Twenty-First Annual
Ten-Minute Play Festival

Francesca Mendolia (Grace) is from New York City where she studied vocal technique with the Singer’s Forum, taught ballroom/Salsa dancing, and was a former dancer with the Tito Puente Orchestra. She has performed with the Players Theater (Follies, Legend of Sleepy Hollow), Manatee Performing Arts Center (Tony and Tina’s Wedding), Lemon Bay Playhouse (Prisoner of Second Avenue, Dinner at the Flemmings). This is Francesca’s first performance with Theatre Odyssey and is grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented writers and actors. Thank you, Lynda StJames.

Joseph Smith (Herbert) is happy to be back at Theatre Odyssey and thanks Lynda StJames for this opportunity. Joe is active in local theater as an actor, director, and playwright, most recently in Venice in Calendar Girls, with the Island Players in Communicating Doors, and in Merrily We Roll Along at the Manatee Players. He presently divides his time between Germany and Florida.

Ken Basque, originally from Fitchburg, MA, has directed for Theatre Odyssey a few times and has been seen on stage locally with Venice Theatre, Sarasota Players and Manatee Players—most recently with Venice Theatre in Learned Ladies.

Paul Donnelly (playwright) — My life as a “trailing spouse” has included stops in Washington, DC, Atlanta, Honolulu, and Tallahassee. I have been writing plays for over 40 years. My work has won the Source Theatre Company National 10-Minute Play Contest, the Larry Neal Writers Award for Drama, the Virginia Playwriting Prize, and twice been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. My ten-minute plays have been published in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2019 & 2023. I am a member of the Dramatists Guild, New Play Exchange, Playwrights Center, and Working Title Playwrights.

Seva Anthony (Gram) has been active with Theatre Odyssey since its inception as an actor, director and playwright. She has had a vast and lengthy career in dance, in various theatrical arenas performing both nationally and abroad. She was trained in drama at the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. She has appeared on local stages at the Historic Asolo and American Stage as well as The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Florida Opera Theatre and her solo aerial act at the Rio in Las Vegas. She thanks all those who helped her on her journey.

Ruby Daines (Cassie) is an award-winning actor and Delta Psi Omega member, performing with the State College of Florida for the last three semesters. Ruby played in SCF’s productions of They Promised Her the Moon (Jerrie Cobb), Almost, Maine (Gayle/Deena), and One Slight Hitch (P.B. Coleman). Her film credits include Killer Grannies (Juror), Egg (Bryce), and Maya (Maya). Ruby’s favorite musical is Company, but cancel your plans if you mention it to her.

Ruby Daines (Cassie) is an award-winning actor and Delta Psi Omega member, performing with the State College of Florida for the last three semesters. Ruby played in SCF’s productions of They Promised Her the Moon (Jerrie Cobb), Almost, Maine (Gayle/Deena), and One Slight Hitch (P.B. Coleman). Her film credits include Killer Grannies (Juror), Egg (Bryce), and Maya (Maya). Ruby’s favorite musical is Company, but cancel your plans if you mention it to her.

Ruby Daines (Cassie) is an award-winning actor and Delta Psi Omega member, performing with the State College of Florida for the last three semesters. Ruby played in SCF’s productions of They Promised Her the Moon (Jerrie Cobb), Almost, Maine (Gayle/Deena), and One Slight Hitch (P.B. Coleman). Her film credits include Killer Grannies (Juror), Egg (Bryce), and Maya (Maya). Ruby’s favorite musical is Company, but cancel your plans if you mention it to her.

Ruby Daines (Cassie) is an award-winning actor and Delta Psi Omega member, performing with the State College of Florida for the last three semesters. Ruby played in SCF’s productions of They Promised Her the Moon (Jerrie Cobb), Almost, Maine (Gayle/Deena), and One Slight Hitch (P.B. Coleman). Her film credits include Killer Grannies (Juror), Egg (Bryce), and Maya (Maya). Ruby’s favorite musical is Company, but cancel your plans if you mention it to her.

Dylan Jones (director) was the author of the 2017 Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival winner, The Best Ten Minutes Ever, the author of the 2015 Festival runner-up, The Coward, the director of the 2020 Festival winner, Single Rider, and acted in both that and the 2009 Festival winner, Stormy, making him the only individual to achieve all four distinctions. He is the owner of Little Grey Hat Productions, producing award-winning shows including The Last 5 Years, Copenhagen, and The Remnant, and offering classes in writing ten-minute and one-act plays, as well as on theater history and script analysis. Several of his students have had plays in this and other festivals over the years, and he is proud to be returning to the role of director once again.

Ken Preuss (playwright) is a Florida-based writer and performer who became a teacher to guarantee an audience five days a week. Although his published one-acts for teens and his collection of short plays for adults have been produced in festivals and schools in Australia, Canada, China, England, Germany, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand, and all 50 States, Ken can be found rooted near Orlando with his wife, two sons, and assorted pets.

Adrian Van Stee (Matt) is thrilled to be a part of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten Minute Play Festival. New to Sarasota, Adrian was highly involved in improv and theatre projects growing up in Chicago and now works as a photographer and filmmaker at Asolo Repertory Theatre. After a few years of focusing his creative efforts primarily on film, Adrian could not be happier to be back on the stage. Enjoy the show! Insta: @adrianvanstee

Paul Mullen (Culex) is overjoyed to be acting with Theatre Odyssey again after a three year absence. He has performed at many local theaters in such shows as The Torch Bearers, Joseph, The Fantasticks, Run For Your Wife, The Mousetrap, Enchanted April, and Singin’ In The Rain. He lives in Englewood and works for FCCI Insurance in Lakewood Ranch. This show is dedicated to his mother, who will be watching from heaven. Enjoy the shows!

Glenn Schudel (director) — Glenn’s twenty-plus years in theatre include directing and managing credits with Love Creek Productions/Samuel French Short Play Festival and three national tours with the American Shakespeare Center. Local credits include Venice Theatre, the Players Center, the SaraSolo Festival, the Asolo, and multiple Theatre Odyssey festivals. He teaches Creative Writing at Ringling College and works as a freelance script and text coach. He is thrilled to be directing for Theatre Odyssey for the second time.

Dolores Salvo (playwright) is a resident of Celebration, Florida, and is a member of the Celebration Lifelong Playwriting Workshop. Breaking News! is her third produced play. Birds of a Feather was recently produced at the Imagine Performing Arts Center in Oviedo, Florida, through Playwrights Round Table. Level 22, Stage 7, was performed at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Orlando. Dolores taught literature courses through Stetson University’s Lifelong Learning program and currently teaches at Celebration Lifelong. But her passion is theater. She is always one of the most ardent audience members at local, regional, and Broadway productions and is especially thrilled to be in the audience of her play at Theatre Odyssey!

Lee Gundersheimer (Tidewell) — A multi-faceted theatre professional, Lee has worked as an actor, director, playwright, producer, administrator and designer. He has built and run two separate theater spaces in Manhattan, managed many new play workshops, directed over seventy-five plays, performed in countless theaters in NYC, and worked as a professor teaching acting, directing and playwriting for five major universities. He will be directing These Shining Lives at TreeFort in the spring.

Judy Glynn (Peggy Anne) is very happy to return to Theatre Odyssey’s stage. Over her 18 years in Florida she has also worked at several other area theaters. Her favorite roles include Becky in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up, Helsa in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Belinda/Flavia in Noises Off, and Margo in Lying in State. Thanks to Preston, Richard and Blake.

Lynda StJames (director) is a graduate of Emerson College, Boston, and holds a BS/MS in Theatre Education. She has taught drama and film at several Massachusetts secondary schools. She also staged numerous plays and musicals, several of which garnered awards at the Boston Globe High School Drama Festival and the Emerson College YouthStage Festival. As an actor, Ms StJames has performed in classic and modern theatre productions from Los Angeles to Boston. Her most recent work includes Rebecca Nurse (The Crucible), Lady MacBeth (Macbeth), both for the Franklin Black Box Theatre; and she is about to perform as Mrs. Trenkel in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for The Players. Additionally, Ms StJames has appeared in the TV shows The Waltons, Dallas, Eight is Enough. And she toured the U.S. and Canada as a principal singer with the Andy Williams GoodTime Singers. After twenty years as owner and director of The Cameo Agency, a well-known Boston model and talent agency, Ms StJames recently retired. Her love of theatre and sunshine lured Ms StJames to Sarasota, “My happy place.”

Gabriel V. Ortiz (playwright) is an actor, playwright, and educator whose work bridges theatre, film, and education. A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, his stage performances span classical, contemporary, and original works across regional and local theatres. He has appeared in the feature films Surviving Lunch and Bridge to the Other Side and co-hosts the Emmy Award–winning PBS/WEDU series Arts Plus. As a writer, his plays and solo works—My Prodigal Son, Between Two Truths, Take on Race, and Don’t Tell How to Be a Girl—explore identity, belonging, and redemption. He holds a B.A. in Theatre from Cal State Northridge and an M.F.A. in Acting from Penn State University.

Jill Schroeder (Moira) has performed in Southwest Florida, throughout the Midwest, and toured with the National Theatre for Children out of Minneapolis. Recent shows include Original Sin, The Glass Menagerie, Winter Flowers, and several roles in three of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festivals. Jill is thrilled to work with this talented cast and director, and to be a part of the Twentieth Annual Festival!

Yinoelle Colon (Renee) is an actress, director and acting coach from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is excited to be working in the Ten-Minute Play Festival for the second year in a row. Thank you, Theatre Odyssey!

James Kassees (James) is happy to be performing in Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. He has been doing theatre for 45 years, acting, directing, writing and improvising, and greatly enjoys coaching other actors. James has appeared in several TO productions and directed a ten-minute play last year. He has performed with Florida Studio Theatre, Asolo Rep and Sarasota Jewish Theatre, and played Richard Nixon in Arthur Keyser’s In Whom We Trust. Love always to Barb.

Cinda Goeken (director) was born/raised in Central Illinois and “caught the theatre bug” at age nine. Currently, she works as an actress, singer, teacher, coach and producer in the Tampa Metro area. She is active with the St. Pete Shakespeare Festival, the improv team called Dancin’ Darlynn and is a member of the St. Pete American Stage “Beyond The Stage” program. When not working, she enjoys reading, spending time with her long-haired cat and watching old movies on TV.

Brian S. Brijbag, Esq. (playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose works have been produced and celebrated across the country, including in New York City’s Queens Short Play Festival and Sundog Theatre Festival. His plays blend humor, philosophy, and emotional precision in what he calls “Elegant Anarchy.” A finalist and multiple award recipient at major festivals, Brian’s writing explores the intersections of absurdity and grace. He merges advocacy and artistry to illuminate stories where justice, humor, and humanity converge.

Adrian Van Stee (Vincent) is thrilled to be a part of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. New to Sarasota, Adrian was highly involved in improv and theatre projects growing up in Chicago and now works as a photographer and filmmaker at Asolo Repertory Theatre. After a few years of focusing his creative efforts primarily on film, Adrian could not be happier to be back on the stage. Enjoy the show! Insta: @adrianvanstee

Adrian Van Stee (Vincent) is thrilled to be a part of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. New to Sarasota, Adrian was highly involved in improv and theatre projects growing up in Chicago and now works as a photographer and filmmaker at Asolo Repertory Theatre. After a few years of focusing his creative efforts primarily on film, Adrian could not be happier to be back on the stage. Enjoy the show! Insta: @adrianvanstee

Terry Occhiogrosso (Professor) has worked with many theatre companies in Nashville and New York. She moved to Sarasota four years ago and has been an actor for the Sarasota Area Playwrights’ Society.

Terry Occhiogrosso (Professor) has worked with many theatre companies in Nashville and New York. She moved to Sarasota four years ago and has been an actor for the Sarasota Area Playwrights’ Society.

Steven H. Butler (director) — Ripcord marks Steven’s directorial debut with Theatre Odyssey. He is the former Artistic Director and Founder of Actors’ Warehouse, Inc. (Gainesville, FL). Some of his favorite directing roles include: Race, Pass Over, Mountaintop, The Amen Corner, ‘Night Mother, Satchmo at the Waldorf, and Ain’t Misbehavin’. As an actor Steven has appeared in roles such as: How I Learned What I Learned (August Wilson), Cabaret (The MC), La Cage Aux Folles (Jacob), Anything Goes (Moonface Martin), and RENT (Angel). One of Steven’s biggest honors was representing the United States, at the 2017 Mondial Du Théâtre Monaco, with the South African production of Tshepang by Lara Foot Newton.

Diane Finney (playwright) — Many of Diane’s twisted tales focus on murder, mystery and/or pending death. Diane has a BA in Anthropology and is a Master Gardener, a Master Naturalist and she’s won three Malice Domestic Mystery Conference short story contests. Diane self-published To Know Sweet You Must Taste Sour, a self-help guide for surviving cancer. Of the many plays she’s written, Copycat and Baby Beautiful were performed at the Valencia College 5 Minute Play Festival. Her 10 Minute play, 38 Minutes, was performed in the Spectacular Tournament of Playwrights at the Acorn Theater (Michigan) and in Funny Shorts LIVE! at the Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs, Florida. Diane often co-writes with her husband Christopher and they’re still married. Mother of three sons and proud Grandma to four grands, Diane loves her family. When not writing, Diane enjoys playing tennis, gardening, creating botanical art and caring for her pets. Ripcord is inspired by one of Diane’s sons overcoming his fear of heights by taking on a dare to skydive. I hope you enjoy my play!

Yinoelle Colon (Chris) is an actress, director and acting coach from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is excited to be working in the 10 Minute Play Festival for the second year in a row. Thank you Theatre Odyssey!

Aaron Schroeder (Charlie) — This is Aaron’s second Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival. You may have seen him two festivals ago as Brady in 15 Seconds. A senior at Pine View School, Aaron most recently was on stage as The Patient in The Sunshine Boys at Lemon Bay Playhouse, and is a regular reader for the Sarasota Area Playwrights Society. When not acting, he might be running lights and sound, or working the fly rail.

Lucinda Schlotterback (director) is excited to once again be a part of a Theatre Odyssey festival having participated as a stagehand, actor and director. She has had the great fortune to play some amazing characters such as Chelsea (On Golden Pond), Ouiser (Steel Magnolias), Bev/Kathy (Clybourne Park), Alex Mialdo (Miracle on 34th Street Radio Show) and Annie (Calendar Girls). Thank you to Rishi for giving us such poignant words and for the cast and crew who bring them so deliciously to life.

Rishi Chowdhary (playwright) was born in Mombasa, Kenya to Punjabi, Indian parents and moved with his family to Miami, Florida in 1984. He attended Florida International University, where he wrote cultural sketches and articles for the campus paper. After graduating, he met a South Asian theatre company that inspired him to write his first short play, Color Me Desi, featured in Desipina’s Seven.11 production. His recently produced works include Eight One Eight Two, Power 1996, Safari and Breaking Bread. Rishi is excited to be included in Theatre Odyssey’s Annual Ten-Minute Festival!

Jan Wallace (Josephine) is an actress, playwright and director and is thrilled to have her play included in this year’s festival. She has directed and acted in many Theater Odyssey productions. As an actress she has worked off-Broadway and New York Regional theatres.  Her favorite roles include her one-woman show, Shirley Valentine, Noises Off (Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clacket), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Jean Brodie), and The Shadow Box (Maggie). Since moving to Sarasota she has performed at the Asolo Rep, the Banyan Theatre, Venice Theatre, the Manatee Performing Arts Center and the Players Theater. She trained in London and New York.

James Thaggard (Sir John Gielgud) earned his B.A. in theatre from Auburn University and has performed and/or directed on nearly every stage between Anna Maria and Venice. He is delighted to perform with Theatre Odyssey after serving as both an adjudicator and a director of Chopping Celery, Silences, and Ready or Not. This spring, James will portray Chad in the Manatee Players DraMature version of High School Musical (Senior Edition) and direct Grace and Glory for Island Players.

James Thaggard (Sir John Gielgud) earned his B.A. in theatre from Auburn University and has performed and/or directed on nearly every stage between Anna Maria and Venice. He is delighted to perform with Theatre Odyssey after serving as both an adjudicator and a director of Chopping Celery, Silences, and Ready or Not. This spring, James will portray Chad in the Manatee Players DraMature version of High School Musical (Senior Edition) and direct Grace and Glory for Island Players.

Bob Trisolini (director) of Longboat Key Fl. and Kenmure Country Club, Flat Rock North Carolina is excited to be directing again for Theatre Odyssey where he has been Director Emeritus. At the Highland Playhouse in NC he appeared as Arvide Abernathy in Guys & Dolls, Erroneous in Forum, Mr. Welch in Damn Yankees and Pa Carnes in Oklahoma. At the Flat Rock Playhouse he appeared as Gland Hand in West Side Story and Gus the Old Theater Cat in CATS. Among his favorite roles are Willy Clark in The Sunshine Boys, Roger DeBries in The Producers Pappy Yokum in Li’l Abner, Melvin P Thorpe in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Henry Saunders in Lend Me A Tenor. He has worked as a Producer, Show Director and Casting Director for Walt Disney Entertainment. He directed six shows for Celebrity Cruise Lines. Bob was part of the creative team for the five-time Tony Nominated Broadway Show Romance/Romance and the Drama Desk Winner Off-Broadway Show Olympus On My Mind. He was the founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative, a business theater agency and worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Howie Mandell, Rita Rudner, David Brenner and Beth Fowler.

Sara Lazarus (playwright) is a former emergency room nurse, community outreach educator, published author of several medical training manuals and an autobiographical novel. She is a recipient of the Middlesex County College Tri-State Writer’s Award and has been periodically published in the Princeton US-1 newspaper. Sara has performed for several years with The Magic Mirror Players, a New Jersey improv group. Now, as a permanent resident of Sarasota for the past several years, Sara established The Isles Players, a local dinner theatre group within her community, that has been performing her murder mystery plays for the past few years.