Lions Digital Program

LIONS

From Lightning Rod Special
Written and Performed by Alice Yorke and Scott R. Sheppard
Directed and Developed by Sarah Blush

September 10-21 at the Proscenium Theatre at the Drake

Part of Cannonball, a hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival

To support this and other Lightning Rod Special shows, please make a tax-deductible contribution at https://givebutter.com/LightningRodSpecial

Lions Creative Team Bios

Sarah Blush (director) directs, writes and develops original projects for theatre, TV and more. Select directing: Racecar Racecar Racecar by Kallan Dana (A.R.T. NY); Bailey Williams’ Coach Coach (Clubbed Thumb), Events (The Brick), & I thought I would die but I didn’t (The Tank/ TimeOut Critics Pick); Future Wife: Party in a Spreadsheet by reid tang (New Georges); Sehnsucht (JACK/ NYT Critics Pick). Residencies/ awards: Clubbed Thumb Directing Fellowship, New Georges Audrey Residency, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Colt Coeur Artist Residency, Barn Arts Residency, New York Society Library’s Emerging Female Artist Grant. Guest directing/ teaching: NYU Graduate Acting, AADA, UAlbany, NYU Meisner, Playwrights Horizons & Atlantic Studios. Sarah’s original TV pilot (co-written with Sofya Levitsky-Weitz) was developed with Lionsgate and Peacock.

Dom Chacon (Production Manager)Lighting Designer and Production Manager based in Philadelphia. He is an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and the Lighting Coordinator for the Lang Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College. In Philly he has designed for The Arden, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The  Walnut Street Theatre, Azuka, People's Light and many more. Outside of Philly his work has been seen at Westport Country Playhouse, Sarasota Theatre, Capital Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Bowery Street Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre. He is dedicated to making theatre a collaboration as well as a learning experience. To find out more check out his website domchacon.com

Johnny Gasper (Sound Design) is a sound & video designer, musician, and performer. Notable and recent designs include “Camino Real” (Williamstown Theatre Festival - by Tennesee Williams, directed by Dustin Wills); “Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica In The Woods” (Rattlestick/New Georges, at HERE - by Bailey Williams & Emma Horwitz, directed by Tara Elliott; Drama Desk Nominee); “Salome” (Heartbeat Opera at Irondale Theater); “Wet Brain” (Playwrights Horizons - by John J. Caswell Jr., directed by Dustin Wills, sound co-design with Tei Blow; Obie Award, Lortel Nominee); “The Barbarians” (La Mama - by Jerry Lieblich, directed by Paul Lazar); “Racecar Racecar Racecar” (The Hearth, at ART/NY - by Kallan Dana, directed by Sarah Blush); “Coach Coach”, “Events”, and “I thought I would die but I didn’t” (Clubbed Thumb, The Brick, The Tank - by Bailey Williams, directed by Sarah Blush). He has performed with Advanced Beginner Group’s “I Understand Everything Better”; Elevator Repair Service’s “Seagull”; and Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble’s “The Art of Luv”, among others. MFA: PIMA, Brooklyn College.

Dan Higbee (Assistant Stage Management) is a local actor and voiceover artist. He has performed with Pig Iron Theatre Company, Lightning Rod Special, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and Shakespeare in Clark Park. He has experience with the subject matter of this piece of work and is pleased to get to be a part of its production and hopefully the conversations it will spark. MFA devised theatre, Pig Iron School. https://danhigbee.com

Rebecca Kanach (Costume Design) (she/her) is a Barrymore Award–winning costume designer and founding member of The Bearded Ladies Cabaret and company member of Lightning Rod Special. A proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, Rebecca formerly taught at the University of the Arts and holds an MFA from NYU Tisch. Recent credits: Once (New Light Theatre) Twelfth Night (DelShakes) Upcoming: Misery (Act II), Hansel und Gretel (Julliard) 

Colleen Murrary (Scenic+Props Design) is a Brooklyn based Scenic Designer. Selected design works, Blue Cowboy (Dir. Les Waters, Bushwick Starr), Coach Coach (Dir Sarah Blush, ClubbedThumb), Berlindia (Dir Noah Latty, The Tank), Gloria (Dir, Doug Hughes, JCT), Happy Days (Dir, Nico Krell, The Wild Project), OHIO (Caitlin Sullivan & Anne Kauffman, co-design with dots, Actors Theater Louisville), DIRT (Sour Milk), Cellino v. Barnes (David Rafailedes, & Michael Breen). colleenmurraydesign.com IG: @coll3enmurray

Emmie Parker (Stage Management) (she/her) is a Theatre Artist and Educator based in the Philadelphia area. She works in a variety of departments including Performance, Stage Management, Wardrobe and Education. At heart, she is a devising enthusiast and problem solver with a passion for finding order in chaos. As a freelancer, Emmie has worked with a number of companies including Pig Iron Theatre, Delaware Theater Company, Theater Horizon, The Walnut Street, Azuka, Inis Nua and many more. She has toured with Jacinta Yelland and Trey Lyfords show, Koal, as the Stage Manager both in the United States and Australia. Additionally, Emmie is on staff at Arcadia University where she teaches Costume and Backstage skills. She received a BFA in Acting from Arcadia University.

Emily Pratt (Creative Producer) is a queer, feminist and passionate arts and progressive political administrative professional. She has worked as a Company Manager and Producer among artists and companies including Philadelphia Ballet, Aspen Opera Center, Lightning Rod Special, Lily Kind, Nichole Canuso, and Eva Steinmetz, and currently works as the Director of Operations + Finance for Pennsylvania Stands Up. She has always loved the magic of performing arts and supporting artists, and now also political organizers with her administrative powers. 

Scott R. Sheppard (Writer/Performer) is an Obie Award-winning playwright and performer as well as a founding Co-Artistic Director of Lightning Rod Special. He is the co-creator and performer of “Underground Railroad Game,” (Ars Nova) which won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award and was named by the New York Times as one of the 25 Best Plays of the past 25 Years. Scott was a 2024 Finalist for the National Playwriting Conference (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center) and a semifinalist for the 2024 Terrence McNally Award with “Performance Department.” Lead Writer/Performer in Lightning Rod Special’s “The Appointment” (Best theater of 2023 in the New Yorker and Best of 2019 in Time Out New York and New York Magazine). Other credits include: co-writer/performer of “Nosejob” (2024 semifinalist for Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Conference) and lead writer/performer of “SPEECH” with Lightning Rod Special; writer of “Blood Meal” (New York Times Critics’ Pick) and “Topside” with Theater in Quarantine; Scott graduated from Pig Iron’s School for Advanced Performance Training and has collaborated on several works with Pig Iron Theatre Co. Scott was an Independence Foundation Fellow, a Bric Lab Resident, and a member of Page 73’s Writer’s Group. He is currently studying at The Juilliard School for playwriting and runs a wedding venue with his wife and friends in the Catskills called Adena Orchard. www.scottrsheppard.com.

Masha Tsimring (Lighting Design) Previously with Lighting Rod Special: The Appointment, Sans Everything; Off Broadway: Rheology, A Woman Among Women (Bushwick Starr); Six Characters (LCT3); Staff Meal (Playwrights Horizons); Grief Hotel (Clubbed Thumb); Sad Boys in Harpy Land (Playwrights Horizons/Abrons Art Center); Montag (Soho Rep). Regional: The Inspector (Yale Rep); Primary Trust (La Jolla Playhouse); Eternal Life, Part 1 (The Wilma); Dance/Opera: GEMS (LADP/Brisbane Festival); Don Giovanni (Music Academy of the West); Giulio Cesare (Hudson Hall); Friday Night Rat Catchers (Lisa Fagan/Lena Engelstein/NYLA); Plenum/Anima (LADP); Terce (Prototype); Me. You. We. They. (LA Dance Project/Paris Philarmonie); morning/mourning (Prototype/HERE); Deepe Darknesse (Lisa Fagan/Lena Engelstein/NYLA); Unstill Life (LA Dance Project); Rodelinda (Hudson Hall/Santa Fe Opera); Der Freischütz  (Wolf Trap Opera). She is a proud member of USA829. MFA Yale School of Drama. More info at www.mashald.com. 

Alice Yorke (Writer/Performer) is an actor, theatermaker, and Co-Artistic Director of Lightning Rod Special. She is the lead creator of LRS’s highly lauded musical satire of the abortion debate, The Appointment (WP Theater: Best of 2023 Theater, The New Yorker; “Should Have Been Nominated for a Tony,” New York Times. NYTW Next Door: Best of 2019 Theater, New York Times, Time Out New York, and New York Magazine). With LRS: performer/creator: Nosejob (Barrymore nomination), SPEECH, Sans Everything, Let the Dog See the Rabbit and Hackles; creative producer: Underground Railroad Game (2015). Select performance credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Lantern Theater), Franklin’s Key (Pig Iron Theatre Company), Once Upon a Bridge (Inis Nua), The Gap (Azuka Theatre, Barrymore nomination). She directed and developed Baby Everything and White Feminist (Ars Nova Ant Fest, Sick of the Fringe - London) with her collaborator Lee Minora. Alice and LRS are current Next Forever fellows at Princeton University. “Best Theatre Talent in Philadelphia” – Philadelphia Magazine. www.aliceyorke.com