Ithaca Fever

Saviana Stanescu is a Romanian-born award-winning playwright, one of the most exciting voices to emerge in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain.  Her work has been widely presented in the US and internationally. She left Romania for the US in August 2001, when she came to New York University as a Fulbright fellow. 9/11 changed her life and work forever. In Europe, she had previously published books of poetry and drama, winning the ‘Best Play of the Year 2000’ Romanian Theatre Guild Award for The Inflatable Apocalypse. She worked as a journalist and a TV talk-show host, analyzing Eastern European (cultural) issues, in mid-late 90s. US productions include Aliens with extraordinary skills and Ants at Women’s Project, Ego Actus, B Street Theatre, NJ Rep, etc.; Useless at IRT Theatre; For a Barbarian Woman, a co-production of Fordham/EST;  Polanski Polanski at HERE Arts Center; Toys at Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles; Waxing West (2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-length Script) at La MaMa Theatre;, “The E-Dating Project” at Strasberg Institute for Theatre & Film, the site-specific I want what you have at the World Financial Center; and YokastaS Redux (co-authored with Richard Schechner) at La MaMa Theatre. Recent international productions of Saviana’s plays include Organic at the National Theatre in Bucharest, Romania and Viza de Clown at Odeon Theatre. At Ithaca College, she is a tenured Associate Professor of Playwriting and Contemporary Theatre and the Chair of the BA in Theatre Studies in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. www.saviana.com

Sarah Plotkin is a director, educator and community-engaged artist who specializes in new play development and devising. She recently returned to her hometown of Ithaca after almost 15 years in NYC and Boston. Recent credits include: Hadestown (Lehman Alternative Community School), The Sisters Fitz&Starts Cook with Kids (Walking on Water Productions / Fitz&Starts Productions), Pete the Cat (Hangar Theatre) and Play of Delights (Story House Ithaca / Civic Ensemble). Sarah is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and a proud member of the Civic Artistic Ensemble. www.sarahplotkin.com

Tyler M. Perry is a lighting designer for theater, television, and live events and currently serves as Director of Production at Kitchen Theatre Company. His work has appeared locally at the Kitchen and regionally at theaters including Florida Rep, Northern Stage, Axelrod Performing Arts, and Hope Summer Repertory. Television credits include BravoTV, NBC, Amazon Sports Network, and AOPA Live, earning Telly Awards and an Emmy nomination. Broadway and tour credits include Miss Saigon (2017 revival), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. tylermperrydesign.com

Iris Estelle is originally from Louisiana and grew up around a community theater that started her passion for theater and the arts. During the time that she was working towards a Fine Arts degree, Iris re-discovered costuming and fashion and started forging a new path in her undergrad work. Iris graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA with a degree in Fine & Graphic Arts with a concentration in Fiber & Textiles. She also had a scholarship with the costume shop where she built and designed costumes for performances throughout the year. Iris wants to constantly share her creative spirit in all aspects of her work, including fashion, art, and theater. Iris worked as a touring wardrobe assistant for three years, and after the pandemic started, she re-entered into the theater world. Eventually, she made her way to Ithaca and seeks to continue her work in costume design.

Rosalina Maassen Rosa is a Wells College alum, who is super grateful to continue to be working on Cherry Arts productions. Recent works include Rosa and Blanca and La Cerise Noire. Rosa can also be found at The Hangar just up the street!

Greg Levins graduated NYU with an emphasis in film directing, screenplay writing and video editing. Greg worked for a number of casting houses in NYC, auditioning actors in commercials, industrials, music videos and films. He’s directed two indie features, wrote a handful of screenplays and dabbled in music video and commercial production. Since moving to Ithaca he’s made a few promotional videos for Ecovillage, filmed a weekly Gayogohó:nǫ’ language class taught by one of the few remaining native speakers, along with working for the Cherry Arts in numerous productions over the past three seasons. He’s thrilled to be a part of Ithaca Fever, helping to expand the audience to include viewers at home with a livestream feed.

Mustafaa Ali currently works as the Outreach Coordinator for the Cherry’s weekly Open Art Hive drop-in makerspace, a free community art studio where all are welcome to connect, make art, and be creative together. Mustafaa has academic degrees (BA, MA) in sociocultural anthropology from UNC-Chapel Hill and Binghamton University, respectively. Currently, Mustafaa trains as a psychoanalyst at the Freudian School of Quebec, while working locally as an ethno-analyst (an anthropologist trained in psychoanalysis) operating a private consulting practice. Mustafaa’s artistic background is in documentary and experimental film and photography with particular interests in mise-en-scene, production design, and live performance.

Max Lorn-Krause is an actor, teacher, and dialect/voice coach. Previous performance credits include Hamlet (The Seeing Place Theater & Ithaca Shakespeare Co.), The Arctic Circle (Ithaca College), and Charlotte’s Web (Theatreworks USA). Dialect coaching credits include Let the Right One In (Ithaca College), Billy Elliot: The Musical (Hangar Theatre), and Catch as Catch Can (Kitchen Theatre Co.). Max is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and holds a BFA in Acting from Ithaca College. He will be moving to San Diego this summer to pursue an MFA in Acting at the USD/Old Globe.

Priscilla Hummel is delighted to be working with the Cherry for the first time! In addition to her work as an intimacy professional, Priscilla is a director/choreographer, an Assistant Professor of Acting at Ithaca College, and the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of WoW Productions, a Tompkins County nonprofit musical theatre company. Priscilla holds an MFA in Acting with a directing concentration from Regent University and a BA in Theatre with a Dance minor from Brenau University. She is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with Saviana, Sarah, and the Ithaca Fever cast.

Emily Pugh is an actor, director, and stage manager, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. She recently graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Performing & Media Arts and Literatures in English. She has trained with the Juilliard School, the Prague Shakespeare Company, and the British American Drama Academy. Some of her recent stage credits include acting in Orlando’s Gift by David Feldshuh, directing Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, and stage managing and assistant directing Baba Yaga at the Cherry.