Angie Schworer, Lauren Lopez, And Marcus M. Martin To Star In Industry Reading of New Mockumentary Play PRAIRIE PARK

Prairie Park, a new mockumentary play by T.J. Pieffer, will be presented in  an invitation-only industry reading on Friday, January 9, 2026, produced by Pipe Dream in  association with Davenport Theatrical Enterprises. 

Directed by Stephen Santa, Prairie Park takes audiences behind the scenes of a fictional,  struggling western-themed amusement park in Tampa, Florida, where chaos, blind ambition, and  deeply entrenched family feuds collide. Told in a mockumentary format, the play brings the  heightened absurdity and intimate comedy of Waiting for Guffman, The Office, and Parks and  Recreation to the stage. The play features original music by Brad Kemp, Becki Toth, Amanda  Ribnick, and T.J. Pieffer. 

The cast includes Angie Schworer (The Prom, Something Rotten!), Lauren Lopez (The Guy  Who Didn't Like Musicals, A Very Potter Musical), Marcus M. Martin (Aladdin), T.J. Pieffer, Lizzy Murray, and Rogue Schmidt. Music direction is by Adam Magnacca, with stage  management by Daryl A. Laurenza. 

Prairie Park is produced by Margaret Montavon and Elizabeth Raia for Pipe Dream, in  association with Davenport Theatrical Enterprises. 

T.J. Pieffer is a New York based writer and performer. He has studied and performed at comedy institutions and theaters around the country including

The Second City Conservatory, The Den, The Annoyance, UCB, The PIT, Omaha Comedy Festival, and Playwrights Horizons. 

His original musical comedy, ABDUCTION, has received numerous readings, workshops, and productions including MTAP, The New York Musical Festival, 

New Musicals Inc., and a licensed production at the University of Pittsburgh. His original musical comedy, SALEM, was selected for the 2023 Johnny Mercer Foundation's Writer's Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, received an industry workshop in January 2024 in New York City, and a concert at The Green Room 42. 

T.J. is a contributor to the satirical online publication The Broadway Beat. He is a recipient of the 2016 Ron Norinksy Grant and the 2014 Carnegie Mellon University's Pre College Scholarship. His original TV pilot with Shelby Solla “1385” was a 2021 Austin Film Festival Runner Up. While he may look 12, T.J. has actually graduated from college with a bachelor's degree from Columbia College Chicago where he studied Television Writing and Theatre. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild and ASCAP. 

Stephen Santa is a NYC-based theatre director, arts educator, and advocate. He is an energetic collaborator with a drive to develop bold new works. His versatile point of view gives him the ability to stage full-scale musicals to intimate plays. He is the former Artistic Director of The Omaha Community Playhouse, the largest community-based theater in the United States. 

Stephen Santa is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Jumping Jack Theater- a children's theater production company that creates original works for audiences that would benefit from sensory and autism-friendly strategies. Jumping Jack Theater has produced works including The Light Princess, CityScape, and Starshine!. 

He directed the concert workshop of Abduction: A New Musical Comedy for the New York Musical Festival. Santa's love of developing new works was seen in his direction of workshops including TEETH (Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs) and UNCHARTED: The Music of Anna K. Jacobs at the famed Ars Nova Theatre. 

Santa was the assistant director of the Flashdance National Tour, the North American premiere of The Monster in the Hall, and POP! A New Musical choreographed by Billy Porter at CITY Theatre, respectively. His critically acclaimed production of Dani Girl a New Musical traveled to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland where it received multiple five-star reviews. 

He currently serves as the Executive Artistic Assistant for Truworthy Production and TONY Award winner Sergio Trujillo. Current projects include Real Women Have Curves (Broadway), Jesus Christ Superstar (Hollywood Bowl), and Damn Yankees (Arena Stage). 

Stephen is an associate member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.