Playwrights Bios

 

PHIL DARG (Hijab at First Sight)  is the author of many plays and musicals including: Sasquatched! The Musical (NYMF 2013 Next Link); The Pound: A Musical for the Dogs (2017 Theatre Now New York Sound Bites); The ABC's of LGBT at the Rainbow Valley B 'n' B (winner, 2020 Robert J. Pickering Award; semi-finalist, International Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition);  Evolution (winner, 2018 William Faulkner Literary Competition); Hyard Ed (finalist, B Street Theatre's 2019 New Comedies Festival); Thespis(finalist, 2020 Tennessee Williams One-Act Play Contest; Hero (Alternative Theater, New York); Facility (2017 William Inge selection); 'Til Death (Darkhorse Dramatists, NY); Critical (Carrollwood Players, Tampa). www.PhilDarg.com

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CHRISTINE FOSTER (Blind Larks) Christine’s plays have been seen in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Denmark, Mexico, Korea and the US, along with dozens of scripts for CBS, CTV, History and the Family Channel. In 2018 she won the Marion Thauer Brown New Audio Drama Award and her full-length black comedy Four Thieves Vinegar had a successful three week run in London before being remounted at the Brighton Fringe 2019. Currently working on a new full-length play, she is also a regular writer for SuperScotland WBRH and is the winner of the Soundworks.co.uk Short Story Contest 2020.

 

LOGANN GRAYCE (Strong Meds and Jewish Guilt)  

 is a Festival Winning, published playwright.  In addition to being a writer, they are an actor, comic, dancer, and activist.  As an actor Logann has been on the stages of NYC, as well as in many of the productions that film in the city.  They aim to write pieces that represent underrepresented communities, and challenge audiences to step into a world that might be unfamiliar to what they know, and let their minds be open.  Logann is excited to be working with TATCO again.  #Blacklivesmatter #transpeoplewillnotbeerased

You can follow Logann On Insta:@logann_grayceTwitter:@loganngrayce www.loganngrayce.com

 

FRED KEMPNER  (Nothing)  has written several screenplays, numerous short stories, three full-length plays and more than a dozen ten minute plays. His screenplay, The Great Game, which explores life in Afghanistan in the 70’s, was a winner of the Southeast Screenwriter’s competition. In 2018, his play, Jerusalem Redux was a finalist in the Jewish Ensemble Theatre’s New Play Festival. He is a native New Yorker, but currently makes his home in Atlanta.  When he isn’t writing, or traveling with his wife, he can usually be found reading on his deck, or sailing wherever the wind will take him.

 

THOMAS J. MISURACA (Field Service)  Over 100 of Tom Misuraca's short plays have been produced and stage read globally, often winning audience favorite awards. Eleven of his full-lengths have been produced in California, Texas, Michigan and New York. His most produced play, Geeks! The Musical, went on to be produced Off Broadway in 2019. In 2014, Tom won two writing awards: The Pickering and the Las Vegas Little Theatre New Works Award. In 2019, he again won the LVLT New Works Award with Figments. His monologue, Mousing, will be performed in London this Fall. www.tommiz.com.

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CHANDRA THOMAS (Leaning)  is an actor-writer-producer originally from New York. As a writer, her work has been presented at Primary Stages, Barrow Group, Naked Angels, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Downtown Urban Theatre Festival, HERE Arts Center, Dreamcatcher Rep, Passage Theatre, among others. As an actor, chandra’s performed at theatres across the country. chandra has produced theatre, digital content and indie film including the Greater Film Festival’s 30 + Thirty livestreaming series. chandra holds an MFA from Columbia University, recently wrapped as the sole comedy writer in the 2020 CBS Writers’ Program, and is currently an Echo Young Playwrights Fellow.

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MICHAEL SUSKO (Mother's Day)  is an award-winning Director/Choreographer/Playwright/Educator. Directing credits include The Bigot (off-Broadway), Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Casa Manana,  New Bedford Festival Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, Theatre by the Sea, Paper Mill Theatre, Westchester Broadway, Arizona Broadway and Arkansas Repertory.  In NYC his work has been seen at the Midtown International Fringe Festival, Network Theatre Company, Equity Library Theatre, and The New Short Play Festival where he is Artistic Director. He currently teaches playwriting at ATC Studios (Clifton, NJ) Michael holds an MFA in Playwriting (Goddard College), and a BFA in Musical Theatre (The Boston Conservatory)

 

SHOLEH WOLPE (Holy Corona)   is an Iranian-American poet and playwright whose work, according to Terrain Journal, “transcends the boundaries of language, gender, ethnicity and nationality.” She is the recipient of the 2014 PEN/Heim, 2013 Midwest Book Award and 2010 Lois Roth Persian Translation prize. Her latest play, The Conference of the Birds, premiered at the Ubuntu theater in Oakland, California. Sholeh's plays have been a finalist or semifinalist at Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Centenary Stage Women Playwrights Series, Ashland New Plays Festival. She is the Writer-in-Residence at University of California, Irvine. Website: www.sholehwolpe.com

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DIRECTORS BIOS

 

CHRISTINE CIRKER (Blind Larks)  is a director/producer, focusing primarily on new work. Dramaturge & Associate Director for Awake, by K. Lorrel Manning  and Assistant Director for Lyle Kessler’s Perp at The Barrow Group. Other NY directing credits include works presented by Lucille Lortel, F.A.B. Women, Urban Stages, Pulse Ensemble, Core Ensemble, Neighborhood Playhouse, Our Workshop East, Resonance Theatre, Strawberry Festival and The #MeToo Plays Festival (Alternative Theatre).  Christine produces Off-Off Bway theatre and has produced for F.A.B. Women, a women’s development group at TBG since 2010.

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JUDY DODD (Strong Meds and Jewish Guilt) directed Invisibility for the 1st BelieveAbility Reading, and Phone Friend , in last year’s Altered Minds series. She directed Crush and Elevator Repair for Alternative Theater’s #metoo plays. Other directing credits include off-off Broadway theaters and the Ramaz School. Judy teaches acting privately and in schools in the NY area. 

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CELINE HAVARD (Mother's Day) as Artistic Director of the Alternative Theater she’s very grateful to everyone who’s supported BelieveAbility going virtual. Last season she directed Hang-ups and Dragged as part of Altered Minds at ATA. She has directed regionally, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway. She was a founding member of Abingdon Theater Company and Stagedotorg. Favorites: the world premiere of When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream & Shout by Sharman MacDonald, Captive, by Jan Buttram published by Samuel French. Other NY companies where she has worked: MTC, the Women’s Project, Pulse Ensemble, the Drama League and the Greenhouse Ensemble. 

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DAVID MALINSKY (Nothing) is a NYC-based director, actor and writer. This is his third time directing for The Alternative Theatre Company and his third year of involvement with the company. He played the lead role in the play Space Race by Nicholas Gentile. He has acted in independent films Tormenting the Hen by Theodore Collatos and Abby Singer/Songwriter by Onur Tukel. David is excited to join TATCO for another year for the BelieveAbility Festival. 

 

KIM T. SHARP (Holy Corona) is happy to be working with The Alternative Theatre for the first time. As a director, he enjoys bringing vitalizing material to the stage.  For Urban Stages, he directed the NYC premier of Death of a Driver by Will Snider. Recently he directed Wolfgang Novogratz in Ronan Noone’s The Atheist. Thanks to Celine for the opportunity, to Sholeh Wolpe for her brilliant script and Erinn Holmes and Tina Duong for their excellent talent.

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MICHAEL SUSKO (Field Service) is an award-winning Director/Choreographer/Playwright/Educator. Directing credits include The Bigot (off-Broadway), Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Casa Manana,  New Bedford Festival Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, Theatre by the Sea, Paper Mill Theatre, Westchester Broadway, Arizona Broadway and Arkansas Repertory.  In NYC his work has been seen at the Midtown International Fringe Festival, Network Theatre Company, Equity Library Theatre, and The New Short Play Festival where he is Artistic Director. He currently teaches playwriting at ATC Studios (Clifton, NJ) Michael holds an MFA in Playwriting (Goddard College), and a BFA in Musical Theatre (The Boston Conservatory)

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JEAN TAIT (Hijab at First Sight) has directed Hello Dolly (starring Pamela Myers and Harvey Evans), Saving Grace, the award-winning Over the River and Through the Woods, Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, the critically acclaimed Over the Tavern, Pack of Lies, Tsunami Tales, and Steel Magnolias (starring Donna McKechnie, Pamela Myers, Sally Mayes and Emily Swallow) in addition to numerous musical reviews with Donna McKechnie, Amanda McBroom, and Linda Purl.  She directed The Proceedings and Can You Hear Me Now? as part of The #metoo Plays with the Alternative Theater Company in 2018 and It Gets Better as part of Altered Minds at ATA last season.

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ROSALYN COLEMAN WILLIAMS (Leaning) best known as an actor, is the director of the award winning short films Allergic To Nuts and Drawing Angel, seen on several TV stations nationally and in film festivals around the world. Awarded “EmergingFilmmaker” at the Cine Noir Film Festival in North Carolina with over a dozen film directing credits including: The Last Piece, BFF, and the documentary Black Sorority Project. A graduate of Howard University and Yale School of Drama, Roz has served as on-set acting coach for HBO’s In Treatment. Rosalyn was hired by the Cinereach Foundation to coach Sundance directors, most notably Terrance Nance, creator of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness.