Past Salons
(2015 - now)
THE SHAPE OF THE ENTIRE
by Ben Freeman Directed by Ria T. DiLullo November 15, 2023 in the upstairs space at Le Cheile Captains Broadheart and Lightfoot are out on a trip – a trip to find the center of the universe! Increasingly, though, it looks like their ship may be lost & they begin to regret the things and the people they left behind. Back on Earth, Cygnus, a preteen with a penchant for space exploration, struggles to put together why their parents Sextant and Crater are sad and distant so much of the time, always looking skyward and using names for the stars they've never heard of before. Cygnus's drive to uncover the mystery of their complicated family leads them to new ways of thinking about the shape(s) relationships take, the relationships between the stars and ourselves, what it means to be the center of something. |
ST. JOHN OF SUBURBIA
by John P. Bray Directed by Callie Considine November 1, 2023 live-streamed on YouTube Set over the course of one evening in 1996. Fraternal twins Alvin and Satan Dan have been producing a monster-erotica Zine said to be the writings of a mystic that uses the alias St. John of God. Alvin has been studying religion and VCR repair at the community college and would rather remain anonymous. Satan Dan could spoil that. Or Alvin could blurt it out. A mix of dream and memory, St. John of Suburbia (or, Lycanthrope Limbo) reminds us that those who choose to spend time with us, despite what we write, are more than enough in this fleeting life. |
MUD SEASON
by Felice Locker Directed by Callie Considine October 18, 2023 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: Jane, resilient but restless, decamps from Boston to rural Colorado where she thinks hard work and even harder weather are the answer to almost everything. While enduring her slippery sister and sliding mud, Jane, who is disabled, embarks on a journey with mythical time travelers and a magical eagle to discover her place in the American West where the environmental challenges of intensive fracking are omnipresent. Mud Season examines broad themes of disability and ecological disaster, and balances them with intimate relationships to the land, between sisters, and among neighbors, past and present. |
SUNDOWN
Written by David Ceci Directed by Callie Considine December 3, 2022 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: Sometime later in the 21st Century, the remnants of humanity have retrenched to tiny, isolated hamlets to protect themselves from future pandemics. Now, hamlet Elders control every aspect of society: remote education for the privileged few, manual labor for the rest, and all fertile members must choose a reproductive partner to ensure the hamlet’s survival. For everyone, the overriding goal is to ‘be clean.’ Evie lives in one such hamlet with her conformist older sister, but she dreams of much more. With her life approaching a turning point, Evie seeks help from her remote Professor. When that’s not forthcoming, she chooses to defy her sister and the Elders with the help of her virtual assistant and an anonymous confidant. What none of them know is that an even greater danger looms on the horizon. Is Evie the key to humanity’s survival… or the harbinger of its final days? |
FLOATING GIRLS GO TO THE MOON
Written by Maria I. Arreola Directed by Ria T. DiLullo November 12, 2022 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: With a traditional, overbearing mother, two Chicana sisters navigate home in their own way. The eldest seeks freedom. Unable to truly be herself around her mother and the confines of their small apartment, she seeks a better place. The youngest strives to keep her family together, regardless of the cost. In a world where some girls become floating girls, these two sisters must decide to stay or to go. |
THE DEATH OF RUBY SLIPPERS (AND WHAT SOON FOLLOWED AFTER)
Written by Stuart Eugene Bousel Directed by Ria T. DiLullo October 15, 2022 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: Lovers Gareth and Clay are drinking in an empty bar when Clay murders the owner, Ruby, and takes the bartender, Van, hostage, in a desperate attempt to save his deteriorating relationship with Gareth, who is also seeing Aiden, a much younger man. Clay and Gareth then go on a killing spree, take Aiden hostage, as well as coffee shop waitress Brooke, and drive towards Mexico, to bury the bodies and escape into an unknown future. |
UN HOMBRE: A GOLEM STORY
Written by Stephen Kaplan Directed by Callie Considine September 17, 2022 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: A modern-day golem story about Rebecca Wolfson, a recently widowed single mother, who makes a clay man that comes to life and serves as a Bar Mitzvah and Spanish tutor for her 12-year-old son. As mother and son get wrapped up in the distractions that this seemingly perfect solution to their problems offers, the clay man begins questioning his own existence and purpose, forcing all three to confront the truths they’ve all been avoiding. |
TRACKS
Written by John Bray Directed by Ria T. DiLullo May 21, 2022 In-Person in Brooklyn, NY Synopsis: 1998. Pill-popping teens Jennie and Simian have a problem: AmTrain is about to fence off their sacred space by the water for a new bullet train. Maybe Dapper Dan will help start a letter-writing campaign? Or bring them more pills? Anthropomorphic manifestations of Hudson Valley myths circle them, giving unheard warnings, that tragedy will strike down by the tracks. |
Performed by Samantha Streich, Haneen Arafat Murphy, Emmy Kuperschmid, Vince Edgehill, Anuj Parikh, Shanta Parasurman, Abraham Makany, Marc Pierre, Ashley Kristeen Vega, Evelyn Carvera, Joe Mucciolo, Imran Sheikh, Gael Schaefer, Jenna Kuerzi, Samantha G Harris, Sue Kim-Molina, Georgia Kate Cohen, Rose Morgan, La Veda Davis, Stevie Kallos and with stage directions read by Callie Considine
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ESTHER AND VASHTI
Written by Carolyn Gage Directed by Ria T. DiLullo April 16, 2022 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: A radical feminist retelling of the traditional Purim story from the Bible—a retelling that foregrounds the part of the story that is glossed over in the patriarchal text, namely, the sexual colonization of women. Esther, a radical Jewish lesbian living in exile, and Vashti, a Persian woman of privilege, were lovers. Complying with her family’s expectations, Vashti has married the king of Persia, but Esther cannot interpret this as anything except a betrayal and an abandonment. The ambitious vice-chancellor Haman has been stirring up anti-Semitic sentiment among the officers of the Persian army, in order to use a massacre of the Jews to divert attention from his usurpation of the throne. This is a fast-paced, high-action drama where the love story of two women of different cultures and class backgrounds plays itself out against a backdrop of anti-Semitism and the sexual colonization of women. |
SON OF AN UNKNOWN FATHER
Written by Reynaldo Piniella Directed by Ria T. DiLullo Dec 20, 2021 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: "Son of an Unknown Father" tells the story of the first Black saint of the Americas, Martin de Porres. Born into slavery in Lima, Peru in the 1600s, Martin aspired to break through the chains of his bondage by devoting his life to the Catholic Church. But no matter how virtuous Martin was, nothing could break through the barriers of his oppression. Until one day, Martin discovers he has the power to heal people with his bare hands. Suddenly viewed as the second son of God, people come from far and wide to meet the man with the magic hands. Martin's burden becomes too much and he is forced to make a decision - self-preservation or self-sacrifice? |
THE WONDER
Written by Maggie Lou Rader Directed by Ria T. DiLullo Dec 4, 2021 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: "The Wonder" is inspired by the first documented case of spiritual possession in America. Mary Roff's unearthly illness turns her family and the town of Watseka, Illinois upside down, that is, until Lurancy Vennum follows in her footsteps. The Wonder is a journey of hope, loss, undying familial love, and healing beyond the bounds of this world. Also, it's a ghost story. An American Midwest Gothic ghost story for mothers and daughters. |
FIRE THIEF
Written by Laura Hirschberg Directed by Ria T. DiLullo Nov 13, 2021 live-streamed on YouTube Synopsis: Prometheus uses the fire of the gods to bring about his ultimate creation: mankind. But when Prometheus steals the flame and bestows it upon his creations, there are consequences. Prometheus and his assistant, Ethon, duck divine judgment while attempting to foster the fire of invention in the minds of earth's greatest thinkers, authors, and artists. Other Olympians, including Prometheus's brother, Epimetheus, struggle to restore order. "Fire Thief: is an exploration of the worth and cost of creativity. questioning whether the next great idea is worth the damage the last great idea might have caused. |
FEAST/FAMINE: A prompt-based salon for shorts
6 New Plays by 6 Writers Ft. 6 Actors for TSR's 6th Birthday Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 6/26/21 "Genesis 41" by Emely Zepeda "Scarcity of Illness" by Rachel Leighson "Last Assembly Line" by Daniel Borja "She Sells Sea Shells" by Samantha Marchant "Puck & The Plants" by Ria T. DiLullo "tourist shell shock" by Sean-Joseph Choo |
BELLY OF THE SHIP
Written by Anya Kopischke Original Music by Emily Rose Simons and Marc Pierre Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 5/22/21 Synopsis: We follow Tack on a coming of age adventure across universes with the Man in the Moon as our often untrustworthy guide. Tack struggles to understand the rules of these strange new worlds, as well as the functions of their own changing body, on a quest to rescue childhood friends. While at sea, Tack becomes a voyeur to the romances of the Sirens and Fish Heads, using them as a gendered model for an option of existing in these new worlds as the dream of saving their childhood fantasy becomes less promising. |
TOWERING BLUE INFERNO
Written by Joshua Young Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 4/24/21 Synopsis: The dreadnought of global calamity force a young couple, bereft and frayed by personal tragedy, into prolonged cohabitation. On the precipice of poverty these two now must survive a sequestration in the woods. But on St. George's day myth holds that if you see a towering blue flame it's the marker of buried treasure... a treasure buried in the dark and sodden earth that will change their lives forever. |
CLYT; Or, The Bathtub Play
Written by Elisabeth Giffin Speckman Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 3/20/21 Synopsis: Clytemnestra has always felt a bit overshadowed, whether by her sister, Helen, her husband, or her children. She often finds solace while alone in her bath, but when her sister's abduction leads to unspeakable events, Clytemnestra's life is forever altered. A modern, feminist exploration of Clytemnestra's tale, Clyt; Or, The Bathtub Play is a darkly comedic, lyrical love letter to one of mythology's most misunderstood women. |
Performed by Miranda Noelle Wilson, Sara Kerr, John Racioppo, Samantha Streich, Zennie Trieu, Ashley Kristeen Vega, Evelyn Carvera, Stacey Schiller, Ariel Estrada, Marc Pierre, Michael Axelrod, Carrie B Keating, Josh Olumide, Sarah Jack, Emmy Kuperschmid, Shanta Parasuraman, Gerardo Hernandez, & Callie Considine reading stage directions.
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ABSOLUTION
Written by Emily Claire Schmitt Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 12/5/20 Synopsis: After losing her job at a “feminist” influencing agency, Catholic blogger and Twitter personality Alice Barnes is searching for a new direction. When a popular progressive account criticizes her content, she is at first indignant, but then sees an opportunity. Alice endeavors to transform herself into the online face of Catholic Reparations, hoping to bridge the gap between herself and communities harmed by the Church. But unlike the Sacrament of Reconciliation, reparations do not entail absolution. And the more Alice attempts to effect healing, the more pain she causes. |
EMMY: Or, The Nemesis of Narcissists
Written & Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 11/14/20 Synopsis: In this contemporary retelling of the Echo and Narcissus myth, the goddess of revenge, Nemesis, is in disguise as a new-order nymph, Emmy. Working a boring coffee shop job in a mediocre town, she is keeping eyes and ears out for ways to enact vengeance, for anything from little injustices to full-blown wrong-doings. She gets just what she seeks when Tiresias, a radio DJ, announces a new single and a concert coming to town, while Zeus and Hera show up, causing their typical, unforgiving chaos. Emmy orchestrates the nymphs she works with into enacting her plans, to their own unknowing peril. |
MYTH ME IN MANHATTAN
Written by Zennie Trieu Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 10/17/20 Synopsis: Consisting of fourteen short plays and divided into two acts, the epic-length Myth Me in Manhattan retells Ancient Greek stories by setting them in modern-day New York City. Familiar deities, heroes, villains, and prophets navigate post-graduate life, sexual power dynamics, romantic relationships, repressed trauma, and impending international war by coming together, falling apart, wreaking havoc, and creating new lives for themselves in some of the famed metropolis’s most historic settings, as well as a few of its most underrated hidden gems. This salon is an excerpt taken from the autumn section of the collection’s larger narrative. |
ABHINAYA: A DANCE PLAY
Written by Veda Kumarjiguda Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 9/26/20 Synopsis: AADP follows a few weeks in Avni's life as she prepares for her dance debut. Avni's family is rebuilding after a painful separation. Avni makes sense of these family changes and challenges through the mythology she learns in her Indian classical dance class. As she practices, she misses her father and the artistic connection they shared. Will he come back into her life? Will she become the dancer that he believes her to be? Do traditional art forms have a place in a modern world? Where is the source of mysterious music that weaves in and out of the family's life? |
APPALACHIAN PACHINKO!
Written by Joshua Young Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 11/23/19 Synopsis: Siblings Bud and Sissy decide to open a Pachinko Parlor in their impoverished town’s derelict coal mine. When Sissy plays the game she’s transported to a frightening phantasmagoric fantasyscape and she must embrace these newfound powers of Pachinko in order to save her town. |
ALL HALLOW'S EVE: An evening of seasonal shorts
Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 10/25/19 "Sorghum" by Joshua Young "Scary Story" by Sophie Costanzi "Oshun" by Evelyn Carvera, and "Skylar's Halloween Pageant and an Enormous, Incongruous, Cacophonous, Conglomeration of Ghosts" by Michelle Cage |
CONFESSIONAL
Written by Emily Claire Schmitt Directed by Ria T. DiLullo Hosted by The Tank 6/16/19 Synopsis: When the young sister of an old friend is killed in an unsolved shotting, Abby cannot help but feel a deep personal connection to the tragedy. But is her creeping sense of guilt merely a byproduct of her Catholic upbringin,g, or ar ethe persistent childhood memories of sinister encounters with her brother pointing to a darker truth of her own complicity? |
HOMECOMING
Written by Emily Claire Schmitt, Katelynn Kenney, Dani Martineck, Miranda Poett, Sophie Costanzi, & Ria T. DiLullo Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 4/27/19 Synopsis: A prompt-based evening of shorts. Place a deity, legend or mythological figure inside the circumstance of a housewarming/homecoming. This evening was created in conjunction with celebrating the first salon in the new space! |
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
Written by Emily Claire Schmitt, Katelynn Kenney, Dani Martineck, Joe Baroz, Elijah Guo, Lora Danley, & Ria T. DiLullo Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 12/31/18 Synopsis: A prompt-based evening of shorts. Create a piece inspired by everything 33 West End Ave, the salon home from inception to now, has witnessed. It was the final evening of work performed in that space, while ringing in the new year! |
SCENES FROM SERVICE PART II
written by Caroline Bennett, Michelle Cage, Lora Danley, Elijah Guo, Dani Martineck, Scott Martineck, Alex Parrish, and Emily Claire Schmitt directed by Ria T. DiLullo 11/10/18 Synopsis: A prompt-based evening of shorts. Take a mythological or legendary figure and place them inside a service industry. |
AGRODULCE
written & directed by Ria T. DiLullo 7/29/18 Synopsis: Italian for bittersweet/sour-sweet. Agrodulce was initially presented as a salon in January 2015 under the title "Grief Lines." Ria T. DiLullo has reworked her first one-act play that looks at a family during the 24 hours surrounding the sudden death of the matriarch. The story happens out of chronological order, instead unfolding like memory. It is sad, funny, bitter, and sweet. |
FILL THE VOID & TURN OFF THE DARK:
A Fundraiser and Dance Film Screening 6/9/18 Synopsis: Two frequent TSR collaborators, Katelynn Kenney and Gavin Myers, teamed up for a special event. The evening doubled as a screening for Gavin's dane film "Turn off the Dark" and a fundraiser for Katelynn Kenney's play, "Void." The evening included a house sangria, Filipino food, and a raffle! |
SCENES FROM SERVICE
Written by Michelle Cage, Isabella Dawis, Elijah Guo, Gavin Myers, & Ria T. DiLullo Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 5/19/18 Synopsis: Inspired by the intersection between our mission to explore modern myth and the reality of all artists trying to survive the service industry, from bartending to receptionist to fast food and more besides! |
GOBLIN GIRLS
by Katelynn Kenney Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 3/24/18 Synopsis: Mr. Bell was a walking cliche looking for a story to write, and he found one in an unlikely place —a panhandling performer named Puck. The story he was given: the origin and adventure of two girls raised by a goblin in a magical world hidden among New York City's underground. When Puck disappears, two girls find their way to Mr. Bell's doorstep, claiming Puck as their guardian. Their mission: to find their Puck at all costs. And, when a secret goblin plot unravels, maybe save humanity in the process. Goblin Girls is a contemporary fairytale, coming-of-age story, and morality play, about the misfits of the world and how humans can often be more monstrous than the monsters in their own stories. |
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
by Lora Danley directed by Ria T. DiLullo 2/24/18 Synopsis: Susan is unaware that her partner Anna occasionally sleeps with her best friend Paul. Paul is perpetually single and gay, until he meets Michael. Anna's partner, Susan, doesn't know of their "secret special friend time." When one of their dalliances leads Anna to have a surprise baby, all four of them must figure out what to do with their relationships and the new child. |
WHATCHAMACALLIT: A MYSTERIOUS BIRTH MUSICAL
written by Emily Claire Schmitt, Emily Rose Simons, & Ria T. DiLullo directed by Ria T. DiLullo 11/12/17 Synopsis: Whatchamacallit: A Play About Jesus was a salon in March 2015. The Skeleton Rep had a run of the play in Spring 2016. Since then, we have been hard at work and play, turning the story into a musical. In a special invite-only Sunday edition of the Salon Series, we heard the first draft of our new story, including one hour of music and lyrics. |
DETENTION #44: EXPLORE MODERN MYTH
in partnership with the active students of Primary Stages ESPA Various Directors 10/20/17 Synopsis: Inspired by my mission statement to explore modern myth, playwrights of ESPA have been prompted to write a 10-minute play for no more that 4 actors that takes a character from mythology or legend and places them in the contemporary world. This salon featured work by Michael Brennan Ing, Ria T. DiLullo, Molly Horan, Monica Keaton, Diana Middleton, & Joshua Young. |
WENDELL AND PAN
by Katelynn Kenney directed by Ria T. DiLullo 9/29/17 Synopsis: 11-year old Wendell Barnes and his family arrive at his ailing grandpa’s home and is welcomed by his best friend and 12-year old dead aunt, Pan. When Pan concludes that what may be best for Grandpa is to kill him and put him out of his misery, Wendell faces the choice of being at odds with his best friend or his own budding beliefs. |
We Should Know Her: A call to action
written by Veronica Cooper, Susannah Jones & Maria DiFabbio, G.L. Horton, Danielle Winston, Dani Martineck, Sarah M. White & Ria T. DiLullo directed by Ria T. DiLullo 5/19/17 Synopsis: A prompt-based salon featuring shorts inspired by lesser known women in history. |
HUNGRY
written by Lia Romeo directed by Ria T. DiLullo 4/21/17 Synopsis: Amy is trying. Trying to lose weight, trying to be popular, trying to do well in school... but it's not working out very well. When a minotaur suddenly shows up in her backyard, Amy finds the unconditional acceptance she's been looking for... but when the "mean kids" start turning up dead, she realizes that being best friends with a man-eating mythological beast might have its drawbacks. Will the minotaur be her salvation or her downfall? |
SEVERANCE
written by Jack Horton Gilbert directed by Ria T. DiLullo 3/24/17 Synopsis: The Earth has stopped spinning. Below life has all but ended and above six astronauts now find themselves trapped. With no hope of rescue and nothing left to them but time, together they must decide how to move forward. But as time stretches out, and the pressure mounts, the growing boredom, monotony, and the voices in their minds call to question all that makes them human and the dark measures they're each willing to take in order to survive. |
TAKE YOUR BROKEN HEART & MAKE IT INTO ART: A call to action
written by Stephen Brown, Amanda Bruton, Veronica Cooper, Amanda Martinez, Andi Morrow, Emily Claire Schmitt & Ria T. DiLullo directed by Ria T. DiLullo 2/24/17 Synopsis: Write a piece in response to the current events of our time. |
SCRATCHING
written by Britton Buttrill Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 03/11/16 Synopsis; Sex, drugs, and illegal tattoos collide in a nameless Southern blue-collar town. A doomed circle of unrequited love unfolds between four souls, causing brothers to confront the past, the present, and ultimately each other. |
SHELTER
written by Jack Horton Gilbert Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 2/.19/16 Synopsis: We messed up. Hawaii: sunk, the South-West: burnt to a crisp, the ice-caps: melted, California: Gone, and the rest of the world's not doing much better. Now, living in an Autonomous Shelter 3,000 feet below the ground along with his trusty robot pal iZak and an AI system affectionately named "Mom", Peter Barnes might just be the last living person on Earth. And he's just run out of food. Answering the age-old question; if you broadcast a radio-show, and no one's alive to hear it, does it still rock 'n' roll? |
THE NORSE
written by Allan Staples Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 1/22/16 Synopsis: The lives of a star professional athlete and the reporters assigned to cover him are forever changed when a shocking incident propels each of them into surprising new directions. Set amidst the ruins of the newspaper industry and the flourishing world of sports, THE NORSE examines the parasitic connection between the two and how that connection is capable of destroying lives. |
JOLEY
written by Caitlin Saylor Stephens Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 12/4/2015 Synopsis: After a long separation, Jim and Joley, two Tennessee mountain lovers reunite one hot n' heavy evening in a broke-ass bar. But when Joley reveals her battle wounds from a particularly violent episode of domestic abuse, the two are challenged with the task of confronting their wrongs, unearthing their truths, finding forgiveness, and burying a body. |
WHILE WE WAIT
written by Charly Evon Simpson Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 11/13/15 Synopsis: Letters and airplane tickets fall from the sky. Memories, like snowflakes and feathers, come in on a breeze. Grace waits for an email to come. James waits to send it. And as they wait, they replay memories, imagine futures, and deal with a present that is sometimes lovely and sometimes sad. While We Wait is about a relationship--the erosion, the peaks and valleys, the beginning and the end…and the urge to start it all over again. |
EVANGELICAL
written by Britton Buttrill Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 10/15/16 Synopsis: Tessa, a twenty-something New Jersey bartender, is forced to move to the American heartland where her mother has found a new life with her Born-Again Christian husband, Jay. There, Tessa finds her new stepbrother, Ty, an Evangelist-in-training, having returned home after a traumatic incident at his Bible camp. As tensions between the four of them build, Tessa takes it upon herself to rip open past and present wounds, shaking this fractured family's belief system to its core. At the end of a brutal 24 hours in the suburban Bible Belt, who will find Salvation and who will be left behind? |
SPINOZA'S ETHICS
written by Emily Claire Schmitt Directed by Ria T. DiLullo 9/.18/15 Synopsis: Inspired by the true story of an extraordinary and average woman's struggle for love and faith in 1960s America, Spinoza's Ethics follows Ruth as she weaves in and out of marriages, vocations, and states of existence, accompanied always by the early Enlightenment philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Because everything that is simply is. |