Welp.
An Accident in Three Parts
Playwright and Director
Liv Hershey
Associate Director
Finn McNamara
Intimacy Coordinator
Max Gallagher
Cast
Production Designer
AJ Bloomfield
Costume Designer
Kit Longo
Stage Manager
Margaux Cattelona
Jordan Chall as Lucas
Leanna Doyle as Mia
Kevin J. McCann as Nolen
Jeff Pfeiffer as Blake
The Lemonade Stand
Founding Artistic Director
AJ Bloomfield
Managing Director Jenny Glickman
From the Artistic Director
I first read Welp. when I was generally overwhelmed by the state of affairs of the election cycle, the stress of starting a small business, and the turmoil that I think much of our audience knows of just being someone trying to find a footing in a new career as I stepped into full time freelancing.
Welp. provided clarity for me at that moment, showing a way through the chaos that we are dropped into in life. While the problem our characters face in this piece is different from what I was confronted by, the resilience and community between these four friends gave me the reassurance and confidence I needed at that moment.
This year, as our first season at The Lemonade Stand, our primary focus is on building our community of artists in the Philly theatre scene, one we know is absolutely packed with talented people at all stages in their careers. This gives us the opportunity and privilege to work with early career and upcoming talents in our city. Whether the problems faced in this show are foreign to you or eerily familiar, I hope that Welp. can help assure you that the people we choose to surround ourselves with are able to stand in and help navigate these difficult times. Philadelphia has proven time and time again that we are a city of passionate and unapologetic people who are so much stronger together.
Our debut season is focused on this community building. Welp. and Girlfails both orbit the idea of found family and overcoming those moments in life that force you to chart a new course (whether they are out of your control or a little self-inflicted…), while Fresh Squeezed allows us to introduce ourselves to a wide range of new artists and stories. We are so grateful for the support and the trust that has been placed in us and hope that you will continue to support local artists and our theatre community, both at The Lemonade Stand and elsewhere. I am so excited to share our work this season and beyond. Thank you for your support.
Welcome to The Lemonade Stand.
AJ Bloomfield Founding Artistic Director
From the Playwright and Director
When I started writing Welp. I was standing in the middle of the pregnancy test aisle of the Bloomsburg CVS with many Arizona Green Tea cans in hand, waiting with a friend for a prescription. I thought to myself, “This would be a funny play to write,” which was funny because I had never written a play before. That night, I wrote Act One of this play.
Welp. means a great deal to me. It is the play that taught me I could be a playwright, that I wanted to be a director, and that connected me to my future theatrical mentor. Simply put, I would not be where I am without this play. To me, Welp. represents the many friendships I’ve been lucky enough to experience and how those relationships both change and remain the same.
The world of Welp. is a microcosm of our reality. It allows us as an audience to get sneak peeks into private moments of deep friendship and care, not just through the lens of a play about a group of friends, but one that allows us to see friendship at its most intimate and real (with admittedly amplified comedic timing). This play and production show us that the world is only as good as the people we choose to inhabit it with. It urges us to reflect on all of the bad times that turned into good memories because of the people we were with and reminds us to let the people who love us, love us to their fullest – and goofiest – extent.
This play is dedicated to friends and chosen family, those in our lives who make the hard times better and the good times great.
This production is dedicated to my parents, who have always shown up and are always proud – no matter my endeavor.
Liv Hershey
Thank You to Our Donors
Michele Becci
Mia and Paul Bloomfield
Russell Chissoe
Abigail Del Grosso
Chris Gunn
Barb Klees and Mark Glickman
Beth McMahon
Cast Bios
Jordan Chall (Lucas) (he/him) Jordan is so excited to be a part of this brand new project! Jordan’s notable credits include Reuben in Old Jews Telling Jokes (National Tour), Warner in Legally Blonde (Media Theatre), Sky in Mamma Mia! (Maples Repertory), U/S Peter Pan in Peter Pan (Arden Theater Company), U/S Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Lantern Theater Company), U/S Gazzo & Spider Rico in Rocky the Musical (Walnut Street Theatre). Temple MT ‘22
Leanna Doyle (Mia) (she/her) Leanna Doyle is thrilled to be a part of the Lemonade Stand’s debut season! Recent roles include Susan in The Playboy of the Western World (Inis Nua Theatre Company), Pinocchio u/s in Pinocchio (Arden Theatre Company), and Katherine/ Mary/Meatdripper u/s in The BFG (Arden Theatre Company). Education: University of the Arts, BFA Acting. Love and gratitude for the Lemonade Stand team, her friends, family, Henry, and Zora. leannadoyle.com
Kevin J. McCann (Nolen) (he/him) Kevin J. McCann is a multidisciplinary artist local to Philadelphia. Previously he has worked as an actor with New Light Theater (Our Town u/s, View from the Bridge, Othello), EgoPo (The Normal Heart), Idiopathic Ridiculopathy (All That Fall), Aporia Artists Collective (But Not Uncle Vanya 2022), Arden (Indecent u/s), Commonwealth Classics (Measure for Measure), Philadelphia Young Playwrights, PWTF and several independent productions. Additionally, he is the host and co-creator of Wing Women, an award winning podcast telling the story of the real life Night Witches, an all female bombing regiment harassing the nazis during World War 2. Instagram: @kevinjoemccann & @wingwomenpod. Love to Leah and his family.
Jeff Pfeiffer (Blake) (he/him) Jeff Pfeiffer is beyond excited to be working with The Lemonade Stand! He is an actor and internet content creator based in Philadelphia. Recent credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (South Camden Theatre Company), Survivors (Theatre Ariel), Dog Sees God (Dramatists Unite! Collective) Film: Delco: the Movie. Upcoming: West Side Story (Broadway Theatre of Pitman). @jeffpfeiff
Creative Bios
Liv Hershey (Playwright, Director) (she/her) Liv Hershey is a theatrical director, playwright, costume designer and producer. She is excited to work with The Lemonade Stand for the first time! This is the first professional production of one of her plays! She is currently serving as the Associate Producer at Tiny Dynamite, where she has had the honor of directing their holiday pop-up, Valentine’s Day with Tiny Dynamite, for the last three years. She is also a Stage Manager at Inis Nua, working on several shows such as The Playboy of the Western World, Lovesong, and Mad Mary, as well as serving as a freelance costume designer for several Philadelphia theaters/theatre programs like Azuka Theatre, University of Pennsylvania, and Inis Nua. Someone once told her she was “The perfect mix between Dolly Parton and KISS”, and while she doesn’t know what that means exactly, it’s the best endorsement she has received thus far.
Finn McNamara (Associate Director) (he/ him) Finn is proud to be making his professional debut with the Lemonade Stand. He is currently a student at Drexel studying theater directing, writing, and acting. You can catch him in the Spring production of “Urinetown” May 9th-17th!
AJ Bloomfield (Founding Artistic Director, Production Design) (he/him) AJ Bloomfield is the artistic director and founder of The Lemonade Stand and is so proud to be presenting the first show of our debut season. He is a full-time freelance designer, audio engineer, and technician in Philly and beyond. AJ is a generalist, taking pride in being able to serve whatever needs a production may have. When he is not freelancing, AJ is working on his car, tinkering with random projects,
or planning the next show for The Lemonade Stand. Recent credits include Intimate Apparel (Arden Theatre Company), Holy Grail of Memphis (Arden Theatre Company), Catholic Guilt (Edinburgh Fringe, US Tour), Girlfails (The Lemonade Stand), and As You Like It (Shakespeare in Clark Park).
Special thank you to Professor Shannon Lacek and Drexel University’s Winter EAM 325 Class
Kit Longo (Costume Designer) (they/them) Kit
Longo is a South Philly costume designer interested in how theater can allow communities to examine the workings of power and imagine new possibilities together. Currently a Costume Design MFA candidate at Temple University, their recent design work includes Skellig (Temple), Playwrights in Progress (Friends Central School), As You Like It (Shakespeare in Clark Park), and If Pretty Hurts, Ugly Must be a Muhfucka (Temple). Outside of theater, they enjoy whimsical dice-based storytelling games, chilling with their cat, and using their esoteric knowledge of PA government for the greater good.
Margaux Cattelona (Stage Manager) (she/ her)
Margaux Cattelona is a Philadelphia-based arts administrator and stage manager. She works full-time as the Staff Accountant at Settlement Music School and obtained her MBA from Drexel University in 2023. Recent SM credits include Confabulation, Sister of Mine, and the pigeon. (The Strides Collective), Azuka Fest, Overwinter and All My Mothers Dream in Spanish (Azuka Theatre). She is so excited to be part of AJ and Jenny’s newest endeavor and can’t wait to see what’s next for The Lemonade Stand. Thank you to all who have given her chances; always grateful to Tanner for his love and support.
Max Gallagher (Intimacy Coordinator) (she/ they) Max Gallagher is a young trans person, trying to counterbalance fear with curiosity, grief with gratitude. She sometimes has trouble breathing, expressing, and loving herself. Today, she learned something, but she has since forgotten what it was. If you happen to remember, please feel free to remind her via casual conversation or um you could also just send her an email.
Jenny Glickman (Managing Director) (she/her)
Jenny Glickman is a theatre administrator and stage manager, and so very happy to be weloming folks to the debut season of The Lemonade Stand. She has worked in arts admin in Philadelphia, West Virginia, the Edinburgh Fringe, and her hometown of Baltimore. She has stage managed with Drexel University, PlayPenn, and Inis Nua. When she’s not stage managing or Lemonade Stand-ing, she’s working at various and sundry theatre companies or watching prestige television. Much love to her family and friends for their support, always.
