NOMAD AMERICANA

Written by Kira Rockwell

Directed by Damon Krometis

February 2-17, 2018

The Boston Playwrights' Theatre

The eccentric Echo family has lived under the roof of one continuously mobile RV for years, but as they prepare for the birth of their newest member, they make temporary roots in a rural Texas town believed to harness great magic. When Bridgette, the oldest daughter, strikes up a romance with a local, motorcycle riding cowboy who shares her affinity for Shakespeare, she awakens a side of herself she never knew and begins to imagine a life outside her family. Nomad Americana is a new coming of age tale about finding your voice, the search for authentic connection, and the genuine love of one blended, American family.

Cast and Production Team

Bridgette Echo - Ivy Ryan
Violet Echo - Janelle Mills
Toby Echo - Jeffrey Song
Stormi Echo - Khloe Alice Lin
Danny Louis - Nick Perron

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Playwright - Kira Rockwell
Director - Damon Krometis
Dramaturg - Sara Brookner
Stage Manager - Ariel Welch
Assistant Director - Sloth Levine
Assistant Stage Manager - Betsy Pierce
Scenic Design - Baron Pugh
Lighting Design - Jess Krometis
Costume Design - Chelsea Kerl
Prop Design - Julia Fioravanti
Sound Design - Elizabeth Cahill
Dialect Consultant - Elizabeth Milanovich
Fight Choreography - Margaret Clark
Special Education Consultant - Erin Ronder Neves

Production photos by Paul Fox

Ivy Ryan (Bridgette Echo) returns to Fresh Ink after appearing in Sorry Ass Block Party (Mad Dash 2017) and Why We Have Winter (Ink Spot reading, 2016). Recent credits include Man of La Mancha, Fiddler on the Roof (New Repertory Theatre), Social Glue (Boston Theater Marathon XIX), The Scarlet Letter, Romeo and Juliet (New Rep’s Classic Repertory Company). Additionally, Ivy has done workshops/ stage readings of Dark Room (Bridge Repertory Theater), Move Your Face (Boston Theater Company), Honey Trap (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre), Jesus Girls (New Repertory Theatre). This year Ivy is working with the Huntington Theatre Company as an Education Apprentice. Ivy earned her BFA in Acting from Boston University, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Love to her mom for her selfless support. ivyryan.com

Jeffrey Song (Toby Echo) is delighted to be making his Fresh Ink debut with Nomad Americana. Jeff recently performed in the Baltimore Center Stage production of Mary Zimmerman’s The White Snake (as Music Director, Composer, Musician and Actor). Other acting credits include productions with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (Memorial), the American Repertory Theater (Wild Swans), Company One (Astro Boy and the God of Comics), and Wheelock Family Theatre (Pinocchio). A NEFA grant recipient, Jeff is featured on over a dozen recordings, and has performed concerts in the U.S. and abroad (Montreux Jazz Festival, the Vichy Opera House, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Boston’s ICA, the Istanbul Jazz Festival, the Palermo Festival Di Verdura, and the New York Jazz Festival). His original music has been featured on radio, TV, theater, and at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan.
 

Khloe Alice Lin (Stormi Echo) is delighted to make her Fresh Ink debut in Nomad Americana. Her recent Boston credits include Hold These Truths (Lyric Stage), The Weird (Off the Grid), peerless (Company One), and Bear Patrol (Vaquero Playground). She was in the original cast of the Chinese premier of Vagina Monologues, and has performed extensively in China in her native tongue, Mandarin. She is a proud graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in comparative literature and theater. Much love to my husband, Tyler.

Nick Perron (Danny Louis) is thrilled to be making his Fresh Ink debut in Nomad Americana. Recent credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare NOW!), A Christmas Carol (The Public Theatre), Seminar (Kick at the Dark Theatre), Women Beware Women (Villains’ Theatre). Before moving to Boston, Nick acted and produced work internationally, primarily in Nova Scotia. He studied acting in the great white north of Canada at Dalhousie University. Nick thanks all the friends and family for their continuous support.

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Damon Krometis (Director) is excited to be directing his first full-length play for Fresh Ink after being a part of Mad Dash 2016. As a director and some-time writer, Damon explores the intersection of performance and witness theory. He believes in the power of live performance to change people's minds and behavior. Damon has created a number of community oriented theatre pieces in collaboration with local organizations. Most recently he directed Stories of Substance, a short educational drama on opiate addiction that was featured on WBUR. Last year, he published an article examining his adaptation of Henry V created in collaboration with local veterans in the Chicago area. Damon is the former artistic director of Examined Man Theatre, a New York company that dramatized true stories. For Examined Man, he directed Thinking Makes It So (NYIT Award nomination - best solo performance), When In Disgrace and The Light Inside. He has directed new plays and adaptations of classical texts in New York, London, Chicago, Boston and Baltimore. Damon holds a MFA in Directing form Northwestern University, and is currently an affiliated faculty member at Emerson College and Roxbury Community College. Much love to Jess.

Sara Brookner (Dramaturg) previously worked with Fresh Ink on The Housekeeper by Ginger Lazarus. She has previously worked on productions with Boston Public Works, Whistler in the Dark, Cornerstone Theater, and the American Repertory Theater and its Institute. She is currently the Foundation Relations Manager at ArtsEmerson. A proud StageSource board member, she also coordinates their Gender Parity Task Force and serves on MASSCreative’s leadership council. She received her MFA in dramaturgy from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University, and a certificate in community-based theatre from Cornerstone Theater’s summer institute.

Ariel Welch (Stage Manager) received a BFA from The Theater School at DePaul University in Chicago and is excited for the opportunity to work with Fresh Ink for the first time! Ari is a freelance Stage Manager in the greater Boston area, and her recent Boston stage management works include The Convert with Central Square Theatre. Dry Land, Shelter of Last Resort (XXPlaylab), and The Flick with Company One Theatre, A Palpable Hit with Cambridge Historical Tours, and The Little Blue One with Juventas New Music Ensemble.  She is also a staff member at Weston Drama Workshop where she mentors aspiring Stage Managers and has stage managed West Side Story, Evita, The Wizard of Oz and Chicago. Her Chicago credits include Cloud Nine, The Grapes of Wrath, and A Streetcar Named Desire with Roosevelt University; In a Garden with A Red Orchard Theater; Loom with NWaC and The Whole World Is Watching with Dog and Pony Theater Co. Ari would like to thank her family and friends for their support and encouragement.

Sloth Levine (Assistant Director) is excited to be making their Fresh Ink debut. Previous Boston credits include Men On Boats (Asst. Director) at SpeakEasy Stage and Cymbeline (Asst. Stage Manager) at Brown Box Theatre Project. Upcoming projects include Wig Out! (Asst. Director) at Company One Theatre and The Hotel Nepenthe (Props Design) at Brown Box Theatre Project. While earning a BA in Theatre Studies at Emerson College, they directed productions of James and the Giant Peach and The Hobbit at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. Thank you to Damon for every opportunity.

Betsy Pierce (Assistant Stage Manager) is a stage manager, carpenter, and electrician who has recently moved back to the Boston area. Boston credits include Hold These Truths (ASM, Lyric Stage Co), Hold These Truths (ASM, Lyric Stage Co.). Philadelphia credits include A Fierce Kind of Love (SM), Voices of Voting (SM), Dear Elizabeth (ASM), Pride & Prejudice (ASM), Cinderella: A Musical Panto (ASM), Noises Off (ASM). Betsy holds a B.S. in Theatre Arts from Skidmore College.

Baron Pugh (Scenic Design) received his MFA in scenic design at Boston University this past December. Select credits include: Boston University: La Tragédie de Carmen, The Merchant of Venice, Ghosts, The Hothouse; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey – Next Stage Ensemble: The Triumph of Love, Romeo and Juliet. Upcoming: The Wiz with Lyric Stage of  Boston. BaronPughDesign.com  

Jessica Krometis (Lighting Design) is thrilled to be making her Fresh Ink debut with Nomad Americana. She is a recent Boston resident after getting her MFA in Lighting Design from Northwestern University. Boston credits include Lucky Stiff with Stoneham Theater and High Hamlet with Improv Asylum. Jessica designed several shows in the Chicago area and New York with companies including American Theatre Company, Theatre Wit, Stage Left Theatre, Artistic Home, and Jackalope Theatre.  She was also the assistant designer for exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, as well as theatre productions at Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, and Drury Lane Theatre. Jessica now works as a designer for Available Light, Inc., a lighting design firm located in Salem, MA. See more of her work at www.jharpenau.com.

Chelsea Kerl (Costume Design) is happy to be working with Fresh Ink again, having previously designed The Housekeeper. She received her MFA in Costume Design form Boston University, and she previously attended the University of Maryland, where she earned degrees in both Theatre and English. Chelsea currently works as the costume shop manager, costume designer, and adjunct costume professor at Wellesley College, and she freelance designs throughout New England; her work has been seen on the stages of Greater Boston Stage Company (Altar Boyz, Luna Gale), SpeakEasy Stage Company (Grand Concourse), Lyric Stage Company (Warrior Class), Brandeis University (Big Love, Leveling Up), and New Repertory Theatre (Assassins, The Little Prince), among others. More of her work can be seen at www.chelseakerl.com.

Julia Fioravanti (Prop Design) has been working in the Boston area since May 2016, starting with a Stage Management Apprenticeship at Gloucester Stage Company. Since her apprenticeship, she has been able to further her career having had the opportunity to work with many local theaters such as the Boston Children’s Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, Park Playhouse, and Liars & Believers in stage managing, props designing, and wardrobe supervising. She has also worked with Salt and Light Dance Studios, Athens Community Theatre, and is one of the founding members of The Children’s Theatre of Athens. Julia holds a BFA in Theatre and Music from Tennessee Wesleyan College and is a member of AEA.

Elizabeth Cahill (Sound Design) Sound Design credits include Road Show, Camelot, Warrior Class (Lyric Stage), Familiar (A.R.T. Institute), The Revolutionists (The Nora), Men on Boats (SpeakEasy Stage Company), ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, Alligator Road (Greater Boston Stage Company), Hamlet (Brownbox Theatre Project), The Fear Project (Open Theatre Project), Sister Anonymous (Second Act Productions), Time Stands Still (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre). Emerson College BFA Theatre Design/Technology. Select Emerson Stage sound design credits include Caucasian Chalk Circle, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Guys and Dolls, Richard III, Edward Tulane, The Spitfire Grill.  elizabethsound.com

Lizzie Milanovich (Dialect Consultant) is a Boston based actor, writer, teacher, and coach. She has appeared on stage with Fresh Ink in That Time the House Burned Down and her play It's Not About My Mother was produced in their 5th season. As an actor, she has worked with Huntington Theatre Company, Central Square Theatre, Greater Boston Stage Company, Theatre on Fire, Flat Earth Theatre, Brown Box Theatre Project, and Bad Habit. She holds a degree in theatre studies from Emerson College. lizziemilanovich.com @lizovich

Margaret Clark (Fight Choreography) is a Boston-based fight choreographer and actor. Recent choreography credits include Julius Caesar and Midsummer with Commonwealth Shakespeare, Closet Land with Bridgewater State University, Romeo and Juliet with Shakespeare Now! and How Soft The Lining with Bad Habit. Margaret was also lucky enough to return last year to Emerson College, her alma mater, to assistant teach with Ted Hewlett.

Erin Ronder Neves (Special Education Consultant) received her M.A. in Educational Theatre and a NY State Teaching Certificate in Theatre for Grades K-12 from NYU. She is an Actor and Master Theatre Teaching Artist. Erin has worked with numerous Broadway theatre companies and Arts Organizations including: Disney Theatrical Group, The American Place Theatre, The Center for Arts Education, The DreamYard Project, Theatre Development Fund, and Manhattan New Music Project. Erin specializes in creating connections between students with disabilities and the performing arts. Erin is currently a Teaching Artist and Special Education Consultant with The Greater Boston Stage Company (formerly Stoneham Theatre). Erin focuses on advocating for students who have special needs by educating staff on best teaching practices while providing individualized support to students and their families. In addition, Erin assists theatre companies by offering insight and education into the special needs community to help create authentic representation. Erin continues to perform at local, regional and professional theatres throughout the Northeast.