Pipeline Series

New! Four one-night-only presentations

Dorset Theatre Festival builds on its growing reputation as an incubator for new work with this cutting-edge series of new plays, first-time collaborations, and star-studded special events.

“The Pipeline is going to bring our audiences into the room with some of the top actors and writers of our time as they explore through spoken word, music, and design the new work the Festival is developing for future seasons. This is going to be one fun, star-studded series not to be missed.”

-Dina Janis, Artistic Director

Is Edward Snowden Single?

by Kate Cortesi
directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh

June 26

A hot mess of a millennial becomes taken with the idea that Edward Snowden is madly in love with her, not just because she's gorgeous but because she is unspeakably brave. Two actresses play all twenty plus roles in this whirlwind tour through one shallow person's reluctantly deepening soul.

A New Play

by Melissa Ross
directed by Giovanna Sardelli

July 10

Featuring Estelle Parsons

Commissioned by South Coast Repertory

Diana is the new president of a prestigious liberal arts college, but she can barely get her pictures hung on the walls of her office before the school's hallowed history sits squarely in the way of her big plans. About where we've come from and figuring out where we even have to go, this never-before-seen new play by Melissa Ross confronts life and politics and feminism in academia under the hard fluorescent light of today. 

Invictus Mingus

by Frank Harts
directed by Jackson Gay

July 31

It's 1966. Tomorrow legendary Jazz Maestro Charles Mingus is to be evicted from his cluttered New York City apartment.  Tonight though he drinks wine, cuts up with his crew on the bass, talks love, Hitler, racism, and politics with a twenty-something Jewish documentary filmmaker. This while his five-year old bi-racial daughter plays in piles of treasure and junk absorbing it all.

Invictus Mingus is a co-production with New Neighborhood

A Life in the Theatre

by David Mamet
directed by Dina Janis

August 12

Starring Treat Williams and Yuri Sardarov

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-The-Plow, takes us into the lives of two actors: John, young and rising into the first flush of his success; the other Robert, older, anxious, and beginning to wane. In a series of short, spare, and increasingly raw exchanges, we see the estrangement of youth from age and the wider, inevitable and endless cycle of life, in and out of the theatre.

"A comedy about the artifice of acting...It is also about the artifice of living...An evening of pure theatre."
- The New York Times

Keilly McQuail (Mimi, Is Edward Snowden Single?) Her Requiem (LCT3/Lincoln Center); You Got Older (Page 73). Regional: Significant Other (The Geffen Playhouse); Bad Jews (Long Wharf Theatre, CT Critics Circle Award). Other recent theatre: Of Government (Clubbed Thumb); Half Moon Bay (Cherry Lane, Lesser America); Heartbreak (Bushwick Starr); Preston Sturges' Strictly Dishonorable (The Flea). Film: Dish, Like Father, That Smell, Not Fade Away. TV: Jessica Jones, Odd Mom Out, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Younger, The Affair, Are We There Yet?. Proud member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Education: NYU Tisch and the Atlantic Theater Company.

Amelia Workman (April, Is Edward Snowden Single?) Company member of The New Museum's pop up repertory company X-ID; The Bengson's and Sarah Gancher's The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova); Simon Stephenson's On The Shore of the Wide World (Atlantic); Susan Lori Parks's The Death Of The Last Black Man In The Whole Entire World (Signature); Leslye Headland's The Layover (Second Stage); Laura Jacqumin's Residence (Humana Festival); By The Way Meet Vera Stark (Goodman Theatre); Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Ars Nova). Original company and international touring company of Young Jean Lee's The Shipment.  For more information visit ameliaworkman.com.

Max Rosenak  (Edward Snowden, Is Edward Snowden Single?) is an actor, writer, director and educator based in New York City. Regional credits include: Twelfth Night (Pittsburgh Public Theater), Swimmers (Marin Theatre Company), Bad Jews (Magic Theatre), Orpheus Descending (Intiman Theatre), The Rivals (Huntington Theatre Company), A Christmas Carol (American Conservatory Theater), The Miracle Worker (Olney Theatre Center). New York: 6969 (59E59 Theatre), Help Me to Make It (New Ohio Theatre). Film/TV: La Mission (2009 Sundance Film Selection), Laurence, Seducing Charlie Barker, Tosh.0. He is a founding member of the Seattle-based company The Williams Project, where he performs each summer. In addition to his acting work, he teaches Voice & Speech at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop. He is currently directing a feature documentary about his brother: We Found David Rosenak. Education: BFA, Boston University. MFA, The American Conservatory Theater.

Sarah Nina Hayon (Diana, A New Play) is a three time Drama Desk Nominee. She is thrilled to be working at Dorset with some of her most favorite collaborators. Passionate about new plays, she has originated countless roles and developed plays both on and off Broadway including at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Roundabout, The Public Theater, New York Stage and New York Theater Workshop. Theater highlights includes: Gangster Of Love (The Magic Theatre, Loretta Greco), Swimmers (TBA nomination, MTC, Mike Donahue), Water By The Spoonful (The Old Globe, Eddie Torres), Bright New Boise (Drama Desk Nom., Partial Comfort, Davis McCallum). TV and film credits include HBO’s new drama Succession, FX’s upcoming Pilot Pose, Danny DeVito’s Curmudgeons, Heirloom, Unforgettable, Parker & Maggie, Are We There Yet, The Green, SATC, Law & Order, Avatar. 

Estelle Parsons (Margaret, A New Play) has been a stalwart on the Broadway stage for multiple decades, and has received her five Tony Award nominations. Although she has spent most of her professional life in the theatre, she is most widely known for her Academy Award-winning performance as Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde and her ten years playing Beverly, mother of the title character in the hit sitcom Roseanne. In the theatre, she made an indelible impression as the tyrannical eighth-grade teacher in Roberto Athayde's classic about totalitarian power, Miss Margarida's Way, which she performed on Broadway, all over the United States, and in London, Dublin, Turkey, and Australia. She has appeared in plays by the great writers of our time, including Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, Dario Fo, Arthur Miller, Samuel Beckett, Paul Zindel, and Horton Foote. Estelle starred in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County for a year on Broadway, followed by another year on the road. Other recent credits include Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire, and the George and Ira Gershwin musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, with Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. In 2012, she was directed by Neil LaBute in Marco Calvani's Things of the World. As a director, she created the New York Shakespeare Festival Players for Joseph Papp in the 1980s. For two seasons, they performed Shakespeare on Broadway for New York City school students and their families in an effort to develop a multicultural audience. She also directed Al Pacino in Oscar Wilde's Salome: The Reading on Broadway. Estelle is a member of the Actors Studio and was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2004.

Neil Tyrone Pritchard (Eddie, A New Play) is a New York-based actor/singer/teaching artist  His most recent acting credits include Berlin Electric (Park Ave Armory), The Prizefighter of P.S. 217 (New Victory LabWorks), The Stowaway (Classic Stage Company), Clover (La Mama), Queen Latina and Her Power Posse (Cherry Lane Theater), AT BUFFALO (NYMF). He has been a part of workshops at Sundance TheaterLAB, LAByrinth Theater Company, Manhattan Theater Club, Dorset Theatre Festival, Lincoln Center Theatre, Primary Stages, and the Atlantic Theater Company.  He is currently on staff at the Park Avenue Armory where he assists in bringing arts education to public schools throughout the five boroughs of New York. Proud Member of LAByrinth Theater Company. 

Ismenia Mendes (Violet, A New Play) graduated from Juilliard in 2012 and was cast in her first production doubling as the Boy/Princess Katharine in Two River Theatre's production of Henry V. She made her Off-Broadway debut in A.R. Gurney's world premiere of Family Furniture, directed by Thomas Kail. Ismenia was later cast as Hero opposite Lily Rabe/Hamish Linklater in the Delacorte’s Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Jack O'Brien. That same year, she appeared in several Off-Broadway shows at Playwrights Horizons and The Signature Theatre - where she appeared in the highly acclaimed, Drama Desk Award-winning production of A.R. Gurney's The Wayside Motor Inn, directed by Lila Neugebauer. She soon returned to The Delacorte to play Cressida in the recent production of Troilus and Cressida, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Ismenia soon afterwards performed in David Ives’ NYC premiere of The Liar, directed by Michael Kahn. She can be seen on HBO's High Maintenance as the recurring character of Anja Jacobs.

Aaron Weiner (Will, A New Play) Broadway: Fool For Love. Recent Off-B'way: Bill Cain's 9 Circles, Lone Star Spirits (Crowded Outlet), The Insurgents, Radiance, and Melissa Ross’s Thinner Than Water (all with LAByrinth Theater Company), Two Thirds Home (Broken Watch). Recent regional: The world premiere of Rachel Bonds' Swimmers (Marin Theater Company), Rounding Third (Hangar Theatre), A Steady Rain (TheaterWorks, Hartford), The Glass Menagerie (Steppenwolf Garage), Touch (Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago. Jeff Award nomination). Television: for five seasons, Agent Brooks on The Americans. Recurring roles on Crisis and Made in Jersey. Other TV includes Taken, Chicago PD, The Following, Person of Interest. Films include The Post, Side Effects, Public Enemies. Proud member of LAByrinth Theater Company.

Victoria Whooper (Stage Manager, A New Play) is beyond excited to be here at Dorset Theater Festival. Credits include: Broadway: Eclipsed (Production Assistant). Off-Broadway: Shadowlands (ASM, Fellowship for Performing Arts). Regional: On Golden Pond (PSM), La Cage Aux Folles (PSM, Redhouse Arts Center); Noises Off (PSM), Peter and the Starcatcher (PSM, Connecticut Repertory Theater); Love's Labour's Lost (ASM, Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Macbeth (PSM, Northern Stage); and peerless (PSM, Yale Repertory Theater). Amy and the Orphans, Altogether Reckless, Paradise Lost, Midsummer, Faustus and The Untitled Project (PSM, Yale School of Drama/Yale Cabaret). Victoria holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and would like to thank her family and friends for their continued support.

Frank Harts (Mingus, Invictus Mingus) is an actor/writer/producer based in New York City. His new work about Jazz legend Charles Mingus was recently commissioned by New Neighborhood for development on stage and film. As an actor, he made his Broadway debut as George Murchison in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun. Select Films include: Paterson (dir. Jim Jarmusch), Experimenter (dir. Michael Almereyda), and The Family Fang (dir. Jason Bateman). Select guest-star television credits include: Showtime's Billions, HBO's The Leftovers, Emmy-nominated Master of None on Netflix, Blue Bloods, and upcoming, Elementary and Bull for CBS. Frank received his BFA in Acting from Juilliard where he was awarded the Raul Julia Prize for Excellence. Frankharts.net

Tom Nieboer (Filmmaker, Invictus Mingus) is a playwright and performer from Mora, Minnesota.  He has had work produced or developed by UglyRhino, IRT Theater, Hearth Gods, Umbrella Theater Project, the Lyric Theater in Los Angeles, and the Skylight Theater Company. His play Glowworm was nominated for three Tiger Dublin Fringe Awards and one Irish Times Irish Theatre Award.  He is a founding member of The Tavern Rakes performance troupe in Los Angeles.  He holds an MFA in Playwriting from The Lir Academy at Trinity College Dublin, and has lectured at St. John’s University in Queens.

Ulysses Owens, Jr. (Musician 1/Drums, Invictus Mingus) Heralded as a “powerhouse of a showman” (Glide Magazine), a “legitimate jazz triple threat” (Critical Jazz) and a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one” (The New York Times.) Owens has been named a Rising Star by DownBeat’s Critics Poll for five years straight. He is a recipient of the 2013 ASCAP Plus Award, and the 2015 Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing! Award. Owens is a gifted bandleader, claiming three successful albums of his own (It’s Time for U, Unanimous, and Onward and Upward). Owens was part of the GRAMMY Award-winning albums Dedicated to You (Kurt Elling) and The Good Feeling (Christian McBride Big Band.) Owens is a faculty member of the Jazz Studies Program at the Juilliard School, and also the Artistic Director for Don’t Miss a Beat, Inc., a non-profit founded by his family in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. His most recent album, Falling Forward, features his group,“THREE” with bassist Reuben Rogers and vibraphonist Joel Ross. Owens is consistently in demand for new projects, and remains one of the most sought-after drummers of his generation.

Philip Norris (Musician 2/Bass, Invictus Mingus) Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Philip Norris currently resides in New York City pursuing his degree in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School. Philip first began his path in music on the piano and horn before his passion developed for the bass at the age of 13. Growing up in North Carolina he was a part of The Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble and received The Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist Award at the Essentially Ellington Competition in 2016. Other accolades include the NAfME All-National Jazz ensemble, Jazz Band of America, and a YoungArts National Finalist in 2016. Since moving to New York, Philip has played in various parts of the world including Switzerland, Bolivia, and Russia. He has also played with artists such as: Wynton Marsalis, Ulysses Owens Jr., Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth, Eric Alexander, Jeff Hamilton, Helen Sung, Catherine Russell, Kenny Washington, Elio Vilafranca, Igor Butman, and many more. Philip is currently playing in New York City and abroad with many of these artists as he continues his studies at The Juilliard School.

Liston Gregory, III (Musician 3/Piano, Invictus Mingus) was born and raised in Sarasota, FL. His passion for music led him to State College of Florida, where he discovered professors and students in his hometown who have challenged him to become the musician he is today. He is now attending the University of North Florida earning his B.A. Degree in Jazz studies and piano pedagogy studying with Lynne Arriale. He began working with Ulysses Owens, Jr. with his non-profit organization, Don’t Miss a Beat, in 2016. He has been their accompanist, and will be traveling with them to New York City to record their debut CD, working as part of UOJ Productions. He is an accompanist for the Don't Miss a Beat All Stars, which is a flagship performance group that consists of inner city kids striving in the arts. Liston just returned from a highly prestigious three-week residency with two-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, Ulysses Owens, in Shanghai for the inauguration of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai Club. He performed at the world famous Apollo Theatre in New York City. Liston has performed the Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, SC and the Ben Tucker Pavilion in Savannah, GA. At the beginning of 2018, Liston performed at the Jazz Education Network (JEN) in Dallas, Texas. He also co-leads a local mainstream group, New Rock Soul, which is getting ready for a West Coast tour this upcoming summer. He is deeply devoted to his family, friends, and colleagues. He is also committed to his church, Church on the Rock in St. Augustine, where he serves as Worship Pastor.

Rob Chikar (Stage Manager, Invictus Mingus) Select Credits include - Broadway: The King and I, Larry David’s Fish In The Dark, and You Can’t Take it With You. Off-Broadway: Harry Clarke at the Minetta Lane Theater, Stuffed by Lisa Lampanelli, Teenage Dick (The Public) and Chix 6 The Musical. Regional: Make Believe (Hartford Stage), Kill Local (La Jolla Playhouse), Diner The Musical (Delaware Theater Company), These Paper Bullets (Geffen Playhouse); These Paper Bullets and In a Year With 13 Moons (Yale Repertory Theatre); Travesties (Bay Street Theatre); The Pirates of Penzance (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Iphigenia Among The Stars, Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, and Julius Caesar (Yale School of Drama). Education: M.F.A from Yale School of Drama.  

Treat Williams (Robert, A Life in the Theatre) has had a long and happy collaboration with David Mamet. He has performed in The Water Engine (Film), Speed-The-Plow (Williamstown), Bobby Gould in Hell (Lincoln Center) and Oleanna (Off-Broadway). He directed the short film Texan written by Mr. Mamet, which won best film at three film festivals. He was proud to reconnect with his friend Mr. Mamet in American Buffalo as part of Dorset Theatre Festival's 2017 season. He has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, an Emmy , two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has won two Theater World Awards for his work in Broadway Musicals. Broadway: Grease, Over Here, Once In A Lifetime, Pirates Of Penzance, Love Letters, Captains Courageous The Musical, and Follies. Film: The Ritz, The Eagle Had Landed, Hair, Prince Of The City, Once Upon A Time In America, 1941, Smooth Talk, Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead, The Phantom, Deep End Of The Ocean, The Devil’s Own, Hollywood Ending, Miss Congeniality 2, What Happens In Vegas, 127 Hours. TV: A Streetcar Named Desire, Dempsey, The Late Shift, Everwood, Law And Order SVU, The Simpsons (as himself), White Collar, Chicago Fire, Hawaii Five-O, CSI, Blue Bloods, and Confirmation. He currently stars as Mick Obrien in The Hallmark series, Chesapeake Shores. He is an avid reader, gardener, skier, pilot, husband, and father. He lives in Vermont with his wife Pam and children, Gill and Elinor.

Yuri Sardarov (John, A Life in the Theatre) stars as Brian “Otis” Zvonecek, Firehouse 51’s elevator rescue specialist who also runs a popular bar where he shares his unique firefighter wisdom, in NBC’s drama Chicago Fire. Along with his Georgian and Armenian parents, he immigrated to the United States when he was two, living primarily in St. Louis and Chicago. While studying acting at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Sardarov’s first major role was in the Chicago stage version of The History Boys. This role led to his feature-film debut in The Double, starring Richard Gere, which was written by Chicago Fire creators/executive producers Michael Brand and Derek Haas. Shortly thereafter, Sardarov appeared in the The Ides of March and the Academy Award-winning best picture, Argo. During the summer of 2014, Sardarov co-starred in the Off-Broadway play Becket. Dividing his time between Los Angeles and Chicago, he enjoys cooking and playing basketball.

Emely Zepeda (Stage Manager, A Life in the Theatre) In New York City, Emely is the resident production stage manager at Brave New World Repertory Theatre where she has stage managed Brave New Works: Reading Festival, The Plantation, and Ms. Julie, Asian Equities. In New York City, Emely has also worked at Ars Nova (Soft Butter), the Public (Twelfth Night), Signature Theatre (Sound Bites), IRT Theatre (Spring Fling), New Ohio (Yellow Card Red Card), New Dramatist (PlayTime), and La MaMa (Chix 6). Regionally, Emely has also stage managed at Transcendence Theatre Company in California (Best of Broadway) and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in Connecticut (The Square Root of Three Sisters). Internationally, Emely stage managed a touring bi-lingual production of Midsummer Night's Dream in Chile. Emely holds an MFA in stage management from the Yale School of Drama where she worked at the Yale Repertory Theatre as stage manager on Cymbeline and assistant stage manager on Indecent and Familiar.