Monday, February 2 at 7pm
THE WILL
by Laura Darrell
Directed by Jenn Thompson

Monday, February 2 at 7pm
THE WILL
by Laura Darrell
Directed by Jenn Thompson
When a family loses its patriarch, what they inherit isn’t just money—it’s everything left unsaid.
A year after their father’s death, Martha is ready to settle his estate—until her brother Steve fiercely challenges both the will and the intentions behind it. As buried childhood wounds surface, their outspoken millennial children jump into the conflict, bringing their own generational baggage and ideological fire. What begins as a simple legal process unravels into a raw reckoning with loyalty, legacy, and the quiet fractures in an ordinary family.
A.R.T. NY, 520 8th Ave. (Between 36th/37th St.)
Third Floor, NYC 10018, Monday at 7PM
RSVP@GroundUPproductions.org

Laura Darrell is a playwright, actress, and producer based in New York City. Her work as a writer grows out of a career spent on the other side of the table—as an actor inspired to tell stories she felt weren’t being told—stories that unify, that examine family in all its forms, and that find humor in the overlooked details of ordinary life. Her newest full-length play, The Will, examines the emotional and existential fallout within a family after the loss of their patriarch—where what is inherited goes far beyond money. Her first full-length play, Oregon, was developed with Bespoke Plays before receiving a staged reading at Music Theater of Connecticut as part of their inaugural new play series. Most recently, Oregon was awarded a development grant and presented in a 29-hour staged reading Off-Broadway, co-produced by New York Rep and Sea Dog Theater and directed by Jenn Thompson. Before turning to playwriting, Laura built a career as a performer. She has appeared Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally, with credits spanning new works, revivals, and multiple original cast albums. Her screen work includes recurring television roles and performances in both indie and major motion picture films. This background informs her writing—she approaches the page with an actor’s instinct for rhythm, subtext, and ensemble dynamics, and with a deep understanding of how words live when spoken aloud. Her producing work includes co-producing award-winning short films with director Pete Rohan, as well as the animated series Anything, featuring Malin Akerman, Dan Fogler, and Eddie Kaye Thomas with co-producer and filmmaker Marc Brener.
Jenn Thompson/Director: Drama Desk-nominated director whose work has been acclaimed in New York City and at leading theaters nationwide. REGIONAL THEATRE: ATC, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Denver Center Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Hartford Stage, Goodspeed Musicals, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Pioneer Theatre Company, Portland Stage, Barrington Stage Company, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, City Theater, Dorset Theatre Festival, Two River Theatre, among others. NEW YORK: New works for Abingdon Theatre Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Musical Festival (NYMF), American Musicals Project, FringeNYC, and multiple award-winning revivals for Off-Broadway’s Mint Theater Company and TACT/The Actors Company Theatre, where she served as Co-Artistic Director. NATIONAL TOURS: Annie, which recently played Madison Square Garden starring Whoopi Goldberg. Jenn lives in New York with her husband, actor Stephen Kunken, and their daughter Naomi. jennthompsondirector.com


Cass Morgan/Martha: Most Recent: World Premiere of fuzzy at Barrington Stage Company. New York: Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, As You Like It, Big River, The Bridges Of Madison County, Memphis (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Mary Poppins, Ring of Fire, Beauty and the Beast, The Capeman, The Human Comedy, Pump Boys and Dinettes (co-author), Hair, The Immigrant, Floyd Collins, Violet, Merrily We Roll Along (York revival), Inside Out. National Tour: Cabaret.
William Parry/Steve: Bill is pleased to be working with Ground UP again. He was in the original casts of eleven Broadway productions, including: Stephen Sondheim / James Lapine’s, Sunday in the Park with George, and Passion; both filmed for PBS; Agamemnon at Lincoln Center; Gypsy with Bernadette Peters, Camelot (understudy to Richard Burton and Richard Harris); Groundhog Day; and the original Jesus Christ Superstar (’71). Off-Broadway: original productions of Sondheim / Weidmans’ Assassins and Road Show; and Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center, among others. National Tours: A Few Good Men, Memphis, and Titanic (Capt. E.J. Smith). Some 40 regional productions. favorites include: Joe Keller in All My Sons, and Sen. Higgins in Alabama Story with Kate Middleton. Numerous TV and Film credits. Radio: Two seasons on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion”.


Jessica DiGiovanni/Jane: Select Off-Broadway: Seared (MCC), Close Up Space (MTC), Of Good Stock (MTC), Jasper (Signature Theatre), Bike America (Ma-Yi Theatre Co.), Training Wisteria (Cherry Lane Theatre), Terms of Endearment (59E59), A Better Place (The Duke). Regional: Time Stands Still (The Public Theatre of Maine – Broadway World Nom.), Paint Night (The Public Theatre of Maine), Screwball Comedy (The Public Theatre of Maine), Bike America (The Alliance Theatre), The Fox on the Fairway (Flat Rock Playhouse). Select Film & TV: The Other Two (HBO Max), Feud: Capote vs. the Swans (FX/HULU), Forever (ABC), Powerbook II: Ghost (Starz), Twenty Five (Indie Series Awards Nom. - Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy), Deepfake, The Narcissists, The Resort (Best Actress – Ziiff). Jessica’s voice can also be heard as the Transformers, Windblade and Arcee. Training: Fordham University at Lincoln Center, Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) and LAMDA. www.jessicadigiovanni.com. @thejessdigi
Emily Bosco (she/her)/Taylor: Emily is thrilled to be returning to the Ground UP New Works Reading Festival! She is a proud Colombian-Italian actor and fellow alumna of UNC Chapel Hill, holding an MFA from their Professional Actor Training Program. Favorite credits include A Christmas Carol and Romeo & Juliet (Hartford Stage), Front Row To Murder (Barnstormers Theatre), Pride and Prejudice (Greenbrier Valley Theatre), Sense & Sensibility (PlayMakers Rep), Galileo's Daughter (Remy Bumppo), Steel Magnolias (Creede Rep), and The Rat Trap (Mint Theater). Other passions include dogs, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, Taylor Swift, and being the world's best Auntie to her nieces and nephews. AEA Member. www.emilybosco.com.
For my family, both given and chosen.


Stephanie Linas/Lauren: Stephanie is thrilled and grateful to return to Ground UP after appearing with them many moons ago in Almost, Maine, her first New York theater credit. A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, she currently resides in New York City where her work spans from acting to writing to producing, and from film to theater to commercials. Also one time her picture was on the side of a bus. Favorite credits include: What the Constitution Means to Me (RhinoLeap), Pixar in Real Life (Disney+), Othello (Hudson Classical Theater Company), Ancient History (Guild Hall), The Neshoba Incident (World Premiere, Royal Family Productions), Live from Chapel Hill with Bryan Tucker! (Carolina Performing Arts), and many national commercials. Stephanie also writes for the screen, with an award-winning pilot script of a political drama entitled Downtown, as well as a short film currently in post production. Stephanie is the co-founder of the Exquisite Cinema Film Festival, currently in its inaugural session. Ask her about it! IG: @slinas1
Kate Middleton/Tash: 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


Daniely Martins/Stage Manager: Daniely is a Brazilian actress and director, based in New York City. She is the creator of the play Big Wave and is currently directing both theatre and film. Her last performance credit is An Audience with Poe, with the piece The Tell-Tale Heart, at The Historic Hudson Valley. Now based in New York City, Daniely is involved in every aspect of theater production that comes her way, in the search to explore, grow and consolidate a strong career at the heart of the industry. Training: The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in New York; and Cours Florent, in Paris, France. Instagram: @danielyduarte_ @bigwaveplay
Josh Evans/Ground UP Producer/Stage Directions:
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
