Micah Carlsen,
Sound Design
By Sydney Green
Directed by Sofi Lopez Arredondo
With Michael Bogardus, Clara McKenzie, Susana Gomez Laverde, Breene Halaby, Niray Almonte, Amanda Whyte, Divya Sarma, and Eka Savajol
Five would-be somebodies find themselves united in Hell, part of a trial run to solve Hell’s population problem. Faced with a poker match with the one and only Joan Crawford—these women must vie against each other for a spot in Heaven, while contending sins, histories, sexual identity, and their own dispensability. Because winning is more than eternity—it is fame.
Part of 59E59 Theaters' East to Edinburgh 2024
In an effort to care for our community, we’re sharing details about this production that may be sensitive for members of our audience. The following information may reveal plot points.
Age guide: 18+. Contains discussion of bigotry, gender violence, religion, murder, sexual assault, abortion, and suicide, as well as strobe lighting.
Sydney Green (Playwright/Associate Producer; she/her) is a queer playwright originally from New York, currently in her first year at the New School for her MFA in Contemporary Theater and Performance. Her art focuses on generational love and rewriting historically disenfranchised people(s) back into their stories. Previous full-length productions include The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) (The Tank & NYU’s Broke People Play Festival) and Blood and Prayer (The Imaginarium Theatre Company). She would like to thank her girlfriend and her father both for always supporting her art, no matter the absurdity.
Sofi Lopez Arredondo (Director/Associate Producer; they/them) is a theater artist from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, passionate about care and consent-based practices in theater, exciting narratives centering marginalized experiences, working towards a liberated theater practice, and camp (always camp!!). Sofi is the artisitic director of teatrito, and a recent graduate from NYU Gallatin, where they studied a concentration titled Queering and Decolonizing Theatre. Recent credits include: Among The Coats (director, Broke People Play Festival), A Caricature of Intimacy (director, The Tank), this old haunt (director, Tisch New Theatre), Dinner With The Headmistress (director, Broke People Play Festival), The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) (director, The Tank), and Amor Perfeito (director, The Chain). www.sofilopezarredondo.com
Mikey Bogardus (Actor/Associate Producer; he/they/she) is an interdisciplinary filmmaker currently studying at the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at New York University. Hailing from the stage, Mikey tries to balance their work both on stage and behind the camera. Mikey is a recent graduate and is excited to see how this next stage of life unfolds.
Susana Gómez (Actor; she/they) is a Colombian artist and performer with a BFA in drama from NYU Tisch. She started her acting journey early on as a screen actor working in Resplandor Films before moving to New York to continue her artistic training in the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. As a queer, latinx artist she feels passionate about bringing honest experiences to her art, connecting with her communities and sharing who she is through her work.
Niray Almonte (Actor, any pronouns) was born in Buffalo, NY. They just finished their BFA at New York University Tisch School for the Arts. Niray has had a blast on this show! JVL <3 U 4ever.
Amanda Whyte (Actor; she/her) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director who graduated last spring from NYU with her BFA in drama. Recent credits include SENDERS (Playwrights Horizons Theatre School), Pathos and Logos (Broke People Play Festival), DOOMERS (NYU Thesis Film), and Treading (SVA Thesis Film). She would like to thank Sydney and Sofi for trusting her to portray the depths of hell, the Tank team, and her parents for their continuous support. IG: @amandawhyte_
Clara McKenzie (Actor; she/her) is a senior studying Drama at NYU Tisch school of the Arts. She has studied acting, playwriting and directing at Playwright’s Horizon Theatre School and Stonestreet Film Studio. In the last year, she performed commedia dell’arte in Florence, she was the lead in three short films, she directed a full length play, and she was recently in a show at The Tank (Dinner with the Headmistress). She is currently on the board of Broke People Play Festival at NYU and she enjoys writing comedies!
Eka Savajol (Actor/Lighting Design; he/they) is a playwright, screenwriter, and multidisciplinary artist interested in spirals. His work has appeared in play festivals, multi-media shows, musical albums, Greek tragedies, and publications both digitally and in print. He would like to thank his family and friends, and the number 6.
Divya Sarma (Actor/Dramaturg; (she/he/they) is an alum of NYU Tisch's BFA Drama program. She recently made her Off Broadway debut in The Lesbian Play (U/S Beez, Chaz) in June 2023 and their feature film debut in In the Weeds, which premiered at the Harlem International Film Festival in May 2023. Festival credits include Mo and Bee at the 2022 Chain Theater Summer One Act Play Festival (Bee), which won 3rd place for the Audience Choice award, and The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) at The Tank's PrideFest 2023. Past acting credits at NYU include Collective Rage (Betty 5), Almost a Love Story (Jamie), The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) (Death), Penumbra (Engstrom/Officer), And Dream of Sheep (Len), i want us both to eat well (Megumi), and RENT (ensemble). Dramaturgy credits at NYU include The Hat Trick Theory, The Gospel of Joan (Crawford), Time Share, Workshop, and The Casbah. In addition to acting, Divya is a budding exponent of Carnatic vocal music and South Asian classical and folk dance, and has given concerts in the US and India. @__divya.sarma__
C. Breene Halaby (Actor; she/her) is a recent graduate of NYU Gallatin. She has performed with the Gallatin Theatre Troupe, Tisch’s Experimental Theatre Wing, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Telluride Theatre, and was featured in the 2023 Shops Of New York Short Film Festival (Brooklyn Vintage, dir. Remington Strecker). She has served as a dramaturg for Tisch New Theatre and Broke People Play Festival. She has written and produced sketch comedy for LessTV and also just in her own head. Many thanks to Aliza Jane Cosgrove and teatrito! @cynthiabreene
Micah Carlsen (Sound Design, he/they) is a radio host and writer. He is a senior at New York University, majoring in Dramatic Writing. He’s the associate news director at WNYU, the host of WNYU’s weekly news show The Rundown, and the creator and host of the bi-weekly media podcast, The Cult Crypt.
Reyna Carrillo (Producer; she/her) has a background in classical ballet. Her interests include directing, producing, marketing, and fundraising. She works as the assistant to the director of development at NYU Skirball. Her passion lies in creating environments that enhance performance and are inclusive to all people. Recent credits: The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) (producer, The Tank), Gallatin Arts Festival (producer, NYU Gallatin), Silver Lining (director, NYU Gallatin).
Katie Woo (Production Photographer/Associate Producer; she/her) Aspiring screenwriter and producer Katie graduates from NYU Tisch with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Art History in May 2024. During college, she interned with Rattlestick Theater, Protozoa Pictures, and New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT). She is a contributor to NYWIFT’s blog and podcast as well as a development & programming coordinator for their annual MUSE Awards show. In January 2024, she volunteered with Socially Relevant Film Festival (SRFF) as a script reader. Her production photography credits include student theater festivals at NYU, Off Broadway productions, and several live musicians.
Gary Whitt (Hair and Makeup Stylist; they/he/she) is an interdisciplinary artist and curator based in New York City. Their work examines how we create meaning through material histories and relationships. Working across a large variety of mediums, they seek to combine creative practice, curatorial practice, and systematic analysis to create new pathways for understanding how we construct concrete representations of intersubjective experience.
Ahreumbi Rew (Assistant Director/Associate Producer; she/her) is a South Korean multidisciplinary artist currently studying for a BFA in Drama at Playwrights Horizons Theater Studio at New York University. Her recent credits include her West End debut English premiere of Marie Curie (Assistant Producer & Literal Translator, Charing Cross), The Champs, Marines! (Assistant Producer, Busan Cultural Center), the 3rd South Korean run of Marie Curie (Assistant Producer, Hongik Art Center), Fly High, Taekwon (Assistant Producer, Woori Financial Art Hall), Pathos and Logos (Director, NYU’s Broke People Play Festival), The Gospel of Joan Crawford (Choreographer, The Tank / Assistant Director, NYU’s Broke People Play Festival).
Logan Rozos (Assistant Director; he/him) is a New York-based actor, writer, and director. He made his acting debut in 2019 on the Peabody-nominated television drama DAVID MAKES MAN. He was an honoree in Teen Vogue’s 20 Under 20 Queer Artists and Activists To Watch and a recipient of the 2019 Parity Award for outstanding work by LGBTQ people of faith. He is also the co-director of the forthcoming feature-length documentary WHAT WILL I BECOME?, for which he is a member in the Firelight Media Lab’s 2022-24 documentary fellowship cohort.
Camila Pagan (Stage Manager; she/her) is from Puerto Rico and recently completed her BA in NYU. She is elated to be a part of the Joan crew again! Previous stage managing credits include: Among the Coats (NYU), Drive the Speed Limit (HERE), The Gospel of Joan (Crawford) (The Tank), and I SAW SOMETHING (NYU).
Sasha N. Manxetti (Costume Designer; she/her) is thrilled to be working with Teatrito and grateful for all individuals who make the costumes you see happen. Costume education received from Interlochen Arts Academy and Rutgers University. Founder and Director of Manxetti Vintage Rental. Favorite credits include: Leni & Joseph, Stupid Fucking Bird, Lizzie!, And Tell Sad Stories Of The Deaths Of Queens, and Something lIl Tell You Tuesday.
@sashamanxetti, @manxettivintagerental, sashamanxetti.com
Read more at: www.teatrito.org