PROGRAM 15
PROGRAM #15 (4TH FLOOR)
A White Girl's Understudy by Isabel Beatriz Tongson
Pulse by Edu Díaz
A white girl’s understudy
Written by Isabel Tongson
Directed by Skylar Hudson
Synopsis: Lyn Talaga has achieved her childhood dream. She is an off-stage understudy in the new Broadway play Speakeasy Love and covers the principal female role. However, her greatest love is the show's leading man and dating the leading woman. During a performance of Speakeasy Love, Lyn is forced to confront the reality of her job, recalling memories of how she attained what she thought was success in an industry that does not cater to her, and, along with other artists who have been forced out of the spotlight, reflects on how her work has changed her identity. Lyn imagines herself in scenarios onstage playing opposite of the play's star, but as the drama of Speakeasy Love bleeds into her reality and Lyn attains more than she bartered for, she must ask herself if her greatest desires are truly authentic to the artist she is.
Skylar Hudson (Director) is an actor at Columbia University, graduating with an architecture degree. She feels so privileged and excited to direct her first production, especially one with a cast and crew so talented! Previous film directing credits include her personal projects Love, again and Live for Me. Select acting credits include Next to Normal (CMTS), Fun Home (Barnard Theater), and How to Get to 305 (Columbia MFA).
Nalyah Deloatche (Stage Manager) is a technician at heart but she is currently on a Stage Manager streak! You may have seen their work as Assistant Stage Manager for Columbia University Player’s Equus, Stage Manager for Kings Crown Shakespeare Troupe’s Richard III, and Lighting Designer for Anastasia and Next to Normal with Columbia Musical Theatre Society! Her next up and coming project with CMTS involves being Technical Director and finally going back to her tech roots for Ride The Cyclone!
Jasmine Richards (Technical Director and Sound Designer) is a performer and creative working in theatre, film, and television. They are passionate about bringing funny, sensitive, and strange stories to life and are proud to have done so most recently as a production assistant and performer in The Builder’s Association’s ATLAS DRUGGED: Tools for Tomorrow and as the director’s assistant on the Hulu television series Only Murders in the Building (Season 4). For more see jasminekrichards.com.
Miranda Paiz (Producer) is a Latina theatre artist whose work as a director and producer focuses on marginalized voices and examining social justice stories through an intimate lens. Favorite previous credits of hers include directing Next to Normal, Legally Blonde and 24-hour Matilda with the Columbia Musical Theatre Society. As president of the Columbia University Players, Miranda oversaw and produced seven full length productions and the organization’s first theatre festival. She is proud to have worked as a producing intern at Soto Productions (All Nighter, Gypsy, Romeo + Juliet, Suffs, Stereophonic) and to currently serve as the Production Assistant Coordinator in the Glicker-Milstein Theatre at Barnard College. Find her @mirandagpaiz on Instagram.
Isabel Tongson (Playwright) is a Filipina-American playwright, actor, and director based in New York City. Select writing accolades: two-time winner of the Blank Theatre Young Playwrights Festival, two-time Gold Key winner for Dramatic Script from the Scholastic Art and Writing Association, winner of Best in Show at the Central Florida Theatre Festival for Dramatic Script, winner of the Valencia College BIPOC Playwrights Festival, Semi-Finalist for the Gary Garrison National Ten-Minute Play Award by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and finalist for the #ENOUGH Plays Project. Her original plays have been produced by colleges and production companies across the country, notably The Blank Theater of LA, Valencia College, and the MD Virtual Ensemble. Her play Droplets Pellets Bullets is published in an anthology and is available for licensing by Concord Theatricals. isabeltongson.com.
Melody Chen (Lyn) is a Chinese-American actor, singer, and choreographer. She believes every swing and understudy on Broadway should get $7 million base salary, every tax write off, and the ground they walk on to be worshipped. She is currently a second-year at NYU Tisch Drama’s New Studio on Broadway. Recent credits include Amelia/Swing in Feminista! (NYU NSB Mainstage), Lucullus/Others in Timon Of Athens (The Elif Collective), Featured Dancer/Swing in Footloose (Broad Street Players), and Assoc. Choreo/Swing/Dance Cap in RENT (NYU Tisch Drama Mainstage). She makes a www.melodyluojiachen.com
Cyrus Carrillo (Ben): Off-Broadway: A Midsummer Night’ s Dream (Atlantic Acting School); Middletown (Atlantic Acting School); Lost Girl (Atlantic Acting School); $$$ Pig (The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals). Other New York Credits: The Threepenny Opera (Tisch DramaStage); The School for Scandal (Hudson Classical Theater Company); The Boyscout in theBurning Hall (New York Theater Festival); Progressive Family Play (The Tank). Regional Credits: Macbeth (The Curtain) Training: NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Atlantic Acting School, Stonestreet Studios. Website: www.cyruscarrillo.com
Jason Maina (Andrew) is so excited to be working on A White Girl’s Understudy. A recent graduate from Fordham University with a BA in Performance Studies, Jason has been working professionally in NYC for 2 years having gone to Powerhouse Theater Festival the past two years with playwright Gloria Majule. You may have recently seen him as Timon in the Elif Collective’s production of Timon of Athens, Erhart in Burn1’s production of John Gabriel Borkman—alongside Tony winner Austin Pendleton, and PAUL at Fordham University. He is so excited to be working with such a talented group of young artists!
Aly Hernandez (Taylor): Off-Broadway: Women of Trachis (Atlantic Acting School); Fefu and her Friends (Atlantic Acting Studio). Training: NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Atlantic Acting School, Stonestreet Studios. Website: www.alyhernandez.com
Jaeden Riley Juarez (Sienna) currently studies Computer Science at Columbia University in the City of New York. In addition to her studies, she vocally trains with Harolyn Blackwell and actively pursues her passion for photography. Regional credits: West Side Story (Rosalia, Maria u/s, Anita u/s), Merrily We Roll Along (Meg Kincaid), and Footloose (Ariel Moore). Educational credits: The 129th Annual Varsity Show (Rachel). On screen, she has appeared in Teenage Girl: First Wheels and Teenage Vampire. Follow her journey on Instagram: @jaedenrileyjuarez @jrjcreativemedia
Cameron Herring (Bo) is a Los Angeles native thrilled to be playing Bo in this remarkable original piece. Recent credits include Antigone (Creon), Columbia Senior Thesis Festival, Trouble in Mind (Wiletta) Barnard College Theater Department, Next to Normal (Diana) and In the Heights (Vanessa) with the Columbia University Musical Theater Society, and Jackie (Jackie Kennedy) with the Barnard College Theater Department. Cameron is eternally grateful to have collaborated with such talented artists on this production. Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy!
Instagram: @cameronmarieherring
pulse
Written by Edu Díaz
Directed by Chris Goffredo
Synopsis: What do you do with 15 extra minutes of life? Jose, a struggling playwright, finds out on his fatal Off-Off-Broadway debut. Stuck between the living and the dead, he rewrites his life in this love letter to broken dreams and drama.
Edu Díaz (Playwright, Producer, and Actor: Jose) is a multi-awarded Fulbright Alumni from The Canary Islands based in New York City. Defined as a crafty theatermaker, he created the multi-awarded solo show A Drag Is Born. With PULSE, he honors the short life of three dear friends as he reflects on broken dreams and the transcendental power of love. Follow Edu on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/edudiazactor/
Elisabetta D’Avenia (Actress: Chiara) is an Italian-born actor and writer based in New York. In 2024, she played the lead role of Lina in the staged reading of Froci, by Frank J Avella at The Tank. On-screen, some of her credits include lead performances in the films Wrong Move and Baby, both presented and awarded at several film festivals. Follow Elisabetta on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/elisabettadavenia/
Jonathan Glass (Actor: Adrian) is an actor and classically trained musician with diverse stage and film credits. He has honed his craft in classical and contemporary techniques and brings a unique sensitivity to his roles across theater and screen. His credits include Darkness of Light: Confessions of a Russian Traveler (The Chain) or Twin Towers (The Players Theatre.) Follow Jonathan on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jonathanbglass/
Kayla Gomes (Voiceover: Kayla Gomes) is an LA-based actress born on a cattle ranch. As a kid, when she wasn't competing as a barrel racer at rodeos, she performed in dance, recitals, musical theater, and her choir was invited to perform in Carnegie Hall. Kayla holds a BA in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego and got her first TV credits as a newscaster on iTV Channel 16. Follow Kayla on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kaymariegomes/
Chris Goffredo (Director) has directed shows in several NYC cabarets (including for Lillias White, Karen Mason, Judy Kaye, Tovah Feldshuh, Priscilla Lopez, Jim Caruso, and Billy Stritch). He directed The Pajama Game and Once On This Island at the Barn Theatre in Montville, NJ. He was also Vocal Director for The Wiz with Penn State Thespians and The Bacchae at The Looking Glass Theatre NYC. Chris worked on Edu Díaz’s Off-Broadway premiere Fantastic Mr S for the United Solo Theatre Festival.