PROGRAM 25

PROGRAM #25 (4TH FLOOR)

Ava and Ty by Megan Medley

The Chemistry Test by Emily Bradshaw

Why We Write by Eryn Harris

Amy BG Bruhns (Ty) (they/them) is a Bay Area-born actor, playwright, director, and avid nerd. BG graduated from the BFA Acting program at Pace University and was recently a part of The Interstitial’s production of You Must Wear a Hat at Theaterlab. They are also an arts educator and are currently a dance teacher with kindergarteners in Brooklyn. You might also find them buying house plants, repairing their bike, or playing video games for 10 hours straight. Website: www.amybgbruhns.com

Gabriella O’Fallon (Ava) (she/her) is an actor and director recently relocated to NYC from Seattle. In the city she has assistant directed for Tectonic Theater Project and The Rally Cat, and worked with Taproot Creatives on three previous, delightful, productions. Favorite credits from further west include Romeo + Juliet (ACT Theatre), The Nether (Washington Ensemble Theater), Doubt (Beck Center for the Arts), and As You Like It (Seattle Shakespeare Company). Gabriellaofallon.com

Megan Medley (Playwright, Director) (she/her) is a playwright and theater-maker whose plays include She Said, She Said, As Eden Burns, Without God As My Lover, and Ava and Ty. Megan is a co-founder of Taproot Creatives and her work has been produced and developed with this collective throughout NYC and beyond. Awards include: Semi-Finalist National Young Playwrights in Residence 2021, Semi-Finalist SheNYC 2021, Semi-Finalist Maxim Mazumdar New Play Award 2023, Second Rounder Austin Film Festival 2024, Finalist STN Short Play Festival 2024. Member: AEA, Dramatist Guild. Megan earned her MFA from the CWRU/CPH Acting Program. megan-medley.com @meg_the_med @taproot_official

Anita Castillo-Halvorssen (Director) (she/her) is a Venezuelan-Norwegian actor, singer, and educator originally from Colorado. She is a co-founder of Taproot Creatives, for which she has produced, directed, and/or acted in six projects since its first in 2021. She is an ensemble member of and artistic advisor for Notch Theatre Company and a proud member of the Ring of Keys coalition of queer women, trans, and nonbinary artists in musical theatre. Television: FBI (CBS), Harlem (Amazon Prime), Law & Order (NBC), The Good Fight (CBS). New York Theater: Red Bull Theater, New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, New Dramatists, New Ohio Theatre, Irondale, The Chain, The Tank, Theater for the New City, and Theatre Row. Training: Brown/Trinity MFA Acting, British American Drama Academy, Swarthmore College BA Film & Theater. anitacastillohalvorssen.com @anita_c7h @taproot_official

Carin Jennie Estey (Intimacy Director) (she/they) is a Theatre Artist based out of Southeastern Connecticut. In addition to working as an intimacy director/consent forward arts educator, Carin also works as a director, stage manager, playwright, producer, performer, and teaching artist. Carin was the intimacy director for Taproot’s 2024 productions of Without God as My Lover. Other recent productions include the CT workshop and subsequent New York premiere of gerstl took the easy way out at the New Ohio (Intimacy Director, Production Manager, Associate Producer), the original residency for Artreach, Inc.’s The Waiting Room (Production Stage Manager, intimacy consultant) and the subsequent 2023 workshop at The Eugene O’Neill, and Stir Crazy: Comedy from the Pandemic (Co-writer/co-director) which she presented on for the 2021 National Organization of Arts in Health Conference. Carin is the Event Coordinator for Artreach, Inc. | carin-jennie-estey.com

Taproot Creatives is a theater and film collective, championing works by and stories of women and other marginalized genders. Taproot is a recipient of the 2025 NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund grant. Its ensemble members are based across the United States and conduct a weekly writers’ workshop, through which AVA AND TY was developed. Taproot’s work has been showcased by the Tank, Theater for the New City, Yellow Bicycle Theater, Bluebird Theatre Company, STN New Play Festival, Chain NYC Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, Yonkers Film Festival, and Golden Short Film Festival. Learn more: https://linktr.ee/taproot_official Follow our work on Instagram: @taproot_official

Emily Bradshaw (Playwright/”Rebecca”) is delighted to be making her playwriting debut at The Chain One Act Fest. NYC Theater credits include The Importance of Being Earnestly LGBTQ+ (Off-Broadway), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Hudson Classical Theater Co.) and Matt & Ben (The Alpha NYC). TV credits include The Mega-Brands That Built America (History Channel) and Mysteries at the Museum (Travel Channel). Emily is originally from Long Island and a graduate of NYU. Visit www.EmilyMBradshaw.com . 

Tom White (Director) is a creative artist and performance coach who has worked in theater, television, and film for over two decades. As a director, Tom helmed the premiere of And They Danced 'Till Dawn, which was selected to open the acclaimed Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. A longtime performer at the UCB Theater, his comedic work has been featured in The New York Times, The New York Post, and The Today Show. Most recently, Tom can be seen in the box-office hit Terrifier 3—although he recommends you close your eyes.  

Daniel Yaiullo (“He”) is an actor, writer, and director based in New York City. He is happy to return to the Chain’s Winter One Act Festival after his short play Wronged premiered here last year, in which he acted opposite his current co-star, Emily Bradshaw. He stars in the series “Events at Hemlock Manor” and co-wrote/stars in “Nightfish,” a comedy pilot about two overnight aquarium employees. A feature film in which he appears, “Gothic Slayers,” received its premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month. Other notable credits include the off-Broadway premiere of Eric Bogosian’s 1+1 at SoHo Playhouse, Kenneth Branagh’s Macbeth at the Park Avenue Armory, and Dress of Fire with Austin Pendleton.

Eryn Harris (she/her) (playwright & director) is a Queens, N.Y. based writer, director and actor with a dual bachelor’s degree in Theatre & Performance and Playwriting & Screenwriting, from SUNY Purchase College. Purchase rep credits include: Wayne (J.J.), Just A Little Anxious (Justine), Making New Plays “St Jay” (Esther), What To Send Up When It Goes Down (Three), directing Thank You Mrs.Pike and The Beauty of Risk. Other credits include, As The World Caves In (Pierce) in the Chain and Secret Theater Festival 2024, directing Thank You Ms.Pike in the New York Theatre Festival 2023, Writing and Directing A Black Play? at Suny Purchase College. She would like to thank God, her talented cast and all the family & friends who have supported the production of this play. 

Kaira Rivera (she/her) (Assistant Director) is a 24-year-old actor, writer, and emerging assistant director from Manhattan, NY. Her artistic journey has crossed stages such as A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile and Mac Beth at SUNY Purchase, as well as a short film Justice with Sankofa Medias. Holding dual bachelor’s degrees in Playwriting/Screenwriting and Theater Performance from SUNY Purchase, she is honored to contribute to the curation of this beautiful piece. She feels gratitude to get back into her creative roots and to be surrounded by such talented artists.

Arielle Yasmine Moore (She/her) (Role: Passion) is a multi-disciplinary artist from Harlem, NY. Her favorite theatre credits are: Feste in SUNY Purchase’s 2023 production of Twelfth Night, Jacinta Condor in SUNY Purchase’s 2022 production of Serious Money, and Black Lillie Ann in SUNY Purchase’s 2022 production of Barbecue. All of these shows were done while she was an acting student in SUNY Purchase’s BFA Acting Program, which she graduated from in 2023. She is so grateful to be working alongside other Purchase alums and some new talented faces.

Angela Gonzalez (She/Her) (Role: Expression) is an NYC-Based Performer originally from PA. She began her training with AMDA and then completed her BFA in Musical Theatre at The New School just last year. This spring she is continuing her studies with Stella Adler because there is always more to learn and artistry to discover. Favorite credits include Marta in Company and Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors. When not in shows, Angela can be found photographing them :) Let's connect! | IG: @angelaofyork | www.angelaofyork.com | ❤️

Ayeraye Akosua (H.) (@ayeraslay) (Role: Legacy) is a storyteller and artist across many realms, dedicated to healing through creation. As a '22 Purchase Grad of Theater and Performance, she combines her film, screenwriting and Global Black Studies minors with her skills and love for makeup, visual arts, and dance towards Sankofa Medias: a production company founded with the mission of displaying and centering Queer Black Joy, Beauty, and Victories. As of January 1st 2025, Ayeraye's feature length debut Love Thyselves is available for public viewing. With heavy sentiment in this story, Ayeraye is cast as seven leading roles, and credited as Writer, Director, Producer and MUA. Other acting credits include Lotus and the Unlikely Crew (2022), and For Colored Women (2021). Writer/ Director credits include Justice (2022) and Ancestral Plane (2021), and other credits include Forever Evolving (2023) as CoDirector; Pink Drink Music Video by Khmeii (2023) and Sanctified Music Video by FkaProphet (2022) as Creative Director. She aspires to create beautiful and inspirational works of arts that enliven, empower and enlighten those within her community.

James McCallum (he/him) (Role: Revelation) is a writer, director and actor with a dual bachelor's degree in Literature and Playwriting & Screenwriting from SUNY Purchase College. Purchase rep credits include: The Walker-Kings as J.P Walker-King, Life After Cali as Isaac, and No Clean Clothes as Johnny Longhorn. He has performed at RCC in Dangerous Liaisons as the Butler, and in the RCC Shakespeare Company as Ferdinand in The Tempest. He recently made his directorial debut at Purchase College with his original play titled WAYNE. James is grateful for the opportunity to work with his dear friend and collaborator Eryn Harris, on her production of Why We Write and is excited to take to the stage.

Juli Harkins (Role: Teacher) a Harlem based performer, started acting again in 2022, after retiring from a 30 year career as a healthcare professional. She is thrilled to be a part of the Why We Write cast! Juli thanks her husband Derrick, daughters Lauren and Shannon, and toy poodle, Goldie for all their support.

David (Role: Boss) is excited to be part of this wonderful new play by Eryn Harris. He recently appeared onstage in a NYC production of Seminar by Teresa Rebeck at the Nubox Theater and in a new play, Happenstance, at the Kraine Theater. David can also be seen in an upcoming sitcom pilot, Loopers, currently screening at film festivals in NYC. David studies with Peter Jensen at T. Schreiber Studios and with Howard Meyer.

Instrumental Track from the “Token” scene was composed and mixed by Myles Joseph. 

Poster by Bryon Morris (Billy)