Program A
August 27-30
It's About Time
by Kathryn Ryan of Bronx, NY
Produced by The Haunted Theatre Company
Late to a children’s party gig, two struggling actors - Jess (“Princess Kooky”) and Matt (“Prince Clueless”) - find themselves stranded on the roadside, out of gas literally and figuratively. As they wait for help, youthful optimism collides with adult reality, and old frustrations give way to something surprising: renewed hope for what’s next.
Kathryn Ryan is a playwright whose work has been produced Off-Broadway and at U.S. theaters and festivals from New York to Alaska. Her full-length plays "Wallowich @ Home, Alone" and "Lilli Marlene" premiered Off-Broadway, while "Hilary Kole In: A Good Man Is Hard To Find" toured cabaret venues along the East Coast. Sixteen of her other full-length, one-act, and short plays have been staged in more than a dozen states, virtually, and in Seoul South Korea, reaching audiences worldwide.
A published playwright, her work will be included in Smith & Kraus' upcoming Best 10-Minute Plays 2026 anthology. Her play "Hannah and Greyson" was published by Drama Notebook and is available to teachers across the US. A winner of the Oxford 10-Minute Playwriting Competition, she has been invited to the William Inge Festival and the Valdez Theatre Conference. She is a proud Dramatists Guild member and has been part of PlayGround-NY’s Writers Pool since 2022.
CAST/CREW
Michael McGovern (Director/Producer)
Gretchen Beck (Stage Mananger)
Mary-Cait Cox (Jess)
Mike McCarthy (Matt)
The Art of Leaving
by Richard Gotti of Delmar, NY
Produced by South Hill Players
Five months after moving into Oakhill, an elegant, active-adult retirement community in the Hudson Valley, plucky retired civil rights lawyer Louise stuns her new companion —and budding romantic partner –- Martin—with a bold announcement: she’s moving out. No more security, no more safety, no more predictability. Their ensuing tug of war and clash over love, loss, and society’s prescriptions for aging, expose fears that haunt late-life reinvention and, more deeply, reveal what it means to be truly cherished.
Richard Gotti’s plays have been performed in New York’s Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes, including The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, The Tivoli Players, Round the Bend Theatre, Encore Players, The Albany Civic Theater’s Playwright’s Showcase and on Hudson radio WGXC. He was a semi-finalist in Little Fish Theatre’s Pick of the Vine 2023, Los Angeles. His short fiction has appeared in Chautauqua and other literary journals and he co-authored the nonfiction book, Overcoming Regret (Bantam). He’s a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.
CAST/CREW
Jennifer Luta (Director)
Brian Kadlecik (Producer/Stage Mgr)
Susan Allardice (Louise)
Scott Hudson (Martin)
The Harrowing of Hell
by Jeff DeSantis of Baden PA
Produced by McKeesport Little Theater
Seconds after His crucifixion, Jesus arrives in Hell, intent on the redemption of humankind after the fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. He is warmly greeted by Lucifer who helps Him acclimate to the unusual setting, and joined by Dismas, who was crucified beside him. He is challenged by their different perspectives on the Great Plan for humankind, especially after a conversation with the person who committed the Original Sin: Eve.
Jeff DeSantis's plays have been performed by R-ACT Theatre Productions, Stoops Ferry Productions, and the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. He wrote many, many sketches for The Cellar Dwellers back in the halcyon days of Comarama, some of which even worked. He is a resident of Baden Pennsylvania and credits his upbringing as an only child surrounded by an assortment of imaginary friends as his introduction to storytelling. He is a musician and songwriter and performs all over the area by himself and with his band, Troubled Saints.
CAST/CREW
Sean David Butler (Director)
JR Graff (Jesus)
Audrey Wells (Lucifer)
Sebastian O’Leary (Dismas)
Carly Chotiner (Eve)