AND THE ANSWER IS…
written by Gina Femia
directed by Estefanía Fadul
musical guest Henry Ryeder
sound design by Emilie Weibel
And the answer is… is a commission of the Radio Roots Writers’ Group
FEATURING
Alex...................................................................................Akyiaa Wilson
Julie................................................................................Alisha Espinosa
Janelle........................................................................Jacqueline Guillen
Warren.........................................................................Reynaldo Piniella
Gina Femia's work has been seen/developed at Goodman Theatre, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theater, Northern Stage, Page73, and New Georges, among others. Selected honors include The Kilroys List, Leah Ryan Prize, Doric Wilson Award, Otis Guernsey New Voices Award and the Neukom Award in Playwriting. Gina's work has been nominated for a Drama League Award and a New York Innovative Theater Award. Gina is a current Core Writer with The Playwrights' Center, and an alum of EST Youngblood, Page73's Interstate 73, Pipeline Theatre’s PlayLab, New Georges' Audrey Residency, the Ingram New Play Lab and Parsnip Ship's Radio Roots Writers' Group. Gina is a New Georges Affiliated Artist and has received residencies with Page73, Powerhouse, NTI at the O’Neill, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Fresh Ground Pepper. MFA, Sarah Lawrence College (Lipkin Prize in Playwriting). www.femiagina.com
Estefanía Fadul (she/her) | is a Colombian-American director and one of the incoming co-Artistic Directors at Ensemble Studio Theatre. She has developed new plays and musicals off-Broadway and regionally, and is a member of the leadership circle of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice (CPCP), the Drama League Board of Directors, New Georges Affiliated Artist, Latinx Theatre Commons advisory committee, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and SDC. B.A. Vassar College. www.estefaniafadul.com
Henry Ryeder | is Brooklyn-based artist and musician raised on the lush melodic midcentury popular songs of Henry Mancini, the Beatles, and Burt Bacharach. He later grew to love the compositions of avant-garde artists in electronic music, from the mind-bending classical compositions of Wendy Carlos and Suzanne Ciani to the hyperrealism of SOPHIE and Hannah Diamond. His newest album, Tweepocalypse, is now available everywhere. www.henryyuliano.com
Emilie Weibel (she/her) | is a composer-performer and vocalist. Her work is rooted in communal and intimate improvisation, field recording and sound production. Her compositional work involves recording and collaging found objects, raw vocals, room tones, environmental sounds and synthesis, to produce new architectures within a feminist and non-hierarchical narrative. For the Vivian Maier exhibit sound-walk, Emilie used recycled and new sound material recorded in New York City between the start of the pandemic and the summer of 2021. www.emilieweibel.com
Akyiaa Wilson (she/her) | is a native of Brooklyn NY and has participated in the development of many new works in New York’s thriving off and off-off Broadway scene at places such as Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ars Nova, The Lark, Clubbed Thumb and Primary Stages. She was last seen in recently published Collective Noun as part of the Corkscrew Festival. Other favorites include Mike Iveson Jr’s experimental The Tear Drinkers at the Kitchen, Charly Simpson’s Hottentotted at the Tank, Helen Banner's choral play Icons/Idols, at the New Ohio and a turn as Olga in immersive interpretation of Chekov’s Three Sisters. She also had the good fortune to be a part of the company of the RSC’s Julius Caesar at BAM, an unforgettable experience. A former Bat at The Flea Theater, she appeared in the world premiere of Girls In Trouble, and as Clytemnestra in the New York premiere of the epic These Seven Sicknesses as well many weeks of #Serials@the Flea. Next up this Spring, Kissing the Floor, an adaptation of Antigone by Ellen McLaughlin, produced by One Year Lease at Theater Row. She is a member artist at the Ensemble Studio Theater and holds a B.F.A. from Syracuse University. www.akyiaa-wilson.com
Alisha Espinosa (she/her) | is an Afro-Boricua actor-playwright and Producing Artistic Director for the Latinx Playwrights Circle. She is a 2022 Audrey Resident at New Georges and a recipient of a Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment Grant with the Latinx Playwrights Circle. She was a member of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group (’21-22), a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill 2021 NPC (The Language of the Unheard), and commissioned for the 48 Hours in El Bronx 2021 Digital Festival. Her plays have been developed and/or presented at LATEA, Primary Stages, The Drama League, PACE University, Clubbed Thumb, and Step1 Theatre Project. A selection of her work can be found on the New Play Exchange Network. Select Acting Credits: blooms (EST), A Skeptic & a Bruja (Urbanite), Seize the King (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP Theatre), Alma (Old Globe), Hamlet (Stage One), Shakespeare the Remix (Capital Rep), Much Ado About Nothing (KY Shakespeare). www.alishaespinosa.com | @la.espi | MFA UMKC
Jacqueline Guillen (she/her) | Ni De Aqui, Ni De Allá, Jacqui was Born And Raised In Border Towns Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico And Brownsville, Texas. TV/Film: Orange Is The New Black; Search Party; Blue Bloods; Bull; and The Good Cop. “Crabs In A Barrel” currently on HBOMax. Theater: I Wanna Fuck Like Romeo And Juliet; Mancave; 72 Miles To Go…; Then They Forgot About The Rest. She’s a two time finalist for The Nosotros’ Monologue Slam hosted by NBC. www.jacqueline-guillen.com
Reynaldo Piniella (he/him) | Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man and Trouble in Mind. Off-Broadway: The Death of the Last Black Man…, Venus (Signature), The Skin of Our Teeth (TFANA), Lockdown (Rattlestick), The Space Between the Letters (The Public/UTR), The Best of Theatreworks (Working Theater) and his solo show Black and Blue (Ars Nova's ANT FEST.) TCG Fox Fellow, New Victory LabWorks artist, AFO Solo Collective member, Civilians R&D Group alum. @ReynaldoRey. www.reynaldopiniella.com
Bennett Lin (he/him) | is an NYC-based Audio Engineer & Sound Designer who graduated from SUNY New Paltz’s Class of ‘21. Sound Designer for How To Get To 304 & Stop Kiss. A1 for Bloom Bloom Pow. A2 for A Man of No Importance. Audio Intern for Mister Miss America. Outside of theatre, Bennett is also an electronic Hip-Hop/RnB artist that releases music under the name Bobby Chaniel. Check out his work at www.bobbychaniel.com
The Parsnip Ship created the Radio Roots Writers' Group in 2019 to support dynamic playwrights interested in re-engaging with playwriting through audio-focused storytelling. Much like all programming on The Parsnip Ship’s platform, Radio Roots seeks to cultivate distinct new theater artists by providing resources for the development of innovative and accessible stories for radio drama. We empower our playwrights to explore the capacities of radio drama and re-define the sound of their stories. After three years of development and pandemic delays, Gina Femia's And the answer is… is the second presentation of work from the inaugural cohort.
THE PARSNIP SHIP CREW
Artistic Director + Host Iyvon E. (she/her)
Managing Director Katy Donnelly (she/her)
Associate Artistic Director Al Parker (they/them)
Digital Operations Director Todd Kirkland (he/him)
Special Projects Director Jesse Manning (he/him)
Development & Marketing Coordinator Olivia DiPasquale (she/her)
Sound Engineer/Editor Luke DiCola (he/him)
Sound Operator Bennett Lin (he/him)
RADIO ROOTS WRITERS’ GROUP
Dramaturg Gabriella Steinberg (she/her)
Sonic Dramaturg Espii Sadah Proctor (she/her)
Coordinator & Writers’ Room Facilitator Al Parker (they/them)
Writers’ Room Facilitator Iyvon E. (she/her)
Writers Amara Brady (she/her), Javier Rivera DeBruin (they/them),
Gina Femia, and Nina Ki (xe/she/they)
The Parsnip Ship is produced with Business Lunch Productions.
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