Writing is Live 2024

Chair Jayna Brown

Chair, Professor

Department Faculty Deidra Braz Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice Ali Kenner Brodsky Adjunct Lecturer Kate Burton Professor of the Practice of the Arts Michelle Bach-Coulibaly Senior Lecturer Constance Crawford Adjunct Lecturer Sarah dAngelo Assistant Professor, DUS J Dellecave Assistant Professor of the Practice Nancy Dunbar Senior Lecturer Emerita Clifton Dutton Adjunct Lecturer John Emigh Professor Emeritus Rebecca Gibel Adjunct Lecturer Spencer Golub Professor Emeritus Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald Lecturer Leon Hilton Assistant Professor Avery Willis Hoffman Professor of the Practice Julia Jarcho Associate Professor, Head of Playwriting Aileen Wen McGroddy Writing is Live Festival Creative Producer, Adjunct Lecturer Kym Moore Professor Talley Murphy Visiting Assistant Professor Iván Ramos Assistant Professor Patricia Seto-Weiss Assistant Professor of the Practice, Head of Dance Sydney Skybetter Associate Professor Deborah Salem Smith Adjunct Lecturer Julie Adams Strandberg Distinguished Senior Lecturer Emerita Barbara Tannenbaum Distinguished Senior Lecturer Elmo Terry-Morgan Associate Professor Emeritus Paula Vogel Professor Emerita Richard Waterhouse Adjunct Lecturer Patricia Ybarra Professor, DGS

Department Staff Jo Bynum Ron Cesario Alexander Eizenberg

Student Affairs Manager Costume Shop Manager, Lecturer Sound Designer, Audio & Video Engineer, Lecturer Alex Haynes John Street Studio Technical Director, Lecturer Timothy Hett Technical Director, Lighting Designer, Lecturer Alex Nurkin Academic Events and Facilities Manager Max Ramirez Associate Technical Director Chris Redihan Academic Department Manager Barbara Reo Production Director, Stage Manager, Lecturer Fran Romasco Costume Shop Coordinator Brianne Shaw Communications and Audience Services Manager Laura Stokes Performing Arts Librarian, University Library Brown/Trinity Program Faculty Shura Baryshnikov Head of Movement, DGS, Assistant Professor of the Practice Angela Brazil Director of MFA Programs Associate Professor of the Practice, Rachel Christopher Assistant Professor of the Practice Curt Columbus Artistic Director of Trinity Rep, Professor of the Practice Brian Mertes Head of Directing, Professor of the Practice, Sophia Skiles Head of Acting, Associate Professor of the Practice Brown/Trinity Program Staff Jeremy Chiang Technical Director Michael Cline Technical Supervisor Anne Harrigan Production Manager Sammi Haskell Production Coordinator Jill Jann MFA Academic Coordinator

Brown University’s Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies presents

writing is live new plays by Brown MFA playwrights

May 1 - 5, 2024 Leeds Theatre Ashamu Dance Studio 83 Waterman Street Providence RI 02912

- THESIS PRODUCTIONS -

Cold War Choir Practice

by Ro Reddick ‘24 MFA directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy ‘22 MFA 5/1 8PM | 5/3 8PM | 5/4 1PM | 5/5 8PM Leeds Theatre

Scourge

by Harley Elias ‘24 MFA directed by Brian Mertes 5/2 8PM | 5/3 1PM | 5/4 8PM |5/5 1PM Leeds Theatre

- STAGED READINGS -

Money Shot

by Dhari Noel ‘25 MFA directed by Josephine Miller ‘24 5/2 5PM | 5/4 5PM | 5/5 8:30PM Ashamu Dance Studio

Sky Rats

written and directed by Kathy Ng ‘25 MFA 5/3 4PM | 5/4 8:30PM | 5/5 5PM Ashamu Dance Studio

- READINGS -

Paradiso

by Jimmy Fay ‘26 MFA co-directed by Beckett Warzer PhD candidate & Jimmy Fay ‘26 MFA 5/4 11AM | 5/5 2PM Ashamu Dance Studio

Grandmother/Bathtub

by Brian Dang ‘26 MFA directed by Talley Murphy ‘23 PhD 5/4 2PM | 5/5 11AM Ashamu Dance Studio

undergrad underground 5/4 8:30PM Ashamu Dance Studio Excerpts from:

Rocks and Geodes

by Lydia Riess ‘24

Summer, Capsizing

by Irene Zhiyi Chen ‘25

Sisters of the Sublime

by Cosima Gardey ‘24

Welcome to the theater. We’re glad you’re here.

The trees in Providence are gorgeous right now. The weather is finally getting warm and wet instead of cold and wet, and at least one rabbit is running around outside Lyman Hall. These are also times of horror and relentless systemic collusion in horror. That was also true before, but today (as before) we are moving around in the horror in new and particular ways. One of the ways we can keep moving (or refusing to move as directed) is to keep making things that help us LIVE with how the world feels to us. That remind us: even though we know a lot about how bad things are, there are still also things we don’t know. There are still mysteries. There are still surprises, reasons to open our eyes in the morning and look, reasons to inhale and exhale.

Glamour can flash forth in the strangest places.

So can humor. So can love.

In that spirit, here’s six new plays-in-progress by some of the strangest and funniest writers I know, in cahoots with a dream team of collaborators: the actors from the Brown/Trinity MFA program, remarkable undergrad, grad student, and faculty artists, brilliant guest directors and designers, and our inimitable TAPS production staff. And you!

Thanks for spending some of your springtime here with us.

--Julia Jarcho, Head of Playwriting

Festival Staff Head of MFA Playwriting............................................. Julia Jarcho Creative Producer..................... Aileen Wen McGroddy ‘22 MFA Production Director / Producer............................... Barbara Reo Festival Designer/Scenic Artist..............................................................

Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald Audience Services & Communications Manager..........................

Brianne Shaw Technical Director/Lighting Designer............................ Tim Hett Sound Designer/ AV Engineer.............................. Alex Eizenberg Alexander Movement Consultant......................... Barbara Casey Festival Sound Operator....................................... Jemima Alabi ‘24 Props Supervisor............................................................... Alex Haynes Associate Technical Director.................................... Max Ramirez Costume Shop Manager............................................... Ron Cesario Costume Coordinator................................................. Fran Romasco Professor of the Practice & Head of Directing for Brown/ Trinity Programs...............................................................Brian Mertes Associate Professor of the Practice & Head of Acting for Brown/Trinity Programs............................................... Sophia Skiles

Festival Support: Students from TAPS 0300 Introduction to Acting & Directing

Special Thanks Writing is Live is made possible through support from an endowed fund for the Adele Kellenberg Seaver ’49 Professorship in Literary Arts, the Ben Brown Memorial Fund and the Kathryn and Gilbert Miller Theatre Arts Endowment.

Cold War Choir Practice

by Ro Reddick ‘24 MFA directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy ‘22 MFA Cast: Meek: Tay Bass ‘25 MFA Puddin: Allison Jones ‘25 MFA Clay: Austyn Williamson ‘25 MFA Virgie: Layan Elwazani ‘25 MFA Smooch: Quinn West ‘26 MFA Familiar Face: Evie Dumont ‘26 MFA Very Good Friend (V.O.): Daniel Shtivelberg ‘26 MFA The Choir: Hayley Gasbarro ‘24 The Choir: Gillian Gordon ‘26 The Choir: Lottie Doughty ‘26 The Choir: Marina Benson ‘24 The Choir: Ellie Leibner ‘24 Crew: Musical Director/Musician: Nick Pulito Set Designer: Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald Costume Designer: Christine Mok ‘13 PHD Lighting Designer: Tim Hett Sound Designer: Alex Eizenberg Props Designer: Abby Shindell ‘25 Dramaturg: Lisa Kron Stage Manager: Hunter Stephenson ‘26 Assistant Director: Rosalyn Tavarez ‘25 MFA Assistant Costume Designer: Jessie Darrell Jarbadan Assistant Stage Manager: Sydney Meza ‘26 Russian Dialogue Consultant: Sofia Verba, PhD Candidate Musician: Beni Brosh Musician: Claire Robertson ‘27 Run Time: Approximately 110 minutes Content Warning: This production contains offensive language, coercion, violent imagery, references to nuclear war, children singing, and the use of theatrical weapons.

Sensory Warning: This production features sudden loud noises, flashing lights, and a disco ball.

Special Thanks: Dmitry Shtivelberg, Eli Schultz, Meara Levezow, Seayoung Yim, Stacey Karen Robinson, Julia Jarcho, the MFA Playwrights, Melissa Kievman, Marc Reddick, Eric Richardson, Karen Richardson, mom and Aunt Jeanette.

Ro Reddick (she/her) is a queer Black MFA playwright at Brown University. Her plays have been read/developed at The Ground Floor, Bushwick Starr Reading Series, and Williamstown Theatre Festival (NYC Reading). They include: Throwback Island (O’ Neill Finalist), ROBAMA (O’ Neill Semifinalist), Cold War Choir Practice, Miss Black Syracuse, and The History of Black People… Fellowships + fun stuff: Venturous Fellowship Nomination, Lambda Literary Playwriting Fellow, La Mama Umbria Playwright Retreat, Miranda Theatre Company Grant, BAI Songwriting Workshop. Degrees: BFA in Acting from Ithaca College, MBA from NYU (which she has no intention of using).

Aileen Wen McGroddy is a Chinese- and Irish-American theatre director, educator, and producer of live events. Currently, she is a co-artistic director of TUTA Theatre Chicago and Creative Producer for the Writing is Live Festival. She is in the Roundabout Directors Group, has been a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop, and the BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage. MFA Directing from Brown-Trinity. Previously in Writing is Live: Throwback Island by Ronica Reddick, On The Y-Axis by Lucas Baisch, Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt by Julia Izumi. Past work includes: A Christmas Carol (Trinity Rep); The Late Wedding, The Dumb Waiter, Summer and Smoke, and The Tempest (Brown-Trinity); The Chinese Lady (Kitchen Theatre and Geva Theatre Center); Sense and Sensibility (Northern Stage); Airness (Breckenridge Backstage Theatre); Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Adelphi); The Glass Menagerie, Or,, Dani Girl (Winnipesaukee Playhouse); Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical and The Snowy Day (Emerald City Theatre); Montauciel Takes Flight (Lifeline Theatre); Ulysses (The Plagiarists); A Hero’s Journey, The Hunting of the Snark, Robin Hood, and The Pied Piper (The Forks & Hope Ensemble); The Whiskey Radio Hour, Wake: A Folk Opera, Kodachrome Telephone and Sign of Rain (The Whiskey Rebellion). She has directed readings for New York Theatre Workshop, The Bushwick Starr, Clubbed Thumb, NY Classical Theatre, The Yale Drama Prize, Northern Stage, and Babes with Blades.

Scourge

by Harley Elias ‘24 MFA directed by Brian Mertes Cast: Katsuto Sakogashira ‘25 MFA Erin Lockett ‘26 MFA Jessie March ‘26 MFA Daniel Shtivelberg ‘26 MFA David Bertoldi ‘25 MFA Crew: Set Designer: Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald Costume Designer: Christine Mok ‘13 PHD Lighting Designer: Tim Hett Sound Designer: Alex Eizenberg Props Designer: Ford Rowe ‘24 Dramaturg: David Adjmi Stage Manager: Sophia Decherney ‘25 Musician/Composer: Florence Wallis ‘22 MFA Musician: Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez ‘25 PhD Choreographer: Henry Nwaru Assistant Director: Madeleine Adriance ‘24 Assistant Costume Designer: Jessie Darrell Jarbadan Assistant Stage Manager: Ellie Chang ‘27 Clowning Consultant: Mycah Hogan Special Thanks: Julia Jarcho, Chris Ceraso, David Adjmi, Lisa D’Amour, Stacey Karen Robinson, Ariella Azoulay, Shahzad Bashir, Elias Muhanna, Susan Einbinder, Melissa Kievman, Barbara Casey, Gabriel Rocha, Thalia Field, this incredible cast and crew, and a fantastic Playwright’s Apprentice: Zach Susini.

Run Time: Approximately 1 hour 45 minutes Content Warning: This production contains death, violence, illness, Anti-semitism, Islamophobia, PTSD, a depiction of choking, and descriptions of torture.

Sensory Warning: This production features sudden loud noises, bright lights, and sudden light changes.

Harley Elias is a playwright, librettist, and performer from New York City.

Recent plays include The Museum Plays (Miami New Drama), The Handless King (World Premiere July ’24, Amphibian Stage), Thug Play (Resonance Ensemble), The Pardon (Brown University), and 47 Years of Marriage (Samuel French OOB). His work has been supported by residencies at Banff Centre, where he was recently librettist-in-residence for Opera in the 21st Century, the Sewanee Writers Conference, a Fulbright Grant to India in Playwriting, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Resonance Ensemble, and Sparkfest at Amphibian Stage. He is the winner of the Wild Imaginings New Play Award, the Samuel French OOB Award, a Young Playwrights Award, and his Play #3 is published by Samuel French. He was. He is currently under commission from Miami New Drama and Theater J. As an actor he has performed in several Broadway shows and national tours.

BA/MA History, Stanford. MFA Playwriting, Brown ’24.

Brian Mertes has directed many world premieres, including David Greenspan’s The Myopia for the Foundry Theater at the Atlantic and Jose Rivera’s Massacre at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in NYC and De Profundis with Jim Findlay at Playmakers Rep. He has developed new work at Ensemble Studio Theater, Manhattan Class Company, Naked Angels, Manhattan Theater Club, The Public, PS 122, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Playwrights Center Minneapolis, New Dramatists, Ars Nova, PlayPenn, and BACA. Mertes has directed numerous projects at Juilliard where he created a multimedia theater work based on Sam Shepard’s Paris, Texas with alt-country rocker, Jim White. Brian has directed for ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, garnering three Emmy and three DGA nominations, and an Emmy for directing. He is Co-Artistic Director of the Chekhov Project in Rockland County, NY, beginning in 2003- working on all of Anton Chekhov’s plays, Seagull, resulting in a feature film I am a Seagull, 2017, Three Sisters in current development, Cherry Orchard also in development, Uncle Vanya and many of the short plays. Head of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Directing Program, and an Associate Director at Trinity Rep, where he directed Steel Magnolias, Clybourne Park, Crime and Punishment, A Lie of the Mind, The Glass Menagerie, Appropriate, and Marisol. He has taught directing for both Columbia and NYU film programs and has been a guest director at North Carolina School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, NYU Grad, UT Austin, and Yale.

Money Shot

by Dhari Noel ‘25 MFA directed by Josephine Miller ‘24 Cast: Tae: Jintao Yue ‘26 Brit: Didi Archibong ‘26 Sambo: Mathieu Myrick ‘ 26 MFA POV: Justin Ekstrom ‘24.5 POV: Abram Blau ‘26 MFA POV: Daniel Quinter ‘24 Maximus: Justin Mitchell ‘26 MFA Rex: Rashaun Bertrand ‘27 Aura: Mack Ford ‘25 Crew: Stage Manager: Maison Teixeira ‘27 Dramaturg: JD Stokely, PhD Candidate Intimacy/Violence Coordinator: Kai Tshikosi ‘23 MFA Run Time: Approximately 80 minutes Content Warning: This production contains graphic sexual language, ableist language, racist language and imagery, sexist language and imagery, transphobic language and imagery, descriptions of sexual coercion, pornography, eroticism, bodily fluids, objectification, capitalist dehumanization, historical trauma and interrupted euphoria.

Dhari Noel (he/him/they/them/Dhari) is a Queer Black-CaribbeanHarlemite playwright/performer/educator. Dhari’s writing often explores the incoherence of race, the failures of gender, and inherited ways of being. As a teacher, Dhari uses storytelling, social justice, and interdisciplinary studies, all in an effort to examine systems of power.

Readings and performances of Dhari’s work have been lucky to find generous support at several artistic homes. Recent plays include: Penguin Sex With Mr. Morgan (ANTfest @ Ars Nova, Brown University); Man Made, Spirit Junkie (Cherry Picking/The Wild Project); Sweet Mess, Exorcism for The DEI Practitioner, The Women Who Dance…

(Cherry Picking); Introduce Yourself, and Keep The Orange (ECFS).

Dhari performs in Dhari’s own pieces and has had the pleasure of collaborating with many dear friends. Recent performances include Penguin Sex With Mr. Morgan (ANTfest @ Ars Nova, Brown University); Man Made, Spirit Junkie (Cherry Picking, The Wild Project); Black Exhibition (Bushwick Starr); In The Penal Colony (Next Door @NYTW); The Essential Ella Maythorne (Dixon Place); Telegraph Bois (ANTfest @Ars Nova).

In the summer of 2023, Dhari was a Tennessee Williams Scholar at Sewanee Writers Conference and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices fellow at Lambda Literary’s writing retreat. Dhari’s graduate studies are supported by an Adele Kellenberg Seaver 1949 Fellowship in Creative Writing. Dhari received a BA in Sociology from Columbia University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at Brown University.

Dhari is adjusting but misses the Harlem noises. www.dharinoel.com Josephine Miller is a senior undergraduate at Brown University concentrating in Theatre Arts with a focus on directing. Josie’s most recent directorial work includes The Thin Place, psychopsychotic, or everyone at yale is a goddamn sociopath!, The Pharm House, and Do You Feel Anger? Brown/Trinity credits include Alabaster, One Flea Spare, and Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. Josie has had the pleasure of working at theatres in New York and Atlanta such as Clubbed Thumb, Actor’s Express Theatre Company, and Horizon Theatre Company.

Josie is working to complete a Theatre Arts and Performance Studies honors thesis on the convergence of women’s issues, body horror, and satire in new plays.

Sky Rats written & directed by Kathy Ng ‘25 MFA Cast: Tiff: Lily Kops ‘26 MFA Eddie: Henry Nwaru ‘26 MFA Bonespants: Sijie Yan ‘27 Nonna: Jesús I. Valles ‘23 MFA Hatman: Anirudh Narsipur ‘24 Clara: Elizabeth Edwards ‘25 Pigeon/Rat Ensemble: Brian Dang ‘26 MFA Pigeon/Rat Ensemble: Jimmy Fay ‘26 MFA Pigeon/Rat Ensemble: Chang He PhD Pigeon/Rat Ensemble: Huyen Le ‘27 Crew: Assistant Director: Huyen Le ‘27 Stage Manager: Astrid McMahon ‘25 Dramaturg: Eli Nixon ‘18 MFA Run Time: Approximately 90 minutes Content Warning: This production contains substance abuse and suggestions of violence and gore.

Kathy Ng (she/they) writes plays and makes crafts. I was born in Hong Kong. I’d say my stuff attempts to create stretchy//spiky playing spaces for human-adjacent beings.

I like the idea of theater as a construction site for new, alien languages. Recent works include bacon sausage veggie noodles (Clubbed Thumb Reading Series) and happy life (O’Neill Finalist ‘21, The Hearth). I made my NYC debut in the summer of 2022, when happy life received its world premiere production at Walker Space. The production was called “porous but sticky” - New York Times and “a kinky, violent, tentacle-porno masterpiece”- Stagebuddy. I am a New Georges Affiliated Artist and an alum of Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers’ Group. BA from Brown in Writing for Performance. I currently live in Providence, a home-like place, where I’m back at Brown and pursuing my MFA in playwriting.

Website (warning, work in progress): https://kingyam. hotglue.me/

Paradiso

by Jimmy Fay ‘26 MFA co-directed by Beckett Warzer PhD candidate and Jimmy Fay ‘26 MFA Cast: Dad: Ro Reddick ‘24 MFA Son: J.L. Zhang ‘24 Ghost 2: Mathieu Myrick ‘26 MFA Ghost 1: Abram Blau ‘26 MFA Stage Directions: Dhari Noel ‘25 MFA Crew: Stage Manager: Sophia Decherney ‘25 Assistant Director: Dhari Noel ‘25 MFA Dramaturg: Shannon Constantine ‘29 PhD Run Time: Approximately 65 minutes Content Warning: This production contains death, grief, substance abuse (alcoholism,) transphobia, childbirth, mention of suicide, and a brief suggestion of physical abuse.

Jimmy Fay (they/them) is an MFA candidate at Brown.

They are a poet, playwright, director and performer based in Brooklyn, NY and Providence, RI. Most recently, they directed a production of Twelfth Night set in a queer bar featuring an all queer/trans* cast with support from the Mellon Foundation, with whom they were a Public Humanities fellow during the 2021-2022 season. Their plays have been performed at Hunter College, the Davenport Theater, Chain Theater, the Producer’s Club and others.

Their films have played multiple international film festivals, including the Los Angeles International Film Festival and the Portland Film Festival. They are also the author of the chapbook THE GOD SIZD HOLE, published by SLAB press.

Select other poetry publications include Panoplyzine, GASHER Journal, Leak Magazine and Sinister Wisdom.

They have held residences with Arts on Site and Beam Center on Governors Island. By day, they are an educator and public historian at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery and a member of Close Friends Collective, a queer history collective based in New York. They write about queer history and queer future.

Beckett Warzer is a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at Brown studying psychoanalysis on the left, and a trans fag.

Grandmother/Bathtub

by Brian Dang ‘26 MFA directed by Talley Murphy ‘23 PHD Cast: Lucia Aremu ‘26 MFA Kayla Bennett ‘26 MFA Crew: Assistant Director: Marielle Buxbaum ‘24 Stage Manager: Sophie Rockwell ‘26 Dramaturg: Shannon Constantine ‘29 PhD Run Time: Approximately 75 minutes Content Warning: This production contains references to suicide and elder abuse.

Sensory Warning: This production features loud sounds, including an Amber Alert.

Brian Dang (they/them) is a Vietnamese/Chinese poet/ playwright based in Seattle, WA & Providence, RI. Brian is a proud resident playwright at Parley (Seattle), a 2021 Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and 2023 Lambda Fellow. Their work interrogates and explodes the presence of structures, systems, cycles, and myths in the domestic. Their plays are a mixture of devised and scripted narratives that tend to the present moment of the characters, exploring what it means to be “overdetermined by history” (Billy-Ray Belcourt). Their plays include This time (Undermain Fund for New Work ‘22, O’Neill Finalist ‘22, Many Voices Fellowship Semi-Finalist ‘22) and a white haunting (Princess Grace Fellowship Finalist ‘21, MAP Theatre). For Brian, writing is an act of envisioning an eventual communing, an opportunity to freeze time as we know it, and a reaching for joy. They are an MFA candidate at Brown. Website: brianeatswords.com Talley Murphy is a stage director, video artist, and performance studies scholar. They have directed new and classical works for the stage and in non-traditional spaces in NY, DC, Providence, in rural New England, and online; across disciplines, Talley’s work emphasizes devised movement and multimedia design. At Fullscreen Blackbox, Talley has created digital performances to imagine our non/ virtual futures as part of partnerships with NY-area housing and immigration organizations. Talley has a PhD from Brown in Theatre and Performance Studies. talleymurphy. com / fullscreenblackbox.com

Summer, Capsizing

by Irene Zhiyi Chen ‘25 Cast: Yiwen: Lizi Zhang ’24 Kenneth: Jintao Yue ’26 Anna: Yingshen Zhang ’26 Tia : Xinyu (Kelly) Yan ’24 Jerry: Gary Zheng ’24 Lemon: Autumn Qiu ’25 Stage Directions: Danny Xu ’23, PhD ’29 Content Warning: This production contains homophobia and transphobia.

Rocks and Geodes

by Lydia Riess ‘24 Cast: Right Girl/Diana: Alden Forbes ‘24 Left Girl/Lisa: Olivia Bendich ‘25 The Boy/Paula: Josephine Miller ‘24 Stage Directions: Hyungjin Lee ‘24 Content Warning: This production contains sexism and allusions to death __________

Sisters of the Sublime

by Cosima Gardey ‘24 Cast: Callie Rabinovitz ‘24 Claire Thompson ‘24 Alden Forbes ‘24 Mia Lane ‘24 Content Warning: This production contains sexual content, and discussions of sexual assault, child grooming, and molestation.

Irene Zhiyi Chen ‘25 makes theatre that dives into inbetween spaces with powerful tenderness, searching for belonging in relation to migration and multilingual experiences. Irene’s primary interests are theatre education, playwriting, sound and projections design, and intimacy choreography. Irene also loves partnered dancing, cats, and other squishy things.

Lydia Riess ‘24 (she/her) is a writer, actor, and director for film and theater born and raised in New York City. She uses observations of the people around her to create work that explores the complexities and contradictions present in all of us, hoping to foster confrontation with the self and empathy for others. She writes and performs with Brown’s sketch comedy group, Out of Bounds, and her former plays include Scorpions Don’t Bite (Providence Fringe Festival), RUFUS (Something on the Green), and The Ikea Play (The National Theater Institute).

Cosima Gardey (she/her) is a theatre writer, director and actor originally from London. She appreciates the sensorial and sensual aspects of medieval christian art, finding both a deep sense of wonder and humour in its imagery. She likes to think and write about human desire in all its forms.

In Memoriam Lowry Marshall, Marshall a beloved Professor, mentor, and a leading figure in the world of theatre passed away on October 8th at the age of 79. Her life was marked by a profound dedication to the arts, education, the theatrical community, and her family.

Lowry was born on May 20th 1944. From her youth onward, she became an active participant in democracy, civic duties, and volunteerism. No one quite took life by the reins like she did.

Her first stage role was as Sally Cato McDougal in Auntie Mame at Dock Street Theatre. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre from the University of South Carolina in 1966. She later completed her Master’s in Theatre (Directing) at the same institution in 1975.

She earned an MFA from The Asolo Conservatory of The Florida State University, in 1981.

Throughout her career, Lowry made a name for herself as an accomplished director, writer, and educator. She tirelessly shared her knowledge and insights with students at Brown University, where she served as a dedicated Professor in the Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance, now Theatre Arts & Performance Studies. Her commitment to her students and the art of theatre left an indelible mark on educational and artistic communities, helping to create Brown University’s Playwright’s Summer Festival, as well as being a co-founder of the Brown/RISD/Trinity Consortium MFA. These institutions produced works that would go on to win Tony, Drama Desk, and Pulitzer Awards in drama and more Lowry’s passion for the theatre extended beyond the classroom. She co-authored and directed numerous

acclaimed theatrical productions, including Filler Up and Waiting for the Termite Man, which garnered praise not only in the United States but also on international stages.

Her work with Deb Filler in Filler Up took them from New York City to Sydney, Australia, and across various venues in Canada, Berlin, and New Zealand. Lowry’s commitment to storytelling and performance was evident in her projects, such as Lisa Kron’s 2.5 Minute Ride, The Musical Winter’s Tale, and The Dark Lady Project .

Her dedication to the art of theatre extended to her contributions as a dramaturg, dialect coach, and a casting consultant. Lowry was not only an artist but also a scholar and teacher, delivering lectures, workshops, and panel discussions. She shared her expertise with the theatre community and aspiring artists, inspiring them to reach new heights in their craft. She was given the Pell Award for Excellence in Performing Arts in 2013.

During the last four years of her life, Lowry lived with Stage 4 cancer, showing remarkable resilience in the face of a terminal diagnosis. She loved spending time with family and friends, and is survived by her two sons, Taylor and Logan, who were an extreme source of pride, daughter-in-law, and five grandchildren Lowry Marshall’s legacy is felt not only in her artistic achievements but in the thousands of lives she touched and the minds she enriched. Her influence on the world of theatre and education will continue to resonate for generations to come.

Department Staff PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Barbara Reo TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/ LIGHTING DESIGNER: Tim Hett TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS: Rowan Cookman, Tylar Jahumpa, Abigail Wang STUDENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS: Adnan Aldabbagh ‘25 Ari Cleveland '25, Sophia Decherney '25, Sierra Riley '24, Ford Rowe ‘24 Lizzy Steeves '25, Olivia Sydnia St Bernadette Taylor '26 ASSOCIATE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Max Ramirez SOUND DESIGNER, AUDIO & VIDEO ENGINEER: Alex Eizenberg PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT: Sophie Rockwell '26 JOHN STREET STUDIO TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Alex Haynes JOHN STREET TECHNICAL DESIGN ASSISTANTS: Dante Cavaz '24, Josephine Miller '24, Cleo Petty '23.5, Chloe Rombaut-Enriquez 27, Preston Rossi '27, Abby Schindell '25, Sofia Tazi '26 COSTUME SHOP MANAGER: Ron Cesario COSTUME SHOP COORDINATOR: Fran Romasco COSTUME SHOP ASSISTANTS: Evangeline Bilger '23, Charlotte Knutsen '26, Beatriz Plum Luard '26, Sky Robinson '25, Kayla Walford '26 DEPARTMENT MANAGER: Chris Redihan STUDENT AFFAIRS MANAGER: Jo Bynum ADMINISTRATIVE/MARKETING ASSISTANT: Dri de Faria '26 EVENTS AND FACILITIES MANAGER: Alex Nurkin BECKER PERFORMING ARTS LIBRARY STUDENT LIBRARIANS: Marielle Buxbaum '24, Maureen Klaiber '27 CUSTODIAN: Achim C Tah COMMUNICATIONS & AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER:

Brianne Shaw AUDIENCE SERVICES COORDINATOR: Anna Trachtman FRONT OF HOUSE AND BOX OFFICE ASSISTANTS: Maya Kelly '27, Tyrone Killebrew II '24, Grace Martin '26,