Soundstage

A darkly comedic fable of violently lonely doppelgängers who mind-meld and are brought together through cookies, rats, and their cosmic connection to an exterminator.

Written by Erin Courtney

Produced and directed by Kate Bergstrom

Written for Crystal Finn and Lucy Taylor and Todd Almond as the Exterminator.

Sound Designer and Additional Music Works by Michael Costagliola

Associate Produced and Stage Managed by Calvin Anderson  

With music by Todd Almond

A panel of Black thinkers (a Broadway playwright, a spoken word poet, a Columbia professor, and an activist) try to define Freedom in the year ???? in this dark comedy about ancestors and artists.

Written by Dave Harris

Directed by Taylor Reynolds

Sound Design by Ben Scheff

Sound Editing by Dylan Carrow

Production Stage Manager -- Hanako Rodriguez

CAST:

Walter Mixon Riley -- JEROME PRESTON BATES

LaToya Beasley -- BRITTANY BRADFORD

Jake Dillers / Sponsors / Announcer -- YONATAN GEBEYEHU

Jones Joseph -- DAVE HARRIS

Jerome Barker Thomas -- BEETHOVEN ODEN

Season 2 of Soundstage was made possible with the generous support of the Scherman Foundation’s Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.  

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the J. L. Greene Arts Access Fund in The New York Community Trust, and The Shubert Foundation.

Written by Julia Izumi
Directed by Sarah Cameron Hughes
Sound Design by Fan Zhang

Rocks -- JESS BARBAGALLO
Someone -- JORGE CORDOVA  
Grandchild -- MIDORI FRANCIS   
She -- HARUNA LEE
He -- RONALD PEET
Mother -- SAORI TSUKADA

Two audio plays -- an old radio comedy of anxiety in the modern world, and a soliloquy of lost love -- sprung from the mind of this singular and iconic playwright.

Written by David Greenspan
Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll
Sound Design by Leah Gelpe

(There's) No Time for Comedy Cast:
Sidney - EVANDER DUCK JR.
Henry Flower - DAVID GREENSPAN
Darlene - BETH GRIFFIN
Mona - LISA KRON
Donald - PACO TOLSON

Loops Cast:
Player - DAVID GREENSPAN

Congratulations for choosing Program B! Our goal is to challenge and elevate you. It won't be easy, but transformation is possible! If you trust the process.

Written by Sheila Callaghan
Directed, Designed, and Edited by Alex Barron
Original music by Surrija

CAST: Rashan – FRANCIS BENHAMOU
Chatty Stranger – SHEILA CALLAGHAN
Whispering Man – MATTHEW J. HARRIS

Additional voices – BRANDT ADAMS, KAILEE AYYAR, ALEX BARRON, ALISON KOCH, NGOFEEN MPUTUBWELE, J.J. SUELTO, MAGGIE THOMPSON, NYSELI VEGA

Learn more at phnyc.org/soundstage or text PHNYC to 44-321.

It's official: We'll be back for more! Playwrights Horizons has commissioned an additional roster of playwrights to be part of Soundstage Season 2 including Agnes Borinsky, Sheila Callaghan, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, David Greenspan, Dave Harris, Julia Izumi, and Kit Yan & Melissa Li. We'll see you next week!

Showtime! Mere hours into their journey, Terrence is broadcasting live from the MS Phoenix Rising. A new show is center stage as Terrence interviews the front office cast members, even grabbing a short interview with Co-Captains Rigor Johnson and Moranis Jackson, all leading up to THE cultural event of the decade. But what should be a standout win in the history of Dane Cruising has potential to become a greater horror than any imagined by Ionesco.

All aboard! Valerie invites radio host Terrence Standish to cruise. Sasha and Ted have actually read the play The Chairs and are tasked with telling the team how it really ends. PR consultant Cyd McCormick offers crucial counsel. Coral speaks up – but only one thing’s for certain, no one can snorkel their way out of this mess.

Could the relaunch be the most successful event since the Fyre Festival? The voyage has sold out and, as egos ride high, plans are made to convert restaurants into guest rooms. The Dane Cruising team bonds over dreams of onboard karaoke, and visionary director Angela's artistic choices rattle her assistant Coral.

The entire team has an epic call with Angela and assistant Coral DeMornay where budget cuts and clarity around the production's vision are top priorities. CEO of Dane Cruising Valerie Dane reveals the VIP list, but there’s trouble on the horizon as Financial Assistant Ted Rickles sinks into an existential crisis and the Ionesco Estate attempts contact.

It's time for the "Field of Dreams Strategy." Audience Development Director Gregory Limon and Finance Director Rupert Lake teach Marketing Assistant Sasha Heron this hot campaign idea... and the influencers take the bait. This episode offers a peek into the personal lives of Marsha and Angela (hint: more pleasure than business) while PR head Jackie Bowers receives a shocking phone call that could change everything.

Has everybody dialed in? Eying the end of the cruise industry’s shutdown, Marketing Director Marsha DeBois brings the Dane Cruising team avant garde theater director Angela Hove’s production of The Chairs to headline the relaunch. Approval in place, the front office bangs out next steps, oblivious of the complicated journey ahead.

Using the high-stakes drama of a spy thriller format, GATHER is a suspenseful and hilarious tale of a series of mysterious disappearances.

GATHER was written and directed by Robert O'Hara. Visit soundstagepodcast.org for complete episode credits.

Soundstage is a production of Playwrights Horizons. Follow us at @phnyc for more! If you like what you hear and want to support the Soundstage program, we hope you will consider making a donation. To support us, text SOUNDSTAGE20 to 44-321.

Inspired by breviary masses performed by cloistered monks, PRIME employs modern language and rich, contemporary musical arrangements to reimagine what a modern prayer for a Tuesday morning at 6AM might sound like.

PRIME: A PRACTICAL BREVIARY was written and composed by Heather Christian. Visit soundstagepodcast.org for complete episode credits.

Soundstage is a production of Playwrights Horizons. If you like what you hear and want to support the Soundstage program, we hope you will consider making a donation. To support us, text SOUNDSTAGE20 to 44-321.