What's Next with SMJ #2
The second half of September 2024 (and beyond)!
What’s Next?
yo ho. (Part of Latinx Playwrights Circle’s Intensive Mentorship Reading Series)
Monday, September 23rd at 3:00pm - A.R.T./NY (520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor, NYC)
Written by SMJ
Directed by Emily Bubeck (IG: goplacidlyamidthenoise)
Mentored by CQ (IG: cquintanatown)
Featuring Laurel Andersen (IG: laurelmrc), Carolina Miranda (IG: carolinamakesnoise), TL Thompson (IG: tlthompsonofficial) Stephanie Orta-Vázquez (IG: stephanie.mov), & Sean Gregory (IG: seanpgregory).
Tickets are Free (LINK HERE)
Aboard a pirate ship, Andy & Mark are drawn to each other through mutual attraction, shared trauma, and a love of games. They meet in a closet to hook up, but discover that they have been hiding a dangerous secret: they’re actually Anne & Mary.
War and Play: A Clown Odyssey of Survival
Tuesday, September 24th at 8:00pm & Wednesday, September 25th at 5:00pm - MAAS Studio at Cannonball Fringe Festival (Philadelphia)
Written by Danielle Levsky (IG: criticturnedclown)
Directed by SMJ
Featuring Danielle Levsky, Ania Upstill (IG: butchmermaid), & Mariko Iwasa (IG: onlythismarikoiwasa717)
Tickets are Pay What You Can between $5 - $50 (LINK HERE)
War and Play is an interactive, devised clown show that explores the power of joy in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
NYC Concert Premiere of this old haunt
Thursday, October 3rd at 7:00pm - The Green Room 42 (NYC)
Music by Maggie Kane (IG: _maggiekane_) & Dillon Feldman (IG: dillon_feldman)
Book by SMJ
Direction by Rebecca Wahls (IG: rebecca.wahls)
Musical Direction by Alex Goldie Golden (IG: goldiegolden65)
Featuring Adelina Mitchell (IG: adelinamitchell_) Rita Castagna (IG: ritacastagna), Genesis Adelia Collado (IG: thatssogenie), & Julia Rifino (IG: juliarifino)
Tickets for both in-person and live stream start at $25 (LINK HERE)!
After ten years apart, four friends reunite at their high school choir teacher’s cabin in the woods. Slipping in and out of time to confront their past losses and triumphs, they must decide whether to continue to grow apart - or come back together.
Put It on the Calendar
Straight Icons
Monday, October 14th at 7:00pm - Caveat (NYC)
Written & Performed by Anne-Marie Pietersma (IG: annemariepietersma) & SMJ
Directed & Choreographed by Mackenna Goodrich (IG: mack3nna)
Featuring Stephanie Orta-Vázquez
NEW DRAFT. NEW SPIRAL.
EARLY BIRD TICKETS: $15 tickets are available until 10/7! $18 after that. For folks not based in NYC (or surrounding areas), $10 live-stream tickets are also available! (LINK HERE)
A play with sketch comedy, mime, dance, music, and drag, Straight Icons features visits from cartoon superstars, international pop stars, and late 2000s MTV dating show contestants who force Queer BFFs Anne-Marie and SMJ to confront the uncomfortable intersection of queer liberation, exploitation, and performative queerness.
The Holding Room
Thursday, October 17th at 6:00pm - Dublin Jerome High School (Dublin, OH)
Written by SMJ
Featuring the students of Dublin Jerome’s Theater Department
The Holding Room looks at the pressure that students deal with as they audition for college - financially, mentally, and socially.
Straight Icons (An Official Selection of the 20th Annual New York Comedy Festival)
Saturday, November 9th at 7:00pm - The Second City (NYC)
NEW DRAFT. NEW SPIRAL.
Written & Performed by Anne-Marie Pietersma & SMJ
Directed & Choreographed by Mackenna Goodrich
Featuring Grace Guichard (IG: gracie.guichard)
Tickets are $20 (LINK HERE).
What’s Up with My Friends?
My talented friend Zoe Nebraska Feldman (IG: zoenebraska) is in Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers at Lantern Theater Company (Philly), running until October 6th.
Sarah Groustra (IG: ladypoachedegg), an INCREDIBLE playwright, is the founder of 1319 Press (IG: 1319press)! “The goal of 1319 Press is to highlight the talent of emerging playwrights by giving them a way to share their work beyond just a PDF. By publishing their writing with us, playwrights have a way to distribute their script that also provides them with revenue to sustain their livelihoods or even help fund future productions. “
One of the best vocalists in NYC, Rita Castagna is playing her music at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on September 16th. Check out this amazing video and then go. If you’re not free, stream her music.
The Latinx Playwrights Circle’s Intensive Mentorship Reading Series features three incredible plays by the coolest Latiné writers - all at A.R.T./NY - 520 8th Avenue.
- The Invisible Hand of God Touched Me in a Bad Place by David Davila (IG: davidodavila) on September 16th
- Ivera by Antonia Cruz-Kent (IG: antoniacruzkent) on September 30th
- fresno’s fires + floods are in the pool again by Vanessa Pereda (IG: v_in_bk) on October 7th
My friends over at Serials (IG: serialsnyc) are back! Serials is a raucous night of serialized plays featuring some of the hottest actors, directors, and playwrights in the indie theater scene. The next cycle is September 19th - 21st at The Tank.
Penelope Deen (IG: deen_penelope) is involved with TWO readings this month. The first is Ogallala at Under St. Marks on September 20th & 22nd. The second is Rage at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s on September 27th.
Charlotte Vaughn Raines (IG: cvraines) will be dancing in Your Faithful Reader at Teatro Latea from September 26th - 29th.
Head to The Center at West Park to catch Ulysses Missa at The Evolution Festival on September 26th. The musical is written by Sarah Norcross (IG: norcrossmusic) and directed by Emily Bubeck.
Daniella Caggiano (IG: dfcaggiano) & Nick Turturro (IG: nickturturro1) are teaming up for a reading of FROCI at The Tank on September 27th.
Grace Guichard is currently in rehearsals for The Woman in Black at Weston Theater Company in Weston, VT. Performances are October 2nd - 20th.
My fellow 2023-24 Ars Nova CAMP cohort members were also accepted into the 20th New York Comedy Festival! Sarah Adelman (IG: sarahadelman1) will be performing her show EGG at Caveat on November 11th. Emily Dayton Evans (IG: hotgaycelebrity), Marina Gasparyan (IG: isthatmydaughterinthere), & Maarit Hara (IG: maarithara) will be performing The Supermodel Show at Asylum NYC on November 15th.
My incredible friend Anne-Marie Pietersma runs Trust Your Taste (IG: trust.your.taste), where she helps people find the intersection of food & storytelling through killer cheese pairings. Check it out!
The best Broadway actor in NYC right now is Hawley Gould (IG: hawleygould). In addition to their alternate dates, they are taking over the majority of performances as Alice Paul from October 29th - November 10th. They are REMARKABLE in this production. Go see them.
I’ll be back with updates on October 1st. Let me know if you have something going on so I can add it to the list! See you soon.
Much appreciated,
SMJ