Graphic Design: Moss Bastille
Tell Me I'm Gorgeous at the End of the World
by Aaron Coleman
Directed by Dominique Rider
Project dramaturg: Zachariah Ezer
The party rages on in a fierce Fire Island home, and nothing will stop it. Not even two unexpected houseguests, who set off a reckoning of apocalyptic proportions. TELL ME I’M GORGEOUS AT THE END OF THE WORLD blows up the tropes of the gay party play—and shakes up theatrical genres quicker than an extra dry martini—to tell the tale of two men seeking a place in their community. But the world has other plans.
Thursday, April 15, 7:00pm (ET).
The event is “Donate what you can.” All proceeds go to The Audre Lorde Project
Donors will receive a link to view the performances on YouTube.
The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education and capacity-building, we work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice. Committed to struggling across differences, we seek to responsibly reflect, represent and serve our various communities.
Aaron Coleman is a New York City-based playwright and current Playwright-in-Residence at Circle in the Square Theater School. His play UNCLE REMUS, HIS LIFE AND TIMES, AS TOLD TO AARON COLEMAN was chosen for Primary Stages’ 2019 Drills reading series. Recent Finalist for NYTW's 2050 Fellowship, The Civilians’ R&D Group, and the DGF Fellowship. Semi-Finalist for the Jerome Fellowship at The Playwrights' Center. Select Work: Lyricist for the Off-Broadway musical IMELDA (East West Players and Pan Asian Rep), Co-book writer for STAY FOREVER: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (Renberg Theatre). MFA in Writing for Screen and Television, USC School of Cinematic Arts. https://www.aaroncolemanwrites.com/
Dominique Rider is a director and dramaturg based in Brooklyn, New York. They believe in l[i/o]ving like it is the end of the world. Dominique’s work is concerned with answering the question: “What is a world unmade by slavery?” They have worked as a director and collaborator at The New Group, Audible, BRIClab, NYU, Harlem9, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Haiti Cultural Exchange, MCC, The Old Globe, The Lark, Soho Rep, The Atlantic, The Bushwick Starr, Clubbed Thumb, Long Wharf, Flux Theatre Ensemble, WP, and The Movement Theatre Company. They are the director in residence for the National Black Theatre through 2021, a 2021 BRIClab resident artist, a 2019 NAMT directing observer, and an inaugural member of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Directing Group. dominiquerider.com
Alexander Settineri: (Tyler) is a Brooklyn-based actor & photographer. He is super grateful to be a part of this cast. Off-Broadway: Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies (Upcoming); Selected NY Credits: The Untold Yippie Project (Access Theatre), Humiliation Play (Artist Co-Op), Zoo Animals (NY Theatre Festival); Regional: A Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage), Dracula (Jenny Wiley Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (Capital Classics); Education: BFA The Hartt School.
Justin Gerhard graduated from university with a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Voice, and then went on to study Musical Theatre in NYC at the New York Film Academy. He then made the leap back to Canada, continuing his career as an actor, model and co-creator/host of The Gay Men Channel. He’s performed in many musicals, including Legally Blonde: the Musical, Hairspray, The Secret Garden, Seussical the Musical, Anything Goes, and West Side Story. On screen you can catch Justin in Almost Adults on Hulu and Nobody Famous, on Amazon Prime. He is also the co-creator of The Queer Network which aims to provide a platform for queer artists to share their stories. Justin is currently back in NYC, furthering his career as an actor and activist. He believes that, “it is through art that we heal ours wounds, and learn how to empathize with each other, allowing for growth and expansion.” You can follow Justin's journey online via his social media @JustinGerhard
Starr Kirkland is a bicoastal actor and spoken word artist. You may have recently seen her in the New York Times Critics’ Pick, TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever (JACK). Favorite credits include of the woman… (Normal Ave), HOTTENTOTTED (The Tank), Julius Caesar (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), Hephaestus (Theatre in Asylum), The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Columbia Stages), AliceGraceAnon (New Georges), and The Average-Sized Mermaid (State of Play). She has participated in readings and workshops at Joe’s Pub, New Georges, The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theatre, SPACE on Ryder Farm, La Mama, Plays and Players, Dixon Place, Bushwick Starr, Ars Nova, and Seven Devil’s with a long list of wonderful collaborators. Her community and theatre work often combine as she works with Realize Your Beauty promoting self-esteem and positive body image through theatre arts, and performs an original one-woman show promoting literacy at The Morgan Library and Museum as Belle da Costa Greene. In a topsy-turvy world, you can often find her upside down: whether it be in a silk, walking on her hands, or generally being strange in a corner. www.starrkirkland.com
Daniel Lynn Evans is a Tennessee native who has always considered himself a dancer first and is super excited to be back in the world of straight plays! Off-Broadway credits include Trip of Love and Red Eye of Love. TV/Film credits include Friends With Benefits, Gossip Girl, and Blue Bloods. Daniel is also a hair stylist who has worked in the Broadway companies of Aladdin, Mean Girls, King Kong, and Dear Evan Hanson, as well as the world premiere of Kinky Boots on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Encore. In his younger years, Daniel was once a flying trapeze instructor, and Debbie Gibson back-up dancer. You can find his hair stylings at @thebroadwaybarber or thebroadwaybarber.com
Broderick Clavery is excited to be working with Dominique Rider yet again! Most recently, he appeared as "Timmy" in Robert Lee Leng's episode 9 of "MTA Radio Plays" at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and "Ocean" in Jeremy O'Brian's I Hate Everything with Harlem9's "48 Hours in Harlem" 2020 cycle. As an Afro-Indigenous queer person, Broderick's excited to be a part of theatre that continues conversations of anti-racism, black liberation, and queer rights!
Jorrel Javier (John Anthony): Broadway and National Tour: The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Grover). Regional: Fall Springs (Barrington Stage Company), Mamma Mia! (Casa Mañana), In The Heights (ZACH Theater and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma). Very grateful to be working on new work even in the midst of a Pandemilovato. Much love to anyone and everyone who comes across this show. IG: @Jorrel_ || JorrelJavier.com
Alison Jaruzelski is a New Jersey/New York based stage manager and production manager. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her BFA in Theatre Design & Production, concentrating in Stage Management. She has worked at accredited performing arts institutions including The New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her most recent professional credits include Much Ado About Nothing and Coriolanus for Shakespeare in the Park with the Public Theater.
Moss Bastille (graphic design) graduated from College of the Atlantic in 2013 and the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2017, where he received an MFA. His work has appeared in anthologies including the Awesome Possum series, Gun Controlled, and Rainbow Reflections: Body Image Comics for Queer Men (pub. Ad Astra, 2019). He currently lives in Brooklyn, turning fever dreams into words and pictures. https://www.mossbastille.com/