Alumni Play Commissions: Manifesting

Alumni Play Commissions: Manifesting

Friday, September 9 . 7-8PM & 9-10PM & Saturday, September 10 . 7-8PM
NextNOW Fest

Event Attributes

Estimated Length: 
60 minutes

UMD theatre alumni explore the possibilities of how identities manifest externally in short 15-minute plays that deliver a big impact. Led by rising D.C. playwrights Joe Graf, Sam Mauceri and Sisi Reid, these commissions are wholly written, directed, stage managed and acted by UMD alumni.

This performance is a part of the NextNOW Fest Alumni Commissioning Project, which supports the creation of new work by alumni of the UMD School of Music and the UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies. 

Artists:

Joe Graf (Playwright) is a TDPS alumnus from the class of 2015, graduating with degrees in Theatre and English. After graduation, Graf has continued his involvement with TDPS in New Visions/New Visions, a play initiative in collaboration with the Kennedy Center, and will return to assistant direct Yury Urnov's production of The Schooling of Bento Bonchev in the spring. Graf currently works at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC.

Sam Mauceri (Playwright) is a director, playwright, theatre educator and actor who graduated from the University of Maryland in 2015. Directing credits include: Playing Bo Peep (Andy’s Summer Playhouse), Normal/Magic (Capital Fringe Festival), Stop Kiss, Seagirl, Martyr (The Weekday Players), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Roundhouse, assisting Mitchell Hébert). Acting: DC credits include Imagination Meltdown Adventure and Nom Noms with Pointless Theatre. Mauceri’s plays have been produced by The Weekday Players, and as part of the D.C. One-Minute Play Festival and the Capital Fringe Festival.

Sisi Reid (Playwright) is a working artist and house manager in the D.C. theatre community. She is passionate about storytelling, the African Disapora and empowering marginalized peoples. She has engaged with the creative process of theatre as a performer, writer, teacher and director. Her multiple interests and experiences as an activist have inspired her desire to pursue a graduate degree in Applied Theatre and one day start her own applied theatre company.

Moriamo Akibu, director
Tai Coates, stage manager
Becca Ballinger, actor
Heather Gibson, actor
Noah Israel, actor