Land Acknowledgement

Theatre@First rehearses and performs on the ancestral land of the Pawtucket and Massachusett tribal nations. We honor these communities and the elders of these nations—past, present, and future—and recognize the enduring relationships between Indigenous and Native communities and their traditional territories. We extend our respect to citizens of these nations who live here now, to their ancestors who have lived here for over five hundred generations, and to all Indigenous people.

We affirm that this acknowledgement is insufficient. It does not undo the harm that has been done through violence and injustice over the past 400 years and that continues today. We recognize that land acknowledgements are only a small yet important step towards ensuring a culture of respect, truth, and accountability in our community.

We commit ourselves to working toward a greater understanding of our relationship with this land and its people, and to sharing this growing understanding with the Theatre@First participants and audience.

About Theatre@First

The mission of Theatre@First is to work together to provide a fun, friendly, and creative theater experience for cast, crew, and audience alike. We welcome volunteers at all levels of experience and offer a supportive environment in which to work, play, grow, and explore new areas of the theater arts. We offer affordable and eclectic entertainment to the community, aiming to surprise, delight, entertain, and educate our audiences.

We fill an important niche in the vibrant Davis Square arts scene, drawing upon the talents and contributions of individuals and organizations throughout the community to provide a venue for thought-provoking and entertaining performing arts for all those who love to be on either side of the curtain.

Each production we undertake is the dream of someone in our community. When you support Theatre@First you make these dreams a reality for our participants and the wider community. Please help us to continue this work through your generous donations.

Gabriella Alcala for Spanish translations of our welcome announcements and audio described pre-show.

Daniel Barrett for taking photos of our gorgeous cast during dress rehearsals.

Kate Biegel, Brianna Conrad, Reggie Joseph, Xuan Li Leong, and Robert Thorpe II for their support in building our set.

Juan José Boschetti for helping backstage during tech week. 

Alex Gorowara for his voice in the English translations of our welcome announcements and audio described pre-show.

Elizabeth Hunter and Beckie Hunter for their tireless work for Theatre@First.

Xuan Li Leong for covering stage manager duties when we needed it.

Nathaniel Mayer-Heft for helping with pronunciation and translation of Japanese lines.

Daniel Rendón for his voice in the Spanish translations of our welcome announcements and audio described pre-show.

Rev. Betty Walker and Unity Somerville for sharing their space with us year after year.

In Water by the Spoonful, Elliot, an Iraq veteran, and his cousin, Yaz, plan their beloved activist aunt's funeral together, honor her legacy, and find new life paths for themselves. Meanwhile, Elliot's mother, a recovering addict, finds hope and purpose moderating an addiction support chatroom. There, a found family help each other to grow and find new sources of happiness. This play explores how people begin to heal their past damage and how they step up to support each other in times of need.

Content note: Drug addiction and recovery, drug overdose, military service, PTSD, mention of child death, death of a loved one, frequent swearing

KATIE CARROLL (Co-Producer) has worked on many (17!) T@F shows in many different tech positions. She always feels obligated to call out Tartuffe and Mourning Becomes Electra as special shows since those are where she met her husband! Much love to Mack & Owen. And thank you, Lauren, for being an incredible partner on this show!

MIRANDA CASHMAN (Stagehand) An actor first, but a lover of all things theatrical, Miranda is excited to be lending a hand backstage as her debut experience working with T@F! As an Asian-adoptee herself, she is thrilled to be supporting this show with such important themes and representation, and congratulates the entire cast and crew for mounting a spectacular production. Notable acting credits include Gonzalo in The Tempest (Olde Essex Stage Company), Persis Devore in Let's Murder Marsha (Acme Theater), Bill Sikes/Tiger Brown/Polly Peachum/Mr. Jaggers (Nell Dash, The Heights Players, NYC), Vivie Warren in Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Nashoba Players), Megan Woods in 45 Seconds From Broadway (Nashoba Players), Hamlet in Hamlet (All the Worlds a Stage Players), and Caliban in The Tempest (Concord Players).

SARAH COHEN (House Manager)

BENEDICT DAWN-CROSS, HE/HIM (Fountainhead) Hailing from the United Kingdom, Benedict is thrilled to be making his T@F debut! He has worked with the Centenary Stage Company (Rent, Cinderella, The Ladykillers), Theatre Company of Saugus (Puffs), and Apollinaire Theatre Company (The Suppliant Women), and Praxis Stage Company (The Arsonists). Benedict is a graduate Muhlenberg College and the Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

RICHIE DEJESUS (Director)

PETER DUERST, HE/HIM (Co-Technical Director) is excited to be doing his 3rd show with T@F! Peter acted in Festival@First 11 (King in "Exposure") and directed "The Prince's Shadow" in Festival@First 12. Up next with T@F, Peter is assistant directing None Escape; auditions will be in December! Peter has also acted with PMRP (Halloween 2023) and the Quannapowitt Players (Comedy of Errors), and he's done assistant stage managing with PMRP (Women Behind the Curtain) and Company One (The Interrobangers; Morning, Noon, and Night). He hopes you enjoy the show!

HEIDI FISHER (Stage Manager) is honored to join this production of Water by the Spoonful, her very first production with T@F! Recent productions include Puffs! with Theatre Company of Saugus and The Crucible with North Shore Players. She would like to dedicate her role in this production to her Auntie Esta. #ckc

CAT GREEN, THEY/THEM (Costume Designer) Previously, Cat designed costumes for Festival@First 12, and has worked wardrobe gigs around Boston. 

ANDREA HUMEZ, SHE/HER (Director) has directed a variety of full-length and shorter plays for Theatre@First, including Arms & the Man (2007), The Rimers of Eldritch (2008), Bare Bones: Two For the Seesaw (2011), FirstWorks: That Night in the Field (2015), Stop Kiss (2016), and Burning (2019). Other directing credits include The Importance of Being Earnest (Arlington Friends of the Drama, 2013) and Spike Heels (The Occasional Players, 2009). She has appeared onstage with Theatre@First in roles including Margaret Fuller in the 2006 and 2010 productions of The Margaret Ghost.

MICHAEL LEWIS, HE/HIM (Chutes&Ladders) is thrilled to join the cast as Chutes&Ladders in his first performance with T@F. You may have seen him as Lieutenant Uhura in PMRP's gender-swapped Star Trek production or as The Gentleman in the troupe’s Halloween show Tomes of Terror. When he's not opening hailing frequencies or being churlish in a chatroom, Michael can usually be found running around the river or in his kitchen making plomeek soup.

XUAN LI LEONG (Stagehand) discovered T@F this year, and stage managed Festival@First 12: Love is Love and The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons. Before this, she did stage lighting in her college town of Urbana-Champaign. She also produced an experimental play with make/space theatre in Singapore called Flicker.

LAUREN KIMBALL, SHE/HER (Co-Producer) is so happy to join T@F for another production. Previous onstage experience includes the Ensemble in The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons; she's been behind-the-scenes as Producer for Festival@First 12: Love is Love, and House Manager for Marian, Web of Murder, and Festival@First 11: Myths & Legends. 

ANGELE MARAJ (Sound Designer)

PATRICK MCMICHEN (Lightboard Operator)

LINA MERCHAN, SHE/HER (Yazmin Ortiz) is thrilled to be making her debut with T@F. She is a Colombian woman who migrated in her late 20’s to the US. Lina is passionate about ending poverty worldwide and crafting fair trade chocolate. She enjoys biking and hiking with her husband Andrew.

SAM MONIZ (Soundboard Operator)

ATHARVA NIMBALWAR (Ghost, Professor Aman, Flower Shop Owner, Policeman) has performed as the Sheriff in Marian, Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, making this his second play with T@F, and has also taken part in a production at Northeastern. He is currently pursuing a master's in software engineering while exploring the art of acting.

EMILY OSTERLOH, SHE/HER (Publicity Director) is delighted to be back on publicity for T@F, having recently handled the role for The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons. Emily loves theatre, as well as obsessing over Taylor Swift. She's also a code consultant for work. Emily thanks her family, roommate, and Sybil for being in her life. And of course, the cast and crew for being stars! 

DANIEL RENDÓN (Elliot Ortiz) is an actor, playwright and director excited to make his acting debut with T@F since graduating Amherst College. Daniel feels honored to have worked on this production with such a talented group of individuals.

GILLY ROSENTHOL, SHE/HER (Graphic Designer) is originally from the Philadelphia area and is old enough to remember chat rooms. She has been with T@F since 2004 as an actor, director, and graphic designer. In addition to her other design work, she creates unique Disney-inspired prints on dresses with pockets and other clothing at madteapartybygilly.etsy.com.

LIZ SALAZAR, SHE/HER (Odessa Ortiz/Haikumom) is a local playwright, director, and actor who is excited to be back on the T@F stage. Her most recent acting credits include Mirta in Teatro Chelsea's staged reading of Alba, Jackie in Fresh Ink Theatre's staged reading of Pigeon House, and Celeste Martinez in Fresh Ink's Truth or Consequences.

MARCO SHENG, HE/HIM (Props Designer) is thrilled to be rejoining the theater community and making his debut at T@F as props designer. Previous theatrical roles include ASMing in college and performing in the musicals Lucky Stiff and Urinetown in high school (yes, those are real musicals!). Away from the theater, he enjoys playing the roles of "event host" and "TV connoisseur."

DECLAN STECHER, THEY/THEM (Lighting Designer) This is Declan's first show with T@F and they are so grateful for the opportunity to work with such a welcoming team. In the past they have acted, directed, written, and done light design for many other shows, and are excited to work on many more shows with T@F in the future!

LILIAN TAYLOR, SHE/HER (Set Designer) is a freelance creative based in Cambridge, and she loves making things. This is her third show with T@F and her first as set designer.

CHLOE TREPANIER (Co-Technical Director) This is Chloe’s fourth production with T@F and she’s so excited to work with them again! She constantly debates whether an Oreo is a sandwich. When she’s not working backstage, she’s admiring her cat, Bella, hiking through the National Parks, and rewatching Cheaper by the Dozen 2. 

VIOLET VILLANUEVA, SHE/HER (Orangutan) is absolutely ecstatic to be a part of this incredible show. She is immensely grateful to T@F for selecting this play, to her talented castmates & crewmates, and to the playwright for penning a story that merits sharing and characters that feel so real. Some favorite recent roles of hers include Liz in Don't Fence Me In (AAPC & Burlington Players) and Leah in Friends with Guns (New Renaissance Theater). Enjoy!