Sometimes, less is more
After a tremendous inaugural festival in 2021, we are thrilled to once again present the Arts Incubator Short Play Fest — a celebration of short, new plays and the playwrights behind them.
Love Heist is Seamus Eaton’s homage to Abbott and Costello – a high-octane comedy about human greed, pirate treasure, and the ways we communicate.
In Luis Roberto Herrera’s WREN & LIN, one man longs to be there for his friend. How do you distill a lifetime of memories and meaning into one digestible soundbite?
Okay. is Lizz Mangan’s exploration of how we behave when we’re at our most vulnerable – and how we get by, even just for one night.
In John Cai’s The Gift, a student returns to China after his first year abroad in America. As moral and cultural boundaries blur, his little brother starts to feel like a stranger.
Date by Amy Goddard unravels one woman’s unapologetic quest for authenticity while finding humor in social anxieties old and new.
As featured in The Rivertowns Enterprise, ArtsWestchester, The Hudson Independent, Yonkers Times, and BroadwayWorld
This event streamed February 25-March 5, 2022.
"How could you repeat yourself when you haven’t said anything?"
Love Heist is Seamus Eaton’s homage to Abbott and Costello – a high-octane comedy about human greed, pirate treasure, and the ways we communicate.
Seamus Eaton (Playwright) has appeared as an actor in over a dozen local theater productions, including The Wizard of Oz in Bedford Community, The Hostage at Curtain Call, Our Town with the Armonk Players, and Robber Bridegroom and 1940’s Radio Hour with Arc Stages. He has written several short plays, including The Goodbaggers (14th St Y, 2012), The Causeless Cause (Arc Stages, 2020), Speak My Language, and now, Love Heist. His fantasy novel “The Ashorne’s Ingress,” published in 2018, is the best-selling novel he has ever written. The sequel is 99% complete, mired in frustrated perpetuity, but worth the limitless wait. By day, Seamus is a questionable investor and an unmistakable scoundrel.
Featuring the talents of (L to R) Andrew Laden, Luz Montez, John Palacio, and Claude Tusk.
Andrew Laden (A) has recently rediscovered the joy of performing after a long break from theater — since working summer stock in his college years at Millbrook Playhouse and Surflight Theater. He as been in Secret in the Wings, The Robber Bridegroom, In Defense of the Turkey Trot, and Sondheim on Screen, all at Arc Stages in Pleasantville, NY, as well as their upcoming production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. He also has participated in numerous pandemic-driven virtual readings. Many thanks to Seamus for giving me the opportunity to scratch that acting itch yet again.
Luz Montez (Director) is a journalist and television producer making her theatrical directing debut. She has appeared in various stage productions, most recently at Arc Stages: Merrily We Roll Along (KT). Riverdale Rep in Disaster! (Marianne), City of Angels (Alaura Kingsley/Carla Haywood), Into the Woods (Stepmother), Company (Marta).
John Palacio (B) recently appeared as Artie in House of Blue Leaves, Alan in God of Carnage, and Dad in God of Isaac, as well as the musicals Young Frankenstein (Frederick), Oliver (Fagin), The Sound of Music (Captain) and Disaster! (Chad). On TV, John was last seen this fall starring in the ESPN series Bettor Days and he just wrapped the film The Saint of the Impossible, out later this year. John is a television producer/director and lives with his wife, Luz, and kids Hudson and Ashton in Pleasantville.
Claude Tusk (C) was Applegate in his summer camp's production of Damn Yankees at age eight (he had the "Good Old Days" laugh down pat), and he has never looked back. (Well, maybe once, for about 50 years.) Since retiring from a long and not particularly memorable legal career in 2014, Claude has hung around the Westchester community theatre space. His roles include, inter alia, Sam Byck in Assassins, the Ogre in Secret in the Wings, Lou Cohn in 1940s Radio Hour, The MP in House of Blue Leaves, and Mr. Spencer in Merrily We Roll Along. He has also participated in countless readings and cabarets. Performing in a Seamus (Jim) Eaton play has long been a nightmare Claude has harbored in his heart, and he is thrilled finally to live the nightmare. “He's dead, Jim!”
"I know I should be making this a happy thing."
In Luis Roberto Herrera’s WREN & LIN, one man longs to be there for his friend. How do you distill a lifetime of memories and meaning into one digestible soundbite?
Luis Roberto Herrera (Playwright) is currently a New York/Fort Lauderdale based playwright with a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Florida. He was a resident playwright in the GREENHOUSE Residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm. He has had work produced at the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival, and the New York Summer Theatre Festival. His full-length plays include; Pale Blue Dot, Poolside Glow, Born Still, Getting It Together, Grandma’s Armchair, I don’t know what this is..., Treasure Island, SAA(not that one), BLOOD ON THESE HANDS, and WELCOME WE ARE NOW CLOSED. Poolside Glow was chosen for the New Year New Works reading series at Fantasy Theatre Factory on January 26th 2019, was a part of the Greenhouse Development Residency 2019 program at FIU and was most recently a part of The Inkwell Theatre LAB 2021. He is an ensemble member of New City Players Theatre Company, a member of the Dramatist Guilds, and currently in his third and final year of the M.F.A. Playwriting program at The New School.
Featuring the talents of (L-R) Ryan Arnst, Timothy Mark Davis, and Jose Daniel Ordoñez Jr.
Ryan Arnst (Cinematographer) has been a photographer and videographer since 2011 and added graphic design to his toolbox along the way. Today, he dabbles in everything from commercial video to wedding photography to multi-page layout and website creation. We’ll just say he specializes in making things look the best they can.
Timothy Mark Davis (Director, Lin) is an independent film producer, director, and writer. In the past four years he has produced seven short films and four feature films, directed two short films and one feature film, and acted in over ten feature and short films. He is a Co-Founder and Producer for One County Film, an independent film company that he started with his brother in 2018. Their debut feature, Palace, played at eleven film festivals including the Heartland International Film Festival (a top 50 festival). Their second feature film, Pompano Boy, played at the Heartland International Film Festival and the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival where it received the Broward Audience Award. Most recently, Tim wrote, directed, and produced The Leap, a short film for the 48 Hour Film Project. That film went on to win Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress and will compete at the national festival in Washington D.C. in March 2022. Tim is also the founder New City Players where he has directed four productions, acted in four productions, and produced thirteen. In 2019, he received the Carbonell Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in New City Players’ production of "Falling". As a theatre-maker, Tim has directed over ten productions, acted in over thirty stage productions and films, holds a B.A. in Humanities, and an M.A. in Theatre Studies. www.timothymarkdavis.com.
Jose Daniel Ordoñez Jr. (Video and Sound Editor) was born in Bogotá, Colombia and migrated to the United States at the age of twelve. He attended Biola University where he received his B.A in Cinema & Media Studies. After graduation, Jose founded Wish Creative with the promise of continuing to find beauty in every frame for years to come.
"You’d be amazed at just how many things make me cry."
Okay. is Lizz Mangan’s exploration of how we behave when we’re at our most vulnerable – and how we get by, even just for one night.
Lizz Mangan (Playwright — she/they) is a playwright and dramaturg with a devotion to promoting and supporting queer, female, and underrepresented voices. Recent credits include: staged reading of Defining Blue Spray Paint with Eleven & One Theatre Collective, staged reading of Eyes and Teeth with Babycastles, workshop production of Icarus and Amelia Earhart Had Tea This Morning with Eleven & One Theatre Collective, a workshop production of Okay. at Manhattan Repertory Theatre's Summer One-Act Play Competition (in which she was a semi-finalist), and the workshop production of And The Lights Of The Borealis Were Shining at Gadfly Theatre's Final Frontier Festival. Lizz is an alumna of the University of Connecticut where they received their B.A. in Theatre Studies with a concentration in Playwriting and Dramaturgy, as well as the National Theatre Institute's Spring 2018 Advanced Playwriting Semester.
Featuring the talents of (L-R) Emily Hausmann, Sam Kamelhar, and Sage Newman.
Emily Hausmann (Director — she/they) is a queer New York City based actor, director, and theatre artist. Emily graduated in 2020 from Molloy College/CAP21 Musical Theatre Conservatory where they received a BFA in Theatre Arts. Most recently, they directed and choreographed The Wizard of Oz TYA Edition at the Madison Theatre in Rockville Centre, NY where they have been working as a director, performer, and Summer Intensive instructor since 2017. Emily is originally from Victoria, Texas where she discovered a love for theatre both onstage and off, and grew up assistant directing and choreographing shows in her community. As a performer, Emily has recently been seen in Cabaret on the Couch (Green Room 42/Dir. Elizabeth Fahsbender), Urinetown (CAP21/Parker Esse), Experience Marianas (World Premiere—CAP21/Sherri Eden Barber), Animal Wisdom (Town Stages/Heather Christian), and Hit the Deck (The Madison Theatre/Merete Muenter). @EmilyHausmann / emilyhausmann.com
Sam Kamelhar (Sam — she/her) is a freelance casting professional revisiting the stage after a 4-year hiatus. Select credits from her salad days include: The House of Bernarda Alba (Bernarda), Miss Julie (Julie), and Hamlet (Horatio). Thanks to Lizz, Sage & Emily. @samelhar.
Sage Newman (Alex) is an NYC-based performer who originally hails from Vancouver, BC. They most recently appeared as Sebastian in Irvington Shakespeare Company’s inaugural production of Twelfth Night. Prior to that, they were a member of Chautauqua Theater Company's 2019 acting conservatory, where they performed in such shows as A Midsummer Night's Dream, One Man, Two Guvnors, and Preston Max Allen's Agent 355. Favorite theatrical credits include the staged reading of Epic Fog’s new musical Dublin Rising, Three of Cups’ actor-musician production of Spring Awakening, plus productions of Mamma Mia!, Seussical, Hamlet, The Tempest, Salt-Water Moon, Julius Caesar, and Grease. Film/TV credits include New Amsterdam, I Won the Lottery, Homicide City, and award-winning web series Assigned Female at Birth. Instagram & Twitter: @sagebnewman
"This is not a breach of privacy, because I already know what he is doing there."
In John Cai’s The Gift, a student returns to China after his first year abroad in America. As moral and cultural boundaries blur, his little brother starts to feel like a stranger.
Yide (John) Cai (Playwright, The Older Brother) is a junior college international student from Shenzhen, China, studying Playwriting & German Studies at Emory University. He views himself sometimes as a poet in half-voluntary, half-compulsory exile, writing in his second language. He has spent almost seven years in America and, due to the pandemic, has been separated from his family in China for more than two years. He wrote this short play as a way to express and lament the heaviness in his heart.
Featuring the talents of (L to R) John Cai and Mateo Tewari.
Mateo Tewari (Director) is a Senior at Emory University from Atlanta, Georgia. He is majoring in Film and Media Studies. During his undergraduate career, Mateo has attended and organized several service trips with Volunteer Oxford and interned at Sensing Nature LLC. While at Sensing Nature LLC, he created short educational films for audiences of all ages. In his free time, Mateo enjoys photography, filmmaking, graphic design, and hanging out with his friends.
"So I’m going to ask you about your work, but I’m not sure if I’m really interested or not."
Date by Amy Goddard unravels one woman’s unapologetic quest for authenticity while finding humor in social anxieties old and new.
Amy Goddard (Playwright, Woman) is a Los Angeles based actress, writer, and producer. She is best know for her role as Ellen The Bartender in the beloved Smokers Allowed episode of the TV comedy series Nathan For You. Ms. Goddard is the creator of the 5-episode web series Another Day With You on Whohaha. She is a proud Women In Film honoree for her work on the series. Her screenplay You Know You Love Me was a 2020 Screencraft Drama Competition finalist and a 2021 Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist. Goddard is a Sarah Lawrence College theatre graduate. Date is her first play.
Featuring the talents of (L to R) Amy Goddard, Barry O’Rourke, and John Zinman.
Barry O’Rourke (Man) was born in Sligo, Ireland, made a splash in the New York City Off Broadway hit Away Alone in the early 90s, and reprized his role in Los Angeles under the direction of Fionnula Flanagan. His first starring role in the feature Cityscrapes paired him opposite Balthazar Getty and Adam Scott. He works frequently with indie director Jane Spencer, most recently on South Of Hope Street opposite Michael Madsen and Judd Nelson. Mr. O'Rourke is also a voice actor and plays the lead role of Thomas Burke in the video game Mafia III. He recently appeared on an episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and just wrapped the indie movie Water Over Blood, shot in Ireland.
John Zinman (Director) is originally from Irvington, a proud Irvington High School graduate, and an alum of Micheal Penta’s drama program. He is an Emmy-nominated TV and film writer and producer whose credits include Friday Night Lights (Emmy nomination, Peabody Award), Gold staring Matthew McConaughey, and Tomb Raider staring Angelina Jolie. He’s very happy to be working with his home town theater.