We’re so proud of the amazing work that was done in the 2018-19 season of the Inkwell Development LAB, and so appreciative of the artists who made all the beautiful theater we were fortunate enough to share with our audiences.
Our incredible playwrights: Ruth Fowler, Susan Josephs, Ilana Turner, Veronica Tjioe, John Lavelle, Elizabeth Dement
Our tremendously skilled directors who shepherded these pieces: Rosie Glen-Lambert, Diana Wyenn, Jessica Hanna, Melissa Coleman-Reed, Randee Trabitz
Our immensely talented casts who brought them to life: Leo Oliva, Emily Reas, Bart Tangredi, Madeline Fair, Rachel Kann, Solomon Shiv & Ivy Strohmaier, Marguerite Moreau, Joseph Will, Taylor Bennett, Brandon Blum, Tyler Bremer, Meg Cashel, Kat Devoe-Peterson, Julia Finch, Luke Medina, Conor Murphy, Victoria Ortiz, Ronald Auguste, Frank Faucette, Felipe Figueroa, Chet Grissom, Noah James, Devere Rogers, Graham Sibley, Marguerite Moreau, Meeghan Holaway, Nicole Erb, Tyree Marshall
Our dramaturgical and production staff who made it all come together: Annie McVey, Rosie Glen-Lambert, Jeffree Davis, Chandler Turk, & Rebecca Carr
And, last but not least, to all of our donors, supporters, and audiences.
It’s been a wonderful season and we’re looking forward to seeing you all again in September for another exciting year!
The Inkwell Theater Development LAB
A unique program in Los Angeles, The Lab aims to bring the writer out of their office, or coffee shop, and into the rehearsal room. We believe that nothing benefits works-in-progress more than artistic collaboration, and are focused on developing new plays through a collaborative workshop process. We believe that by working in a rehearsal setting with a director and actors, a playwright can best further their play. During a six-week intensive process, writers will not only see and hear their original draft, but will see their re-writes, changes, and inspired ideas come to life. After all that work is accomplished, the play will be presented as a reading for leaders in the theatre community as well as our fellow artists and dedicated supporters.
Our watchwords are the lessons of Max K. Lerner, the namesake of our Fellowship:
Don’t focus on the negative.
Go forward, not backward.
Keep your sense of humor.
Be a mentor.
More Information about
The Inkwell Development LAB
More Information about
The Max K. Lerner Playwrighting Fellowship
Last from the Inkwell LAB
a new play by Elizabeth Dement
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring: Marguerite Moreau, Meeghan Holaway, Nicole Erb & Tyree Marshall
Produced by Daniel Shoenman & Annie McVey
This Season at the Inkwell LAB
Inhalation
a new play by John Lavelle
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
Featuring – Ronald Auguste, Frank Faucette, Felipe Figueroa, Chet Grissom, Noah James, Devere Rogers, Graham Sibley
Produced by Annie McVey & Daniel Shoenman
In 1978, Brooklyn was on fire. This is the story of the Soul Patrol, the firemen who tried to put out the flames. Through laughter, brotherhood, and psychedelic war stories, this haunting, disco dancing dark comedy asks us all: “How much wreckage can one man breathe in before they become a ghost?”
The Last Croissant
a new play by Veronica Tjioe
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring – Taylor Bennett, Brandon Blum, Tyler Bremer, Meg Cashel, Kat Devoe-Peterson, Julia Finch, Luke Medina, Conor Murphy, Victoria Ortiz
Produced by Rebecca Carr, Rosie Glen-Lambert & Daniel Shoenman
A one-act farce that replaces the rooms and doors of a traditional farce with the great outdoors, The Last Croissantemploys magical realism, clowning, and whimsy to tell the story of nine crowded campers who hope to find what they’re looking for in the woods.
OLLIE & D
a new play by Ilana Turner
Directed by Jessica Hanna
Featuring – Marguerite Moreau and Joseph Will
Produced by Daniel Shoenman & Rosie Glen-Lambert
Driving an endless loop of New England country road, two long-time friends-with-benefits discover they are stuck in a Maserati prison — and that only dealing with their relationshit will break them out. OLLIE & D takes a darkly comedic look at the intersection of love and the long-term relationship.
Not A Monster
a new play by Susan Josephs
Direction & Dramaturgy by Diana Wyenn
Featuring – Madeline Fair, Rachel Kann, Solomon Shiv & Ivy Strohmaier
Produced by Daniel Shoenman, Rosie Glen-Lambert
& Annie McVey
On the heels of sexual abuse allegations, a controversial New Age guru welcomes a veteran journalist into his backstage greenroom so she can interview him for a retrospective piece about his transformation from obscure Orthodox Jewish rabbi to celebrity spiritual leader. As their conversation unfolds, revelations emerge about a shared past and the truth becomes a slippery, malleable tool in this timely drama about sexual and spiritual abuse, male privilege and female agency.
Chickenheads
a new play by Ruth Fowler
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring – Leo Oliva, Emily Reas, & Bart Tangredi
Produced by Daniel Shoenman and Annie McVey
Porn is hard. Relationships are harder.
Last Season at the Inkwell LAB
Motherland
a new play by Lisa Kenner Grissom
Directed by Laura Stribling
Featuring – Alexis Genya, Schoen Hodges, Ross Kramer, Abigail Marks, & Jayne Taini
With Original Music by J.R. Schwartz
With her life in crisis, Lizzie returns home to hide from the world, but when her Russian grandmother Bella starts telling “stories” and her mother Sarah tries to meditate the past away, Lizzie goes down a rabbit hole of discovery. This time-bending drama features four generations of women and asks us all, can you reclaim your life without knowing your roots?
Match
a new play by Jennifer Maisel
Direction & Dramaturgy by Diana Wyenn
Featuring –Carolina Hoyos, Josh T. Ryan, Ilana Turner, Ray Xifo, and Miebaka Yohannes
Lighting Design – Joey Guthman
Sound Design – John Zalewski
Costume Design – Rebecca Carr
Prop Design – Effy Yizhou Yang
Stage Manager – Jeffree Davis
Leo has a wife and needs a kidney. Leyla needs Leo and wants a baby—or is it the other way around? Ben needs a kidney and desperately longs for human connection. Maddy needs redemption—will donating a kidney give her that? Moss deals in flesh, seeking the highest bidder. As a bromance flourishes and organs are harvested, as faith is tested and baked goods are devoured, these five New Yorkers find themselves asking: Can there really be such a thing as a gift with no strings attached? Match is an audacious new dramedy from award-winning playwright Jennifer Maisel about failing kidneys, delicious muffins, and the lengths we will go to to save the people we love.
Last Stop
a new play by Katherine Cortez
Directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert
Featuring – Tyler Bremer, Ronnie Clark, Marian Gonzalez, Ammy Ontiveros, Victoria Ortiz, Kevyn Richmond, Deborah Strang and Julian Yuen
Society has changed. Fear has de-civilized. A new underground railroad arises for those oppressed peoples seeking freedom. ‘Last Stop’ looks at the world as it could become and the resilience of “ordinary” people, asking the question: what will you do when push comes to shove?
Journey To Alice
a new play by Aja Houston
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring – Shirley Jordan, Sola Bamis, Alma Collins, Nadège August, and Leonard R. Garner Jr.
Associate Producer – Chandler Turk
Flying with her mother to a wedding, Lynè encounters the unexpected and inexplicable, threatening her struggle to hold her own world together. ‘Journey to Alice’ grapples with family, loss, as well as the weight and power of inheritance.
Friends with Guns
a new play by Stephanie Walker
Directed by Randee Trabitz
Featuring – Arianna Ortiz, Joe Fria, Justin Huen, and Paula Weston Solano
Two sleep-deprived moms meet at a West LA park, and it’s instant sisterhood. Their husbands hit it off, too, and it seems as though they’ve found their ‘tribe’ — until the issue of guns comes up. Friends With Guns explores the question of what we can compartmentalize…and what we can’t.
Ascent
a new play by Henry Ong
based on the true story of Qian Xuesen
direction and dramaturgy by Diana Wyenn
Featuring – West Liang, Kara Wang, Bart Tangredi, and Russell Edge
with original music by J.R. Schwartz
Born in China. Trained by America. Ascent is the story of how one promising Chinese immigrant shaped the rise of not one, but two, world nuclear powers.
Christmas Eve. After the sudden death of her brother, Charlotte has dropped out of society and joined a commune on Gondol Island. Concerned for her safety, Charlotte’s sisters EJ and Anne build a canoe to rescue her. “Sisters Three” is an off-center dramedy about family, social media, fame, the holidays, and the perfect cupcake.
The Inkwell Theater presents the world premiere of “Sisters Three”
by Jami Brandli
Directed by Annie McVey
Featuring: Robyn Cohen, Dana DeRuyck & Kara Hume
| Set Design – Lex Gernon | Lighting Design – Joey Guthman |
| Costume Design – Allison Dillard | Sound Design – John Zalewski |
| Prop Design – Rebecca Carr | Dramaturge – Diana Wyenn |
| Stage Manager – Karen Osborne | Fight Director – Collin Bressie |
Produced by Daniel Shoenman & Rosie Glen-Lambert
December 14th – January 20th
A guest production at VS. Theatre
Christmas Eve. After the sudden death of her brother, Charlotte has dropped out of society and joined a commune on Gondol Island. Concerned for her safety, Charlotte’s sisters EJ and Anne build a canoe to rescue her. “Sisters Three” is an off-center dramedy about family, social media, fame, the holidays, and the perfect cupcake.
