TODAY’S AMÉRICA has been selected to be part of the Performance Block Ten-Minute Play Festival as part of The International Human Rights Art Movement Festival 2024 with a performance on Dec 9 at 7pm at The Tank, 312 W. 36th Street, NYC!
Tickets are on sale now!
https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/ihraftenminuteplayfest
Become a Supporter!
Would you like to actively participate in the development of an important new theatrical experience that addresses one of the most challenging issues we face today?
We need to raise a modest amount of money for this production -- only $2,000 in total. Your donation will go to help pay for the stipends for the cast and crew, props, sets, and other production costs -- all the things we need to stage this show!
“Today's América” tackles the controversial yet urgent issue of gun control in this country by presenting a behind-the-scenes battle between a Gen Z Congresswoman and disabled shooting survivor, América Jonze, and a Boomer career politician over legislation to curb gun violence.
Your donation will help to ensure this important and timely subject matter is given a voice and another forum for meaningful discussion.
Please visit the fundraising campaign on the Fractured Atlas website to contribute to this important new work:
https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/lightning-house-players/campaigns/6745
Thank you!
“Today’s América” is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of “Today’s América” must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only. The value of rewards varies. See donation page for details. Any contribution above that amount is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Logline
When América Jonze was seven years old, she covered herself in her classmate’s blood and played dead to survive a school shooting. Despite being shot and left paralyzed from the waist down, she grows up to become the first disabled, female member of Gen Z elected to U.S. Congress. Determined to prevent future tragedies, she must face the greatest obstacle of her life: her fellow politicians. "Today's América" pits Gen Z Congresswoman and disabled shooting survivor, América Jonze, against a Boomer career politician in a behind-the-scenes battle on Capitol Hill over legislation to curb gun violence.
Cast
Annie Hartkemeyer*(América Jonze) (she/they) is an actor, director, and curious spirit based in New York. She has appeared onstage at The Actors Studio, The Harold Clurman Lab Theater, LAByrinth, HERE, the Cornelia Street Café, KC Dunaj (Bratislava, Slovakia), among many others. She has co-devised and performed in work at the New Ohio Theater (NY) where she worked with Téa Artistry as the resident company for the 2022 -- 2023 season. Annie recently appeared in the pilot for America Jonze. Commercial: Annie and her real life partner are the current faces of Fresh Direct; Voiceover: Boll & Branch - Fall, Holiday, and Evergreen national campaigns; Clinique; Film: Looking for the Jackalope (Amazon). WebSeries: Tech Bettys. Annie trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where she has directed, taught, and coached. She directed and developed the movement piece 'Alone Together' at the Stella Adler Studio in New York. IG: @anniefeelsthing
Mark Coffin*(William G. Bowman) (he/him) most recently appeared as Sidney Bruhl in “Deathtrap” for Constellation Stage and Screen and “Confidence (And The Speech)” a new play written by Susan Lambert Hatem and directed by Hannah Ryan (Hamilton, An American in Paris), as Vice President Walter ‘Fritz’ Mondale in a limited engagement at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York. Previously, Mr. Coffin worked in the company of “The Cake” at Manhattan Theater Club as understudy for the role of Tim. “The Cake”, with star Debra Jo Rupp (“That ’70s Show”, “This Is Us”) was directed by MTC Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and written by Bekah Brunstetter (producer and writer, “This Is Us”) and played New York City Center’s Stage One. During the Covid shutdown of live theater, Artistic Director John Tucker asked Mark to become a member of Rep:Unlocked, a London based “modern-day theatre company providing actors with a platform to live their art through performance, rehearsal, workshops and directed play-readings.” Mr. Coffin starred in (and co-adapted with Heidi Mueller Smith,) the world premiere of “A Christmas Carol”, a one-person performance also directed by Ms. Smith. In 2020, Mark negotiated with AEA and Off The Wall Theater to stream his filmed closing night performance of “A Christmas Carol” for charity, raising funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, The Actors Fund, and The Young Center For Immigrant Children’s Rights. “A Christmas Carol” remains a project close to his heart. Mark studied with Academy Award winner Sandy Dennis at HB Studios and attended Master Classes with Cotter Smith. Mark Coffin has performed in concert internationally from Vancouver, BC to St. Petersburg, Russia (The Hermitage) and throughout the United States (Carnegie Hall). He is a proud member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA, and The Actors Center, a MAC Award nominee, and two-time Backstage Bistro Award winner. Mark is represented by Dulcina Eisen and Associates. markcoffin.com
*These actors are members of Actors’ Equity and appear in this Equity-approved Showcase courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.
Production Staff
Zareh Artinian (Writer, Director) (he/him) M.F.A., Dramatists Guild Member, is an award-winning playwright and published author who has had three shows produced in and around Boston, Mass. Zareh is grateful that “Today’s América” has been selected to be part of the International Human Rights Arts Festival 2024. Shattered! (formerly The Glassblower’s Daughter) with music and lyrics by Kelvyn Koning, a full, two-act musical, was awarded first place in the 33rd Annual Jackie White Memorial Playwriting Contest and will be produced in the Columbia Entertainment Company’s upcoming 2024 – 2025 season. His script for his current work-in-progress, América Jonze, was named a Second Rounder in the Austin Film Festival 2024, received Honorable Mention in the Big Apple Film Festival 2023, and has placed in several other national writing contests. He also created an original translation and adaptation of The Canterbury Tales: A Childe’s Tale as a commissioned piece of children’s theatre for the Revels of Watertown, Mass., and wrote the book for Beneath the Skin (music and lyrics by Melissa Carubia), a musical commissioned by Athena Louise Hyacinth Productions to tell the story of a woman dealing with a mental health crisis. Zareh has published over a dozen short stories for middle school readers and additional works for the educational marketplace. His work appeals to both children and adults. Zareh believes that theatre and the arts can be a transformative force that fosters empathy and prompts conversations about social justice.
Leela S. Munsiff (Rehearsal Stage Manager, Disability Consultant) (she/they) is a queer, brown, disabled Stage Manager and Director committed to creating revolutionary theatre with an approach of collective care. Recent credits include Stories Will Not Mend This Broken World at The Brick Aux, Cafe Utopia with Notch Theatre Company, The Schmidt Sisters at The Chain Theatre, Spoonie Stories at Queens Theatre, Death of a Driver at The Chain Theatre, Mr. Parent at Boston Playwrights' Theatre. Directing credits include On The Verge: or the Geography of Yearning, First Mates, and The Wolves. Beyond the stage, Leela is a linguist specializing in endangered language documentation, a singer-songwriter, and the owner of Made by Leela. They are also a signatory of the Theatre Workers for a Ceasefire statement and an active member of the PACBI Working Group.
Marci Diamond, M.P.A., CPT, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, (Intimacy Choreographer) (she/her) has served as Intimacy, Fight and/or Movement Director for Moonbox Productions (Twelfth Night, Shipwrecked!, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tufts University (Jihad Jones, Much Ado, We’re Here), Merrimack College (Twelfth Night, The Moors), Misfit Artists (Othello, Jeckyll & Hyde), Borderline Players (The Girl on a Train), Walnut Hill School (Orpheus in the Underworld), Boston Latin (The Play That Goes Wrong, Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea), and the film, “Mill Girls,” among others. Marci has trained with TIE, IDI, ICC, SAFD & NECCA, and is also a professional actor, circus performer/director, and trainer/consultant on violence prevention and intersectional trauma-informed practice, in academic, professional, and community settings, formerly chairing the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s Advisory Council.
Rob Aronowitz (Fight Coordinator) (he/him) is a New York City based Performer, Director, Fight/Stunt/Intimacy Coordinator, and Certified Fight Director. He is the Associate Chair of Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy as well as a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and the Society of American Fight Directors. His body of work can be seen globally from TV, to Film, to the Broadway stage. Rob is also the Co-Founder of Neutral Chaos, a company that offers choreographic solutions, private combat/intimacy instruction, and masterclass training opportunities in the NYC area and beyond.
Sun Roller (Set Designer, Property Master) (she/her) is a Chickasaw creative and producer raised in Oklahoma and based in NYC. She had the privilege of working on FX/Hulu’s Reservation Dogs, The Sensitive Kind, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow, and Peacock’s Poker Face. Sun Roller approaches every project from her deep roots of spirituality, intentionality, and connection to nature.
Andrej “Andy” Kasana (Stage crew) (he/him) is an undergraduate student at The New School (Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts), pursuing a BA in Screen Studies and Film Production (class of ’26). Born and raised in Bratislava, Slovakia, he started crewing on independent drum-and-bass music video sets at age 16. He participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program (2022), with a specialization in art criticism and avant-garde theory, and received certification from the NYU Tisch Industry Essentials online course (2023), which allowed him to write, direct, and edit his first short film, “Hold Still.” He is currently an intern at MOMI (Museum of the Moving Image), and besides film, enjoys reading Ocean Vuong poetry and perusing local flea markets.
Barbare Sturua (Stage crew) (she/her) is a 22-year-old aspiring writer and filmmaker based in New York City, originally from Tbilisi, Georgia. At 16, she received a full-ride scholarship to a private boarding school in the U.K., where she pursued A Levels and spent two years traveling around Europe. Currently, she studies Journalism and New Media Studies with a Film minor at St. Joseph’s University New York, supported by an academic scholarship. In her free time, Barbare explores digital and film photography, writes for her campus newspaper, The Joe, and publishes theater reviews for The Front Row Center. To put it in a nutshell, she tries to be bold, be curious, and travel to faraway places, drawing inspiration to create art that captures the essence of adventure and discovery.
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For more information about Today’s América contact Zareh Artinian at zareh.artinian@gmail.com
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