PROGRAM 3

Tourist Trap by Elijah Guo

Trade-In Value by Domenick Danza

*Shows in this block include Equity Members appearing with permission of Actor’s Equity Association without benefit of an Equity contract in this off-off Broadway production.

BIOS

Marsha Yuan

Marsha Yuan is an American born Chinese actress who studied musical theater at The American Musical And Dramatic Academy in New York City. Shortly after graduating, she moved to Hong Kong where she had a career as an actress, singer, and dancer. Just before the pandemic, she fell in love and got married, and later she gave birth to their beautiful boy. Her family of four (which includes their little dog) decided to leave HK in 2022 to be closer to family in the US, where Marsha is excited to return to her roots: the NY stage.

Eureka Nakano Grimes

Eureka Nakano Grimes @eurekanakanogrimes most recently worked on hit TV series HBO Max Succession as a co-star role opposite Jeremy Strong. She starred as the lead role in short film ‘The Lottery’ by Giuseppe de Lauri filmed in Rome, Italy. She has also worked with Glenn Close and Wynton Marsalis as assistant choreographer in production ‘Transformations’ at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Other TV/film works such as ‘The Show About The Show’ BRIC TV, 'I Wish I Could Give You An Answer' Netflix, ‘Not Approved for Cancer Treatment’ featured in Chelsea Film Festival. Theater performances such as ‘1 in 4’ Headwall Theater, ‘Autopsy of a Night at a Bar’ at The Tank‘, Not Approved for Cancer Treatment’ at Teatro Latea, ‘Untitled Monologues’ at The Players Theatre.

Misako Yamagishi

Misako Yamagishi is thrilled to join the “Tourist Trap” Production. As a NYC based actor/singer, she appeared in commercials, films, cabaret shows and theater productions, including The Sketch of New York, The Sketch of New York – Holiday Edition, Urbanstages Winter Rhythms - Celebrating 100 Years of Disney Magic,   \as Namgal (We, the Invisibles) with The Barrow Group, Missy Hart (9 to 5: The Musical) with AfterWork Theater, and Robin (Something Rotten!) with AfterWork Theater.  She thanks her friends and family for their support.   

Anthony Naranjo

Anthony is a New York Native who was most recently seen in The Carpet by Jeryl Brunner, right here at the Chain’s Summer One Act Festival. He studied Theatre with the New Group and then at Elmira College before returning home and hitting the pavement. In his free time, Anthony takes long walks through Central Park and avoids Times Square like the plague.

Elijah Guo (Playwright)

Elijah Guo is a NY/LA-based writer/actor who loves to explore the absurdity within us all. Selected playwriting credits: Button Lake Band Camp (Clubbed Thumb Winterworks), The Class (Broadway For All), Tourist Trap (Cellunova Reading), Time and Materials (collaboration with Poet Laureate Robert Hass). Selected screenwriting credits: My Friend Will (Tribeca, Roku Channel), Stand-Ins (Emmys-sponsored Catalyst Story Institute). Other accolades: Alum of Clubbed Thumb Early Career Writers' Group and Harvardwood TV Writers Program; Finalist of Emmys Foundation Screenwriting Fellowship and David Nathan Meyerson Prize for Fiction; Winner of Sundance Collab Screenwriting Challenge and David Mamet Playwriting Contest (American Conservatory Theater). Selected acting credits: High Maintenance (HBO), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Patriots Day (CBS Films / Lionsgate).

Dylin Taylor (Director)

Dylin Taylor (she/her) is a director, artist, and writer based in NYC. She is interested in work that challenges the expectations of what ideas, emotions, and stories the physical body can carry. Theater directing credits include the workshop reading of Tourist Trap at Theaterlab, Little Heaven, Agoraphobic/Claustrophobic, and the short film Dark Mornings. Dylin has also created and shown work at The Asian American International Film Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Mama's CultureHub, Onboard XR Theatre Festival, and Playwrights Horizons Theater School. She is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Qingan Zhang (Producer)

Qingan Zhang is a multidisciplinary designer, theatre maker, and producer based in New York. Qingan recently co-founded the non-profit interdisciplinary theatre company Cellunova Productions. Her scenic design works have been staged at Boston Center for the Arts, Chain Theatre, Central Square Theater, etc. Her co-devising puppetry pieces have been showcased at New Ohio Theatre Ice Factory, Dumbo Six Foot Platform, Rattlestick Theater GFTF, HERE Arts Center SUBLETSERIES: CO-OP! and The Center at West Park Object Movement Festival. Qingan received her MFA degree in interior design from Pratt Institute and graduated from Boston College with dual BA degrees in Theatre and Psychology.

Melvin Ningyao Yen (Stage Manager)

Melvin Ningyao Yen (all pronouns!), a theater producer/director/writer/administrator, is renowned for her original production AWAKE, a testament to her diverse talents in the theater world. Her rich experience includes stints at Playwrights Horizons, Broadway's TBD Theatricals, and Taiwan's U Theatre.  Melvin is the creative force behind A Stage Theatre, bringing innovative Mandarin stories to life. Discover her journey and creations on Instagram: @melvinfgood.

Bios:

JAYE BISS (BOBBY) is a proud Wagner College Theatre graduate from Central Jersey. Jaye was last seen in the debut ensemble of Staten Island the Musical at The Tank. Favorite productions include Evita (Che) and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Comic Relief). Much love to Mom, Paul and the rest of the family for their unwavering support! 

JOSH BLOOM (BENNY) is thrilled to be part of the Chain Theatre One Act Festival. He is an actor, butoh dancer, and community organizer from NY. He is currently studying at the Atlantic Acting School. Favorite past roles include Kevin from Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Astrov from Uncle Vanya, and Matt from Red Light Winter.

ANWEN DARCY* (MILLIE) has played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice on Much Ado About Nothing (NYT Critics Pick) and Mercutio (NYIT Nomination) in Romeo and Juliet with Shakespeare at Bryant Park. Other work includes the world premiere of Hindsight (Drilling Company) and regional premiere of Henry Darger Is (Theatre for a New City) Regional credits include PICT Theatre’s House and Garden (Sally Platt) and An Ideal Husband (Mabel), and Monomoy Theatre’s You Can’t Take it with You (Alice Sycamore) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia). Miss Darcy  can also be seen in the award winning short film Puddle.  

ADAM HUFF* (BUCK) is a stage, voice, and film actor based in Brooklyn, NYC by way of Pittsburgh, PA. He specializes in classical and devised ensemble theatre, improv, and video game/animation character voices. His stage work was previously featured in the NY Times for his performance with Letter of Marque Theater Company’s production of Double Falsehood. Most recently, he was featured in the dark fantasy audio drama, Visionaries, and through an ongoing collaboration with Forteller Games - voicing around 30 characters across 6 projects. He is also a huge tabletop games and video gaming nerd, mixology mastermind, and amateur game and graphic designer. You can find more of his media at www.adamphuff.com. 

DOMENICK V. DANZA (PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR) teaches Drama with the NYC Department of Education. Before that he was Director of Education at Chicago Dramatists, The Cleveland Play House, and Virginia Stage Company. He studied playwriting at Chicago Dramatists, Primary Stages, The Barrow Group, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. This is his third time participating in The Chain Theatre One Act Festival. His plays also have been a part of Chicago Dramatists Ten-Minute Workshops, Circle Theater’s New Works Festivals, The Second City Training Center, Voice Theatre’s 10-Minute Play Festival, and The NY Theatre Festival. His short works have been published in Canyon Voices, Crawdad, Goddard College’s Pitkin Review, and Dramatic Publishing’s 35 in 10, and his play I Am Macbeth is available through Next Stage Press. Read his latest theatre adventures on www.morethantheplay.blogspot.com. 

SAMANTHA DIBARI (STAGE MANAGER) is a junior theater major with a concentration in stage management at Ramapo College of New Jersey. This is her second show working at the Chain Theater! Her most recent credit was as the stage manager for Ramapo College's musical production of Ride The Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. Previous credits from stage management at Ramapo include The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (ASM), DNA by Dennis Kelly (SM), Marisol by Jose Rivera (SM), and Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco (ASM). She would like to thank Domenick for inviting her back to work at Chain with him as well as her family, friends, and professors for their support!