What's New?
THE EULOGY APPROACH
April 2023
"
The one act follows a down on his luck barista, whose oddities and queerness aren't helping him jumpstart life beyond his small town. Believing a stranger's arrival is a sign from the universe, he offers the panicked young woman refuge inside his closed cafe. This one-act dramedy, set in real time, follows the two stubborn individuals - a dreamer and a realist - as they uncover a mysterious family scandal. Matching the optimism of Ted Lasso with the youthful skepticism of Girls, The Eulogy Approach examines how fate and free-will affect our efforts to get unstuck from now.
Concepcion recently closed the sold-out Off-Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, which is transferring to Broadway later this year. Other credits include: Katie / Annie Oakley in the World Premiere of Rattlesnake Kate and Michele Weinberger in the New York Workshop of Romy & Michele: The Musical.
Allen has appeared in television, theatre and concerts, including Younger on Paramount+ and the new musicals Austen's Pride and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote and starred in the digital series Nice Guys (Finish Last), and served as the Assistant Book Researcher to writer Kate Wetherhead. The Eulogy Approach marks Allen's playwriting debut, after receiving an industry reading last June, where he starred alongside Amina Faye (SUFFS, SIX).
Written by Joseph Frederick Allen.
Directed by Avery Rose Pedell.
*These Actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association
The Eulogy Approach plays Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) Stage 2 on April 19th at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20. Tickets and information are available at Click Here
@OpeningDoorsCollective"
A JURY OF OUR QUEERS
January 2023
An intoxicating mix of drag show, courtroom drama, and theater, A JURY OF OUR QUEERS playfully blends historic texts and original writing in an act of radical queer reenvisioning.
STARRING
NANCY NOGOOD as MAE WEST
JORGE FELIPE GUEVARA as HELEN MENKEN
DEVANTE LEWIS as DA MUVAH
AJ DRESDALE as THE MEN
Conceived & Directed by Dmitri Barcomi
Associate Director Avery Rose Pedell
Stage Manager Sage Spitz
Created by Section175 Artist Collective
Co-created by Dmitri Barcomi, AJ Dresdale, Jorge Felipe Guevara, DeVante Lewis, Seth Majnoon, Eri Nox, Nancy Nogood, and Avery Rose Pedell
A Jury of Our Queers is presented by The Exponential Festival and is a part of the TMT Hosts series.
https://www.theatermania.com/shows/new-york-theater/a-jury-of-our-queers_408028
THE END OF ALL FLESH
(NY Premiere)
October 10, 2022
"The 15th season of New York Theatre Barn’s award-winning New Works Series continues on Monday, October 10th, 2022 at 7PM ET at The Cell (338 W. 23rd St., NYC). The live and in-person presentation will feature excerpts from the new musicals The End of All Flesh, Sunken Cathedral: A New Musical, and Work, as well as a conversation with the writers moderated by Artistic Director Joe Barros. The presentation will also be streamed live by Full Out Creative and the company will continue to provide ASL interpreters from Inclusive Communication Services for the presentation
Written by 2-Time Tony™ Award-winner Greg Kotis (Urinetown, Yeast Nation, Pig Farm), The End of All Flesh is a rollicking post-apocalyptic fable set on a remote mountain top sometime in America's distant future that explores environmental collapse, gender norms, generation gaps, survivalist practices, and the creative potential of a pandemic beard…in song! This will be the first time that the work is presented in New York City. The presentation will have performances by Ayun Halliday (The East Village Inky, Theater of the Apes), Avery Rose Pedell, Sammy Pignalosa, and Kotis. This will be the first time that the work is presented in New York City."
THE END OF ALL FLESH
(Portsmouth, NH)
August 2022
Written by Greg Kotis
Pa ----------------------------------------------------------------Greg Kotis
Ma ----------------------------------------------------------- Ayun Halliday
Boy -------------------------------------------------------Sammy Pignalosa
Girl----------------------------------------------------- Avery Rose Pedell
Music by Bitter Pill
Directed by Tom Alsip
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: LAUREN ROSEN
"The End of All Flesh is a rollicking post-apocalyptic fable unfolding on a
remote mountain top sometime in America's distant future. Having made
it through the End Times, Ma and Pa fight to keep themselves and their
son, Boy, alive, by hunting, gathering, and maintaining a healthy distrust
of strangers. But Boy’s near grown now, and his new friend Girl is
putting some mighty funny ideas in his head about familial hierarchies
and the Patriarchy. Expect plenty of picking (and some grim grinning) in a
concert reading of a new dark comedy that explores environmental
collapse, gender norms, generation gaps, survivalist practices, and the
creative potential of a pandemic beard…in song!"
https://www.playersring.org/endofallflesh
THE EULOGY APPROACH
June 23, 2022
Staged reading presentation of Joseph Frederick Allen's new play The Eulogy Approach.
Coordinated by Alexa Spiegel, Avery Rose Pedell, and Joseph Frederick Allen. Featuring Joseph Frederick Allen and Amina Faye. Stage directions and artistic collaboration by Aj Álvarez. Reading presentation hosted by District Social in midtown Manhattan.
THE HOMIESEXUALS: A SOCIAL MEDIA TRAGEDY
2021-2022
I played @lululemonista the short film THE HOMIESEXUALS: A SOCIAL MEDIA TRAGEDY.
"This experiential and ensemble-based short film, made to be viewed on a phone, explores the avalanche of online discourse and nuanced activism through TikToks, Facetimes, comments sections, and the myriad of other internet informational screentimes that have been our source of connection in 2020 and 2021. When Tripp, an attractive and queer-presenting TikTok-er is attacked in a possible hate crime, the internet reaction grows from supportive to increasingly hostile, sparking a conversation on queerbaiting and straight male worship in the age of cancel culture and Gen Z activism. Never focusing on a single character or video for more than a few minutes, the film will zoom through dozens of reactions, conversations, and personal reactions, told entirely through phone-based apps and videos."
Directed by Ryan Dobrin
Written by Gage Tarlton
Dramaturgy by Melory Mirashrafi
Created in collaboration with Ryan Dobrin
Produced by Ryan Kane, Those Guilty Creatures (Carina Goebelbecker & Ryan Dobrin), & Gage Tarlton
Digitally Designed & Edited by Zack Lobel
Original Score & Sound Design by Heath Saunders
Sound Mix by Twi McCallum
Additional Graphics by Gauge Wiley
Original TikTok Choreography by Pauline Lamb
Music and Lyrics to “Dance Again” by Laura Galindo
Finalist, NewFilmakers New York 2022
Semi-Finalist, Dumbo Film Festival 2022
Semi-Finalist, Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition 2022
ULYSSES MISSA
New York Theater Festival
Summerfest 2022
A New Musical Adapation of James Joyce's "Ulysses" in which I was thrilled to originate the role of Molly Bloom.
"Ulysses Missa, a new adaptation of James Joyce's epic novel, Ulysses, uses the form of a Catholic High Mass to create a subversive ritual for all who want to pay reverence to one of the greatest literary achievements of the 20th Century.
A cast of twelve performs in this experimental musical using a cappella chorale, poetic language, and an untraditional narrative structure. It highlights themes of Irish Nationalism, a trinitarian relationship between Joyce and his protagonists, sacrificial relationships, and the creative spirit. Come celebrate 100 years of James Joyce's Ulysses with the cast! The show is written and composed by Sarah Norcross Hough, Directed by Anastasia Vertjanova, and features Daniel Baskins, Miranda Rose Blood, Lydia Brinkmann, Heeya Kim, Maddy Mackarey, Patrick Maruffi, Grace Martini, Ongama Mhlontlo, Abby Morris, Avery Rose Pedell, Atticus Shaindlin, Ella Stoller, and Noah Sturtridge."
MOONSHINER
Columbia University
May 2022
A new play by Columbia University MFA candidate Lillian Mottern.
Directed by Danica Selem.
Dramaturgy by Michael Landes.
Cast: Savina Carter, Mia Cusianovic, Avery Rose Pedell, Miranda Volpe
A JURY OF OUR QUEERS
Columbia University
April 2022
"Mae West drag show puts queer legacy on trial in experimental theater debut in A Jury of Our Queers, opening at Columbia University's Schapiro Theater."
"Bombshell broad Mae West and rising Broadway starlet Helen Menken are both arrested in 1926 on charges of obscenity. Interrupted from their Broadway performances of a play called SEX and a subtextually sapphic French melodrama, Mae and Helen attracted the attention of the conservative sensibilities of their time."
Starring Anna Dresdale, DeVante Lewis, Nancy Nogood, and Josiah Vasquez.
Conceived & Directed by: Dmitri Barcomi
Assistant Director: Avery Rose Pedell
Playwrights: Blake Bonilla & Justin Aaron Halle
Dramaturg: Dezi Tibbs
Stage Manager: Sage Spitz
Lighting Design: K8 August
Costume Design: Lindsey Eifert
Sound Design: Andrew Freeburg
Producer: Andrew Marderian
ELSIE'S DEATH PARTY, OR SOMETHING MORE FESTIVE
2021
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Senior Thesis
A young woman named Elsie (duh), suffers an untimely death. Before she allows herself to finally turn off the lights, she decides that she is going to have a funeral of her own… and host it herself.
For this original work, Avery was awarded High Honors as well as the CAROL B. OHMANN PRIZE for BEST THESIS by the Program of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University. To request an unlisted youtube link to the reading of this piece, please email averypedell@gmail.com.
Women's Theater Festival
Occupy the Stage 2020
November 2020
The Devils Between Us by Sharifa Yasmin
Director: Avery Rose Pedell
Assistant Director: Maisha Khan
Stream Tech and Designer: Pimpila Violette
George Craver: CK Anderson
Latifa Mubarak: Sharifa Yasmin
Hunter Gabriel: Josh Beasley
Barb Craver: Jean Wentz
In a small town in the boonies of South Carolina, a closeted young man named George is trying to figure out how to keep his late father's business running, only to be faced with a ghost from his youth. A young Muslim, who he knew as his boyhood lover Latif, has returned as Latifa to take care of her estranged fathers funeral. Forced to confront devils both have been avoiding, they find that their only way out of the past, is through each other.
CN: Sexual content, transphobia, homophobia
Tickets and Merch: https://bit.ly/occupytix2020Full
Lineup: https://bit.ly/occupylineup2020Virtual
Program: https://womenstheatrefestival.com
SLABBER
Wesleyan University
October 2020
Directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl
Assistant Director: Avery Rose Pedell
"Things that don't normally belong together—like a blood cell and memory, a bacteria and a longing—are trying to come together under my skin."
An open-air, interactive, socially-distanced performance brings the audience directly into the research and experiments of a group of people who are trying to identify a mysterious condition, known only as “Slabber.” A slabber is the machine in soapmaking factories that cuts soap into slabs. This performance asks the Wesleyan community to consider notions of social and physical contamination, and whether it's possible to come close to someone else without ever leaving your chair. Originally created by the interdisciplinary theater duo PearlDamour, the work will be re-devised by a Wesleyan ensemble for the current socio-political moment.
https://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/events/2020/10-2020/10172020-slabber-20.html
Directing on Zoom
Advanced Directing Class Spring 2020, Wesleyan University
I contributed to a website which archived our student directing experiences during the beginning of virtual instruction in pandemic times. It is currently available in the Library of Congress COVID archives.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
strategies / obstacles / reflections / questions
Isabel Algrant, Anna Buchmueller, Avery Rose Pedell, Elijah Comas, Izzy Koff, Nathan Baron Silvern, Elizabeth Woolford, Betsy Zaubler
Professor Katie Pearl