Little Black Dress INK is SO excited to be partnering with some truly stellar producers for this year’s ONSTAGE Project play readings! We’d like to introduce you to the awesome women who will be directing/producing this year’s readings.
Santa Barbara, CA – Producer/Director: Kate Bergstrom
Reading date: Saturday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m. at Left Coast Books
Kate Bergstrom, the head of Drama at Laguna Blanca School, is a Santa Barbara native and graduate of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television with a degree in acting and directing. As a director, her thesis production of Woyzeck with an all-female cast was featured as a sponsered department show. She has spent the last three years working as an educator, director and performer in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, bringing theater into classroom curriculum through Blue Palm, a Silver Lake arts education organization and the Laguna Performing Arts Department. As an actor (AEA), she has performed in everything from Medea with Annette Bening to an installation as part of Suzan-Lori Park’s 365 Plays/365 Days. Her directorial work centers around the blurred lines between the self and other in relationship to gender, politics and socioeconomic identities. She most recently conceived and directed Wholed – a performance at REDCAT in the Walt Disney Concert Hall with members of the Performing Artists collective she spearheaded, GSF. She collaborates with artists Meg Wolf, Kristina Wong, Kristin Grace Erikson (AKA Kevin Blechdom), Patrick Kennelly, Jonathan Snipes, Nicole Disson, D’Arcy F-M, Hannah Phenecie and more. Her directorial work has been seen at UCLA, The Series, Anatomy Riot, The Mandrake, Sneaky Nietzsche, Highways Performance Space and CARTEL’s “Fort.” Her most recent directorial undertaking, King of Shadows by Roberto Aguire-Sacasa, with Elements Theater Collective, runs in alternative spaces in Santa Barbara throughout February.
Ithaca, NY – Producer: Darcy Rose, Acting Out NY
Reading Date: Saturday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. at Acting Out NY
After studying acting at UCLA, Darcy Rose made a living as a professional actress for many years in Los Angeles. Her credits include several national commercials as well as roles on Grey’s Anatomy, Dinotopia and Without a Trace. In 2012, Darcy moved back east to be closer to her family in Ithaca, NY. She then opened Acting Out NY, a performing arts studio for kids of all ages. At Acting Out NY, kids learn all sorts of acting techniques and create their own film productions during classes, camps and workshops. See more of what’s going on at AONY on their website: www.actingoutnewyork.com.
Sedona, AZ – Producer/Director: Kate Hawkes, Red Earth Theatre
Reading Date: May 4th at 5:00 p.m. at the Sedona Arts Center
Red Earth Theatre provides a platform to inspire and nurture many voices through live performance, and encourage dialogue exploring the human condition in our diverse communities. www.redearththeatre.org
Producing Artistic Director: Kate Hawkes
Originally from Australia, Kate holds degrees in Education and Counseling, and an MFA in Directing from the University of Portland. She is a freelance theatre professional, arts in healthcare consultant and long time educator. She created Performing Wellness ™ an arts in healthcare writing/performance process and has worked professionally in all aspects of theatre, from acting, directing, producing, writing and management for over 25 years. Kate is a co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of the new Nthn Arizona theatre company, Red Earth Theatre. (to contact Kate go to: www.wellnesswithkate.com)
Waco, TX – Producer/Director: Tiffany Antone
Reading Date: Sunday, April 13th at 2:30 p.m. at the Waco Civic Theater
Tiffany Antone is the creative mind behind Little Black Dress INK & its Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Project. She is also a director, playwright, instructor, and dramaturg, whose plays have been read or produced in Los Angeles, NYC, D.C., and AZ. Tiffany is looking forward to another successful ONSTAGE Fest, and can’t believe her good fortune at working with such amazing partner-producers this year! Having just moved to Waco, TX, she’s also immeasurably happy to have been welcomed by the Waco Civic Theater, and looks forward to introducing some fantastic female writers to the community.
Los Angeles, CA – Producer/Director: Mary Jo DuPrey
Mary Jo will be directing the staged reading of our ~FINALISTS~ at the Los Angeles Theatre Centre on Sunday, May 18th at 12:00 pm/noon PST. This reading will be viewable on www.HowlRound.com
Mary Jo DuPrey is a faculty member at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television where she directed “MGM: My Visits with My Grandmother Marta,” “In the Company of Jane Doe,” Charles Mee’s “Big Love,” “Who is Selma Teller?,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and an original musical, all female version of “Lysistrata.” Other Productions: World Premiere of “Arroz Con Pollo” at The Complex, “Jane Doe” for The Blank Theater’s Living Room Series, and the World Premiere for the Los Angeles Theater Ensemble. Last Spring, “What May Fall” for Theater of Note, LA Weekly Pick of the Week. Most recently, an acclaimed production of Jeffrey Archer’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” included in Bitter Lemon’s Best Productions of the Year and part of the Actor’s Co-Op’s LADCC’s Polly Warfied Best Season in Los Angeles Award. Readings for the Marianne Murphy series include “Anna in the Closet,” “Dolley,” and “Lost Cause.” Associate Producer: the Indie Festival Award winning film “Nothing Special,” with Karen Black. Mary Jo is a graduate of Vassar College. She earned her MFA in Directing from UCLA, is a recipient of the NYU Professional Certification in Filmmaking, and an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
This time, the theme was Planting the Seed. When I thought of planting, I immediately thought of flowers, so naturally, I had to write a play called Flowers for three male actors about social immobility and top soil.
