Cast Announced for AT THE WEDDING at Studio Theatre

The cast and crew has been announced for Bryna Turner's hilarious and meditative comedy At the Wedding, which will start performances on March 13.

Carlo crashes her ex-girlfriend's wedding with three goals: don't get drunk. Don't make any kids cry. And don't try to win back the bride. (Spoiler alert: she won't succeed.) After its Off Broadway debut in 2022, At the Wedding was named a Critic's Pick by the New York Times and declared a “fresh and trenchant” take on the “nuptials-with-an-ex-to-grind” genre. Studio welcomes multi-hyphenate DC talent Tom Story to direct this playful, thoughtful play about loneliness, estrangement, and a slow-burn romance with being alive.  

“There are a few reasons I'm looking forward to introducing Washington DC to At the Wedding,” says David Muse, Studio Theatre's Artistic Director. “It's the first time Bryna's work will be produced in DC and I think their fast-talking characters and sense of the ridiculous will find a lot of fans among our audience members. And it's a celebration of DC talent, from Studio Cabinet members Tom Story, who directs, and Holly Twyford, one of our actors, to the cast of DC favorites that includes Dina Thomas (Cry it Out, 2.5 Minute Ride), as well as Emily Kester (Edgar & Annabel), Jamie Smithson, Yesenia Iglesias, and Jonathan Atkinson. I am pleased to welcome Cameron Silliman as our out-of-town addition to the cast; they are in good company.”  

General Info 

Date: Performances start March 13 

Location: Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 

Cost: $40-$95 (discounts available) 

Appropriate audience age: 13+ (strong language and adult themes) 

Parking: Studio Theatre does not have its own parking garage; however we do have parking partnerships with both Spot Hero and the Washington Plaza Hotel. More info on the Studio website (https://www.studiotheatre.org/visit/directions-and-parking). 

Buy tickets at the button below.

About the Playwright

Bryna Turner's plays include At the Wedding, Bull in a China Shop, Phases of the Moon, and How to Separate Your Soul from Your Body (in ten easy steps!). Honors include Lincoln Center's Emerging Artist Award in Theatre and the Laurie Foundation's Theatre Visions Award. Their work has been produced, developed, or presented by American Conservatory Theater, About Face Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Diversionary Theatre, LCT3, National Theatre, TheatreSquared, WP Theater, and others. They are an alum of Clubbed Thumb's Early Career Writers Group, WP Theater's 2018-2020 Lab, and a MacDowell fellow. They are currently under commission from Lincoln Center Theater.

About the Director

Tom Story is an actor, director and teacher living in Washington DC. He has appeared in over 75 plays in Washington DC, New York and around the country. He has directed at The Studio Theatre, Roundhouse, The Berkshire Theatre Group, Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre, and American University. Tom has been nominated for multiple Helen Hayes awards and is a Fox Foundation Fellow, a cabinet member of Studio Theatre, and a graduate of Duke University and The Juilliard School. He studied acting with Michael Kahn and directing with Joy Zinoman.

About the Cast

Dina Thomas (Carlo) is a DC theater artist and real estate agent. Her Studio Theatre credits include Cry It Out and 2.5 Minute Ride. Her Off Broadway credits include The Metromaniacs at Red Bull Theater, Clever Little Lies at Westside Theatre, and Tribes at Barrow Street Theatre. Regional credits include Much Ado About Nothing and The Metromaniacs at Shakespeare Theatre Company; The Chameleon and The Wanderers at Theater J; Everything You Touch at Contemporary American Theater Festival; The Metromaniacs at The Old Globe; See How They Run and 10x10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage Company; and Bad Jews (BroadwayWorld Award, Best Actress), I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard, and Miss Witherspoon at Unicorn Theatre. She has an MFA in Acting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a B.A. in Theatre from Binghamton University.

Emily Kester (Carly) is an actor based in Washington DC. Her previous Studio credits include The Hard Problem and Edgar & Annabel. Her regional theatre credits include The Trip to Bountiful, Silent Sky, and A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre; Maz and Bricks at Solas Nua; Detroit '67 at Signature Theatre; Labour of Love at Olney Theatre Center; The Last Schwartz at Theater J; Noises Off and The Revolutionists at Everyman Theatre; Equus at Constellation Theatre Company; and The Little Mermaid and The BFG at Imagination Stage. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and holds a BFA in Acting.

Jamie Smithson (Eli) is thrilled to be working with Studio Theatre for the first time. His Off Broadway credits include Arcadia, Persuasion, and Fall River Fishing with Bedlam and The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet with The Acting Company. Some of his favorite regional credits include Sense and Sensibility with Bedlam at Folger Theatre, Newsies at Arena Stage, Cake Off at Signature Theatre, TheWanderers at Theater J, Boeing Boeing with No Rules Theatre Company, Twist Your Dickens with Second City at the Kennedy Center, and Fly By Night at 1st Stage. He has also worked with Shakespeare Theatre Company, Mosaic Theater Company, Ford's Theatre, Imagination Stage, Round House Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Portland Center Stage, American Repertory Theater, and Guthrie Theater, among others. He has been nominated for two individual Helen Hayes awards for Best Actor and received his MFA in acting at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.

Holly Twyford (Maria) is thrilled to be back for her thirteenth show at Studio, and her first collaboration with Tom Story. Previous Studio Productions include The Steward of Christendom, The Desk Set, The Road to Mecca, Contractions, and Cloud 9, all of which earned her Helen Hayes Awards nominations, and The Shape of Things, for which she received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. She has performed in close to eighty productions in theaters in the DMV area including Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Signature Theatre. She has been nominated for multiple Helen Hayes Awards and is a five-time recipient. She was honored with Shakespeare Theatre Company's Emery Battis Award for Acting Excellence for her portrayal of Anna in Harold Pinter's Old Times. She is proud to be a charter member of Studio Theatre's Cabinet, a Ford's Theatre Associate Artist, and a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow. Also a director, she recently directed Becoming Dr. Ruth at the Village Theatre. 

Cameron Silliman (Leigh; they/she) is an actor, singer, mover, and art maker. Their other theatre credits include Fun Home at TheaterWorks Hartford, Twelfth Night at The Center at West Park, and Ghost the Musical at Winnipesaukee Playhouse. Cameron can also be seen on an episode of the television series New Amsterdam. She is also lead singer and co-founder of the NYC-based rock band Granite Garden.

Yesenia Iglesias (Eva) is an actor and educator from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. This is her Studio Theatre debut. Regional credits include: POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive at Arena Stage; Dance Nation at Olney Theatre Center; Daphne's Dive and Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity at Signature Theatre; Kid Prince and Pablo at The Kennedy Center; Love's Labour's Lost at Folger Theatre; The Legend of Georgia McBride at Round House Theatre; and The Caucasian Chalk Circle at Constellation Theatre Company, among others. She currently teaches at Howard University. Yesenia holds an MFA from the University of Washington Professional Actor Training Program.

Jonathan Atkinson (Victor; he/him) is an actor and podcaster. His theatre credits include Daphne's Dive at Signature Theatre, The Mortification of Fovea Munson at the Kennedy Center, and Ragtime and A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre. Jonathan is co-host of ¡UY QUE HORROR! A Latinx Horror Movie Podcast.

About Studio Theatre

Studio Theatre is a longstanding Washington cultural institution dedicated to the production of contemporary theatre. Over more than 40 years and 350 productions, the theatre has grown from a company that produced in a single rented theatre to one that owns a multi-venue complex stretching half a city block, but has stayed committed to its core distinguishing characteristics: deliberately intimate spaces; excellence in acting and design; and seasons that feature many of the most significant playwrights of our time. Studio is a values-focused organization that pursues artistry and inclusion, and brings characteristic thoughtfulness and daring to our efforts, onstage and off. The theatre serves nearly 75,000 people each year, including more than 1,000 youth and young adults through community engagement initiatives. Founded in 1978, the quality of Studio's work has been recognized by sustained community support, as well as 78 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. 

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