Nick Spink (Lighting Designer)
spirit
Written and Directed by Tony Patryn
Synopsis: It's Christmas Eve and a Halloween-obsessed child with a fatal disease comes face to face with the Grim Reaper, and has a few questions before they leave the mortal plane.
Tony Patryn (Writer & Director; he/him) Tony the President of the Board of Directors for Patrynize Productions and formerly served as Vice President of the board at the Off-Broadway venue Playhouse 46. Additionally, he is the co-creator of The Campy Cabaret, a long-running showcase that has been delighting audiences since 2015. Over the past decade, Tony has written, produced, and directed works featuring the next generation of Broadway talent—many of whom have gone on to star in Hadestown, The Play That Goes Wrong, Wicked, The Color Purple, Almost Famous, Bat Out of Hell, Americano!, and more. His writing credits include Safe Travels: A Jukebox Jukebox Musical and The Fountain (NY Fringe Award winner, Off-Broadway 2024). OFF-BROADWAY: Mushnik / Ensemble in Drunk Musicals, Bruno in Truffles. REGIONAL: Rocky in Aven’U Boys (Midwest Premiere), Mick Jagger in We Will Rock You (U.S. Premiere), Nick in In My Life (Midwest Premiere), and Orin Scrivello, DDS in Little Shop of Horrors. @patrynizeproductions | @patrynize | www.patrynize.com
Nadine Louise (Parent; she/her) Nadine’s recent credits include Statelines (The Prime Minister), Not Quite Ready (Stephanie), Half of Me (Mom), Dracula (Van Helsing). Nadine studied at Long Island University under Maria Porter with accompanying training in Porter's Re-Purposed Suzuki Method, Viewpoints, Chekhov, direction, and design. Nadine works both on stage and screen and is a part of the Rosejoy Theatre Collective. When she's not working, Nadine enjoys reading, hiking, and a good cup of coffee. www.nadine-louise.com | @theNadineLouise
Cassidy O'Sullivan (Child; she/her) Cassidy is honored to make her theatrical debut in this production. She began acting at age 11 and has since appeared in background roles for upcoming feature films and starred in several independent projects. Most recently, Cassidy played the lead in an NYU senior thesis film set to premiere at festivals in Fall 2025. A former competitive gymnast and avid softball player, Cassidy is based in the Hudson Valley, NY. She is grateful to the cast, crew, and creative team for their guidance and support.
Tyler Parker (Spirit; he/him) Tyler is delighted to return to the (after)life on stage as the titular Spirit. No stranger to spectral roles, he previously appeared as Sir Roderic (a ghostly baronet) in Ruddigore at the International G&S Festival—earning a nomination for Best Male Voice—and as the Beast in Patrynize Productions’ staged version of Over the Garden Wall. Recent appearances include Count Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music with the Village Light Opera Group and the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with the Blue Hill Troupe. Offstage, Tyler merges technology and theater by “painting” virtual reality renditions of theatrical spaces. Learn more about this and his other work at btylerparker.com. He sends love to his wife, Laura, and their daughter, Aurora.
the gap
By Joseph P. Krawczyk
Directed by Eddie Lew
Synopsis: In The Gap, the main character refuses to accept that change is inevitable. He undergoes a surreal transformation when he enters an alternate dimension in the changing room of The Gap clothing store. He falls into a gap of space and time. He appears a number of times while trying to return to his wife, but she and the salesman can’t see or hear him. When he discovers a way to return from the changing room, he is unchanged in his appearance, but his wife is twenty years older, and the world has changed without him. He accepts his new reality and adapts to his life as a changed man.
Julia Genoveva (Stella) was born in Ecuador and raised in the Bronx. She has been in the entertainment industry for nearly two decades as an Actor/Writer/Producer/Director. She has acted in plays, films, and commercials throughout NYC. In 2009, she founded Genoveva Productions with the mission to produce compelling original, classical, and contemporary plays that will make a lasting impact on our audiences; and to provide a safe, encouraging, and fun environment for playwrights and actors to come together and create. To keep up with Julia’s projects, you can find her on Instagram at juliagenie, or contact her directly by email: juliagenoveva@gmail.com. www.juliagenoveva.com
Kevin Leonard (Salesman) is a classic American actor and a timeless artist who can perform in any era. Casted in plays such as August Wilson’s 1930's blues legend Ma’ Rainey’s Black Bottom and in James Baldwin’s Blues for Mister Charlie, and the role of Peter Holmes in Resurrection, a play surrounding the events of the massacre of Negro Wall Street. He was nominated in the “best performance” category of the Broadway World 2022 Off-Broadway Awards. Recently, he played a drug counselor in Black and White City Blues, a play that takes place in Williamsburg, 1971. Before that he played a rebellious sibling A Lesson in Blood, rural Georgia during the 1940’s Jim Crow era.
Gustavo "Gus" Ferrari (Frank) is a veteran of the stage and has numerous theatre, film, and TV credits. He has traveled the country performing Interactive and Educational Theatre. Gus was a founding member of I.N.T.A.R.53 Latino Actors Workshop. Currently, he is the Artistic Manager for Genoveva Productions. Credits: R.P. McMurphy (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”), Juror #10 (“12 Angry Jurors”) and Lucien P. Smith (“The Boys Next Door”). Training: Moscow Theatre’s Stanislavsky Seminar, HB Studios and acting coaches Jeffrey Zeiner and Roger Hendricks Simon.
Eddie Lew (Director) recently directed Living The Play: A Dangerous Time For Women by Joseph Krawczyk at the American Theatre of Actors (ATA) to outstanding reviews. He is a member of the directors/playwrights unit at the Actors Studio. After a career in film and managing opera singers, he is now in his thirty-fifth year as theater director and acting coach. He directed the Middle of the Night starring F. Murray Abraham and Moral Imperative starring Keir Dullea. He finished a translation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, which had its premiere at ATA; directed Murder at the Howard Johnson on Theater Row; The Fat Man’s Wife (the only comedy Tennessee Williams wrote) for the Kraine Theater; Tea and Sympathy and Pygmalion.
Joseph P. Krawczyk (Playwright) is an award-winning, published playwright. His latest play, directed by Eddie Lew, Living The Play, A Dangerous Time For Women, was produced at the American Theatre of Actors (ATA) in May of this year. The Last of The Freudians was produced by ATA two years ago and also directed by Eddie Lew. In 2019, NYC’s International Theater Arts Institute (IATI) produced an equity showcase of The Treatment. It’s All About Lorrie won Best Play in the 2016 New York Theater Festival and was subsequently produced at NYC’s John Cullum Theater. Gender Wars was produced Off Broadway at the Samuel Beckett Theater. As a documentary film maker, he has worked with talents such as William Shatner and Eli Wallach.
the waiting room
Written by and Starring: Eva Gozé, Barbara Moreno, Yael Aarts
Directed by Eva Gozé
Synopsis: In a surreal waiting room beyond life, a young woman named Maya finds herself in limbo after dying in a car crash. She is greeted by a mysterious Companion, an ageless, androgynous being who has never lived and whose sole purpose is to keep souls company while they wait. As Maya confronts the truth of her final day, a deeper revelation surfaces—her death may not have been entirely accidental. Throughout their time together, the Companion withholds one crucial truth: at the end of their encounter, Maya will have a choice. She can move on or return and live again.
This intimate, funny and heartfelt two-hander explores mortality, agency, and what it means to choose life when it has already been lost.
Eva Gozé (PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR & PRODUCER & MAYA) is a writer, actor, and first-time director who somehow convinced everyone to let her do all three. She recently graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and is still recovering from the caffeine and the stage combat bruises. Her past credits include theatre in the Netherlands and short films.She’s especially grateful to be collaborating with her brilliant friends Barbara and Yael, whom she met during drama school.She’s always eager to connect with fellow creatives so don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to make something together! Instagram: @evagoze
Barbara Moreno (PLAYWRIGHT & PRODUCER & COMPANION) is a Brazilian-Japanese actress who recently graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and still can’t believe she gets to call this her job. She loves stories that are raw, a little messy, and full of heart—especially when she gets to make them with people she loves. She’s especially thankful to be working alongside Eva and Yael, who’ve become her collaborators, scene partners, and chosen family since drama school. When she’s not on stage or set, she’s probably making something silly (and hopefully semi-funny) for her 700K+ TikTok followers. Always happy to meet new creatives, so say hi! Instagram: @barbara.ssp TikTok: @babsemoqfazer
Yael Aarts (PLAYWRIGHT & PRODUCER & COMPANION) is a Dutch-Indo actress, playwright, and now also a producer, based in New York City. She is a recent graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she expanded her training and met her co-creators! Her credits include roles in several Dutch regional theater productions. In New York, she appeared in Three Sisters and Indeed Friend!, and she’s proud to take the stage in a role she co-wrote and created. Instagram: @yaelaarts