Sixth One-Act Play Festival

by Claudia Haas

Giancarlo has died. Anna and Emilia run to Tess’s side to help her through this difficult time. But Tess is amazingly calm. Is the make-up of a family blood? Bones? Pasta and opera? If you’re Italian – it probably is.

Director: Bob Trisolini

Tess — Leona Collesano
Emilia — Francesca Mendolia
Anna — Gina Scarda

Francesca Mendolia (Emilia) originally from NYC where she studied vocal technique with the Singers Forum, taught Ballroom dancing at Fred Astaire Studios and performed as a Salsa Dancer with the Tito Puente Orchestra. She worked as a freelance makeup artist for print and TV: The Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha Stewart Show, Geraldo Rivera Show, and Joan Rivers Fashion Alert Show, also News Anchor Dan Rather and VP Al Gore. She is certified in MIND UP, an after school program (grades 3-5) in brain focused strategies for learning and living. In her spare time, as the owner of an Italian deli in Brooklyn, New York, she would invite her girlfriends to enjoy a makeup lesson in the back room or eat a salami sandwich! She has performed in various theater productions with the Players Theater (Follies), Manatee Performing Arts Center (Tony & Tina’s Wedding), Lemon Bay Playhouse (The Prisoner of Second Avenue), Island Players ( A Doublewide Texas Christmas), and recently the Sarasota Opera (Carmen, La Boheme). I am excited to be back on the stage with Theater Odyssey and my Italian “SISTAHS”.  

Gina Scarda (Anna) is an actor and comedian whose performing career has taken her from the stages of New York to Southwest Florida. Her New York credits include the Off-Broadway My Big Gay Italian productions—My Big Gay Italian Wedding, Funeral, Christmas, and Midlife Crisis. For more than a decade, Gina also performed and toured with The Italian Chicks, an Italian-American comedy troupe, bringing her particular brand of comedy to audiences around the country. Since making SouthwestFlorida her home six years ago, Gina has appeared in numerous productions at Lemon Bay Playhouse and Venice Theatre. Some of her favorite roles include Margie in Good People, Glorie in Grace and Glorie, Dory in Pie in the Sky, with additional credits including The Savannah Sipping Society, Calendar Girls and The Cemetery Club. Before the curtain calls and comedy tours, Gina spent 20 years with the NYPD, retiring as a Sergeant, a career that gave her enough characters and material to last a lifetime. A proud Italian-American New Yorker, Gina feels especially at home in Sunday Sauce. After all, a loud family, strong opinions, lots of laughter, and everyone gathering around a table of Italian food? For Gina, that’s not acting…that’s Sunday. Buon appetito!

Bob Trisolini (director) has a long history of producing, directing and choreographing shows for Broadway, Off-Broadway, cruise ships, theme parks, regional and community theaters as well as for corporate America. He was the founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative Inc.,a business theater agency in the metro New York City area. During his 23 years running the agency, he worked with such celebrities as Sammy Davis Jr., Rita Rudner, David Brenner, Beth Fowler, Ray Romano, Howie Mandell and the casts of many Broadway Shows. He was part of the creative and producing teams of the five-time Tony-nominated Broadway show Romance/Romance and the Drama Desk and Obie Award winner Olympus On My Mind. He directed six shows for Celebrity Cruise Lines and numerous shows for Walt Disney Entertainment, Disney Business Productions and Disney Special Events. At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, he was show director for the development and opening of Rhino Rally and creative consultant for Critter Castaways. Bob was part of acting companies of Highlands Playhouse, Flat Rock Playhouse (North Carolina) and Asolo Rep. 

Claudia Haas (playwright) — I have been privileged to work as a playwright for many years. As a freelancer, I have worked as a director, actor and teacher of theatre which has given me insight to how theatre works backstage, onstage and off the stage. I have created theatre in schools (including their gymnasiums and cafeterias), caves, nature centers and libraries. Theatre is everywhere. I have over fifty published plays which have seen over 1700 productions in every state in the U.S.A. as well as on five continents. (Still looking for Antarctica.) My plays have been popular in high school one-act play festival competitions and my ten-minutes are used regularly for forensics. My short plays (ten-minutes) are in numerous anthologies. I make my home in White Bear Lake, MN — home of the polar vortex, 10,000 lakes and the exquisite lady slipper orchid. There are cats on the keyboard, grown children nearby and an ever-supportive husband who supports my every endeavor and eats all my pasta dishes.

by Philip Middleton Williams

As they wait to be selected for jury duty, Chuck and Barry discuss the state of the justice system and how the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth can be an illusion.

Director: Marcus Johnson

Barry — Michael Anthony Mercado
Chuck — Brice Carlton

Michael Anthony Mercado (Barry) is an actor, playwright, and director whose work spans both performance and new-play development. His acting credits include Stuart in Tootsie and the Criminologist/Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, as well as appearances in Oliver! and The Wiz. As a playwright, Michael’s Ready or Not was selected for Theatre Odyssey’s Nineteenth Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival, where it received the festival’s top honor. Most recently, he wrote and directed Exposure, a ten-minute play produced at the State College of Florida. Outside the theatre, Michael serves as Director of Training & Development for Be Aveda Institutes Florida and shares his life with his husband and three children. His work in education, his family, and his life in the theatre continually inform one another, fueling a lasting interest in people, character, and the stories that connect us.

Brice Carlton (Chuck) is an actor, filmmaker, writer and sound designer. He has been in numerous plays, most recently And Then There Were None with Manatee Performing Arts. In his spare time, he writes and creates videos and music online under the name chickenmilk. His work is often darkly comedic, frightening and surreal and he is dedicated to his passion of storytelling and creating various forms of multimedia art online and in person.

Marcus Denard Johnson (director) currently serves as the Director of the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and Assistant Professor of Theatre. A sample of his directing credits include The African Company Present, Richard III (Titan Theatre Co.), The Color Purple the Musical (Hope Repertory Theatre), The Miser (Columbus State University), and Stick Fly (FSU/Asolo Conservatory). For 10 years Marcus served as a Resident Artist for Titan Theatre Company in New York City, later becoming Artistic Associate and Director of Titan’s Future Classics Festival. After leaving New York, Marcus became a part of the artistic leadership team of Hope Repertory Theatre in Holland, Michigan, spending his final year with Hope Rep as the Artistic Director. Marcus has taught acting courses at Columbus State University (Columbus, GA), Dean College (Franklin, MA), and Molloy University (Rockville Centre, NY). Marcus currently serves as an Executive Board member of Our Bar, Inc., a site-specific theatre company in New York City, and Shakespeare in Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo, MI). Marcus holds an MFA from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory, an MS in Adolescent Special Education from Hunter College, and a BA in Theatre from Morehouse College. He is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and a proud husband and father. 

Philip Middleton Williams (playwright) is an award-winning playwright with over seventy plays to his name, ranging from one-minute pieces to full-length productions. His plays have garnered numerous honors, including finalist spots in the City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting, the American Association of Community Theatres New Play Fests, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival Words Cubed New Play Program. All Together Now won first place in the 2016 Playgroup playwriting contest and was produced during The Willow Theatre’s 2017-2018 season in Boca Raton, Florida. Can’t Live Without You marked his off-Broadway debut in 2008 and was later produced by The Playgroup for their 2018-2019 season. Seven of his works are published and licensed through Next Stage Press. Home-Style Cooking at the Gateway Cafe was featured in The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2022 by Smith & Kraus, and monologues from his plays have been included in The Best Men’s Monologues for 2019, The Best Men’s and Women’s Stage Monologues 2023, and The Best Women’s and Men’s Stage Monologues 2024. His work has been performed at renowned venues and events, including the South Florida One-Minute Play Festivals, the Midwest Dramatists Conference, the William Inge Theatre Festival New Play Labs, Miami One-Acts Festivals, Short+Sweet Festival in Sydney, Australia, the Valdez Theatre Conference and many others across the U.S. and internationally. He is a lifetime member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

by Arianna Rose

Is a second chance a lifeline when it doesn’t feel like your life anymore? A heart transplant patient with strange cravings and desires seems a stranger to her fiancé and herself. A story about the struggle for self-acceptance and moving forward with the hand we’re dealt.

Director: Ann Morrison

Donna — Lucinda Schlotterback
Levi — Scott Ehrenpreis
Jamie — Hannah Hooten
Zach — Myrnyi Alexander
Heart — Jess Pope

Lucinda Schlotterback (Donna) is delighted to once again be a part of Theater Odyssey and its truly important mission. To be a part of this touching and powerful story has been its own transformational journey. Utmost respect and gratitude to her director and cast for encouraging her to reach farther and dig deeper. Some favorite past roles include Ida (The Cemetery Club), Ouiser (Steel Magnolias) & Bev/Kathy (Clybourne Park), Annie (Calendar Girls), Roz (Moon Over Buffalo) And Alex Mialdo (Miracle on 34th Street-The Radio Show) where she shared the stage with her granddaughter. Her most rewarding protagonist role: teaching 9th and 10th grade Engineering at Suncoast Polytechnical HS (maybe that one’s an antagonist!) This performance is dedicated to Eric and Julie Nygaard whose gracious sharing of their own experiences navigating the physical, emotional and practical aspects of a heart transplant. Thank you for your insights and courage.

Scott Ehrenpreis (Levi) is thrilled to return to Theatre Odyssey. He has performed in many productions over the years and is honored to be affiliated with a theatre company which gives a voice and platform to original and new plays, from aspiring playwrights to seasoned consummate professionals. He is blessed to call Theatre Odyssey his theatrical home and perform in multiple world premieres. Scott’s acclaimed one-man show “Clowns Like Me,” premiered back in May 2023 before its Off-Broadway run in June 2024. A passionate mental health advocate, Scott facilitates NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Connections groups and uses his art to reduce stigma.

Hannah Hooten (Jamie) is an independent artist, known as “Jak Alexander” in the music world, and owner of the fine arts company “H. H. Arts”. With a lifelong passion for the arts, she was honored to play the lead in a local Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, won multiple awards in dance with a self choreographed contemporary piece in 2018, and studied dance performance, music, and fine arts at Anderson University. Her most recent works have been primarily in paintings, writing, and music compositions, but she is excited to rekindle her early love for acting through this play! She is honored to be a part of such an incredible production, with an amazing cast and crew, and such talented directors. 

Myrnyi Alexander (Zach) is a singer, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and dancer in Sarasota. He attended Anderson University, double majoring in Dance, and Musical Theatre. He specializes in ballet and jazz dance, and his bass voice flourishes in classical and jazz. He has been a guest artist for many ballets, including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and many more. Most recently he performed with Tree Fort Productions 80’s and 90’s cabaret. He is thankful for the opportunity to work with the wonderful cast and director on A Change of Heart. 

Jess Pope (Heart) is originally from Sacramento, California. She graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Art in Visual Studies and received her MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Jess has collaborated and performed with Moving Ethos Dance Theatre, Rosie Herarrah Dance Theatre, and LaMichael Leonard as well as creating and devising her own work. As a multimedia artist, their work explores identity and the human body to transform time and language through dance, clowning, and drag performance. Jess has been teaching movement-based practices for over twenty years. Jess is excited and honored to be working with Ann Morrison and the rest of the cast as a collaborator. A special thanks to Keni Barrett for their love and support.

Ann Morrison (director) — An actor, singer, writer and director for 45 years, Ann has starred in original roles on Broadway (Merrily We Roll Along, LoveMusik, Children And Art); on London’s West End (Peg); Off Broadway (Goblin Market); and leading roles at regional theaters throughout the country. At the United Solo Festival in New York, she performed her plays Linda Lovely Goes to Broadway (2012 United Solo Award, “Best Actress”) and Word Painting: Soliloquies Around an Easel. As a cabaret artist, she has played in cabaret rooms across the US and in London at Zedel’s Crazy Coqs. Ann is Co-founder/Artistic Director of SaraSolo Productions. Ann has made more than a dozen recordings and recipient of the 2010 John Ringling Towers Fund Award, the Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award Nomination, Drama-Logue Award, SAMMY Award, HANDY Award, Sarasota Magazine Award, Best Plays Citation, the 2020 Outstanding Contribution to Florida Professional Theatre, and 2023 BISTRO Award for her solo show Merrily From Center Stage. She plays herself in the documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened. Ann has recently finished touring in the Broadway National Tour of Kimberly Akimbo starring as Kimberly.

Arianna Rose (playwright) is an award-winning playwright, musical theatre writer, and educator, produced in thirty-seven states and twelve countries.  Awards: MAC Song of the Year, the York Theatre NEO. Best play awards: Theatre Odyssey, Midnight Sun Theatre, 4^th Street Theatre, Town & Gown Theatre, Tree City Playhouse, Mixing It Up Productions, the Know Theatre, Studio 1 Theatre, Third Citizen Theatre, South Baldwin Theatre, Savage Wonder Theatre, Clocktower Theatre, M.T. Pockets Theatre. Participant: 2022 Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, 2022 William Inge Play Festival, 2019-2021 Miami-Dade Playwright Development Program. Two-time finalist, Edward Kleban Award for Lyricists & Librettists. Published by Applause Books, Smith & Kraus, Theatre Odyssey Publications, Ghostlight Publications.  Instructor:  “Writing the Short-form Play”, “Wordcraft: Lyric Writing for the Stage”. M.F.A., NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; B.A. Bucknell University; BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. Member: ASCAP, LMDA, Maestra, New Play Exchange, South Florida Theatre League, The Dramatists Guild.  www.ariannarose.net

by Mathew Green

Two veteran actors wait on a set for filming to begin. They are eventually joined by a young woman, also waiting. As they wait, they converse about life, art, and the birds circling overhead.

Director: Lee Gundersheimer

Junius—Anthony van Eyck
Ronnie—Don Walker
Les—Nick Schroeder
Ellie—Ali Wasmund
Quince—Daniel Evans

Anthony van Eyck (Junius) has traveled this journey from New York to The City of Angels then Sarasota, Florida via Washington, DC — hopefully leaving behind bits and pieces of creativity along the way. There is pleasure and gratitude — every time — in doing something that he loves — live theater. My thanks to Theatre Odyssey and all the wonderful people involved for their work and support.

Don Walker (Ronnie) — With an academic background in art and theater, Don’s career followed a different path as industrial writer, editor and photographer. Lured back to theater in 1990 with a leading role at Venice Theater, his costar, Jenny Aldrich, became his favorite leading lady onstage and in life. He was soon busy with roles on other area stages: Asolo Rep, Banyan Theater, Florida Studio Theater, The Golden Apple, FSU Conservatory, American Stage, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Tampa Rep, Stageworks, and most recently in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife with Sarasota Jewish Theatre. This January he will reprise his role in the Tree Fort production of Notes from the Dashboard with playwright Katherine Michelle Tanner. In addition to acting and directing for Theatre Odyssey, he keeps TO’s website up-to-date and was production editor for two volumes of Theatre Odyssey’s collected ten-minute plays. For more than you ever wanted to know, check this never-quite-up-to-date website: www.costars.net.

Nick Schroeder (Les) has been dramatic since he had been a child (just ask his parents). He knew from a very young age that he really wanted to act in anyway he can. He started in his hometowns, Lima, Ohio, local theater called the Encore Theatre where he finally got to scratch his acting itch. He had to stop for a few years because of brain cancer but miraculously recovered. After his family moved down to Sarasota he was able to pick up acting again. Now he is happy to perform again!

Ali Wasmund (Ellie) is a 12th grader at Suncoast Polytechnical High School who has been doing theatre for many years. She is very excited to return to Theatre Odyssey for the One-Act Play Festival!

Daniel Evans (Quince) is a newcomer to Theatre Odyssey and the Sarasota theatre scene. After studying at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in NYC and performing in a brief production of Waiting For Lefty for the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theatre Company, Dan moved to Los Angeles and continued his studies with The Art of Acting Studio and the Marjorie Ballentine Studio, while performing in plays and television programs such as The Orville on Fox, HBO’s Insecure, and Strange Angel on CBS. He began working behind the scenes for Netflix, wrote and directed the short film Alone, which was featured on the YouTube sci-fi channel “DUST,” and continued as a Writer’s PA for Nickelodeon Studios in Burbank. After closing two shows for Nickelodeon, Dan decided to move to Florida to be closer to family and enjoy the sunshine in another state. After some time in St. Pete and Denver, he finally landed in Sarasota, where he currently lives. He is very excited to be back in the theatre with such a fantastic community in Florida!

Lee Gundersheimer (director) is a writer, actor and director and teacher who for many years was based in NYC. He is the author of numerous plays including Pas De Deux, winner Best Play, New American Play Festival on Theatre Row, and Incommunicado, which opened the 1998 New Federal Theatre season and was nominated for three Audelco awards. He directed Deb Margolin’s Three Seconds in the Key at PS122 (it went on to win the Kesselring Prize) and staged her play Why Cleaning Fails at Here and Dixon Place where he co-wrote (with Rae C. Wright) and directed The Moon in Vain. Lee was the former Producing Director at Century Center for the Performing Arts and former Artistic Director of Avalon Repertory Theatre. He was the Industry Liaison in the Department of Drama at NYU for ten years and is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Lab. He has directed or performed in over a hundred plays including fifteen productions at various theaters in his new Arts Coast of Florida home.

Mathew Green (playwright) is a Midwest-based playwright, director, and actor who has been creating theatre for roughly 30 years. His plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and all over the US. He lives in Champaign, Illinois with his stage manager wife and four kids, and he is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theatre Studies at the University of Illinois.