Streaming at 7PM: Ten-Minute Play Festival: Spooky Edition
Streaming on Facebook Live
Tonight at 7PM! No Exit’s first Ten Minute Play Festival: Halloween Edition!
Ten-Minute Play Festival: Halloween Edition
Facilitated by Kanyi C
Wednesday, October 28 at 7pm ET
Honoring the activist roots of theatre and our artists is at the core of No Exit Theatre Collective. We seek to affect change with our work. With each production we put on, the creative team selects a social justice organization to support. Our support comes from our virtual tip jar, which is on Venmo @NoExit-TC.
Each show, we select an activist organization to support. This week, we’re supporting Holler Heath Justice.
Holler Health Justice (HHJ) is a BIPOC- & queer-led racial, economic, and reproductive justice nonprofit and abortion fund in Appalachia. We provide financial and practical abortion support to West Virginians and Appalachians through our abortion support hotline (1-833-HOLLER-WV).
20 percent of the tips we receive will go to this organization. The rest of the tip jar will be split equally among contributing artists on the project.
THE PLAYS:
Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
Written by Ashley Lauren Rogers
Directed by Lorian Gish
Brooke Gardner as Susan
M. Aramis Buckley as Dawn
Noah Dawson as Aaron
Lauren Elizabeth as Walkie Talkie
Rachel Weekley as Stage Directions
Your Sleep Paralysis Demon Would Like to Have a Word with You
Written by Reuven Glezer
Directed by Kassandra Pérez
Shivani Mathur as Demon
MJ Bird as Sleeper
Baba Yaga and the Federal Trade Commission
Written by Erin Gruodis-Gimbel
Directed by Zeynep Akca, co-artistic director
Anja Avsharian as Baba Yaga
Bruce Jimenez as Dave
Cheryle Chong as Mark Mitchell
THE PLAYERS:
Born in the city and raised in suburbia, Kanyi C is a Pennsylvania-based writer, composer, performer, and artist. Kanyi's work seeks to blend the ethereal with the earthbound. Kanyi's first musical, ENDSVILLE, will have its virtual premiere in October 2020.
Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing
Ashley Lauren Rogers is an award-winning writer, and trans rights activist. Recently a Trans Theatre Lab fellow 2019, the Literary Director for Step1 Theatre Project, artist in residence at Middlesex County Vocational-Technical School 2018-2019. Works performed at Dixon Place, MITF, the Brick, Joe’s Pub, and others. “Becky’s Christmas Wish” was a finalist for the City Theatre National Short Play Award, Miami. Work has been produced in Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Maine, Iowa, New Jersey, Detroit, and Minneapolis. Featured on Fusion TV’s Peabody Award Nominated Sex.Right.Now, panels for Revry.TV. Creator The Is It Transphobic and The Right to Play Podcasts.
Lorian Gish is a New York City based actor, writer, and director best known for her acting work in "Revolutionary Road": Dir. Sam Mendes, "Snow": Best Feature Film winner - Indie Gathering, as well as multiple national commercial and voice-over spots. Past theater includes Macbeth in No Exit Theatre Collective’s ‘Macbeth,’ 'The Gingerbread House,' 'Enough' (Off-Broadway). Graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and BFA Acting for Film, Television, Voice-over, & Commercials at Pace University. Her directing and short-form screenwriting work has been distributed by Crypt TV (2019). Her most recent short period thriller, "The Howling Wind," is currently in the 2020 festival circuit. She has a deep passion for womxn-centered horror and dark fantasy. loriangish.com
Brooke Gardner is a 2019 Pace University graduate with a BFA in Acting for Film, TV, Voiceovers, and Commercials. Some of her favorite credits include Yahoodi in the The Mad Dog Blues (at The Hive), Zoe in She Wants It (A short film produced by Topic Studios), and Edda in the original musical We Didn’t Have Time to be Scared at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In addition to acting, Brooke enjoys working behind the scenes and is credited as Assistant Camera in the short dance film Breezeblocks, nominated for ‘Best Dance Video’ at the LA Music Video Awards 2019. She would like to thank her family, friends, and fellow creatives for their endless love and support!
M. is a local actress who graduated from Pace's BFA FTVC program in 2019. Her journey has taken her to many places across america, and taught her many different roles in media production, but acting is like home for her, she loves to return to it whenever possible.
Noah has spent the majority of his time in theater directing for local schools, colleges, and companies. His acting credits include the premiere of Ashley Lauren Roger's Chasing the Ghost, Clybourne Park, Round and Round the Garden , Much Ado About Nothing, and a children’s theater tour with Little Red Wagon.
Lauren Elizabeth (@streetcirque) is a multi-hyphenate performer, appearing on stages across the city as an actor, circus artist, and all around goof. Recent credits include: "Twelfth Night" with No Exit Theatre Collective, Flowvid-19 Fundraiser, "We Shall Come Too Late" by Rachel Weekley, and regular contributions to "SCOWL: Digital Defenestration" - a monthly web series dedicated to queer centered action stories.
Rachel Weekley is a Clown/Performer/Movement Coordinator based in NYC. They graduated from Ohio University with a BFA in performance and trained with The American Mime Theater. They have performed their own solo work with Hearts on the Wall, and No Dominion Theatre Co. They are also a regular performer with SCOWL, a Queer and Trans-centric, stage combat comedy show. For more info on what shenanigans they’re up to now go to www.rachelweekley.com or Instagram @rachel.weekley.
Your Sleep Paralysis Demon Would Like to Have a Word with You
Reuven Glezer is a Brooklyn-based theater maker and graduate of the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique & Interdisciplinary Studies. Forthcoming: LA RONDE with NETC (director); LITTLE FISH and OFF WE GO (playwright); a new play set during the rise of spiritualism in America. Co-curator of the Jewish Theatre Project at CUNY Baruch College.
Kassandra Pérez is an actor, creator, applied theatre practitioner and director. This is her first solo directing project and she is elated to have such a brilliant cast, play and grateful to No Exit for having given her this opportunity.
Shivani Mathur is an actor who splits her time between NYC and LA. Shivani turned her curious, empathetic nature and passion for studying behavior into a life path - first by studying journalism, then by working in a girl's leadership development non-profit, and now as an actor where she observes people's nuances and complexities. She is especially passionate about stories that externalize women's interiority. She loves to eat dumplings and noodles (often alone) and dance frenetically (usually with her friends).
MJ is excited to return to No Exit for this festival as an actor in: “Your Sleep Paralysis Demon Would Like to Have a Word With You.”
Baba Yaga and the Federal Trade Commission
Erin Gruodis-Gimbel is a playwright, actor, and dramaturg in the NJ area. Her previous play, God and Abraham Play Ping Pong was performed by Walking Shadow Readers Theatre in Herndon, VA as a part of their new play development series. She has recently worked with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Alliance Theatre, Everyman Theatre, No Exit Theatre Collective, and the Virtual Theatre Collaboration.
Zeynep Akca is an interdisciplinary theatre artist from Istanbul, Turkey. Her main artistic focuses are directing, producing, and teaching artistry. She is currently getting an MA in Applied Theatre. Outside of graduate school, Zeynep is used to spending most of her time producing and directing projects that mean a lot to her. She hopes she’ll get to return to projects that are currently postponed like @SCOWLfight’s Laddermageddon (co-producer) at the Tank. In the meantime she’s working on finding ways to make theatre in the current reality. Some favorite credits include: SCOWL: Digital Defenestration (Producer, Twitch), Trifles, The Misanthrope, A Midsummer Night's Dream (director, NETC), Argentinian Prostitute Play (director, BBTF), Apology ... by Faust (producer), Cabaret (director, Baruch College).
Anja Avsharian is super excited to be working with old friends and reading the role of Baba Yaga! After performing in three Off-Broadway productions last year, Anja is spending her quarantine crafting homemade natural perfume and jewelry for her etsy shop @RotAndHoney ! Anja is also glad to have a reason to put on pants! Cheers!
Bruce Jimenez is a proud Latino actor/singer/dancer based in NYC! I originally debuted my professional career as a classically trained vocalist in venues such as Lincoln Center, New York City Center, Carnegie Hall and the Verbier Festival in Verbier, Switzerland. I recently made great strides in my acting career as a dancer in the re-make of West Side Story directed by Steven Speilberg. This past August I also made my Off-broadway debut as a lead in The Argentinian Prostitute Play.
cheryle is an ever-evolving, shapeshifting being who is delighted to be reading in this play festival. they studied acting at nyu gallatin with members of FIASCO Theater under their neo-classical philosophy amongst a number of fantastic mentors/professors. they are interested in breath as a medium and through that acting as one of many expressions of healing and storytelling. they last performed as Eilert Lovborg in NETC’s production of Hedda Gabler. some nyc theatre credits include: Henry IV Parts I & II (Lady Percy), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Jenny/Marge), Left of Aleppo (Nisrin/Angel 2), The Crucible (Ann Putnam/Danforth), Babel (Katia), The Heidi Chronicles (Fran/Molly/Betsy/April).