Where: Tremont Taphouse
When: April 25th, 8:00 PM
Short films will be shown at 9 PM &10 PM, on the outdoor patio, weather permitting.

We ask that everyone please follow COVID-19 safety guidelines at all times and also wear masks.

Featured Playwrights:

Justin Lazor – Mary
Laura Barbieri – On the House
Gabby DiDonato – Thoughts from a Man Selling Parts
Ralph Meyers – Key Moment
David Hansen – The Children Who Played at Slaughtering

Justin Lazor is a lifelong resident of the Cleveland area, as well as a lifelong student at Cleveland State University. In addition to currently being a 2nd year playwriting candidate in the NEOMFA program, he’s also earned both a BA and an MA at CSU. The first staged production of his work, a short play entitled “First to Die Wins,” debuted last February at Convergence Continuum during the annual NEOMFA Playwrights Festival.

Laura Barbieri is a midwest-based playwright, actor, and director. Her previous playwriting works include The Death & Life of Nobody, The Day the World Ended, and Do It For the Bard. On the House is Laura’s first screenplay. She has also written and directed a one-act musical, Finding Life, which was produced by Ad Vivum in Chicago. Laura also served as the President and Director of Ad Vivum from 2016-2017. Laura earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and is a first year playwriting student in the NEOMFA program through Kent State University.

David Hansen has participated in Cleveland’s theater renaissance as the founder of Guerrilla Theater Company and artistic director for Dobama’s Night Kitchen and Bad Epitaph Theater Company, as well as an actor and director at theaters across Northeast Ohio. Published works include “Red Onion/White Garlic”, “Double Heart”, adaptations of Agatha Christie’s “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” and “The Secret Adversary”, and his award-winning work on stillbirth, “I Hate This (a play without the baby)”. David is Education Outreach Associate for Great Lakes Theater and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He lives in Cleveland Heights, City of Great Writers. http://davidhansen.org

Gabrielle DiDonato is a 2nd year playwright in the NEOMFA. She has, in the past, been one of the playwrights for The Manhattan Project Ruins Your Childhood and has recently had her play, Leaving Home performed through Playwright’s Local. She likes to process thoughts through stories with just a little bit of strangeness to them. Gabrielle spends much of her time reading poems and dreaming about tasty snacks.

Ralph Myers: Although I have no memory of this, I was born in Oceanside, California. I grew up in the Foster Care system in Western New York and moved to Ohio about twenty years ago. History has always interested me, and I started this project with a deep love for American history. The journey that this project has taken me on has changed me in profound ways. I want to thank Mike and Tom for pushing me through this. Most importantly, I want to thank Miriam, my wife, for being my strength and the best friend anyone could ever have.