Heritage Hill Naturals
Written by Francisca Da Silveira
Directed by Phaedra Michelle Scott
May 11 - 26, 2018
Deane Hall, The Standford Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts
In an effort to avoid confronting her declining mental health, recent college graduate Lucilia volunteers a month of free labor to an organic farm in rural Georgia. There, she encounters ignorance bordering on racism, religious fanaticism, and too healthy eating habits that force her to question whether escaping into a world of green living was really an escape at all.
Cast and Production Team
Lucy - Alex Casillas
Erica - Laura Baronet Chowenhill
Robin - Kellie Moon
Ethan - Jon Vellante
Rose - Aislinn Brophy
Sasha - Emily Elmore
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Playwright - Francisca Da Silveira
Director - Phaedra Michelle Scott
Dramaturg - Sarah Schnebly
Stage Manager - Audrey Seraphin
Assistant Director - G Cadogan
Assistant Stage Manager - Kayla Fernekees
Scenic Design - Abby Shenker
Lighting Design - Emily Bearce
Costume Design - Stephanie K. Brownell
Prop Design - Cesara Walters
Sound Design - Lee Schuna
Deputy Technical Director - Betsy Pierce
Production photos by Paul Fox
Alex Casillas (Lucy) is Alex Casillas is thrilled to be making her Fresh Ink debut! She is a graduate of Boston University where she received her BFA in Acting. Her recent credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Scarlet Letter (Classic Repertory Company), Big Love, Henry IV, Part I and Love of the Nightingale (Boston University).
Laura Baronet Chowenhill (Erica) is a recent Master's graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She currently works as an actor and teaching artist in the greater Boston area. This summer she was fortunate enough to work with the young company’s Overture program as a music director. Past theatre credits include Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Amalia in She Loves Me, Brutus in Julius Caesar, Beatrice-Joanna in The Changeling, and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. She also holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Belmont University.
Kellie Moon (Robin) is Kellie Moon (Robin) is thrilled to be making her Fresh Ink Theatre debut this spring. She studied acting at Salem State University, graduating with a BA in theatre performance and minor in secondary education. Kellie can also be found making people laugh at the Improv Asylum on Monday nights!
Jon Vellante (Ethan) is Jon Vellante is humbled to be working with Fresh Ink for the first time and so happy to help bring this new play to life. His recent credits include The Visit (Apollinaire Theatre Company); Desire (Zeitgeist Stage); Romeo and Juliet (CRC w/ New Repertory Theatre) and Good (BU Professional Theatre Initiative). He can also be seen this winter in Three Sisters (Apollinaire) and An Education in Prudence (Open Theatre Project). A proud Massachusetts native, Jon graduated from Boston University with a BFA in acting.
Aislinn Brophy (Rose) is a local actor, director and playwright. Aislinn recently graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in Theater, Dance & Media, and is excited to have been a part of Theater, Dance & Media’s very first graduating class. Undergraduate acting credits include A Dream Play (Poet), A Raisin in the Sun (Beneatha), Dog Sees God (Marcy), and Unnecessary Farce (Karen). She is thrilled to be making her Fresh Ink debut.
Emily Elmore (Sasha) is thrilled to be working with Fresh Ink for the first time! Her local Boston credits include Antigone (Flat Earth Theatre Co.) and Hamlet (Brown Box Theatre Project), and she also trained at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Emily is a recent graduate of Emerson College, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting with a Minor in Hearing and Deafness. Her undergrad credits include Getting Out, Richard III, and Mother Hicks, all with Emerson Stage. emilyannelmore.com
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Francisca Da Silveira (Playwright) is a Boston native and playwright who graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a double degree in Dramatic Writing and History. She has had admin and literary roles at Target Margin Theater (NYC), The Russian Arts Theater and Studio (NYC), The Amoralists (NYC), and TC Squared (BOS). In 2015-2016, she served as the Education Associate at Company One Theatre (BOS) working with their teen apprentices. She is currently the Literary Manager with Company One. Fran's writing is greatly inspired and influenced by Anton Chekhov and Alan Bennett. She's had 10 minute plays performed as part of Theatre503's Rapid Write Response in 2014 (LONDON) and TCSquared Theatre Company's Playwright's Lab Showcase in 2016/2017 (BOS). Aside from writing plays, Fran is a home baker with an obsession with Mary Berry.
Phaedra Scott (Director) is a Boston based director, dramaturg and writer. Phaedra has been a part of the artistic departments of Cleveland Play House, Huntington Theatre Company and Company One Theatre. Directing credits include: She: A Choreoplay (HERE, NYC), I Don't Know (Company One), Every 28 Hours (Company One/MFA). Regionally she has assistant directed Skeleton Crew, The Who and the What, Bedroom Farce (Huntington Theatre Company). Dramaturgy credits include Dear (MCC Theatre), Pearl's in The House (Utah Shakespeare Festival), And Moira Spins (Huntington Theatre Company), Homecoming Queen (New Harmony Project), How Soft the Lining (Bad Habit Productions), Jass (New Harmony Project), Can You Forgive Her? (Huntington Theatre Company). She is the recipient of the Bly Creative Capacity Grant, the Comegys Bight Fellowship and the Frederick Douglass Fellowship, and is a Boston Project playwright with SpeakEasy Stage. www.phaedrascott.com
Sarah Schnebly (Dramaturg) is thrilled to be working with Fresh Ink on this production of Heritage Hill Naturals. Sarah previously served as the dramaturg for the Huntington Theatre Company's Summer Workshop of Cells, written by Sam Marks and directed by Oliver Butler, and she will be dramaturging the upcoming reading of Lynne S. Brandon's At the Line, directed by Pascale Florestale at Boston Playwright's Theatre. She was the 2016-2017 Literary Apprentice at the Huntington Theatre Company, where she assisted with dramaturgy on A Doll's House, The Who and the What, and Topdog/Underdog. She graduated from Kenyon College in 2016 where she studied English and Film.
Audrey Seraphin (Stage Manager) is a local theatre artist and arts administrator who is as likely to be found on the stage as behind it. Recent area credits include: Lost Girls with Take Your Pick Productions (Asst.Director/Sound Design/Asst. Stage Manager); Hair with Heart & Dagger Productions (Asst. Director/Stage Manager/Projection Design); and Sections in the Furnace Fringe Festival (Emile). She is a proud member of The Front Porch Arts Collective and serves as the Membership & Capacity Building Manager at ArtsBoston by day. Audrey also serves on the steering committee of ArtsBoston's Network of Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston. Big thanks to Phaedra, Fran, and Louise for this opportunity!
G Cadogan (Assistant Director) is currently a sophomore at Emerson college pursing a BFA in Theater Education. This is G's first time working with Fresh Ink and it could not have been a better experience! G would like to thank the entire cast and production team for all of the hard work and effort they put into this beautiful show. In particular G would like to thank Phaedra for allowing them to join her on the journey to make this incredible show a reality.
Kayla Fernekees (Assistant Stage Manager) is thrilled to be filling the role of Assistant Stage Manager for this production. Other shows Fernekees stage managed include Pippin, Dames at Sea, The Addams Family, and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. She wrote, directed, and choreographed the 2016 IMPACT children's theatre season at Jean's Playhouse, Stage Managed the National Tour of A Christmas Carol for 3 years with PerSeverance Productions, and is currently a performer with The Murder Mystery Company. Fernekees is also currently teaching dance in a Massachusetts middle school. She would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her on this crazy journey.
Abby Shenker (Scenic Design) is happy to make her Fresh Ink debut with Heritage Hills Naturals. Abby works as a scenic designer throughout the Greater Boston area for a variety of professional companies. Recent scenic design credits include The Revolutionists (The Nora Theater Company); An Education in Prudence (Open Theatre Project); The Hotel Nepenthe (Brown Box Theatre Project); and Enter Laughing (Salem State University). Local Props Design credits include Allegiance, Shakespeare in Love, and Men on Boats (SpeakEasy Stage Co.), Man of La Mancha (New Rep); and Much Ado About Nothing, Exit the King and Julius Caesar (Actors’ Shakespeare Project). Abby is a graduate of Emerson College.
Emily Bearce (Lighting Design) is a New England based lighting designer. Previously she worked with Fresh Ink for their production of The Housekeeper. Her next production is Operhub’s DIVAS. - www.ebearce.com
Stephanie K. Brownell (Costume Design) is an interdisciplinary writer, artist and educator with passions for social justice, speculative fiction, color-coding and French. Local collaborators include Company One, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, New Rep, Greater Boston Stage Company, Boston Symphony Orchestra, American Repertory Theatre, Apollinaire Theatre, Titanic Theatre, Flat Earth, Bridge Rep and more. Upcoming designs: Footloose (Greater Boston Stage), Leave Me Alone! (Story Theatre Chicago). Upcoming plays: This Place (Artists' Theatre of Boston). Stephanie is a former Kennedy Center Fellow at the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, a member of Company One’s 2017 PlayLab, and a Core Member of Artists’ Theatre of Boston. She teaches at Bentley University and GrubStreet Writing Center. MFA: Boston University. Skbrownell.com
Cesara Walters (Prop Design) is a Boston based theatre practitioner of many hats! Though she specializes in directing, stage management, and props design, she is also an experienced choreographer and makeup artist. Cesara received her BA at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in London England. She directed the Promenade Opera Project's inaugural production of Justice or Mercy (La Clemenza Di Tito) last August and is looking forward to directing the main stage production at Charles River School's theatre program this summer. Recent stage management credits include Company One's Hype Man, REVOLT. She Said. Revolt Again., and The T Party, Boston Circus Guild's 2017 Cirque of the Dead, and the Greater Boston Stage Company's young company's production of The Drowsy Chaperone. She just finished props design for The Hub Theatre Company's production of True West and previously has provided props design and custom fabrication for Company One Theatre, Boston Children's Theatre, the Boston Circus Guild, and The Royal Academy of Music. Choreography credits include The King and I, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Jesus Christ Superstar with The Theatre Company in central Texas. Cesara has also led theatrical workshops with the young company in Stoneham, Company One Theatre in Boston, and served as the Director of Education for the Brazos Valley Players' 2011-2012 season. For more information and to see portfolio images visit www.cesarawalters.com
Lee Schuna (Sound Design) is pleased to be making his debut with Fresh Ink! Lee is a freelance sound designer, composer, music producer, and graduate of the Music Industry program at Northeastern University. Credits include Two Jews Walked Into a War, Lonely Planet, Statements After an Arrest..., Fiddler on the Roof (New Rep); Hype Man, Peerless, Really, and The T Party (Company One); Every Brilliant Thing, Grand Concourse, and Significant Other (SpeakEasy Stage Company); Fires in the Mirror, The King Stag (Tufts University); and The Women Who Mapped The Stars (The Nora). He is currently working on an album with queer pop artist Sir Babygirl, as well as experimental electronic music to be released on his pet record label Human Nature Records.
Betsy Pierce (Deputy Technical Director) is a freelance stage manager, carpenter, and electrician. Stage management credits include: Boston: The Lyons (SM, Titanic Theatre Co.), Nomad Americana (ASM, Fresh Ink), Hold These Truths (ASM, Lyric Stage Co.), Murder for Two (ASM, Lyric Stage Co.), Philadelphia: A Fierce Kind of Love (SM), Voices of Voting (SM), Dear Elizabeth (ASM), Pride & Prejudice (ASM), Cinderella: A Musical Panto (ASM), Noises Off (ASM). Carpenter/Electrician: Central Square Theater, Lyric Stage Co., BeNT Productions. Betsy holds a B.S. in Theatre Arts from Skidmore College.