IF THE CREEK DON’T RISE
By Tyree Marshall
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
•Dramaturgy by Katherine Vondy •Stage Management by Athena Saxon
•Assistant Stage Management: Brynn Knickle
With…Donna Simone Johnson*, Sharlee Taylor*, David Kepner & John Sweet
Running Time: 90 minutes with one brief intermission; in lieu of a formal talkback - please join us for conversation about the piece at Bar One (N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027) .
*The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. This production is presented under the auspices of the Actor’s Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule
By Tyree Marshall
Directed by Melissa Coleman-Reed
•Dramaturgy by Katherine Vondy •Stage Management by Athena Saxon
•Assistant Stage Management: Brynn Knickle
With…Donna Simone Johnson*, Sharlee Taylor*, David Kepner & John Sweet
Running Time: 90 minutes with one brief intermission; in lieu of a formal talkback - please join us for conversation about the piece at Bar One (N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027) .
*The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. This production is presented under the auspices of the Actor’s Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule
Tyree Marshall (Playwright) is a Los Angeles-based actor, playwright, producer, and singer/songwriter. Tyree graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a degree in Theater in 2017, focusing on acting and minoring in creative writing. She has been living in California ever since. As an actor, Tyree has appeared in numerous productions with various LA theater companies and can be seen in the television series Bosch Legacy (Amazon). In her role as a producer, Tyree currently serves as the Associate Artistic Producer at East West Players and previously worked as an Artistic Associate with Skylight Theatre Company. Additionally, Tyree is the co-creator of Elation: A Space for Black Joy with Celia Mandela Rivera, an event series that curates safe spaces across Los Angeles for Black Folx to experience joy despite the ongoing injustices in our communities. As a playwright, Tyree is currently developing a one-person show called "Sweet Pea" and a full-length thriller play titled "Impossible Meat."
Melissa Coleman-Reed (Director -she/her) is an international theatre maker: director, actor, producer, facilitator. She is focused on the development and production of new works to expand the canon of the American theatre. Facilitating works that foster activism, grow international collaborations, while highlighting stories from folx of Color, the Queer community and Black Culture. She is passionate about cultivating spaces for collaborators to meet, train, and create. Directing credits include: The Very Best People by John Lavelle (IAMA Theatre Company), My White Husband by Leviticus Jelks, (Moving Arts), The Lonely Few, book by Rachel Bonds, music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, (Associate Director to Trip Cullman and Ellenore Scott, Geffen Playhouse), Beneath the Bowtie by Katie Lindsey, Tova Katz, and AK Kalinowski (workshop associate director, Geffen Playhouse), Untitled Baby Play by Nina Braddock (associate director, IAMA Theatre Company), You Didn't Die by John Lavelle (IAMA), Paradise Blue by Dominique Morisseau (Glendale Community College), Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, Men On Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First One Hundred Years (New Village Arts). Producer for I Sell Windows by Kacie Rogers, Outside In / Bottle Tree Theatre which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Summer 2024. Her artistic connections/collaborations also include: CalArts, Cal State LA, Ammunition Theatre Company, The Blank, The Road Theatre Company, BGB Studios, and SITI Company.
Athena Saxon (Stage Manager -she/her) is an actor and producer from the SF Bay Area. After graduating from Chapman University, she worked as a freelance production assistant and coordinator on several network TV shows. Over the last 6 years, she has collaborated with numerous LA theater companies such as CTG, Rogue Machine Theatre, IAMA theatre, Pacific Resident Theatre, Support Black Theatre, Lobby Theatre, and is also a founding producer of her company, Season 10 Stage Productions. This year Athena was added to the staff of Rogue Machine and is currently operating out of her cozy home theatre The Matrix. She is thrilled to be working with Melissa again!
Brynn Knickle (Assistant Stage Manager - she/her) is an actor and fight choreographer originally from Nova Scotia, Canada who is now based in Los Angeles. She graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC and has worked on projects ranging from The Lightning Thief on Broadway (assistant fight director to Rod Kinter) to Moonshine (stunts), as well as acted in a variety of New York theater productions to Canadian television shows such as Trapped (written by Nathan Macintosh). Brynn is a multi-hyphenate creative with a passion for storytelling in any capacity.
Katherine Vondy (Dramaturg) is a Los Angeles-based writer and director whose credits span theater, film, and literature. Kat is the recipient of the Davey Foundation Theatre Grant for her play The Fermi Paradox, and her award-winning short film The Broken Heart of Gnocchi Bolognese has screened at festivals worldwide. Her plays have been developed with The Vagrancy, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Paper Wing Theatre Company, and recent theater directing credits include The Complete Human Experience (Lost Moon Radio), Friends in Transient Places (Fresh Produce'd LA), and Suddenly Split and Swiping Over (All Terrain Theater). Kat has received dramatic writing residencies from the HBMG Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, Starry Night, and Wildacres. She earned a BA from Amherst College and an MFA in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California. More information about all her creative work is available at katherinevondy.com.
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Donna Simone Johnson (Performer) is a two-time NAACP Theatre Award winning actor, director, choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of Watts Village Theater Company. Select credits include Power of Sail, (Geffen Playhouse), Broken Fences (NAACP Award, Best Lead Actress, Road Theatre), I Go Somewhere Else and Hit Dog Will Holler, (both at Playwrights Arena), Bring Down The House/ Henry VI (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Bloodbound (The Guthrie), Cherry Orchard (Theatricum Botanicum) as well as work at Son of Semele, Rubicon, Antaeus, Shakespeare Center LA, African American Shakespeare Co and many others.TV & Film: The Inspectors (CBS), 9-1-1 (FOX), Teachers (TV Land), Agent X (TNT), Super Drags (Netflix, recurring), Bertie the Brilliant (HBO Max) and festival favorite, Ophelia Ascending. She holds an MA in Dance from NYU, an MFA in Acting from CalArts.
Sharlee Taylor (Performer) is originally from Atlanta, GA, where she developed an interest in theater at the prestigious Alliance Theatre.
After studying Theater and Linguistics at UC Berkeley, she received her MFA from the A.R.T. at Harvard University. Notable New York credits include: understudying in Mark Rylance’s NICE FISH, a stage reading with Katori Hall, a world premiere at La Mama theater, and a world premiere in conjunction with Classical Theater of Harlem for a crowd of +2,000 at Bryant Park. Now based in LA, Sharlee is driven to support the voices of women of color, particularly Black women, and creates content with POC creatives at the forefront of her mind. She recently wrapped production of a web series with an all POC cast. Sharlee continues to root for everybody Black. 
David Kepner (Performer) is an accomplished actor, writer, and award-winning director based in LA, has built a consistent career spanning theater, film, and motion capture. His extensive education in theater and education, culminating in his MFA from UCLA, has provided him with the foundation for this diverse career. His recent work in LA includes workshop readings at IAMA and Boston Court Pasadena, and unannounced motion capture PeelDev projects. David’s short films Georgeanne.mov and Whip Lord have garnered numerous awards, including “Best Director” and “Best Micro Short Film” awards from festivals.
David is grateful for his loving and supportive wife, his two fluffy kids (cats), and his debut at The Vagrancy with the beautiful work that is If The Creek Don’t Rise. David is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. 
John Sweet (Performer) is a classically trained, multi-hyphenate artist from South Central Los Angeles, working across theater, film, and creative storytelling. He has performed in productions like The Bauhaus Project and IAMA Theatre Company’s Hit Machine, and appeared in the short film Are You Still There. His work often explores freedom, identity, and expression, and he shares his creative journey on Instagram at @j.hnsweet.
Caitlin Hart (Producer & Founding Artistic Director - she/her) Caitlin has worked for over 15 years as a professional storyteller - focusing on live performance. As Producing Artistic Director of The Vagrancy, she commissioned over 60 plays by women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and artists with disabilities. The work has been featured on Broadway On Demand and The Breath Project Archives, a project that works to “actively dismantle structural racism in the American Theater.”
She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts and completed the Atlantic Theatre company’s two-year Professional Acting Conservatory in NYC. Some favorite directing credits with The Vagrancy include Romeo and Juliet (Broadway World 2018 Best Play Nominee), Macbeth (Broadway World 2017 Best Play Nominee) and What of the Night? (Ovation Recommended; Best Ensemble Nominee; West Coast Premiere). She is a proud associate member of SDC. You can see her resume and learn more about her theatre work at caitlinhartdirector.com. |
*These readings were made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs & is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.