Powerful Team Assembled For Playwrights For A Cause 2018 

PLANET CONNECTIONS' PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE: This year, this event, designed to address a powerful social and topical issue facing our society today through engaging stage works, will explore the distinctions between gender and sexuality. The event will benefit THE ALI FORNEY CENTER.

The event will be the evening of August 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E 14th St, New York City. Tickets are now on sale at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10308796

Each season, Playwrights for A Cause continues to raise awareness on topics of social justice while providing an opportunity for theater artists to share their creations. "I am energized by the team of playwrights, directors, and staff we've assembled," says Glory Kadigan, founder and curator of the annual Playwrights for a Cause benefit, hosted by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. "And we're thrilled to be at the Theater at the 14th Street Y. Thank you, Associate Artistic Director, David Stallings, for providing a home for our event" chimed Shaun Peknic, the new producing artistic director of Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.

2018 marks Planet Connections' 10th year and Playwrights for a Cause's sixth year.

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Accepting Applause by Catherine Filloux

Directed by Susan Tenney

Assistant Director - Anna Hogan

Susan Tenney is an award-winning Director and Choreographer, who's diverse work intersects the worlds of theater, dance, and film. She directed Catherine Filloux's Snow Day for the 2017 Playwrights For A Cause (PFAC), and is thrilled to be directing Filloux's Accepting Applause for PFAC 2018. Susan is the recipient of five Planet Connections Awards in both Direction and Choreography. Recent directorial credits: #Me Too Theatre Women Share Their Stories at the National Action Network, and Honoring Stuyvesant Women at Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter. Off Broadway: She Also Dances, and venues that include La Mama, Cincinnati Playhouse, McCarter Theatre, Florence Gould Hall, Dixon Place, Edinburgh Fringe, Tanglewood, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Recipient of five commissions from Princeton's Coalition For Peace Action to create The Hiroshima Commemoratives, and by Princeton Arts Council for the creation of the multi-disciplinary work,The Tower. Alum of La Mama's International Symposium for Directors. LPTW, SDC.

Anna Hogan is a Texas-born and Brooklyn-based director and actress. Her work has received nominations such as "Outstanding Direction of a Staged Reading", "Outstanding use of Multimedia" and "Best Lead Actress." Recent New York credits: Elephant (Co-Director, RSPC), Three on a Match (Assistant Director, IATI Theatre), A Self-Help Guide to Killing Your Boss (Director, Alchemical Theater Studios), Hold My Spot (Director, Opportunist Productions). Anna is the Associate Artistic Director of Rising Sun Performance Company. This is Anna's second year with Playwrights for a Cause and she is thrilled to be collaborating with these artists! www.annamaureenhogan.com

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Any Other Name by Regina Taylor

Director - Shira Lee-Shalit

Shira-Lee Shalit. LAByrinth Theater Company's World Premiere- Devil Of Choice by Maggie Bofill (Cherry Lane Theatre), Nick and Zoe by Daniel Talbott (IRT Theatre), The Women of Padilla by Tony Meneses (AADA), Fault Lines by Stephen Belber (TBG Theatre), Girls Will Be Girls by Jolie London Glickman (NYFringe Festival- *Fringe Favorite.) Workshops at LAByrinth Theater Co, The Actors Studio, LaMama, EST, Cherry Lane, The Lark, Dixon Place, Nylon Fusion, Barefoot Theatre Co, NYMadness, Hi-Arts, JPP, HERE, Intar and WGA East. FILM: A-List- Audience Award -Milan International Film Festival, Best Comedy -Worldfest; Full Cycle -Finalist- Student Academy Awards; Open Air -Best Short- Mexico International Film Fest, NJFilm Fest. Chosen by Steven Spielberg for FOX/DreamWorks directing show, On The Lot. Presidential Scholar of the Arts and proud member- Rising Phoenix Rep, NYWIFT, The Actors Studio PDU. Faculty: Columbia University and NYU.

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Bank by Lucy Thurber

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Gender Fluids and Other Dangerous Liquids by Migdalia Cruz

Directed by Glory Kadigan

Assistant Director - Lucia Bellini

Glory Kadigan founded Planet Connections Theatre Festivity and served as the Producing Artistic Director for six seasons. She also founded Playwrights For A Cause and served as Producing Artistic Director for four seasons. Among her directing credits: World Premieres of Regina Taylor's Biting the Bullet and John Patrick Shanley's Doublecross at the Playwrights for a Cause benefit at the Atlantic Theater, Pregnitude by Lucy Boyle at Guild Hall; A Play About New Mexico by Halley Feiffer at Guild Hall; St. Anne's Soup (Israel Horovitz, World Premiere), Breaking Philip Glass (Israel Horovitz, World Premiere), Her Speech (Erik Ehn, World Premiere), Over the River and Through the Woods (Neil LaBute, World Premiere), Two Minute Warning (Neil LaBute, World Premiere), Safe by Penny Jackson (14th Street Y), Stain by Kristina Poe (Nylon Fusion), Five Sandwiches by Michael Puzzo (Nylon Fusion), The Picture of DorIan Gray (MT Works), Two Rooms (Workshop Theatre), Most recently, she directed Erik Ehn's Clover at La Mama. Ms. Kadigan is also a playwright whose work has been presented in Singapore, London and New Zealand. Ms. Kadigan is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women which works to promote the visibility of women in the arts.

Lucia Bellini, AKA "Lu," is a director and actor for film and theatre, originally from Viareggio, Italy. Co-founder of Bad Babies Films (The Cleaners 2011, The Variable 2012, (Un)Lucky 2012) and one of the founding members of Wednesday Repertory Company. Lu is honored to have won the award for Outstanding Direction of a Staged Reading for Who Mourns For Bob The Goon? at the 2015 Planet Connection Festivities. She is also a member of NY Madness. Through the years, Lu has also built an extensive list of credits as a producer and production manager for film, commercials and photography. www.BadBabiesFilms.com

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Hooters by Gabrielle Fox

Directed by Antonio Miniño

Assistant Director - Eric Mercado

Antonio Miniño. Most recently he was the assistant director for Signature Theatre Company's revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Mark Brokaw. Select NY directing credits include David Stallings' Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell, Desi Moreno-Penson's Bodega Cat, Rich Sargent's Coffee at Compton's, Riti Sachdeva's Scene/Unseen (Outstanding Director Nominee - Planet Connections), David Stallings' The Family Shakespeare and solo shows The Shadow Project, and Moon Child. Select Intl directing credits include Historia del Zoo, The Importance of Being Earnest, Joan, and Emigrantes (assist. dir.). He was the assistant director for And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little (Retro Productions; dir. Shay Gines). Founder and former co-artistic director MTWorks. SDCF Observer. Associate member SDC. Member SAG-AFTRA. Upcoming: directing David Stallings' The Baby Monitor as part of the 14th Street Y's 2018-19 Season. www.antoniominino.com

Eric Mercado is a director and designer whose focus is new and devised work. Directing/Devised: In Memory (HERE), Not Without My Gallbladder (Robert Moss, PCTF Award for Outstanding Direction), The Scientists (PortFringe, Rochester Fringe, Chicago Fringe), When The Party's Over (Paradise Factory), and Fruit of the Sea (Dixon Place, PortFringe, TBTF, Charm City Fringe). Eric was Staff Director for Aquila Theatre's tour of Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest and is an Artistic Associate of Stone Soup Shakespeare, directing As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Julius Caesar, and Taming of the Shrew (Midwest tours). BFA, NYU Tisch.

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Manuel Or The Soldier That Wasn't by Lucy Boyle

Directed by Shaun Peknic

Assistant Director - Vinny Eden Ortega

Shaun Peknic is a theatre director with a focus on the development of new plays and musicals. He was the 2015 Lee Strasberg Institute Directing Fellow where he helped to commission and develop Crystal Skillman's Pulp Vérité. Shaun was the Associate Director for Once the Musical (Broadway, National Tours, West End, Toronto, Dublin; director John Tiffany). He currently serves as Artistic Associate and Director of Education with Musical Theatre Factory. Select directing credits: Fool for Love (ItSelf Festival, Warsaw Poland); The Demise (NYMF); Anne Frank in the Gaza Strip (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity); Manifest Pussy (Joes Pub/North Carolina Rebel Tour); Fireflies (Musical Theatre Factory); The Birds/The Receptionist (Cortland Repertory Theatre); I'm A Lot Like You (Salty Brine's Spectacular Living Record Collection); Sherlock Holmes & the West End Horror (Cortland Repertory Theatre, nominated Best Director 2015 SALT Awards); One Night In New York! (Musical Theatre Factory); A Snowfall in Berlin (Nylon Fusion Theatre Company); Pageant Princess (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity); The Girl With The Red Balloon (The Tank); Must Be The Music (ArsNova); Chaser (New York Fringe Festival); A Streetcar Named Desire (New York University). Shaun is a member of SDC, an alumnus of NYU and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and teaches directing at NYU/Playwrights Horizons Theater School.

Vinny Eden Ortega is a New York City based theatre director and arts leader. Ortega co-founded The Dare Tactic, as the current Artistic Director he has produced over 14 full productions/developmental workshops and directed the company's arts outreach programs. His work has been seen at The Paradise Factory, St. Paul's Theatre, The Wild Project, EstroGenius Festival, Dixon Place, The Exploriment Festival (Thailand), and the Ashtar Youth Festival (Palestine). Ortega is the Associate Artistic Director of Planet Connections Theatre Festivity and an ensemble member of Co-Op Theatre East.

LIGHTING DESIGN BY BENJAMIN EHRENREICH

REGIONAL: Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins (Berkshire Theatre Group) Owners (Yale Repertory Theatre). NYC: Playwrights for a Cause 2016-2018, PharmaBro, SAFE by Penny Jackson (Planet Connections), Clover by Erik Ehn (La Mama), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Gallery Players), Ultimate Beauty Bible (NYU TISCH Experimental Theatre Wing). OTHER: As You Like It, Lottie in the Late Afternoon, Iphigenia Among the Stars, Antony and Cleopatra (Yale School of Drama). A View From the Bridge (Vertical Player Repertory, New York), Macbeth (Community20 Productions, London). Benjamin was the Allen Lee Hughes Light Fellow at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. from 2008 to 2009, and he received his MFA in Lighting Design from the Yale School of Drama.

SOUND DESIGN BY Jacob Subotnick

Jacob is an NYC based composer and sound designer who has designed over 100 Off and Off-Off Broadway productions. Selected Off-Broadway: A Midsummers Night Dream (Masterworks Theater); Donkey Punch (SOHO Playhouse); InnerVoices 2014 (TBG Theater); Any Given Monday (59E59). Selected Off-Off-Broadway: The Ballad of Rodrigo (Nominated: Outstanding Original Music NYITA 2015); Virus Attacks Heart (Nominated: Outstanding Sound Design PCTF 2014); Tulpa or Anne and Me (Winner: Outstanding Sound Design PCTF 2011); The Picture of Dorian Gray (Nominated: Outstanding Sound Design PCTF 2010. Selected Regional: Hair (Mount Washington Valley Theater: Nominated for Outstanding Sound Design NHTA 2010). www.jacobsubotnick.com

COSTUME DESIGN BY ARIEL PELLMAN

Currently, Ariel is proud to serve as production coordinator for Lady Parts Justice League- a nonprofit abortion advocacy group comprised of women comedians and creatives who seek to tear down the stigma around abortion through comedy entertainment, educate the public about the dangers facing abortion rights in America today via web video and social media campaigns, public activism and events, and work one-on-one with independent clinics to provide support and connect them with volunteers in their own communities. Ariel is a Brooklyn-based costume and jewelry designer with an MFA in costume design from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and has designed many productions in and around New York City.

CASTING DIRECTOR: Robin Carus

Robin has been casting Planet Connections' Playwrights For A Cause since its inception. Recent credits include: Tours: The Cat In The Hat & Miss Nelson Is Missing (Two Beans Productions), The Octonauts and the Deep Sea Volcano Adventure (Red Light Management) New York: The Chekhov Dreams (Beckett Theatre), Me The People (dir. Jay Falzone/The Triad), Romance of the Western Chamber (TaDa!) Concerts/Special Events: Fatty Fatty No Friends (NYMF), From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert For Parkland, USA (BB&T Center, Florida), Session Girls (54 Below), Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera (54 Below), Film: MIA (SoHo International Film Festival), Killing The Fiddler (dir. Barak Dror Barkan) Video: Broadway United: We Are The World. Between 2000-2008 she cast over 200 national tours, off-Broadway, and countless works in development for Theatreworks/USA including the off-Broadway revival of Seussical (dir. Marcia-Milgrom-Dodge). In addition to her casting, Robin produced the concerts Thomson & Desmon: We Write Good (54 Below) and Michael Mott's Abandoned Heart Album Release (The Cutting Room) and was an Associate Producer on From Broadway With Love: A Concert For Parkland. She also produced the video single Broadway United: We Are The World.

Staff of PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE

Founder & Producer: Glory Kadigan
Associate Producer: Shaun Peknic
Managing Director: Jenna Lazar
Assistant Managing: Director Ashley Nickas
Associate Artistic Director: Vinny Eden Ortega
Green/Charities Director: Akia Squitieri
Marketing Director: Ariel Estrada
Special Events Director: Ariel Francoeur
Technical Director: Mary Greene
Director of Public Relations: Jay Michaels
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Ehrenreich
Sound Designer: Jacob Subotnick
Costume Designer: Ariel Pellman
Casting Director: Robin Carus
Production Stage Manager: Katheryn Meister

The Ali Forney Center's mission is to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently. The organization's namesake, Ali Forney, was a gender-nonconforming teen who fled his home at 13. He entered the foster care system where he was bounced around to several homes, and was beaten and abused. Ali ended up living on the streets at the age of 15. Ali was dedicated to helping other young people and publicly advocated for the safety of homeless LGBT youth. Tragically, in December of 1997, Ali was murdered in Harlem-shot in the head and left for dead.

Committed to saving the lives of LGBTQ young people, in 2002 Carl Siciliano founded the Ali Forney Center (AFC) in memory of Ali. Since AFC's launch with just six beds in a church basement, the organization has grown to become the largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youths in the country-assisting nearly 1,400 youths per year through a 24-hour Drop-In Center which provides over 70,000 meals annually, medical and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered site housing program. AFC's mission is to provide LGBTQ young people housing and a continuum of supportive services to help them thrive and prepare them for independent living. AFC has been heralded for it's full continuum of care approach to services for LGBTQ homeless youth. AFC's founder, Carl Siciliano, was named a White House Champion of Change by President Obama citing the wide recognition AFC's programs have received for their quality and innovation.