THE ALTERNATIVE
THEATER COMPANY
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Playwrights Bios
ELANA BASOVA (The Accountant) Having spent the early years of her career in the business world, Elana had a strictly defined relationship with art – art was something to be admired, appreciated, worshiped even, but, most importantly, outsourced to those more capable and, probably, more tender souls who not only had the courage to dig among the cobwebs within to find talent, but, also, the audacity to shamelessly proclaim the presence thereof. When, alongside her analytical role at Nasdaq, she started writing news segments for the company’s talk show, Elana had discovered that the world of words had, surprisingly, made much more sense to her than the world of numbers ever could. These days she spends her time uncovering the mysteries that words continue to bring, hoping to, maybe, also brighten someone’s day along the way.
FAITH DE SAVIGNE (The Religionistas) is a New Yorker living in Australia where she has her plays performed as well as in the USA, New Zealand and Canada. She is thrilled to be back in New York even if just virtually.
LAWRENCE DUKORE (Only Angels Have Wings) Lawrence began his writing career with the Richard Pryor film, Greased Lightning. His television play, A Mistaken Charity was produced by Lindsay Law for PBS/American Playhouse and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for best dramatic writing. Mr. DuKore has written daytime tv serials: One Life to Live for ABC and Search for Tomorrow for NBC. For Saturday morning television, he wrote the cartoon series, Thunder Cats and Silver Hawks. His plays have been produced regionally and off-Broadway. Exploding the Swan had its world premiere at the Montauk Playhouse. His play, Spinsters, was presented at Tennessee Stage (Knoxville)and also at CenterStage, SC. More recently, Tennessee Stage presented, Carry Me Back to West Virginia. His one act play, The Day That Brando Died, was a finalist in the Heideman Awards at the Actors Theatre in Louisville, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre (Michigan) and CenterStage. Stained Glass, premiered off-Broadway at the Metropolitan Playhouse and Hamlet’s Ghost s premiering is at the Rough Magic Shakespeare Company, AS. Recent Productions: Sunshine, Teatro LATEA, Skating on Thin Ice, Abingdon Theatre Company.
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SUSAN JACKSON (Land of Camaan) received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award -Best Original Play. Her works have been staged- read/produced in New York City, the Bay Area, Eugene O’Neill Foundation,and abroad. Finalist/semi-finalist: Fusion Theatre Company, Creede Repertory Theatre, South Carolina Centre Stage, Little Black Dress Ink Women’s Theatre Festival; Resident Playwright for 3Girls Theatre Co. Samaritan--finalist for the Henley Rose Competition-Female Playwrights. 2018, 2019, 2020 Finalist for the 3Girls Theatre Festival. Death Be Not Loud!--Best of Capital Fringe with Washington Post positive review. Published by Smith and Kraus. Participant: William Inge Festival/Mid-America Theatre Conference; Last Frontier Theatre Conference.
RUSSELL NICHOLS (Going Viral) is a speculative fiction writer and endangered journalist. Raised in Richmond, California, he gave up all his stuff and now lives out of a backpack with his wife, vagabonding around the world since 2011. His plays have been produced internationally by Nylon Fusion, Funhouse Anthology, Fade to Black Fest, the MOJOAA Performing Arts Company, the UK's Science Fiction Theatre, and others. Usually set in the near future, his stories revolve around concepts of race, mental health, technology and the absurdity of existence. Look for him at www.russellnichols.com.
FRANCES RORKE (Six Feet Apart) returns to The Alternative Theater after the staged reading of I Am the Turtle last year. There are three kinds of people in life: the checker players, the chess players and the non players. The checkers see everything in black and red, forward and backward. Everything is measured in losses and acquisitions. The chess player,has quite a repertoire , a quick wit and an adaptability, the skilled ones inventing a finite set of rules and maneuvers seemingly unpredictable and limitless. The third, you don't meet too often and even if you do, these are off the board,, play by nobody's' rules and it's anyone's guess from moment to moment just what game they're playing. Rorke is a recluse.
LEZLEY STEELE (Jesus, Hitler and JFK) Lezley's first play Hide and Seek opened on Broadway in 1980. It has had eighty subsequent productions. Lezley has written a number of plays since. They have been produced in the US. Canada and in Europe. She has written two musicals with composer E.A. Alexander: Another Kind of Hero, about Raol Wallenberg, and a musical for children based on the diary of Ann Frank. The musical, Ann Frank has toured the US and has been seen by over 200, 000 children. She has received 13 awards, prizes and fellowships for playwriting.
DIRECTORS BIOS
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JUDY DODD (Going Viral) directed Phone Friend for last year’s Altered Minds series. She directed Crush and Elevator Repair for Alternative Theater’s #metoo plays. Other directing credits include off-off Broadway theaters and the Ramaz School. Judy teaches acting privately and in schools in the NY area.
CELINE HAVARD (The Accountant/Jesus, Hitler & JFK) as Artistic Director of the Alternative Theater she’s very grateful to everyone who’s supported BelieveAbility going virtual. Last season she directed Hang-ups and Dragged as part of Altered Minds at ATA. She has directed regionally, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway. She was a founding member of Abingdon Theater Company and Stagedotorg. Favorites: the world premiere of When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream & Shout by Sharman MacDonald, Captive, by Jan Buttram published by Samuel French. Other NY companies where she has worked: MTC, the Women’s Project, Pulse Ensemble, the Drama League and the Greenhouse Ensemble.
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DRUCIE MCDANIEL (Six Feet Apart) has directed for industrial and documentary film, PBS, and stage- regional, Off-Broadway, and University; favorite productions include Rumors and Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike at Steel River Playhouse, Shooting Simone at Walnut Street Theatre, and How I learned to Drive at Nu-Ance Theatre. She has written and directed for Rosenbach Museum, The National Constitution Center, and The Smithsonian Institution. For 10 years, she was Artistic Director of The Theatre Caravan, writing and directing over 30 plays for National tour. Drucie has taught acting at three universities, including 27 years at University of the Arts. She is a founding and current faculty member at Walnut Street Theatre, and has her own studio where she offers classes as well as private coaching-clients include Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Saxton and on-set coach for Creed and Creed II.
KIM SHARP (Land of Camaan) is happy to be working with The Alternative Theatre having directed Sholeh Wolpe’s Holy Corona for the July BelieveAbility presentation. As a director, he enjoys bringing vitalizing material to the stage. For Urban Stages, he directed the NYC premier of Death of a Driver by Will Snider. Recently he directed Wolfgang Novogratz in Ronan Noone’s The Atheist. Thanks to Celine for the opportunity, to Susan Jackson for her many-layered script and Laura Johnston, Susan McDonald and Alyssa Simon and for their fine talent and adventurous spirit.
MICHAEL SUSKO (Religionistas) is an award-winning Director/Choreographer/Playwright/Educator. Directing credits include The Bigot (off-Broadway), Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Casa Manana, New Bedford Festival Theatre, Cider Mill Playhouse, Theatre by the Sea, Paper Mill Theatre, Westchester Broadway, Arizona Broadway and Arkansas Repertory. In NYC his work has been seen at the Midtown International Fringe Festival, Network Theatre Company, Equity Library Theatre, and The New Short Play Festival where he is Artistic Director. He currently teaches playwriting at ATC Studios (Clifton, NJ) Michael holds an MFA in Playwriting (Goddard College), and a BFA in Musical Theatre (The Boston Conservatory)
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JEAN TAIT (Only Angels Have Wings) has directed Hello Dolly (starring Pamela Myers and Harvey Evans), Saving Grace, the award-winning Over the River and Through the Woods, Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, the critically acclaimed Over the Tavern, Pack of Lies, Tsunami Tales, and Steel Magnolias (starring Donna McKechnie, Pamela Myers, Sally Mayes and Emily Swallow) in addition to numerous musical reviews with Donna McKechnie, Amanda McBroom, and Linda Purl. She directed The Proceedings and Can You Hear Me Now? as part of The #metoo Plays with the Alternative Theater Company in 2018 and It Gets Better as part of Altered Minds at ATA last season.
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