Gracewell Productions cordially invites you to enjoy
The Wedding Binder
By Jacques Lamarre
Directed by Sasha Brätt
Saturday, March 25, 2023, The Palace Theater, Waterbury CT
Edward Antigua (Binder) is grateful for this role. He is currently in Naugatuck Valley
Community College’s production of Carrie as Billy and has previously been seen as Somebody (Everybody), Douglas Panch (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Theo (Pippin), Agwe (Once on this Island) and Mark (A Chorus Line). He is grateful to the cast and crew, and his family and friends for their never-ending support.
Mikayla M. Balducci (Cherie) Makayla Balducci (Cherie) - Makayla is a theatre major at Naugatuck Valley Community College and lives in New Hartford. She’s very excited to be acting in her first staged reading! Favorite credits: Everybody (Somebody), Spelling Bee (Olive), Legally Blonde (Elle), and American Idiot (Ensemble). She would like to thank everyone who made this happen, especially Sasha for always being an incredible director and mentor.
Vincent J. Griffin (Stage Directions) is currently a Theatre Major at Naugatuck Valley,. Some more recent productions are Anything Goes, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Hairspray, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Everybody. Vincent is currently casted in Carrie: The Musical and is stage managing for the first time for The Virtuous Fall of the Girls from Our Lady of Sorrows.
Cecilia Kurachi (Kitty) holds a B.A in Theater from Southern Connecticut State University, where she concentrated in acting and took part in a semester long independent study at The Circle in the Square School, NY. Cecilia has been professionally auditioning and performing (mostly for on-camera projects). She works in the Theater Department at Naugatuck Valley Community College and enjoys producing comedic content for social media during her free time! Thank you to Sasha and our wonderfully talented students!
Molly R. Riley is proud to be making her professional acting debut as Michelle in this reading of The Wedding Binder. She is a theater major at Naugatuck Valley Community College in
Waterbury, CT, where she has been a part of several productions, both performing on stage and working behind the scenes. At NVCC, Molly is also the vice president of Stage Society, the theater club responsible for producing shows in collaboration with other departments and keeping students well-informed on all things theater! She thanks the cast, Sasha, Jacques, and Gracewell Productions for the opportunity to bring this story to life!
Virginia Wolf (Mom) Virginia Wolf is founder of Herstory Theater, generally dedicated to bringing to life the unsung heroines of history, as well as producing a host of additional projects that both celebrate women and history, and a simple love of theater and performing (learn more at www.herstorytheater.com). She has written and currently offers two original plays for performances, Panic in Connecticut; Accused Witches Have Their Say about the CT witchcraft panics of the 17th century, and Katy Leary and Mark Twain bringing to life a dedicated maid to the Clemens family. Virginia appears on stage throughout Connecticut in local theater productions, works as a voiceover artist and audio book narrator, and hosts "SpotLight, Radio Reveling in the Arts and Entertainment," a radio show covering arts and entertainment throughout Connecticut (wliswmrd.net).
Jacques Lamarre (playwright) is a Connecticut-based playwright and comedy writer. Currently, his play Secondo can be seen at Waterbury's Seven Angels Theatre, which also produced the world premieres of his plays Italian Mom Loves You! with Daniel Franzese, Love & Spumoni, and Born Fat. He has also premiered his comedies Raging Skillet; I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; and scenes from Christmas on the Rocks at TheaterWorks in Hartford. His work has been seen in theatres from Maine to Florida but have rarely been seen on the wrong side of the Mississippi. He recently wrote Madame's "Face for Radio" Holiday Hootenanny for Wayland Flower's legendary puppet. He has co-written 18 shows for drag legend Varla Jean Merman and is currently working on new shows for drag performers Miss Conception and Ruby Dickulous. He is grateful to Gracewell Productions, The Palace Theater, and his frequent collaborator Sasha Brätt for this opportunity. JacquesLamarrePlaywright.com.
Sasha Brätt (Director) has directed or assisted directed at many regional theaters including Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare and Company, The Nora Theater, Playhouse on Park, Ivoryton Playhouse, Seven Angels Theatre, FringeNYC, Source Festival, Midtown International Theater Festival, Capital Fringe, New York Music Theatre Festival, Olney Theatre Center, and the Academy of Classical Acting. Most recently, his production of Straight White Men at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater earned several Boston area BroadwayWorld awards, including Best Direction of a Play. Currently, he is the Associate Professor of Theater at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT, and Chair of the SDC Directing Intensive for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 1. He has been awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities Fellowship for the Teaching Shakespeare Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library and was a member of the Visiting Professionals Residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Sasha holds degrees in Theatre Education (MA) and Directing (MFA) from Catholic University. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education with a focus in Leadership Studies. xoJAMSxo.
LAUREN YARGER of GRACEWELL PRODUCTIONS produces inspiring works in the arts. She is thrilled to be partnering with Sheree Marcucci and the Palace Theater on this second Table Reading Series. To request an invite to future readings, email GracewellProductions@gmail.com. Look for an announcement of projects in the works in Connecticut and elsewhere at GracewellProductions.com.
These programs are made possible with support from
· Rourke Insurance Agency
· Timothy W. and Mary Ellen Rourke
· Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
· Emily Kaufman