WELCOME TO
BROAD STROKES:
STAGED READINGS HONORING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Program
Welcome!
WTF Team
She/Hers/Mine
by Vanessa Garcia
performed by Vanessa Garcia
Reservations
by Katie Thayer
performed by Liz Bernstein & Berry Ayers
Where is this America?
by Monciella "Sugar" Elder
performed by Monciella "Sugar" Elder
Halo-Halo
by Michelle Pascua
performed by Marietta Braze & Marina Kay
I'm Not Exactly Sure What You're Hoping To Hear
by CK Thompson
performed by Berry Ayers
Curbed
by Rachael Carnes
performed by Melina Kay & Joe Llorens
And I
by Ghina Fawaz
performed by Ghina Fawaz
Quiver
by Bethany Dickens Assaf
performed by Liz Bernstein & Joe Llorens
Belonging
by Dina Najjar
performed by Jane Soliman
Ending the Streak
by Debra A. Cole
performed by Amy Barnickel, Ghina Fawaz, & Kristin Marksbury
Join the Club
by Nancy Rose Ostinato
performed by Susanne Potrock
A Woman's World
by Jodi Antenor
performed by Jodi Antenor
Thank You!
WTF Team & Actors
ACTORS
in order of appearance
actors who are also writers are listed in the Writer section
Liz Bernstein
(she/her)
Liz is a Florida local with a background in theatre, writing, and counseling. Her day job is helping people figure out what they want to be when they grow up (she's a career counselor at a local college). Most recently, Liz has performed with Whiskey Theatre Company, Phoenix Tears Theatre, and Gemini Blvd a capella group.
Berry Ayers
(she/her)
Berry Ayers (she/her) is a transgender musical theatre artist, musical director, director, choreographer, writer, and model, and the creative force behind the character Beneva Fruitville. Regional credits include ZaZa/Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, Miss Deep South and Miss Bible Belt for three years in the musical Pageant and Edna in Hairspray. Her recent comedic tour of the famed Ringling Museum as part of their Ringling After Dark series made national publications including The New York Times and she was the entertainment for the 2020 American Theatre Critics Association annual conference where she was lauded by Frank Rizzo, theatre critic for Variety, as “...such great fun!” BenevaFruitville.com
Marietta Braze
(she/her)
Marietta is... complicated. An analyst by day, an engineer by degree, but an actor at heart, she has performed in various musical stage productions at community theaters in Central Florida and sung for several years in the choir with Encore Performing Arts. She has also acted in locally produced independent film projects and web series, as well as commercials. Marietta is excited to be a part of this project and especially thrilled to actually play a role specific to her heritage!
Melina Kay
(she/her)
Melina is an Orlando native with a background in theatre, music, film, and martial arts. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Theatre Studies with a minor in Sociology at the University of Central Florida. Melina has performed at The Dr. Phillips Center, The Orlando Fringe Festival, Orlando Shakes, and Halo Outpost Discovery Tour. As a first generation Filipino-American, Melina is really looking forward to sharing her culture with audiences in the play Halo-Halo.
Joe Llorens
(he/him)
Joe is an actor, improviser, and producer. He is honored to be working with Whiskey Theatre Factory on this project. His past credits include Freddy in "Picasso At The Lapin Agile" (Mad Cow), Dr. Mendoza in "Destiny of Desire" (Garden Theatre), and Detective Cole in "Stop Kiss" (Studio Theatre At Tierra Del Sol), among others. He is the creator of Let's Get Real: https://www.facebook.com/lgrcomedy
Jane Soliman
(she/her)
Jane, an Egyptian American actor with extensive training from Truthful Acting Studios and SAK University, has been in films, TV, live performances, improv shows, commercials, and print. She is very proud of a film she most recently starred in, Courage to Stand, which was published on Amazon Prime. She has worked as casting director, director, producer, and story editor. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work again with fellow artists Dina Najjar and Kate Murray. https://janesoliman.wixsite.com/janesoliman
Amy Barnickel
(she/her)
Amy Barnickel - UCF lecturer in writing and rhetoric by day, freelance editor by night and weekend, and actor/artist/singer by whenever she can get a gig. Thrilled to be a part of this amazing group!
Kristin Marksbury
(she/her)
Kristin is elated and honored to be lending her voice to such an important project and would like to thank Kate and all the ladies of WTF for making it possible. You may recognize Kristin from the hit Fringe show Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Kristin is a two-time Best Actress and one-time Best Supporting Actress award recipient from The Breakthrough Theatre of Winter Park where she was able to play one of her dream roles. (Sissy in “Come Back to the 5 and Dime Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean”) Aside from theatre, Kristin’s favorite things are the way music makes her feel, her pets, and a good comedy.
Susanne Potrock
(she/her)
As a self-proclaimed ‘late bloomer’, Susanne left her creative life in Orlando - doing stage work, independent films and commercial - and is now navigating the “non-competitive” acting landscape in LA. A recent empty nester – 2 boys, one working in SF and the younger a Freshman in college – she is hoping to gain traction with her career so her husband of 28 years can finally become a stay-at-home dad to their 2 yellow labs!!
MONOLOGUE WRITERS
Vanessa Garcia
(she/her)
Vanessa is a multidisciplinary writer and creator working as a screenwriter, novelist, playwright, and journalist. She has written for Sesame Street, Caillou, and is a consultant on Dora the Explorer.
Monciella “Sugar” Elder
(she/her)
Sugar wrote and directed several plays which have been performed nationally and internationally. She started acting at the age of five and telling stories still remains one of her greatest passions.
CK Thompson
(she/her)
Caroline Thompson is a playwright and director from Columbus, OH. Graduating from Wittenberg University in 2016 with a theatre degree with a focus in playwrighting, she has written several plays, and has been commissioned to write multiple scripts for educational theatre groups. Her work can be found on her profile on The Playwright's Center, and the New Play Exchange.
Dina Najjar
(she/her)
Dina is an award-winning actor and filmmaker. Her comedy pilot "Casting Josie" is a Semifinalist in the 2021 Screencraft TV Pilot Script Competition. She recently won Best Supporting Actress at the 2020 Tampa Underground Film Festival for her portrayal of Raven in the feature film, "The Christmas Ride", which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Learn more about Dina at www.DinaNajjar.com
Ghina Fawaz
(she/her)
Ghina is a junior at Rollins College, double majoring in Psychology and Theatre with a double emphasis in performance and directing. She is an aspiring playwright and has had her work featured around Central Florida, including at the Orlando Fringe!
Nancy Rose Ostinato
(she/her)
Nancy is a Central Florida playwright who is absolutely thrilled to be a part of Whiskey Theatre Factory's production of Broad Strokes. Her short plays have been produced on stages throughout Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, performed online, and published in a collection of the best plays of the year from an international playwriting competition. Her comedy "The REAL Florida Project" is currently available online in the 2021 SNOWDANCE 10-Minute Comedy Festival. She has been published in several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, including the newest one which will be released in April: Be You: 101 Stories of Affirmation, Determination, and Female Empowerment.
play & poetry writers
Katie Thayer
(she/her)
Katie is an actor, improviser, and playwright living in Central Florida. She received her BFA in Theatre from UCF with a minor in Creative Writing. As a Playwright, many of her works have been performed by Playwrights Round Table and at the Orlando Fringe. Her 10 Minute play, Graceland, can be found in The Best Ten- Minute Plays 2014.
Michelle Pascua
(she/her)
Michelle is a New York City native and currently resides in Celebration, Florida. Her first play, Single Rider, was the winner of Theatre Odyssey’s 15th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival (2020) as well as the Bonita Springs Stage It! 10 Minute Plays Competition (2020). Michelle thrives on The Great British Bake Off and documentaries about serial killers. She firmly believes dark chocolate mousse cake serves as a gateway to enlightenment.
Rachael Carnes
(she/her)
Playwright Rachael Carnes received a 2020 Oregon Literary Fellowship and has had productions of her work across the U.S., U.K., the Middle East, Canada and Asia, with invitations to develop work at the Inge Theatre Festival, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Playwriting Intensive, the Midwestern Dramatists Center Conference, the Mid-America Theater Conference, the American Association for Theatre in Higher Education New Play Development Series, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop, the Cambridge U.K. WriteON Festival and the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival. Her work is seen in many literary journals. She and her family live in Oregon. RachaelCarnes.com
Debra A. Cole
(she/her)
Debra is a Kansas adult and children’s playwright who strives to understand human connections through her writings. Her pieces have been performed all over the United States, Poland, and Australia.
Bethany Dickens Assaf
(she/her)
Bethany is the Literary Manager for MadLab Theatre of Columbus, a teaching artist with Central Florida Community Arts, and a founding member of both the Fragmented Play Festival in Cincinnati and the Whiskey Theatre Factory of Orlando, and is a member of Next Stage Playwrights Cincinnati. Her work brings a theatrical and speculative approach to relationship dramas, with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ characters, queer feminism, and the American Midwest. In the past two years, her short plays have received over fifty productions across the country, including: 4: an Evening of Short Works in Orlando, Florida. Her first full-length, Exit Wound, was a finalist for the Actors Guild of Parkersburg’s "Giving Voice” initiative and her second, The Consciousness, was performed at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival and Tampa Bay Theatre Festival (Best Full-Length Play). In 2020, her most recent full-length, Dark, Dark, Dark was workshopped at the Mid-America Theatre Conference and Playwrights’ Round Table. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Jodi Antenor
(she/her)
Jodi is an actress and playwright with more than 16 years of experience in the entertainment industry. At the age of 18, she moved to Florida and was immediately welcomed with three back to back hurricanes. Ever the optimist, she stayed in Florida where she went on to perform in a multitude of different shows and parades at several different theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and the Nickelodeon Hotel. As a part of the development team for the Whiskey Theater Factory, Jodi hopes to create a community where playwrights and actors feel welcomed, confident, and free to explore their creativity. In her free time, Jodi loves to play softball and travel to new destinations.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Our Upcoming Events
Women’s Playwriting Workshop in partnership with CFC Arts (March 30)
WTF at Orlando Fringe (May 17-30)
TheatreRx (starting April 18)
Native Land Acknowledgements