JESUS 2.0
by Alyssa See-Tho
Directed by Susanna Jaramillo
Dramaturgy by Stephanie Kane
with Sarah Kay, Janelle McDermoth*, Ren King, Pauli Pontrelli*, Alton Alburo*, Nate Fellner, Laura Dadap*
*Equity Member appearing with permission of Actors’ Equity Association without benefit of an Equity contract in this Off-Off Broadway production.
November 13, 2022 at 6pm
AMT Theater
354 W 45th St, New York, NY 10036
At the turn of the millennium, a lesbian couple immaculately conceive a new version of Jesus and must navigate the upcoming birth while one of the women believes in God and the other doesn't. A queer (and funny!) retelling of the Christmas story that looks at faith - whether that means believing in God or the people you love and how those do not have to contradict each other.
Join us for Alyssa See-Tho's provocative and insightful comedy in this Workshop Lab presentation. A portion of ticket sales and donations will benefit The Lesbian Herstory Archives, the oldest and largest volunteer-run lesbian archive in the world. They ensure future generations continue to have access to our history and the breadth of lesbian experience, keeping alive the history that has been excluded by patriarchial institutions.
From playwright Alyssa See-Tho on Herstory: "I am gratefully standing on the shoulders of those who came before me and the intergenerational bridges I've been able to build in my life have kept me loving who I am and have inspired this play. Keeping these stories alive and accessible is an important mission that I want to support."
Alyssa See-Tho is a multiracial, queer, Catholic writer who has worked on a variety of forms and cares deeply about creating social change through storytelling. Alyssa’s work has been developed and performed in theaters in both New York City (Rattlestick Theater, The Tank, Workshop Theater) and the San Francisco Bay Area (Gunn High School), produced online (What Next web series, COCAWrites: Plays on Zoom Festival), and on the radio (WNYU). She is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, the UNTITLED Musical Writers Group, and a Junior Hollywood Radio and Television Society writers group. She graduated from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a B.F.A. in Dramatic Writing and Performance Studies. Beyond writing, Alyssa has also produced and directed plays, short films, multimedia works, musicals, and web series.
Susanna Jaramillo (she/her) is a New York-based director and stage manager hailing from Cranford, New Jersey. As a director, Susanna aims to make art that subverts our expectations of identity and lives in a world of sensorial and emotional extremes. Recent directing credits include: Fucking A (PPAS), Best Life (JACK), Daddy (John Jay College). Assisting credits include: Dom Juan (Bard SummerScape), Wine in the Wilderness (Roundabout Theatre Co.), Bite Me (Roundabout Theatre Co.), African Caribbean MixFest (Atlantic Theatre Company). Select academic theatre direction includes: Yellow Face (Front Row Theatre Co.), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (iNtuitons Experimental Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Quadramics Theatre Co.), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (iNtuitons Experimental Theatre). Susanna is a proud member of the Drama League Directors' Project and the Roundabout Director’s Group. Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE in chemical and biomolecular engineering.
Stephanie Kane (she/her) is a professional theatre artist and educator. In addition to the Workshop, her theatrical homes past and present include Center Theatre Group, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and The Public Theater. Outside of her theatrical endeavours, Stephanie has worked as Jewish educator for kids of all ages and abilities at Camp Ramah in California, JCC Pittsburgh, Lab/Shul, and the Society for the Advancement of Judaism. Stephanie holds a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University and currently lives in Brooklyn on sovereign Munsee Lenape and Canarsie land, although she was born and raised in Los Angeles, a fact that shocks people because she’s pale, walks fast, and hates the beach.
Sarah Kay is an actress who has performed in theatrical productions such as Grease, A Stormy Night, and Hair. She has performed in Alice in Wonderland and Finding Nemo Jr. at Disney Theatrical Group. She is currently working towards her BFA in Musical Theatre at Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, School of Performing Arts.
Janelle McDermoth (she/her) is a multi-platform creator from The Bronx, New York and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Broadway: A Bronx Tale. Off Broadway: We’re Gonna Die (Lortel Nomination, Antonyo Nomination, Outer Critics Circle Honor), The Chronicles of Cardigan and Khente, Soul Doctor. Film: To All The Boys: Always and Forever, Daughter of the Bride. TV: “Law & Order: SVU”, “Blue Bloods”, “Blindspot”, “High Maintenance”. In addition to her work on stage and screen, Janelle is a songwriter and producer. Her original music combines the poetics that compel her, the hip hop that raised her, and her penchant for the aforementioned theatrics. www.janellemcdermoth.com @janellemcdrmth
Ren King (they/them) is an actor, singer, dancer, and self proclaimed chef hailing from Lilburn, GA. They've been involved in non-profit theatre for 6 years, working in education, arts administration, and production. Upon obtaining two Bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre and Advertising from the University of Georgia (‘19), Ren joined the North American Tour of PAW Patrol Live! The Great Pirate Adventure as Mayor Goodway. Most recently, they joined the Marketing team at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as their Marketing & Outreach Coordinator for the summer season, Summer for the City, and the reopening of David Geffen Hall. Ren is also set to make their directorial debut in the spring in Smart People by Lydia Diamond with Exit Left Theatre Company in Holland, Michigan. Past credits include: Take Off Your Shirt (Drink) with The Artist Co-op, and Twelfth Night (Sebastian) with Match:Lit Theatre Co., As I Was, Not As I Am with Queens Theatre. OFF BROADWAY: The Importance of Being Earnest (Miss Prism) with Gatehouse Entertainment & Write Act Rep. Ren King is currently represented by the Alexander White Agency.
Pauli Pontrelli (they/them/ze/zir) Theater credits include The Visitor (The Public, Original Cast Recording), Dom Juan (Fisher Center/ Bard Summerscape), This Clement World (St. Ann’s Warehouse), House of Dance (Half Straddle, Zürich Theater Spektakel, Kyoto Experiment, MASS Live Arts), Look Upon Our Lowliness (The Movement), Tiny Beautiful Things (Long Wharf), I and You (Chester Theatre Company). TV/Film: “Instinct” (CBS), Fry Day. Pauli movement directed Julia Jarcho's Marie, It's Time for minor theater. MFA: NYU Grad Acting.
Alton Alburo is a NYC-based actor and performance artist originally from LA. Alton has acted with New York Theatre Workshop, National Queer Theater, Primary Stages, Rattlestick/Pride Plays, Ars Nova, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ma-Yi, Playwrights Realm, Transport Group, Keen Company, Target Margin, Bushwick Starr, New Light Theater Project, La Jolla Playhouse (CA), Children’s Theatre Company (MN), Merrimack Repertory Theatre & ArtsEmerson (MA), among others. Alton can be seen in Last Ferry and “Friends From College” (Netflix), and heard in “Planetary Gossip'' (TZGZ/SYFY) and Ghostwriter with Kate Mara & Adam Scott (C13Features). Alton’s performance art has been seen at MOCA LA, National Queer Theater, Chinatown Soup, The Tank, & Concrete Temple Theatre. Alton is on the board of Undiscovered Countries, an incubator of new and developing work. Currently understudying in George Bernard Shaw’s Candida at Theatre Row. Repped by DGRW.
Nate Fellner is an actor who has performed in plays such as The Great Gatsby, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Weir, and Love, Freedom, & Other Lies. Film credits include Pest Control, Haunted Storage Closet, and Born Sinner. Nate received his BFA in Drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Laura Dadap is a multi hyphenate performing artist, activist, small business owner and new mama dedicated to cultivating activism and the arts in collaboration through music and storytelling. Laura and her husband own and operate Djablo Sauce, the first Filipino hot sauce to be manufactured in the United States that packs a mighty punch! www.lauradadap.com