New American Festival
​of New One Act Plays

​Sundays at 7:30 pm
​November 17, December 1, 8 at 7:30 pm
​
Running time: 70 minutes

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Dark by Jack McCleland
with Stephen Tyler Howell, Luke McClure, David Purham and Gina Weber

Eloise by Jerry Lambert
with Kaitlyn O'Connell, David Purdham, Janeellen Steininger,
and Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin
​
Gershwin's Last Ride by Ryan Stevens
with Tyler Harlow, Jade Sealey
​and Patrick Vest

The Holdup by Greg Gould
with Brendan Brandt, Don Harvey
​and Bruce Nozick 

Thank you for Your Service by Mike Solomonson 
with Eva Holliday, Floyd Lewis
and Susan Ziegler

Wolves in Yellowstone by Dean Morton
​with Sarah Alexander, Michael Matthys and Elaine Rivkin
​

Congratulations to the winners!

How the plays are selected:
The New American Theatre's One Act Plays Competition accepts plays twice a year in our annual contest. Each blind submission is read by three independent readers from our literary team. Semi-finalists are selected from the plays with the top ranking. The winners are selected by the membership of The New American Theatre and the artistic director. The names of the playwrights are revealed after the winners are finalized.

MEET THE CAST

​SARAH ALEXANDER Wolves in Yellowstone
With NAT: In Full Bloom. Sarah Samantha Alexander is an actor, writer and musician from Los Angeles, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge, where she majored in English, Creative Writing with an emphasis in Playwriting, and minored in Theatre. She studied acting at Playhouse West School and Repertoire Theatre under the tutelage of Robert Carnegie, performing in such productions as Snakebit, This is Our Youth, The Shape of Things, Other Desert Cities, and Phoenix. She studied improvisational and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, and performs weekly at Skiptown Playhouse with her improvisational comedy troupe, and several times a week with her sketch team, Little Stinkers. She performs music as a solo artist under the name Sans Faute, and as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist for Erez Barnea. She is also a freelance journalist, having written and published over 20 articles for Ms. Magazine, among other publications. Most recently, she performed in the Broadway revue, Broadway to the Rescue at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, and inhabited the role of Inez in a production of No Exit at Studio/Stage Theatre in Hollywood.
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BRENDAN BRANDT The Holdup
Brendan directed and produced the documentary film, Victor's Last Class which was just released on Amazon Prime and is coming to Roku, Apple TV, Revry, and Tubi. He sincerely hopes you'll give it a watch. With NAT: Measure for Measure, Meanwhile, Back at the Super Lair..., Macbeth: Revisited, Boy’s Life, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 5 Beauties (Green Eyes), Macbeth, Getting Out, and 10 years of One-Act Festivals (authored Exigence). Other theater- Godspell, Wild Geese, and Twist in SoCal, and Macbeth, Assassins, and Equus in Minneapolis. TV: Workaholics, Criminal Minds, Last Man Standing, Working Class, Close to Home.  www.victorslastclass.com . 
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TYLER HARLOW Gershwin's Last Ride
Gershwin’s Last Ride will be Tyler’s debut performance with The New American Theatre.  Previously he appeared as Fountainhead, AKA John, in Water By The Spoonful, with Off Square Theatre Company in Jackson, Wyoming. Tyler is delighted for the opportunity to train and perform with the incredible members of The New American Theatre ensemble.

​DON HARVEY The Holdup
Don Harvey is a graduate of The University of Michigan and The Yale School of Drama. He made his New York theatre debut in Sam Shepard’s A Lie Of The Mind at the Promenade Theatre in 1986. Other theatre credits include What The Butler Saw (La Jolla Playhouse), American Buffalo and True West (Portland Stage), The Homecoming (South Coast Rep), The Rover (The Guthrie), The Broken Pitcher (Baltimore Center Stage), Progress (The Long Warf), Titus Andronicus (New York Shakespeare Festival), and That Championship Season (Broadway). He is a thirty-five year veteran of television and film with many notable performances including “Casualties of War,” “Eight Men Out,” “Taken 3,” “Yellowstone,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Blacklist,” “The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair” and “The Deuce.” He was honored with a Daytime Emmy Award Nomination for his performance as Tom Baker in “General Hospital.” He is the proud husband of Dyanne Court Harvey and father of eighteen-month-old Ashley Court Harvey. Don can also be seen as Vanya in Uncle Vanya. Much thanks to Jack Stehlin for this wonderful opportunity.

EVA HOLLIDAY Thank You for Your Service
​With NAT: Red Table 3.  She graduated from Drury University with a BA in Theatre and minors in Music and Dance. There her passion for acting was only further enriched by a passion for artistic collaboration. Previously she has appeared as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Velvet in Some Velvet Morning, and Masha in Chekhov’s The Three Sisters under the direction of her mentor Robert Westenberg. Eva is incredibly grateful to Jack and Jeannine Stehlin and the company for the opportunity to work with the New American Theatre.

STEPHEN TYLER HOWELL Dark
With NAT: Boxing Lessons. Stephen Tyler Howell is an LA local, Texan, and is delighted to return to the New American Theatre.  He is currently also performing in the Robey Theatre's final show of it's 25th season in world premiere of The Wrong Kind of People. Other theatre credits include: Nude/Naked at The McCadden Place Theater, Finks with Rogue Machine, Red Speedo (alt. cast) and A Delicate Ship (alt. cast) both at The Road Theatre, the title role in Macbeth x 5 at The Odyssey , and Hot N' Throbbing with Illyrian Players. His BFA in Theatre is from UT Arlington and studied in the MFA Acting program at Cal State Fullerton (‘11-‘13). The feature Sometimes Our Friends Come Over is currently on the festival circuit and has been featured by NFMLA, Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival, and Portland Unknown Film Festival. www.stephentylerhowell.com. 

FLOYD LEWIS Thank You for Your Service
With The New American Theatre / Circus Theatricals: Birdfeeder, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sam I Am,The Man with the Tiny Head, Getting Out, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Week 50 of 365 Days/Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks, The Test (Annual Festival of New One-Act Plays), Joey (Annual Festival of New One-Act Plays), Barnette Lloyd in Crimes of The Heart (Great Scenes from Pulitzer Prize Winning Plays), Oscar in Another Part of the Forest (Great Scenes from Classic American Plays), Tuzenbach in Three Sisters (Great Scenes by Anton Chekhov), Norman in Boys Next Door (Ten Great Scenes). Originally from North Carolina, Floyd is a UCLA graduate and proud member of the New American Studio Ensemble.
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KAITLYN O'CONNELL Eloise
Kaitlyn O’Connell is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Her love of theatre began when she was cast as Hermia in a high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She then moved to Los Angeles to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she completed the program with another performance of Midsummer, this time as Helena. Kaitlyn will always have a deep love for Shakespeare. Other theatre includes: A View From the Bridge and Middle of the Night under the direction of acting teacher Melissa Randel. Eloise is Kaitlyn’s first production with the New American Theatre. She is thrilled at the opportunity to work with the talented and inspiring ensemble of actors. See more of her work at www.itskaitlynoconnell.com.
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LUKE McCLURE Dark
With NAT: Boxing Lessons. U.K. Theatre: Grey Days, by Colin Goodwin (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Dinner on the Fourteenth Floor, by Evan Placey (Hampstead Theatre, London). L.A. Theatre: Yellow, by Del Shores, The Boomerang Effect by Matt Leavitt, Enron, by Lucy Prebble (West coast premiere), Henry IV, Part 1 (Little Fish Theatre), Pericles (Porters of Hellsgate), An Evening Betrayal and Hamlet (The 6th Act). Film/TV credits: Nip/Tuck, Castle, All Together Now, Southern Baptist Sissies, Sleep With Me, This is My Year and more. BA in Drama and Film, University of Kent ; MA in Acting, Central School of Speech and Drama, London. www.lukemcclure.com

MICHAEL MATTHYS Wolves in Yellowstone
​With NAT: Measure for Measure. Michael started his AEA career as a member of the Guthrie Theater playing Treplev in Garland Wright’s acclaimed production of The Seagull. Shakespearean roles include: Mercutio (8x!), Romeo, Jacques, Toby Belch, Orsino, Angelo, Florizel, Aufidius, Solanio and many more at such theatres as the Guthrie, Shakespeare Festival/LA, and A Noise Within. His most recent Shakespearean role was that of Albany in King Lear at Rubicon in Ventura. He has appeared on stage with Ian McKellen in Enemy of the People at the Ahmanson, before Katherine Dunham in a dance tribute to her work at Rockwell Center, and many of the small theatres in LA. Regional credits include Old Wicked Songs at Laguna Playhouse, The Turn of the Screw at Sierra Rep, The Voice of the Prairie at the Colony, several shows at Ensemble Theatre in Santa Barbara, and five seasons at A Noise Witihin as a guest artist. Feature films include House of Deadly Secrets (Netflix), Full Blast, Nightwatch, Destiny Turns on the Radio, and the soon to be released Stan the Man. 

BRUCE NOZICK The Holdup
With NAT: Boxing Lessons. Other Los Angeles Stage: Finks, Honky at Rogue Machine. Bruce will appear on the upcoming season of Showtime’s Big Little Lies. TV appearances include The Last Ship, Weeds and playing Stanley Levison in the HBO film All The Way. Other theatre includes the Off-Broadway hit A Shayna Maidel, touring with the First National Company of Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers, and appearing at dozens of Regional Theatres around the country. He’s also a member of Rogue Machine and The Pacific Resident Theatre Company.
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DAVID PURDHAM Eloise
With The New American Theatre: Uncle Vanya, Measure for Measure and Macbeth Revisited. As a professional actor and director, David Purdham has worked extensively in theatre on and off Broadway, in many of the great resident theatres in our country(including New York Shakespeare Festival, Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Old Globe- San Diego, Yale Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival) as well a lot of television and film during the last 40 years. He has directed and initiated enrichment programs and reading series for L.A. Libraries, for kids and adults, emphasizing theatrical expression of great literature. He currently directs The Tempus Theatre Group’s Classical Play reading series (an exploration by professional actors of the evolution of theatre from the Greeks forward.)
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ELAINE RIVKIN Wolves in Yellowstone
Elaine Rivkin At New American Theatre: Measure for Measure. A recent transplant to LA from Chicago, her regional theatre credits include Linda Vista (understudy) at Mark Taper Forum, One House Over at Milwaukee Rep and Geva Theatre, Marjorie Prime, The Lover, and Broken Glass at North Coast Repertory Theatre; and Brighton Beach Memoirs at Cardinal Stage. Elaine’s Chicago credits include: Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Libra, and The Crucible at Steppenwolf Theatre; City of Conversation at Northlight Theatre, Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf at Writers Theatre; Pyretown and Tree at Victory Gardens; The Cider House Rules, The Homecoming, Conquest of the South Pole, Beautiful Thing, Speaking in Tongues, and many others for Famous Door Theatre; 'Night Mother with Hancock Productions; Execution of Justice at About Face Theatre; You Never Can Tell at Remy Bumppo Theatre; and La Bete with Pegasus Players. Internationally: Hellcab (Singapore Arts Fest); The Early Girl (Edinburgh Fringe Fest). Television/Film: Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Imperfections, In the Name of God, Holly Ridge. More info at www.elainerivkin.com

JADE SEALEY Gershwin's Last Ride
Member of The New American Studio Ensemble. With NAT:Uncle Vanya, Meanwhile, Back at the Super Lair, Macbeth: Revisited, The Number, Julius Caesar, Christina Woodman in the world premiere play Bedfellows, Baltimore in Sister Cities (Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Circus Theatricals), Jane in Mooney’s Kid Don’t Cry, Crystal Allen in The Women, Shannon Gosling in Safe, Viola in Twelfth Night, Marian in The Heiress, Genevieve in Weedwacker, Iphigenia in Iphigenia , Debby in Deconstructing the Torah. Other theatre: Janna in Blind Spots, Ruthie in Tsuris (Sidewalk Studio Theatre), Portia in The Author's Voice and Constanze in Amadeus(Steve Dobuzyinski Theatre). Film/TV credits include: “Chasing Eagle Rock,” “How to Cheat,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Bridesmaid #3,” “The Hunger Artist,” “ Cul De Sac” and “Fool's Paradise.” ​
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GINA WEBER Dark
With NAT:  Sexy Beth's Giant Dildo Collection, Birdfeeder. Gina is originally from WI where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre and has been living in LA since 2014. Some of her favorite credits include: HAIR(Jeannie) Guys and Dolls (Adelaide) Dancing with my Heart (Anna) Bachanalia (Ariadne) Louisa Johnson’s ‘Best Behaviour’ (dancer) Gina has also worked on Jane the Virgin, Rosewood, Masters of Sex, Supergirl and Grandfathered. You can catch her dancing in the upcoming movie musical written and directed by Sia. ​

EMILY WENDT Eloise
With NAT: Searching. Emily is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in Classics and Psychology. Through the study of Classical Greek plays and Euripides, she discovered her own love of theatre that brought her to Los Angeles. Since being here, she has studied improvisation extensively at the Second City and has performed stand-up at the Comedy Store, where she loves to throw in jokes about Socrates and other oddities of Antiquity. She is currently working on writing and creating an original sketch revue at Second City Hollywood.

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PATRICK VEST Gershwin's Last Ride
Member of The New American Theatre and New American Studio Ensemble. With NAT, he has been in Measure for Measure, Macbeth Revisited, Macbeth, The Misanthrope, Seduced, The Circle, Julius Caesar, various one acts and scene nights. He received his MFA in acting from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Patrick was recently nominated for best featured actor in Broadway World for his portrayal of David Selznick in Moonlight and Magnolias at the Rubicon. Other favorite roles include Iago, Caliban, Marc Antony, Malvolio, Bottom, Mercutio, and Petruchio.

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JEANNINE WISNOSKY STEHLIN  Eloise, Managing Director, Producer
As a producer: 85+ plays for New American Theatre/Circus Theatricals including thre plays by John Bunzel (Gravity Shoes, Complexity, 63 Trillion), 25 Festivals of New One Act Plays, Five Beauties by Tennessee Williams, I Never Sang for My Father, Sister Cities, Titus Redux, (w/ Not Man Apart at Kirk Douglas Theatre and RADAR-LA), LA/Off-Broadway productions of Man.gov, Harm’s Way, The Job.; Many New American Theatre/Odyssey Theatre co-productions including audience and critical favorites Tempest Redux, Creditors, Richard III, True West, etc.. Short film Game 7, As an actor; numerous plays in LA and Chicago. Film/TV: Watch It, Rancho Cucamonga, Chicago 8, Colette. She made her TV debut as a preschooler on the children’s program, Romper Room. Jeannine earned a B.S. in Advertising from University of Illinois and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Illinois Institute of Technology. She is partner of PlayMakersLA, a marketing and consulting company, and she serves as a Cultural Affairs Commissioner for the City of Culver City. 

SUSAN ZIEGLER Thank you for Your Service
With NAT: Macbeth: Revisited,  Three Sisters (Masha), As You Like It (Rosalind), and The Women (Sylvia Fowler). Off-Broadway  Oona ; Lurleen (The Public Theatre), Angel City (Miss Scoons), Suicide in B Flat (Laureen), The Duchess of Malfi (the Duchess). LA theatre includes: Cheyenne, Mercy Warren’s Tea (The Odyssey Theatre), Sister Cities (World Premiere & Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Recent TV: Search Party, Don’t Trust the B* In Apartment 23, Days Of Our Lives. Recent film: Recent film: costarring with Molly Shannon in Wild Nights With Emily, Hello My Name Is Doris, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Sundance), The Foxy Merkins (Sundance). Graduate of NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing. For Michael and Oona.

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHTS

​JACK McCLELAND Playwright, Dark 
Jack Mr. McCleland is an award winning playwright whose plays have been performed around the country. His play The Good Life  was produced by both the Quaigh Theater and The Image Theater (NYC). It was also the recipient of the Summer Solstice Theatre Conference Award. His one-act Hardball was a 2016 Heideman Award finalist at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. His play The Knights of Doom  was performed at Cornell University Theatre in celebration of Cornell’s 150th Anniversary. He has written many radio plays for both Olde Tyme Radio Hour (New Orleans, LA) and Whiskey Radio Hour (Chicago, IL). He is an alumnus of the Lehman Engel/BMI Musical Theatre Workshop (Librettists) He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

RYAN STEVENS Playwright, Gershwin's Last Ride
Ryan Stevens (they/them/theirs) is an emerging playwright currently pursuing their MFA in Playwriting from UCLA and hailing originally from Belton, South Carolina. Ryan’s play Player King was published by StageScripts, Ltd. They have previously worked with Great Plains Theatre Conference, South Carolina Lab Theatre, Silver Spring Stage, MeetCute LA, St. Croix Falls Festival Theatre, Whiskey Radio Hour, Hollywood Fringe Festival, T. Schreiber Studio, Shakespeare Company at UCLA, and Green Room Productions.

​JERRY LAMBERT Playwright, Eloise
Jerry is an actor, playwright and Associate Artist with NAT.  His involvement with the company goes back to 2001, when he joined the studio ensemble, and he has performed in many plays here, including “Richard III” (starring Jack Stehlin and Alfred Molina) and “Three Sisters.”  His plays “Coffee to Go,”  “Straight Talk,” “Lipstick Sunset,” and “Joey” have all been produced at NAT.  On television, he is currently seen in “American Housewife” on ABC. Other credits include “Modern Family”, “Brooklyn 99”, “Family Guy” and “Horrible Bosses 2.” 

GREG GOULD Playwright, The Holdup
Greg Gould is a Australian writer. His short plays have been performed throughout Australia as well as in New Zealand, the United States, Canada, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines. Some have even won awards! His first full-length play "The Inheritance" was produced by Budding Theatre in 2017.

MIKE SOLOMONSON Playwright, Thank You for Your Service
Mike Solomonson is a Dramatists Guild member whose full-length play The Goodbye Levee was a finalist for the 2019 Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference. Just Desserts will be produced at the Durango 10-Minute Play Festival, after winning the Judge’s Grand Prize award. The Education of Jenna will be produced in the Playbytes by Playwrights Festival in Michigan. The Father-Daughter Banquet was staged at the Northport One-Act Festival in New York, and in Connecticut at the East/West PlayFest. Invasions and Penetrations was a semi-finalist in both the O’Neill competition and the ScreenCraft Stage Play Contest, after being a Problematic Play Festival finalist at San Francisco’s Z Space.

DEAN MORTON Playwright, Wolves in Yellowstone
Dean Morton is a baker, writer, and graduate student currently residing in Asheville, North Carolina. His writing seeks to reflect the cultural moment of the suburban American south.  Some of his work can be found in Stage It! 2: Thirty More Ten-Minute Plays.  He is currently working on his first novel.

MEET THE TEAM

​JACK STEHLIN (Artistic Director/Director)
Jack Stehlin has directed over 50 plays for The New American Theatre. Fresh out of The Juilliard School, he founded the company (as Circus Theatricals) in 1986. Also an actor, he can regularly be seen on television. His Los Angeles stage roles include New American Theatre productions of Tempest Redux (co-production with Odyssey Theatre), 63 Trillion, More Lies About Jerzy, Julius Caesar, Harm’s Way (LA/Off Broadway), Titus Redux (Not Man Apart co-production at Kirk Douglas Theatre and RadarLA,) and Odyssey/New American Theatre co-productions of Creditors (LA Weekly Award nomination-Best Actor),Taming of the Shrew, The Misanthrope, Macbeth, Richard III, Tartuffe, and True West. On the small screen, he is perhapsbest known on television as DEA captain Roy Till on the Showtime series Weeds (SAG award nomination). New York/Regional stage credits include Salome (with Al Pacino), numerous productions at New York’s Public Theatre including Richard II (with Steven Berkoff), Henry V (with Kevin Kline), Casanova (with Ethan Hawke), Henry IV, (with Mandy Patinkin), and Julius Caesar (with Al Pacino and Martin Sheen). His many guest-starring roles on countless TV fan favorites include the recent Assassination of Gianni Versace, NCIS Los Angeles, Without a Trace, Monk, The Practice, Crossing Jordan, ER, NYPD Blue and Fox’s Hieroglyph. Jack can currently be seen on the big screen in Wilde Salome with Al Pacino.