Zoetic Stage Announces Casts & Creatives for The Finstrom Festival of New Work
The winning plays are Finding Neil Patrick Harris by Donna Hoke, The Equivalent of Sensation by Arianna Rose and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 21, 2021
The casts and creative teams have been assembled for Zoetic Stage's inaugural Finstrom Festival of New Work which will be presented virtually from June 23rd thru 27th, on the theatre company's Facebook page. The winning plays are Finding Neil Patrick Harris by Donna Hoke, The Guilt Mongers or Los Traficantes de Culpa (for those not willing to submit to the Anglicization of our people) by C. Julian Jiménez, The Equivalent of Sensation by Arianna Rose, One-Shot by Andrew Rosendorf and Baby Camp by Nandita Shenoy.
Prior to the readings, each winning playwright will spend 20 to 25 hours workshopping their play with directors, dramaturges and actors via Zoom.a??"The goal of the festival is to help playwrights move their play one step closer to a final rehearsal draft," says Zoetic Stage Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer.
"I am looking forward to seeing this talented group present these new plays. We have a varied selection of work that will make the festival unique, interesting, and most of all entertaining," says Festival Coordinator Kent Chambers-Wilson.
Casts, creative teams and showtimes are listed below:
The Equivalent of Sensation
A new play by Arianna Rose
Wed, June 23 @ 7pm
Sisters Etta and Claribel Cone, long dead, materialize at the unveiling of the million dollar renovation of their renowned Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Modern Art. Old friend Gertrude Stein and her paramour Alice Toklas pop up uninvited, much to Etta's dismay. As tensions grow between the four women, they resolve to recreate their stories in an effort to uncover the truth.
Director: Rachel Finley
Dramaturge: Meredith Bartmon
Stage Manager: Amy Rauchwerger*
Production Manager: Amy Rauchwerger
Sound Design:a??Matt Corey
CAST
Etta: Krystal Millie Valdes*
Alice: Jessica Ko*
Gertrude: Sandi Stock
Claribel: Lela Elam*
(*Member of Actors Equity Association)
The Guilt Mongers or Los Traficantes de Culpa (for those not willing to submit to the Anglicization of our people)
A new play by C. Julian Jiménez
Thursday, June 24 @ 7pm
Bruno Santiago is estranged from his family. They never accepted his unapologetic Queerness. But when his mother is admitted to a Bronx hospice, he rushes to her bedside with his partner of 10 years... and their new 23-year-old Mexican boyfriend. His disapproving Boricua family is outraged by Bruno's flaunting of an amoral three-way relationship. Bruno defends his relationship and confronts a half-uncle stirring up unsettled feelings from his past. Fights, tears, and heartbreak abound while a hospice nurse juggles to deal with the family drama and the matriarch's spirit using her as a sounding board for life-long resentments.
Director: Victoria Collado
Dramaturge: Vanessa Garcia
Stage Manager: Vanessa McCloskey
Production Manager: Amy Rauchwerger
Sound Design:a??Matt Corey
CAST
Edna: Zully Montero
Marie: Jennifer Rodriguez De Castroverde*
Bruno: Alex Alvarez*
Carmen: Zuleyma Guevara*
Jamón: Armando Acevedo*
Lorenzo: Tony Chiroldes*
Jazmín: Bertha Leal*
Wyatt: Clay Cartland*
Esteban: Carlos Ibarra*
Nurse: Vanessa Elise
(*Member of Actors Equity Association)
Baby Camp
A new play by Nandita Shenoy
Friday, June 25 @ 7pm
When Toni, Maria, and Aditi arrive at the Future is Freedom Retreat, they don't know quite what to expect, but their fearless guide Lois is eager to share her plan to take back the power from conservative forces in government. Set in the not-too-distant future, "Baby Camp" asks whether adopting the playbook of the opposition is really the path to freedom and whether power is worth any cost.
Director: Margaret M. Ledford
Dramaturge: Amrita Ramanan
Stage Manager: Narissa Agustin
Production Manager: Amy Rauchwerger
Sound Design:a??Matt Corey
CAST
Toni: Katie Bradley*
Maria: Gaby Tortoledo
Aditi: Nandita Shenoy*
Louis: Jeanine Gangloff Levy
(*Member of Actors Equity Association)
Finding Neil Patrick Harris
A new play by Donna Hoke
Saturday, June 26 @ 7pm
When frenemy nail techs Cha-Cha and Katie are privileged to hear a favorite customer's bizarre dying wish, they set off to make it come true--and learn that success is relative but friendship doesn't have to be.
Director: Stuart Meltzer
Dramaturge: Steven Chambers-Wilson
Stage Manager: Shannon Veguilla
Production Manager: Amy Rauchwerger
Sound Design:a??Matt Corey
CAST
Katie: Jeni Hacker*
Cha Cha: Niki Fridh*
Lucio/Lucy/Lucas/Lucky: Tom Wahl*
(*Member of Actors Equity Association)
One-Shot
A new play by Andrew Rosendorf.
Sunday, June 27 @ 4pm
One-Shot is an exploration of white privilege and fragility, representation, the celluloid closet, Jewish fragility, and who gets the space to tell what stories. It asks: Where are our safe spaces anymore? And what happens when the people we love are the ones making our spaces not safe?
Director: Kent Chambers-Wilson
Dramaturge: Michael McKeever
Stage Manager: Stormy Lambert
Production Manager: Amy Rauchwerger
Sound Design:a??Matt Corey
CAST
David: Ross Kaplan
Martin: Chris Alfonso
Charles: Nat Martin
The festival will be presented virtually on Zoetic Stage's Facebook page from June 23 - 27. While the entire festival is free and open to the public, donations are welcome.
The festival is named after beloved South Florida playwright and arts patron Tony Finstrom, who was a long-time Carbonell Award judge and founder of the Silver Palm Awards. The author of numerous plays, Finstrom was the recipient of various honors including the Charlie Cinnamon Award and the South Florida Theatre League's Remy Pioneer Award. Mr. Finstrom passed away in December 2018.
Visit www.zoeticstage.org for more information.
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