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Free of Charge
This event will run approximately 60 minutes including a short talkback with the playwrights following the performances.
presented by 32BJ Training Fund and Working Theater
Plays by:
Deanna Tinglin
John Keane
Anthony Delfi
Peter Mergel
Join us for the final performance of plays written by 32BJ SEIU playwrights completing the TheaterWorks! program.
TheaterWorks! teaches playwriting and performance to working people. In sixteen-week class, students write and rehearse short theatrical pieces based on their work experiences, and perform them at an off-Broadway venue with professional actors and directors. This year, the class and performances have moved to digital classrooms, and we invite you to join us in the virtual theater.
Playwright Name: Anthony Delfi
Name of Play: This Thanksgiving
Tell us what your play is about in 3 sentences or less: 3 Generations of men share a single holiday and a sense of significant loss.
What was the inspiration behind your piece? Years of endless holiday banter.
When did you start writing plays? 5 years ago
What is one thing about you that surprises other people? If I tell you it won’t be a surprise anymore.
Anything else you’d like to share with our audiences? It’s ok to not know things.
Playwright: John Keane
Name of Play: Mo Ghrá
Tell us what your play is about in 3 sentences or less:
Three sisters struggle to navigate the challenges brought on by the current pandemic, and those they have been living with for years. Over a zoom call.
What was the inspiration behind your piece?
I was inspired by the current state of the world and personal family circumstances.
When did you start writing plays?
I wrote my first play three years ago.
What is one thing about you that surprises other people?
That I have enrolled in CUNY Hostos in the Bronx two years ago after being out of school since 1991.
Anything else you’d like to share with our audiences?
My involvement in the Theater Works class with Joe Roland has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience. I wish the class was longer.
Playwright Name: Deanna Tinglin
Name of piece: The Job
Tell us what your play is about in 3 sentences or less:
Bobby and Jeff have been friends forever and share a mysterious past. Bobby is the guy that you bring home to meet the parents. Jeff, not so much. Jeff has one last get rich quick scheme that he tries to get Bobby in on. Can this be the one that pulls Bobby back in?
What was the inspiration behind your piece?
My inspiration for this piece was a literal flash into my current life. With Covid 19 so strong all around us, it made me really see and understand people I have known for years in a different light. Continuing relationships that uplift me and leaving relationships that are not edifying in the past.
When did you start writing plays?
I started writing when I was in elementary; mainly small things like poems and quick stories. Then I stopped for a few years, and then I started back again in high school, and continued in college. I was a Double Major in Architecture and Theater Stage Design.
What is one thing about you that surprises other people?
I am Deanna of All trades. I like trying new things all of the time and I am a very fast learner. So from hair and makeup, to set design and construction, I can do it all.
Playwright: Peter Mergel
Name of Play: Brothers Keeper
Tell us what your play is about in 3 sentences or less:
Two brothers use courage and love to reconcile their differences in an unusual way.
What was the inspiration behind your piece? The death of my younger brother.
When did you start writing plays? 6 yrs. ago
What is one thing about you that surprises other people? I have been married for over 30 yrs.
Anything else you’d like to share with our audiences? My other hobbies in addition to playwriting include cooking and watching sports.
TheaterWorks! is a Working Theater program offered to corporations and unions as a resource for their employees and members. Each class is tailored to meet the specific needs of the host organization and aims to:
Since its inception, the program has served workers at District Council 37, Transport Workers Local 100, Social Services Employees Local 371, Building Service Employees Local 32BJ, Communication Workers of America Local 1180 Retirees and to members of UNITE! employed by Amalgamated Life Insurance.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation New York Theater Program in partnership with the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
The Axe-Houghton Foundation
The Howard Gilman Foundation
The One World Fund
The New York Community Trust
The Shubert Foundation
the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature
public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, with special thanks to Queens Council Member Rory Lancman
SEASON SPONSORS:
PLATINUM SPONSOR:
MagnaCare
GOLD SPONSORS:
Cigna
EmblemHealth
Empire BlueCross BlueShield
SILVER SPONSORS:
Archer, Byington, Glennon & Levine LLP
CWA Local 1180
Healthplex
The Segal Company
