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Bodega Cat at Chain Theatre
Dates: 7/29/2026 - 8/1/2026
📍 Theatre: Chain Theatre
312 W 36th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10018
NYC, NY 10018
Tickets: 19.2
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Set in a 24-hour Brooklyn bodega, BODEGA CAT is a quiet, darkly funny two-hander about a missing cat, bad coffee, loneliness, and the small rituals people create to survive the night.
Written by Melvin Ningyao Yen and directed by Sissi Xiqian Chen, the play follows a night clerk and a regular customer as the search for a cat that may or may not exist becomes a way of asking for care without saying so directly.
Featuring Marisa Moureau as CLERK and Elizabeth Rose as REGULAR.
Stage managed by Amelia Yuqing Wang. Scenic design by Ruomeng Li. Sound and music design by Silvan Tang. Key visuals by Yuyi.
Presented as part of the 2026 Chain Theatre Summer One Act Festival, Program #28.
Performances:
July 29 at 6:30 PM
July 31 at 8:30 PM
August 1 at 2:00 PM
Venue:
Chain Theatre, 4th Floor Mainstage
312 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018
Please use the ticket code MELVIN26 to get 20% off when purchasing tickets.
Bodega Cat at Chain Theatre Schedule
July 31 at 8:30 PM
August 1 at 2:00 PM
Cast and Creative Team for Bodega Cat at Chain Theatre
Cast
Marisa Moureau
Clerk
Marisa Moureau is a British-American actor and filmmaker based in NYC. Recent theatre credits include Elizabeth in Richard III, Cordelia/Fool in King Lear, and originating the role of the Warden in Dirty Books. You can keep up with her debut film on instagram @foodthrougtheagesfilm and follower her at @marisamoureau or www.marisamoureau.com
Elizabeth Rose
Regular
Elizabeth Rose is a New York City based actor. Last year, she had the honor of being part of two new plays. She was Ellie in I Love Pasta (Studio 520), and Alessandra in By Design (AMT Theater’s Broadway Bound Theatre Festival). She was also recently seen acting and playing hand drums in Repro Eco: Six Short Plays (Goddard Riverside Community Arts Center), Hashtag Infinity (Theatre for the New City), and The Bacchae (AMT Theatre).
Creative Team
Melvin Ningyao Yen
Playwright
Melvin Ningyao Yen (all pronouns) is a New York–based Taiwanese cultural critic, playwright, and theater maker. A member of The Public Theater’s 2025–26 BIPOC Critics Lab and the PlayGround-NY Writers Pool, Melvin has held fellowships at Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Playwrights Horizons. Their work moves across playwriting, criticism, photography, and interdisciplinary performance, often tracing migration, ritual, queer intimacy, Buddhist impermanence, and the quiet spiritual architectures of everyday life. Their criticism, poetry, and essays have appeared on HowlRound, The Amp, and their Substack, The Ritual of Seeing. Bodega Cat was first developed with their PlayGround-NY family, whose generosity helped this small late-night story find its first room.
Sissi Xiqian Chen
Director
Sissi Chen 茜蒨 is a New York-based theatre director, producer, and performer. Her work focuses on gender politics, cross-cultural storytelling, diasporic experience, and emotional lives shaped by society. Her directing often works through movement, rhythm, intimacy, humor, and emotionally charged physical behavior. Recent directing credits include Not Our Home, Not Our Home! (2025), Red Threads (Winner of the 2024 Rogue Theatre Festival), The President’s Invitation 《蒋公的面子》 (2024), Murder Up in the Air 《空中花园谋杀案》 (2023). Sissi also specializes in theater education and community engagement and has collaborated with Roundabout Theatre Company, the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, and Tony Awards China. She co-founded Nomad Theater, a community theatre organization that aims to engage Mandarin-English speaking audiences in New York City.
Amelia Yuqing Wang
Stage Manager
Amelia Wang (she/her) is a New York based director, stage manager and playwright wannabe. Her work focuses on the exploration of sisterhood and the search of self amid political turbulence. Recent credits include The President’s Invitation (Production Stage Manager, New York NoMad Theatre), Journey to the West (Director, Columbia University), Sophia’s Gift (Director, Playwright, 2022 International Asian Culture Society Showcase), Avenue Q (Assistant Stage Manager, OB Playhouse), Much Ado About Nothing (Assistant Stage Manager, Assistant Light Designer, La Jolla Playhouse). She co-founded Nomad Theater (with Sissi) in New York, and served as the President of Columbia Blue Glaze Theatre in Columbia University (21’ - 22’). She holds a B.A. in Theatre from University of California, San Diego.
Ruomeng Li
Scenic Designer
Ruomeng Li is a scenic and production designer based in New York City. She is passionate about bringing stories to life through theatre, opera, dance, as well as painting and sculpture. She finds inspiration in the details of everyday life and value all we feel, which continually fuels her creative work. Recent scenic credits include Visa, Drama & Other Disaster, Cherry Tortured, All My Sons(2024), Leo’s Requiem.
www.ruomengli.com
Silvan Tang
Sound & Music Designer
Silvan Tang is a New York–based composer, music producer, sound designer, and audio engineer whose work spans theatre, stage, commercial music, and multimedia storytelling. She holds a dual degree in Music Technology from New York University and creates music and sound for productions that blend narrative, performance, installation, and immersive sonic design.
Her recent credits include: CHUAN Festival – Vanishing 4.0; The Liftist马桶圈, and Light光 (Hollywood Fringe Festival 2026); NYU GALA (2024–2026); Light光 (United Solo Festival 2025); Farewell, and Erase改删别姬; Mr. Donkey驴得水; MOU One Act Festival; Femme 9 19她是九毫米口径; Don’t Pitch It, Do It.; Hollow Cross虚无的十字架; The Metamorphosis变形记; and Teal Echoes Blue.
(Her Web: www.silvantangmusic.com)
Yuyi
Key Visual Artist
Yuyi is a designer and illustrator with experience in publishing illustration and visual design for multiple productions, including key visual design and graphic design. Her work has been featured in performance, musical, immersive experience, and plays. @s.yuuuuyi
News About Bodega Cat at Chain Theatre
BODEGA CAT to Play Chain Theatre's 2026 Summer One-Act Festival
June 24, 2026 BODEGA CAT, a darkly funny two-hander set in a 24-hour Brooklyn bodega, will be presented as part of Chain Theatre's Summer One-Act Festival, written by Melvin Ningyao Yen and directed by Sissi Xiqian Chen.About the Theatre
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Chain Theatre Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ
What shows are coming up next at Chain Theatre?
A Midsummer Night's Dream (08/20/26-08/23/26)
Where is Chain Theatre located?
Chain Theatre is at 312 W 36th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10018, NYC, NY.
What shows have played recently at Chain Theatre?
The Liminal (07/31/26-08/01/26)
MOONSTEAK! (07/18/26-07/28/26)
Last Nerve (07/12/26-07/29/26)
Lights Out At The Women’s Hotel (07/10/26-07/15/26)
The Last Out Gate (06/17/26-06/27/26)
God of Carnage (03/18/26-03/29/26)
No Roses (02/10/26-02/17/26)
Chain Winter One-Act Festival (02/06/26-03/01/26)
Nine Shadows in Bloom: A Devised Piece (12/05/25-12/07/25)
MOONSTEAK! (07/18/26-07/28/26)
Last Nerve (07/12/26-07/29/26)
Lights Out At The Women’s Hotel (07/10/26-07/15/26)
The Last Out Gate (06/17/26-06/27/26)
God of Carnage (03/18/26-03/29/26)
No Roses (02/10/26-02/17/26)
Chain Winter One-Act Festival (02/06/26-03/01/26)
Nine Shadows in Bloom: A Devised Piece (12/05/25-12/07/25)
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