Kin
April 21-23 By Gethsemane Herron-Coward
Directed by Chika Ike
Produced by Cynthia J. Tong
Land Acknowledgement
WP Theater recognizes this space occupies the lands of the Lenape-Hoking, the Homeland of the Lenape people and other indigenous groups. This is unceded, stolen land.
We show gratitude to the many thousands of Native Americans who are living in and contributing to what is colonially known as New York City, and we pay our respects to elders past, present and future.
WP Theater is working to establish authentic relationships with the Indigenous peoples of Mannahatta, to listen to, honor and support the first inhabitants of this land.
Special thanks from Gethsemane Herron-Coward
I’m gonna thank Martine Green-Rogers and Amrita Ramanan from the Playwright’s Center; Eric Shethar and Emily Shooltz at Ars Nova; Sandra Daley-Sharif, Spencer Barros, and Bernard Tarver at the Liberation Theater Company; Jarvis Antonio Green at JAG; and Jill Rafson, Nicole Tingir, and Anna Morton at Roundabout for space to dream.
Big thanks to the writers that inspire me and put eyes on this piece– Malcolm Tariq, travis tate, Karen Chilton, Mara Velez Melendez, Gracie Gardner, Guadalis Del Carmen, Vichet Chum, Dylan Guerra, Serena Berman, and the peers that have yet to read. Big thanks to Katherine Wilkinson, Brenda Crawley, Mikayla Bartholomew, Princess Jacob, David Glover, Lauren Alcindor, Javier Padilla and Tamera Tomakili for letting me hear this out loud.
Thank you to Nidia, Rebecca, Lisa, and Cori Thomas! Team WP! Thank you to Nambi and Daaimah and Haruna and Zizi! These two years with you all went by too quick and I love you all.
Thank you to David Henry Hwang for Avatar inspiration.
Thank you to my amazing team- ugly babies cute hedgehogs (Cynthia Tong and Chika Ike) for support, genius, and high quality memes. I adore you!
Thank you to my amazing team, part 2- Katie Gamelli and Kelly Miller. I’m so lucky to work with you.
Also, thank you to my therapists, the both of them, doing the work with me.
Thank you to every survivor, living and dead, that kept going.
You are warriors, every one of you. Your stories, our stories…are safe with me.
Special thanks from Cynthia J. Tong
Many thanks are in order and apologies if I forget someone (I am now officially running on fumes):
To Ireland Schultz and Erin Yong;
To the team at TKP: Tom Kirdahy, Sam Myers, Richard Brighi, Santino DeAngelo;
To my support system throughout this journey: John Albert Harris, Dana Leib, Rachel Sussman, and Katherine Wilkinson;
To my fellow Producers: BJ, Ayana, Kristin, and Iyvon + Roxanna;
To the WP Theater: Lisa, Michael, Gary, Lilla, Nidia, & Rebecca;
To my pod: (the ugly hedgehogs) Chika and Gethsemane;
Finally, to every person listed on that program — thank you for your artistry, grace, laughter, and generosity.
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States
The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union
UNITED SCENIC ARTISTS, Local USA 829, is a labor union and professional association of Designers, Artists and Craftspeople.
Gethsemane Herron-Coward
(WRITER, she/her) is a playwright from Washington, D.C. She has developed work with JAG Productions, The Hearth, The Fire This Time Festival, The Liberation Theater Company, Roundabout Theatre Company, The Playwright’s Center, Ars Nova, and WP Theater. She is a Resident Artist with Ars Nova’s Play Group, a 2020- 2022 member of the WP Lab, and a 2021-2022 Jerome Fellow at the Playwright’s Center. Additional residencies from VONA and the Millay Colony. Winner of the Columbia@Roundabout Reading Series. Winner of the 45th Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Semi-Finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Finalist for Space on Ryder Farm’s Creative Residency, the Van Lier New Voices Fellowship at the Lark, and the Founders Award at New York Stage and Film. MFA: Columbia University. Gethsemane splits her time between New York City and Minneapolis, where she is a Proud member of the Dramatist’s Guild. She’s enamored with Sailor Moon and other magical girl warriors. She writes for survivors.
Chika Ike
(DIRECTOR, she/her) is a Brooklyn and Chicago based theatre director and dramaturg with a pull towards intimate epic journeys. Recent productions include Kentucky, A Swell in the Ground (The Gift Theatre); Everybody, Antigone (Atlantic School/ NYU); Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (First Floor Theatre Company); In the Blood (Red Tape Theatre), and the upcoming premiere of And Certain Women (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival). Currently, she is serving as an associate director for Hadestown (Broadway/ National Tour), as well as the associate director for Spacedogs at MCC and for the upcoming musical Goddess at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She has worked with The Public Theatre, A.R.T., Playmakers Repertory Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens and developed work with The Lark, The Playwrights’ Center, Faultline Theatre, About Face Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, and more. Chika is the recipient of the Drama League New York Fellowship, SDCF Gielgud Directing Fellowship, Bret C. Harte Directing Fellowship, and is an alumna of Victory Garden’s Directors Initiative Apprenticeship Program and of the SDCF Observership Class of 2016-17. Currently she is a member of the 2020-2022 WP Theatre Directors Lab. She is an ensemble member of the Gift Theatre. www.chikavike.com
Cynthia J. Tong
PRODUCER, (she/her) is an Asian-American creative producer working across commercial (Broadway and off-Broadway), non-profit, and regional theatre. Her artistic roots are in dance; she spent the first 22 years of her life in the studio. Rich collaborations with artists feed her soul, where process matters as much as product. Cynthia is Associate Producer at Tom Kirdahy Productions (Upcoming: The Piano Lesson with Samuel L. Jackson, Current: Little Shop of Horrors, Past: The Inheritance) and a founding member of The Industry Standard Group, the first BIPOC commercial theatre investment and producing organization. Highlights from past independent producing projects include 600 Highwaymen’s A Thousand Ways (across 18-19 venues nationally and internationally), NYCLU’s Sing Out for Freedom Concert (Town Hall, 2021; Virtual, 2020), Playbill’s Women in Theatre: A Centennial Celebration (Virtual, 2020), LORDES (New Ohio Theatre, 2019), and Noah Wise (independent feature film). Based on her fast talking and walking, most people don’t believe this, but she’s originally from a laid-back sunny beach town called Rancho Palos Verdes in California. She now lives in a place much better suited to her anxieties: New York City. Education: Wesleyan University (B.A., Sociology) @cinnabunny24 // www.cynthiajtong.com
Joanie Anderson (Rue)
is a Mother/Actress/Author and Proud Military Brat from Frederick Maryland. She holds a BFA from North Carolina A&T State University AGGIE PRIDE! She is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. TV: EVIL, The Last O.G., Bluebloods, BULL, Blindspot, It’s Bruno, First Wives Club, Harlem. FILM: Art Thieves. NYC: Cherish The Danger: A Homage to Strange Fruit (The Jack), Melissa Roughly Speaking Tada Theatre, Gina The Bright Side of Keurig (Peter Norton Symphony Space). Regional: Joanne RENT (Redhouse Arts Center,) Michelle/Deloris u/s Sister Act (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), Celie The Color Purple (Redhouse Arts Center), Elizabeth u/s In the Next Room (Berkeley Repertory Theatre),and Mattie Campbell u/s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). To my baby boy, you are my WHY! Mommy Loves you. www.joanieanderson.net IG jo.knee
Kieron J Anthony (Stephen)
is a theatre/film New York City based actor hailing from the sunny twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. An Atlantic Acting School Alum and current teaching artist, Kieron also represented Trinidad and Tobago on the world stage for track & field as a teenager. During his collegiate years as a student-athlete at the University of Miami, FL he studied Kinesiology. Recent credits: Inventing Anna (Netflix/Shondaland), One Night in Miami (Miami New Drama), Field Awakening (Signature Theatre).
Riley Mercedes (Kita)
(formerly known as Adriana Del Orden) is a nonbinary actor who goes by he/they pronouns. He has been acting and practicing their craft since the age of 11. A proud Afro-Latino, he is Dominican and was born in Puerto Rico. They fell in love with acting as soon as they arrived in New York City. Their most recent roles are Tall Bully on Fox’s Gotham, Quinta on Showtime’s Let The Right One In and Melissa on Bushwick Beats. Riley would like to thank his family , his manager Susan Rybin , acting classes at Rybin Studio of Drama and agent Barry Kolker!
Al-nisa Petty (GHC)
is an actor and voiceover artist from Newark, New Jersey. Credit’s include: On Strivers Row (Metropolitan Playhouse), Twelfth Night (The Acting Company), A Raisin in the Sun (TheatreWorks Colorado Springs), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Berkeley Rep), and SLUT, The Play (NJPAC). Al-nisa studied at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, and received a BFA in Acting from Rutgers University. Al-nisa is also a devoted teaching artist working with youth in care with Naked Angels and Culture for One. www.al-nisa.com
Christine Smith (Isa)
Christine‘s performance career started in Texas as a voiceover artist. She was focused on becoming a well-rounded storyteller and her dedication to the craft led her to New York City. She has narrated and produced a number of audiobooks that can be found on various listening platforms. She has a recurring role in the award-winning podcast The Gray Area, produced by Edward Champion. Recently, the cast took their voices from the booth to the stage in The Gray Area Revue. Christine performed as Audrey Lorde in Lordes, written by Gethsemane Herron and it is her honor to reunite with Gethsemane in this production. Christine’s other stage credits include Twelve Angry Women and Women Behind Bars, both produced by AlphaNYC Theatre Company. She was also part of the off-Broadway and touring company of Uniform Justice, produced by Theatre Engagement and Action. Christine’s storytelling vision led her to become a director, recently directing The Mountaintop, produced by New Ambassadors Theater Company. Christine’s most challenging project to date is collaborating on a children’s book and podcast (Everyone‘a Got ‘Em) with her nine-year-old granddaughter, Ava.
Alexis Carrie (Costume Design)
is a LA based theater and film costume designer and social justice warrior. Some of her credits include: “Legacies” (S4 CW), Sorority of the Damned (A Blood Brothers Film), Mrs. Harrison (Indiana Repertory Theater), Hoodoo Love (Raven Theater), Good Grief (Point Park University), Man of God (East West Players), Yen (Raven Theater), Curve of Departure (Northlight Theater). She has a MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University and is a proud founding member of First Floor Theater in Chicago. You can find her work at alexiscarrie.com
Kat C. Zhou (Lighting Design)
is a lighting designer for theatre, dance, and opera, currently based in New York City. She is thrilled to be joining WP again, after recently assisting on sandblasted. Recent theatre credits include: BLKS (Speakeasy), Reparations (Gloucester Stage), Tiny Beautiful Things (Gloucester Stage), Wolf Play (Company ONE), and Marie & Rosetta (Greater Boston Stage Company. Kat was the inaugural recipient of the Howell Binkley Fellowship (2021). Formerly, she served as the artist-in-residence at the Signet Society (2018-2020), and was the president/managing director of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sulliva n Players (2013-2017). She holds an MFA in lighting design from Boston University and an AB in mathematics from Harvard College. More info: katzhoudesign.com
Caroline Eng (Sound Design)
(she/her) is a sound designer and podcast engineer based in New York. Selected Sound Design credits: The Late Wedding (Brown University/Trinity Rep), The Moors (Greater Boston Stage Company), Measure For Measure (Theatreworks, UCCS), The Broken Machine (American Academy for the Dramatic Arts) Selected Assistant Design credits: Bring Down The House (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Fefu and Her Friends (Theatre For A New Audience) Selected Training: Fordham College At Lincoln Center (NY). Connect at carolineengdesign.com
Rocio Mendez (Fight & Intimacy Director)
is an Award-Winning Actor, Fight and Intimacy director and a proud New Yorker committed to building confidence in brown and black girls through storytelling. Rocio has done multiple independent films showcasing their talents in martial arts and comedy. Rocio has worked with a range of theaters nationally including The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Classical Theater of Harlem, among the many. Rocio has been nominated for multiple awards for their work in Fight Choreography and Movement. Rocio is a team member of UNKLE DAVE’S FIGHT HOUSE – a collective of fight/intimacy/movement directors serving theater, film and educational institutions. www.rociomendez.co
Tyler Danhaus (Production Stage Manager)
is a freelance SM based in NYC. Hobbies include running, hiking, kayaking, camping, and playing the violin. Originally from Wausau, WI he lives up to the stereotype of loving cheese. NYC credits include Smart Blonde (59E59); The Imbible (New World Stages); Titanique (The Green Room 42); Women on Fire (Royal Family); Anne of Green Gables Part I and II (Royal Family); You, Me, I, We, (Royal Family); Don’t Stop Me (MSM); and Marisol (NYU). Tours include Little Black Dress and The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Musical. Regionally: Hangar Theatre and Chester Theatre Company. UW-Milwaukee BFA Stage management
Jessica Dell Beni (Assistant Stage Manager)
is a stage manager based in the New York/New Jersey area. Credits include: A Number/The Seventeenth Chapel (The Drama League), Mary Stuart (The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute), Joan of Arc (Rutgers Theater Company), and Leni & Joseph (Rutgers Theater Company). Jessica has also worked with Production Glue as a PA for the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit NYC. She holds a BFA from Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Eisenberg Beans Casting (Casting)
Daryl Eisenberg, CSA & Ally Beans, CSA. Broadway: Gettin’ The Band Back Together. New York Theatre: Bedlam, Baghdaddy, Cherry Lane’s Mentor Project, New York Theatre Barn, and more. Regional/Other: May We All (LivelyMcCabe/CuzBro), Heartbreak Hotel (Broadway in Chicago), Dallas Theater Center, Folger Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Norwegian Cruise Line, Tenors of Rock. Film: The Cathedral (Sundance), The MisEducation of Bindu, A Case of Blue, Shadows (HBO), Hands That Bind, Project Pay Day, Kendra and Beth. TV: Timberwood, Mulligan. Podcasts/New Media: Limetown, Shipworm, City of Ghosts, Falling in Love With Mr. Dellamort, Verdict.
Daniel Brothers (Props Supervisor)
Playwright, Propsmaker, Carpenter, Mechanic, Actor, Game Master, Ornithologist, collector of professions. Recently, he has been writing a Sci fi novel for publication in 2023, a play Living Together to be staged in the fall, and props for Playco’s production of Will You Come With Me. Further inquire at www.dannyjbrothers.com
Georgia Evans (Associate Costume Designer, Wardrobe Supervisor)
Georgia Evans (she/her) is a second year student at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. She has focused interests in costuming, performing, directing, and film. She has spent the past year working on theatre around the city as well as upper-level student projects at PHTS. She is so excited to be a part of the Kin team as Associate Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor!
