“As we face abuses to human rights, personal freedoms and threats to our democracy during these unprecedented times, TST’s In Response festival is more timely and more important than ever before,” said Veronica McClelland, TST CEO. “In Response takes the news of our times straight from our streets and our screens and builds awareness and activism so that people feel empowered to make change. That is the power of the performing arts in 2025.”
Previews: October 4th & 5th
Film Nights: Every Thursday beginning October 9
Opening Night: October 10
Closing Night: November 2
NO SHOW October 31st
Showtimes:
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Location:
Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
In Response Returns this October!
Ticket Prices:
Previews on Oct 4 & 5 are both only $15!
Performances: $25
Film Nights: $20
Save and Buy A Bundle for $35!
Students/Seniors: $20
Group Rate: $18 for 10 or more!
Here's the line-up!
A Gentile Mensch
A short play by: Anita Yellin Simons (BIO)
Directed by: Raf Mauro
It takes courage to speak truth to power. And sometimes, you win.
Joey Swift - Nick DiCola - Paul Sohm
A New America
A monologue by: Reginald Edmund (BIO)
Directed by: Michael Shepperd
A reflection on what is happening in the world today.
Parnell Damone Marcano
For The Love Of D'Artagnan
A short play by: Roland Rusinek (BIO)
Directed by: Veronica Thompson & Karis Clark
A speculative fiction piece with queer themes and suppression of the press in a post-Trumpian America.
Joey Swift - Erik Dylan Matibag
Frederick Douglass – Unexpected, 1884
A monologue by: Stephen Blackburn (BIO)
Directed by: Kimba Henderson
A reflection on the historical stresses that the leaders of the civil rights and women’s rights movements faced early in their fights.
Adrian Babatunde - De Ann Marie Odom
Hold the Line
Spoken Word by: Sharon Langley (BIO)
Directed by: RJ Wayne
A poem that speaks about the history of resistance in the face of voter suppression and intimidation.
Kamaria Williams
SONG
We Are The People
A song by: John Tierney (BIO)
Directed by: Michael Shepperd
Amorie Barton - Charlie Towle - Deja Monique Cruz - Joshua Loren Kroll - Kamaria Williams - Nina Kasuya - Parnell Damone Marcano - Paul Sohm
FILMS
Blood Bank
A short film by: S. Pearl Sharp
A poem that speaks to how women’s labor, local resources and bodies are used without permission or compensation for the profit of corporations, governments, and criminals.
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The Plea
A short film by: RCB
A reflection to make us aware of a simple truth – we are all one.
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Stand
A short film by: Marlene McCurtis
Written by incarcerated men at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Lancaster, CA through the Theatre Workers Project. Formerly incarcerated men perform in this story that examines the personal struggle to stand up for justice and hope – even in the most challenging situations.
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Look What You Made Me Do
A short film by: Destiny Nelson
A music video that follows a young black woman who is killed by police, and then rises from the dead to seek revenge.
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Anatomy of a King
A short film by: Jaimyon Parker and Malika Blessing
What does it take to be a strong black man today? Five poets lend their powerful pens to give you the recipe.
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She Prayed For Me
A short film by: Sonia Jackson
A heartfelt music video that celebrates the timeless power of ancestral and community prayers to uplift and sustain us.
A display of fine artwork
by: Laura Brody, Susan Lee, and Cathy Weiss
Kingdom of Heaven
A short play by: Rich Rubin (BIO)
Directed by: Veronica Thompson
A priest and his immigrant parishioner confront the new American reality.
Brock Jones - Jacqueline Castañeda - Paula Helena
nothings
Spoken word by: E. Talley II (BIO)
Directed by: RJ Wayne
A call to action and a request to remember that what once seemed only a dream became true, and without question, can live again.
Mel Hampton
Rumblings
A short play by: Kimba Henderson (BIO)
Directed by: Kimba Henderson
Tackles the question of how we treat traitors to our country.
Brock Jones - Charlie Towle - Eric Geller
The Right To Life!
A short play by: Shanelle Darlene (BIO)
Director: Phone Tha & RJ Wayne
A story about the game that is America—one of violence, oppression and struggles – sugar-coated with plastic and TV show lights.
Joshua Loren Kroll - Kamaria Williams
Noreen Quadir - Paula Helena
Meet the Playwrights
Anita Yellin Simons combines history and activism in her award-winning plays: GOODBYE MEMORIES, Anne Frank family before hiding, produced by La Jolla JCC and published by YouthPLAYS; HEARTLAND (co-written with Lojo Simon), German-Americans interned in U.S. camps during WWII, produced by MiraCosta College Theater and published by YouthPLAYS; THIS WE’LL DEFEND, rape and PTSD in the military, produced by American History Theatre in San Diego; SILENCE IS NOT GOLDEN, domestic abuse, production in Sedona in September. Read her full bibliography. >>
Anita Yellin Simons
A Gentile Mensch
Reginald Edmund is an award-winning playwright, producer, and curator dedicated to amplifying Black voices in the arts. As Co-Founder and Managing Curating Producer of the Black Lives Black Words International Project, he has commissioned powerful theatrical works across the U.S. and UK, while also leading the LA and Houston Underground Railroad Film Festivals. With a BFA from Texas Southern University and an MFA from Ohio University, Reginald has held influential roles at the Anthology Film Festival, Robey Theatre Company, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. A committed educator, he has taught internationally and produced with ADF’s Rebel Alliance in London. His acclaimed City of the Bayou play series, including Southbridge and Daughters of the Moon, has garnered honors such as the Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Award and multiple Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Awards.
Reginald Edmund
A New America
Roland Ponce Rusinek, a native of southern California, is the queer offspring of two immigrants from different countries. Roland is a performer and writer who has worked in the entertainment industry all of his life. He has performed on Broadway, at Lincoln Center, in National Tours, at Carnegie Hall, in Regional Theaters, on Television, in Films, voiced characters in an animated series, and even sang on a movie soundtrack. He is now focusing on his career as a writer. He thanks you and sincerely hopes you enjoy his play.
Roland Rusinek
For The Love Of D'artagnan
A co-founder of Fierce Backbone Theatre Co., Blackburn authored The Rock of Abandon, a noir-style murder mystery set in ancient Athens, featuring the playwright Euripides as the detective. Its world premiere was at the old Lillian Theatre in Hollywood. Backstage hailed the Fierce Backbone production as “a Grecian extravaganza…always engrossing and fun to watch.” The Nicholl Fellowship named the screenplay of the story as a Semi Finalist and it scored as a Second Rounder at 2024’s Austin Film Festival.
Stephen Blackburn
Frederick Douglass – Unexpected, 1884
Sharon Langley is an author, poet, and educator. She often writes on themes of social justice, current events and American history. She is also a children's book writer and co-author of A Ride to Remember, which tells of her memorable visit to a local amusement park. She lives and writes in Los Angeles.
Headshot Photo credit Heidi Hart.
Sharon Langley
Hold the Line
Rich Rubin's plays have been staged throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and the Middle East. Full-length plays include PICASSO IN PARIS (winner, Julie Harris Playwright Award) and LEFT HOOK (finalist, Woodward-Newman Drama Award). Rich's one-act BRAVE BLOOD, about Dr. Charles R. Drew, received a TST Zoom reading in 2021, and he is thrilled to be collaborating with TST once again.
Rich Rubin
Kingdom of Heaven
E Talley II (he/him) earned his B.A. from The University of Michigan and his M.F.A. from Wayne State University (Hilberry Repertory Theatre Fellow). He was one of four Literary Artists selected by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs to have his poem, “b”, included in the 2023 LGBT Calendar & Cultural Guide. His theatre/tv/film credits include playing “Pharaoh” in the musical Yosef; “Jim” in the national tour of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; “Raymond Parks” in the regional tour of Rosa's Ride: The Life of Rosa Parks; Flautist & Rapper in the 2022 Superbowl commercial for the tv series Bel Air; “Bartender” in NCIS: Los Angeles, among many others. E also currently teaches R&B Line Dancing & Cardio Soul Dance and Dance Meditation & Movement classes at The LGBT Center in Hollywood, CA.
E Talley II
nothings
Kimba Henderson, a Detroit-born Navy kid raised in San Diego, holds a History degree and studied Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences fellowship. She began her career writing for true crime docuseries like It Takes a Killer and Corrupt Crimes, and has since gained acclaim as a playwright, winning awards for Women on the Verge and The Reckoning. Her play RISE was produced in 2023, and she has also written the first four seasons of the audio series The Adventum. Her film projects include the feature Flaccid and the optioned international thriller Another River. Currently, she is a Drama Fellow in the Fox Entertainment TV Writing Program and part of The Black List + Women in Film Screenwriting Residency.
Kimba Henderson
Rumblings
Shanelle is an artist whose work looks to question society and create visibility in a world that continually erases lives and stories. She is currently a member of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble and has participated in multiple festivals as a performer, writer, and producer. Shanelle has crafted works in musical theater, singing, art, dance and ensemble-based works. She hopes to continue using art as a way of truth, community and empowerment.
Shanelle Darlene
The Right to Life
John McDonnell Tierney (aka “Jack McT”) is a composer, playwright, and retired professor of music and psychology. He is best known for The Humanity’s Child Musicals, a four-part series following the character “Humanity’s Child” from youth to adulthood. Highlights include Peacemaker (2016, Hartford), Humanity’s Child: A Musical for Today (2019 NY Theater Festival, Off-Broadway run), More Than a Musical (2020 audio-musical), and Extraordinary Hero (2022 virtual premiere, Rogue Theater Festival). His non-musical work includes Keepers of the Secret (2022 virtual production) and Interview with Archie (2023 live performance). His current project, Democracy: An American Musical, is scheduled for production in the fall of 2025.
John Tierney
We Are The People
In Response V
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