Playwright's Note
Thank you for attending this live theatre performance. Above Ground is the culmination of a years-long examination of death, anxiety, and the lasting power of words... a comedy! No pressure to laugh, though. Consider the experience as an invitation to find humor along some of the bluest avenues of the human quest. If you are wondering, how much of this is true? The answer is that all of these monologues are based on something that really happened, but I have edited and resequenced events that span fifty years to suit the specific point of view of this 80-minute play. You are getting a lot of the story, but there is more that remains just mine. (You understand, right?)
Special thanks to Thom Harmon and City Gate Productions, Fundraiser Amy Vogltanz, and my beloved Sheffield Chastain. Thank you to Stephanie Weeks for honing the story and shaping its life onstage. Thank you, Sully White, Michael Dixon, and The Creative Altruism: Nuturing Hope Fund, without whom this production would not be possible. For the development of Above Ground, I'd like to thank The Dramatists Guild, Forestburgh Playhouse's In the Works ~ In the Woods New Play Festival, and Benjamin and Lauren Reed of the Green Room. To The Mighty Hobens: Charlie, Shelley, Katie, and Kelly: you are with me in all I do.
Live Theatre is important; let's gather. Words are powerful; let's wield our power for good. Life is short; let's seize it.
~Ginna Hoben
cast and crew bios
GINNA HOBEN: Based in Queens, New York, Ginna Hoben is grateful to City Gate Productions for mounting Above Ground in her home borough! Her solo play, The Twelve Dates of Christmas, premiered at American Shakespeare Center in 2010 and has since enjoyed over 100 productions nationally and worldwide. Her next solo play, the critically acclaimed No Spring Chicken, premiered in D.C.’s 2015 Women’s Voices Theatre Festival. Other produced plays include pierced! (New York and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals); the wind-chill factor (The Actors Theatre of Louisville); the short plays telephone (ATL); Spit Spat Splendor Spite (from “Shakespeare in Mind,” Dramatic Publishing); and A Song of Good Life (Vermont Shakespeare Company); and Decked! (Theatre B and Ten Fifteen Productions). Specifically created for a teenage cast, her most recently published play is High School Bake-Off. Notable acting credits include The Equalizer(CBS); What The Constitution Means To Me (The Hippodrome); Hand To God (Forestburgh Playhouse); The Thanksgiving Play (The Kitchen Theatre); The Revolutionists (The Human Race Theatre); Next Fall and The 39 Steps (CATCO);Richard Dresser’s What Are You Afraid Of? (World Premiere, Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville); and thirty-two productions at American Shakespeare Center including Taming of the Shrew (Kate); The Merchant of Venice (Portia); and Every Brilliant Thing(Storyteller). Previously a writer/post-producer for Food Network’s Hungry Games and National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated Brain Games,these days Ginna can be heard as Marina, the host of Spotify’s new children’s podcast Deep Blue Sea. She also writes and voices for the children’s podcast Who Smarted? www.ginnahoben.com IG: @ginnabeans.
Stephanie Weeks is an award-winning actor and director who has performed at some of the country’s most renowned theaters, including The Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, and Soho Rep. She is an Associate Artist with Target Margin Theater, where her contributions earned her an OBIE Award for Recognition of Artistic Achievement and Commitment to Excellence in Theater. Stephanie is a member of the acclaimed ensemble Elevator Repair Service and starred in Melvin Van Peebles’ film Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha, an Official Selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. Her television credits include Tales of the City (Netflix), The Good Fight (CBS), and Law & Order (NBC). www.stephaniejweeks.com
Hadly Patterson (Production Stage Manager) Hadly is a multifaceted performing artist and creative, located here in New York City. She is primarily a Performer, Director, and Choreographer, but can now add Stage Manager to her ever-growing skill set. When not working on a show, she is a Manager and Team Lead for a Marketing and Promotions company for Broadway. She is so happy she has been able to see this play change and grow from when she worked on it as an ASM at Forestburgh Playhouse in 2023 to now - and is so excited for everyone to see it! Her most recent Directorial/Choreographic credits include: Descendants - Riverdale Children’s Theatre (Assistant Choreographer); SpongeBob - Forestburgh Playhouse Academy (Choreographer); Hercules - Forestburgh Playhouse Academy (Director); Cinderella and The Little Mermaid - Forestburgh Academy (Assistant Director); 1984 - Sundog Theatre Co (Assistant Director); Plays from the Staten Island Ferry ‘20, ‘21, ‘22 - Sundog Theatre Co (Director); Or, and Stupid Bird - Wagner College (Assistant Director). Some of her previous Performance credits include: Escape to Margaritaville (On Stage Swing/Ensemble u/s) - Walnut Street Theatre; The 25th Annual…Spelling Bee (Olive Ostrovsky) - Ocean City Theatre Co.; Beehive (Alison u/s) - Walnut Street Theatre; Hair (Crissy); Cabaret (Texas); Small Town Story (Kristen); Footloose (Ariel Moore); Rocky Horror (Janet/Phantom). www.hadlypatterson.com Instagram: @hap824
Darron L West (Sound Designer) He is a TONY and OBIE award-winning sound designer whose nearly 40 year career spans theater and dance, on Broadway, Off Broadway and regional theaters too numerous to list here. His work has been heard in over 700 productions all over the United States and internationally in 15 countries. Additional honors include the Drama Desk, Lortel, Audelco and Princess Grace Foundation Statue Award, among many others. Thirty year company member designing the productions of Anne Bogart’s SITI company.
Ellery Pierce (Set and Costume Designer) is a New York based Designer, Producer, and Technical Director. She is very excited to be a part of the Above Ground team! Off-Broadway: Scouts (Set Designer) Other: King Lear (Set Design Asst., Shakespeare Theater Co.), Romeo and Juliette (Set Design Asst., Shakespeare Theater Co.), Uncovered (Technical Director, City Lyric Opera), Fun Home (Set Designer, Tisch Drama Stage). Education: NYU Tisch Drama. www.ellerypierce.com
Max Van (Projection Designer) is in the pursuit of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of theater. He has worked on productions and concerts, serving various key roles as projection and sound designer. Recent credits include, Zoetrope (Caborca), cankersore paradise (Lenfest Columbia University), Ruby Jubilee Gala (Lincoln Center Theater), Left On Tenth (Broadway), The Outlaw (Short Featured Film), Feral Femmes (Twenty Somethings), cunnicularii (Good Apples Collective), True West (People’s Light). For more, find him on maxvan.work.
Jacqueline Scaletta (Lighting Design) is a Brooklyn-based lighting designer. Select recent credits include: LOBSTER (The Tank), Mikey Maus in Fantasmich! (The Brick), Swallows (La MaMa), Third Law (CultureLab LIC), ONE NIGHT (Target Margin Theater), The leg. (MITU580), The Vicky Archives (The Tank), Lula 19/85 & The Pearl of the Bekaa (La MaMa), Ashkenazi Seance (Union Temple, The Brick, The Tank), Repeat Victimization (HERE Arts). Associate credits: Sasha Velour’s The Big Reveal Live Show (La MaMa), Open Mic Night (Under the Radar, Williamstown Theater Festival), An Iliad (Long Wharf Theater). jacscalettalighting.com.
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