Our Work

Sportaculture

2009-08-12T09:07:00.001-07:00

Cecilia Lapp Stolzfuss; Leayne C. Freeman; Manasi Pukazhenthi; and Ali Miller

SPORTACULTURE:
a festival of five short plays about sports

Produced May 2 - 3, 2009 as part of the Riverdale Park ArtsFest
Commissioned, developed and produced under the Maryland In-Focus initiative.

Production team: Ian Armstrong (Sound Design) & Marie-Audrey Desy (Set Design), James Hesla (Producer), Alli Lidie (Costume Design), & Karen Mixon (ASM)

Run Home
Setting: Bladensburg. Spring 1862
Playwright: Jennifer L. Nelson
Director: Mary Resing
Actors: Kenny Littlejohn (Obadiah); Virginia Tucker (Lilah); Jacqueline E. Lawton (Mama Sarah)

The Longshot
Setting: Rinaldi Lanes, Riverdale. Closing time. April 20, 1997.
Playwright: James Hesla
Director: Catherine Tripp
Actors: Wendy Nogales (Diane); Brenden McDougal (Pete)

Individual Medley
Setting: Prince George’s Pool. Mt. Rainier. 2009
Playwright: Jessica Burgess & Mary Resing, composer: Andy Welchel
Director: Jessica Burgess
Actors: Cecilia Lapp Stolzfuss (Backstroke); Manasi Pukazhenthi (Breaststroke);
Leayne C. Freeman (Butterfly); Ali Miller (Freestyle)

Finals, Touchdowns & Barrel Kicks
Setting: UMCP. Terps Football Team Study Hall. December 2008.
Playwright Jacqueline E. Lawton
Director: Colin Grube
Actors: Brandon White (Evan); Christopher Herring (Bobby);
Gregory Burgess (Coach)

America’s Pastime*
Setting: RFK Stadium. Washington, DC. April 11, 2006
Playwright: Mary Watters
Actors: Steve Rosenthal (Dick Cheney); John Collins (Scooter Libby);
Gregory Burgess (Brian Schneider)

*Winner of the 2009 Sportaculture Play Contest for best play about local sports.

MAD BREED

2009-03-11T12:07:00.001-07:00

Kristen Egermeier, Danny Gavigan, Zachary Fernebok, Anastasia Wilson & Lee Liebiskind in MAD BREED

On the even of their parents' wedding, the teenaged siblings of John Wilkes Booth decide to put on a play. But when Adah Francois, an African American freewoman with Shakespearean dreams, arrives the complications begin.

A historical and romantic comedy about a teenaged John Wilkes Booth, an African American actress on the run, and a whole barnyard full of Shakespeare.

Produced May 2 - June 1, 2008 at Joe's Movement Emporium, Mt. Rainier Md.

Commissioned, developed and produced under the Maryland In-Focus initiative.

MAD BREED
Written by Jacqeline E. Lawton
Directed by Juanita Rockwell
Dramaturgy by Jewel Greenberg
Stage Management by Robert Teachout

Cast
Blanche: Kristen Egermeier
John Wilkes Booth: Zacharay Fernebok
Edwin Booth: Danny Gavigan
John Sleeper Clarke: Lee Liebeskind
Asia Both: Amanda Thickpenny
Adah Francois: Anastasia Wilson

Designers/Production Staff
Artistic Director: Mary Resing
Set/Propos Design: Marie Audrey Desy
Lighting Design: Rebecca Wolf
Costume Design: Daniel Rehbehn
Sound Design: Jocelyn A. Thompson
Fights: Chris Niebling
Movement: Leslie Felbein
Music Consultant: Cyrena Rockwell
Technical Direction: James Hesla
Assistant Stage Manager: Cathy Carpousis
Sound Board Op: Jocelyn A. Thompson

Petri Dish Circus

2009-03-11T11:38:00.001-07:00

Mike Wong, David Berkenbilt, Gregory Burgess and Jake Koenig in PETRI DISH CIRCUS

PETRI DISH CIRCUS--the history of microbiology in nine scenes of gags, burlesque, drollery and song.

The history of microbiology as you have never seen it before. Rabies! Diptheria! Malaria! Yoghurt! Suicide! Heroism! War! Juggling! Comedy sketches! Song and dance acts! Microscopes! Come see the daring-do of Louis Pasteur in his Parisian lab, the Scotch fortitude of Ronald Ross as he travels through disease-stricken Africa, and the sad Cuban saga of Walter Reed as he battles Yellow Jack. Inspired by Paul de Druif's 1926 classic nonfiction novel MICROBE HUNTERS.

Produced November 9 - December 2, 2007 at Joe's Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier, MD.
Commissioned, developed and produced by Active Cultures Theatre under the Maryland Initiative for Theatre and Science.

PETRI DISH CIRCUS

Concept by Mary Resing and Jessica Burgess
Book and Lyrics by James Hesla, Jessica Burgess & Mary Resing
Music by Andy Welchel & Jesse Terrill
Directed by Jessica Burgess
Dramaturgy by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Stage Management by Melissa Richardson

Cast
David Berkenbilt
Gregory Burgess
Jake Koenig
Lee Liebiskind
Mike Wong

Designers/Production Staff
Set/Costume Design: Marie Audrey Desy
Lighting Design: Adam Magazine
Sound Design: Chris Baine
Choreography: Mundy Spears
Production Assistant: Jack Fitzmorris

Photograph 51

2009-03-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jewel Greenberg and Christopher Buchanan in Photograph 51

A compelling drama about Dr. Rosalind Franklin and the cutthroat race to discover the secret of DNA.

What does a woman have to do to succeed in the world of science? It's 1953 and Dr. Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant and passionate scientist, pours herself into her studies of DNA. But when fellow scientists Watson and Crick find out about her groundbreaking discoveries, her work is suddenly not her own -- and shortly thereafter they claim credit for a major breakthrough. A compelling drama about a woman's life in a man's world, Photograph 51 asks how we become who we become, and whether we have the power to change.

Produced at Joe's Movement Emporium in Mt. Rainier, MD February 8- March 2, 2008

Commissioned, developed, and produced by Active Cultures Theatre under the Maryland Initiative for Theatre and Science.

PHOTOGRAPH 51

Written by Anna Ziegler
Directed by Mary Resing
Dramaturgy by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Stage Management by Christine Millette

Cast (in alphabetical order)
Gosling: Christoper Buchana
Crick: Evan Crump
Watson: Jack Fitzmorris
Rosalind Franklin: Jewel Greenberg
Caspar: Theo Hadjimichael
Wilkins: Francisco Reinoso

Designers/Production Staff
Artistic Director: Mary Resing
Producing Artist: James Hesla
Set/Props Design: Marie Audrey Desy
Lighting Design: Cory Ryan Frank
Costume Design: Megan Kosmoski
Sound Design: Ian Armstrong

Hansel and Gretel Eat Crabs

2009-03-09T10:34:00.001-07:00

Anu Yadav, Brian Rubiano and Ashley Robinson in Hansel and Gretel Eat Crabs

One magic-laden night on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, two young girls become lost in the wetlands. A musical fantasy of BEAUTY, abandonment, cannibalism, triumph and a parent’s worst fears.

Produced January 25th - February 11th, 2007, HANSEL AND GRETEL EAT CRABS was Active Cultures’ first full work for the stage. An early version of H&G was presented to the public on September 4, 2006, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art’s Page to Stage Festival. Click here to view photos from the production of HANSEL AND GRETEL EAT CRABS.

HANSEL AND GRETEL EAT CRABS

Book and Lyrics by Mary Resing, Music by Andy Welchel
Staging by Patrick Crowley
Choreography by Miriam Ganz
Dramaturgy by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Stage Management by Kate Bagdasian

Cast
Hannia: Ashley Robinson
Gabrielle: Anu Yadav
Carmencita/Company: Kirsten Benjamin
Manuela/Cookie: Jennie Lutz
Moms: Jillian Locklear
Pops: Terry Spann
Sandman: Brian Rubiano

Musicians
Keyboards: Andy Welchel and Joe Gems
Electric Guitar: Shawn Northrip
Bass : Jacob Jackovich
Percussion: Eric Robertson

Designers/Production Staff
Set/Lighting Design: Levia Lew
Costume Design: Erin Sutton
Puppetry: Betsy Rosen
Assistant Director: Lileana Blaine Cruz
Sound Board operator: Kav Latiolais
Sound Consultant: Ian Armstrong