PROGRAM 16

PROGRAM #16 (4TH FLOOR)

Dogs by Alexander Gisondi

Eaters by Reese Carmen Villella

Pit Stop by Shaena Gibson

Thoughts & Prayers by Lisa Beth Kovetz

Alexander Gisondi (Playwright) is an emerging playwright and actor based in New York City. His work explores the complexities of human relationships and the ever-shifting sense of self in the modern world. He enjoys reading during his commutes and rooting for the New York Mets. He is excited to share his work at The Chain Theatre Festival and thanks his family and friends for their continued support. 

Shawn Guerra (Director) is a visual artist excited to be making his theatre directorial debut at The Chain! His other work includes directing scenes at HB Studio, short films, music videos, fashion editorials, and working as a photographer specializing in analog portraiture. He has also been featured as an actor/performer for the Heights Players as George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play), Gustav (Dinner at Eight), and Lobster Man (Cowboy Mouth). A huge thank you to Alex, Karina, the cast and the Chain for making this show a reality. 

Isaac Hayman (Carl) born and raised in Indiana, is an artist and award-winning actor currently residing in New York City. Growing up, literature and cinema greatly shaped his adolescent life. Writers such as Albert Camus and Jack Kerouac had a great impact upon his understanding of the written word; and actors such as James Dean, Philip Seymour Hoffman, River Phoenix, and Marlon Brando illustrated that the thoughts and feelings behind the written word didn't need to live solely upon the page.

Alice Jamal (Fatima) born in London to a French-British mother and Middle Eastern father, discovered her love for performing at a young age, starring as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at age 8. She honed her craft with three years of training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, followed by two more at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City. Alongside acting, Alice is a classically trained singer and model. She enjoys spending time with her dog, Cosmo, and her cat, Safa, who bring joyful chaos into her life. 

Scott McPherson (Gavin) a native of South Florida, discovered his passion for acting in school— then after a decade in print media and marketing as a creative director in Los Angeles, he moved to New York City and began his professional acting career in 2020. Since then, Scott has appeared in several TV series and short films, including on an episode of Max’s And Just Like That and CBS’s FBI: Most Wanted.  Theater credits include The Hot Mikado, Sonder, & Shayaya: Apocalypse.

Shaina Briguglio (Connie) is a Meisner actor from New Jersey. She splits her time between the stage in A Few Good Men as Lt. Cmder. Joanne Galloway and film as a goth nanny in an original horror film Motherface. 

Annie McCarthy (Winnie) is an actor from New York. She is a graduate of the William Esper Studio’s conservatory program. Since graduation she has done a number of short films as well as a handful of staged readings at The Actor’s Studio. Currently she continues her training at MN Acting Studio for on camera and audition technique. She takes great pride in her AMC Stubs A-list membership. 

Amaury Lopez-Diaz (Busker) Amaury, a half-Texan, half-Mexican artist, loves Beto Quintanilla, tennis, playing bass (although primarily a drummer), making indie rock music, and adding güiro to it.

Karina Verna (Stage Manager) is a theatre artist based in New York City who loves delving her hands into every part of theatre making. She is thrilled to have had a chance to sit behind the table and be a part of the inner workings of bringing DOGS to the stage. She would like to thank Alex and Shawn for the opportunity to be a part of this process and this incredibly talented cast for being so wonderful to work with. 

Reese Carmen Villella  (Writer & Director) (she/her) is a senior at NYU, filmmaker, and writer for screen and stage from Washington, DC. Her stage work has been presented at The Tank, The Chain Theatre Summer One Acts Festival, NY Winterfest, and NYU’s Broke People Play Festival. As a filmmaker, she has directed the short films Glutton and Boy Mom as well as the music video Under My Skin for indie artist Jules Wade. As an artist, Reese is passionate about queer and female-centric narratives, body horror, and knowing how to have fun. While not working on creative projects, she enjoys curating Pinterest boards, logging horror movies on Letterboxd, and listening to Lana Del Rey. @reesevillella

Carter Williams (Stage Manager) (he/him) is so excited to team up with the powerhouse that is Reese Villella once again. This time behind the stage! He would like to thank everyone for coming out to support the arts tonight. 

Nani Lin  (Max) (she/her) Originally from the Bay Area, Nani is a queer Chinese-American musician, actress, and screenwriter based in NYC. Graduated with a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch, Nani’s writing commonly explores themes of identity, family, and love. As an actress, she plays both on stage and screen and wants you to cast her! As a musician, she recently released an EP, “Speaking Things,” available on all streaming services. She’s honored to be part of this show and hopes you enjoy it! Insta: @Naniliin

Sasha Ray Simon (Junie) (she/her) is a senior entering her last semester at NYU. Sasha is invested in and excited by the world of horror and loves to make art dedicated to the genre. 

Drew Schoenhofer (Amber) (she/her) is a New York City-based actor currently studying at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU. Prior to transferring to NYU, she studied Drama at Southern Methodist University for two years. There, she played roles such as Belly in We Are Not These Hands and Dora in The Swan. She is so excited to be studying in the city and collaborating with such inspiring artists, and she is thrilled to be working with Reese again in Eaters! 

Shaena Gibson (Playwright/Director) is a Brooklyn native theatre maker trained at The City College of New York. As of last year, she began writing plays, Pit Stop being the first of many. Pit Stop originally debuted at the One Act Festival directed by Gyandro Marselia. She cannot be more proud of the work her cast and crew has done to put it on its feet and she thanks Chain Theatre for recognizing and pouring into her work. 

Gyandro Marselia (Asst. Director/Stage Manager) also known as Gyo, is a Creative Fool from the beautiful Caribbean Island of Curaçao. He is very grateful and excited to be a part of the creative team for Pit Stop, this round as a stage manager. Gyandro is also a talented actor, poet and visionary, who directed the first rendition of Pit Stop at the CCNY Theater Department’s One Act Festival in Spring 2024. The best is yet to come. 

Daquan Johnakin (Yusuf) Go Birds. Hello, I’m DaQuan Johnakin, an actor fresh out of Brooklyn. I love my art , making people smile, entertaining the audience and I love my Eagles. 

Talia Johnson (Kiara) is a Freshman at the City College of New York who’s majoring in theatre. She has been acting since she was 8 years old, and hopes to make it to Broadway someday. This is her first performance outside of college and she’s so excited to perform! 

Briana Goding (Their Creator) loves the art of storytelling as an actress and director. She is a recent graduate from City College. Her performance credits include Night Vision (BMCC), The Wolves (Aaron Davis Hall), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Aaron Davis Hall), and Something Machine (The City College of New York). Recent directorial credits include her first off-broadway debut as Assistant Director for Antiquated F*ckery (59E59 Theatre), Bat-Shady (The City College of New York), My Boyfriend’s Wife (The City College of New York), Beyond Therapy (The City College of New York), and Assistant Director for Pipeline (Aaron Davis Hall). Briana hopes to continue giving through her art. 

Micheal Gordon (Kiara, Understudy) is an aspiring actor with a knack for stories. He has hobbies in dancing and photography which he also uses to make art. He loves music, movies, and reading. His first role was in A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Chan Harris as Fairy. And then he was a casted as Scotty Glazer in Megan McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts, directed by Daisy Bernabe-Duarte. Now, taking on the role of Sound Designer in I Wanna F*ck Like Romeo & Juliet. He has many interests in the performing arts industry, and is excited to learn all he can about it. 

Amy Ollove (Elena) (she/her) is an actor and production/stage manager based here in NYC. Amy thanks this team for their creativity and thoughtfulness! Recent credits include; Nurse of Birth in Body Mutilations, Scylla in Lauren Komer’s Audio Play Lamia, Helen Cooper in Night of the Living Dead, Mom in The Man of My Dreams Lives in West Hollywood at The Tank and 4th grade bully, Shelby, in The 4th Grade Christmas Dance Play in the NY Theater Festival; Her age range is vast. Some of Amy’s favorite roles include Narrator (Every Brilliant Thing), Grandma (American Dream), and various fool characters in her award-winning thesis Foolish Sanity, including Fleabag and King Lear’s Fool. Amy has also stage managed numerous musicals and plays throughout the east coast, soon including Something Rotten opening at Gallery Players in March, and has worked as a production manager, most notably at her alma mater’s theater, Brandeis University. Amy studied theater in London and in a comedy conservatory at The Second City, Chicago- now regularly performing with her improv team, @NoDudsImprov. (Love to Mum, Dad + L+G!) [IG; @Amy_Ollove, Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/@amyollove]

Patrick Ganley (Nathaniel) (he/him) is a film and stage New York-based actor and model. Ganley studied at Skidmore College and has continued studying acting at The Stella Adler Acting Studio in New York. His recent credits include roles on film and stage as Eric in the play Body Mutilations, as Caleb in the NYU Short Film, Just a Fantasy, James in the feature film, Face the Music, Greyson Grey, and Achelius in the audio play Lamia. He is excited to be involved with the production of Thoughts and Prayers at the Chain Winter Festival.

Lauren Komer (Director) (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based director and theater artist. A majority of Komer’s work explores the convergence of theater, film, and interactive media. Komer is obsessed with deviancy, disgust, and the dark urges that lay in wait within the psyche. She rejects linear, naturalistic storytelling and embraces highly visual, fragmented, and referential narratives. Her work is steeped in pop culture, eroticism, mysticism, and postmodernism. Her work has appeared in NYC, Boston, and internationally in Europe and the U.K. She is a Theater Arts Fellow of Brandeis University (B.A. Theater Arts with Highest Honors). Komer also studied playwriting, theater theory, and screenwriting at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University. Follow her work @postmodernlady_

Lisa Beth Kovetz (Playwright) is an award winning writer and producer, best known for her ten seasons as showrunner on Science Goes to the Movies. Her novel, The Tuesday Erotica Club was published by Sourcebooks, Inc. With Flying South Productions, Ms. Kovetz created the Jazz Baby series presenting classic nursery rhymes set to jazz.

Niveka Hobaichan (Playwright) (shey/they) Niveka is a writer and actor from Queens, New York. She dedicates this performance to her brother and her grandmother.