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ART THAT AWAKENS
As a part of JCAL's Building Equity for BIIPOC Artists, we're thrilled to present Conch Shell Productions’ New Works Reading Series. The play reading series will feature 3 new one-act works written by members of Conch Shell Productions’ Artist Collective - Magaly Colimon-Christopher, Tanya Perez, and Gretchen Suárez-Peña.
These plays explore themes that inspire social change - self-empowerment, identity, sexism, trauma, and sexuality.
Each play reading was followed by an artist q&a led by Jasmeene Francois (Conch Shell Production’s resident dramaturg).
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS OF THIS EVENT
This event is made possible with the support of Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning Building Equity for BIIPOC Artist - an initiative sponsored by NY Community Trust.
(Event Videographer - Chris Richardson)
Q&a moderator
Jasmeene Francois is a Haitian-American theatre artist, storyteller, Applied Theatre Practitioner, and dramaturg from Riverside, California. She specializes in facilitating workshops centered around oral storytelling, devising, and creative writing that address home and belonging. Jasmeene is currently an instructor with The Moth Community and Education program and an adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College.
playwrights & Directors
Tanya Perez is an NYC Latinx performer, writer & clown specializing in short-form comedy. Perez has excelled as a creator on both stage and screen and her stand-out work has received many awards and mentions. Notable TV credits include Evil, Orange Is the New Black & Jessica Jones. Stage credits include performances at Laguna Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and touring throughout Italy. Her film, Peep Show, was a finalist at the Women in Comedy HBO Insider Competition. With over 22 screenings globally, her film, Veronica, won ‘Best Actress’ at SISFA, ‘Best Screenplay’ at OutlantaCon, and ‘Best Latinx Short’ at IndieFest. Perez also received an Audioverse Award recognition for her audio play, Rincon. Winner of New Circle Theatre Company's L.B. Williams Playwriting Festival. She is a featured writer for The Light Ahead podcast, a Greenhouse Lab artist with The Orchard Project, a spotlight artist with Conch Shell Productions, and a proud member of the Latinx Playwrights Circle.
Tara Ochs is an artist wearing many hats – producer, performer, and for Tanya Perez, a collaborator. As a producer, she has supported the development and sale of 10 scripts for television. As an actor she is a member of Dad’s Garage, Atlanta’s longest running improv comedy theater, where she also serves as a teaching artist. She has also written and performed a one-woman show for Seven Stages about civil rights martyr Viola Liuzzo.
Magaly Colimon-Christopher - is a first-generation Haitian American actress/playwright/director/producer & the Artistic Director/Founder of Conch Shell Productions. Her acting credits include Grand Army (Netflix); Blue Bloods (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Law & Order SVU(NBC), as well as film and theatre credits.. Magaly founded Conch Shell Productions to create a platform for new works by Caribbean Diaspora & Caribbean playwrights and screenwriters who have an expanded view of reality and a passion for innovative storytelling that inspire social change. A native New Yorker, Magaly received a B.A. from Columbia University, an MBA in Arts Administration from Binghamton University, and an MFA in Acting from Geffen School of Drama at Yale (formerly known as Yale School of Drama). She is a member of SAG/AFTRA, ART/NY, Fractured Atlas, The Actor’s Studio Playwright and Directors Unit, The Actor’s Center, The Dramatist Guild, Latinx Consortium, and JCAL Building Equity Advisory Council. To learn more about Magaly go to www.magalycolimon.com
Gretchen Suárez-Peña (she/her) is a Puerto Rican playwright based in Central Florida. She is an MFA candidate in the Dramatic Writing program at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama (Class of 2024). She is a frequent collaborator with New Generation Theatrical (FL) and is part of the 2022 Conch Shell Productions (NY) Artists Collective of writers. She frequently works with Just Write! Lakeland (FL), the Latinx Playwright Circle (NY), and the Latiné Musical Theatre Lab (NY). Her musical, Melina: A Steampunk Musical Tragedy was an official selection of the 2020 Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival. Other successes include winning the writer's grant and best play at the 2019 Be Original Festival for her play, Trafficked. Also, winning best full-length play at the 2018 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival for her show Conversations in the Car, and first prize for her short play, Dry Spell, at the 30 by Ninety Theatre’s 2018 Night of One Acts Competition. Her short play, The Arithmetic of Memory, has been produced across the country and was published in the Stonecoast Review where it was nominated for a Pushcart Award in Drama (2021). A portion of her work is available to be read on the New Play Exchange and she is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild. gretchensuarezpena.com
About November 12th cast members
Tanya Perez is an NYC Latinx performer, writer & clown specializing in short-form comedy. Perez has excelled as a creator on both stage and screen and her stand-out work has received many awards and mentions. Notable TV credits include Evil, Orange Is the New Black & Jessica Jones. Stage credits include performances at Laguna Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and touring throughout Italy. Instagram
Brittney Akpobiyeri is a southern native who relocated to NYC in 2019. She has always enjoyed story telling in all its forms and is excited to work with Conch Shell Productions for the first time. She has taken on camera classes with Magaly Colimon and Victor Cruz at HB Studios and has trained at T. Schreiber and The Barrow Group. In her spare time Brittney enjoys reading, playing violin and exploring the city. IG: @akpobiyeri
Amy Finkbeiner is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. She received a MFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York and has an extensive exhibition record of challenging visual and performance art. Finkbeiner has studied at HB Studio and is currently in The William Esper Studio acting program. IG: @amylfinkbeiner
Joshua W. Josey is a Miami native, trained in acting for stage and film. Mr. Josey is a performer, writer, entrepreneur, model, public advocate, and current law student. His notable roles include Scapino (Scapino), Midsummer Night's Dream (Oberon/Theseus), and Everyman (Everyman). IG:@joshuawjosey
Sarah Marable has appeared in the television series Gossip Girl and has been featured in several television commercials and internet promos. She studied at SUNY Purchase and HB Studio. Sarah is excited to be taking part in Conch Shell Productions' New Works Reading Series 2022! IG:@Misssarahmarable
Alexandrea Thornton is a professionally trained actor who's performed in over a dozen plays and short films. She studied at UC Berkeley, NYU, and most recently, HB Studio.
Ashley Alvarez: is a Cuban-American actress, writer, and producer. Theater credits: Anna in the Tropics, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Cubans, and Carla’s Quince (Drama League Nomination). TV/Film: Search Party, Law & Order, and Crabs in a Barrel (HBOMax). She’s a 2022 Sundance Screenwriting Fellow and recipient of the Comedy and Latiné fellowship.
Andres Pina is an actor, and a playwright, and performing artist-activist. Acting credits include On the shoulders of giants written and performed by Andres at NYTW next door space: The Sun Always Shine for the Cool (Jacob Theater), Comedy of Errors (The Shakespeare Theater of NJ), La Puta Vida (La Tea), The Seagull (Circle in the Square Theater School), Tracks(Davenport Theater), Othello (St. Katherine Theater), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (St. Katherine Theater), Balm in Gilead workshop (The Labyrinth Theater Company), Medea(American Theater of Actors), Hamlet (St. Katherine Theater),In the Red and Brown Water(Columbia University), Ms. Julie (Columbia University), Romeo and Juliet (Columbia University). Hamlet Workshop directed by Bill Rauch with Ben Platt. A graduate of the Columbia University M.F.A Acting Program Class of 2019. A proud member of the American Theatre Playwright's Group Play Lab. Founder of Dominican Artists Collective. Instagram
Lorena Peralta is an afro latina actor/director/playwright based in the Bronx, New York. Graduate from Purchase College, SUNY in Theatre and Performance and Arts Management. Her previous credits are Bartender on the Prospect Park TV Show, Ayanna from Night Vision by Dominique Morriseau, and Hostage for TMG (chapter 2) short film by SAAV. She enjoys watching theater, getting to work with artists in both theater and film.
Instagram: @p.s.lorena