PROGRAM 9

Program # 9 (3Rd Floor)

Between the Wired Fence by Kevin T. Durfee

Dear Diary by Kevin Cheng

Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Erin Moughon

Last Train to Nevada by Pascal Phoa

Shannon Adams-Gray (Sawyer McKinney) is so excited to take to the stage again after a long hiatus. After meeting Kevin during a production of An Enemy of the People in 2012, Shannon has spent the last several years performing alongside him in the At Your Expense Improv troupe and is so honored to be included in his third production. Off-stage, Shannon is a photographer under the name Shannon Adams Creative and spends her days capturing and preserving love stories. Special thanks goes to Shannon's family, friends, and husband James for their unwavering love and support! 

Elisa Falanga (Delivery Girl) is excited to be a part of this production! Elisa has been performing her entire life and is currently in her last semester at Circle in the Square Theatre School, where she studies musical theatre. Her New York credits include roles in new-work Professional Workshops and shows in the Circle Graduate Repertory season. Roles include Alice in The Creature (Alexa Derman), Rosetta Wakeman in new musical Wakeman (Jenn Grinels), female swing in A Midsummer Night's Dream (dir. Mark Barford) and featured ensemble in Urinetown (dir. Jeanne Slater). Thanks to Kevin for providing the opportunity to share his words and story. Also, special thanks to family and friends for all of the support they have given through these past years.

Daniel Bishop (Odie / Tucker) is thrilled to be back after last appearing in Poems Of… [Insert Title], a Factory Series at the Chain Theatre.  Some past favorite credits include: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Sebastian), Dog Sees God (Matt), and Pippin (Leading Player). Thanks to Kevin for the opportunity. IG: @dude_named_dan_200

Kevin T. Durfee (Playwright / Director) is a queer artist and playwright who uses the art of storytelling to understand the world around him. Kevin is excited to debut Between the Wired Fence as part of the Chain Theatre One-Act Festival. Past productions include full-length plays, Poems of… [Insert Title] (2024, Factory Series at the Chain Theatre) and Oh, Those Little White Lies (2017, Mosaic Theatre Company), in which he produced and directed. He was a finalist in 2023/24 INKubator Playwrights Program. A special thank you to his family, friends, cast, creative team and the Chain Theatre for allowing this dream to become a reality.

Rafaella Rossi (Stage Manager) is a Manhattan based stage manager and is thrilled to be a part of The Chain’s One-Act Festival and this production of Between the Wired Fence. Proud Hofstra graduate; credits include: Keith Huff’s Six Corners and Garbageman, David Rabe’s In the Boom Boom Room, Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play, Comedy Troupe The Usual Rejects, Frederick Knott’s Wait Until Dark, and Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Erin Layton’s Magdalen at United Solo Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Jonathan Larson’s RENT Edinburgh Fringe Festival with On the Quays, Much Ado About Nothing (The Brick), Else C. Went’s Old Names for Wildflowers with The Renovationists.

Emily M. White (Director) is a director, dramaturg, and arts administrator. Previous directing credits include Passover Parodies and The Box (Places in 10 Festival) with Script Club NYC, and several shows with Living Radio NYC. New York dramaturgy credits include Coal Country (The Public Theater), White Rose (Theatre Row), The Roaring Girl (Theatre Row), and more. She is currently the Editorial Manager at New York City Center and has a BA from Emerson College. She is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and her work has been published on HowlRound Theatre Commons. You can catch more of her directing work in Program 8 of the festival, in I Hate the Dedham Mall.

Kevin Cheng (Playwright / Pablo) is a Taiwanese actor and writer based in New York City. He received his training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and HB Studio. Notable theater credits include: The Seagull (HB Playwrights), It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Fiction Brooklyn), The Cherry Orchard (Under St. Marks), Pedo Punchers (Producers Club), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (A.R.T./New York). Film: Light in Shadow (2019), The Unbearable Weight (2024), and Hong (2024). Kevin is deeply interested in telling stories that highlight human connections and explore how people grope their way toward a sense of equanimity in face of unexpected life events.

Elizabeth McBryde (Josie) trained in musical theater at the Young Americans College of Performing Arts, later touring with the company in Japan and Germany. She continued her studies in opera in Cologne, Germany, under private coaching. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has worked as an international spokesmodel, model, and emcee for various brands. She is also a singer-songwriter specializing in alternative and jazz music, as well as an event and film producer, and a personal stylist.

Hana Roh (Stage Manager) is an international actor currently training at HB Studio. Since her experience as a dancer in The Eye That Saw Death in Tennessee Williams Theater Festival (2023), she has been fascinated by theater's liveliness and power of collaboration. She aims to incorporate her training in Shakespeare, musical/jazz singing, Laban Drives to an intimate and authentic storytelling.

Erin Moughon (Playwright) (she/her) is an award-winning playwright and teacher based in New York City.  Her plays have been produced across the U.S. and in England, Canada, Australia, and France. Selected short plays can be found in editions of The Best Ten Minute Plays edited by Lawrence Harbison and Debbie Lamedman and her monologues can be found in Voices of America Vol 1, 3, & 4 edited by Mike Lesser of the Playground Experiment. Her play Prewritten won the 2024 best play award from the Loved Ones series by Broken Arts Entertainment. She was commissioned by the Educational Theatre Association to write short adaptations for their design lesson plans.  She is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and an Arthur Miller Fellow. 

Perryn Pomatto (Director) This is Perryn's third production in a Chain Short Play Festival, having previously directed A Rose By Any Other Name by DC Green in the 2023 Summer Fest and Requiem for a Bench by Helene Galek in the 2024 Winter Fest. He has also directed plays featured in the Heartbroke and Blurring Boundaries festivals for the New Ambassadors Theatre Company and the Boo and LUV fests for The Players Theater. The latter of which, This is What Doctor Shapiro Was Talking About by Matthew J. Kaplan, plays over Valentine's Day weekend. He was also the founder and Artistic Director of the sketch comedy show The Grease Monkeys for egarage.tv. Thank you so much to Erin for entrusting me with her words and to the actors for making my job so easy.

Claire Shiell (One) (she/her/hers) is an actor, singer, improviser, director, pretty good tap dancer, but most importantly, a menace to society. She can often be found performing improvised one act plays with her improv team The Attic Players at The Tank, or making up musicals with her musical improv team Unheard Of! in the back room of a bar near you. She's done too many readings, workshops, and plays to name and this bio is long enough, so just trust her on that. Proud CAP21 alum. @claireshiell 

Matthew Menendez (Two) Theatrically and film trained actor Matthew Menendez has played roles in short films, indie series and original staged productions in New York such as Aunt Jack and Mary of Astoria. The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts is where he honed his skills to gain experience and recognition. He continues to work with indie writers and directors in short film series such as Ignis and theatre festivals like the Chain Theatre. In his spare time he loves to submerge himself in RPG video games and sing his heart out in karaoke, until his first record deal. He waits patiently for his first big break in a network or steaming series.

Pascal Phoa is a NYC-based actor from Indonesia who has a passion for classical and contemporary plays. He would like to thank the Chain Theatre team for giving him this opportunity to showcase his artistry. He is beyond thankful for his friends, family, and artistic collaborators and mentors for their unwavering support throughout his career. His recent acting credis include Macduff in Macbeth (Circle in the Square Theatre), The Ghost in Princess Hamlet (The Flea Theater), and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Commonwealth Shakespeare). Training: Circle in the Square Theater School. @pascalphoa

Gwyneth Benitez-Graham (she/her) is an NYC-based multidisciplinary artist. She is a recent graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School’s Musical Theatre Conservatory and is very excited about this project! She is very grateful to the Last Train to Nevada team for this opportunity, and is eternally thankful to her partner, family, and friends for their support. @instagrahamgwyn

Yibin Wang is a New York-based theater and performance director from Hangzhou, China. Yibin’s interdisciplinary work explores cross-cultural experiences, new technology, and vibrant audience relationships. His recent directing/curatorial projects include Cabin (East Village Basement), A Hunger Artist (Lenfest Center for the Arts), A Tree Has Not Yet Woken Up In A Dream (Beijing Fringe Festival), Playdate (En Garde Arts), A Theater Letter To You (Columbia University), The Vanya Project (Columbia University), Designing Care (Hangzhou Fengshan Community). BA, Bard College; MFA in Directing, Columbia University. @yibinbillwang