THE DING DONGS...
The Ding Dongs...
Written by Brenda Withers
Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw
Jan 31- Feb 19, 2023
When sweet-faced Joe (Karl Gregory) and Natalie (Erica Steinhagen) show up on a suburban doorstep, the tight-lipped homeowner, Redelmo (Nael Nacer), finds their story suspicious: the house, they claim, was Joe’s childhood home and they’ve come in hopes of getting a quick peek around. Bewildered by their oddly sunny dispositions, Redelmo tries to keep the visitors at bay, but their clever wordplay preys upon his sense of civility, and they cheerily muscle their way across the threshold. Once inside, as they recount memories together, it becomes clear the couple has no intention of leaving. In this new dark comedy thriller, Brenda Withers bends reality with wit and mystery as we are asked to examine who has the right to stand on the land they inhabit.
Recommended for ages 14+
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The Ding Dongs
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SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
NAME YOUR PRICE PREVIEW PERFORMANCES
Tuesday, January 31 through Thursday, February 2 at 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT
Friday, February 3 at 8 PM
ACTOR'S FORUM
Friday, February 10 at 8 PM
Friday, February 17 at 8 PM
FREE CHILDCARE MATINEE
To Be Determined
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Sponsored By
Barry Chester & Elissa Cogan
The Artists
Click each artist to learn more!
Props Manager
Helen Kuhar
Cast
KARL GREGORY (Joe): is an Award-Winning Actor, as well as an Award-Winning Bartender. Go figure. NYC Theater: From White Plains (Fault Line Theatre, GLAAD Media Award), FROGS (Fault Line Theatre), Mother’s Day (FringeNYC), BecauseHeCan (Personal Space Theatrics), The Servant of Two Masters (PS122). Regional Theater: Ever So Humble, The 39 Steps (Hangar Theatre), Testosterone, The Wetsuitman (Cherry Arts) The Taming of the Shrew (SFSTL), The Importance of Being Earnest (Trinity Rep). Karl has been seen in over 50 productions with Kitchen Theatre Company, favorite shows include: Every Brilliant Thing, Buyer & Cellar, Peter and the Starcatcher (SALT Award), Gutenberg! The Musical!, Fully Committed (SALT Award), SantaLand Diaries, Swimming In The Shallows, as well as title roles in A Perfect Ganesh, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Servant of Two Masters. TV: ALPHA HOUSE, NIGHTCAP. He recently wrapped a feature film in Provincetown titled “Best Place In The World”. BFA- Syracuse University, MFA- Brown/Trinity Rep. Karl splits his time between Ithaca and Provincetown with his husband, Andrew. www.karlgregory.com
ERICA STEINHAGEN (Natalie): is thrilled to be back at the KTC and on stage again with Karl. At the KTC: most recently, Carol in Hurricane Diane, Adrienne in Cry It Out, Margery in Hand to God. Back in the day: The Drunken City; Precious Nonsense; Bed No Breakfast; Tony and the Soprano; Dario Fo’s We Won’t Pay!; Nora; Bed and Sofa; The Servant of Two Masters among others. At the Hangar: Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods; Trish in Kinky Boots; Dana in Ever So Humble (world premiere with Karl Gregory as Bobby); The Sound of Music; Cats; Beauty and the Beast; My Fair Lady; and her one-woman cabaret Imagine My Surprise. With the Cherry (founding member): White Rabbit Red Rabbit, George Kaplan, title role in The Snow Queen and What Happens Next. Additional regional: Stage Kiss; The Best of Kathy and Mo; Wider than the Sky; Antigone; The Drowsy Chaperone; The Unfortunates, a one-woman play by Aoise Stratford. Proud member AEA, proud voice teacher and owner of Erica Steinhagen Voice Studio. ericasteinhagen.com
NAEL NACER (Redelmo): Kitchen Theatre Company debut. Off-Broadway: The Orchard (w/ Mikhail Baryshnikov, Arlekin Players/BAC) Regional: Our Town (dir. David Cromer), Romeo and Juliet, A Doll’s House, Bedroom Farce (dir. Maria Aitken), Awake and Sing! (Huntington Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (dir. Igor Golyak), Macbeth (Actors' Shakespeare Project); People, Places & Things, Small Mouth Sounds, Tribes (SpeakEasy Stage); The Tempest (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); The Seagull, ChekhovOS (Arlekin Players); The Return (Israeli Stage), Tiny Beautiful Things, True West, The Flick (Gloucester Stage); Constellations (Central Square Theatre); Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, Intimate Apparel (Lyric Stage), A Number, Lungs, The Kite Runner (New Repertory Theatre); The Aliens, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Company One). Nael is a resident acting company member of Actors' Shakespeare Project, a monologue coach with My College Audition, and the recipient of two Elliot Norton acting awards. Socials: @naelnacer
Creative Team
BRENDA WITHERS (Playwright): is a writer, actor, and founding member of the Harbor Stage Company. Her plays have been developed and produced at places like Northern Stage, Urbanite Theatre, Two River Theatre, Portland Stage, and Amphibian Stage Productions. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, a recipient of the Clauder Prize and an Edgerton New Play Award, and a recent Huntington Playwriting Fellow.
REBECCA BRADSHAW (Director) is excited to be in her second season as the Producing Artist Director at the Kitchen. She has built her career in Boston as a theatre director, producer, educator, casting director, and advocate. She has directed full productions for the Huntington Theatre Company, Lyric Stage, The Nora Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, A.R.T. Institute, Emerson College, Bridge Rep of Boston, Central Square Theatre/MIT, Weston Drama Workshop, The Umbrella Center for the Arts, Fresh Ink Theatre, among others. Bradshaw spent 8 seasons at the Huntington Theatre Company, where she handled line producing, casting, and developing new work. She is a part of the Affiliated Faculty of Emerson College teaching directing and producing, and has taught casting seminars at Harvard University, Suffolk University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Lesley University, and Boston Conservatory. She is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers union. She is ecstatic to be making Ithaca her new home where she is surrounded by natural beauty and an invigorated community.
ANNA CUNNINGHAM (Production Stage Manager): (she/her) is thrilled to be back at the Kitchen. Favorite credits include The Chinese Lady, Fade, Cry It Out, Proof, and The Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up (Kitchen Theatre Company), The Heiress (PICT Classic Theatre), Heathers: The Musical and American Idiot (The Summer Company). When she is not stage managing, Anna is an events manager at Flyspace Productions in Pittsburgh, and works on an exciting range of live events, festivals, and concerts.
MIRANDA THOMPSON (Assistant Stage Manager): Miranda Thompson is thrilled and proud to be the '22/'23 Stage and Production Management Fellow. Before joining the family, Miranda worked as a stagehand for various theatre companies. There's Always The Hudson written by Paola Lazaro at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. (Props Run Crew 2022). My Life On A Diet written by Renee Taylor at Delaware Theatre Company. (Wardrobe Run Crew 2022). In the fall of 2021 she directed two monologues: The Itraveler written by Amara Ali and Day/Month/ Year written by Sophia Kaiserman for the Philadelphia Young Playwrights Virtual Theatre Festival. In the fall of 2020 Mrs. Thompson had the pleasure of directing the virtual reading of Cupid's Corner written by Parade Stone, a part of the Occupy the Stage Women's Theatre Festival. Before Covid Miranda worked for Celebrity Cruise Line and continues to work for Venice Island Performance Arts Center in the Greater Philadelphia area. "What a blessing it is to embark on something new!" "I am truly grateful."
CAMILLA DELY (Costume Designer): is a costume designer and visual artist born and raised in South Africa, currently based in New York City. She is equally fueled by poetic texts and devised processes, and is interested in stories that concern the limits of our humanity, questions of violence and justice, and the stunning messiness of human beings. Camilla holds an MFA in Design for Stage and Film from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and was a 2015-16 Watson Fellowship Recipient. Credits include: A Christmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company); The Late Wedding, Mr. Burns, Collective Rage; A Play in Five Betties, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Brown/Trinity Rep); Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Catskill Mountain Shakespeare); Mud, Springtime, Uncle Vanya (Columbia Stages). www.camilladely.com
ELMER MARTINEZ (Lighting Designer): is a Puerto Rican- Dominican American interdisciplinary working theater artist. Born in Lowell, MA he developed in the spoken word,theater and street dance communities via the local art scene. He completed his BFA in Theater Studies focused on Lighting Design with a minor in Dance in 2019. Elmer splits his time between New York City and Boston as a freelance Lighting Designer/Technician for dance companies, theater and festivals including, "The Yard '', New York Theater Workshop, Columbia University, and special events between New York and Massachusetts.His stage work centers around aesthetically, authentically- bridging street dance and theater cultures. Some of his recent work include designs for VLA Dance via the Boston Dancemakers Residency 2021,Company One, The Lyric Stage Company of Boston as well as The Boston Globe. He is excited to be making his debut at The Kitchen!
JULIAN CROCAMO (Sound Designer): is a composer, audio engineer and sound designer based in Ithaca, NY. His work has recently appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (The Golfer, with Twilight Theatre Company); Dayton, Ohio's Human Race Theatre Company (An Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help); and of course at The Kitchen Theatre Company (The Thanksgiving Play, The Chinese Lady). Other credits include The Huntington Theatre Company's audio play Sherlock in the Fog.
Media
The Ding Dongs
Teaser Trailer
The Ding Dongs:
In Rehearsals
