One Woman Show

A play by Natalie Neckyfarow

Brilliant ensemble? Check. Shameless theatricality? Check. Sympathetic audience? Only time will tell.

Upcoming

November 28 – December 16, 2022 – 3 Week NYC Workshop

“One Woman Show,” is a semi-autobiographical play that follows one Actress’ journey as she comes to terms with her personal history and fully claims her identity as an artist. During this 90 minute play, the Actress attempts to fix her career and heal her doubts by creating her own vehicle to face her own fears and prove to herself that she still has something to offer as an artist. In the process she discovers the power of building community and sharing her biggest secrets so that she can truly heal. Through playful experimentation with theatre conventions, using elements from stand up, improv, movement, and traditional theatre, “One Woman Show” shows us all that there is power in facing our fears and moving through our discomfort rather than hiding from it.

Development History

March 12, 2022

The Playground Experiment’s First Reads Festival

Featuring: Helene Galek, Jayson Kerr, Melissa Roth, Sara Parcesepe, Stage Directions-Catherine Overfelt

January - March 2022

The Playground Experiment’s Required Reading

September 2019 - October 2021

New Ambassadors Theatre Labs

September 2019 - June 2021

The Playground Experiment Volumes

August 2019

MT / NYC Theatre Collective All Artist Retreat

3 Week NYC Workshop  – November 28 – December 16, 2022

Artistic team

Natalie Neckyfarow (Playwright/ Producer / Performer – “Actress” | she/her ) creates work that straddles the worlds of theatre and dance. Natalie began experimenting with storytelling using the physical body and text while earning her BA in Dance at Smith College and later expanded her exploration through devised theatre, training with SITI Company, Frantic Assembly and the NY Neo-Futurists. Acting Credits include: Moony’s Kid Don’t Cry (Theatre Row), The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield … (NYC Premiere), Boys’ Life & Gidion’s Knot (The Seeing Place), Deb in Ordinary Days, Big Love, Wolf Play, Love’s Labours Lost & Comedy of Errors. Natalie’s writing has been developed with The Playground Experiment, New Ambassadors Theatre Company, and the MT/NYC Theatre Collective. Graduate: Laban Centre London, Atlantic Full Time Conservatory; AEA & SAG-AFTRA Member. Also a Life Coach, she works with other actors, creatives and entrepreneurs to release their patterns of overwhelm and claim their power. www.natalieneckyfarow.com

R. Lee Kratzer (Director | she/her) is a New York-based director of theatre and opera. She works across and through mediums to develop new work, dismantle notions of genre, and interrogate the canon. Rebecca is the Resident Stage Director at Helios Opera and formerly served as the Artistic Director of the NEMPAC Opera Project. She’s directed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Theatre Row, Opera Saratoga, Rutgers University, Emerson Stage, NEMPAC Opera Project, Opera del West, Fordham University, The Footlight Club, and Columbia University. Upcoming engagements include Bright Star at Montclair State, La Traviata with City Lyric Opera, and a Double Bill at Longy School of Music. Rebecca has also worked with Katie Mitchell, Dave Malloy, Isaac Oliver, Whitney White, Annie-B Parson, Hermès, The New York Times, Big Dance Theatre, BAM, The Bushwick Starr, and The Tank. MFA: Columbia; SDC Associate Member.  www.rebeccamillerkratzer.com

Jimmy Kavetas (Sound Designer | he/him) is a general crafter and distributor of sounds all over New York City. From work as a musician playing the bass, to practically operating and designing systems as well as creatively designing shows and installations, the man makes plenty of sounds. Recent design work includes Niall Jones Compression, Strongbox Theatre and York College. Jimmy is the resident A1 at the Strongbox Theater and York College, former Audio Supervisor for the Ballet Hispanico, and the AV Manager for Steps on Broadway. He regularly works as an A1 and hand for Performance Space New York, FIAF, The Flea, NYU, and the Mark Morris School of Dance. BM Music Technology: NYU. jimmy.kavetas@gmail.com

Tyler Herald (Set Designer | he/him) is a New York-based scenic and environmental designer. He values the importance of new work and different ways of storytelling. He is passionate about creating meaningful work—especially work that supports often unheard/unseen stories and challenges the conversation. Tyler has designed at venues such as Theatre Row, Glimmerglass Festival, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Columbia University, Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and Icon Bar in Astoria. Upcoming work includes Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Adelphi University, Odd Man Out at Bristol Riverside Theatre, and a developing fundraiser for the LGBTQ Task Force at Boxers in Hell’s Kitchen. Tyler has also worked with designers such as Neil Patel, David Korins, Adam Koch, Daniel Conway, and Misha Kachman. BA: Western Illinois University. MFA: University of Maryland-College Park. Local USA 829. www.tylerrheralddesign.com

Tala Munsterman (Stage Manager | they/them) is a freelance stage manager currently based in NYC with 10+ years of experience from coast to coast. Their main goal with every production is to encure a safe, respectful, and fun environment to work in! Their recent NYC credits include The Golden Cage New works Premier Festival (Off Broadway), Harlem Hellfighters On A Latin Beat Pregones/PRTT, Adventures of Ezra Jack Keats TADA! Youth Theater, Into The Woods New York Film Academy, and A Winters Tale New York Shakespeare Exchange. Regional credits include Matilda The Musical, Mama Mia, Sweeny Todd, Legally Blonde, Annie, The Little Mermaid, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with The Fort Wayne Civic Theater (Indiana). Company, Ordinary People, and Building On Sand with Good Luck Macbeth Theater (Nevada). When not in the theater, which is not often, Tala enjoys spending time with their dog,Digerie, and embracing their inner Disney Adult! tala.munsterman1019@yahoo.com

Emma Shafer ( Assistant Director / Assistant Stage Manager / General Production Assistant | she/her) is a New York based director, actor, and writer. She received her BA in Theatre from Butler University. She has also trained with SITI Company and the Moscow Art Theatre School. Her most rewarding work stems from collaborating with fellow artists and utilizing theatre to create community among senior citizens. Emma recently directed Outside Your Room with Artistic New Directions Theatre Company and 27,000 Steps with Greenhouse Ensemble.  In September, a collection of her poems was published in tandem with a music EP titled “Fading Hues” by Josa Glück. Theatre credits included: Greenhouse Ensemble, SecondStory Rep, Over Due Theatre Company, REBATEnsemble, Play Your Part, and Marisol Makes. www.emmashaferofficial.com

ENSEMBLE

Stephanie Moreno (“Actor 1” | she/her ) is a Brazilian-American actress and comedian based in NYC. Always looking for ways to bring her culture to center stage, her favorite recent work was playing Christina in Miss Jules, a bilingual adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, produced by the Invoke Director’s Lab. A graduate of Binghamton University, she joined Irvington Shakespeare Company’s inaugural production of Twelfth Night as Maria and Antonio, and has participated in several play festivals and readings. Other credits include The Wizard of Oz (BU), Saudades (Chance Studios), Torture Chamber (The Player’s Theatre), The Piece (Gallery Players) and more. Stephanie is a lover of stand up and improv and is most excited about works that utilize comedy to have important conversations. She hopes to continue to have more opportunities to help develop new works and bolster new voices in theater and in life. www.stephaniejmoreno.com

Madison Mayer (“Actor 2” | she/her) is a performer, creator, and dramaturg. Her training comes from the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Additionally, she has trained with the International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam, where she learned and practiced clowning, puppetry, and commedia dell’arte. Recently, she has performed with Frantic Assembly (Sit Down Tragedy), The Million Underscores (The Passerby, LAPA), Tectonic Theater Project (Seven Deadly Sins, Here There Are Blueberries), and in the Fresh Fruits Festival (Eternal Flamer). In addition to working on One Woman Show, Madison is currently crafting a play about performative activism, assisting Amanda Gronich in the development of a new book on non-fiction theatre, and dipping her toe into the big bad world of stand up. She hopes to create and be a part of rooms in which change is constant, possibilities are found, and healing is prioritized. Here’s Madison’s website for more information: madisonmmayer.com 

Alexandra Montalbano (“Actor 3” | she/her), a lifelong performer hailing from the suburbs of Boston, studied Dance and Theater at Manhattanville College.  Beginning her career as a dancer, Alexandra performed with Regina Nejman, Georgina Bates, and JoAnna Mendl-Shaw, duetted with Gus Solomons Jr. for Lawrence Goldhuber, and performed at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, LaMama, HERE Arts Center, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and more. Through this work, she found she was drawn to character based work, and fell in love with text. With this pull, she began a two year Meisner program under James Brill of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She has continued her studies with James Brill, The Barrow Group and began vocal training with Allie Radice. As an actor she has performed on stage at the Connelly Theater and The Cutting Room and has starred in several award winning short films.