ACTORS
Stephanie Andujar, Born and raised in New York City, discovered her passion for acting through an after-school program. This pivotal experience propelled her into a successful career. Notable film credits include Academy Award-winning "Precious" and "Marjorie Prime." Television appearances include "Law & Order: SVU," "Blue Bloods," and "Orange is the New Black." Currently, Stephanie expands her creative vision through Andujar Productions, fostering innovative storytelling and artistic expression.
Candice DiLavore is thrilled to be returning to The Apron Strings Project ten years after its debut at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall. This project introduced Candice to the talented Debbie Slevin who has become a trusted mentor and friend. Thanks to Debbie for bringing her back to the show and, as always, thanks to Joseph Minutillo for always believing in her.
Mateen Kane Native to Baltimore, MD, Mateen is a proud alum of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) here in New York. Now a Brooklyn-local, some of his favorite credits include Benny (RENT), Trevor (The Play That Goes Wrong), Socko (54 Below Sings Inside), and now Calvin (Apron Strings)! A huge thank you to Debbie for including me in this very special project. With peace and love, everyone. IG: @that.teen.kane
Ronete ‘Rhone’ Levenson is a recurring character on Showtime's ‘House of Lies’ with Don Cheadle. She received the 2011 IRNE Award for Best Supporting Actor in Bus Stop (Huntington Theatre Company). Select Off-Broadway credits: Our Town (Barrow Street with David Cromer), Fefu and Her Friends (TFANA), What Once We Felt (LCT3),Lascivious Something (Women's Project). Select Regional Theater credits: Our Town (Broad Stage with Helen Hunt), Circle Mirror Transformation (Cincinnati Playhouse), Hands (Sundance Theatre), August: Osage County (Old Globe). Television/Film: Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Guiding Light, Possible Side Effects (Showtime Pilot directed by Tim Robbins), Taking Woodstock (directed by Ang Lee). Ronete’s award winning short documentary 'Life Through a Lens,' screened at prestigious film festivals worldwide. She received a B.A. from Bard College in Environmental Sciences and recently completed a Master's in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University. Ronete is also a surfer.
Lyra Hou is a New York-based actor who began her acting career this year. She received classical training at the Stella Adler Studio and T Schreiber Studio. Her recent film credits include playing Juliet in a short film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and Special Agent Jones in the indie short film Fault. She also has experience in supporting roles in various student and indie films. In theater, Lyra is preparing for three projects in the upcoming fall season. Beyond acting, she is passionate about classical art forms such as ballet, piano, and violin.
Kendra Mittermeyer is a Brooklyn-based actor and writer; she earned 2 (out of 3) of her Masters Degrees in those disciplines from the Actors Studio Drama School. Awards: Best Actress and Best New Play at the Players Theatre Festival, a Short Story Challenge with NYC Midnight, and a vegan baking competition show, the Flour Finals, for King Arthur Baking. She can be seen in the upcoming feature film with Jared Harris, Brave the Dark.
Ellie Pattison is thrilled to be a part of The Apron Strings Project! Some favorite credits are Elaine – Sing With Me The Tank, Mary Lazarus- Sister Act, Mrs. Brill Slow Burn Theatre Company, U/S to Sally Struthers, Mrs. Pugh- Annie The Wick Theater and Rose – Gypsy – The Players Theatre. Thank you to Brad, Tommy and Jimmy for always supporting her.
Anna Papajohn is an actor, writer, producer, and voice-over artist. Raised Greek-American by old-fashioned Greek immigrants, she can relate to the symbolism behind apron strings. As the only girl of four children, she was expected to “put on an apron” and clean up after her brothers! Being in the kitchen learning to cook was another requirement. But the most significant of all, was being tethered to her family’s “apron strings”, overprotected and sheltered from life, which eventually led her down a creative path to become the larger-than-life performer she is today!
Anthony Ventola is an actor with a love for the art of acting that started after seeing some of the great performances in Film, TV and Theatre. He studied at Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in New York City, which led to leading roles in plays. While performing in Los Angeles, he won a Drama-League award for Best Actor in a Play. He has had numerous co-starring roles on TV shows such as “Law and Order: SVU“, “The Deuce” on HBO and the Hallmark movie “Soul Santa” and a lead role in the independent film "Broome Street". He was recently seen in a Geico commercial. He’s very happy to be here.
WRITERS
Ellen Frank Bayer is a lifelong New Yorker who loves all the parts of New York City, including the wildlife in the subway. She currently lives in Long Island and spends way too much time listening to traffic reports. The poem was influenced by the rhythm of the traffic reports. You can find her gardening, writing or baking (not at the same time). Thank you to Diane Zinna, author and her wonderful writing circles.
Meny Beriro was born in Gibraltar and raised in Queens. Meny’s productions include: Love Poems (Abingdon Theatre Company), Gilgamesh YOLO (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective New Ventures Play Festival,) Sonam’s Gift (New York Theater Summerfest), 46th Sreet Bliss (Aery Theatre 20/20 Festival), Designated Killer (The Player’s Theatre Short Play Boo Festival – Winner Week 1) Poached Salmon((SOOP To Nuts Short Play Festival Finalist), Cricket and the Pope (Queens Shortplay Festival Finalist).
Meny’s musing are found in wildsofqueens.blogspot.com
Stephanie Buckley is an English and Theater Arts teacher who started writing plays that celebrate the talents of her students. Her one-act, THE WOMAN'S LAND ARMY, appears in Stage Partners’ IT’S HER SAY. Her Zoom plays, GRAVEN IMAGES and ZOOM FOR THE HOLIDAYS are published by Eldridge Plays and Musicals. Stephanie lives in New Jersey with her amazing husband and her incredible daughters. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Edgar Chisholm’s plays include “Without Love,” “Holiday Diary,” “The Long Dance,” “Unfinished Work,” “Ed and Tom Go To The Races” and “The Savage Queen.” He has won the Raymond J. Flores Playwriting Prize, Eileen Heckart Drama Award, NFCB Silver Reel, Best Play of New American Playwrights Festival, and Segora International Writing Competition. Edgar is a www member of August Strindberg Rep, The Fire This Time Festival Playwrights, Manhattan Oracles, Dramatist Guild, Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab, Harlem Arts Alliance, and Polaris North Theatre.
Bruce Clark Untold thanks. Wife Susan Clark. Kids Emalee Clark and Brian Clark. Lit heroes Emma Bombeck, Art Buchwald and Emily Dickinson. I miss my baby brother Douglas Clark, the funniest, sweetest guy ever. Older sister Holly Clark. My pops Hugo Joseph Clark. And to my Moms in heaven Lorraine Southall Watson Clark. Local journalist and aspiring writer in Malverne NY. We made it Mom to Broadway! And your whole gang is here with you. Love.
Cindy Clifford: Professional voice actor, podcaster, playwright, producer and pundit, Cindy Clifford always has something to say and plenty of ways to say it. To get to know her better, take a listen to the hundred-plus “It’s me, Cindy” podcast episodes; covering everything from taming procrastination to the perfection of Led Zeppelin, all in the name of making life more fun. You’ll find the podcast link and more at CindyClifford.com.
Natasha Cobb is a member of the Dramatists Guild. Her short plays have been seen in the Chain One Act Theater Festival, the Queens Short Play Festival, the New York Theater Festival, the Strawberry One Act Theater Festival, the Midtown International Theater Festival, and the Rooted Theater Festival. She recently started her own production company - BlakeAve Productions. Slice of Life, the first show under BlakeAve Productions, showcased a collection of Natasha's short American plays
Catherine Costa, Ph.D., taught English Literature at CUNY for 35 years. Her academic writing is on Emily Dickinson, George Eliot and Women’s Studies. Catherine was the co-editor of the literary journal New York Stories, and her work has appeared in the Emily Dickinson Journal, Denver Quarterly among others. She has spoken on WNYC radio and presented at many conferences. Catherine is presently working on a poetry chapbook.
Louis DeVaughn (aka DeVo) is a proud Black/Queer interdisciplinary artist whose creations have been presented in USA, Europe, Australia, and Asia. His writing has been published in several blogs, anthologies, and journals including "The Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora". He is a member of The Dramatist Guild of America and lives in New York City.
Training: DeSales University, Drexel University, The New School
Barry Dougherty has authored six books including How To Do It Standing Up and The Friars Club Encyclopedia of Jokes. He’s been senior/head writer for Roasts IHO Betty White, Quentin Tarantino, Jack Black, among others. He’s consultant on Treasures of NY: Make ‘Em Laugh; Makers: Women in Comedy; and Mafia Spies documentaries. Barry was editor of the Friars Epistle, and his essays have appeared in several publications. He’s the Principal of BMD Communications specializing in writing and PR.
Daisy Franco is a Chicago-based writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Her work has been published in multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Mural Magazine, Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century, When Flowers Sing: A Poetry Anthology, and the online anthology Love You Madly: Poets Write About Jazz. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and holds a graduate degree from DePaul University.
Alice Greenwald: After a 47-year career as a museum professional, most recently as President/CEO and Founding Museum Director of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Alice now provides guidance to organizers of public and private memorials, museums, and learning centers through her consulting business, Memory Matters, LLC. She is a mother of two, grandmother of five, devoted dog-mom to her 13-year-old Japanese Chin, Belle, and loves living by Little Peconic Bay with her partner, Geoff. “The Uniform Shop” is her first play.
Melinda Iannuzzi: who hails from South Carolina, has spent most of her adult life in New Jersey. Until about 20 years ago, you could still see the heel marks left on Interstate 95 when husband Peter brought her, reluctantly, to the Garden State. She soon fell in love with New Jersey and New York City. After 20 plus years in elected government positions writing newsletters and evaluations, she decided to try her hand at a scene for Debbie Slevin’s Apron Strings. She is beyond excited to be a part of this production.
Anna Katsavos, Ph.D., is a SUNY Professor Emerita of English Literature and Women’s Studies. She has received numerous awards for teaching, and her scholarship has been published in a variety of literary journals. Currently a faculty member of the Scarsdale Adult School, she leads the Book Chats with Anna series, wherein she facilitates discussions of contemporary fiction and interviews best-selling authors. Additionally, she conducts writing, editing and publishing workshops.
Selma C Kunitz founded and was president of KAI, a health research company, which she sold in 2009. She now enjoys time with her adult children and two teenage grandchildren, travel, golf and volunteer work. She holds a B.A. from the University of Rochester, an M.S. from American University and a PHD in Health Behavior from Johns Hopkins University. Writing for Apron Strings was a fun challenge.
Helen Cheng Mao is a playwright and actor in Maryland. She has written and performed in plays and monologues produced across the US and in the UK. Some of Helen’s plays and monologues can be viewed on her Youtube Channel. Outside of theater, Helen is a freelance writer, proofreader, and editor. She also instructs communications and clinical skills to medical students as a standardized patient and physical exam teaching assistant. Contact Helen at www.linkedin.com/in/helencmao.
Mendy McMasters (formerly Mendy Garcia) currently teaches theatre at California State University Bakersfield. She received her Master’s degree in Acting from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival/University of Alabama and her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from CSU, Fresno. Mendy has worked as an actress in regional theatre for many years.Hold On is dedicated to all the people in this world who are being displaced due to political, social, and environmental unrest.
Michael Ricca is a Boston-based writer, actor, and singer. Plays include, Watch Where You’re Going, Listening, and Road Trip Requiem. He is a founding member of Boston Theatre Works and Titanic Theatre. As company member of Chelsea Rep (NYC), he appeared in Dark of the Moon, Journey of the Fifth Horse, and Paradise Lost. He was a cabaret fellow at the O’Neill Center and has presented his cabaret throughout New England and in New York.
Andrea Rockower served as the Associate Director of the Lehman College Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. in the Bronx. She studied playwrighting at the Einhorn School of Performing Arts in New York City. Her play, My Irish Tango, was included in the International Centre for Women Playwrights’ Her-Rah! Festival and her playlet, The Steve Summers Show (Season 3, Episode 12), appeared in the recently published anthology “Whatever Happened to Hansel and Gretel?”
R. P. Singletary is a lifelong writer, a budding playwright, and a native of the rural southeastern United States, with recent fiction, poetry, and drama published or upcoming in Literally Stories, Litro, BULL, Cream Scene Carnival, Cowboy Jamboree, Mystery Tribune, Teleport, CafeLit, JONAH, Ancient Paths Christian Literary, EBB, Flora Fiction, Ariel Chart, Syncopation, Last Leaves, Stone of Madness, Written Tales, Wicked Gay Ways, Fresh Words, The Chamber, Wingless Dreamer, Screen Door Review, Microfiction Monday, mini plays, Pink Disco, Lost Lake Folk Opera, The Stray Branch, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Brief Wilderness, In Parentheses, The Taborian, Active Muse, Bending Genres, DUMBO Press, and elsewhere. www.rpsingletary.com
Amy Steiger is Associate Professor of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. A native of Louisville, KY, Amy holds a PhD in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin and is a theatre artist and scholar with a particular interest in community-engaged processes. Amy would like to thank Lucy Wang and her fellow students in the Dramatists Guild Institute course for which this piece was written.
Elijah Vazquez is an Orlando based playwright who graduated from Niagara University with a B.F.A in Theatre Performance. Some previous experience with playwriting includes several readings, publications, productions and completing an advanced playwriting independent study course focused on the dramatic form, the Theatre of the Absurd.
SONG WRITERS
Jan Lebicovsky: Czech-born, Texas-dwelling singer songwriter. Moving frequently in early life, Jan developed an outsider's sensibility and curiosity that provides a driving force in his creative output. Influenced by Delta Blues, 60's rock, and folk music of all stripes, Jan's songwriting strives to connect listeners with place, memory, and themes that remind us of our shared human experience. Jan called seven cities in three countries “home” before settling in Houston in 2015.
Jeff Slevin 1976- Lyrics and Music for children’s musical “Never Give Up, 1977- film score “Fight for Your Life,” 1981 – Bambergers (5remember them?) jingle 1989, 1990. Performed original song parodies at Caesar’s Palace and Disney World, “I Still See Her “- dedicated to the two best chocolate chip cookie bakers I know- Debbie and Naomi Slevin! Financial advisor, avid pickleball player and devoted grandfather.
Diane Uniman is an attorney-turned writer and motivational speaker. Her screenplays and musicals won numerous awards including Beverly Hills Film Festival’s Golden Palm Award, LA Film and Script Festival’s Best Comedy Script, and Indie Gathering’s Best Musical Feature. Her work was performed at Lincoln Center and Off-Broadway and accepted into FRINGE/NYC. Diane’s book won numerous awards including Independent Author Network Book of the Year and she’s been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She’s blogger Princess Diane von Brainisfried.
PRODUCTION
Debbie Slevin, Producer/Director is an award-winning essayist, author, theatrical producer/director and teacher. In 2015 she authored the book UnPregnant Pause: Where Are the Babies? (Figlo Press, NJ.) Slevin’s play Gate B23: Carry-On Baggage, #1 best-seller FringeNYC, 2012 can be seen in Palm Beach this fall. She directed/co-produced the first revival of Songs for a New World, Chernuchin Theater, 2008, NYC, The Last Five Years, Guild Hall, 2015, East Hampton and The Apron Strings Project 2014, Riverhead, NY. In 2019, she co-produced with Prospect Theater Company a concert production of The Flood at the NYTimes Theater. Debbie lives with her family in NYC and thanks them for their constant love & support.
Paige Tessler, Associate Producer is delighted to make her associate producing debut with Apron Strings: Ties That Bind.She is an avid viewer of all shows Broadway to Community Theater. Growing up doing community theater, Paige has grown an affinity for the arts. She is currently living and working in NYC.
Andrew Fox, Musical Director’s theatrical and concert orchestrations/sound design include Season One of Bite-Sized Broadway (Webby honoree; Winner Davey Awards, Best Use of Music), Exploring the Orchestra and School’s Out with Justin Roberts and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Starkid: Homecoming, VIRTUOSO, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, and Foreverman (Winner 2012 NYMF Awards for Excellence, Outstanding Orchestration).
Katie Harrigan, Stage Manager is a recent graduate of New Jersey City University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre. Involved in musical theatre since she was eight years old, Katie could not be more excited and grateful to be a part of the Apron Strings team. During her time at NJCU, she was seen in Joseph (Gad), Working (Millworker), Nunsense (Sr. Hubert), Sweeney Todd (Ensemble). Find Katie on Instagram @katieclaire_h.
Jiahao (Neil) Qiu 邱嘉皓, Lighting Designer, is a Chinese-born theatre collaborator and lighting designer. His recent design credits in the US includes: The Wilderness (Time Collactive Collective), Redemption Story (The Associates Theater Ensemble), Two Takes: The Peony Pavilion - Bloom (LMCC), Seven Cousins For a Hourse (Thrown Stone Theatre), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Yale Repertory Theatre, Connecticut Critics Circle Award).
For more information, please visit nealqiu.com | @neilqiu_design