TOUCH THE MOON
BY ARIANNA ROSE
ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY ADAM SCHULTZ
Director: Elizabeth A Harris
Playwright: Arianna Rose
Miranda: Hannah Willow Diesman
Becca: Elizabeth Hickerson
Stefan: Elliot Handkins
Dirk: Michael Spitz
Emily: Gabi Homonoff
WORKSHOP SERIES
JULY 18TH AT 7:30PM
JULY 26TH AT 7:30PM
Spring Break, 1994, on an island far from Miranda’s home. The last time teenage Miranda is seen alive. Through a series of short vignettes that connect past, present, and future, we meet Miranda, her mother Becca, her best friend Emily, Stefan, and his father Dirk, and begin to piece together what may have happened. Stefan is the last person to have seen her alive, and Becca confronts him in the interrogation room. Stefan slowly reveals his true colors as a pathological liar to a frustrated Becca.
A fuller picture of Miranda emerges, showing a young girl on the cusp of womanhood, healing from a broken family dynamic and exploring the boundaries of her sexuality. Dirk tries to protect his son, and Emily is haunted by the argument with Miranda, convinced it is her fault that Miranda may be dead. At the conclusion, Stefan still has not told Becca what he knows, and Becca, Emily, Miranda and Stefan must find a place of peace in not knowing.
Elizabeth A Harris (she/her) [Director] Elizabeth A Harris is the executive director and co-founder of Cincinnati LAB Theatre. She has been a working theatre professional and educator for 33 years. Elizabeth holds a B.A. in Acting and a M.A. in Theatre with an emphasis in Directing from Morehead State University. She also has a M.F.A. in Playwrighting from Spalding University. Elizabeth recently achieved her Doctor of Education in Leadership from Spalding University. Elizabeth has had her plays produced in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta. Her full-length play Daughter of War, previously Buckeye, opened with Cincinnati LAB Theatre October 28, 2021 and was LAB Theatre’s first New Works production in 2014. In the past Elizabeth has taught acting and directing at Northern Kentucky University and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Currently she is theatre faculty at St. Xavier High School and the Co-Director of Theatre Xavier. She lives in Cincinnati with her constant companion and best friend, Charlie the Dog.
Arianna Rose [Playwright] Arianna Rose is delighted to have her first workshop production of TOUCH THE MOON with Cincinnati Lab Theatre. An award-winning playwright/musical theatre writer, her work has produced in thirty-seven states and ten countries to date. TOUCH THE MOON was one of three finalists for the Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing, UK, has received staged readings with Fantasy Theatre Factory (Miami FL) and HRC Showcase Theatre (Hudson NY), and numerous finalist and semi-finalist honors. It was the third place winner in Mixing It Up Productions 2020 Playwright Competition, and was partially developed within the Miami Dade Council of Cultural Affairs Playwright Development Program, moderated by Kia Corthron. Full length plays: TOUCH THE MOON, THE EQUIVALENT OF SENSATION, THE LESSER LEYENDECKER, THE RIPPLE EFFECT. Full-length musicals: THE LOST GIRL, A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION, SKIPPING A STONE, THE LEYENDECKER LOOK. Multitudes of short plays and musicals. Awards: MAC Song of the Year, the York Theatre NEO. Best play awards: Theatre Odyssey, Midnight Sun Theatre, 4th Street Theatre, Town & Gown Theatre, Tree City Playhouse, Mixing It Up Productions, the Know Theatre, Studio 1 Theatre, Third Citizen Theatre , South Baldwin Theatre, Savage Wonder Theatre, Clocktower Theatre. Participant: 2022 Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, 2022 William Inge Play Festival, 2019-2021 Miami-Dade Playwright Development Program. Two-time finalist, Edward Kleban Award for Lyricists & Librettists. Published by Applause Books, Smith & Kraus, Theatre Odyssey Publications. Instructor: “Writing the Short-form Play”, “Wordcraft: Lyric Writing for the Stage”, and “The Sacred Scribe: Creative Writing” . M.F.A., NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; B.A., Theatre, Bucknell University; BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. Member: ASCAP, LMDA, Maestra, New Play Exchange, South Florida Theatre League, The Dramatists Guild. www.ariannarose.net
Hannah Willow Diesman (she/her) [Miranda] Hannah (or Willow) is going into her senior year at Northern Kentucky University studying photography and entrepreneurship. When she’s not onstage, she can be found enjoying a piña colada and getting caught in the rain. She recently played Miss Scarlet in The Henry Konstantinow theater’s Clue: On Stage at NKU, and is stoked to participate in LAB’s New Works Festival again.
Elizabeth Hickerson (she/her) [Becca] Elizabeth has done a number of staged readings with Lab, including most recently “Love’s Labours Lost and Found”. Other favorite performances include Eleemosynary (Dorothea), August: Osage County (Ivy), Silent Sky (Henrietta) and many others around town. When not on stage, Elizabeth is the Education Director for Linton PB&J sessions, where she runs a concert series for young children and teaches music literacy to preschoolers. Thanks to her kids and Robert for all their support!
Elliot Handkins (he/him) [Stefan] Elliot Handkins is very happy to be back working with Cincy LAB. He was last seen with LAB as Homeless Man in Four Horses in March and is excited to be taking that show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. A graduate of NKU with a B.F.A. in Acting, he lives in Cincinnati and is typically seen in local productions around the tri-state. He has been performing since the second grade when he sang "I Won't Grow Up" with his triplet siblings in a talent show. Some favorite credits include Jamie (The Last Five Years), Henry (Next to Normal, White Coat (Shirt. Brown. Honesty.), Jeff (Of Dudes and Nudes), and Benjamin (The Graduate). He hopes you love new works as much as him and loves that you're supporting local theatre today.
Michael Spitz (he) [Dirk] After a long hiatus from acting, Mike Spitz last appeared in the Falcon Theater production of Hangmen. He is also an avid photographer, record collector, and therapist in private practice.
Gabi Homonoff (she/her) [Emily] Gabi is thrilled to join this cast and crew in Touch the Moon! She is so grateful for the opportunity to help showcase amazing new works and artists like Arianna Rose. Recent credits: Fun Home (Joan), The Prom (Alyssa Greene). Love to Mom, Dad, Ez, Della, and the entire Tuch-Hom-Cop-Finke clan.