JCAL’s Meet the Playwright Series to Open with Semi-Staged Reading of Desi Moreno-Penson’s BODEGA CAT
Directed by KM Jones, the reading takes place November 20 at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.
By: A.A. Cristi Nov. 05, 2025
The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) will launch the 2025–2026 season of its Meet the Playwright Series with a semi-staged reading of Bodega Cat, an absurdist play by Latina playwright Desi Moreno-Penson, directed by SDC Director KM Jones. The event will take place on Thursday, November 20, at 8:00 PM at JCAL (161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Queens).
The reading will feature a 35-minute excerpt from the play, performed by Tyler Cruz*, Olivia Kinter, and Renoly Santiago (Con Air, Hackers). (Denotes AEA.)
About the Play
Set in an East Village bodega, Bodega Cat follows a heated exchange between a white woman artistic director and a woman playwright of color as they debate topics including gentrification, “wokeism,” white privilege, and racism. Their confrontation is disrupted by an omnipresent narrator who doubles as a resident bodega cat named after the Latine poet and playwright Miguel Piñero.
“The play is genuinely funny, and with the current state of the world, we need the humor,” says director KM Jones. “But what I like about Bodega Cat is how it allows us to continue the conversation on such issues as gentrification and racism. And the cat’s funny, too.”
About Meet the Playwright
JCAL’s Meet the Playwright Series spotlights Queens-based BIPOC playwrights through semi-staged readings and post-show discussions with the creative teams. Each selected playwright receives a $2,000 stipend. The initiative is supported by the Mellon Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Howard Gilman Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and private donors.
About the Artists
Desi Moreno-Penson is a playwright, actor, dramaturge, and independent theatre producer based in Astoria. Her plays include El Bacalao: The Catfish Man (finalist, 2023 Jane Chambers Award) and Beige (winner, 2016 National Latine Playwriting Award). Her work has appeared on The Kilroys List and is published by Broadway Play Publishing, Smith & Kraus, and Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
KM Jones (Director) is an AEA actor and SDC associate member whose directing credits include The Flea, AMT Theatre, The Tank, Drama League, and The Connelly Theatre. A board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, she is committed to representing diverse, LGBTQIA+, and neurodivergent voices in theater and film.
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