New York Stage And Film Reveals 2024 Filmmakers' Workshop Participants & 2024 Awards Recipients

New York Stage and Film has revealed the participants for its Filmmakers' Workshop and the 2024 Pfaelzer and Founders' Awards Recipients, as well as additional casting for its 2024 Summer Season at Marist College, which kicks off today in Poughkeepsie, NY.

For 39 years, NYSAF has operated as a vital incubator for artists and their work, a catalyst for stories that continue across the country and around the world. With artist-driven flexibility, NYSAF offers resources and opportunities to meet projects at every step of their development. Its Summer Season supports the nation's leading generative artists and boldest creators of innovative and groundbreaking stories for the stage and the screen. In collaboration with Marist College in New York City and Poughkeepsie, NYSAF serves the needs of theater and film artists today with a rigorous and nurturing environment that centers process, community, education, and audience engagement.

FILMMAKERS' WORKSHOP: July 29 - August 4

The NYSAF Filmmakers' Workshop, led by Filmmakers' Workshop Director Mallom Liggon, serves a specially curated group of film and TV writers each year with a week-long residency featuring one-on-one feedback with professional mentors, panel discussions, workshops, table reads of their scripts, and industry access. This process occurs alongside NYSAF's renowned theatrical development processes and creates a rare community to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and an expansive perspective of the art of storytelling. 

The 2024 Filmmakers' Workshop Mentors are Jeff Augustin, Micharne Cloughley, Michelle Denise Jackson, Laura Marks, Álvaro Rodriguez, Charlie Stratton, Lindsey Villarreal, and Shawn Wines.

The 2024 Filmmakers' Workshop participants include:

MENDACITY by Paul Baiguerra

TYPE: Film

After her car breaks down a struggling single mother agrees to take part in an insurance fraud, but, when she tries to back out, she discovers that she was the intended victim all along and must now contend with the malicious criminal she has let in the door.

DEATH AND POULTRY IN MARION, KENTUCKY by Maia Henkin

TYPE: Television

In rural Kentucky, a seventeen-year-old girl is kidnapped by two religious fanatics and develops a friendship with the woman who tortures her.

TALK BLACK by Destiny Macon

TYPE: Film

A timid engineer develops a wild and vivacious split personality to help her speak up to the boy's club at work and prevent gentrification of the historically black neighborhood where she grew up.

BADMAASH by Nikita Mungarwadi

TYPE: Television

A white-washed, second-generation Indian-American freshman seeks to reclaim her cultural identity by joining a competitive collegiate Bollywood dance team, where she navigates new friendships, campus rivalries, and imaginary conversations with Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan.

HALLELUJAH NIGHT by Ivan Rome

TYPE: Film

After sneaking out for their first Halloween party, a pastor's kid and his best friends must find a way to survive the craziest night of their lives.

WINSLOW by Jianna Maarten Saada

TYPE: Television

1971. The war still rages in Vietnam despite Nixon promising to withdraw more troops, and halfway across the world a small town in South Dakota dealing with the fallout of the war throws a welcome home parade for recently returned vet Bobby Peterson. But what's come home is not the same Bobby Peterson who left, and this small town will never be the same.  

HEY YOU GUYS by Adriana Santos

TYPE: Film

Fresh off a high-profile breakup, an ultra-successful Youtuber's reluctant return to her childhood home in Miami spirals into a sinister confrontation with the people, history and trauma she fled for fame.  

CLASH by Donna Bonilla Wheeler

TYPE: Television

When an Indigenous Latina combat vet is faced with impossible medical bills to save her father's life, she takes a lucrative I.C.E. agent job and hides it from family, triggering a personal moral crisis.

AWARDS

The Pfaelzer Award was created in honor of former Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer's twenty-year commitment to nurturing artists and their developing stories at NYSAF. The award is meant to serve an inspiring generative voice with financial support, access to the NYSAF artistic community, and mentorship from Johanna Pfaelzer. The 2024 Pfaelzer Award recipient and finalist were curated by a panel of former recipients including Elisa Bocanegra, JaMeeka Holloway and Dawn Monique Williams.

Pfaelzer Award Recipient: Tristan André. Brother. Sun. Black memory cultural worker. Lover of his community. Tristan, an alum of the MFA Professional Actor Training Program at UNC-Chapel Hill, is a Southern multi-hyphenate artist whose credits include PlayMakers Repertory Company's Life Of Galileo, Sherwood: The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Leaving Eden, Twelfth Night and The Crucible, Shakespeare Theatre Company's The Amen Corner, Philadelphia Theatre Company's Choir Boy, Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park's As You Like It and The Tempest. Tristan premiered his solo performance work They Do Not Know Harlem a la PlayMakers Rep Spring 2023. He has worked as choreographer for Charleston Gaillard Center's Finding Freedom: The Journey of Robert Smalls, Theatre Raleigh's 1940's Radio Hour and most recently Virginia Theatre Festival's Little Shop of Horrors. He is thrilled to be a recipient of the Pfaelzer Award and to be sown into the fabric of the New York Stage and Film community. Light. 

Pfaelzer Award Finalist: Alejandra Cisneros is a creative producer and director who excels in community building and artistic collaboration. With a degree in Film, Media, and Art History from the University of California, Irvine, and advanced training in project management, leadership, and equity, Alejandra brings a powerful and comprehensive perspective to her work. Throughout her diverse career, Alejandra has worked with esteemed organizations such as The Public Theater, Center Theatre Group, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She is passionately dedicated to amplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion, celebrating individuality, and fostering mission-driven partnerships. Her approach is rooted in creating spaces that honor truth and reject narratives of otherness. Alejandra's directorial projects reflect her versatility and commitment to innovative storytelling. In El Verde, she explores Latinx superhero culture with a dynamic and humorous touch, blending comedy with social commentary. It Tastes Like What I Remember delves into personal and collective memories through the lens of culinary traditions, highlighting the intimate connections between food and identity. Meanwhile, Chisme Y Queso offers a vibrant and interactive theatrical experience, engaging audiences with stories of community, culture, and gossip, and emphasizing the importance of shared narratives. Her dedication to community engagement and innovative direction has earned her several accolades, including being a member of the artEquity BIPOC Leadership Circle, receiving Theatre Communications Group's Young Leader of Color award, and being honored with the prestigious Leadership U grant for visionary rising leaders. Alejandra continues to push the boundaries of the arts, creating spaces that not only entertain but also enlighten and empower. Her work is a testament to the power of storytelling in celebrating diversity and fostering community. For more information, visit alecisneros.com.

NYSAF's Founders' Award was established on the occasion of the company's 25th anniversary in honor of the founders' commitment to nurturing writers. The Founders' Award Recipient receives a financial award and an extended residency during the annual Summer Season in the Hudson Valley. The 2024 Founders Award recipient and finalists were curated by a panel of former recipients including Nissay Aya, jeremy o'brien and UGBA.

Founders' Award Recipient: storäe michele (they/them) is a blackqueer, shape-shifting, non-binary femme, afro-futurist performer + storäe-teller. their creative practice builds a present + embodied archive of black femme futures + aliveness. their experimental films, performances, and choreopoems center black femmes, honoring their routes to authenticity— the reclamation of body, sexuality and personhood—reminders of how to create brave space as blackqueer wild + holy beings. storäe is a Lambda Literary Fellow (Playwriting Cohort, 2021) and their choreopoem, mama [rose.], was nominated for the 2022 LGBTQ Drama Lammy Award. storäe is a fellow for the 2023 Baldwin for the Arts Residency and the 2023 Greenhouse Residency (SPACE on Ryder Farm). storäe recently collaborated in an on-site gallery installation and exhibit titled, because you're [mine.], which nuances self-possession and ritual practice in the mundane. their upcoming performance piece [claustrophobia], is supported by Columbia University's Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics & Social Justice as a Rapid Response grant recipient.

Founders' Award Finalist: Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Donathan Walters holds a BFA in Screen Acting & a minor in Film Production from Chapman University. He received his MFA in Acting from NYU's Graduate Acting Program at Tisch School of the Arts, class of 2022. Some of Donathan's credits include Classical Theater of Harlem's acclaimed production of Twelfth Night; motion capture work for NBA 2k18 and 2k19 video games, voice over work for Uber, and most recently: “Evil” (Paramount+). Donathan brings a passion for developing new content and gauging provocative conversation amongst the community to bridge generational gaps to process hidden traumas amongst black people. In 2023, Donathan was chosen to participate in The Gatekeeper's Collective's Learning to Love fellowship, where he wrote and further developed Hope In Pieces, a one-act play that highlights the relationship between technology, love, and cultural expectation between strangers, strengthening his voice as both as a writer and storyteller.

Founders' Award Finalist: Camille Simone Thomas is a 5th generation Detroiter through her father's side and a first-generation Jamaican through her mothers. Her work most often interrogates cultural legacies, familial healing, spirituality, and how Black femmes get free. Her plays have been workshopped at New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Sanguine Theatre Company, Blackboard Playwriting series, Lime Arts Theatre company, American Slavery Project, The Obie Award-winning Harlem9 and Detroit Public Theatre Company, Dixon Place, Workshop Theatre, Barter Theatre Company, The Brick, and more! She was a 2023 Broadway Advocacy Coalition Artivism fellow and a 2024 finalist for the Eugene O'Neill NPC. Currently Camille is in the Under Construction Playwrights Group working on 111 Orchestra Place a play in her six play Cotton & Cane play cycle. Upcoming her play Mud; Or When Things Get Messy and How We Live with It is having its Off-Broadway premiere at the Connelly Theatre August 3rd and 4th with SheNYC Theatre festival. Then she will begin her artistic research fellowship at The Folger Library in DC for her play Sweetblood.

The 2024 Summer Season at Marist will begin with the Season Kick-Off VIP Reception today, Thursday July 18, preceding the presentation of Jim Dale: Living with Laughter. Attendees will enjoy an exclusive performance by NYSAF artists and raise a glass to NYSAF and Marist College's shared commitment to development, dialogue, and discovery. The Reception will also acknowledge supporters for impactful programming, including the development of a new Artist-in-Residence initiative during the upcoming school year.

All performances will be held on Marist's Poughkeepsie, NY campus. Tickets for the presentations are now on sale. For more information and to purchase season bundles, Season Kick-Off VIP Reception access, individual tickets, and access to special events visit www.newyorkstageandfilm.org.  

Additional casting for the summer season includes Margot Bingham, Olivia Cygan, Jade Jones, Evan Jonigkeit, Vanessa Kai, Ismenia Mendes, Ryan Vona, and Jason Tam as well as musicians Susan Aquila, George Farmer, Heather Frank, Peter Saleh, and Larry Slatzman.

The New York Stage and Film 2024 Summer Season is as follows:

Jim Dale: LIVING WITH LAUGHTER

Written and Performed by Jim Dale

Presentation: Thursday July 18, 7PM | Nelly Goletti Theatre

VIP Reception: 5:30 PM in Symphonic Hall

LIVING WITH LAUGHTER will give the audience the gift of time with Jim Dale, who John Simon noted “may just be the most charming farceur to tread the boards, to say nothing of his brilliant recorded readings of the seven Harry Potter novels, in which he manages a different, equally splendid voice for all two hundred plus characters. But let's get back to charm. This usually comes with high comedy a la Noel Coward or Cary Grant, it almost never comes with unabashedly low or middle-range farce, dazzlingly elevated to the heights attained by Jim, as he holds you in his palms, his feet, his whole body leaving you wallowing in laughter. LIVING WITH LAUGHTER is essentially Dale's telling and reenacting of his life and stage story, from Britain's beloved Music Hall and beyond it to every possible medium, including Shakespeare and Molière, displaying terrific timing and those oodles of charm which only inborn talent and hard work lightly worn can attain. It is impossible to impart all this through mere printed words; you must catch and experience the show firsthand. What you see and hear will stay with you as a touchstone for as long as you are capable of joyous remembrance.”

Prior to the presentation, there will be an exclusive VIP Reception with Jim Dale and the NYSAF artistic community, that will raise a glass to NYSAF and Marist College's shared commitment to development, dialogue, and discovery. The Reception will also acknowledge supporters for impactful programming, including the development of a new Artist-in-Residence initiative during the upcoming school year, early-career Apprenticeships, and Marist College's Summer Pre-College Program.

MOMMY, A ONE WOMAN CHO

Written & Performed by Margaret Cho

Additional Material by Leah Nanako Winkler

Co-Directed by Leigh Silverman & Seonjae Kim

Presentation: Friday July 19, 7PM | Fusco Recital Hall                

In MOMMY, A ONE WOMAN CHO, Grammy and Emmy Award nominated stand-up comedian, actress, and singer-songwriter Margaret Cho depicts all of the things she wishes her mother had actually said. This is a work of fiction.

WELL WELL WELL

By Brant Russell

Directed by Jaki Bradley

Presentation: Saturday July 20, 3PM | Fusco Recital Hall               

When Erik crashes Erika's engagement party, she's reminded of why she quit drinking in the first place. WELL WELL WELL follows two people who try to live together, try to live apart, and try to live with their changing relationships to the world and substances around them. What's the difference between love and enabling? What's the difference between a choice and an addiction? 

The cast of WELL WELL WELL will feature the previously announced Lachlan Watson (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), joined by Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Ismenia Mendes (Mac Beth).

THE NINTH WOMAN

By Delta Rae

Directed by Logan Vaughn

With a special performance by Delta Rae: Saturday July 20, 7PM | Nelly Goletti Theatre

THE NINTH WOMAN is a new musical experience that transports you into the heart of a Puritan witch trial. As mob justice tangles with an all-powerful witch, the vibrant harmonies and pulse-pounding melodies of Delta Rae fuel a night of magic, passion, and twisted karma. Meet us at the bottom of the river.

As previously announced, the cast of THE NINTH WOMAN will feature all six members of the band Delta Rae—Ian Hölljes, Eric Hölljes, Brittany Hölljes, Elizabeth Hopkins, Mike McKee and Grant Emerson; as well as Tanner Calicutt (Parade), Sandra Okuboyejo (Hamilton National Tour). They will be joined by Margot Bingham (“The Walking Dead”) and Ryan Vona (Parade), as well as musicians Susan Aquila, George Farmer, Heather Frank, Peter Saleh, and Larry Slatzman.

BIGFOOT

Book by Amber Ruffin & Kevin Sciretta

Music by David Schmoll

Lyrics by Amber Ruffin

Directed by Amber Ruffin

Presentation: Sunday July 21, 1PM | Nelly Goletti Theatre

You've heard the myth and legend, but do you know the man? BIGFOOT is a hilarious musical about a small town whose horrible mayor has them convinced their problems are all the fault of Bigfoot and not his inept leadership. With book and lyrics by New York Times bestseller and Tony Award, WGA, and Emmy nominated writer Amber Ruffin (The Wiz, Some Like It Hot) and Kevin Sciretta (“Mystery Science Theater 3000”) and music by David Schmoll (The Second City), BIGFOOT is the next gut-bustin', laugh-a-minute New York musical!

The cast of BIGFOOT will include the previously announced Justin Guarini (Once Upon A One More Time), Taran Killam (Spamalot), Janelle McDermoth (We're Gonna Die), Larry Owens (A Strange Loop), joined by Jade Jones (Vanities).

GENIUS

By Kate Walbert

Directed by Sheryl Kaller

Presentation: Thursday July 25, 7PM | Fusco Recital Hall            

New York City. Two artist couples—Sara and Joel, Peter and Charlotte—come together across generations and genres for an intimate dinner party that will reveal the fault lines in their relationships, and the power dynamics through which art and legacy are contested and defined.

The cast of GENIUS will include the previously announced Mark Linn-Baker (The Music Man), joined by Olivia Cygan (Doubt: A Parable), Vanessa Kai (KPOP), and Jason Tam (The White Chip), who replaces the previously announced Damon Daunno.

GAME NIGHT

Co-Created and Written by Shanessa Sweeney

Composed by Bongi Duma

Co-Created and Choreographed by Ray Mercer

Directed by Rufus Bonds Jr.

Presentations: Friday July 26, 7PM and Saturday July 27, 7PM | Nelly Goletti Theatre

GAME NIGHT is an exhilarating story of seven friends coming together for their monthly gathering of good times, jokes and most importantly, games. Told through dance and spoken word, they find out things about each other they never knew, some of which challenge the very core of their bond and some that will change the trajectory of the friend group. GAME NIGHT showcases the beauty and complexities of American experiences through the lens of Black American culture and unabashedly highlights the challenges of those experiences. Co-created by choreographer Ray Mercer and actress Shanessa Sweeney, GAME NIGHT is a love letter to the Culture.

GAME NIGHT will feature Andrew Bryant (Revelations), Daniel Gaymon (Cats), Gabrielle Hamilton (Oklahoma!), Ghrai DeVore Stokes (Disney's The Little Mermaid), Fana Minea Tesfagiorgis (In the Heights), Sir Brock Warren (Paradise Square), and Darnell Isaiah Williams (Made to Dance in Burning Buildings) as dancers; and the recorded voices of Ngozi Anyanwu (Last of the Love Letters), McKinley Belcher III (“Eric”), Charlie Hudson III (A Raisin in the Sun), L'Oreal Lampley (The Tempest), Doron JéPaul Mitchell (July Rising), Reynaldo Piniella (Thoughts of a Colored Man), and Shanessa Sweeney (“The Resident”).

the monsters

Written and Directed by Ngozi Anyanwu

Presentation: Saturday July 27, 3PM | Fusco Recital Hall            

the monsters is a sibling love story that follows LIL and BIG as they reconnect Wrestle with their demons Fight with their fists. All through their love of MMA.

The cast of the monsters will include Aigner Mizzelle (Chicken & Biscuits) and Okieriete Onaodowan (A Doll's House).

BASEMENT, IL

By Stacy Osei-Kuffour

Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb

Presentation: Sunday July 28, 1PM | Fusco Recital Hall     

         

A Midwestern family comes together one night, only to be shattered by an alleged buried secret; true or not, it swallows the family whole.

The cast of BASEMENT, IL will feature Donovan Louis Bazemore (The Lion King), Mayaa Boateng (Exception to the Rule), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (“Clipped”), Naomi Lorrain (Behind the Sheet), Keith Randolph Smith (Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana).

TULIPA

By Kate Douglas

Directed by Kate Whoriskey

Featuring Jessica Hecht

Presentation: Thursday August 1, 7PM | Fusco Recital Hall         

There was a brief moment in history when a flower could ruin your life. Jessica Hecht stars in TULIPA, a riches to rags monologue set against the Dionysian backdrop of Tulipmania in the 17th century. In a world gone mad, TULIPA examines how we can find what truly nourishes us. This sensual and surprising story of self-discovery is the second collaboration between writer Kate Douglas (The Apiary) with director Kate Whoriskey (Clyde's).

The cast of TULIPA will include Jessica Hecht (Summer, 1976) and Stephanie Crousillat (The Apiary).

THE HEART

Based on Réparer les Vivants by Maylis deKerangal

Book and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan

Music and Lyrics by Anne Eisendrath & Ian Eisendrath

Directed by Christopher Ashley

Presentations: Friday August 2, 7PM and Saturday August 3, 7PM | Nelly Goletti Theatre        

THE HEART is based on Maylis deKerangal's novel, Réparer les Vivants, and tells the story of 24 hours in the life of a heart as a young man is leaving this world and a woman making peace with her early death receives a second chance at life. The show is a fast-paced, 9-actor ensemble piece, featuring a through-composed EDM score that takes its inspiration from the world of the high-tech hospital.

The cast of THE HEART will include Heidi Blickenstaff (Jagged Little Pill), Lisa Brescia (Dear Evan Hansen), Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton), Drew Gehling (Almost Famous), Gizel Jimenez (Cornelia Street), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Parade), Taylor Iman Jones (Six: The Musical), Zachary Noah Piser (KPOP), and Wren Rivera (Teeth).

AFTER PETER

Play by Adam Chanler-Berat & Grace McLean

Music and Lyrics by Grace McLean

Directed by Tyler Thomas 

Presentation: Saturday August 3, 3PM | Fusco Recital Hall

After the sudden death of her collaborator, Jo goes on a quest for answers that may or may not–most likely may not–help finish the piece they were working on together. Generations of artists speak to each other across the chasm of space and time in this living requiem about the intertwining of loss and the creative process, and the ways in which art hides and reveals us. 

The cast of AFTER PETER will include Kyle Beltran (“American Rust”) and Marin Ireland (Spain), as well as musician Erica Swindell.

DIGNITY, ALWAYS DIGNITY

Co-Created by Zack Fine, Bryce Pinkham, Kirya Traber & Rona Siddiqui

Directe

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