Theatre At First

Richie DeJesus (Fight Director, U/S d'Albert) is happy to be returning to T@F. He has performed in previous Festival@First shows and most recently Co-Directed Water By The Spoonful. Recent favorite credits include Aaron in First Date (CCP), Robert in The Play That Goes Wrong (Quannapowitt Players), Usnavi in In The Heights (Nashoba Players), and Horton in Seussical (Spotlight Playhouse).
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Hollis (Costumes Assistant, U/S Impresario) is excited to be returning to the stage after a long break. They would like to thank their cat for his (reluctant) support.
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James Scheffler (Lead Carpenter, U/S Gentleman) most recently appeared as the Captain and the Dog Man (None Escape). Often helps as he's able, for this show he's the carpenter.

Theatre@First is pleased to announce that we have elected our new officers!

At our regular steering committee meeting on June 14th, 2026, the committee elected the following officers for the 2026-2027 term:

Managing Director - Mary Parker Mary Parking Lot
Artistic Director - Jess Viator Jess Viator
Production Coordinator - Lauren Kimball
Clerk/Elections Coordinator - Jason Rhode Jason Rhode
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator - Jamie Lin Jamie Lin
Technical Coordinator - Chloe Trepanier Chloe Trepanier
Communications Director - Hannah Baker Hannah Baker

Our election for Treasurer was postponed until next month's meeting, at which the sole nominee is our incumbent Treasurer, Vivian Greenberg.

Congratulations to all the current and upcoming officers!

Samuel Zeiberg (Co-Dramaturg) is excited to be back with T@F working on Aria! Last seen on stage with T@F in Giving@First and last summer's The Tempest, he is excited to be working behind the scenes to help bring the real world of Julie d'Aubigny to life! Special thanks to his family and his wife Kara for all of their love and support.
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Shannon Fay (Assistant Stage Manager) is excited to be returning to a T@F production and working on their first show as ASM! Shan has experience with props design, show run crew, and set design/building for various community theater, high school, and college productions. Other theater experiences include performing in Lucky Stiff with Natick Players; Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood with T@F; and A Little Women Christmas with Colonial Chorus Players. When not hanging out in a theater you can find Shan working in architecture in Boston or painting. 
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Tal Scully (Consulting Dance Choreographer) has about two decades of experience in ballet and other dance styles, and previously she has acted in T@F's Festival@First 12 (Mabel in The Spirit of Goodwill). Tal currently lives in Vienna, Austria, where she studies how axolotl salamanders regenerate limbs. It has been a delight to contribute to this production from afar, and Tal is immensely proud of her husband, Peter, and everyone at T@F who brought this story to life.
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Xuan Li Leong (Stage Manager) is honored to be a part of this team. Every moment has been a joy, and she is continually impressed by everyone’s talent. Her favorite prop is the baguette. Shout out to her friends for coming to watch the show!

It's time to announce the cast of Festival@First 14: JUST DESERTS! These incredible actors will debut nine brand-new plays about justice, redemption, and consequences this August. We'll be featuring each play in the weeks ahead--for now, enjoy the cast list, and see you at the show!

The Kentworth Case:

Emma Picht — Wolfe
Alex Gorowara — Wolfe’s Voiceover
Hollis — Este Shmeckbetski
Carolyn Salvi — Elizabeth Kentworth
Andy Lebrun — George Kentworth

The Landlord Special:

Danny Miller — Nicky
Raj Bhuva — Donovan
Aiyana Washington — Margaret

Remember Me:

Christina Bontempo — Miranda
Zack Murphy — Manny
Ewa Sitarska — Nurse

The Ledge:

Carolyn Salvi — Francine Hansen
John Brownlie — Tommy Dunlop

Orphans:

Zack Murphy — Officer Luther McEvoy
Tim Meserve — Officer John Albilali

Odysseus’ Law of Proportional Misery:

Hann Allen — Eros
Benny Russell — Dylan
Hollis & Ewa Sitarska — Couple

The Real Housewives of Vermont:

Lisa Calevi — Helen
Joanne Nicklas — Alice
Sue Downing — Wanda
Ruby Simonoff — Tracy

The Villain Dies at The End:

Aiyana Washington — The Judge
Cate Bounds — The Fallen

Don’t Push the Red Button:

Emma Picht — Samuel
Andy Lebrun — Albert

Lauren Kimball (House Manager, U/S Gossip 3) is thrilled to be part of both the crew AND cast this time! You may have seen her onstage as part of the ensemble in T@F's The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons or 1/3 of a snow globe collection in this year's Giving@First, or hanging in front of house at the box office & concessions tables as House Manager. She also serves as Theatre@First's Production Coordinator.
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Marco White (Sound Designer) is a sound designer, composer, and music producer based in the Greater Boston area. He's a recent UMass Amherst graduate, with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater. He has designed a plethora of shows, such as John Proctor is the Villain (UMass), Dentata (UMass), Yoga Play (UMass), and Night Train (Theater Between Addresses). This is his first main stage production with T@F and is excited to be working alongside a talented cast and crew of people! Outside theater, he loves geeking out about indie music, video games, webcomics, or new animated shows. You can find him at marcowhitesound.com
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Pamela Petterchak (Vocal Director, Composer) is joining Aria for her first T@F production. She previously vocal/music directed for MIT MTG (Spelling Bee, Assassins) and Weston Friendly Kids (Shrek Jr.). She has also performed in Heathers (Veronica), The Lightning Thief (Clarisse), and The Last Five Years (Cathy). When not in the theatre, Pamela works as a computer engineer, plays Dungeons & Dragons, and cross-stitches.
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Samuel Zeiberg (Co-Dramaturg) is excited to be back with T@F working on Aria! Last seen on stage with T@F in Giving@First and last summer's The Tempest, he is excited to be working behind the scenes to help bring the real world of Julie d'Aubigny to life! Special thanks to his family and his wife Kara for all of their love and support.

Lauren Elias (Gossip 2) Selected credits include: T@F's A King and No King, Hub Theatre’s The Bald Soprano & The Lesson, Tartuffe (Elliot Norton Award Nominee- Outstanding Actor/Outstanding Production), Into The Breeches! (Elliot Norton Award Nominee-Outstanding Production), Peter and the Starcatcher (IRNE Award Nominee-Best Play/Best Ensemble), Wit (IRNE Award nominee-Best Supporting Actress). She has also worked with Theatre UnCorked, Arlekin Player, Hovey Players, Dream Role Players, The Gold Dust Orphans and Commonwealth Shakespeare. Much love and gratitude to Peter and this amazing team for all their hard work and dedication.
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Noah Babb (Gossip 1) is thrilled to make this show his T@F and Boston debut. Research scientist by day and drag show DJ by night, Noah’s done productions such as Little Shop of Horrors, Trail to Oregon, and most recently Sometimes the Rain Sometimes the Sea. You can find them next at midnight if you chant “The Game” three times into your mirror.
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Robert Thorpe II (Thevenard) he/they is delighted to return to T@F having previously appeared in Tempest, Festival 12, Marian, Cherry Orchard, and She Kills Monsters. Recent credits: Medea (Deadword Theatre); Horseplay (Played by Medusa the Horse) (Fork&Shoe Theatre Co-op); Macbeth, Othello, Twelfth Night (Dream Role Players); Much Ado About Nothing (THT Repertory); Tartuffe, The Book of Will (Hub Theatre). When not on stage you can find Robert writing code, playing DnD, or chilling with his cats Nox and Dora. Many thanks to his friends, family, and partner Amelia, as well as his friends Peter and Tal who he’s sure reads bios.
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Ted Overholt (King Louis XIV, d'Armagnac) has been active around local community theater for about a decade, most recently as the nefarious grand vizier in "A King and No King".

Eli Burrus (Props Assistant) is proud to make The Aria of Julie d'Aubigny his first T@F show! He has also appeared as cast in several shows with the Post Meridian Radio Players, Quannapowitt Players, and various online voice acting projects. He loves to spend his spare time playing video games and snoozing with his two cats.
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Elizabeth Ross (Intimacy Director) is so pleased to be working on this wonderful show with all these amazing and talented folks! Most recently, Elizabeth has also done Intimacy Direction for T@F's production of A King or No King and directed None Escape - The Island of Dr. Moreau.
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Jamie Lin (Co-Dramaturg, Publicity Designer) is so happy to celebrate the biconic life of Julie with publicity design and history deep dives as co-dramaturg — thanks to Sam for being such an amazing teammate! She's worn many Firstie hats over the years but most notably as EDI Coordinator. Offstage, she is a graphic designer, D&D gamemaster, and beloved underbutler to Tia 🐶.
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Keisha Warriner (Props Designer) is thrilled to work with T@F again and tell this incredible story. Previously they have designed props for Hamlet and Marian, as well as the sets for Festival@First (Love, and Myths & Legends). They have also worked with PMRP doing foley and graphic design, and helping with the Mrs. Hawking series. In their spare time they continue their love of making wonderful things, both in their day job as a jeweler and trying new crafting and storytelling hobbies every day.

Just wrapped a sensational opening weekend for The Aria of Julie d'Aubigny! There are still tickets available for the next two weekends, and a portion of ticket sales go to BAGLY!
https://theatreatfirst.ludus.com/index.php

Catherine Bromberg (Intendant, Rochois, U/S Florensac) is beyond thrilled to be part of The Aria of Julie d'Aubigny! Previous T@F appearances include the Boatswain (The Tempest), Delores (The Impracticality of Modern Day Mastadons), Paula (The Magic Fire) and Claude (The Eagle and the Cactus). Favorite roles with the Post Meridian Radio Players include Mrs. Hudson (Mrs. Hudson Investigates!), Mrs. Hart (The Stolen Body), Professor Abra Van Helsing (The Van Helsing Chronicles), The Red Queen/Alice's mother (Alice in Wonderland), and of course, Dr. Lenore "Bones" McCoy in PMRP's gender-swapped Star Trek series. She also sings in Zdravets, a.k.a. Boston's friendly neighborhood Bulgarian band. Catherine is especially grateful to her family and friends-who-are-also-family for their love, support and general awesomeness.
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Christian Choumenkovitch (Gentleman, U/S Gossip 4) is thrilled to be making his debut at T@F. He has been doing theatre since the 6th grade and has loved it ever since. Previous credits include Little Stone (Eurydice), Ensemble (The Prom), Train Conductor/Hans/Ensemble (Cabaret), Billy Cane (Bright Star), and Smee (Peter/Wendy). When not doing theatre, Christian is an avid movie lover, who is pursuing a career in the film industry.

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Emily Isaac (Florensac) is thrilled to make her T@F debut! This is her second performance since moving to Massachusetts from Maryland, after Megan Jones (Puffs @ TCAN). In her 9-5 life, she works for Mass Audubon, and enjoys crafting, vegan baking, and hiking. She'd like to thank T@F for making Somerville feel even more like home.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTItc7Abco/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

On the fence about auditioning for Festival@First 14: JUST DESERTS? Maybe these testimonials will...tip the scales! :p Check out some of the amazing things actors in previous Festivals had to say about the process, then go to https://www.theatreatfirst.org/auditions to sign up for a slot. Auditions will be this Monday (6/8) and Tuesday (6/9), and space is filling fast!