Syracuse (On)Stage: Recent Episodes
Syracuse Stage
Syracuse (On)Stage pulls back the curtain and explores the process of creating theatre in the heart of Central New York. We will go behind the scenes with the various artists and creators making theatre at Syracuse Stage and beyond.
For more than a decade, the Young Adult Council (YAC) at Syracuse Stage has given high school students from across Central New York an inside look at the magic of professional theatre. Join Syracuse Stage Director of Education Kate Laissle for a conversation with YAC alum Sofia Benderski and 2026 graduate Zoie Markowski as they reflect on their experiences in the program, the friendships and opportunities it created, and why access to the arts beyond the classroom matters for young people.
Brendan Malafronte and Andrea “Dott” Dotto talk about sharing the role of Olaf in Syracuse Stage’s current production of “Frozen,” and their recent relocation to Central New York.
For more than 25 years, the Ginny Parker Young Playwrights Festival has given Central New York students the chance to see their ideas leap from the page to the stage. In this episode, longtime Christian Brothers Academy teacher Todd Benware, Syracuse University Department of Drama and YPF alumna Catie Kobland, and recent finalist and Jamesville-DeWitt student Udochukwu Okereke share stories about creativity, collaboration, and the excitement of bringing student voices to life through theater. Together, they explore how the festival inspires young writers to tell bold stories, see the world through new perspectives, and discover the power of their own voices.
Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo sits down with Eleonor Holdridge about her first year as chair at the Department of Drama at Syracuse University
Timothy Douglas speaks with Kyle Bass about his upcoming production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and his longtime history with August Wilson.
Joe Stray, founder and owner or Prime Time Boxing talks with Joann Yarrow about his journey through boxing and its similarity with the play "Relentless" presented at Syracuse Stage
Professor of Arts Education James Haywood Rolling Jr. and Syracuse City School District Arts Coordinator Rory Edwards join Director of Education Kate Laissle for a conversation about the vital role diverse arts experiences play in the lives of young people.
Actors Gavin Lambert, Jojo Harper-McNeal, and Kenley Sample talk with Youth Actor Supervisor Joe McCurdy about “A Christmas Story” playing now at Syracuse Stage.
In anticipation of Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production of “A Christmas Story,” Michelle DiBernardo, the Executive Director of the Syracuse International Film Festival, speaks with Joann Yarrow about how film intersects, inspires and creates new versions of the same story for audiences on stage.
Two artistic directors talk about collaborating theaters, shows, and the current theatrical landscape. Syracuse Stage’s Bob Hupp and Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Ben Hanna join forces on the upcoming co-production of 39 Steps.
Assemblywoman Pamela J. Hunter speaks with Joann Yarrow about her journey to the military in celebration of Syracuse Stage’s production of ’The Hello Girls.’
Syracuse Stage kicks off its 2025/26 Season with “The Hello Girls,” a heroic new musical that chronicles the story of America's first women soldiers in WWI. Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo talks with a member of the show’s creative team, Christine O’Grady.
Joann Yarrow interviews thought leader Michelle Schenandoah (Oneida/ Haudenosaunee) and choreographer/theatre director Nicole Beutler (Netherlands/Germany) about their dance piece, A Room in Our House.
Playwright Rae Binstock talks about her upcoming world premiere play "Relentless" in Syracuse Stage's 25/26 season.
Rogelio Martinez (he/his) is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been workshopped and produced in theaters across the country and abroad. His play, Born In East Berlin, was first performed at the Stasi Museum, Berlin, in both English and German and then premiered at San Francisco Playhouse in February 2020. More recently, Martinez worked on The Seven Deadly Sins project for Miami New Drama. It was the largest theatrical production allowed by Equity during the pandemic. It won the Drama League Award - Outstanding Interactive or Socially-Distanced Theater. In 2021, Martinez worked on a new television project for Tom Fontana, based on the book, Year of Dangerous Days. His play, Blind Date, was produced at the Goodman Theatre under the direction of Tony-nominee Robert Falls, with Tony Award-winning actress Deanna Dunagan playing the role of Nancy Reagan, and was awarded an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Martinez is a recipient of a 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship, Princess Grace Award, and a Mid-Career Fellowship at the Lark Theater Company. His work has been workshopped and commissioned by various theaters across the country including the Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Atlantic Theater Company, Arden Theater, Asolo Repertory, and Ojai Theater Company, and many more. Martinez’s plays include Illuminating Veronica, Arrivals and Departures, All Eyes and Ears, Blind Date, Born in East Berlin, and I Regret She’s Made of Sugar (Princess Grace Winner). He is an alumnus of New Dramatists. Martinez teaches undergraduate playwriting at NYU and has also written for children’s television. Martinez was born in Sancti-Spiritus, Cuba, and came to this country on the Mariel boatlift.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS
Zizi Majid is a playwright whose plays advocate for a shared humanity. She is the inaugural recipient of the Julia Miles Playwriting Residency (WP Theatre) during which she wrote the play Milk. She was a 2022-23 Playwriting Fellow with the Dramatists Guild Foundation and is a proud alum of the WP Lab. She won the Pacific Rim Prize for Playwriting (Kumu Kahua Theatre/University of Hawaii Manoa Playwriting Contest), has been a finalist for the Princeton Arts Fellowship, a finalist for the Blue Ink Playwriting Award; a thrice semi-finalist for the O'Neil National Playwrights Conference and a finalist for the Columbia@Roundabout New Play Reading Series. Plays include They Came in the Night, Return to Fall, The Rejects, and How to Gild an Eagle. For five years, Zizi was the Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra (Singapore) garnering multiple awards during her tenure. She teaches playwriting and drama in context at Syracuse University. MFA: Columbia University. Website: zizimajid.com
Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel is a trans-Guatemalan playwright, born in Guatemala and raised in Connecticut. Her works are spiritual, hyper-theatrical narratives that give Black & Brown Queer/Trans voices a space to interrogate core wounds and offer them a path toward healing. Esperanza’s plays have been supported by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Roundabout Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the Kennedy Center, the Tank, Breaking the Binary Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and New York Theater Workshop. Esperanza is the recipient of the Princeton Ward Prize for Fiction and Outstanding Achievement in Theater Prize, the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Scholarship from the Yale School of Drama, and the Paul Greene Award from the National Theatre Conference. Her play, Color Boy, received the Kennedy Center's Latinx Playwriting Award and Paula Vogel Playwriting Award (finalist), an Honorable Mention from the 2024 Relentless Award, a nomination for the 2025 Venturous Playwright Fellowship from the Playwright’s Center, and was named the Connecticut State Winner for the Clauder Prize from Portland Stage. Her play Lupe Finds Me in the Garden of Dreams was a finalist for the 2024 Leah Ryan Prize, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Van Lier Fellowship for New Voices at Rattlestick Theater, and is also a current finalist for the Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival. Lupe Finds Me was developed through New York Theater Workshop’s 2024 Summer Dartmouth Residency and was presented at the 2024 Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival at Playwrights Horizons. She is a two-time finalist for the O’Neill Theatre Conference and nominee for the Ollie Award, a one-time nominee for the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award at the Williamstown Theater Festival and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and is a contributor to the second volume of Methuen Drama’s Anthology of Trans Plays. She is currently a Teaching Artist for the Public Theater, an IB Theater Advisor at Brooklyn Prospect Charter High School, and a Lecturer in Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where she produced and mentored the playwrights working on the 2024-2025 Carlotta Festival and the Langston Hughes Festival of New Plays. BA: Princeton, MFA: Yale
Playwright and actor Kate Hamill talks about her adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” with director Jason O’Connell for Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production.
Emily Holm, Scenic Charge Artist, and Mara Rich, Prop Shop Supervisor, talk about their work behind the scenes at Syracuse Stage.
Actors Enoch A. King and Quinn Johnson talk basketball and friendship in the upcoming production of “King James” by Rajiv Joseph
About Rochele Royster
Rochele Royster is an artist, educator, and licensed art therapist dedicated to fostering mental health and wellness through creative expression. With over two decades of experience as a special education teacher in Chicago Public Schools, she has developed culturally relevant, arts-based approaches to promote critical thinking, resilience, and social change in underserved communities. Now based in Syracuse, Rochele leads the Me/We Creative Arts & Wellness Lab & Studio, offering accessible wellness services and advocating for inclusive, strength-based care for marginalized populations. Her work emphasizes the transformative power of art to build connections, amplify voices, and create spaces of belonging.
About Brian Cimmet
Brian Cimmet teaches courses in musical theater performance, literature, history, and audition technique. His recent Department of Drama credits include direction and musical direction for Avenue Q and music direction for Parade and Spring Awakening. Other Syracuse credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Seussical, Hairspray, Violet, Like You Like It, White Christmas, Cradle Will Rock, Rent, and Cabaret. Beyond the confines of Syracuse, Cimmet’s credits include the Broadway companies of The Drowsy Chaperone, Mary Poppins, and Grease; the original Off-Broadway productions of I Love You Because (also the cast album); and The Tin Pan Alley Rag, as well as too much regional and stock theater to remember. He has composed scores to Absolutely Anything, The Spirit of Reindeer, A Christmas Carol, Burn This, Stop Kiss, Let’s Play Two, and No Poop!, and his songs have been nominated for three MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs). In an entirely unrelated walk of life, Cimmet is a two-time award winner at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, co-creator and co-host of Lollapuzzoola (his own summertime crossword tournament, www.bemoresmarter.com), and contributor to several puzzle books, some of which are available at Barnes & Noble.
About Jessica Chen
Jessica Chen is an American dancer, choreographer, and director based in New York City known for creating "visceral ...emotionally charged movements and choreography." - Sarah Draugelis, HuffPost. Her work has graced prestigious platforms like New York Fashion Week at MoMA, Lincoln Center, and MACY's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Chen has choreographed for productions Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella at Geva Theater and Jersey Boys at Weathervane Theater, and Spring Awakening for Montclair State University, where she is currently an adjunct professor teaching Jazz. Chen assisted Director William Hayes in the World Premiere of The Messenger by Jenny Connell Davis for Palm Beach Dramaworks.Internationally, she has been featured at the World Expo-USA Pavilion in Shanghai and in a special showcase by Google Arts & Culture. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of J CHEN PROJECT, a 501c3 nonprofit contemporary dance company with a mission to create dance works that emphasize identity, cultural diversity, and belonging. J CHEN PROJECT is thrilled to enjoy an open-ended run of AAPI HEROES in NYC beginning June 2024.Chen's accolades include being a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women Artist-in-Residence, a 2021 Dance Lab New York Choreographer, and a 2023 Bessie Award nominee for Outstanding Choreographer/Creator.Her current theater projects include AAPI HEROES, Cabaret, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Jessica is a Proud Member of SDC.
Costume designer Lux Haac speaks with host Melissa Crespo about her designs for Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production of Dial M for Murder.
There is an entire economic ecosystem connected to the creative economy. And whether you’re onstage, in the box office, or the audience, we’re all a part of it. Dr. Travis Newton from Le Moyne College reveals the financial impact of arts & culture organizations in Central NY.
Throughout our 50th anniversary season, audience members were invited to record a memory of their experience at Syracuse Stage. Recorded in an audio booth located right in our lobby, enjoy a short compilation of our oral history.
Syracuse Stage closes out its 50th anniversary season with the heartwarming musical “Once.” Host and director of the production, Melissa Crespo, sits down with cast members Ana Marcu and Pearl Rhein. Marcu is also an SU Drama alum class of 2016, and Rhein also serves as music director. Performances run May 1 - 19.
David Lowenstein (Drama Faculty & Actor) and Madison Manning (Drama sophomore) talk with host Melissa Crespo about the annual co-productions between Syracuse Stage and Syracuse University’s Department of Drama.
Artistic Director Bob Hupp, and actor Jason O’Connell talk about their work on Agatha Christie’s "Murder on the Orient Express," adapted by Ken Ludwig, coming up next at Syracuse Stage.
Chip Miller and Andrea Vernae sit down with host Melissa Crespo to discuss Lynn Nottage’s “Clyde’s,” a wickedly funny and insightful play about second chances, amazing sandwiches, and the world’s worst boss.
Jim Clark’s decades-long history with Syracuse Stage spans back to his appointment as managing director in 1976. In honor of the 50th anniversary season, Jim joins host Melissa Crespo to talk about his leadership tenure at Syracuse Stage.
As the weather turns cold, audiences will warm their hearts this holiday season with "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Co-produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama, Syracuse Stage is pleased to welcome back Melissa Rain Anderson, along with Ben Franklin and Joshua Dean from 2 Ring Circus, who sit down with Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo and talk about this unique adaptation by Richard Hellesen and David DeBerry.
Next up on the main stage, "Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill" by Lanie Robertson. Director, Jade King Carroll and actor Tracey Conyer Lee discuss what it takes to conjure the life of the legendary Billie Holiday.
Actors, Mel House and Phillip Taratula, sit down with director Melissa Crespo and discuss the upcoming production of "What the Constitution Means to Me." Heidi Schreck’s Tony and Pulitzer nominated play is the first show of Syracuse Stage’s 50th Anniversary Season.
Robert Moss, former Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage, continues his trip down memory lane as part of Syracuse Stage’s 50th Anniversary Season.
Robert Moss, former Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage, sits down with Melissa Crespo to reminisce about his time at Syracuse Stage and his life in the theatre.
The 2023/2024 Season marks the 50th Anniversary of Syracuse Stage! Associate Artistic Director, Melissa Crespo, talks with 50th Anniversary Coordinator Joseph Whelan and Artistic Director Bob Hupp about our upcoming season celebration.
Syracuse Stage brings the hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery play, 'Clue,' to our main stage. Artistic Director, Bob Hupp, and Scenic Designer, Czerton Lim (The Play That Goes Wrong), talk with Melissa Crespo about big plays that feel like musicals.
Syracuse Stage is proud to present the world premiere of 'Tender Rain,' by Kyle Bass. He is joined by Tracy Dorman, Emmy Award-winning Costume Designer, to discuss this highly anticipated new play by our Resident Playwright.
Artistic Director Bob Hupp and actor Jim True-Frost discuss Syracuse Stage’s upcoming production of Thornton Wilder’s classic 'Our Town.' Hupp directs 'Our Town' in celebration of the 125th anniversary of Wilder’s birth, and True-Frost from HBO’s 'The Wire,' 'Treme,' and 'Boardwalk Empire' returns to Syracuse Stage as the Stage Manager.
Syracuse Stage presents the East coast premiere 'Espejos: Clean' by Christine Quintana with Spanish translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes. Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo directs the co-production with Hartford Stage and discusses the play’s origins, the process of translation, and the power of representation in theatre with Christine and Paula.
Disney’s The Little MermaidNovember 25, 2022 – January 8, 2023Music by Alan Menken | Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater | Book by Doug Wright |Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film that was produced by Howard Ashman and John Musker and written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements | Originally Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions | Directed by Melissa Rain Anderson | Music Direction by Brian Cimmet | Choreography by Adam Cates | Co-produced with the Syracuse University Department of Drama
Dive into musical family fun with Ariel, Sebastian, and all the watery gang from this beloved tale. With spectacular aerial (what?) acrobatics provided by 2 Ring Circus (The Wizard of Oz, 2017), this production promises enough thrills and delights for landlubbers of all ages. Nothing fishy about this holiday treat.
Learn more here.
When Kyle Bass introduced The Cold Read Festival in the 2016/2017 season, his goal was to invite audiences into the creative process of the playwright at various stages of a play’s development. This season the festival returns under the direction of associate artistic director Melissa Crespo. An ardent supporter of new work development, Crespo has expanded Cold Read. In addition to a line-up of exciting in-person new work, she has invited leading theatre artists to participate in digital panels to examine the challenges and rewards of developing new work, which, as many play incubators around the country struggle, seems more important than ever. These discussions were live-streamed over zoom and recorded for all to enjoy.
When Kyle Bass introduced The Cold Read Festival in the 2016/2017 season, his goal was to invite audiences into the creative process of the playwright at various stages of a play’s development. This season the festival returns under the direction of associate artistic director Melissa Crespo. An ardent supporter of new work development, Crespo has expanded Cold Read. In addition to a line-up of exciting in-person new work, she has invited leading theatre artists to participate in digital panels to examine the challenges and rewards of developing new work, which, as many play incubators around the country struggle, seems more important than ever. These discussions were live-streamed over zoom and recorded for all to enjoy.
When Kyle Bass introduced The Cold Read Festivalin the 2016/2017 season, his goal was to invite audiences into the creative process of the playwright at various stages of a play’s development. This season the festival returns under the direction of associate artistic director Melissa Crespo. An ardent supporter of new work development, Crespo has expanded Cold Read. In addition to a line-up of exciting in-person new work, she has invited leading theatre artists to participate in digital panels to examine the challenges and rewards of developing new work, which, as many play incubators around the country struggle, seems more important than ever. These discussions were live-streamed over zoom and recorded for all to enjoy.
When Kyle Bass introduced The Cold Read Festival in the 2016/2017 season, his goal was to invite audiences into the creative process of the playwright at various stages of a play’s development. This season the festival returns under the direction of associate artistic director Melissa Crespo. An ardent supporter of new work development, Crespo has expanded Cold Read. In addition to a line-up of exciting in-person new work, she has invited leading theatre artists to participate in digital panels to examine the challenges and rewards of developing new work, which, as many play incubators around the country struggle, seems more important than ever. These discussions were live-streamed over zoom and recorded for all to enjoy.
Interdisciplinary artist, Ty Defoe talks about the development of his play "Our Words Are Seeds," scheduled to premiere in the Backstory Program in February 2023. He is joined by the play’s director, Joann Yarrow, who is also the Director of Community Engagement and Development at Syracuse Stage. Host Melissa Crespo breaks down the new play development process and why "Our Words Are Seeds" is also part of the Cold Read Festival of New Work.
Rebekah Greer Melocik & Jacob Yandurah sit down with Associate Artistic Director, Melissa Crespo, and talk about their world premiere musical HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, opening the 22/23 Season at Syracuse Stage.