CAST
Ella Dershowitz* (Hannah)
Theater: Connected (59E59), Can You Forgive Her? (Vineyard Theatre), Intimacy (New Group), Card and Gift (Clubbed Thumb), The Two Hander (NJ Rep), Joy and Pandemic (Huntington), Sovereignty and Thomas and Sally (Marin Theatre Company), Three Musketeers: 1941 (Project Y), 4,000 Miles and You Will Remember Me (Hudson Stage), Actually (Aurora), The Wolves (Capital Stage), On the Verge (Attic), Visitors and The Screenwriter’s Daughter (Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse), A Splintered Soul (Rosalind Productions), The Siegel (City Lights), Twelfth Night (Payomet). TV/Film: Phil Spector (HBO), The Affair (Showtime), Lie to Me (Fox), Knife Fight, Two-Bit Waltz, Pitching Tents. Yale University. Crossword puzzle constructor.
Brett Temple* (Karl)
Brett is honored to return to Mrs. Stern after the world premiere at Luna Stage. Some of his previous stage credits include The Valley of the Shadow (WP Theatre) and Henry IV, Part One (Shakespeare’s Globe). TV/Film: Mrs. Fletcher (HBO), Bull (CBS), and the upcoming film When The Moon Was Twice as Big. Graduated from Rutgers, Mason Gross. www.bretttemple.com
Drew Hirshfield* (Erich)
Drew is lucky enough to have worked on plays by Bertolt Brecht, Francis Beaumont, Sandy Rustin, Arthur Miller, Kate Hamill, Robert Askins, Jordan Seavey, Lucas Hnath, Anton Chekhov, Steve Martin, Peter Shaffer, Lanford Wilson, Sam Shepard, Oliver Goldsmith, Tom Stoppard, Neil Simon, Steven Sater, Shakespeare, and many others, at theaters and rehearsal rooms large and small across the county. He’s long served on the acting faculty at New York Film Academy. He earned an MFA from American Conservatory Theater.
Rachel Oremland (Hannah Understudy)
Hailing from Avon, Connecticut with a BFA from NYU Tisch School of Drama, Rachel’s career highlights include playing Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense (Playhouse on Park), Sally Simpson in The Who’s Tommy (Seven Angels Theater), and supporting roles on Gladiator: American Sports Story and Pretty Little Liars: Summer School. Rachel splits her time between NYC and LA, loves everything from Musical Theater to Voiceover to Television/Film and is repped by Malissa Young Management and Firestarter Entertainment. Major thanks to her family and friends for their undying support. @rachoremland
Jay DeYonker* (Karl/Erich Understudy)
An NYU alum, Jay spent five years in Prague as a principal member of the Prague Shakespeare Company. Jay has booked roles on FBI: Most Wanted, American Horror Story, and the recently released The Zombie Wedding from Weekly World News Productions. He wrote, produced, and acted in multiple award-winning films including the musical hit Triple Threat (Best Actor SOHO Film Festival) currently streaming on Peacock.
CREATIVE TEAM
Jenny Lyn Bader (Playwright)
A native New Yorker, Jenny Lyn is the author of plays including Equally Divine (14th St. Y), In Flight (Workshop Theatre), Manhattan Casanova (Hudson Stage), and None of the Above (New Georges). One-acts include Worldness (Humana Festival of New American Plays), Beta Testing (Symphony Space), and Miss America (NY Int’l Fringe, “Best of Fringe” selection). Audio productions include Communal Table (Broadway Podcast Network) and Tree Confessions (This is Not a Theater Co., w/ Kathleen Chalfant). Her work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Next Stage Press, Smith & Kraus, Vintage, Applause, Plays International & Europe, Lincoln Center Theater Review, and The New York Times, where she was a frequent contributor to the “Week in Review.” A Harvard graduate, she has received the Best Documentary One Woman Show Award (United Solo Fest), Athena Playwriting Fellowship, Edith Oliver Award (O’Neill Center), and Lark Playwriting Fellowship (nominated by Wendy Wasserstein). She belongs to the Dramatists Guild, LPTW, and Honor Roll. She can be reached via her web site www.jennylynbader.com
Ari Laura Kreith*** (Director)
Ari is Artistic Director of Luna Stage, where her directing credits include world premieres of RIFT (Venturous Award), Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, and The Voting Writes Project (NEA Art Works) and the regional premiere of Heartland (Star-Ledger Top 10). As Artistic Director of NYC’s Theatre 167 she conceived/directed The Jackson Heights Trilogy (3 full-length plays collaboratively written by 18 playwrights featuring 37 actors playing 93 roles in 14 languages), and directed the world premieres of Pirira (NYIT Award: Best Production), Singing Beach (HERE), and Mourning Sun (West End Theatre/Kampala, Uganda.) Ari designed immersive commissions for Queens Museum and the NY Transit Museum, and conceived/directed The Ground On Which We Stand, which received the Giles R. Wright Award for Excellence in African American History. BA: Yale University.
Lauren Helpern** (Scenic Design)
Lauren has designed numerous world premiere and critically acclaimed productions including: 4000 Miles (Lincoln Center–Lortel Award), Bad Jews (Roundabout), Skintight (Roundabout and Geffen Playhouse–Robby Award nomination), Model Apartment, and BUG (Obie Award). Her work has been seen from Hartford Stage to La Jolla Playhouse, on the National Tour of American Girl Live!, and in several productions of Blue Man Group. She was the production designer for Ari Shaffir–Jew (over 7.3 million views on YouTube). She is a partner in Butter Designs, a full-service design firm for installations and activations.
Deborah Caney** (Costume Design)
Deborah has been designing costumes for 25 years. She has been the resident costume designer at Luna Stage since 2008. Recent productions at Luna Stage include Queen Of The Night, written by Travis Tate, directed by Lucas Pinner and RIFT, written by Gabriel Jason Dean, directed by Ari Laura Kreith. Other credits include: The Operas, Ghosts Of Gatsby & The Beautiful Bridegroom, directed by Karen Driscoll at The Alexander Kasser Theater; Ain’t Misbehavin’ directed by 2019 TONY Award Winner André DeShields at NJPAC and Crossroads Theatre Co; Look What A Wonder, written and directed by Walter Robinson at Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center.
Cameron Filepas (Lighting Design)
Cameron is a NJ/ NYC based lighting designer for Theatre. Selected Designs: Beauty and The Beast (Arizona Broadway Theatre), Mrs. Stern (59E59), The Last Match Tour (Temple Theatre), Spring Awakening (EPIC Player’s), RIFT or White Lies (Luna Stage), A Raisin In The Sun (Bristol Riverside Theatre), White Christmas (Arizona Broadway Theatre), Ride The Cyclone (Ramapo College), Rock of Ages (Centenary Stage Company), The Prom (Axelrod PAC), Into The Woods (EPIC Players), Torn Asunder (Luna Stage), Camp Rock The Musical (Theatre Row). Selected Associate/Assistant Designs: Drag, The Musical! (New World Stages), Giselle (American Repertory Ballet), Queens Girl In The World (Abingdon Theatre Company), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (American Repertory Ballet), NEXTSteps (The Washington Ballet). cameronfilepasdesign.com
Megan Culley** (Sound Design)
Selected Design: Antigone (Cleveland Play House); The Loophole (The Public Theater); Holmes & Watson Apt. 2B (KCRep); Grounded/Hurricane Diane/Stew (Dobama Theater); Terminus (New York Theatre Workshop); Stranger Sings! (Off-Broadway); Inanimate (The Flea Theater); The Last Match (B Street Theatre); Roan @ the Gates (Luna Stage); The Color Purple (Theatre Horizon). Broadway Associate Design: McNeal, Uncle Vanya; A Christmas Carol; Jaja’s African Hair Braiding; Flying Over Sunset, Eureka Day. Other Selected Associate Design: The Secret Garden (Center Theatre Group); The Preacher’s Wife (Alliance Theatre); King James (MTC); Come Fall In Love (The Old Globe).
Judy Bowman, CSA (Casting Director)
UPCOMING: Bullethead (dir. Scott Schwartz), The Humans (Palm Beach Drama Works), Jeffrey Hatcher’s Dial M for Murder (Arizona/Pioneer), Little Women (Geva Theatre). RECENT: RIFT (Luna Stage), True Art (Dorset Theatre Festival), Festival of New Jewish Plays (Berkshire Theatre Group/JPP), Summer, 1976 (Wellfleet HAT), Sanctuary City (Kitchen Theatre Co/Geva), Where We Belong (Folger/Woolly Mammoth tours) A View from the Bridge (SOOP), & the Sharon Playhouse season. Films include First Shift, Hurricane Bianca, Gold Star, Separation, One Moment, and the TV series Big Dogs. Numerous short films, webseries, and audio projects. Board Member/Resident Casting: Jewish Plays Project. Judy has cast numerous plays at 59e59. judybowmancasting.com
Luna Stage (Producing Company)
Luna Stage develops and produces vibrant plays about local and global experiences. We bring our community together for artistic events that spark conversations and create understanding and change. As producer, innovator, and educator, Luna is dedicated to eliminating barriers to participation, and nurturing the next generation of audiences and artists. A professional regional theatre rooted in New Jersey’s underserved Valley Arts district, Luna moved to its current location in 2010 to become an arts anchor and support community revitalization. All Luna programs at our Mainstage and Black Box theaters are Pay-What-You-Choose.
Winner of the NJ Arts People’s Choice Award for Favorite Small Theatre in New Jersey, Luna has contributed to the development of over 100 new works for the stage. Our world premieres and commissions have gone on to be produced across the country and globe. Tony-winner Matthew Lopez developed his first play, The Whipping Man, at Luna; it became one of the most-produced plays across the country. We premiered Nikkole Salter's first three plays, two of which were Luna commissions. Our most recent season featured World Premieres by Gabriel Jason Dean and Helen Banner.
As part of Luna’s commitment to creative placemaking, each year we commission and produce a new site-specific performance inspired by community history. Our current project, The Ground On Which We Stand, is inspired by the history and legacy of the first home in the Township of Montclair to be owned by a formerly enslaved person. It interweaves diverse historic and contemporary voices spanning 190 years, and was awarded the 2024 Giles R. Wright Designation for Excellence in African American History.
Learn more at lunastage.org.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
**Member of United Scenic Artists. Designers are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
***The Director is a member of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.
