World Premiere of HERE COMES THE NIGHT to Open at Moving Arts Theatre

Moving Arts will present the World Premiere of here comes the night by Lisa Kenner Grissom, directed by Hailey McAfee (January 18th to February 16th 2025, 3191 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles). Featuring two complex female characters, this riveting two-hander is a dark comedic drama that offers a fresh take on the topic of reproductive rights, and explores female friendship in the digital age. The play received a sold out, limited engagement as a part of the SheLA Festival produced at The Zephyr Theatre earlier this year.

When Olivia, a musician's wife and climate science advocate, invites Maggie, an old friend turned social media influencer, to spend the weekend while she has an at-home medical abortion, she doesn't realize that Maggie is about to throw Olivia off course. And actually, these women of different generations are about to alter each other's lives in ways they hadn't expected or imagined. What happens when a woman's right to choose becomes a litmus test for all of her life choices? 

The cast features Erika Soto as Maggie and Meeghan Holloway as Olivia.

The creative team is Playwright Lisa Kenner Grissom, Director Hailey McAfee, Stage Manager Annika Hoseth, Set Designer Amanda Knehans, Sound Designer Andrea Almond, Costume Designer Carolyn Mazuca, and Lighting Designer Nita Mendoza.

The Production Team includes Graphic Design by Kiff Scholl, Publicity by Sandra Kuker PR (Sandra Kuker-Franco), Marketing Consultant Jonathan Josephson, Produced by Darin Anthony and Moving Arts

About the Playwright

Lisa Kenner Grissom (she/her) is an award-winning playwright and musical book writer whose work explores dynamic social issues, often through the lens of strong women. She's known for creating multi-layered characters, exploring the complexity of human emotions, and finding levity in discomfort. Selected full-length plays: here comes the night (Semi-Finalist: O'Neill National Playwrights Conference; Bay Area Playwrights Festival; New Dramatists Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship); Four Chambers (Winner: Jean Kennedy Smith Award); Motherland (Finalist: Jewish Plays Project). She has been a finalist for the Ashland New Play Festival, O'Neill, Lark, Playwrights' Center, Princess Grace Fellowship, and The Heideman Award. Lisa also wrote/produced the award-winning short film, Tattoo You, based on her published one-act, which has been screened at 15+ film festivals nationally and internationally. A two-time O'Neill Kennedy Center Fellow, Lisa's work has been developed/produced across the country. Since visiting Vilnius, Lithuania in 2019, Lisa has embarked on several projects including Following Fania, a documentary about the role of Jewish female resistance fighters, which closely aligns with the subject matter of Vilna: A Resistance Story, a new musical she is currently developing. In addition to the Dramatist Guild and Playwrights Union, Lisa is a proud member of Maestra, and was selected to participate in their 2024 mentorship cohort. Lisa earned her B.A. from Wesleyan University and her MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen from Lesley University. lisakennergrissom.com

MEET THE TEAM

Hailey McAfee - DIRECTOR

Hailey McAfee (she/her) is an actor, director, and Associate Artist of The Attic Collective. Most recently she directed a workshop of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin as part of Moving Arts's LAB series. In last year's Hollywood Fringe Festival, Hailey directed Hedda Gabler (Best Drama Nominee), and acted in Iphigenia in Splott (L.A. Theatre Bites Best Solo Show Winner, Best Actress Nominee, Hollywood Fringe Festival Best of Broadwater Winner, Best Solo Show Nominee, Top of the Fringe Nominee). Other credits include I Decided I'm Fine: A Roach Play, Prefers Bright Indirect Light, and Desert Weeds. Hailey holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from UC Santa Cruz. 

Erika Soto (she/her) - Maggie

Erika Soto is a native Houstonian of Mexican parentage who loves dancing, coffee, and all things magical. She is supremely grateful to be here. LA work includes: A Noise Within Theatre (Resident Artist): Hypatia Tarleton, Misalliance, Hermia, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing; Eurydice, and others, Metamorphoses; Helen, All's Well That Ends Well; Ensemble, Sonnets for an Old Century (NoiseNow audio play), Alice, Alice in Wonderland; Elizabeth/Female Creature, Frankenstein; Poppy Norton-Taylor, Noises Off; Laura Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie; Katherine/Boy, Henry V; Vivie Warren, Mrs. Warren's Profession; Cordelia, King Lear; Thomasina Coverly, Arcadia; Dolly Clandon, You Never Can Tell. Elsewhere: Boston Court Pasadena: Jessica, Everything That Never Happened; Independent Shakespeare Co.: Julia, The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Miranda, The Tempest; Juliet, Romeo and Juliet; Bianca, The Taming of the Shrew; Constance Neville, She Stoops to Conquer; Mopsa, The Winter's Tale; Mary Moore, Red Barn (Premiere); Ingenue, Strange Eventful History (Premiere). TV: ERIC (Netflix), Vida (STARZ), Side Hustle (Nickelodeon), Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion (Disney). Education: University of Southern California, School of Dramatic Arts, B.A.; British American Drama Academy, London, UK.

Meeghan Holloway - Olivia

Meeghan has performed in over sixty plays across the country. Beth in the Off-Broadway production of Dinner With Friends, Sylvia in Sylvia, Brooke in Noises Off and Mme. Thenardier in Les Miserables are among her favorites. She originated the role of Florence Greenberg in the Broadway musical, Baby It's You! and appeared in Through The Eye Of A Needle by Jami Brandli at The Road Theatre. In the past year, she played Pamela in Steve Yockey's Mercury and Sarah in the two character play, Spy For Spy by Kieron Barry. TV appearances include Bones, Scandal, Desperate Housewives, Two & A Half Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, Law & Order, and NCIS, with recurring roles on Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, and ABC Family's Switched At Birth. She is in Holidate and About Fate on Netflix, and just played a robot in the movie Boy Makes Girl.

Darin Anthony - Producer

the Artistic Director of Moving Arts in Los Angeles, a company dedicated to the development, production, and promotion of adventurous new works by Los Angeles artists. For Moving Arts he directed: world premieres of RESET, @Playaz, Isolation Inn – A Zoom Series, Apple Season, BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!), Apocalypse Play, the west coast premieres: The Kill-or-Dies, Viral by and The Gun Show. Other recent productions: Daniel's Husband at Dezart Performs (Best Director Award DTL) Dinner with Friends at CV Rep (Nominated best director DTL), the world premiere of the rhythm and blues musical The Devil You Know for Devilish Productions, and the premiere of Nureyev's Eyes at American Stages (FL), and The Bluebarn Theatre (NE).

Other productions include New York premieres: The Good Boy at the Abington Theatre and The Incident Report at The Lion Theatre. Regional credits: premieres for La Jolla Playhouse, Unbound Productions, Bootleg Theatre, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, The Theatre @ Boston Court, Radar LA, Odyssey Theatre, The Road, The Open Fist, Moving Arts Car Plays, The Blank Theatre, Syzygy, InterACT, Furious Theatre.

Academically, he has directed at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Theatre of Arts, and Miami University of Ohio. Darin's film directing debut, Hitting the Cycle, was awarded Best Feature Film by The Manhattan Film Festival. He also directed and developed the web series Before we go to Sleep with Steve Serpas. His productions have received many awards and nominations including The Ovation Award, The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, The LA Weekly Awards, Desert Theatre League Award, Stage Scene LA, and The Backstage Garland Awards. 

SANDRA KUKER PR - Publicity (Sandra Kuker-Franco)

An Award-winning Publicist with over four decades of experience Sandra has created a client list of diversity and successful campaigns. Film highlight: A World Away (Mark Blanchard). Stage: I'm Not A Comedian,  I'm Lenny Bruce (Ronnie Marmo, Director, Joe Mantegna), Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground (Tony Winner John Rubinstein), Adventures In The Great Beyond, Death Of A Salesmen (Frances Fisher & Joe Cortese), Elephant Man, My Child, Mothers Of War (an all-star cast), Voice Lessons (Laurie Metcalf, French Stewart & Maile Flanagan), Write Act Repertory 15+ Production Campaigns, Panic! Productions: Footloose The Musical, plus 8 others. Crimson Square TC/BHP: Outrage + 8 other shows. Utilizing the strength of relationships, social media and traditional PR. www.SandraKukerPR.com

ABOUT MOVING ARTS

The award winning theater company Moving Arts is dedicated to the creation, promotion and production of original works by Los Angeles artists. Founded by Lee Wochner and Julie Briggs in 1992, Moving Arts has produced many world, national, West Coast and Los Angeles premieres. Moving Arts began as a 22-seat venue in the Silver Lake area and quickly grew to become a resident artist company that includes actors, directors, producers, designers, and playwrights. 

In 2014, Artistic Director, Darin Anthony, focused the company's attention on the development and production of new plays exclusively from Los Angeles artists. The Launch of the MADLab, Moving Arts New Play Development Lab, that year emphasized the dedication to new work by committing over 20% of the annual budget to new play development. Since 1992, Moving Arts has continuously produced adventurous new plays in a variety of venues across Los Angeles and greater California, ranging from traditional theaters such as [Inside] the Ford in Hollywood, and the Los Angeles Theatre Center, to nontraditional spaces such as the Natural History Museum, the WOW Festival at LaJolla Playhouse, the grounds of the Orange County Performing Center and the parking lot across from Disney Hall, showing remarkable versatility and commitment to the craft of theater. Many of the new plays we have created and premiered have gone on to be produced across the country, Steppenwolf, Milagro Theatre, Artist Rep, and The Guthrie Theatre to name a few. Once called “The tiny Silver Lake Theater with an enviable reputation,” Moving Arts has now taken up residence in its new home the larger Moving Arts Theater in Atwater Village.

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