PLAYWRIGHTS
AMARI LEWIS is a rising sophomore at Kennesaw State University. She is from Atlanta, but her home is Charlotte, North Carolina. You can always find her with a journal and a pen as she is always prepared for inspiration to strike! This is her first time trying out playwriting. Poetry is her main form of expression but she is very excited to learn and experiment with a new medium and can’t wait to meet other artists along the way!
ANGEL LIN (she/her) is an actress, director, and playwright from Danville, Virginia. She is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Drama. Her most recent works include directing an expressionist production of three short plays, including one of her own, entitled Passage, and performing in the New Works Festival at her school. Her love of theatre is centered in a desire to create avenues of connection, and she is thankful for the opportunity to practice that alongside a community of artists in this festival. Outside of theatre, she also enjoys painting, cats, and active/outdoor activities.
ANNA KRAFFMILLER is an aspiring playwright from Boston, Massachusetts. She is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in linguistics with a minor in English. This year, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival honored her play Through the Valley as a regional finalist for the Gary Garrison National Ten-Minute Play Award. Outside of theatre, Anna is very good at crossword puzzles, and very bad at juggling. She has been writing and telling stories for as long as she can remember, and looks forward to the opportunity to learn, share, and grow at this workshop.
ASHADÉ ALTINE is an aspiring playwright and actor from Florida. She is currently a rising senior at Wellesley College, majoring in Theatre Studies. With a deep passion for storytelling, Ashadé has immersed herself in various theatrical pursuits, both on and off the stage. She has been recognized for her talent with the Isabelle Eastman Fisk Award for Acting (2023) and was a nominee for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship (2023). When she’s not performing or writing plays, you’ll find Ashadé making music, writing poetry, or diving into lyric analysis. Ashadé is thrilled to join the NSYPF, where she looks forward to connecting with fellow playwrights and theatre enthusiasts, sharing her unique voice, and honing her craft.
BELLA SMITH is a rising senior dual majoring in Theatre and Psychology with a certificate in Musical Theatre Performance at the University of Georgia. She is an actress and playwright from Marietta, GA. Her ten-minute play, Puzzled, was featured in The Classic Journal vol. 9 no. 2. Her love for theatre began in middle school and has haunted her since. Bella prioritizes amplifying the voices of queer women in her work. As she simultaneously studies psychology and theatre, her writing holds the ability to foster empathy between groups of people who are less likely to understand each other through implementing mechanisms of humor and drama. In the work she does as an artist, she wants to widen the world’s perspective of humanity and make room for hidden voices to be highlighted.
BRIDGET BLANCHARD is a playwright and actor from Decatur, GA. They’re currently in their third year at the University of Georgia studying Theatre and English. Their playwriting and poetry often explore stories of queerness, religion, and girlhood through music, fantasy, and emotional intimacy. Bridget is a proud member of the Thalian Blackfriars, UGA’s oldest student-run theatre company, which inspired them to participate in KCACTF Region IV’s 10-Minute Play Festival. When not writing, they can be found hiking through the Georgia mountains, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and expanding their CD and record collection (Dolly Parton and Hozier are personal favorites).
ELOISE MARGARET LANGAN is a rising sophomore at Dartmouth College studying theatre and creative writing. She is a writer of plays, poems, sketches, and stories, a lover of anything to do with Bob Dylan, and does an amazing Jennifer Coolidge impression. She is the winner of the 2024 Eleanor Frost Playwriting Competition, the 2024 Studio 3 NYC One-Act Play Competition, an Honorable Mention for the 2024 Sidney Cox Memorial Prize, and an Honorable Mention for the 2024 Mecklin Prize. At Dartmouth, she is an inaugural member of the Can’t Sell Culture Comedy Collective, an actor in the Dartmouth Rude Mechanicals Shakespeare Troupe, a writer for the Dartmouth Jack-o-Lantern, and the founder and president of the Allied Scholars for Animal Protection at Dartmouth.
EMMA WINIARSKI is a recent graduate of Emerson College where she received her BFA in Creative Writing with minors in History and Dramatic Writing. She is from Western Massachusetts, but will be attending San Diego State University to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing in the fall. There she plans to finish her first novel, expand her portfolio in the genres of playwriting and screenwriting, and advance her knowledge of Russian and East European literature. Outside of writing, Emma is looking to establish a career in the publishing, theater, or film industries in either editorial or developmental roles where she would be a part of getting other writers’ stories out into the world!
HAMAD NAROZE is a Pakistani playwright raised in Queens, New York. As a rising Senior at Hunter College, he’s currently studying “Story Crafting” as part of the CUNY Baccalaureate program. He wants to create works that give artists of color, notably South Asians, the chance to explore themselves in worlds beyond the usual tokenized perspective. He is also very keen on the cyclical nature of stories told across human history, their themes and lessons never irrelevant. Additionally he believes a show about a friend group of washed-up Italian-Americans who work in sanitation is the peak of television.
HANNAH REYNOLDS is from Hastings, Nebraska, and is a rising junior at Wake Forest University, where she is double majoring in Theatre and Critical and Creative Media. Though Hannah discovered her love for theatre as an actress, she has recently become interested in sound designing, directing, and especially playwriting. One of her favorite projects from last semester was “Laughtracks,” a student-produced sketch comedy show which she helped write for and perform in. Hannah also enjoys playing guitar, reading, making short films, and drinking two cups of coffee a day.
ISAAC WOON is a Brooklyn-based artist and current Junior through the CUNY BA program at Hunter College, where he designed a major in Scriptwriting and Performance Art. He has directed, written, and acted in multiple short films, with an upcoming film project “The Dog” recently profiled in 47 Magazine and Media. He’s a student ambassador at Playwrights Horizons and is rabidly writing several plays at once. His previous experience with storytelling in theatre includes building custom sculpture, paintings, and set fabrication for works shown at Theater for a New City, A.R.T/New York Theatres, and Players Theatre. Isaac’s favorite art finds humor in dark truths and offers friendship to the lonely. @isaacdwoon
IAN GADAPEE is a recent graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University, and the Producing Artistic Director of Windmill Theater. Previous productions of his works include A New Church, A Requiem for a Rose, The Vault: Parts 1&2, Here We Come A-Caroling, Hold On, The Magnolia Chronicles, and Rope: The Life and Times of Mary Webster, or: Tavern Trap. His comedy, You’ll Figure it Out… Eventually, premiered at the Orlando International FRINGE Festival to rave reviews, and his play Sanctuary, has toured to churches throughout Central Florida, and has been called “a show that every church needs to see.” His work has been called “captivating, inspiring” and “both challenging and entertaining.” As an artist, Ian strives to create timeless works of theatre in the Western Tradition.
JESS ANORUIGWE is an aspiring director, playwright, and actor from Red Oak, Texas. She recently graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts. She is a devoted storyteller, aiming to highlight the nuances of the Black experience through her writing and directorial work. She is currently working to become a theater educator for the next few years before applying for graduate school to obtain an MFA in Directing. Her recent playwriting credits include Silent Songs of Service for the 2024 Theatre for Change Project and Sting for the 2024 2-Minute Play Festival, hosted by the UTA Maverick Theatre Company’s BA Ensemble. She sends love and gratitude to her family, friends, and professors for their support.
JHONN RUSIC is a recent grad from Columbia College Chicago. With a major in Comedy Writing and Performing and a minor in Playwriting, he hopes to find a job soon! If you see him, ask him to tell a joke, he loves that. He wants to thank NSYPF for the opportunity and hopes you enjoy what you see during the Festival.
LAIN WALLS (they/them) just graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Writing For The Stage and a BFA in Musical Theatre. Their favorite thing is music, and they play the guitar, piano, ukulele, accordion, mandolin, and lyre. Lain has a (trending towards unhealthy) obsession with New York Times puzzle games, and currently has a 600+ day streak on Wordle. @lainwalls
LOEY JONES-PERPICH (she/they) is an actor, playwright, and director originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is a recent graduate of Emerson College, having earned a BFA in Theatre and Performance with a minor in Hearing and Deafness. Their work focuses on queer identity, coming-of-age, and the juxtaposition between comedy and violence. Additionally, she is deeply passionate about learning American Sign Language, and hopes to continue her education after college. Over the course of the last year, she has been adapting her favorite novel for both stage and film, and is excited to continue exploring queer literature as inspiration. Loey loves to create her own clothing, listen to MUNA, and hang out with their cat.
MANDO GONZALVEZ is a a rising junior at Point Park University working to obtain his BFA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Playwriting and a minor in Technical Design for Theatre. Notable pieces he has composed and produced for are Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Archbishop Mitty High School), Lady Killers (Bridges Theatre Co.), and various indie pop songs under the stage name “Willowhead.” In his free time, Mando loves to debate video game narratives, watch video essays by leftist creators, and make silly cooking videos. Further works at sites.google.com/view/mando-gonzalvez-designs • IG: @mango.gonzalvez
MIRIAM CAMPBELL is an actor, musician, composer, and writer. Originally from King’s Lynn, England, she’s a rising junior at Bennington College, studying Drama, Music, and Creative Writing. They’ve had a passion for singing, acting, and dancing since they attended the performing arts school Theatretrain as a child. Miriam only recently started writing, and is incredibly grateful for her professors’ and peers’ support in her journey thus far. Concentrating on prose as well as playwriting, she has been published in her college’s literature magazine. After graduating, she’d like to continue her study of acting and music, but she will always continue developing plays, short stories, and composing. Outside of her studies, she can be found reading, playing video games, or having movie nights with her friends.
MYLES KEYS is a rising senior at Ball State University where he studies production directing with a minor in film/screenwriting. He started out as an actor, but quickly discovered he has a deep love for writing and directing. He is from Houston, Texas, and cherishes his family and friends dearly. He is also a passionate activist and loves advocating for equity and human rights.
SAM LEE VICTOR is a playwright and actor studying Acting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) where he is a rising fourth year. When he’s not in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina, he lives just outside of New York City (in other words, New Jersey). As a playwright, his work is centered on telling trans stories that have been previously unheard. His full-length play, Casual, premiered in New York City in 2023, produced by We Who Wander Productions. His ten-minute play, A Disorderly House, has been produced by the Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival and the Kennedy Center as part of ENOUGH!: Plays to End Gun Violence 2023. His work has been published by Playscripts and Smith & Kraus.
SPENCER DANIEL is an actor, writer, director, and recent graduate from Emerson College in Boston, MA, where he received a BFA in Theatre & Performance. He was the recipient of the 2024 Betsy Carpenter Prize for his play, Ice Cream, inspired by his experience working as an ice cream manufacturer in Central Massachusetts. His writing often centers blue-collar, queer stories and is characterized by themes of familial love, generational trauma, awe, and humans vs. nature. You can also expect there to be a dog character named ‘James’ (a tribute to his 11-year-old Border Collie). In addition to theatre, some of Spencer’s other passions include hiking, list-making, tennis, and gaming. He is grateful to be here and sends his love back home to NE! @spencermdaniel
TOMI FAWEHINMI is a Nigerian-American actress and playwright from Dacula, Georgia. She is a rising freshman at Northwestern, where she intends to double major in Theatre and Cognitive Science. She is a member of the Teen Ensemble at the Alliance Theatre, and a recent graduate of School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School, where her original play Horsin’ Around was produced in their 1st Annual 10 Minute Play Festival. Tomi aims to create theatre that delves into the wonders of human cognition and psychology, analyzing how people process connections, whether it be relationships, interactions, or simple realizations. She has been interested in theatre, storytelling, and writing from a very early age, and she is thrilled to be participating in this festival!
TONI COLBERT is originally from the DFW area currently double majoring in Theatre Arts and English at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is an aspiring playwright who loves to read almost anything she can get her hands on. She loves writing short comedy scenes, and is currently in the thought process of writing her first full-length play.