when last we flew premiered at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, playing 5 performances in August 2010 and 4 additional performances in September 2010 as part of the FringeNYC Encores Series featuring the cast and creative team below.

Creative Team

HARRISON DAVID RIVERS (Playwright) is a Kansas born New York based playwright. His full-length plays include, when last we flew (2011 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Play, 2010 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award Winner, The Advocate’s Top 10 LGBTQ Fringe 2010), “lydie, or (s)he who looks inside, awakes”, the bandaged place, And She Said, He Said, I Said Yes, “we are misquoted texts, made right when you say us”, FELL and Prophet’s Wife. His work has been developed and produced at The American Airlines Theater on Broadway, Lincoln Center, Atlantic Theater, the Lucille Lortel Theater, Atlantic Stage 2, New York Theatre Workshop, Second Stage, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, HERE Arts Center, the 45th Street Theater, South Oxford Space, Dixon Place, 3LD Art & Technology Center and the Sundance Theater Lab on Governor’s Island. Harrison has received a Van Lier fellowship (New Dramtists), an Emerging Artist of Color Fellowship (NYTW) and residencies with Freedom Train, NYTW/Dartmouth and Urban Arts Partnership. He is a member of at play, The Movement Theater Company, the Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, The Old Vic New Voices Network and a NYTW Usual Suspect. MFA, Charles Mee’s playwriting program at Columbia University.

COLETTE ROBERT (Director) is a Los Angeles native currently living and working in New York. 

Directing credits include: Serial.Black.Face (Culture Project/Women Center Stage), Crawl and (2)11 in “Gentrifusion” (The Red Fern Theatre Company), The Eternal Return (Horse Trade Theater Group/The Fire This Time Festival), when last we flew (FringeNYC, Winner of Fringe Excellence Awards in Performance and Playwriting, 2011 GLAAD Media Award: Outstanding Off-Off-Broadway Play), Stockton (EST/Youngblood), and Released (Culture Project/Women Center Stage).

Assistant directing credits include: Urge for Going (Public LAB, dir. Hal Brooks), Father Comes Home from the Wars Parts 1, 8, & 9 (Public LAB, dir. Jo Bonney), Angela's Mixtape (New Georges/Hip Hop Theater Festival, dir. Liesl Tommy), and The Good Negro (The Public, dir. Liesl Tommy).

Colette is a member of At Play, the Old Vic/New Voices Network, Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and was the Public Theater’s 2009 Van Lier Directing Fellow.  She has developed new work with The Old Vic, Ma-Yi, Second Generation (2g), New York Theatre Workshop, Sundance Theatre Lab, and NYU.  

M.A., RADA and King’s College, London. B.A., Yale University. www.coletterobert.com

DRD THEATRICALS / ANTHONY FRANCAVILLA (Producer) was recently described by Bloomberg News as an, “impresario.” Artistically his productions have been lauded as, “nasty, weird and uncomfortably funny” (Oliver Parker, Time Out NY) and, “thoughtful and sensitive,” (When Last We Flew, Time Out NY).

His producing credits include Oliver Parker (starring John Larroquette and Johanna Day), When Last We Flew (GLAAD Media Award - Outstanding NY Theater, 4 Stars, Time Out NY), And She Said, He Said, I Said Yes (Joe’s Pub), The Living Newspaper (Joe's Pub, American Repertory Theatre), Erotic Broadway at the Triad (starring Brenda Braxton, Nick Smoke, Jennifer Cody and John Selya), The Importance of Marrying Wells (Best Play, Theatre Web), The Fartiste (Outstanding Musical, Fringe NYC 2006), Semi-Permanent (Outstanding Solo-Show, Fringe NYC 2007), Platforms (Outstanding Choreography, NYMF 2007) and Fell (FringeNYC 2008; 4-stars, Time Out NY).

Anthony spent one year as Assistant General Manager at Richard Frankel Productions and two years as Operations Manager of Atlantic Theater Company. His professional memberships include the Broadway League (Adjunct Member) and mensa. He was personally awarded the President’s Award for Academic Excellence by President Clinton and President Bush. Anthony is currently a Dean’s Fellow in Columbia University’s Theatre Management and Producing MFA Program. He aspires to take a Virgin Galactic trip to low-earth orbit.

ERIC LOUIE (Producer) when last we flew marks Eric’s fifth collaboration with playwright Harrison David Rivers. Past work with Harrison includes Step (Producer, NYMF 2007), Fell (Producer, FringeNYC 2008), And She Said, He Said, I Said Yes (Co-conceiver and Director, FringeNYC 2009 and The Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub 2010), and “we are misquoted texts, made right when you say us” (Dramaturg, The Be Company 2010).

Eric is currently the Director of Special Projects at The Public Theater after serving as the assistant to Associate Producer Jenny Gersten for two years and as their 2009 Van Lier Producing Fellow.

Independently, Eric has produced and developed many projects, including Kingdom (2008 Richard Rodgers Award, NYMF’s 2006 Most Promising New Musical Award, The Star Ledger's Best New Musical and Best Book of a Musical awards, and was produced by The Old Globe in San Diego, CA), NYMF’s Next Broadway Sensation and The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds (co-conceived with Jess McLeod for 37 Arts and The Zipper). He has served as NYMF’s Senior Associate Producer, a 3-time line producer for The Summer Play Festival, and as a dramaturg for the NYMF productions of Rainbow Around the Sun, Punk Princess (written by Tony award winner Stew and Heidi Rodewald), and The 10th Floor.

He assisted Broadway producer Margo Lion on Hairspray and Caroline, or Change and has worked for Broadway PR firm Boneau/Bryan-Brown and as a company manager at The Atlantic Theater Company.

Eric made his acting debut in the Obie Award-winning L'Effect de Serge (The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, 2010).

He has a BA in Dramatic Literature from New York University recently graduated with his MFA in Theatre Management and Producing from Columbia University as a Dean’s Fellow.

SEENA HODGES (Marketing Director) Since moving to New York a year and a half ago, Seena has completed stints at the Theatre Development Fund (TDF)—recruiting not-for-profit organizations, students and other community groups to participate in New Audiences for New York; the PR Firm Boneau/Bryan-Brown—developing audiences and creating media opportunities for Fences (with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis) and The Scottsboro Boys; the Guthrie Theater— splitting her time between the Communications and General Management Departments; and at NAMCO—where she worked on both the marketing and press teams for The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway.

Seena has also served as the Marketing Director for when last we flew (FringeNYC), Connect Five (The Common Tongue), the Associate Producer of MOFAYA (NYMF), and the Producer of My Artichoke Heart and What the Sparrow Said (Theater For the New City).

Seena is currently a Dean's Fellow in the Theatre Management and Producing MFA Program at Columbia University. 

Cast

TAMELA ALDRIDGE* (Priscilla) Ecstatic to be a part of When We Last Flew in the 2010 New York Fringe Festival.  Regional credits include Gee's Bend (Hartford Stage), Doubt (Portland Stage Company, Pioneer Theatre Company), You Can't Take It With You (Pioneer Theatre Company), Yellowman (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), Same Train (OOBR Award-John Montgomery Theatre Company), The Collard Green: Contributions by Cornbread Divas (The Cracked Plate/John Montgomery Theatre Company), Trojan Women, Medea, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (The Classical Theatre of Harlem), Having Our Say (The Theatre Project) and Amen Corner (African Globe Theatreworks).  Tamela has also performed at Luna Stage, Expanded Arts, The Ira Aldridge Theatre and Crossroads Theatre Company. She has performed in film shorts, industrials, and various television programming.  She received her BFA from Howard University and completed the two-year professional acting program at William Esper Studio.   Tamela works as a Teaching Artist with the New Victory Theater, WNYC Radio, American Place Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Disney Theatrical Productions and the ARS Nova Theater.  She is also a member of the acting company for the Only Make Believe organization, which creates and performs theatre for children in hospitals and care facilities.

WADE ALLAIN-MARCUS(Fresh, Man and Ford) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he attended Harvard-Westlake School before heading to New York University's Tisch School of Drama. Upon receiving an early BFA, he immediately landed roles in Friends with Money, Waist Deep, and Young Americans. In 2006, he debuted with Lin Manuel-Miranda's Freestyle Love Supreme at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and still performs regularly with them. He guest-starred on "Gossip Girl" and "Burn Notice," and costarred in the MTV musical "The American Mall." Most recently, he showcased his abilities as a singer/guitarist in the off-Broadway musical Post No Bills at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, where he originated the role of Eddie Harper. Most recently, Wade participated in the Sundance Theater Lab at Governor's Island, and costars alongside Ethan Hawke in Antoine Fuqua's Brooklyn's Finest.  

JUSTIN GILLMAN (Ian - Understudy) Off-Broadway: Twelfth Night (Classic Stage Company), The Best (MCC Theater). New York: Hamlet (Gallery Players), Phoenician Women (Riverside Theatre, dir. Karin Coonrod); When Last We Flew (u/s, performed; Lucille Lortel), King Lear (Miller Theater); The Seagull (Columbia University). California: As You Like It, King Lear (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); Timon of Athens (Theatre Artists Group); Angels in America, bobrauschenbergamerica (Theatre UCSB). Film/TV: "Monsters Inside Me", "Mysteries of the Museum II", November/December. MFA: Columbia University. BFA: UC Santa Barbara. www.JustinGillman.com 

CHRISTOPHER LARKIN* (Ian) Theater: When Last We Flew (Sundance Theatre Lab), Kafka on the Shore (Steppenwolf), Always Family (The Kirk at Theatre Row), Back From The Front (The Working Theatre). Film: "The Flamingo Rising" and "The Big Bad Swim." TV: "One Life to Live." Many thanks to everyone involved.

RORY LIPEDE (Natalie) received her B.A. in Performing Arts from Fontbonne University and moved to New York where she has lived for almost two years. She began as a professional ballet dancer with the St Louis Ballet, Boston Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Ballet companies and received an apprenticeship with Broadway Theatre Project where she studied with Anne Reinking and the late Gregory Hines. Her credits include principal roles with The St Louis Shakespeare Company, The Black Repertory, The William Inge Center, HotCity, Negro Ensemble Company, Rattlestick Theatre, The Old Vic: New Voices 24 Hour Festival, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Creative Destruction, productions with FringeNYC and NYMF and is a company member of At Play Productions. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including two Kevin Kline Nominations and winner of the Irene Ryan acting competition, as well as runner up Best Comedic Actor and the Comedia Del' Arte Award at the Kennedy Center, ACTF.

ALLISON MACKIE* (The Angel) Broadway: Roxane opposite Frank Langella in Cyrano De Bergerac, Candida with Joanne Woodward,  Regional credits include The Big Knife, La Ronde (Williamstown) The Constant Wife, Dear Brutus, David Copperfield (Westport Playhouse) A Midsummer Night's Dream (STNJ) Romeo & Juliet, The Velvet Elvis, All The Way Home and Peccadillo (written & directed by Garson Kanin).  Film work includes the soon to be released Lucky with Colin Hanks and Almost Perfect. Also Our Very Own, Pretty Ugly People, The Gymnast, Original Sin, Gia, Friends & Family, Rear Window, The Souler Opposite, Sliver, Lurking Fear, The Stranger, The Saint Of Fort Washington and Amos & Andrew. Television includes: Showtime's The Big "C", Law & Order, Without A Trace Law & Order SVU, Postcards From Heaven, Diagnosis Murder, Undue Influence, Platypus Man, Heavenly Road, South Beach, Frasier and E.R.  Training: The Neighborhood Playhouse School of The Theater and the Actor's Studio.

KAREN PITTMAN* (Marian). Broadway:  Passing Strange.  Regional Theatre:  Kennedy Center, McCarter Theatre.  Off Broadway: Missing Celia Rose.TV/Film:  White Collar(2010), 30 Rock(2009), Law And Order(2009), Medium (2009), Kings(2009), Film: Last Night (2010).  Education:  Northwestern University, BS., New York University, MFA. Special thanks to Harrison for his courage and daring, and Victor, Jacob and Lena for letting me come back home after I fly away.

JON-MICHAEL REESE* (Paul) just returned from playing Matt in Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of The Fantasticks. He is recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon and is thrilled to be working with such remarkable people. Thanks to his parents and God.

 

CASEY ROBINSON (Fresh, Man and Ford - Extension Performances)  NY credits include: Voltag in Sink (PL115), Aeneas in Age of Iron (Classic Stage Company), Waleed in The Dudleys! (Loading Dock Theatre/Dream On Festival), Julio/Milan/Ben/Mark in Jack Perry is Alive...(And Dating) at the Ars Nova Festival, and Ray in the world premiere of Charles L. Mee's Coney Island Avenue (New York Theatre Workshop). Internationally, Casey performed as Ferdinand in The Tempest at the Folkswang Festival in Essen, Gemany and in Replikas of Apokalypsis Cum Figuris at the Segundo International Festival in Puerto Rico, both directed by Niky Wolcz, and also as Constantine in Big Love at the Setkani/Encounter Festival in Brno, Czech Republic, directed by Ulla Wolcz.  Casey is a proud member of Theatre Kuden and Overturn Ensemble. 

*These actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Designers

ANNE GOELZ (Set Designer).  is a graduate of the SUNY Purchase Theatre Conservatory Program with a BFA in Scenic Design. She has worked on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions assisting award-winning designers including, Heidi Ettinger, Anna Louizos & Derek McLane as well as multiple productions at Mexico City's National Cultural Center.  Her own work includes Wine Lovers, Autophobia & Platforms with director Holly-Anne Ruggerio, as well The Last Fighter (NYMF production) as well as shows at Skidmore College.  Television credits include Gossip Girl and Criss Angel: Mindfreak!

KJ HARDY (Lighting Designer). Designer in residence for Joe's Pub at the PUBLIC Theater. Regional design credits include work for productions at PS122, St. Ann's Warehouse, Jazz at Lincoln Center, B.A.M., NYSF, NYMF,  the Classical Theater of Harlem, Signature Theater Company, Carnegie Hall, the New Victory Theater, The PUBLIC Theater, the BOX, Manhattan Children Theater, Vital Theater,  Symphony Space, Henry Street Theater, Bank Street Theater, Ars Nova, 45 Bleaker Street, the Dicappo Opera, and the Zipper Theater. Is an active member of the United Scenic Artist local 829 and a resident of the east village

JULIA MEINWALD (Sound Designer) is so excited to be working with Colette and Harrison again.  Her music for theatre has been heard at Lincoln Center (Disappeared  at the Directors Lab), Ars Nova (Jack Perry is Alive and Dating), Joe's Pub (One Man Show), Prospect Theatre Company (Mapquest), the York Theatre (NEO5),and Barrington Stages (Bill Finn Presents Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists That You’ve Probably Never Heard of But Should.)  Julia is a Dramatists Guild fellow, a resident artist with American Lyric Theatre and a proud participant in the composer librettist studio at New Dramatists.  You can hear her music on the internet sitcom Inconvenient Molly as well to in the score to short films featuring Josh Gad (The Losers) and Mary Louise Parker (Wing Woman). She received her BA in Music from Yale University in 2005, and her M.F.A from NYU Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program in 2007. www.juliameinwald.com.

SVEN HENRY (Props Designer) works as a propsmasters for New York University's Stienhardt School where he has designed Kiss of the Spiderwoman, I'll Be Damned, Party Come Here (all three directed by John Simpkins), The Light In the Piazza,  Candide, Trouble in Tahiti and The Telephone. Other  New York Shows include Joe Iconis' Rewrite (John Simpkins), Sin, and Gates of Gold (directed by Kent Paul), and Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party.

JESSICA PABST (Costume Designer). The Metal Children ( The Vineyard ); The Great Recession and Love/Stories or But You Will Get Used To It (The Flea Theatre); That Pretty Pretty, or The Rape Play (Rattlestick Theatre); 3 Pianos, Winter’s Journey, The Less We Talk, Dysphoria (The Ontological); Crawl Fade into White (13P); Vendetta Chrome, Quail (Clubbed Thumb); Camino Real, The Great God Brown, Uncle Vanya (Columbia University); Macbeth, Too Clever by Half (Atlantic Theatre School); The Confidence Man, 12 Ophelias, Blood Wedding, Never the Sinner (Woodshed Collective). Jessica is a member of Woodshed Collective. Her work has also appeared at Ars Nova, NYU Steinhardt School of Opera, HERE, Dixon Place, Tribeca Performing Arts, Red Bull Theatre, The Hangar Theatre, Dance Theatre Workshop, SPF, NYMF, and NY Fringe Festival. B.F.A, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

SHELBY TAYLOR LOVE (Production Stage Manager) is thrilled to be part of the when last we flew family.  She has worked on shows at Sundance Institute’s Theatre Lab, FringeNYC, NYMF, ArtsPower National Touring Theatre, Barnstormers Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.  Proud member of Actors’ Equity.

GABRIEL ARONSON (Show Artwork and Website Designer) is an Austrian-American designer and animator. His animations have appeared on the BBC, and the monitors of Times Square. Recent projects include projection design for the site specific piece "Room 103" at the Chelsea Hotel. He is currently the season graphic designer for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He has a B.A. in Set Design and Puppetry from Sarah Lawrence College, and a Graduate Diploma in Motion Graphics from London's Chelsea College of Art and Design. To see more of his work, visit www.gabrielaronson.com

MICHELLE MCSWAIN (Show Photographer) Michelle McSwain came out of the womb with a tripod and a pinhole camera.  Her first words were, “Hey Mom, where can I set up?”.  And so it went.  While most young’ns were busy falling on their faces or eating strained peas, Michelle was busy emulating David Hockney and writing letters to Larry Clark telling him to “chill out”. Growing up around the farms of Kentucky, she fell in love with adventure and the outdoors. Anxious to see the world she wrapped up her Art degree in a short three years. To celebrate her graduation, she jumped on a moped with streamers (fueled by sunshine and Puppy Power) and took a long road trip across the universe.  She traveled to far away hidden places in Egypt and Santorini. She also took a trip through the Milky Way taking Polaroids of the moon. Michelle now lives in New York City, where she wanders with her camera, illuminating the darkest corners of a massive city.

Creative Team

CARREON PRODUCTIONS (Producer)  Broadway League member, Robert Carreon, is committed to producing thought-provoking theatrical experiences and quality entertainment.  He continues to explore the New York landscape and beyond for brave new voices, creative expression, and opportunities and properties consistent with his mission statement.  Producer, board member, activist and fundraiser, he lends his multiple skills and talents to a number of appreciative New York City not-for-profit organizations.  www.carreonproductions.com

BRIDGE CLUB PRODUCTIONS (Producer) founded in 2004 by Laura Camien, began as a Resident Theatre Company of Manhattan Theatre Source with the mission of supporting and developing emerging artists.  The Bridge Club inaugural season included the original production of [title of show] at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.  Laura continued on as a Producer as [title of show] became an Obie Award winning Off-Broadway production at the Vineyard, and a Tony nominated production on Broadway.  Bridge Club Productions persists in supporting exciting and exceptional work, such as When Last We Flew in the NYC Fringe Festival, the upcoming independent film "Foreign Letters" by writer/director Ela Thier, and the documentary film "On the Other Side of the Fence", by filmmaker Kevin Frech.

EARLY BIRD THEATRICALS (Producer) is committed to supporting promising, new works and talented, early career playwrights. Founder, Robin Rothstein is a theatre industry professional with a background in commercial touring, and currently works in the presenting division at Broadway Across America in New York . Robin is a member of The Broadway League, The League of Professional Theatre Women, The Dramatists Guild, Inc., and is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated with honors in English. http://www.earlybirdtheatricals.com/

KAREN RUSCH (Marketing Director) has been an entrepreneur and passionate theatre-goer for over 20 years. Currently, she is the Executive Creative Director of RuschDirect, providing direct marketing consulting and creative development services for financial services companies, non-profits, publishers, membership organizations, and theatrical clients. Karen is also the Marketing Advisor for The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), and is the Producer of the new musical, Blue Ribbon Dog. www.ruschdirect.com

CAROLINE HENDRIX (Business Development Manager) works full-time in fundraising and special events for the nonprofit New 42nd Street and its main project, The New Victory Theater. Her interests include developing more sustainable funding models for the arts (basically anything would be better than what we've got now); online fundraising, marketing and social media; cultivating a younger generation of arts and nonprofit patrons; and special event coordination. When she's not geekily pondering these things, she's the co-chair of the Young Professionals Council of Trickle Up, a microfinance organization that helps start and support small businesses run by people who live on less than $1.25 a day in Asia, Africa and Central America, and juggles various fundraising and press-oriented freelance projects. She has her B.A. in Journalism from NYU.

SAM MORRIS (Public Relations) is a NYU graduate who, prior to starting Sam Morris PR, worked on several Broadway shows including Chicago, Rent, Wicked and In The Heights. As a publicist, he's represented a number of exciting theatrical projects, including Closer at the Gene Frankel Theatre, The Libertine at ATA, the NY Fringe Festival productions of Afterlight, And She Said He Said I Said Yes (by Harrison David Rivers), and Victoria & Frederick for President (presented by Adrian Grenier), and the NY Musical Theater Festival productions of Wood (starring Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman), The Cure, and Max Understood.

JASON HAFT (Marketing) has produced a number of concerts and shows in NYC. He recently co-conceived and produced the first installment of Songs You've Never Heard and Shows You've Never Heard Of, a new concert series devoted to the presentation of in-development musical theatre works by emerging writers. Previous credits include A Little New Music (Laurie Beechman Theatre), Move Over Mrs. Markham (NYU Skirball Center), and Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (Triad). Jason has assisted on several concerts for jokr Productions, including Rated RSO (Joe's Pub) and Kerrigan and Lowdermilk: Under the Influence (Birdland). He is also an Associate Producer for NYMF, where he works on the annual NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation competition at New World Stages and produces the winner's concert at Joe's Pub.

Jason is currently completing his B.S. in Management at NYU's Stern School of Business with a minor in Producing at Tisch. During his time in school, he has interned at a number of prominent companies, including The Public Theater, Second Stage Theatre, and HHC Marketing. He currently interns at 321 Theatrical Management, where he facilitates the day-to-day management of Next to Normal and the numerous companies of Wicked worldwide.

ANIKA CHAPIN (Casting Director) is best described as an NYC-based nebulous creature of the musical theater. Currently an Assistant Casting Director at Laura Stanczyk Casting, she has been the Assistant Director for the Encores Productions of On the Town, Damn Yankees, and Face the Music, and Assistant to the Director on White Christmas and 13. She was also, notably and for far too long, a Company Manager on an Australian tour of CATS that toured Asia.