Drowning Ophelia
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"...witty, poetic, and psychologically true." - Theatre Storm
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"...a present-day drama that explores timeless truths." - Broad Street Review
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"This poetic and powerful production...understands that sometimes what’s in our head is more real than what’s outside of it." - Phindie
University of Indianapolis's live streaming production of Drowning Ophelia is coming April 20-24, 2021. Click here to preregister.
Moscow, 2019 |
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Directed by Carly McMinn for The University of Idaho Cast: Alexa Lamers as Ophelia Katharine Sonas as Jane Joseph Winder as Adam Rhys Colson as Edmund Photos by Chian-ann Lu |
Philadelphia, 2016
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Directed by Daniel Roberts for Eager Risk Theatre & Ensemble Atria Cast: Lindsay Andreanszky as Ophelia Victoria Rae Sook as Jane Levi Morger as Adam Erik Endsley as Edmund Photos by RKD Photograpy |
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Scranton, 2016
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Directed by Jonathan Strayer for Gaslight Theatre Company
Cast: Jessica McDonough as Ophelia Alicia Nordstrom as Jane Timothy McDermott as Adam Jeremy J. Kemmerer as Edmund Photos by Brad Barry |
San Francisco, 2013
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Directed by Ellery Schaar for Repurposed Theatre Cast: Kirsten Dwyer as Ophelia Katharine Otis as Jane Ryan Hayes as Adam Will Trichon as Edmund Photos by Ted Davis and Robbie Sweeney |
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"Abused" - An MFA Design Thesis by Allyson Conover
"Abused" 2019
A Creative Thesis by Allyson Conover featuring characters from Drowning Ophelia |
Drowning Ophelia was selected by Allyson (Kochanek) Conovor, a student of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts MFA program, as one of two plays used in her final Wigs & Makeup Thesis Project, "Abused." From Allyson: "I believe art lives and breathes when it is given purpose and meaning. As artists, we have a unique opportunity to say what we want in whichever creative way we can dream of. For my thesis, I wanted to use my platform to bring awareness to abuse. Far too many silent victims go throughout life stifled and broken because there is not enough empathy towards them and their situations. I chose Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale and Rachel Luann Strayer’s Drowning Ophelia because in each show there is a victim and an abuser. If you or someone you know has suffered from abuse of any kind whether it be emotional, physical, verbal, or psychological, I want you to know I empathize with you and have attempted to encapsulate these feelings and emotions through my art." You can see more of Allyson's work here. |
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Models:
Carson Grant as Ophelia Kate Baxter as Jane Aaron Hungerford as Adam Photos by Jack Layer Wigs & Makeup by Allyson Conover |
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The Poe Asylum
La Plume, 2018
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Directed by Rachel Luann Strayer for Keystone College
Cast: Patients - Michael Calabro ("The Black Cat"), Colin Franko ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Samantha Layne-Perkins ("The Premature Burial), Dalton Nixon ("The Pit and the Pendulum"), Aleigh Smith ("The Raven") Figures - Jasmin Cone ("The Black Cat" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Timmy Dempsey ("The Raven" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Michelle Romano ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Felicity Rudden ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Premature Burial"), Jessica Troy ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Premature Burial") Hope - Eileen Walsh Interactive Cast - Laura Doyle, Dana Jackson, Jillian Alyse Kemmerer, Qwintin Krenitsky, Aaron Leety, Karin Mappes, Alex Nebraski, Meg Oyer |
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Scranton, 2016 |
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Directed by Jeremy J. Kemmerer, Jonathan Strayer, and Rachel Luann Strayer for Ghostlight Productions Cast: Patients - Grace Doolittle ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Laura Doyle ("The Premature Burial"), KK Gordon ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Jeremy J. Kemmerer ("The Pit and the Pendulum"), Jillian Alyse Kemmerer ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Jonathan Strayer ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Rachel Luann Strayer ("The Raven") Figures - Joel Gardoski ("The Premature Burial"), Crista Gaskill ("The Premature Burial"), Dana Jackson ("The Premature Burial"), Julia Risitano ("The Premature Burial"), Luke Sayre ("The Raven"), CSU Acting Students ("The Pit and the Pendulum") Interactive Cast - Nikki Lucier-Denison, Karin Mappes, Cecilia Sayre |
Gaslight Theatre Company: PlayRoom
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Over the course of eight years I was commissioned to write eight unique short plays for Gaslight Theatre Company's PlayRoom Series. Conceived by Matthew S. Hinton in 2012, PlayRoom takes one ordinary room of a house and stages multiple stories by several playwrights. All of my short plays for PlayRoom can be read on New Play Exchange.
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Brandi George and Meaghan Alfano in The Next Step, directed by Wendy Hinton, 2014
Playwriting in Quarantine
While live theatre productions have been postponed during COVID-19, there has been a new push for online theatrical content. I have been privileged to be a part of this brave new world of online theatre with virtual readings and productions of the following short plays and monologues.
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Produced by Auburn University:
Light Light the Way Back Produced by Centerstage Theatre: Ghost Story Produced by Millersville University Theatre: I'll Be Zooming You Light the Way Back Safe as Houses The Next Step Produced by The One-Minute Play Festival: Light 
Tony Ortega performs QUARANTINE EATING for Theatre is the Cure.
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A scene from Auburn University's production of LIGHT THE WAY BACK.
Produced by Theatre is the Cure:
Quarantine Eating Still Life Ghost in the Wall Produced by The Bechdel Group: Character Points Produced by Creative Works Lancaster: The Single Ladies Cozy Murder Book Club Produced by SUNY Plattsburgh: The Next Step |
