Events for August 25, 2025 – Rise Theatre Directory

A reading: LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO by Mallory Jane Weiss

A Staged Reading of LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO by Mallory Jane Weiss
Directed by Lily Riopelle

Houghton Hall Arts Community, Edwin Booth Acting Studio
22 E 30th St Between 5th and Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This space is ADA compliant

Thursday August 21st at 3pm EST
Friday August 22nd at 3pm EST

Synopsis
Riya, Morgan, and Frites are the only women on the pit crew for Scuderia Pirandello’s Formula 1 racing team — actually, they’re the only women in all of Formula 1 — and it’s not quite how they imagined it. Over the course of the season they travel around the world, from race track to race track, feeding their desire to win (trophies! champagne!) and grappling with the inherent danger of being a woman in a man’s world.

About the Playwright
Mallory Jane Weiss (she/her) grew up in New Jersey & writes plays in Brooklyn. Her plays have been developed at Clubbed Thumb, Portland Stage Company, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference (2022; finalist 2021 & 2023), Great Plains Theatre Conference, Playing on Air, and the Sam French Off-Off Broadway Festival. Mallory is a 2024 MacDowell Fellow. B.A.: Harvard University, M.F.A.: The New School.

About the Director
Lily Riopelle (she/her) has directed and/or developed new works with 59E59, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, Urbanite Theater, The Tank, The Brick, Dixon Place, NYMF, Faultline, The Hearth, and more. As an assistant/associate, she has worked on and off-Broadway, and regionally at OSF and WTF among others. Founding co-Artistic Director of Two Headed Rep. lilyriopelle.com.

CAST:
Kari Buckley – she/her – MORGAN
Ryan Nicholas Cooper- he/him – PIERRE/KEVIN
Collin McConnell – he/him – DEVIN/GABRIEL
Anula Navlekar – she/her – RIYA
Frankie Placidi – she/her – FRITES
Rachel Skalka – she/her – NATALIE

TEAM:
Alex Pelletier – she/her – PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ludovica Villar-Hauser – she/her – PARITY FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Meg Gilbert – she/her – PARITY PRODUCTIONS PRODUCING ASSOCIATE
Jaye Hunt – they/them – PARITY PRODUCTIONS LITERARY MANAGER

A reading: LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO by Mallory Jane Weiss

A Staged Reading of LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO by Mallory Jane Weiss
Directed by Lily Riopelle

Houghton Hall Arts Community, Edwin Booth Acting Studio
22 E 30th St Between 5th and Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
This space is ADA compliant

Thursday August 21st at 3pm EST
Friday August 22nd at 3pm EST

Synopsis
Riya, Morgan, and Frites are the only women on the pit crew for Scuderia Pirandello’s Formula 1 racing team — actually, they’re the only women in all of Formula 1 — and it’s not quite how they imagined it. Over the course of the season they travel around the world, from race track to race track, feeding their desire to win (trophies! champagne!) and grappling with the inherent danger of being a woman in a man’s world.

About the Playwright
Mallory Jane Weiss (she/her) grew up in New Jersey & writes plays in Brooklyn. Her plays have been developed at Clubbed Thumb, Portland Stage Company, the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference (2022; finalist 2021 & 2023), Great Plains Theatre Conference, Playing on Air, and the Sam French Off-Off Broadway Festival. Mallory is a 2024 MacDowell Fellow. B.A.: Harvard University, M.F.A.: The New School.

About the Director
Lily Riopelle (she/her) has directed and/or developed new works with 59E59, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Portland Stage, Urbanite Theater, The Tank, The Brick, Dixon Place, NYMF, Faultline, The Hearth, and more. As an assistant/associate, she has worked on and off-Broadway, and regionally at OSF and WTF among others. Founding co-Artistic Director of Two Headed Rep. lilyriopelle.com.

CAST:
Kari Buckley – she/her – MORGAN
Ryan Nicholas Cooper- he/him – PIERRE/KEVIN
Collin McConnell – he/him – DEVIN/GABRIEL
Anula Navlekar – she/her – RIYA
Frankie Placidi – she/her – FRITES
Rachel Skalka – she/her – NATALIE

TEAM:
Alex Pelletier – she/her – PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ludovica Villar-Hauser – she/her – PARITY FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Meg Gilbert – she/her – PARITY PRODUCTIONS PRODUCING ASSOCIATE
Jaye Hunt – they/them – PARITY PRODUCTIONS LITERARY MANAGER

Open Stage Project x Starchild Rooftop-Broadway Backstage Trivia Night

Think you know Broadway? Prove it at our Broadway Trivia Night — an event hosted by The Starchild Rooftop in support of Open Stage Project. From iconic showtunes to behind-the-scenes facts, we’re putting your theatre knowledge to the test. Form a team, compete for prizes, and join a night of fun, connection, and purpose.

While signing up is free, donations support Open Stage Project — a New York nonprofit offering free afterschool programs and paid fellowships to young women and non-binary students pursuing careers behind the scenes in theatre, film, and TV. Your support helps us uplift today’s backstage professionals while building a more inclusive future for the next generation.

Spots are limited — RSVP now and be part of the magic behind the curtain!

Director’s Gathering Salon: Director-Playwright Collaboration

Director-Playwright Collaboration: What Makes It Work?

Facilitator: Shamus (he/him) | www.justshamus.com, Social Media: @mononymous_shamus

How do we build strong, respectful collaborations with playwrights — especially when the roles and expectations aren’t always clear?

Description from Shamus: In the world of new play development, the director’s role can shift dramatically depending on whether you’re shaping a reading, workshop, or full production. This Salon invites directors to reflect on how we navigate these shifting dynamics in collaboration with living playwrights.

Facilitated by Shamus, this conversation will explore the complexities of director-playwright relationships: how we set expectations, align on vision, and manage challenges like limited resources, differing working styles, and unclear expectations. With honesty and humility (including a few lessons learned the hard way), Shamus will prompt an open discussion about how directors can better support the creative process without overstepping—and what practices help foster trust, clarity, and artistic synergy.

Whether you’re working with emerging writers or established voices, this is a space to share insights, compare approaches, and build collective wisdom around what makes these collaborations thrive.

Director’s Gathering Salon: Directing Without a Map

Topic: Directing Without a Map: What We Were Never Taught, and How We’re Learning It Anyway

Conversation led by Andrew Roblyer (they/he).

Directors are often asked to lead without being fully equipped. This candid conversation explores the invisible curriculum of directing- what we didn’t learn in training and how we’ve had to learn on our feet.

Sunday, August 3 at 5pm ET. Virtual via zoom. Free and open to the public. Visit bit.ly/SummerSalonSeries

 

RISE Summit 2025

This year’s RISE Summit happening on September 9th at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The theme for this year is Pathways to Access. Stay tuned for more information about the schedule and link to buy a ticket.