Welcome to our Virtual Spring Season!
The Salon Series - What is it?
The Salon Series is TSR's semi - monthly new works development lab, all about exploring the possibilities and potential of a new story in a low-stakes setting. We specifically look for pieces that fulfill our mission, to explore modern myth. The Salon Series creates space for new stage works to receive exposure in front of a supportive audience in a comfortable setting, usually for scripts that are in that in-between place after a table read, but before a workshop. After the presentation, the company invites the audience to mingle with the actors, each other, and the playwright.
(it used to be a living room, but for now it's in all our living rooms via Zoom - be sure to BYOB and snacks!)
If you are a playwright and would like to send us a play, our submissions process is Thanksgiving through Mid-January!
(it used to be a living room, but for now it's in all our living rooms via Zoom - be sure to BYOB and snacks!)
If you are a playwright and would like to send us a play, our submissions process is Thanksgiving through Mid-January!
Coming Up This Spring
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BELLY OF THE SHIP
Written by Anya Kopischke 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. |
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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 "Last Assembly Line" by Daniel Borja "tourist shell shock" by Sean-Joseph Choo "Scarcity of Illness" by Rachel Leighson "She Sells Sea Shells" by Samantha Marchant "liz taylor ain't got nothin' on me" by Zennie Trieu "Genesis 41" by Emely Zepeda |
Previous Salons
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Performed by Abraham Makany and Isabella Jane Schiller, with Miranda Noelle Wilson reading stage directions
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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. |
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Performed by Dana Jacks, Anuj Parikh, Miranda Noelle Wilson, Cary Hite, John Racioppo, Shanta Parasuraman, Evelyn Carvera & Callie Considine reading stage directions.
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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. |
Performed by Sara Kerr, Isabella Jane Schiller, Barron Bass, Zennie Trieu, Marc Pierre, Anuj Parikh, Pallavi Rajan, Nick Ong, Samantha Streich, & Stacey Schiller reading stage directions.
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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. |
Performed by Avriel Hillman, Gerardo Hernandez, Evan Rudo Cohen, Ariel Estrada, Isabella Jane Schiller, Evelyn Carvera, & Callie Considine reading stage directions.
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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. |
Performed by Sanuhi Achar, Shanta Parasuraman, Anuj Parikh, Shetal Shah, Siri Raghu, with Pallavi Pajan reading Stage Directions.
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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? |
Performed by Karsten Otto, Danny Newman, Miranda Poett, Isabella Jane Schiller and Austin Carby
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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. |
Michelle Cage, Evelyn Carvera, Danny Newman, and Miranda Poett
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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 |
Performed by Miranda Poett, Elvin McRae, Nick Ong, Scott Martineck, Barron Bass, & Gael Schaeffer
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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? |
Performed by Nya Noemi, Michelle Cage, Miranda Poett, Courtney McClellan, Barron Bass, & Scott Martineck
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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! |
Performed by Miranda Poett, Courtney McClellan, Barron Bass, Jennie Hughes, Izzy Schiller, and Benjamin-Ernest Abraham
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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! |
Performed by Teresa Attridge, Barron Bass, Michelle Cage, Elijah Guo, Scott Martineck, Miranda Poett, Isabella Schiller, & Emily Claire Schmitt
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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. |
Performed by Miranda Poett, Michelle Cage, Barron Bass, Courtney McClellan, Brendan Cataldo, John Racioppo, Emmanuel Linden-Broner, Joe Loper, Claire Buckingham, and Dani Martineck
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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. |
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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! |
Performed by Barron Bass, Ria T. DiLullo, Elijah Guo, Dani Martineck, Sophie Max, Gavin Myers, & Miranda Poett
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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! |
Performed by Teresa Attridge, Isabella Dawis, Elijah Guo, Courtney McClellan, Nick Ong, & Miranda Poett
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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. |
Performed by Courtney McClellan, Dani Martineck, Elijah Guo, Brendan Cataldo
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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. |
Performed by Miranda Poett, Linda Kress, Elizabeth Scopel, Hannah Jane Ginsberg, Miranda Wilson, Courtney McClellan & Teresa Attridge
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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. |
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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. |
Performed by Teresa Attridge, Barron Bass, Claire Buckingham, Courtney McClellan, & Kingsley Nwaogu
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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. |
Performed by Sarah Matteucci, Charlotte Pines, Courtney McClellan, Roxy Reynolds, Camille-Bettina Atkinson, John Carlin, Susannah Jones & Maria DiFabbio
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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. |
Performed by Amanda Bruton, Hannah Jane Ginsberg, Chase Kuertz, and Jasmine Stiefel
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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? |
Performed by Barron Bass, Cristina Pitter, Dante Alexander, Alejandra Rivera, John Carlin, Courtney McClellan, and Charlotte Pines
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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. |
Actors this evening included Eliza Simpson, Barron Bass, Teresa Attridge, Timothy French, Brittany Sowards, & Gil Polk (as well as writers Amanda Bruton, Veronica Cooper, Emily Claire Schmitt, & Ria T. DiLullo)
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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. |
Performed by Colin Waitt, Tyler Gardella, Sydney Blaxill, & Andi Morrow
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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. |
Performed by Jonathan Huggins, Courtney McClellan, Rebecca Burton, & Matthew Van Gessel
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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? |
Performed by John Racioppo, Robert Emmet Lunney, Jak Watson, Gil Polk, Brandon Johnson, Elizabeth Scopel, & David Cohen
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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. |
Performed by Sammi Katz, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey, Scott Thomas, McKenna Cox, & Courtney McClellan
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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. |
Performed by Terkeisha Tyler, Edgar Edguia, Gil Polk, Miranda Poett, & Erik Olsen
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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. |
Performed by Dean Temple, Andi Morrow, Jonathan Huggins, & Rebecca Burton
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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? |
Performed by John Carlin, Colin Waitt, Lillith Fallon, Marisa Fratto, & Wiliam Barnet IV
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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. |