Axial Theatre Festival of Women Playwrights & Directors–‘Glass Ceiling Breakers’

In what is believed to be a first for Westchester theatre, this is a festival celebrating women playwrights and directors with eight original one-act plays.

Glass Ceiling Breakers offers a compelling mix of comedy and drama written and directed by women. Coinciding with Women’s History Month, the plays range from farce to fantasy, and tackle themes as diverse as spiritual salvation and workplace brutality.

Curtain times are Friday, March 24 and 31 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 25 and April 1 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 26 and April 2 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 seniors and students; discounts of $15 are available for groups of 10 or more. They can be purchased online through brownpapertickets.com. For more information: (914) 286-7680.

The festival was conceived and developed by award-winning playwright and Axial Theatre Company member Gabrielle Fox, playwriting instructor at Axial and at the Young Authors Conference. Assisting Ms. Fox are Linda Giuliano, Axial’s associate artistic director and literary manager, and Betsy Klampert, Axial’s managing director/general counsel. Giuliano is a playwright who heads the theatre company’s Sunday lab series, comprised of company members and theatre artists.

Synopses and Who’s Who in Glass Ceiling Breakers

A Day of Wonderful by Alexandra Angeloch. Directed by Laura Credidio. George tries to order “a day of wonderful” at a surreal coffee shop but gets something entirely different.

Actress and published playwright/short story writer Angeloch has had plays produced at Half Moon Theater, Poughkeepsie; ASK, Kingston; Woodstock Women’s Fest; and has had readings in Manhattan at Abingdon Theatre/Women’s Project and Productions. Credidio is an alumna of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.

Dear Crossing by Lisa Kimball. Directed by Rachel Jones. A vehicle collision brings a married couple onto the shoulder of the road, where they examine the damage from the inside of their truck.

A member of A Howl of Playwrights in Rhinebeck, Kimball has had plays produced nationwide in Manhattan, San Diego, and Alaska; and locally at Half Moon Theater in Poughkeepsie. Jones is an Axial Theatre actor and director, and acting coach with Howard Meyer’s Acting Program.

Dry Bay Leaf by Linda Giuliano. Directed by Rachel Jones. A woman, a man and a wake provide the backdrop for an encounter of regret and hope.

Giuliano, a founding member of the WritersGroup, has had her work produced throughout Manhattan at such venues as Waterline, Lanyard, and Playwright Horizon’s Summerfest; in the Toronto and Portland Fringe Festivals; and at Axial.

Free Day Shipping Every Day by Jill Maynard. Directed by Christina Neubrand. A new hire for the Christmas season at an Amazon warehouse gets schooled in the ways of workplace survival.

Playwright and actor Maynard has had plays produced in New York and Los Angeles. She has appeared in feature roles for film and TV, as well as on New York and regional stages. Neubrand is an actor and director who trained at Roundabout Theatre Company and now is with Harlem’s Movement Theatre Company.

Small Talk by Evelyn Mertens. Directed by Christina Neubrand. Two ex-lovers meet after a brief, guilt-ridden affair to confront their genuine feelings.

Axial member Mertens has had one-acts and monologues produced by Westchester Collaborative Theater and Manhattan Rep and was twice a finalist in the Aery 20/20 Festival (2015 and 2016).

The Late Gordon Kaplan by Robin Anne Joseph. Directed by Robin Joseph. At her husband’s funeral, a grieving widow makes an unusual demand about how to eulogize her husband.

Actor, director, and playwright Joseph has been produced through such venues as Axial and the Strawberry One-Act Festival, and won Best Play for two consecutive years at the Aery 20/20 One-Act Festival (2015 and 2016).  

The Second Coming by Gabrielle Fox. Directed by Jennifer Siciliano. A come-to-Jesus moment in Joe’s survival bunker.

Fox is an award-winning playwright (Planet Activist Award and best play and overall production at Planet Connections), whose work has been seen in multiple productions throughout Westchester and Manhattan including La MaMa. Siciliano has directed for educational theater and Ossining’s Blueberry Pond.

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ABOUT AXIAL THEATRE
Founded in 1999, Axial Theatre is a professional theater company that presents contemporary theatrical hits, timeless stage classics, and original works, in mainstage spring and fall productions, plus a series of book-in-hand staged readings, and a bi-monthly Sunday Writers Series for play development. Axial’s affiliated Howard Meyer’s Acting Program offers acting classes for tweens through adults, as well as workshops for voice, movement, auditions and improvisation. Playwriting classes also are offered. Howard Meyer is founding artistic director. Betsy Klampert is managing director.