Week 3
How Sweet It Is by Anne V. Grob
Directed by Catherine H. Lamm
Catherine H. Lamm (Director) trained as an actress in the US and UK. She performed in Fringe and Off-West End Productions in England garnering critical attention for performances as Ophelia and Alice B. Toklas and toured productions in Europe. Returning the US she performed in Off-Broadway and regional productions. As a director, casting director, coach and dramaturg, she joined several theatre companies including The Chelsea Theatre Company both at BAM and The Westside Theatre as Casting Director. She has directed "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for The Players Theatre as well as many of the one-act plays in their "Short Play" series. She coaches in the audition process and playwrighting. She is the American Theatre Critic for “British Theatre Guide”.
Frenemies by Denisse Estefany Mendoza
Denisse Estefany Mendoza studied at the University of Texas el Paso, Playhouse West: Brooklyn, and the Magnet Training Center. She is a performer in the resident improv show “Chemical X” at The Vino Theatre and is the solo performer in the currently running kids show, “Niños Show Up!” at the Kraine Theater. Theatre credits include Poppy in “Noises Off!” with Sour Grapes productions, Maria in “Separated” with Headwall Theatre Company, Yasmin(u/s) in “Water by the Spoonful” at Premiere Stages, and various venues with her musical improvisation team “Everything Bagel”, including the PIT. Film credits include “Don’t Shoot the Messenger”, “Frenemies”, and “Daddy Hotline.”
$5 Dollah, $5 Dollah by Serena Norr
Directed by Michael Ortiz
Serena Norr (PLAYWRIGHT) is a writer, editor and playwright who has been writing plays since 2003. She is passionate about telling stories from different perspectives to awaken and inspire as well as to bring joy, healing, and understanding to all audiences. Most recently, her play “Run for Cover” was accepted into the Omaha Fringe Festival, which will be showcased in 2021. In the age of Zoom, her play “The Dividing Demons” was performed with Primary Stages, "The Bookstore" was performed in the Westchester CollaborativeTheater online festival and “Zoom Like No One is Watching” was performed with Sister Shakes for the Show Must Go Online Play festival and B Street Theatre's New Play Brunch. Her monologues, "It's the Michelle Jennings Show," "Waiting and Wanting, "Mama, Can You Hear Me? "Deep in Night Thoughts," "Behind the Bars" and “Zoom-A-Ference 2022" was performed with Vintage Soul Productions. Recently, her short "Secrets & Lies" was a part of The Queans Theatre REPRESENT festival, her full-length "The Demise of Baby Johnson" was showcased through the Dramatists Guild's DG Footlights Series, her play "Purdy's" was a part of the Omaha Fringe Festival, and her play “Morning Ritual” was performed as a part of Rogue Theater Festival. She is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Westchester Collaborative Theater.
Michael Ortiz is a New York-based actor, director, producer, and VR simulation specialist. He was raised in Orlando and received his BFA degree from the University of Florida in 2017. Outside of the theater, you can usually catch him throwing down in the kitchen or playing D&D. Directing Credits: Morning Ritual (Rogue Theater Festival), Zoom Like No One is Watching (Sister Shakes Productions), Drunk Shakespeare: Othello (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Stormy Weathers (Florida Players Productions).
Shopper's Paradise by Amy Drake
Directed by Michael Piatowski
Amy Drake is a playwright/dramatist, selected for The Kilroys List and the Kennedy Center Playwrights Intensive. Member of The League of Professional Theatre Women and a member of The Theater Makers Studio, former Ambassador for the Dramatists Guild of America, a former Board member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights. Her play Eyes Like Opaque Gems won Most Popular Play in the MITF Short Play Lab. M.A. in liberal studies/English and a M.S. in marketing and communication. Education includes Yale Writer’s Conference, University of Cambridge summer program in creative writing, graduate studies in literature at Reed Hall, Paris and playwriting at the Kenyon (College) Summer Institute.
Michael Piatowski (Director) For SPF: WHEREFORE? Writer, Director ZOOM 2020, THE DEPRESSED HUSTLER Player's Theatre 2019. Thanks to Amy Drake and my terrific cast. Glad to be back at SPF.
