Just Us – PROGRAM
Welcome to the centerpiece production of the third annual
6th Fest! The world premiere of:
JUST US
Find out all about our festival and the amazing team below..
What is The Sixth Festival?
The Sixth Fest is a fringe festival inviting anyone, anywhere to contribute events of any kind to bring us together and inspire action to stop climate change, which is triggering the sixth mass extinction on earth. Dance parties, protests, arts, forums, big picnics, anything.
Events occur year-round with a main run in June. The festival began in April of 2021 in Chicago and online, producing and partnering with 25 events over 10 days from 80+ presenters. The following year we branched out into New York, and the community continues to grow!
SEE OUR OTHER EVENTS THIS YEAR
We are an unfunded effort with a mostly volunteer staff. Our nonprofit sponsor, The Still Point Theatre Collective, makes all tickets tax-deductible donations on a pay-what-you-wish basis, following our values of radical inclusion and non-commodification. We were not founded for the sake of turning a profit, but for the profit of a livable planet.
If you would like to take part in anyway, contact nate@thesixthfest.org or you can support by
donating here.
Just Us
a new climate play
THE CAST & TEAM
(in order of appearance)
The Cast
Jabari Elzie
Birds of America, Consultant, Book
I am a 19 year old student from Charlotte, North Carolina. Currently pursuing a BFA in Drama at The New School. I am a recent graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts High School program and have been a preforming theatre artist for the past 10 years. I am also a writer and director. Recently having my one act play “Minstrel” accepted into this years New York Theatre Festival Winter Festival.
Liz Bove
Sister Angelica, Karen Malpede, Shop Manager
Theater credits include The Guthrie Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, Florida Rep, Cortland Rep. Film credits on imdb.com
Rae Bell
Autumn, Child, Youth Activist
A recent graduate of Oberlin College who is excited to be making her New York City theater debut in Just Us! In addition to Oberlin’s theater department, Rae has performed with Zeitgeist Stage Company, Boston Theater Company, and Solas Nua. Film/TV credits include Selah and the Spades and Mostly 4 Millennials. Rae is represented by Stein Entertainment Group
Jasmine Bernard
Doctor Stein, Rachel, Liv
NYC based actor who recently graduated from the full time professional conservatory at the Atlantic Theatre Company. She was last seen in The Witching Hour at the Kraine theatre. Coming up you can see them in Free Radicals, a short play performing in the New York Theatre Festival. She hopes you enjoy the show and ponder on how you can help us all take care of this “attractive, hospitable, blue green ball.” jasminekbernard.com
Joshua W. Josey
Jules Hotchkins, Committee Chair, Hillary Taylor VI
An experienced actor and model with a B.F.A. from the University of Florida (New World School of the Arts). After graduating from theater school, Mr. Josey toured the country performing educational shows for children, and soon after, settled in New York City where he performed on numerous stages, taught theater to elementary students in Queens, NY and was featured several times on PBS.org. Mr. Josey holds a master’s in public administration, is recognized by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice as a valuable resource and is currently in his second year of law school.
IG: @Joshuawjosey
Nasser Khan
Doctor Heath, Ralph, Energy Expert
Credits include Aurora Theatre’s production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Bay Area Premiere) and various shows with Open Fist Theatre, including Machinal, Modigliani, and Early and Often.
He had the honor of receiving his training at the infamous Diablo Valley College theatre program.
For Cas, Zeke, and Teddy.
IG: @naas_irrr
Stephanie Jeane Toussaint
Britt Wray, Sitter, Molly, Tourist
Chinese-Canadian actor based in NYC. She is thrilled to take part in Sixth Fest’s Just Us in telling these important stories about climate change. NY credits include The Witching Hour (The Kraine Theatre), Dogeaters (Two River Theater), A Sketch of New York (Producers Club Theater). MFA credits include Northbound Train, Dance Nation, Three Sisters, curiouser, clouds. Film: The Snoozefest, Delivery, Janice, Crimson Harvest, Ava. MFA Columbia. stephaniejeane.com
Gage Morgan
Paul Chapman, Tim
A recent graduate of the BA Theatre program at Florida State University. His previous credits include Jean-Michel in Cinderella (2022), Pulitzer in Newsies (2021), and Lenny in Marisol (2020).
IG: @gage_morgan
Chelsea MacMillan
Interlocutor
A climate organizer, interspiritual minister and spiritual director, writer, and singer who lives, works, and plays in Brooklyn NY. She cohosted The Rising: Spirituality for Revolution, cofounded Brooklyn Center for Sacred Activists, and has spent the last 15+ years facilitating humans of all ages all around the world.
www.chelseamacmillan.com
IG: @revchelseamac
The Directors
Mahayana Landowne
Director/Designer
NYC based director/art activist. Productions include: We Are Pussy Riot, The Skriker, The Seagull, brass logic, Impossible Country, Streetcar Named Desire, Obgynt, King Lear, and Mud. Member of CallingAllParties.org, interactive performance collective; Extinction Rebellion Community; and Brooklyn Friends Meeting. As a non-violent street activist I encourage you to stand for your beliefs in whatever way is aligned for you.
mahayanalandowne.com
Nate Smith
Producer/Director
Founding Director of The Sixth Festival. Artistic Director of A Theater Group and the cowboy gunfight show in Silverton, Colorado. Company member of The Still Point Theatre Collective. He last directed The Curious Savage and Red for A Theatre Group, and last appeared in handcuffs blocking Paris Hilton’s car at the Met Gala. He strongly encourages you to Google “4 degrees of warming” if you do not already know what that means.
THE PIECES
(in order of appearance)
The Scenes, Writers, and Interviewees
Birds of America
by Debbie Stein
Deborah Kent is the author of numerous young-adult novels and nonfiction titles for middle-grade readers, mostly about US history. Recently she has branched into storytelling and writing personal essays. She lives in Chicago with her husband, children’s author R. Conrad (Dick) Stein.
The Swan Clouds of Swithun
by Fengar Gael
Previous productions at: Detroit Repertory, New Jersey Repertory, the Moxie Theatre of San Diego, the Landing Theatre of Houston, the InterAct Theatre of Philadelphia, and in New York: Urban Stages, MultiStages,The Resonance Ensemble, and Ego Actus. She is a recipient of the Craig Noel Award, Playwrights First Award, Wilde Award, Julie Harris Award, and commissions from South Coast Repertory, the Hangar Theatre, the National New Play Network, and a fellowship from the California Arts Council. Her website is www.fengar.com
Britt
interview
Britt Wray, PhD is an author and researcher working at the forefront of climate change and mental health. Her latest book Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis, is an impassioned generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption and was a finalist for the 2022 Governor General’s Award.
Paul
interview
Paul Chapman was an advocate, activist, organizer and clergyman who worked for civil rights, workers’ rights, and for the poor in this country and others. While he worked for decades on many issues, especially economic inequality, his experiences during the Civil Rights Movement always held a special place. When he helped host Dr. King speaking in Boston for a fundraiser, King told him, “I’ve raised much more money than this before, but have never walked with as much” because Paul and his group did not take an “overhead fee.” He is survived by his beloved wife, Gayle Irvin.
Don’t Drink the Jet Fuel
by Jonathan Joy
Jonathan Joy is a playwright, podcaster, and professor from West Virginia. Don’t Drink the Jet Fuel won a national award from the Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre at the University of Illinois. It debuted with Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV as a part of their New Voices festival. This is its NYC premiere.
Policy Memorandum
by Seth Freeman
Seth Freeman writes for the stage, print, film and television, for which he created the series Lincoln Heights. There have been over two hundred forty productions of his plays around the world. He dedicates non-writing time to institutions devoted to health care, education, the empowerment of women, and human rights.
Energy Expert
interview
This interviewee wished to remain anonymous to protect their job.
You can learn more about true energy alternatives for the survival of our planet at:
Rachel
interview
Rachel Rivera is a native New Yorker, mother, community organizer, and speaker. She shares her story and inspires people across the city to take action for their lives and homes. Part of her work is with New York Communities for Change, a frontline-led organization.
Good Manners
by Jenny Lyn Bader
Jenny Lyn Bader is an award-winning dramatist whose plays include Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library (Luna Stage), In Flight (Workshop Theatre), and None of the Above (New Georges). Her audio plays, which have streamed in 30 countries on five continents, include Tree Confessions (This is Not a Theatre Company, w/ Kathleen Chalfant), a work that seeks to raise environmental awareness — and the world’s first solo play from the point of view of a tree. www.jennylynbader.com
Hillary
interview
Hillary Taylor VI is a Global Youth Ambassador @aworldatschool, founder – Global Youth Act Now (GYAN), Youth Human Rights Activist. He just received his Master’s in International Relations from the Kennedy School at Harvard.
www.globalyouthactnow.org
Twitter
Karen
interview
Karen Malpede is a writer/director whose many plays include Troy Too, Other than We, and Extreme Whether. Books include Plays in Time: The Beekeeper’s Daughter, and Prophecy. She co-founded Theater Three Collective with her late husband George Bartenieff.
The Vault
by Uma Incrocci
Uma Incrocci’s short play “A Christmas Pickle” was a finalist in the Samuel French OOB Festival in 2020. She also co-wrote the Hallmark Channel movies “A Christmas Carousel” and “Nature of Love.”She’s a member of the PlayGround LA Writing Pool and her short plays have been performed all around the country, and most recently in Adelaide, Australia. Her acting credits include appearances on “Modern Family,” “How To Get Away With Murder,” “Jane The Virgin,” “Bored to Death,” and “Lipstick Jungle.”
Youth Leader
interview
This is an amalgamation of conversations with youth climate leaders in NYC and beyond.
Everything Must Go
by Christine Foster
Christine is an award winning playwright whose work has appeared worldwide in theatres and on major television networks. Two full length world premieres have been scheduled for 2023, including a play about the widow of the great Houdini, which opens in the UK in September. www.christinefoster.ca
STAY WITH US FOR A FOLLOWING DISCUSSION.
Thank you to The Gene Frankel Theater & St John’s Lutheran Church for hosting these performances
Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to:
Steph Hinck, Productions Manager
Mia Pak, promo
Xandra Leigh Parker, cloud prop
Cindi Clark and all door attendants
