Program A

August 21-24

At The Tone

by Peter Surdo of Kennett Sq., Pa

Produced by Community Theatre Players of Ben Avon

Charles and Gwen are the Time Team who tell telephone callers the time of day in the early 1960s. Their personal and professional relationships are challenged by infidelity and looming layoffs.

Peter Surdo was a graduate of Hunter College and resides in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. He was the proprietor of Kennett Kitchen Creations and enjoyed developing new and delicious mushroom products. Peter was the writer of Willie and Co-Writer of Robert DeNiro Ate Here, Red Carpet, Dallas Week, Spry, I Blame Bruce Jenner, and A Cake for Mr. X.

The board of directors for the Pittsburgh New Works Festival; the Community Theatre Players of Ben Avon; and the cast and artistic staff of the play At the Tone are honored to celebrate the life and artistic talents of our Playwright, Peter Surdo, who sadly - and tragically - lost his life just last month on Friday, July 11th, 2025 in Delaware during a fatal traffic accident. We count ourselves very fortunate that we have Peter's play in our festival and that our director, James Critchfield, and Peter were able to connect for several weeks through email conversations while planning to present Peter's marvelous play. We all happily dedicate these five performances of his wonderfully funny play to this gifted man, his family, and friends.

CAST/CREW

James Critchfield (Director/Co-Producer) is a member of the board of directors for the PNWF and has directed for Actors Civic Theater, Little Lake, Prime Stage, Pittsburgh Savoyards, Theater Factory, South Park, and Baldwin (South Hills) Players. Jim is a proud alumnus of Point Park University with 2 theater degreess (Acting & Theater Education). His performance credits include: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera, CLO, PICT, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Actors Civic Theater, and Pittsburgh Savoyards to name a few,. Some of his favorite roles include Fiddler on the Roof (Tevye), Our Town (Stage Manager), Footloose (Rev. Moore), Little Shop of Horrors (Voice of Audrey II) ~ The Voice), Jesus Christ Superstar (Pontius Pilate), and A Christmas Carol (Ebenezer Scrooge). A special THANKS to this rock solid team of Libby, Stacy, Ron, and Andrew.

Libby Larsen (Stage Manager/Co-Producer/Night Shift Woman) is thrilled to make her debut with Community Theatre Players of Ben Avon. Since 2012, she has served on its executive board and appears frequently in CTP productions. Recent CTP favorites include Harvey (Assistant Director), Southern Hospitality (Aunt Iney), and Will (Sarah, age 11 in 1965). Libby studies with Ensemble Actors Studio (McKees Rocks) and Arcade Comedy Theatre (Pittsburgh). She is an improv actor with Pittsburgh’s Commedia dell’arte troupe I, Pierogi. Recently, she played a singing extra in Brian Marczewski’s Tales of Terror 2025 production of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. Love and appreciation to everyone involved in the festival and At the Tone, with special thanks to Jim Critchfield, and Jessica.

Stacy Bartlebaugh-Gmys (Gwen) is thrilled to be making her on-stage debut at the PNWF, having previously participated in a seated reading for the festival. She’s especially delighted to share the stage with her husband, Ron. This isn’t their first time performing together—they appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Blithe Spirit, and Barefoot in the Park shortly after they were married. Stacy’s stage credits include South Park Theater, McKeesport Little Theater, Grand Dream Productions, Edgar Allan Poe Theater, and Heritage Players. On screen, she’s appeared in various “B” horror films from Happy Cloud Pictures and Benzidream FX Studios. After time away, Stacy is thrilled to return to the stage with her husband—especially after celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in June. She thanks her family and friends for their support.

Ronald J. Gmys (Charles) is a 1992 graduate of Seton Hill University, where he received a BA in Theater Performance. Since that time, he has collaborated with numerous local theater companies, including South Park Theater, Apple Hill Playhouse, Comtra, McKeesport Little Theater, and many others. Ron also spent 24 years as the Technical Director at Thomas Jefferson High School. In 2004, he produced six shows with his wife, Stacy Bartlebaugh-Gmys, through their theater company, Grand Dream Productions. After a 26-year hiatus from acting with the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Ron returned last year to perform as Conner in Lemons, Water, Sugar. Ron is excited to return this year and get the opportunity to perform with his wife, Stacy.

The Fourth Quarter

by Susan Cain McQuilkin of Moorestown, NJ

Produced by South HillS Players

Donna is so annoyed that her recently retired husband is moping around the house all day long that she banishes Ed to the shed in their yard. She tells him to spend his days there figuring out what to do with his life. Ed does exactly that. He hangs up a sign "No Girls Allowed," locks the shed at night and refuses to tell Donna what he's doing in there. Distraught when her friend suggests that something nefarious is afoot, Donna thinks Ed may be plotting to kill her. But, Ed's plan for the fourth quarter of his life is not what anyone expected.

Susan Cain McQuilkin Past productions of Susan's work include full-length plays According To Plan at the Hedgerow Theater in Rose Valley, PA and The Perfect Gift at Overtime Theatre in San Antonio, TX. One-act play productions are: So Happy For You at Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Three Wishes, winner of the One-Act Play Festival at the Wilmington Drama League, DE, Forgiveness at both Dragonfly Arts Center in Plainfield, NJ and Wilmington Drama League, Unexpected Baggage at both Pittsburgh New Works Festival and the Ritz Theater One-Act Play Festival in Haddon Township, NJ and An Hour To Kill at Dragonfly Arts Festival. Her comedic screenplay Senior Discount won the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition.

CAST/CREW

Jennifer Luta (Director) is thrilled to be back with the Pittsburgh New Works Festival and directing for the South Hills Players. Most recent PNWF shows include Past Tense, All Our Tomorrows, Across a Crowded Room, Two Lines, and Devotional Blackmail. As an actor, she has also performed with the Festival multiple times. She is currently serving as the President of the South Hills Players. A graduate of Point Park University where she majored in Musical Theatre, Jennifer also recently completed the Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy from the National Arts Strategies and the University of Pennsylvania.

Brian Kadlecik (Stage Manager) has been involved in all facets of theater for 10 years now. Directing credits include Epitome of Grace with Iron Horse Theater, multiple vignettes in A Christmas Town with Old Schoolhouse Players, Now And Then with Iron Horse Theater, and Christmas Belles (Assistant Director) with Pendemer. Recent acting credits include The Golden Rose (Fredrick Rapp) and 12:52 The Mike Webster Story (Terry Bradshaw) both with Iron Horse Theater, Andre's Mother and Dearly Departed with Pendemer Productions, December Things with Old Schoolhouse Players, A View From The Bridge with Throughline Theater, and Newsies with Little Lake Theater. Brian enjoys working theater, film, commercials, character voice over, and producing with Red Slate Films. Thank you to my family and friends for the continued support.

Mark Boles (Ed) is delighted to be part of Pittsburgh New Works Festival and to have the honor of working with such a talented cast. Physician by day, actor by night, he feels the challenges on stage can be just as daunting as any emergency room. His acting career has had him performing in most of the communitiy theaters in Pittsburgh and has spanned over ten years. He thanks his wife Valerie for her patience and support.

Nancy Julian (Donna) is a recent transplant to Pittsburgh and is excited to be returning to her first love, acting, after a 30-year career as the costume director for various regional theatres. She received her acting training from the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and holds an MFA in Costume Design from the University of Oregon. She is more than delighted to be a participant in this year's Pittsburgh New Works Festival!

Christienne Millerr (Mary Beth) has returned to Pittsburgh after 30+ years of acting on stage, television, and in films, mainly on the West Coast. This Pittsburgh native is excited to revive her stage career playing Mary Beth in The Fourth Quarter (It's almost too good to be believed, really. Authentic actors, great script, intuitive and conductive director - a perfect blend.) Christienne is a fervent supporter of live theater in Pittsburgh, and looks forward to further providing theater-goers with performances that whip them into a frenzy.

Quiet Tonight

by Mathew Green of Champaign IL

Produced by Pittsburgh Savoyards

In the dead of night, Donnie and Lydia keep watch over a locked bedroom door, behind which the thing that used to be Lydia's sister waits. A domestic vampire tale, adapted for the stage from the playwright's original screenplay.

Mathew Green (he/him) is a Midwest director, actor, and playwright. He is a two-time winner of the Best Play Award at the Last Horizon Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska (now the Valdez Theatre Conference). His play Final Dress, Or Places for the End of the World was recently performed by Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, NY. He lives in Champaign, Illinois with his stage manager wife and four kids.

CAST/CREW

Katie Beth Kirby (Director) is thrilled to be making her directorial debut with PNWF, representing the Pittsburgh Savoyards. Katie is an Actor-Director, having recently Assistant Directed Babes in Toyland for the Pittsburgh Savoyards and multiple productions of V-Day in recent years. An established musical theatre and classical singer, she is known for her roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas such as Lady Jane in Patience, Daphne in Thespis and Leila in Iolanthe as well as musical theatre roles such as Joanne in Rent Norah in The Gift of the Magi, the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Hedy in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. A huge thank you to her cast and crew. To Carley, Sarah and Andrew, “Break a leg! I’m so proud to be your director.”

Robert Hockenberry (Producer)

Gretchen Beck (Stage Manager)

Andrew Lasswell (Donnie) is a multifaceted entertainer. His work includes acting for stage and screen, writing for both, music (solo and with his band The Liberty Tubes), standup and improv comedy, and circus sideshow stunts. When not entertaining audiences, he can often be seen in the pinball parlor.

Sarah Leigh Orbin (Michelle) is very excited to be playing Michelle in Quiet Tonight. Sarah has most recently been in: Imaginary Exits (Figment 3) and So...There's a Leprechaun Now (Jess) both with R-Act Theatre Productions, and Evie and Frannie take a Detour (Frannie) with Stray Cat Theatre Company at PNWF. She can also be seen as a regular cast member in The Dinner Detective (Detective Trixie Heart), showing at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. When not acting, Sarah is helping Pittsburgh's buyers and sellers navigate this crazy Real Estate world, and can help you also! Thanks so much to Katie, Carley, and Andrew, it’s been fun acting with you! “Hiss on 3”! She is thankful to her daughter, Z, and mom Val.

Carley Weissert (Lydia) is thrilled to be making her debut with the Pittsburgh Savoyards! She began exploring acting in January and has been training at Ensemble Acting Studio in Pittsburgh. Her favorite recent work includes a scene from POTUS, performed for friends and family during her Acting 201 showcase. Carley is excited to step onto a larger stage for the first time and hopes this is just the beginning of her performance journey! When not on stage, she works as a self-love and body image coach, helping women rewrite their relationships with food, their bodies, and themselves.

The Bay of Fundy

by David Gill of Brooklyn, NY

Produced by Red Masquers

It is dusk on the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy and Ponko has arrived at Sydney's cottage to take her away to Boston where they’re to begin a new life together after the tragic death of her son, but Sydney, Obsessed with an eagle that keeps appearing in her yard, and haunted by a secret she’s hidden from Ponko for fifteen years, has instead resolved to stay,

David Gill, Irregulars (Cherry Lane, NY); Providence (Transient Theater, Chicago; Roy Arias, NYC); F*cked –up Family Trilogy: Experimenting with Katz, Irregulars & Unfinished (TheatreLab); More Myself Than I Am (Secret Theatre & Manhattan Repertory, Best Play; HEARTbroke 2022); A Most Egregious Way(HEARTbroke); Fault Lines (Blurring Boundaries, Secret Theatre, Best American Short Plays 2018-2019); Wee Annie’s Hold (octoberFEARfest), Inside & Out (Blurring Boundaries 2021), Defying Lorelei (Blurring Boundaries 2022), In the Garden of the Hesperides (Blurring Boundaries 2023; Queens Shory Play Festival 2024). Co-founder and Artistic Director of New Ambassadors Theatre Company. DGA Member.

CAST/CREW

Rachel Potts (Director) is so thrilled to be making her debut with the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. As an upcoming senior studying Theater Arts & English at Duquesne and serving as the Duquesne Red Masquers President, she’s had the pleasure of seeing and interacting with many of the New Works folks before and joining them is a dream come true. Some of her favorite theater experiences to date have been stage managing Comedy of Errors with the Red Masquers, set designing The Murder of Roger Ackroyd with The Summer Company, and Light designing Medea with the Red Masquers. Without her amazing playwright, stage manager and cast she couldn’t have given this beautiful play the stage to shine, so here’s to them and here’s to you.

John E. Lane, Jr. (Producer) is an Associate Professor and the Director of Theater Arts program for Duquesne University. He has directed over 125 productions for various companies around the Pittsburgh area including Pittsburgh Public Theater, Carlow University, Pittsburgh Opera Theater, Wilkinsburg Arts Theater, Medieval and Renaissance Players, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, Thank You, Felix Productions, and Future Tenants. He is a board member of the Gemini Children’s Theater and the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Since joining Duquesne he has directed 12 world premiere productions including a new adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera and The Mother of Us All: An Evening with Gertrude Stein, Serenede, The Consorts, and Shuffle Ball Change … and Die!

Aubrey Posluszny (Stage Manager)

Shiloh Oliver (Ponko) is delighted to make his theatrical debut in The Bay of Fundy. He has studied at the Donna Belajac Actors Studio and at the Steel City Improv. He would like to thank the cast and crew for their expertise and guidance. He works as a barista at Aspinwall Beans ‘N’ Cream for his day job. He would like to dedicate this performance to his cat sons Bean & Zazie.

Jess Uhler (Sydney) is thrilled to be returning for her second New Works Festival! She was recently seen in Jeremy Seghers production of The Trial, Stage Warp’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray and understudying for Riverfront Theatre Company’s Constellations. Jess is also a local actor in independent film productions. She would like to thank Rachel, Aubrey and Shiloh for a wonderful experience working together on The Bay of Fundy, Pittsburgh New Works Festival and the audience for coming to support local theatre!