PROGRAM 3

Cheesecake by Darpan Joshi

Maybe Tomorrow by Brian Leahy Doyle

Our Place in the Daylight by Marissa Alaniz

ALEX BEECHKO (actor):

Alex, sometimes called Alexandra, graduated with a BFA from the Hartt School and studied at UCB and Atlantic Acting. Some theatres they've had the opportunity to perform in: Hartford Stage Company, HERE Arts Center, Hudson Theatre Guild (*nominated best actress), Actor's Studio, and The Pit Loft. Alex recently wrapped playing a vampire named 'Jackie the bartender' in the campy queer horror feature "Crimson Shadows" and Shirley, the outspoken, comedic relief in the short film "Across 1949" entering into the festival circuit this fall. She's grateful to be able to tell stories and be a part of this festival amongst fellow artists during this wild, frustrating time. IG: @thealexbeechko 

JESSE R TENDLER (actor):

Jesse R. Tendler is an award-winning professional actor, director/filmmaker, and former child star whose career spans nearly four decades. TV & film acting credits include: The Ellen Burstyn Show (series regular); The Thorns (series regular); The Secret; Are You Afraid of the Dark?; Law & Order; Leaving Circadia; The Unborn; and many more. He has appeared in nearly 100 national network TV commercials (Clio Award Winner: Best Child Actor in a TV Commercial), numerous radio spots, and several video games (Bully, Grand Theft Auto, etc.). Theatre credits range from Hamlet and Cymbeline to Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood to Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party and also include various new works. Past films (Frankie, Deadbeat, Leaving Circadia, Family On Board, 16mins) have won Best Picture, Best Director, and Audience Choice awards at a multitude of film festivals, including being selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 2016 Oscars. As an entrepreneur in both the entertainment and education industries, Jesse is the co-owner/co-founder of Intimation Productions, Loop Group NYC, and Maximum Potential Education. 

DARPAN JOSHI (writer, director)

Darpan Joshi (he/him) is a writer, filmmaker, and theatre artist living in NYC. He writes scripts for both film and stage (and an occasional poem); stories with immigrant roots, inter-racial relationships, existentialism, global flair, and characters that are easy to adore or abhor. When not writing or indulging in dramantics, he can be found in the kitchen experimenting with adding hearty Indian spices to full-blooded American desserts. 

DAN JESSUP (Michael) is an actor and host with experience across theatre, TV, film, commercial campaigns and live events. Sentimental credits include Shark Tank: The Musical, NBC’s Chicago Fire, and sharing the good news about McDonald’s breakfast menu. This past May he proudly was part of playwright Martin Murray’s latest project, Good Things Happen, at Columbia University. He carries 15+ years of improvisation and devised theatre experience from his time in Chicago, and has worked as a live event host for 20 years. Thanks to Monica and Brian for the great collaboration, everyone involved with Chain Theatre’s festival, and you for your support! www.danjessup.com

MONICA MIST (Ellen) is thrilled to be part of her first production at the Chain Theatre. A classically trained actress originating from Australia, Monica has played leading roles ranging from original festival theatre productions (Pacing the Cage, The Driver’s Bus Knows No Stops) to touring with a Shakespeare repertory company, and everything in between. New York roles include Lady Markby in Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband and Kathleen in Ted Tally’s Terra Nova. She gives thanks to her family and friends for their endless love and encouragement, and for theatre being back. monicamist.com

BRIAN LEAHY DOYLE (Playwright/Director) earned his MFA in Theatre from the University of Utah, where he served as the first resident dramaturge of the Pioneer Theatre Company. Directing credits: Whole Theatre, Cincinnati Theatre Festival, Louisville’s Classics in Context, Irish Arts Center, Riverside Shakespeare, Open Eye, 92nd Street Y/Makor, and the New York premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernitz’s The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Playwriting: Greetings from Fitzwalkerstan (Broom Street Theatre, Madison, WI); The Chancers! (The Players, New York); The Weeping Woman (with composer Michael Dilthey, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA); Light from the Pleiades (English Theatre Düsseldorf); Starry, Starry Night, Dining for One, and Telepathy (Secret Theatre); Dead End Kids (KNOW Theatre and Chain Theatre); and Maybe Tomorrow (KNOW Theatre’s 2021 Playwrights Festival). His one-act play, The Architecture of Desire, is featured in The Best New Ten-Minute Plays 2021. His book, Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), focuses upon the restoration of historic theaters in Wisconsin and has received the Theatre Historical Society of America’s Outstanding Book of the Year Award. Thank you, Dan and Monica, for being my dream cast! https://brianleahydoyle.wixsite.com/brianleahydoyle

Maybe Tomorrow was first produced at the KNOW Theatre in Binghamton, NY in November 2021. The play was directed by Jeff Tagliaferro and featured Joe Hoffmann and Jean Graham.

Special thanks to Michael Bucklin, Michael Dilthey, Tim Armacost, Jonathan Mernit, Bernie and Aimee Doyle, and Dr. Belle Doyle Cowden, and Christina, Kirk, and Rick of the Chain Theatre!

Marissa Alaniz (playwright) 

Marissa (she/her) is an actor, playwright, and theatre maker. Though she has lived all over, she now calls New York City her home. Focusing on big questions, her work lives in the world of dark comedy and often explore queerness, trauma, and misfits. She holds an Associate's degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (Los Angeles) and a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she received an award for Excellence in Drama from the Lee Strasberg studio and minored in Linguistics. She is a founding member of the Imaginarium Theater Company, which advocates for equity and sustainability in the theater. She is thankful for the endless support from her partner Kyle, The Chain for believing in her voice, her talented cast and crew, and her agent Michelle. IG: @malanizofficial Website: www.marissaalaniz.com

Korey Caron (director)
Korey (she/her) is a director and live-event producer based in NYC. Recent projects include The Land of Turquoise (reading, in-person), Several Miles from Nowhere (Emerging Artists Theatre, in-person), Gen (virtual), and Asphodels (virtual). Thank you to the cast and crew and all who made this piece happen! IG: @itsnotcoreykaren

Sid Parker (Present Ashton)
Sid (she/her) is an NYC-based actor/singer/dancer and a newly-minted graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, attending both the Lee Strasberg Institute and Stonestreet Studios during her studies. In past productions, she has portrayed Janet Van De Graaff (THE DROWSY CHAPERONE), Allison (BACK WHEN WE FELT CLEAN), Eliza Doolittle (PYGMALION), Laertes (HAMLET), Rita Parrot (BLOOD AND PRAYER), and Real Louisa (IMAGINED DIALOGS). She enjoys reading, Japanese food, playing the ukulele, Bollywood movies, studying butterflies, and cultivating her ever-expanding herb garden. Sid thanks the creative team, her former professors, her parents, and her friends for their unabating support and guidance. IG: @sidcparker Email: sidcparker@gmail.com

Sean Coffey (Present Lucian)Sean (he/him) is an actor based in Westchester, NY. He studied at Fordham University and is absolutely delighted to be returning to the Chain Theater Festival once again, having previously performed in their production of The Gospel of Efunroye last year. Some other favorite theater credits include: Dear Brutus (Mr. Lob, Alpha NYC Theater Company), Cabaret (Ernst Ludwig, Sherman Playhouse), Hedda Gabler (George Tesman, Red Monkey Theater Group), The Gospel of Efunroye (Consul Benjamin Campbell, Soho Playhouse) and The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Capt. Arthur Hastings, Red Monkey Theater Group). He is currently serving as the resident dramaturg for the Arachne Theater Collective and has also appeared in their productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom) and The Menagerie Cycle (Harvey Keller). Very special thanks to Marissa, Korey & this entire wonderful cast! Hope you all enjoy the show! 

Colleen Gold (Past Ashton)

Colleen (she/her) is so happy to be making her Chain Theater debut! Theatre: Broadway Sacramento, Pasadena Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, TPAC, Attic Theatre, Syzygy Theatre. Colleen is also a proud alum of Broadway Dreams, Music Academy International, and the Pasadena Musical Theater Program. Film/TV/Media: “Three Women”, “Come Together”, “Almost Midnight”, “Soul Provider”,  “Back to the 80s”. Colossal thanks to her friends and family for their support. Colleenegold.com

Cuinlan Pedretti (Past Lucian)

Cuinlan (he/him) is a singer, dancer, actor, and creator from the Philadelphia suburb of Haddonfield, New Jersey. He loves the little things, from a micro expression to a firm beat. He has been in several productions at NYU’s Tisch Drama, including We Are Proud to Present … Between the Years 1884–1915, Runaways, and Pregnancy Pact. He is relishing the return of physical theater and has recently performed in the new Michael the Musical. He can’t wait to dive head first into any medium or form of expression that presents itself.

Toni Machi (Intimacy Coordinator) 

Toni (she/her) is over the moon with being a part of this production. Previously, she could be found as a burlesque performer in the New York nightlife, collaborating with Rose Freeman and City Lyric Opera, working for reproductive justice, or teaching flying trapeze. Toni holds a BA in physical theater and movement from Columbia College Chicago. All the love to SVH and Benny.