DUGOUT DAISIES by Julissa Mishay Norment
JULISSA MISHAY NORMENT (Playwright) is a dynamic and inventive award-winning playwright, bookwriter and lyricist that strives to create and diversify theatrical experiences, primarily through a Black, Queer and Feminist lens. Julissa is currently an Abbott Musical Theater Collaboration MFA candidate at Temple University.
CHEYENNE PARKS (Director) (she/her) is an actor and director based in Philadelphia. Special thanks to my parents and friends for humbling me. Always to Uncle George.
SHALINYAH CAMPBELL (FEFE) is an artist based in Philadelphia, PA and currently an acting major at Temple University.
JESSICA MONEY (Stage Directions) is a Philadelphia-based actor and a graduate of Temple University’s musical theatre and acting programs. Favorite credits include: Olive Ostrovsky (Spelling Bee), Nettie (The Color Purple), Sarah (Ragtime), Miranda (The Tempest), Urchin Swing (Little Shop of Horrors). @money226156
SUMIAYA NAFEESAH (TAE) (they/she/he) is an artist based in Philadelphia, PA. Sumiyah began acting at nine and continues to live in their passion.
JAIME JARRETT (General Manager) (they/he) is a Philly/NYC-based theatre artist. They are currently studying at Temple University to receive their MFA in Musical Theatre Collaboration.
LORETTA’S CREMATORIUM HOUR by P.S. Drake
P.S. DRAKE (Playwright) is the nom de plume of PJ Sallans — an avid playwright and actor involved in many theatrical endeavors around the state of Michigan. Her plays False Goddess and Geek in the Sheets were both selected for the Eastern Michigan University Theatre One Act Festival 2020/2021. Her work has also been performed by Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, Break the Chain Theatre Company of Detroit, Bug Pit Collaborative Arts of Ypsilanti and the Ridgedale Players. In 2020, her play Advice for Losers was produced by PTD Productions of Ypsilanti for their first-ever virtual theatre production. Her play The Resurrectionist made it to the final round of the Sauk’s Plays-in-Development 2022. As an actress, P.S. is most interested in writing plays she would like to be in. Her work is full of dynamic women, physical comedy and quick one-liners. Check out her website psdrake.com for more info.
SHELBY R. SEELEY (Director) is a Yale-certified director from “Downriver” Michigan with passion for new work development. Collaborators call Shelby nuanced, honest and creative. Find her at shelbyrseeley.com.
KELSEY BOOTH (Stage Directions) graduated from the Stella Adler Conservatory this June. Before that, she attended EMU and earned her BA. Most recent credits: Norma (Perfect Arrangement) and Mallory (Lizards).
AVERIE BUELLER (Loretta) is a New York-based actress. Averie has performed off-Broadway and in several LGBT plays. She is signed with Bright Artists Management.
CLARA TRISTAN (Mae). Actress, Foodie, Free Spirited, Latina, Bilingual and Creator of projects that influence the industry. My two homes: Panama and New York. claratristan.com
FREESTYLE HAND ENTRY by Elise Wien
ELISE WIEN (Playwright) is a writer who likes to make her plays like cakes — with a frosting of slapstick comedy, a moist inner layer of complex emotional landscape, and a molten core of ethical dilemma (OPEN WIDE). Her plays include Osher & The Infinite Curtain (Residency, VoxLab), OTP (Production, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), [cowboy face] (Winner, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting; Finalist, Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers), Craters, or the making of the making of the moon landing (Production, Smith College; Reading, Corkscrew Theater Festival). She is a recent graduate of Boston University’s Playwriting MFA program.
LIZA COUSER (Director) is a director of new plays and musicals. Recent: MEAT (The Tank), Tracy Triceratops and the End of History (VoxLab). lizacouser.com
GABBY POLICANO (Ches) is a New York City-based actor. Recent: Let the Right One In (Berkeley Rep), Soft Target (New York Stage and Film). BFA Acting: Boston University. @gabbypolicano/gabbypolicano.com
18 by Darius M. Buckley
DARIUS M. BUCKLEY (Playwright) is a dramatist, published author, performing artist and native Detroiter. He studied Broadcast and Cinematic Arts at Central Michigan University and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting at Columbia University. A few of his playwriting credits include: The Fly & Incredibly Dope Adventures of Tyrone Jenkins: A Detroit Hip Hop Musical (CMU and the Detroit Fringe Festival), Thin Places (115 Short Play Festival) and The Bridge (Columbia University). Darius has also written and directed films such as: The DEFY Film, 5: A Visual Poem, American Thriller, Wonder Boy and Making Tyrone: A 1VK1 Mini Documentary. His literary publications include Wonder Boy: A Science Fiction Short, Only The Golden Sky Knows and his first novella, HAZE: Book One. His calling is to write soulful Black stories that inform, inspire and heal. Stories that embody the pain, joy and magic of young Black voices.
CATALINA BELTRÁN (Director) is a theatre director from Bogotá, Colombia, currently studying her final year of the MFA Theatre Directing program at Columbia University.
DJ DAVIS (JAY) is an actor and producer. He hopes you enjoy the show and leave a little different than when you came in. starringdjdavis.com
AUSTIN BLAKE SASSER (TREYVON) is currently an NYC based actor. Some credits include: Titus Andronicus, Pass Over, Polaroid Stories, As You Like It and Ragtime!
DARBY DAVIS (Dramaturg) is an interdisciplinary storyteller, theatre practitioner and dramaturg. Credits: All These Activist (script supervisor), 18 (dramaturg), How To Get to 304 (dramaturg).
DAVID O’BRIEN (Producer) has produced workshops, original plays and a virtual benefit concert. Columbia MFA Theatre Management & Producing ‘25. Thanks, Darius!
SPACE LASER, IN SPACE! by Jillian Blevins
JILLIAN BLEVINS (Playwright) is a Massachusetts-based playwright and theatre artist. Her short plays have been performed in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, New Haven (CT), Providence (RI), and Portland (ME). In 2020/21, she conceived and produced Digital Dionysia, a six-week online new works festival of 24 original plays by playwrights from all over the country and the world, which featured her plays Izzy at Zoom Therapy and Be The Bacchae. Her queer historical dramedy Romeo & Her Sister received a developmental staged reading at Orlando’s Whiskey Theatre Factory. This summer, her one-act The Bed Trick was workshopped as part of the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska.
PETER SAMPIERI (Director/Stage Directions) directed 50+ productions including off-Broadway/regional theatres in NYC, Boston, Chicago and LA. Teaching: NYU, Brown, Northwestern, NEC. Directing/Performance professor: SSU. Proud union member: SDC.
STEPHEN CALISKAN (David) is a recent graduate of Salem State University, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre performance.
ANYA SABEN (Talia) is a senior attending Salem State University pursuing her BFA in performance. She won National Best Scene Partner at KCACTF 2023.
NUB CITY, USA! by Nicholas Hulstine
NICHOLAS HULSTINE (Playwright) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based theatre artist. On stage he’s appeared in Tuesday Night Poker (Theatre Row), Foreign Gothic (FringeNYC), The Dazzle (John Cullum Theater), The Flick (The Alley Theater) and Nobody Bunny and the Golden Age of Animation (Theatre 502). Film credits include My Friend Dahmer, Above Suspicion, The Art of Self Defense, Chopin, Runner and Great Light. His plays include Happyouth (Gene Frankel Theatre), The Track N’ Hole (Prologue Theatre, Chicago), Blue Scatters Most (The Secret Theatre) and The Geography of Nowhere (The Chain Theatre). He’s the co-founder of the Louisville Fringe Festival. Education: The American Musical and Dramatic Academy; BA: The New School; MFA in Playwriting: Spalding University.
JON McCORMICK (Director). Axis Theatre Co. member. Selected NYC: Donkey Punch (SoHo Playhouse), 3-D Hamlet (Edinburgh Fringe), No Exit (59E59), Thunder Rock (ReGroup Theatre Co).
ADAM COUPERTHWAITE (Dwayne). Green Eyes (PS 122), Follow Me to Nellie’s (Premiere Stages), Waiting for Lefty (Working Theatre), No Snakes in This Grass (Lincoln Center), LadyBug Gonna’ Getcha (EST).
MICHAEL HAUSCHILD (Glen). Second City LA, UCB NYC, Skinny Improv, ABC’s What Would You Do?. Selected TV and film credits include The Black List and feature film (Untitled).
HE’S THE FIRST by Phillip Gregory Burke
PHILLIP GREGORY BURKE (Playwright/Producer). His plays chronicle the sociology of the African Diaspora and illuminates the intricate intersections of Blackness and queerness and are all connected to the same universe.
BRANDON M. WEBER (Director/Producer) is a multifaceted theatre and film artist dedicated to making works that break down the stereotypes within the ethnic diaspora.
COLE GILDER (Zach) (they/he) is earning their BFA in Acting at Pace University, and will next navigate Black Queerness in pumpernickel, written and directed by Keelay Gipson.
ANSI A. RODRIGUEZ (Stage Directions) is a Bronx native and graduate of The City College of New York (BA Theatre). He is signed with Core Talent Agency.
RUBEN ST. VILUS (Ernesto) is a first-generation, Haitian-American, Brooklyn-based actor. He loves the craft and is honored to give life to this piece.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_separator type=”normal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text]
2023 OOB Festival Credits
Festival Sponsor
Concord Theatricals
2023 Festival Judges
Jason Aguirre
Christina Anderson
Hilary Bettis
Eleanor Burgess
Steph Del Rosso
Jason Eagan
Skylar Fox
Gracie Gardner
Margaret Ledford
Jill Rafson
Jonathan Silverstein
Emmanuel Wilson
Honorary Playwright
James Ijames
Festival Artistic Director
Casey McLain
Literary Director/Opening Night Party Moderator
Garrett Anderson
Festival Host/Client Manager
Abbie Van Nostrand
House Manager
Tyler Mullen
Box Office Manager
Rosemary Bucher
Marketing Team
Meredith Foster
Jeremiah Hernandez
Courtney Kochuba
Imogen Lloyd Webber
Festival Production Coordinators
Cambria Martin
Clare Rankine
Alexandra Varitek
Festival Support Staff
Ella Andrew, Victoria Bond, Meredith Foster, Shaina Gilks, Jeremiah Hernandez, Ben Keiper, Rachel Levens, David McMaines, Gabriela Morales, Nate Netzley, Kristen Rea, Rachel Smith, Faith Williams
2023 Submissions Readers
Ella Andrew, Caroline Barnard, Caroline Bohnenberger, Jim Colleran, Charlie Coulthard, Sequoyah Douglas, Meredith Foster, Marquis Hardin, Rachel Levens, Amy Rose Marsh, Debbie McLean, David McMaines, Elizabeth Minski, Gabriela Morales, Tyler Mullen, Alexander Perez, Kristen Rea, Rachel Smith, Abbie Van Nostrand, Sarah Weber, Faith Williams
Special Thanks
Sean Flahaven, Bill Gaden, Concord, City Theatre Miami
About Concord Theatricals
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Jeremy O. Harris, Kander & Ebb, Tom Kitt, Ken Ludwig, Marlow & Moss, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anaïs Mitchell, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Theresa Rebeck, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production.