the earth room
Written by Marge Buckley
Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw
May 3-18, 2019
Boston Playwrights' Theatre
On a Mars colony built to sustain the future of human life, homesick immigrants look to reconnect with the Earth in any way they can: virtual reality, factory-made-nostalgia-based cookies, and giant murals of automobiles. But a new generation of young Martians want to leave the past behind and carve out a culture for themselves, even if it means they have to fight for it. In The Earth Room, the snow is artificial, but the challenges of the future have never been more real.
Cast and Production Team
Malia - Kiara Caridad Stewart
Ari - Grace Trapnell
George - Scot Colford
Jitterbug - Mal Malme
House - Jane Reagan
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Playwright - Marge Buckley
Director - Rebecca Bradshaw
Dramaturg - Sarah Schnebly
Stage Manager - Micaela Slotin
Assistant Director - Sloth Levine
Assistant Production Manager - Regina Averion
Assistant Stage Manager - Liv Florek
Scenic Design - Lindsay Fuori
Lighting Design - Abigail Wang
Costume Design - Chelsea Kerl
Prop Design - Victoria Hermann
Sound Design - Elizabeth Cahill
Fight Choreography - Omar Robinson
Production photos by Paul Fox
Kiara Caridad Stewart (Malia) is excited to be making her Fresh Ink debut with The Earth Room. She is currently a first-year student at Suffolk University pursuing a major in Theatre. Her recent credits include Paciencia (Sullivan Studio Theatre), Loss of Breath (Modern Theatre), and is currently in Anna Kohler’s production of Everybody (Modern Theatre). Kiara also speaks Spanish fluently and is conversational in both ASL and Portuguese. She’d like to thank her family for their unwavering love and support and her acting professors for their guidance.
Grace Trapnell (Ari) is delighted to be taking part in The Earth Room with such an incredible team! Recent regional credits include Wit (Hub Theatre), Julius Caesar (Praxis Stage), and Love’s Labor’s Lost, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CSC), and the upcoming Move Your Face (Boston Theater Company). Grace hails from Charlottesville, Virginia, and holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Vermont. She is also the social media and marketing coordinator for Artists’ Theater of Boston.
Scot Colford (George) most recently appeared as Dr. Jim Bayliss in All My Sons (Praxis Stage). Other Boston-area appearances include Blood on the Snow (Old State House), That Time the House Burned Down (Fresh Ink), The Love of the Nightingale (Hub Theatre), Shiver (Project: Project), Gay Shorts 2: We Are Family (Open Theatre Project), La Cage Aux Folles (The Umbrella), and Fire On Earth (Fresh Ink). Notable regional work includes Cloud Nine, The Elephant Man, and A Christmas Carol at Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton, Ohio. A native of Ohio, Scot holds a B.F.A. in Acting from Wright State University.
Mal Malme (Jitterbug) is out of this world about working with Fresh Ink again, after being part of several workshops in recent years, including The Earth Room. Mal is co-founder of Queer Soup Theater, currently touring The Pineapple Project, a play for kids celebrating gender diversity, developed and performed by Mal and Becca A. Lewis. Mal has also worked with Speakeasy Stage, Company One, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, and The Theater Offensive. By day, Mal is Dr. Mal Adjusted, a professional healthcare clown with the Laughter League at Boston Children's and Hasbro Children's Hospitals. Mal thanks Marge Buckley for writing a play with a trans/nonbinary character and is grateful to be part of this adventure! Mal is honored to be a member of StageSource and part of their Gender Explosion Initiative.
Jane Reagan (House) makes her Fresh Ink debut with The Earth Room! Recent credits include 1776 (Samuel Chase/US John Dickinson) with New Rep Theatre, Animal Farm (Squealer) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena/Cobweb/Mechanical) with Classic Repertory Company. Beyond acting, Jane is also passionate about theatre education, and is a member of the Acting Ensemble at the Bread Loaf School of English with Middlebury College at their Santa Fe campus. Jane holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College.
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Marge Buckley (Playwright) is a writer and performer originally from Centreville, Virginia. Her plays, including A Fable Regarding the Octopus, God is a Woman, Anchortown, and Phylloxera! have been produced in Boston, New York, and Minneapolis. Marge holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College. She's currently writing a novel about a herd of cloned space yak.
Rebecca Bradshaw (Director) is a theatre director and producer in the Boston area. Directing credits include: Rebecca Gilman’s Luna Gale (Stoneham Theatre), Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews (SpeakEasy Stage), Charles Mee’s Big Love (Brandeis University), Stephen Karam’s Speech and Debate (Bad Habit Productions), David Mamet’s Oleanna and John Logan’s Red (The Umbrella), William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Mary Zimmerman’s The Secret In The Wings (Weston Drama Workshop), Obehi Janice’s Fufu & Oreos and MJ Halberstadt’s Not Jenny (Bridge Rep), Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Love of the Nightingale (Hub Theatre of Boston), MJ Halberstadt’s The Da Vinci Commission (Can’t Wait Productions), Patrick Gabridge’s Fire on Earth (Fresh Ink Theatre), and Mark Mazzenga’s A Feeble Mind (Brown Box Theatre Project). She has directed for other local institutions, including Huntington Theatre Company, Gloucester Stage, New Repertory Theatre, Boston University, New England Conservatory, Emerson College, and Harvard University. Ms. Bradshaw holds a BA from Emerson College in Theatre Studies. rebeccalynnbradshaw.com
Sarah Schnebly (Dramaturg) is thrilled to be dramaturging with Fresh Ink again after working on Idawalley for their Ink Spot festival and Heritage Hill Naturals last season. Other dramaturgical credits include a summer workshop of Cells at the Huntington Theatre Company and a staged reading of At The Line with Rad Fem Arts. Outside of her role as a dramaturg, Sarah reads screenplays for the BlueCat Screenplay Competition and is a co-writer on the fiction podcast Still Lives produced by Studio Knox.
Micaela Slotin (Stage Manager) is an Arts Administrator for Broadway in Boston who moonlights as a freelance Stage Manager. Recent projects include Lost at Sea (Moonbox), Cirque of the Dead (Boston Circus Guild), and Picture This (Sleeping Weazel). Upcoming projects include a very long nap. When Micaela isn't stage managing a show or stage managing her office, she spends her time as an amateur circus artist and burlesque performer. Many thanks to Fresh Ink and this super supportive team!
Sloth Levine (Assistant Director) is simply delighted to be working with Fresh Ink again. They have previously collaborated on Nomad Americana, Mad Dash 2018, Seeing Eye for Ink Spots 2018, and the upcoming Boston Theatre Marathon. With Milky Way Coffee Roasters, Sloth directed, adapted, and designed Nosferatu, The Vampyr last Halloween at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. Other area credits include Wig Out! (Assistant Director, Company One), Men On Boats (Assistant Director, SpeakEasy Stage), and multiple projects with Brown Box Theatre Project. They’re currently in the Company One PlayLab Unit developing their penny dreadful epic The Castle of Ghoul Hammond and How It Fell Into The Void. Sloth is an advocate for transgender and non-binary theatre makers, you can find their writing on HowlRound and American Theatre or at www.stagesource.org/page/GenderExplosion. Special thanks to Rebecca, Louise, Hannah, and Marge.
Regina Averion (Assistant Production Manager) is thrilled to be making her Fresh Ink Theatre debut with The Earth Room. Some past credits include Production Management for The Theater Offensive's Production of Alleged Lesbian Activities by Last Call NOLA, Asst. Stage Management for Cabaret at The Boston Conservatory Mainstage, and Stage Management and Sound Design for Good Kids written by Naomi Iizuka. Regina will be finishing her BM in Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music this summer and plans to pursue theater production in Boston and beyond. Many thanks to Karthik from Company One, Louise, and the rest of this team for being so supportive! Reginaaverion.com
Liv Florek (Assistant Stage Manager) is absolutely thrilled to make her Fresh Ink debut! She is currently studying as a sophomore at Suffolk University with a major in Theatre Arts and a concentration in directing and stage management. She is glad to have taken part as the assistant stage manager for The Earth Room and wishes the best for the cast and crew. She would like to thank her family, friends, and her professors for their never-ending support! Enjoy the show!
Lindsay Fuori (Scenic Design) is a Boston based scenic designer thrilled to be back collaborating with Fresh Ink. Lindsay holds a BFA in Scene Design from Boston University. Recent design credits include Die Fledermaus (Mass Opera), Paride ed Elena (Odyssey Opera), Ragtime (Wheelock Family Theatre), Death Comes to Us All, Mary Agnes (Hangar Theatre). Upcoming productions include Measure for Measure and The Virtuous Fall (Spicy Witch Productions), Pride and Prejudice and Hazardous Materials (Creede Repertory Theatre). lindsayfuori.com
Abigail Wang (Lighting Design) is a Boston based lighting designer focused on helping to tell the stories of underrepresented groups. Recent projects:Turning the Tide, Moonbox Productions; With Glittering Eyes, Hibernian Hall; Safety Net, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts; Perfect Arrangement, UMass Lowell; a grimm thing, Entropy Theatre Company; What We’re Up Against, Women’s Project (Asst.) BFA NYU Tisch. Abigailwangdesign.com
Chelsea Kerl (Costume Design) is happy to be back with Fresh Ink, after previously designing Nomad Americana and The Housekeeper. Chelsea has been freelance designing in the Boston area since 2011; she earned her MFA in Costume Design from Boston University in 2014, and she previously attended the University of Maryland, where she studied both Theatre and English. Select recent credits include James and the Giant Peach (Wheelock Family Theatre), Twelfth Night (Actor's Shakespeare Project and Lyric Stage Company of Boston), Photograph 51 (Central Square Theatre), Straight White Men (New Repertory Theatre), and The Liar (Wellesley Repertory Theatre). Chelsea is also the Costume Shop Manager, Resident Costume Designer, and Costume Professor at Wellesley College. More of her work can be seen at www.chelseakerl.com.
Victoria Hermann (Prop Design) is a graduate from Ithaca College with a degree in Theater Studies, concentrating in Theater Education and Directing. This is her second production with Fresh Ink and is excited to work with this exciting company once again! She has worked in a wide variety of roles on productions, though favorites include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Director, Rebel Shakespeare Company), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Stage Manager, IC Macabre Theater), and Shrek JR (Stage Manager, Marblehead Little Theater).
Elizabeth Cahill (Sound Design) Select Sound Design credits include The Wolves, Road Show, Camelot, and Warrior Class (Lyric Stage), Small Mouth Sounds, Men on Boats (SpeakEasy Stage), Macbeth (IRNE Nominated), Equivocation (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Familiar (A.R.T. Institute), Dark Room (Bridge Rep), Nomad Americana (Fresh Ink Theatre), The Magic Flute (New England Conservatory), The Revolutionists, Photograph 51 (The Nora), ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, Alligator Road (Greater Boston Stage Company), The Hotel Nepenthe, Hamlet (BrownBox Theatre Project), Time Stands Still (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre), Cabaret, Be More Chill, Tick Tick Boom (Baldwin Wallace University). Elizabeth is a mix engineer at ArtsEmerson. Graduate of Emerson College, BFA Theatre Design/Technology. elizabethsound.com
Omar Robinson (Fight Choreography) has choreographed violence for Huntington Theatre Company, Actors' Shakespeare Project, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Rhode Island Latino Arts, and Trinity Repertory Company. He received an Elliot Norton Award for his Violence Design in ASP's Edward II. He taught stage combat for several years at The A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University. Omar received a B.A. in Acting and Television/Video Production from Emerson College.