Because the grass started to breathe

original play written by Max Mooney

directed by Haley Fragen

Honey brings her four siblings home to help them dig up what they buried a decade before- the body of their dead brother. Lying six feet under the fields they tended to and weeded their whole lives, Jacob has woken up below the ground and called out to them to find him so he can fill the cracks that formed between them when he died. As their shovels hit the ground, the truth creeps back into their fingertips from the dirt and threatens to swallow them all.

Performed in an intimate outdoor venue, this laboratory production embodies GLTC’s value of adapting form to content; we uplift this story of loss, memory and the intimacy of family through immersive storytelling in a Bed Stuy backyard.

overview

In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v Wade, 10% of all ticket sales will be donated to an abortion access fund (either Brigid Alliance or Planned Parenthood)

Show Dates:

Aug 27, Aug 28, Sept 3, Sept 4 [7p]

Rain Plan: Aug 31, Sept 1 [7p]

TICKETS

AUGUST 2022

It’s the first rule of weeding, isn’t it? Pull the root. If you don’t get the root, you might as well have never started in the first place.

MEET THE “BGSB” TEAM

MAX MOONEY
(PLAYWRIGHT)

  • Max Mooney is a director, playwright, producer, dramaturg, stage manager, and theatre educator who works primarily in New York City and the greater Philadelphia area. Within all of his practices, Max focuses his energy on developing language-based new work in collaborative settings that find the intersections between poetry and theater. He leads processes that prioritize balancing rigor with the undeniable joy we should feel when making work. He graduated from NYU Tisch's Playwrights Horizons Theatre School in 2022, studying directing and playwriting. Max has worked with Ars Nova, New Victory Theater, Playwrights Downtown, SoHo Playhouse and The Strafford Players to create work. Currently, Max sits on the core artistic team of Sanguine Theatre Company in Brooklyn.

Haley fragen
(director, producer)

  • Haley Fragen is a theatre artist originally hailing from Los Angeles, now based in NYC. Haley’s practice includes acting, directing, producing, and arts administration with a focus in artistic programming. She graduated in May 2021 with a BFA in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she attended Atlantic Acting School, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, NYU Florence, and the Brecht, Stanislavsky and Beyond Acting Studio at NYU Berlin. As a director and performer, Haley aims to illuminate intimacy and illicit empathy on stage through action, moment-to-moment connection, and radical listening. She believes in innovative, groundbreaking, accessible storytelling. Haley has worked as an Artistic Associate for What Will the Neighbors Say? Theatre Company and gained experience in the world of commercial theatrical and film producing as an intern at Evamere Entertainment. Haley currently works as an Administrative Intern and House Assistant at the Cherry Lane Theatre and as a Programming Assistant at HERE Arts Center. Haley identifies as a proud Jewish woman and artist.

dinah rokhinson
(stage manager,
lead producer)

  • Dinah Rokhinson, a first generation American, is an NYC based actor, stage manager, director, and producer originally from the cornfields of Indiana. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she flew to the east coast to continue her theatre training in the Meisner Studio at New York University. In 2021, she completed her four years at NYU with degrees in Drama, Entertainment Business, and Hellenic studies. While juggling a variety of projects at once, she tapped into her passion for producing work that touches the most humane questions that have been asked on and offstage for thousands of years. Questions of empathy, connection, family, love, identity, and isolation. Her focus is building live, filmed, immersive, and participatory performances that dive into the complexity of the human experience.

MEET THE CAST OF “BGSB”

Chloe Mutebi
(Honey)

  • Chloe Mutebi is an Ugandan-American NYC-based actress and writer. She just graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s in Drama and a double minor in Applied Theatre (Art Therapy) and Journalism. During her time in university, she’s studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Classical Studio and Black Arts Institute. Chloe feels blessed to be able to work on her second Max Mooney play with such a brilliant team of artists, and can’t wait to share the magic with all who come to see.

Ben hefter
(Noel)

  • Ben Hefter (he/him) is a recent graduate from NYU Gallatin who is thrilled to be participating in Garden Level's debut production. A SDM alum and the former bassist for the NYU N'Harmonics, Ben continued his creative practice as an undergraduate by engaging with theatre and other forms of storytelling in academic and political contexts, exploring the manner in which the familiar moral frameworks of common narratives have been used and abused within the realm of politics. He hails from Long Island and currently lives in Manhattan with two cats.

Mia Walsh Corbett
(Sybil)

  • Mia Walsh Corbett (she/her) is an actor and writer originally from Verona, NJ and is currently based in Brooklyn. She is a passionate collaborator, quick-thinker, and on-demand crier. She thinks she’s funny. Mia studied acting (Atlantic Acting School, Stonestreet Studios) and creative writing at New York University, where she graduated cum laude in December 2020. Previous credits include Julius Caesar (Shakespeare in the Park, Delacorte Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Atlantic Theater Stage 2), among others. You can find her @miawalshcorbett on instagram, or miawalshcorbett.com.

Sophia Drapeau
(Red)

  • Sophia Drapeau (she/her) is so thrilled to be a part of this special project! She is an actor, singer, and, famously, a barista. Previous credits include (!) (Pridefest at The Tank), the 2021 company of the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, The Wolves (#46, Scottsdale Community Players), The TomKat Project (Maureen/Suri/Others, Scottsdale Community Players), Romeo and Juliet (Nurse, Stella Adler Studio), Blood Wedding (Neighbor/Death, Playwrights Horizons NYU), and How To Make Friends And Then Kill Them (Sam, Playwrights Horizons NYU). She holds a BFA in Drama and minor in Creative Writing from NYU. She is so thankful to the dreamiest team: Haley, Max, Dinah, and the rest of the company. She is actively seeking representation. Woohoo! www.sophiadrapeau.com

Julian Hermano
(River)

  • Julian Hermano (he/they) is an award winning writer and international actor of Filipino lineage who has performed primarily in their home of New York City and in Osaka, Japan.

    Julian is the co-creator and co-writer behind the Audio Verse Award winning narrative audio series “The Realm Tree”, a fantasy story about how fairies get their wings. It aims to spotlight issues of class struggle and queer identity through a magical lens. The series features voice actors from Avatar The Last Airbender, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Genshin Impact. Led by Julian and co-creator Jamar Thompson, the production brought a 30 episode, 700 page script to life over the course of 2 years.

    Other interests include telling empowering fantasy stories through the lens of Tabletop Gaming as a Twitch Affiliate and Dungeons & Dragons game master (Twitch channel JuliCiel), and TTRPG actual play performer (The Free Forge, upcoming).

    Live Performances: Giving Up The Ghost at The Brick (Apollo), One Piece Water Battle at Universal Studios Japan (Luffy)

    Training: NYU Tisch Class of 2016 (Experimental Theatre Wing and Stonestreet Studios), Upright Citizen's Brigade (Kevin Hines, Caroline Martin), Voiceover Acting and Directing (Stephanie Sheh, Andy Roth)

    It is humbling and an honor to be working with Garden Level Theatre Co. to bring such intimate, poignant, and vulnerable stories to the stage. Without a doubt, Because The Grass Started To Breathe is a powerhouse of a beginning for some incredible things to come.

“bgsb” design team and crew

Jonathan Schatzberg
(Props and set design)

  • Jonathan Schatzberg (they/he) is a Brooklyn-based writer, artist, and scenic designer. They are a recent graduate of New York University’s College of Arts and Science, having studied literature, creative writing, and sociology.

    Jonathan’s work has been published by The Greene Street Review, the Color Club zine, and WNYU, where they also served as the station’s Archives Director for the spring of 2022. Previous scenic design credits include Ibrahim and June by Lizzie Boscolo, dir. Keith Morris (Uproar Theatre Corps); Pippin, dir. Callie Llewellyn (Uproar Theatre Corps x Theatrix); Friendsgiving by Carina Kanzler, dir. Samantha Taxman (Uproar Theatre Corps); Of Flesh and Feathers by Leah Annia Plante-Wiener, dir. Mary Cecilia Walker (Broke People Play Festival); and Bonefruit by Leah Annia Plante-Wiener, dir. Isabella Nicdao (The Chain Theatre). Upcoming: Drive the Speed Limit by Penelope Gould, dir. Marina Carlstroem (The Tank).

    Feel free to reach out to Jonathan on Instagram @jonschatzberg, or at jonathan.schatzberg@gmail.com. They won’t bite, we swear!

Persephone Matlazihua Squires
(Lighting Designer)

  • Persephone Matlazihua Squires (she/they) is thrilled to be joining the team of Garden Level Theatre Company for this production! She is a Trans Chicana photographer and lighting designer operating out of New York City. Check out her work at www.sevenseedsphotography.com

    Insta: @cheekychicanx

Tommy Lynch
(Sound Design)