Gallery
Take a look at what I've been doing recently! Below, you'll find photos and details from my latest shows. Click to explore further!
Matilda Jr.
Directed: by Sophia DiStefano
Location: Hidden Pond Day Camp
Dates: July 2024
Synopsis: Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the "revolting children" who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson. Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence... and special powers! She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however – the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace!
Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda JR. is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.
Peter Pan (1954)
Directed: Ruthie Pincus
Assistant Flight Captain & Harness Supervisor : Sophia DiStefano
Dates: March 2024
Synopsis: Based on J.M. Barrie's classic tale and featuring an unforgettable score by Morris "Moose" Charlap and Jule Styne with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Peter Pan is one of the most beloved and frequently performed family favorites of all time. This high-flying Tony Award-winning musical has been performed around the world and delighted audiences for 60 years. Peter and his mischievous fairy sidekick, Tinkerbell, visit the nursery of the Darling children late one night and, with a sprinkle of pixie dust, begin a magical journey across the stars that none of them will ever forget. In the adventure of a lifetime, the travelers come face to face with a ticking crocodile, a fierce Indian tribe, a band of bungling pirates and, of course, the villainous Captain Hook. Featuring the iconic songs, "I'm Flying," "I've Gotta Crow," "I Won't Grow Up" and "Never Never Land," and a rousing book full of magic, warmth and adventure, Peter Pan is the perfect show for the child in all of us... who dreamed of soaring high and never growing up. Peter Pan is a dream come true for theatres looking to spread their technical wings and entertain countless families.
Willy Wonka Jr.
Directed: Elise Siegel
Choreography: Amy Dolce
Props Designer: Sophia DiStefano
Dates: July 2023
Synopsis: Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, and he must also guard an abandoned egg that's been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!
Willy Wonka Jr.
Directed: by Sophia DiStefano
Location: Hidden Pond Day Camp
Dates: July 2023
Synopsis: The delicious adventures of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory light up the stage in this captivating adaptation of Roald Dahl's fantastical tale. Featuring the enchanting songs from the 1971 film, in addition to a host of fun new songs, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR. is a scrumdidilyumptious musical guaranteed to delight everyone's sweet tooth. Now in the updated Binder format! Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR. follows enigmatic candy manufacturer Willy Wonka as he stages a contest by hiding golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whomever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats, but the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket, who takes the tour in the company of his equally amiable grandfather. The children must learn to follow Mr. Wonka's rules in the factory — or suffer the consequences.
An Excerpt from The Revolutionists
By Lauren Gunderson
Director: Sophia DiStefano
Location: Bordeau Black Box Theater
Dates: December 9th-11th, 2022
Synopsis: The Revolutionists is a new play about four very real women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe De Gouge, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, loose their heads and try to beat back the extremist insanity in the Paris of 1793. What was a hopeful revolution for the people is now sinking into hyper violent hypocritical male rhetoric. However will modern audiences relate.This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world. It’s a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection. . .that ends in a song and a scaffold.
Rebound
By Allegra Peres
Synopsis: Rebound by Allegra Peres. Presented by Madonna / Whore Productions. Exploring the extreme need for male validation through the lens of being bottlenecked within the Madonna/whore complex, Rebound follows 21-year-old Marisol Goldenstein wasting away in her London studio flat. Dry and waiting for the next alcohol order to arrive, Marisol Goldenstein reminisces on the sexual encounters that have marred her early twenties. A hybrid of one-woman show and memory play, the piece bombards both Marisol and the audience with the question of just how important sex and men are to a young girl's sense of identity.
Men on Boats
By Jacklyn Backhaus
Director: Christina Duarte
Assistant Directors / Dramaturgs: Sophia DiStefano and Serena Weiss
Digital Playbill: https://www.mmm.edu/departments/theatre-arts/men-on-boats-digital-playbill/
Synopsis: Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. MEN ON BOATS is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a crew of insane yet loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.