Monday, February 16, 7pm
SAINT VEGAS
by Enid Graham
Directed by Robby Sella
JUST POSTED!
Interview with Playwright,
Enid Graham, on SAINT VEGAS, byKennethJones!
Monday February 16, 7pm
SAINT VEGAS
by Enid Graham
Directed by Robby Sella
In this memory play, Ben returns to the hot Galveston summer of his thirteenth year. Fresca, a volatile teenaged girl, moves in and upends the small apartment Ben shares with his mom. As he and Fresca become friends, Ben faces life's complexities, including the sacrifices and challenges faced by his single mother.
A.R.T. NY, 520 8th Ave. (Between 36th/37th St.),
Third Floor, NYC 10018, Monday at 7PM
RSVP@GroundUPproductions.org
Enid Graham/Playwright is a 2022 graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Program at Juilliard. In 2025, Smoke was produced at Cadence (Richmond Virginia) and How To Save Ourselves, a commission from the Farm Theater, received simultaneous productions from Sewanee College and Center College. Other plays include: Tenderness and Gratitude Number Four (Scripts in Hand at Westport Country Playhouse, reading series at the Chance Theatre, and a Blue Ink finalist 2025), A Long Time Ago in a Dark Yard at Night (reading series Hudson Stage), Golden (audio format for Falconworks Theater), What Martha Did (Launch Pad at UCSB, finalist NPC 2017), Ruth (NPC play 2018), Pathological Venus (finalist NPC 2020), Something Unrecognizable, The Plans I Have for You, and Saint Vegas (NPC semifinalist 2025). She is the 2026 Playwright in Residence at the Chance Theatre in Anaheim, CA. As an actress, Enid’s credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Honour (Tony Award nomination), and tv/film including: The Sinner, Mare of Easttown, Rabbit Hole and A House of Dynamite.
Robby Sella/Director: Robert is pleased to be part of Ground UP Production’s 15th Annual New Works Reading Festival. He has had a long standing relationship with the New London Barn Playhouse where he has directed such shows as HARVEY, GUYS AND DOLLS, OKLAHOMA!, and 42ND STREET. In New York, he has directed A LONG TIME AGO IN A DARK YARD AT NIGHT and DO NOT GO MY LOVE for the Hudson Stage Company and GOLDEN for Falconworks, and a workshop of PATHOLOGICAL VENUS, all written by Enid Graham; the NY premiere of SACRIFICES by Eli Kaplan-Wildman, Yonatan Cnaan, and Andrew Zachary Cohen for the E.A.T. New Works Series; a reading of a new play by Greg Paul, WINTER IN MOSCOW for the Juggernaut Theatre, and is currently in development with playwright Sarah Vander Schaaff on her new play, WALT WHITMAN’S AMERICAN DREAM. As an actor, Robert has appeared on Broadway in MY FAIR LADY, CABARET, SIDEMAN, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, SYLVIA, and FLYING OVER SUNSET; other favorites include: Prior in the first national tour of ANGELS IN AMERICA, STUFF HAPPENS at the Public/NYSF, THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE opposite Dame Maggie Smith on the West End, THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP for Red Bull at the Lucille Lortel, and the world premiere of Christopher Durang’s TURNING OFF THE MORNING NEWS at the McCarter. Robert’s new musical, MAN AMONG MEN, for which he wrote the book, music, and lyrics was workshopped at College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, MA in association with ArtLab and Red Bull Theater.
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David Gow*/Ben: is a NYC based actor with a BFA from UNCSA. Previous NY credits include Banya at Theaterlab, What I First Desired at Soho Playhouse, Chokehold at 14th St Y, Sweat at Capital Rep, Bleach at Wilson's Lounge. Regional Credits include The Inheritance at Roundhouse, Rust on Bone at Denver Center, Hamlet; Measure for Measure; The Waverly Gallery; Dear Jack, Dear Louise; The Winter’s Tale; Comedy of Errors; Mother’s and Sons at Shakespeare & Company, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike; Sense & Sensibility at 4th Wall Theater, Pirira; The Giant Void in my Soul at Luna Stages, The Foreigner at A.D. Players. Film/TV credits include The Girls on the Bus on HBO, The Good Fight; Madam Secretary on CBS, The Savant, The Intruder; Chrissy Judy on Apple TV.
Ella Stiller*/Fresca: Ella is a major theater nerd who made her off-broadway debut this past summer starring in the world premiere of Dilaria as the titular character. Select film/tv credits include And Just Like That, the soon to air final season of HBO’s The Comeback, and the upcoming CBS drama Cupertino. Juilliard Drama Group 53.
Kate Middleton*/Marsha: Upcoming Summer 2026: 6-Episode Miniseries, "Perfect Sundays". Broadway/Off-Broadway: Music City (Ground UP Productions), Women Without Men (Mint Theatre), Shear Madness, New York City Premiere (New World Stages), The Other Place (MTC), The Late Christopher Bean (TACT), Asymmetric (59E59), Pratfalls (Abingdon). Select Regional: The Goodman Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, The Huntington, St. Louis Rep., GEVA, Cape Playhouse, Dorset Theatre Festival, The Fountain Theatre, Triad Stage, Playmakers Rep.The Kennedy Center, , NJ Shakespeare, Weston Playhouse, Warehouse Theatre, Bickford Theatre. TV: “Chicago Fire”, “Elementary”, “Blacklist”, “FBI: Most Wanted”, “Orange is the New Black”, “Blue Bloods”, “Mercy”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order: SVU”, and Comedy Central. Film: The Boston Strangler, The Tender Bar, Spoiler Alert, Set It Up, Noah Wise, 40th, Obits, Showing Up, T.I.C., April Flowers. Producing Artistic Director of Ground UP Productions.
www.KateMiddletonActress.com
Howard W. Overshown*/Clark: Sam Mendes’ West End revival of The Lehman Trilogy. Broadway: ART, GlenGarry Glen Ross, A Soldier’s Play, Julius Caesar, Saint Joan, Free Man of Color. Off-Broadway: The Underlying Chris, Richard III, Beauty on the Vine, Blue, YellowMan, Passage, Never the Sinner, Orlando. Other theatre: Soldiers’ Play, View from the Bridge, Lehman Trilogy/Ahmanson LA; The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, King John, Hamlet, Richard III, Great White Hope. TV: Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Girls5eva, Blue Bloods, The Affair, Law & Order (SVU/CI), Madame Secretary, Fosse/Verdon, Bull, Kings, White Collar, Unforgettable, Allegiance. Film: Pride and Glory, Body of Lies, 13, Never Here. 2018 Ten Chimneys Fellow.
Jesse R. Tendler/Stage Directions:
Jesse R. Tendler is an actor, director, writer, producer, film festival programmer, and educator. As a filmmaker, Jesse directs and produces a diverse range of projects, including short & feature length narrative fiction films, episodic projects, music videos, commercials, documentaries, and educational content. Past films (Frankie, Deadbeat, Leaving Circadia, Family On Board, 16mins) have won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Audience Choice awards at a multitude of film festivals, including being selected for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the 2016 Oscars. Additionally, Jesse has produced and/or directed multiple award-winning plays for FringeNYC and the Edinburgh Fringe, receiving many 4 and 5 star reviews. Jesse is also a Clio Award-winning, critically acclaimed professional actor and former child star with 3+ decades of experience in film & TV (including guest starring roles on Sesame Street, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Law & Order, among others). In addition to acting, directing, writing, and producing, Jesse is the Director of Indie TV Programming for the Lighthouse Int’l Film Festival, a screener of episodic pilots for SXSW (since 2018), Senior Programming Director for the Climate Film Festival, and a juror and consultant for multiple other festivals. He is also a freelance script doctor, a professional photographer and videographer, and an avid ping pong player. A graduate of UPenn’s Management & Technology Program, Jesse earned dual B.S.E. degrees in Entrepreneurial Management & Marketing (Wharton) and in Materials Science & Engineering (with a research focus on renewable clean energy technology). He is the co-founder of Maximum Potential Education and is a faculty member of the K-12 Pratt Young Scholars Program and the Science & Technology Entry Program at Pratt Institute. He is extremely passionate about filmmaking, clean energy tech, artistic expression, education, the environment, social justice, and human rights.
Josh Evans/Producer:
Favorite credits include - Chris in Ground UP's new education outreach program TREATY, currenlty touring, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap (The Barnstormers Theatre), Post Concussive Syndrome (Abingdon Theatre), Rubber Ducks and Sunsets (Ground UP Productions), Marielle Heller’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight Pictures), “Gotham” (Fox), “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Video), “FBI” (CBS, Dick Wolf), “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix), “The Blacklist” (NBC). He is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and Michael Howard Studios, and a company member of Ground UP Productions. The work is dedicated to his parents and his wife. joshlevans.com
Kodi Lynn Milburn/Stage Manager
Dubbed as the "Swiss Army Knife of Theater," Kodi embodies a fusion of creativity and activism. As a mixed indigenous neurodivergent queer, Kodi’s artistry resonates with a commitment to justice, harmony with nature, amplifying lost voices, and reflecting contemporary issues, echoing the ethos of the Jester's Privilege. Kodi’s work has been described as “inspired” (Alix Cohen, Women Around Town), “amazing” (Travelanche), “sound designer, Kodi Lynn Milburn deserve(s) much credit for the show’s aesthetic” (David Shengold, Opera News), “lush compositions and evocative soundscapes…a fantastic collaborator: creative, proactive, generous, organized, versatile, and indispensable” (Nathan Davis, Drama Desk Nominated Sound Designer) Cross-discipline credits include: Sylvia Milo’s The Other Mozart (Hong Kong, Edinburgh Fringe, NYC, U.S. Tour, Canadian Tour), Treaty (The Foundry), Funny Guy (59e59, London, Edinburgh Fringe), Talking With Angels (TheaterLab), Faust (Baruch Performing Arts), Salome (Irondale Theater), Orgy & Bess (Judson Church), AMP (HERE), Tussaud/Antoinette (IRT), Good Samaritans (The Tank), Big Wave (TaDa!, The Tank), Enjoy your Meal (Edinburgh Fringe), Tiffany Caputo (Edinburgh Fringe), Anime-Zing Gameshow! (Edinburgh Fringe), Empty NeXt (TheaterLab), Vice & Virtue (NYTF), My Onliness (The New Ohio), Chess (American Theater for Actors), Uta Hagen Centennial Salon (Lincoln Center), Heart Strings (Atlantic Theater Co), 7 Magdalenes (Baryshnikov Arts Center, TheaterLab, HERE), Sparkle Spa (BMI), Ewalt & Walker (54 Below), Bananas (The Rat), Mary & Max (Bobby Cronin & Crystal Skillman), Voyage en Chanson (National Sawdust), L’autre Mozart (Fringe North, Halifax Fringe), Rhinoceros (Atlantic Acting School) and more. Kodi is a New York Foundation for the Arts Music Fellow. Kodi has an album available on all streaming platforms under Kodi the Composer called "Sound the Alarm"!