Ivy Crest Theatre Co. Will Present NO VACANCY SERIES

Ivy Crest Theatre Co. has just announced its production of the No Vacancy Series. No Vacancy is a collection of 3 one act plays set in motels throughout the last 50 years. Cabin 12 by John Bishop from the 70s, Motel Story by Alexandra Vassilaros in the 90s and Here Comes the Drone by Arlene Hutton from the 2010’s. A mix of drama and comedy the plays all deal with themes around connection, isolation and identity. Performances of the No Vacancy Series begin Thursday, September 10 for a limited run through September 13 at Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street).

Cabin 12 by John Bishop is directed by Erica Silberman and stars David Newer*, James McCloskey, Jen Parker Davis and Jaylen ‘JD’ Harris.

 In a small Virginia motel, a father and son arrive to make arrangements following the death of the younger man’s brother, a truck driver killed in a highway accident. As they revisit the life of the man they have lost, long-buried tensions between father and son begin to surface—and questions about the circumstances of his death force them to confront truths they have spent years avoiding. A quiet, deeply human drama about grief, family, and the things we struggle to say to the people closest to us.

Motel Story by Alexandra Vassilaros is directed by Erica Silberman and stars Michelle Pariseau, Michael Wolfe and Ariel Lopez.  

In a rundown motel room in Queens, Teresa waits for an old friend to help her carry out a plan against her husband. But when Uly arrives, he brings something Teresa didn’t expect: questions. As the two old friends argue, scheme, reminisce, and confront the complicated history between them, their carefully laid plans begin to unravel. Funny, tender, and unexpectedly dark, Motel Story explores friendship, love, anger, and the difficult choices we make when the past refuses to stay in the past.

Here Comes the Drone by Arlene Hutton is directed by Elly Kouri and stars Jen Parker Davis, Lili Kinsella, Jaylen ‘JD’ Harris and James Haddad.

At a weathered motel in Watkins Glen, New York, a wedding, a breakup, and a very unexpected drone attack bring a collection of strangers together for one unforgettable night. Funny, surprising, and occasionally surreal, Here Comes the Drone finds the extraordinary in an otherwise ordinary place—and reminds us that you never quite know what might happen when lives collide.

The No Vacancy series also features Miles Bettinelli for set design, Luke Willson for lighting design and Michelle Frei as the understudy and stage manager. 

BIOS

JEN PARKER DAVIS (Cabin 12: Girl in Cabin 12, Here Comes the Drone: Jennifer) is a NY-based actor who trained at the Esper Studio with David Newer (so if she’s not good then it’s totally on him). Her credits include “Law & Order: SVU,” “Julia,” and sketch comedy around the city. Jen is so excited to be part of this production and grateful to everyone who helped bring it to life, especially Elly, Erica, and JP. jenparkerdavis.com

JAMES HADDARD (Here Comes the Drone: Greg) is an actor and filmmaker. Film credits include Thoroughbreds (Focus Features), Mother/Android (Hulu), Concrete Valhalla (Winner of Best Short at Offshore Film Festival), and Silent Film. Theatre credits include One Flea Spare and The Tempest at Boston College. He trained under Suzanne Esper at the William Esper Studio.

JAYLEN “JD” HARRIS (Cabin 12: Man in Cabin 12, Here Comes the Drone: Trevor) is a proud 2025 graduate of the William Esper Studio, where he trained under David Newer. His recent credits include Take Your Pills, Queens Get the Money, & Secrets. He would like to thank his family, friends, & team for their continued support throughout his journey & he looks forward to the opportunities ahead.

LILI KINSELLA (Here Comes the Drone: Kayla) (she/her) is thrilled to be making her stage debut as Kayla in Here Comes the Drone, alongside her dear friend Jen! Lili is an alum of William Esper Studio, studying under David Newer.  Before her actor training, she studied fashion design at Pratt Institute. Lili would like to thank everyone who made this possible, especially JP, Elly, David, and her Uncle Marco.

ARIEL LOPEZ (Motel Story: Pat) is a bilingual actor based in Newark, NJ, trained in the Meisner technique at the William Esper Studio. Credits include the off-Broadway premiere of the new original play In the Woods Somewhere. Offstage, Ariel is a proud Dominican American storyteller. Much love to family, friends, and this incredible cast.

James McCloskey. (Cabin 12: Bob) NYC credits: Strange Snow, North of Providence, The Turn of the Screw, The Dead for Breakfast. Rutgers: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The House of Yes, The Goat or Who is Sylvia, Ragtime, Parade, Six Degrees of Separation and many others. Graduate of William Esper Studio.

*DAVID NEWER (Cabin 12: Harold) (AEA /SAG-AFTRA): THEATER (Regional & Off Broadway): L.A. Unified**, Time Stands Still, Dinner with Friends, Rounding Third, Magnetic North, Split Second, Gun Club, Parker Family Circus, Texas Homos, Noon Day Sun, Clean Living Cold Flesh, Carry the Tiger to the Mountain. FILM: Return to Lake Ouachita (screenwriter/producer), Performance Anxiety***, Thinking with Richard, Preying for Mercy, Vessel. TV: “The Gilded Age,” “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” “Godfather of Harlem,” “New Amsterdam,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order SVU.” **Best Educational Play Award, United Solo Festival 2014 (writer); *** (Critic’s Choice, Best Short Film), Cannes Film Festival 1994. David is excited to be working with JP and Ivy Crest once again! *Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association

MICHELLE PARISEAU (Motel Story: Teresa) is so grateful to her family and friends for their support. Theatre credits include The Magic Tower, As You Like It (NYC); Intimate Apparel, How I Learned to Drive (FSU); The Importance of Being Earnest, Psycho Beach Party, A Streetcar Named Desire, Othello, The Grapes of Wrath (PBSC). She trained at the William Esper Studio and the FSU School of Theatre. Along with her husband James, she is excited to welcome their baby boy, Cormac James McCloskey, in February.

MICHAEL WOLFE (Motel Story: Uly) is an award-winning actor and filmmaker. He has debuted numerous Off-Broadway plays over the years including Michael in Room Two at the Abingdon Theater, Banshee of Bainbridge in the NY Fringe Festival and Suspicious Minds at Center Stage. On screen, Michael has appeared in HBO’s “The Deuce,” ABC’s “For Life,” and numerous independent films including Tracks starring Ice-T. As a filmmaker, Michael has written, directed and starred in various shorts and features; most notably A Bellevue Love Story, Rich Boy, Rich Girl, distributed by Vertical Entertainment, and Maybe Tomorrow, distributed by Entertainment One. His latest film Sibling Shitshow just began its festival run and he has several film and television projects in development.

ELLY KOURI (Director of Here Comes the Drone) trained at the William Esper Studio under the direction of Bill Esper and Barbara Marchant.  She is a graduate of NYU, a published singer/songwriter and Director of Into White Productions.  Her film credits include: Simon’s Agony directed by Deniz Demirer, The Epilogue of Gregory Archambault, directed by Matthew Vanvorst and Robert Desanti, Murder Bird directed by Barrett Shuler. Directing Credits include: Tennessee Williams', The Magic Tower, a sold-out run presented in collaboration with Theaterlab, NYC. She is represented by Marius Bargielski of Metropolis Artists Agency. She thanks the cast for their dedication, her family, her friends and all of her mentors for their support and encouragement.

Erica Silberman (Director of Cabin 12 and Motel Story) previously worked with the Ivy Crest Theatre directing Edward Allen Baker's Up, Down, Strange, Charmed, Beauty, and Truth. She has directed shows at the United Solo Festival, Dixon Place, Ensemble Studio, TheatreLab, and other venues across the city, and was the associate producer of the award-winning play Ghetto Babylon at 59 E 59. As a playwright, her plays have been produced or developed at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, New World Stages, New York Theatre Musical Festival, the Stonington Opera House, Metropolitan Playhouse, Six Figures, New Perspectives, and Here. Erica authored sixteen short plays and musicals for theAtrainplays, the acclaimed twenty-four-hour theatre initiative. She co-founded, produced, wrote, and directed for Eating Theatre, a super alternative dinner theatre experience. She is the board chair of the Dramatic Question Theatre (DQT), and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the League of Professional Theatre Women, New York Women in the Arts & Media, and Women in the Arts & Media. Erica is the Senior Director of Partnerships & Career Development at Girls Write Now, an award-winning writing, mentoring, and media nonprofit.

John Bishop (Playwright) Originally from Ohio, John Bishop studied theatre at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1977, his play The Trip Back Down had a successful run on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre; ten years later, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 enjoyed a successful four months at the same theatre.Bishop wrote for the screen as well and served as a script doctor for several popular films, such as Beverly Hills Cop III and Clear and Present Danger.

Arlene Hutton (Playwright) is best known as the author of The Nibroc Trilogy, See Rock City and Gulf View Drive. Her plays have been presented at Edinburgh Fringe, off-Broadway, in London and more. Other works: As It Is in Heaven, Letters to Sala, Running and Vacuum. Her play for young audiences, Happy Worst Day Ever, was winner of the 2010 Macy's New Play Prize. Hutton is an alumna of New Dramatists and a member of The Dramatists Guild and Ensemble Studio Theatre.

ALEXANDRA VASSILAROS (Playwright) is a playwright. Her work in the theater is extensive, and she was a co-finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2004 for Omnium Gatherum. In 2016, she founded The Make Meaning Workshop. She leads workshops for women and children at The Bowery Mission and writing-for-healing workshops at the New York Zen Center. She’s worked with veterans at the Brooklyn VA, and hundreds of men and women facing the challenges that loss, crisis, and grief inevitably bring.

MILES BETTINELLI (Set Design, Prop Styling) has worked on a number of photoshoots for brands/editorials including Louie Vuitton, Tom Ford, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and more. This is his second production with Ivy Crest after designing Strange Snow last year.

LUKE WILLSON (Lighting Design) is a NYC-based lighting designer and master electrician with a passion for the puzzles and patterns within stories. While in NYC, he is a staff electrician at both The Riverside Theatre and Danspace Project. He is a frequent collaborator with The Humanist Project, most recently on No Body Cares. He has also worked on productions at Theatre for a New Audience, The Flea, The Tank, SoHo Playhouse, The REV, The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, La MaMa, Atlantic Acting School, and more. Check out his website at lukewillsonlighting.com!

MICHELLE FREI (Understudy/Stage Manager) is a New York-based Swiss actress and singer working across stage and screen. She got her start performing in Switzerland, with credits including Greatest Days and Made in Dagenham. Since moving to New York, she made her comedy debut in A Sketch of New York and will next appear in the upcoming feature Hit House, directed by Christian Sordelet. Michelle is a 2026 graduate of the William Esper Studio’s two-year acting program, where she trained in the Meisner Technique. Her love for physical storytelling also led her to stage combat, training with Sordelet Inc. and choreographing fights for Blood of My Blood and Take Me Out. What she loves most, though, is the collaborative nature of the work and the people she gets to create with along the way."

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