Sanctuary City
By Martyna Majok
Feb 21 - Mar 3, 2024
A gripping search for the American Dream
In post-9/11 Newark, NJ, two teenagers who were brought to America as children find solace in each other as they navigate harsh circumstances. When G becomes naturalized, she and B hatch a plan so that he may legally remain in the country and pursue the future he imagines for his life. But as complications mount, the young friends find that this act challenges and fractures even the closest relationship.
Recommended for ages 14+. The production runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission.
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​SANCTUARY CITY is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by TRW Plays 1180 Avenue of the Americas. Suite 640. New York. NY 10036. www.TR Wplays.com
Please note that masks are optional in all public spaces at Kitchen Theatre Company. We encourage anyone who would like to wear a mask to please do so.
CALENDAR
KITCHEN TABLE TALKS & OTHER EVENTS
These events are free and open to the public. For all pre-show events, enjoy a free glass of wine.
Pre-show-event: Wednesday, February 28 at 6:30 pm
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Kitchen Table Talk with Saviana Stanescu | "NY through an Immigrant I"
Saviana Stanescu is a Romanian-born award-winning playwright and ARTivist. Her work has been widely presented internationally and in the US. She will talk about the work of playwright Martyna Majok’s Sanctuary City and the immigrant experience and immigrant playwrights and their work.
Post-show event: February 29 after the 7 pm show (talk to begin about 8:45 pm)
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Kitchen Table Talk with The Ithaca City of Asylum | Creating Sanctuary in Ithaca: a refuge for writers & artists at risk
Join us for a four-person panel, including ICOA board chair Jason Freitag, board members Jonathan Miller and Barbara Adams, and board member and former ICOA resident artist Pedro X. Molina. We'll talk about the international need for support for displaced writers and other artists, and specifically about the ongoing and future support right here in Ithaca...and of course encourage discussion and questions.
Meet the Artists Pre-show event: March 1 after the 7 pm show (about 8:45 pm)
Join in a conversation with the actors and other members of the creative team about the process, the show, and their experience.
Affinity Night for Sanctuary City is Saturday, March 2, 2024.
We invite members of the LGBTQ+ and First Generation communities, especially, to join us.
Affinity Night Pre-show event: March 2 at 6:30 pm
Kitchen Table Talk with Jamin Enquist | NYC Immigration Attorney talks about his work
Affinity Night Post-show event: March 2 after the 7 pm show (about 8:45 pm)
Live music in the lobby by Mariachi Regional
About Kitchen Table Talks
Important conversations happen in the Kitchen. To deepen those important conversations, we host "Kitchen Table Talks" before or after some performances throughout the season. These talks are a dialogue between you - our audiences - and community leaders, subject experts, originating artists, or others. We hope you'll join us for these extra events!
ARTISTS
Cast (in order of appearance)
B - Shawn Denegre-Vaught*
G - Cheryse Dyllan
Henry - Robert Denzel Edwards
Production
Director - Sara Lampert Hoover^
Set & Lighting Designer - Indigo Shea
Costume Designer - Iris Estelle
Sound Designer - Germán Martínez
Dramaturg - Ana Lopezulloa
Production Stage Manager - Jennifer Schilansky*
Assistant Stage Manager - Amanda Blitz
Assistant Stage Manager - Callli Reed
Casting Director - Judy Bowman
Technical Director - Brendan Komala
Stiller Zusman - Scenic Charge
Camryn Anderson - Lead Electrician
* Member, Actors' Equity Association
^ Member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
Sara Lampert Hoover (Director) is excited to be back at KTC since directing Bright Half Life in 2018. Directing credits include: Bridge St. Theatre: Fourteen Funerals, Lewiston, Better, Frankie & Johnny In The Claire du Lune. American Slavery Project: Throw Pitchfork. Geva Theatre Center: Dancing Lessons, Black Pearl Sings!. Kitchen Theater Company: Bright Half Life, Throw Pitchfork, Peter and the Starcatcher, Dancing Lessons, Black Pearl Sings! Neat, The Tricky Part, Souvenir - 2008 SALT Award “Best Summer Production”, The Clean House, Yellowman, Precious Nonsense, The Syringa Tree, A Servant of Two Masters, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Pretty Fire, and Molly Sweeney. Vermont Stage Co: Three Days of Rain, Doubt, I Am My Own Wife. Other directing credits: Falsettos, Sweeney Todd, Proof, 4 by
Beckett, Side Man, The Insect Comedy, The Gnadiges Fraulein. Assistant directing credits: Sight Unseen (Manhattan Theatre Club, Daniel Sullivan, Director) and The Dybbuk (Syracuse Stage, Barbara Damashek, Director). Member: SDC
Shawn Denegre-Vaught ("B") is honored to be in this production of Sanctuary City. Earlier last year, Shawn played “B” in Sanctuary City at the Portland Theater Festival and is looking forward to bringing “B” back to life with this production. He was in the World Premiere show of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain at Studio Theatre where the cast was awarded two Helen Hayes Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Production. His film work includes Emerald; Texas, Blood Moon; Natural Causes and Blind Love. Shawn’s television work includes The Barney Show and STARZ’s upcoming Three Women, along with multiple commercials. He studied acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University and the USC School of Dramatic Arts. As a proud second-generation immigrant, Shawn would like to extend his heartfelt gratitude to his family, who immigrated from Mexico and Costa Rica, for all of their love, support, and resilience.
Cheryse Dyllan ("G") (she/her/they) may be best known for her work on television: Law & Order, Succession, Invasion, Helpsters!, Two Sentence Horror Stories, and New
Amsterdam, as well as breakout roles in feature films like Roxanne Roxanne and A
Vigilante. She is fresh off of a wonderful run as the lead in the world premiere of How To
Break (The Village Theatre), and also just wrapped another world premiere adaptation
of the New York Times bestseller Long Way Down (Apollo Theatre, Olney Theatre).
Cheryse has studied theatre under the tutelage of the esteemed Ann Dowd and
received multidisciplinary training at the Philadelphia University of the Arts. She is
thrilled to join her castmates and the incredible creative team in this production of
Sanctuary City at Kitchen Theatre Company.
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Robert Denzel Edwards (Henry) is an NYC based actor who is so excited to be making his KTC debut! Previous theatre credits include: Chicken & Biscuits (TheatreSquared), Into the Woods (Playhouse on Park), Sister Act (Redhouse), A Midsummer Night's Dream (CT Shakespeare Festival), The Fan (The Cherry Arts), Kinky Boots (Hangar Theatre), Waiting for the Host (Redhouse), A Christmas Carol (Hangar Theatre). Robert would like to thank God, and everyone else who has supported him and his career up to this point. He hopes you enjoy the show! IG: @therobbierob www.robertdenzel.com
Indigo Shea (Set & Lighting Designer) is a NYC based freelance lighting, scenic and projection designer, as well as, electrician and scenic artist. She is thrilled to be back at the Kitchen Theatre Company and in Ithaca! Indigo received a BFA in Theatre Production Arts from Ithaca College in 2019. She is a member of IATSE Local 21. Indigo has designed and worked on shows and events at a variety of venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC, the Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca NY, New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark NJ, Carteret Performing Arts Center in Carteret NJ, the St Jeans Theatre in NYC, Cocoa Village Playhouse in Cocoa Beach, FL, Women’s Project Theatre in NYC, Curtain Call Theatre in Albany, NY, Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, Theatre Row in NYC and the Cell in NYC. In her spare time, Indigo has her own small business she established in 2020 creating jewelry and art pieces inspired by theatrical elements. www.indigoshea.com // @R59Creates
Iris Estelle (Costume Designer) (she/her) is originally from Louisiana and grew up around a community theater that started her passion for theater and the arts. During the time that she was working towards a Fine Arts degree, Iris re-discovered costuming and fashion and started forging a new path in her undergrad work. Iris graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA with a degree in Fine & Graphic Arts with a concentration in Fiber & Textiles. She also had a scholarship with the costume shop where she built and designed costumes for performances throughout the year. Iris wants to constantly share her creative spirit in all aspects of her work, including fashion, art and theater. Iris worked as a touring wardrobe assistant for 3 years and after the pandemic started, she re-entered into the costume & theater world. Eventually she made her way to Ithaca and seeks to continue her work in Costume design.
Germán Martínez (Sound Designer) A proud son of immigrant parents, Germán Martínez is an award-winning freelance Theatrical Sound Designer based in NYC/NJ. He received his degree in Sound Design and Management from Montclair State University in May 2018. As a designer, he seeks original and enticing plays to help develop and bring forward the stories of bold playwrights. He strives to provide his services to stories that explore the topics of but are not exclusive to, the LGBTQIA experiences, immigrant and first-generation stories, and BIPOC narratives. Germán believes that tech is a crucial component to amplifying storytelling and strives to push the boundaries with how audio interacts and is used in his productions. Keep up with his work on his Instagram: GermanTheSoundDesigner
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Ana Florencia López Ulloa (Dramaturg) (Monterrey, Mexico, 1986) is a multi instrumentalist songwriter, author, playwright, poet, dramaturg and mother. She explores meaning and identity through mixed media art and language(s). With a degree in behavioral neuroscience from Cornell University, she explores the psychology behind abilities and boundaries. Sanctuary City was a joy to participate in and dramatize and she greatly appreciates the opportunity to work with such a stellar team.
Judy Bowman (Casting Director) (she/hers) years of casting at KTC, including: A Boy and His Soul, Sex with Strangers, Birds of East Africa, The Mountaintop, Swimming in the Shallows, A Body of Water, Venus in Fur, The Motherf(*ker with the Hat. RECENT/UPCOMING: Incendiary (Woolly Mammoth), Where We Belong (tour Portland Center Stage/Folger), A Christmas Carol (McCarter Theatre), Rift (Luna Stage) & upcoming Palm Beach Drama Works, Sharon Playhouse seasons. Artios Award nominee, PT Barnum Award. www.judybowmancasting.com
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
Thank you to our generous show sponsors!
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MEDIA AND OTHER SHOW INFO
Watch this space for our show trailer, newsletter, and other media highlighting the production!