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You are currently browsing through the 2017 news archive. Click here for the latest news. DECEMBER 2017 • Low Light was selected for PlayGround-LA and had a staged reading at the Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood. Written by Allie Costa, the script offers a flicker of hope in a dystopian setting not far from our current reality. The reading featured Christopher Gary Lawson and Gabi Mayorga, directed by Jesus Reyes. • Allie performed in a sneak peek of a new play by Tiffany Cascio and shared a sliver of her own piece Two Can Play That Game at Samuel French in Hollywood. The readings were organized by the LAFPI. NOVEMBER 2017 • Allie played Caprice, a fiery and determined young woman, in the workshop of Bravo, a new musical by Cristian Guerrero, Andrew Moorehead, and Steven Schmidt. At the height of the Nazi invasion of Italy during World War II, a young Italian man hides six Jews and refugees to spare them from extermination. When their secret hiding place is discovered by an adolescent Fascist soldier, an unlikely bond is formed. • She Was Never Lost had its European debut at the Pleasance Theatre as part of Glass Splinters, a one-night-only lineup of plays about historical women, written and performed by female theatremakers. Written by Allie Costa, She Was Never Lost is based on the life of Alice Liddell, who inspired Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The London event featured Natalie Harper, directed by Mingyu Lin. • Allie played the lead role in a reading of a new horror TV pilot. • Allie's script Mindstream was one of three pieces selected for Variations: Repetition and had a workshop in San Diego directed by Michael Wogulis. It featured Ashley Chen as Julianna, Abdullah Bawazir as Lachlan, and Alex Jiang as Kenzie. • Allie played Elizabeth Dalloway in a reading of a new stage adaptation of Mrs. Dalloway. OCTOBER 2017 • Allie performed her original piece Creepypasta and Backfired by Lindsay Partain at Samuel French's Monologue-a-Looza. • How I Knew Her was part of the L.A. Broads festival in Hollywood. Written and directed by Allie Costa, How I Knew Her featured Katie Wegmann as Kylie and Spencer Weitzel as Cole, two strangers who cross paths in a graveyard and discover they are mourning the same person. Produced by Broads' Word Ensemble and the Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, the festival staged pieces by Nayna Agrawal, Tiffany Cascio, Allie Costa, Aja Houston, Uma Incrocci, and Starina Johnson, directed by Elkin Antoniou, Lesley Asistio, June Carryl, Allie Costa, Gloria Iseli, Rachel Manheimer, Rasika Mathur, and Desiree York. • Unfinished Business and Safe Distance were both selected for The Fear Festival, held in New York City. Unfinished Business reunites roommates after a fateful accident, while Safe Distance takes you for a ride on the London Underground. Both pieces were written by Allie Costa and directed by Alice Camarota. Safe Distance featured Katherine C. Netusil and Kevin Shivcharran alternating with Melissa Ford and Ross Barron. Unfinished Business featured Emily Thaler as Shauna and Leah Coconides as Amy alternating with Destiny Marie Shegstad as Shauna and Flavia Zaguini as Amy. • Allie's comedy Don't Shoot the Messenger Pigeon is a semi-finalist in the Rover Dramawerks short play competition. SEPTEMBER 2017 • Allie played Little Red Riding Hood in a special one-night-only performance of Into the Woods in Hollywood. • What She Said had its world premiere at the Marietta International Film Festival. Allie plays Cynthia, a highly competitive overachiever, in this dark comedy written by Allie Costa, Dana DeRuyck, Andrew Joseph Perez, and Tricia Fukuhara and directed by Andrew Joseph Perez. When a company party turns into a cutthroat competition, it’s every woman for herself. • Two Girls was presented at the Festival of Unknown Artists in Hollywood. Written and directed by Allie Costa, this critically-acclaimed duologue about sexual assault featured My-Ishia Cason-Brown and Paige Elwell. • Six of Allie's comedies had staged readings at Meta Theatre in Hollywood, produced by Infinite Jest Theatre Company, directed by Collette Rutherford. Featuring Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Jose Donado, Julianne Dowler, Christie Newby, and Michael Hanna. The lineup included: • She Has Seen the Wolf was staged at The Cockpit Theatre in London. In this powerful story about street harassment and assault, a modern-day Red Riding Hood asserts herself after receiving unwanted attention from a wolf. This special limited run at the Seven Sins festival was presented by Doughnut Productions and featured Helen Baranova as Scarlett, Jonny Cordingley as Jasper, and Tom Woodward as Officer Graff. Written by Allie Costa, She Has Seen the Wolf was published in Best of PlayGround Los Angeles and is available for licensing and production. • Allie performed her original monologue Glitter and Smoke at a hurricane relief fundraiser held at Samuel French Bookshop. AUGUST 2017 • Allie performed in The Last 7 Years cabaret in Hollywood. She sang Only Us from Dear Evan Hansen with Lucas Alifano and There is No Tomorrow from Alien vs. Musical. Additional performers included Meghan Allison, Jeff Scot Carey, Cody Clark, Paige Elwell, Justin Garrett, Em Harriss, Vincent Perez, Tripp Pettigrew-Rolapp, Andy Ramirez, Jenna Townsend, Katherine Washington, and host Emily Clark, with Graham Jackson on the keys. • Music of the Mind was produced at the Open Space Arts Summer Playwrights Festival in Maryland. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Ali McIntosh, Music of the Mind centers around a young woman attempting to overcome the stigma of mental illness. • Tofurkey Day had a reading at Play Club West in Hollywood. This multi-generational comedy is always in season. • Two Girls had a reading at Play Club West in Hollywood. Written by Allie Costa, Two Girls deals with the aftermath of sexual assault. • Smile: A Musical was screened at the HollyShorts Film Festival. Allie plays an enthusiastic dancer in the film. JULY 2017 • Allie played Margaret, a sweet and intellectual young scientist, in The Bully Problem, a new musical by Michael Gordon Shapiro, presented at the STAGES Festival in Los Angeles. • Allie booked and shot the film Overkill. In this romantic comedy, Allie plays Emma, the owner of a lonely heart. • Two Girls is a finalist for the Heideman Award and the National Ten-Minute Play Festival. • Allie performed in the New Voices Project, a concert of songs from new musicals. • What She Said was named a Film Racing finalist and will have its world premiere this September at the Marietta International Film Festival. • This Provincial Life was selected for the Samuel French Summer Shorts Series and had a staged reading in Hollywood. Written and directed by Allie Costa, This Provincial Life is a timely comedy about a couple considering their personal and political future. Featuring Allie Costa as irrepressible Josie and Dana DeRuyck as pragmatic Kathryn. • Failure to Communicate, a comedy inspired by a true story of customer (dis)service, had a staged reading at Drama West in Los Angeles. Featuring Allie Costa as Emma, Greg Bryan as Walter, and Carene Rose Mekertichyan as Gina. Written and directed by Allie Costa. • Allie participated in a reading of the musical Phenomenal Woman. • Allie played Sarah in a reading of the musical Tevye. • Boxes Are Magic was produced at the 2017 Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Festival, produced by Little Black Dress INK. The premise: Faced with an unstoppable force outside and an immovable object inside, a woman searches for the best course of action. Learn more about the story. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Mary Timpany, starring Elaine Woods and Layla Tenney. Proceeds from the festival benefitted the organization Days for Girls. • Two Girls was part of the 10-10 Festival produced by Chagrin Valley Little Theatre at The River Street Playhouse in Ohio. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Yvonne E. Pilarczyk and Dawn Hill, this powerful duologue featured Becca Hosier and Catherine Remick. • In the Heist, a comedy written by Allie Costa, was performed at LCB Dinner Theater in Florida under the direction of Mary Brophy. JUNE 2017 • Allie performed in Play Club Cabaret in Hollywood, singing If I Didn't Believe in You from The Last Five Years. Additional performers included Lucas Alifano, Meghan Allison, Cody Clark, Emily Donn, Pamela Eberhardt, Paige Elwell, Justin Garrett, Amir Levi, Vincent Perez, Tripp Pettigrew, Katrina Rennells, and host Emily Clark, accompanied by Graham Jackson. • Allie co-wrote and appeared in the film What She Said. When a company party turns into a cutthroat competition, it’s every woman for herself. This dark comedy was written by Dana DeRuyck, Allie Costa, Andrew Joseph Perez, and Tricia Fukuhara, directed by Andrew Joseph Perez, and produced by Chaotic Good Films. Featuring Tricia Fukuhara, Dana DeRuyck, Taylor Jackson Ross, Robert Paterno, and Allie Costa. • Allie performed in the New Voices Project, a concert of songs from new musicals. • Who She Could Have Been had its European premiere in Ireland at the Where We Are Now Festival. Written by Allie Costa and directed by Sonia Norris, the story follows a couple (Rebecca Norris and Aine Walshe) struggling to rebuild and reconnect after losing their child. Produced by The Rabbit's Riot Theatre Company. • Lovebirds was selected for Gi60 2017, which was held at the New Workshop Theatre in Brooklyn. Lovebirds was written by Allie Costa and performed by Alexandra Slater under the direction of Becca Guskin. • Two of Allie's short comedies, An Apple a Day and Power Pose, were selected for the Gi60 #NextGen festival, also held in Brooklyn. It was the world premiere of An Apple a Day and the first East Coast presentation of Power Pose. • This Provincial Life was a finalist for the 2017 Rockford New Play Festival. • Smile: A Musical had its world premiere at Dances With Films. Allie plays an enthusiastic dancer in the film. • Boxes Are Magic was named a Little Black Dress INK winner and will be produced at the 2017 Female Playwrights ONSTAGE Festival in July. Read Allie's interview at Little Black Dress INK. • Failure to Communicate returned to LCB Dinner Theater. This comedy about customer (dis)service was written by Allie Costa. The Florida production was directed by Mary Brophy. • Two Girls was selected for the 10-10 Festival, running June 23rd through July 15th at The River Street Playhouse in Ohio. Produced by Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, the festival is directed by Yvonne E. Pilarczyk and Dawn Hill. MAY 2017 • Two Girls had its Los Angeles premiere production at Studio/Stage. In this critically-acclaimed duologue written and directed by Allie Costa, two women (Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Sierra Santana) emerge from a violent attack. The festival was produced by Urban Theatre Movement. • Allie played unfazed college student June in the world premiere of The Nut, an absurd comedy by Nate Hartley, directed by Bailey Bagheri. The show was produced by Shotz Los Angeles at The Blank Theatre. • The One They Kept had its world premiere at The Blank Theatre. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Erica Cohn, featuring Rob Angell and Alexis Agolsove. This was also produced by Shotz Los Angeles. • Boxes Are Magic was named a Little Black Dress INK semi-finalist and had a staged reading at Samuel French Bookshop in Hollywood. Written and directed by Allie Costa, the story revolves around an unstoppable force, an immovable object, and a woman searching for the best course of action. The reading featured Maiya Reaves as Yasmine and Allie Costa as Cali. Read Allie's post about the inspiration behind the script. • Allie performed in the New Voices Project, a concert of songs from new musicals. • Allie performed her original comedic piece Have You Seen Mitzi? at Samuel French's Monologue Mayday event. • One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide to Tiny Theatre had its official launch at Drama Book Shop in New York City. Three of Allie's plays - Seven, Pit Stop, and We Can Be Heroes - are in the anthology, which was published by Routledge and edited by Steve Ansell and Rose Burnett Bonczek. • Safe Distance had its UK premiere at Little Leeds Fringe. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Mary-Margaret Annab, featuring Dean Hull as Alec and Alice Kellar as Saramy. Safe Distance takes place late one night on the London Underground. The NW Festival of New Work was held at stage@leeds. • My Mother is a Superhero had its world premiere in London, at Brighton Fringe. It was produced by Forked Theatre as part of their dynamic show Motherlogues. The piece was written by Allie Costa and performed by Lauren Reed. Take a peek! • The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread was selected for Gi60 UK and was performed at stage@leeds. APRIL 2017 • Allie performed in Play Club Cabaret in Hollywood. The show was filled with totally rad songs from the 90s, sung by host Emily Clark, Lucas Alifano, Meghan Allison, Emerson Boatwright, Jeff Scot Carey, Allie Costa, Pamela Eberhardt, Mark Jacobson, Alli Miller, Vincent Perez, Tripp Pettigrew, and Katrina Rennells, accompanied by Graham Jackson. Allie sang Journey to the Past from Anastasia and Stay (I Miss You) by Lisa Loeb. • Allie wrapped Heterotopias, an interactive virtual reality film inspired by 20th century philosophy. Allie is one of the narrators of the film. • There Will Be Polar Bears had its world premiere at the Blank Theatre in Hollywood. This climate change dramedy written by Allie Costa and directed by Bailey Bagheri featured Maria Bosque as Nicola, Jose Donado as Bjorn, and Katie Wegmann as Aurora. There Will Be Polar Bears was one of five new plays produced by Shotz Los Angeles in honor of Earth Day and the March for Science. • Sugar and Spice was selected for the inaugural Athena Cats New Works Festival and had a staged reading at City Garage Theatre in Santa Monica. Written and directed by Allie Costa, this heartwarming story finds adult siblings Felix (Spencer Weitzel) and Fiona (Allie Costa) searching for the secret family recipe - and maybe some personal truths while they're at it. • Testimony had a developmental reading at The Hudson Theatre in Hollywood. Logline: When a crime hits close to home, a detective re-examines her life and her legacy. Featuring Allie Costa as Olivia, Laura Michl as Libby, Josh Bednarsky as Mark, Susan Louise O'Connor as Eleanor, Christopher Bunyi as the defense attorney, and Brianne Sanborn as Young Olivia, with Rosie Mandel providing stage directions. Testimony was written and directed by Allie Costa. The reading was made possible by 2Cents Theatre Group. • Allie performed in the New Voices Project, a concert of songs from new musicals. • She Has Seen the Wolf was produced at Lake Sumter State College. Written by Allie Costa and directed by Amber Karlins, this dark modern-day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood featured Kennedy Anthony as Scarlett, Andre Keegan as Jasper, and Brian Largent as Officer Graff. She Has Seen the Wolf was published in Best of PlayGround Los Angeles and is available for licensing and production. • Little Swan, a Pas de Deux was produced in Texas at the Rover Dramawerks 365 Women a Year Festival, which featured shows about extraordinary women in past and present history. Little Swan was written by Allie Costa and directed by Matthew Stepan, with Jenna Caire as Anna Pavlova, Nicole Denson as Madame, and Carroll Herring as Marguerite. Little Swan was published in Best of PlayGround Los Angeles and is available for licensing and production. • The View From Here had a reading in Los Angeles. Written by Allie Costa, inspired by Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World and its subject, Anna Christina Olson, the piece was recently published in the Smith and Kraus anthology 105 Five-Minute Plays for Study and Performance. MARCH 2017 • Don't Shoot the Messenger Pigeon had a successful run at the Barrington Stage Company. Written by Allie Costa and directed by Julianne Boyd, this dark comedy reminds us to never doubt a true professional. The production at the 10x10 New Play Festival featured Jane Pfitsch and Lucky Gretzinger. • Curve of the Earth had its world premiere at The Hudson Theatre in Hollywood. Life is a journey, not a destination - and in this story, life has led both an unmoored American woman and an underemployed Scottish artist to a small cave carved into the side of a mountain in Ireland. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Nancy Dobbs Owen, featuring Michael Armstrong Barr and Sarah Jo Provost, produced by 2Cents Theatre Group at INK Fest 2017. • Allie performed her piece Two Girls alongside Esther Mira at The Future is Female Festival in Los Angeles. • Two Girls was selected for the Thalia Festival, held at Roebuck Theater in New York. Written by Allie Costa and directed by Denise Ivanoff, the production featured Melissa Walters and Sierra Meshele Williams alternating with Leslie Class and Kelly Erickson. • Two Girls was selected for The Future is Female Festival Atlanta and had a staged reading at Onion Man Productions. Written by Allie Costa, directed by Rebekah Suellau. Net proceeds from the event benefitted Raksha, a non-profit dedicated to serving Georgia's South Asian community and ensuring healing, empowerment, and justice to South Asian survivors of domestic and sexual violence. • Two Girls was selected for The Future is Female Festival MPLS and had a staged reading at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. Written by Allie Costa, produced by Pretty Shrew Productions. • Allie attended the Hollywood premiere of Smile: A Musical. The film will soon be hitting the festival circuit. • A Moment of Silence was part of HERSTORY 2: We Rise, a festival produced by NOplays in New Haven, Connecticut in honor of Women's History Month and International Women's Day. Inspired by the life of Leelah Alcorn, A Moment of Silence was written by Allie Costa; the New Haven production was directed by Moira Malone and featured Jessie Perez Tarzia as Hailey and Janet Marie Tarzia as Martha. Read Allie's interview with NOplays. • Dear Neighbor, a comedy written and directed by Allie Costa, had a staged reading in Los Angeles featuring Gisla Stringer and Markhum Stansbury. • Quality Assurance, written by Allie Costa, directed by Mary Brophy, had another performance at LCB Dinner Theater in Florida. • Boxes Are Magic was named a Little Black Dress INK 2017 semi-finalist. • At Your Service was named a Lakeshore Players Theatre semi-finalist. FEBRUARY 2017 • Don't Shoot the Messenger Pigeon was selected for the Barrington Stage Company 10x10 New Play Festival and will run February 16th through March 5th in the Berkshires. In this dark comedy written by Allie Costa and directed by Julianne Boyd, a mafia messenger in a career crisis meets his match while out on assignment. Featuring Jane Pfitsch as Brooke and Lucky Gretzinger as the Messenger. • Allie performed her original piece Lovebirds at Samuel French's Monologue-a-Looza. At the same event, Shannon Martinous performed a monologue adapted from Allie's comedy Altared State. • Allie played Snow White in a staged reading of the new play Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf. • Allie played Alice, a bold and formidable FBI agent, in a staged reading of a new script by Herman Poppe. • Allie performed her original piece Wonder Women at The Lyric Hyperion. Produced by Bad and Nasty Events, the cabaret was a benefit for the ACLU. • The world premiere of Cut and Run was produced at This is Water Theatre in Texas. At this hair salon, it's live and let dye. Written by Allie Costa and directed by Andrew Roblyer, Cut and Run featured Sara Marie Berrett as Holly and Kathleen Teodoro as Olive. The festival featured eight plays related to the themes of risk and vulnerability. • Nebulous Fix, written by Allie Costa, directed by Mary Brophy, had a second run at LCB Dinner Theater in Florida. • Party of Two had a staged reading at The Bread & Roses Theatre in London as part of Where Do We Go From Here? Produced by Goblin Baby Theatre Co, the festival showcased new works reacting to the UK referendum and the US election. Party of Two was written by Allie Costa; the UK reading was directed by Su Gilroy, featuring Rebecca Pryle as Erica, Calum Darroch as Scott, and Tessa Hart as Aida. All profits from the show were donated to the organization Women for Refugee Women. • Little Swan, a Pas de Deux was produced at the Roebuck Theater in New York. Written by Allie Costa and inspired by the life of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, Little Swan was published in Best of PlayGround Los Angeles and is available for licensing and production. The New York production was directed by Michael Piatkowski and featured Kristen Ladd and Jade Anderson alternating as Anna and Josephine Pizzino and Kinga Nowak alternating as Madame. • Allie's plays Seven, Pit Stop, and We Can Be Heroes were published in One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide to Tiny Theatre. The anthology was edited by Steve Ansell and Rose Burnett Bonczek, the directors of Gi60, the international one-minute play festival. In Seven, a young man attempts to ask out the object of his affection. In We Can Be Heroes, two best friends decide to be the protagonists of their own stories. A long drive leads to a brief exchange in Pit Stop. The anthology was published by Routledge and is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. • Allie's play The View From Here was published in the Smith and Kraus anthology 105 Five-Minute Plays for Study and Performance. The View From Here has roots in Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World and its subject, Anna Christina Olson. The anthology was edited by John Capecci and Irene Ziegler and is available on Amazon. • Anniversary, written by Allie Costa, was selected for Fast & Furious and performed at Spokane Stage Left in Washington. • Dear Neighbor was staged at Price Center Theatre in San Diego. Written by Allie Costa, this neighborly comedy was directed by Michael Wogulis and featured Amin Fozi and Justin Sun. • Boxes Are Magic had another staged reading in Prescott. JANUARY 2017 • Allie can be seen as Jill in Nilangana Banerjee's photo exhibition The Lullaby, currently showing at the Schomburg Gallery in Santa Monica. • On January 20th, We're Not Playing, a nationwide event conceived by Little Black Dress INK, offered staged readings of new works by female writers responding to our current political, social, and economic climate. Each event had a different lineup. Allie was involved in four of the events. Details below... • The world premiere staged readings of Party of Two and Private Citizen were presented at Samuel French in Hollywood as part of We're Not Playing. Both stories were written and directed by Allie Costa. Both take place at eateries, but firmly reside at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum. Party of Two featured Laura Michl as Erica, Spencer Weitzel as Scott, and Allie Costa as Aida. Private Citizen featured Julia Cho as Isra, Meghan Lewis as Adelaide, Maiya Reaves as Saoirse, and Ben Campbell as Hench. Allie also directed On a Wire in the Air, written by Jen Huszcza, featuring Carina Haller, Charmee Taylor, Leah Zhang, Mark Jacobson, Shanel Moore, and Jessica Rau. • In addition to performing at We're Not Playing in Hollywood, Allie was also the casting director and producer of the event, with co-organizer Kitty Lindsay acting as host. The packed house was treated to plays, screenplays, monologues, and spoken word pieces from writers all over the world. Get the scoop! • Boxes Are Magic was staged at We're Not Playing in Arizona. Written by Allie Costa, Boxes Are Magic sheds light on a serious subject - with lots of laughs. The reading featured Laurel Calhoun as Yasmine and Julie Cargill as Cali, directed by Frank Malle. • Allie's critically-acclaimed duologue Two Girls was presented at Knox College under the direction of Jayel Gant. Also on the We're Not Playing Galesburg lineup: the first-ever staged reading of This Provincial Life, a (literally) moving comedy written by Allie Costa, directed by Hanna Levine, featuring Sonya Fleming as Josie and Courtney Harris as Kathryn. • Two of Allie's plays were presented at Red Earth Theatre in Sedona: Boxes Are Magic, with Marlou Elewaut as Yasmine and Terra Shelman as Cali, and Two Girls, featuring Shaeri Richards and Ashlee Threlkeld. This was Red Earth's first installment in their Reflections Through Theatre series. • Check out Allie's article How to Be Yourself While Pretending to Be Someone Else, which was published at Actors Access. • The Generosity of Strangers by Thomas Antonaccio, narrated by Allie Costa, is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Audible. • News archives: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 Menu: Resume | Headshots | Media | Reviews | News | Contact |
