BLIND CREST Staged Reading Set for Planet Connections Theatre Festivity

The Other Mirror is pleased to present a staged reading of BLIND CREST by Monet Hurst-Mendoza and directed by Katherine M. Carter, as part of the 6th Annual Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The Festivity will take place June 15th through July 12th at the Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street).

Tryell Johnson sits on Death Row for the double-murder of two undercover detectives. Mara Hernandez is a fresh-faced corrections officer, newly appointed to the night watch. Together, this unlikely pair, form an intense bond and make a pact to have a baby. A dark twist on the "boy-meets-girl" and inspired by the unfolding true story of Ronnell Wilson and Nancy Gonzalez, Blind Crest compels us to ask, "what is the value of a human life, and at what cost are we willing to fight for it?"

BLIND CREST was recently presented at The Drama League Rough Draft Fellowship on May 1st.

BLIND CREST will star Barron Bass (Freedom Train, US Regional Tour) as Tyrell, Christina Pumariega (Seminar, Broadway) as Mara, and will co-star David Sitler (Frost/Nixon, National Tour) as The Warden, and Carolyn Michelle Smith (Romeo & Juliet, Broadway) as The Lawyer.

BLIND CREST will perform on July 2nd at 2:00pm at the Paradise Theatre Factory (64 East 4th Street) as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Audience members will be treated to cookies from Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of our community.

BIOGRAPHIES

MONET HURST-MENDOZA (Playwright)

Monet is an NYC-based playwright, director, & producer from Los Angeles, CA. Her plays have been developed with Rising Circle Theater Collective, |the claque|, Looking Glass Theatre, The Kupferberg Center, #serials@The Flea, Amios (Shotz!), and Playwright's Playground at Classical Theatre of Harlem. She has been a finalist for Hangar Theatre's Playwriting Residency, Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Old Vic New Voices T.S. Elliot US/UK Exchange, the 2011 Playwright's Week and 2012 Van Lier Fellowship at The Lark, and The Juilliard School. She is the current Playwright in Residence for The Other Mirror, and a member of |the claque|'s Octo-Group and the 2014-2016 Women's Theater Project Lab. Proud member: The Dramatist Guild of America, Rising Circle Theater Collective, and |the claque|. B.A.: Marymount Manhattan College.

KATHERINE M. CARTER (Director) Katherine is a Michigan born, New York based director. She is the founding Artistic Director of The Other Mirror, and the co-founding Artistic Director of The MITTEN Lab. Katherine is a two-time director in the Directors Company Adaptations for the Stage Workshop, the 2011-2012 Playwrights Horizons Directing Resident, and is a current a guest director at New York University's Stella Adler and Atlantic Schools. Katherine is a proud member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Associate Member Stage Directors and Chorographers, The Lark Litwing, and The Directors Lab Chicago.

CHRISTINA PUMARIEGA (Mara) made her Broadway debut in Theresa Rebeck's Seminar opposite Jeff Goldblum. Off Broadway: Volpone and The Witch of Edmonton (Red Bull Theater), Annie Baker's Uncle Vanya (understudy, Soho Rep), Catch-22 (Lucille Lortel Theatre) and All Eyes and Ears (INTAR Theatre). Off off Broadway: Tanya Saracho's Enfrascada (Clubbed Thumb) and AliceGraceAnon (New Georges). Regional Theatre: Huntington Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Hartford Stage, Barrington Stage Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre & Actors Theatre of Louisville. Film and television: First Loves, Maggie Black, Notes on Being Young, "With Friends Like These" and "Elementary." She is a recipient of the Marcia Gay Harden Scholarship, a McNamara Family Creative Arts Project Grant, a TS Eliot Old Vic / Public Theater Exchange Fellowship, a Connecticut Critics Circle Award, and IRNE and NYIT nominations for Best Lead Actress. She received her MFA from New York University's Graduate Acting Program.

BARRON BASS (Tyrell) hails from White Plains, NY and has a BFA in Acting from Rutgers University. Most recently, Barron was seen in Theaterworks USA's Freedom Train as David (US Regional Tour) and The Recommendation as Dwight (FleaTheater, NY Premiere). Voiceovers for Duracell, Nike, Adidas, to name a few. When he's not on stage or doing voiceovers, he's producing his own music under the name Bbasstheillest. Look out for his upcoming collab EP, The Happy Place, with acclaimed hip-hop artist, Napoleon da Legend, this summer!

CAROLYN MICHELLE SMITH (Lawyer): Broadway: Romeo and Juliet directed by David Leveaux. Off-Broadway: Soldier X, (Ma-Yi Theatre Company), Hit The Wall (Barrow Street), Serial. Black. Face Workshop (Juilliard/Signature Theatre). Regional: WHADDABLOODCLOT!!! by Katori Hall (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Rich Girl by Victoria Stewart, (Old Globe), Actors Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and Princeton Rep. TV: "Codes of Conduct" directed by Steve McQueen (HBO), and "House of Cards" (Netflix) role of "Willa" Chief of Staff to Claire Underwood. Training: Fordham University at Lincoln Center (B.A), BADA Midsummer at Oxford, and The Juilliard School.

DAVID SITLER (Warden) Guys and Dolls at the Goodspeed Opera House as Lt Brannigan. Broadway: An Inspector Calls. Tour with Stacy Keach in Frost/Nixon. Regional: from Maine to California in roles from Atticus to Scrooge and here in the NYC area with many theatre companies In over 120 productions. Film credits include the soon to be released THE CHALLENGER, BLACK DOG RED DOG, and IN SESSION and TV credits include Zero Hour and Law and Order-SVU. Thanks to all involved and all at Judy Boals. Proud member of Actors Equity.

THE OTHER MIRROR THEATRE creates theatrical art based on event, text, or myth in order to reveal unrealized perspectives. We seek to better understand the world by building a new vocabulary through adaptation. The Other Mirror believes that new work must be created with an emphasis on social consciousness in order to affect change. We share our work through a new lens with a dynamic and fresh point of view.

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly/socially conscious not-for-profit arts festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances and events, the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere forming a community of like-minded artists. At the heart of the Festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, music and film, while supporting organizations which give back to the community at large.

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly/socially conscious not-for-profit arts festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances and events, the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere forming a community of like-minded artists. At the heart of the Festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, music and film, while supporting organizations which give back to the community at large.

Photo by Nick Ronan