2021 SEASON SPONSORS

THE CAST

Marta
LORI POULIN

    Lucy
DEBORAH GOODMAN

Marianne
CHEYENNE WALENT

Jane
KC ROSS

Eliza
TERESA ALEXANDRU

SYNOPSIS OF SCENES

Action takes place in
Seneca Falls, New York.
Present day.

ACT ONE
Emily's Living Room

INTERMISSION
CAYUGA CANAL GIRLS is performed with a 15 minute intermission

ACT TWO
​A bridge along the Cayuga Canal

SPECIAL THANKS

Sierra Ridge Media Arts
Arabesque Costume Sales & Rentals

BEHIND THE SCENES

Director
Ed Bassett 

Playwright
Laura King

Dramaturge
Kathy Pingel

Stage Manager
Deb Cryan

Deck Captain
Michael Cassidy

Costumes
Ed Bassett & Lori Poulin

Props
Ed Bassett

Set Design
Ed Bassett

Set Crew
Al Hathway, Ed Bassett,
Robert Richnavsky, 
Rob Richnavsky,  Dana Willey,
Jim Hilby, Laurie Phillips,
Lori Poulin & Lori Richnavsky

Lighting Design
Al Hathway

Sound Design
Ed Bassett
Executive Producer - Ed Bassett
Production Manager - Lori Poulin
Facilities Manager - Tim Phillips
Photographer - Paula Murphy
Playbill/Website -
​Sharon W. Houk
​Volunteer Coordinator - 
​Laurie Phillips

COMING SOON

November 27 at 8pm
December 3, 4, 10 & 11 at 8pm
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November 28 at 3pm
December 5 & 12 at 3pm
The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) is proud to include the Phoenix Stage Company as a Producing Theatre in AACT NewPlayFest 2020! AACT NewPlayFest is an initiative by AACT to address the critical need for new, high-quality plays for community theatre audiences around the globe. Many theatres across the country applied to be a producing theatre. More than 280 playwrights submitted scripts! Six theatres and six scripts were selected for full productions. Educator, Director, and Dramaturge Kathy Pingel is serving as the dramaturge during the workshopping and rehearsal periods of each NewPlayFest 2020 production. AACT expresses sincere thanks to Kathy for her dedication to the festival.

The American Association of Community Theatre helps theatres thrive. AACT provides networking, resources, and support to suit the needs of those involved in community theatre. AACT represents the interests of thousands of theatres across the United States and its territories, as well as theatre companies with the U.S. Military Services overseas. 

This AACT NewPlayFest world premiere production of The Cayuga Canal Girls by Laura King is made possible in part by a grant from the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation, and is sponsored by Dramatic Publishing Company. DPC publish AACT NewPlayFest winning plays in anthologies and license future productions of the winning scripts.
www.dramaticpublishing,com
Jack K. Ayre
Frank Ayre Lee
Jack K. Ayre celebrated his 90th birthday before passing away in December 2011. At his birthday party he sang with a barbershop quartet – one of his favorite activities – and celebrated with his cousin and lifelong friend, Frank Ayre Lee. Though as adults they lived on opposite sides of the country, the cousins kept in touch through letters that displayed a love for the written word and an irreverent sense of humor.

Jack had participated in theatre productions at Drew University in New Jersey and at a community theatre in Connecticut in his younger years and continued that interest when he moved to California. Mr. Lee was also an avid aficionado of theatre and had dabbled in playwriting, adapting Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book for a children’s theatre production, and penning McSteg, a tongue-in-cheek discourse ribbing his cousin Jack and based on a scene in Shakespeare’s MacBeth. Upon Jack’s death, resources he left were used to create the Jack K. Ayre Foundation for the United States Coast Guard, of which he was a member during WWII, and the Jack K. and Agnes K. Ayre Foundation for Blind Children – his mother, Agnes, was a teacher and pioneer in educating the blind.

​In addition, the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation has been created by the children of Frank Ayre Lee as a tribute to their father, who passed away in August 2012, and a legacy for the creative endeavors of Jack, who was an advertising executive and public relations director. The family is pleased to honor both men through a lasting legacy promoting new works for theatre through AACT NewPlayFest.

WHO'S WHO

TERESA ALEXANDRU (Eliza) is a familiar face at the Phoenix Stage Company. Stage credits: STEEL MAGNOLIAS (Anelle), THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (Rachel), OCTETTE BRIDGE CLUB (Nora), MRS. BOB CRATCHIT’S WILD CHRISTMAS BINGE (Ghost of Christmas Past, Present & Future), DEATH BY FATAL MURDER (Ginny) FEMALE TRANSPORT (Pitty), COVER OF LIFE (Weetsie), THE BUTLER DID IT (Charity Haze), and ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (Elaine), all with Phoenix Stage Company! Thank you to Ed for including me in this amazing opportunity, to Laura, for trusting us to give life to this beautiful work. This is for Donna – Thank you for bringing me into the Phoenix Family. I know you’re cheering us one from above.  Love to my family & hubby Mike.
KC ROSS (Jane) returns to the PSC stage! Past stage credits include THE PIINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN, BASKERVILLE, OCTETTE BRIDGE CLUB, ALMOST, MAINE, THE HALLELUJAH GIRLS, RED VELVET CAKE WARS and FUDDY MEERS. Thank you to the staff of PSC for making every production fabulous! And thank you to our patrons for your continued support through these challenging times.
DEBORAH GOODMAN (Lucy) is back on the PSC stage after appearing in KILL ME DEADLY!, THE OCTETTE BRIDGE CLUB, BASKERVILLE, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, MACBETH, FARCE OF NATURE, ALMOST MAINE, THE BUTLER DID IT! and more!  Deb was a part of the AACT NewPlayFest in 2013 as Judy Blue Eyes in JELLOFISH. She has also directed several One Acts for our annual Festival. Thank you to Ed for casting me. Deb Cryan and the rest of the crew for all their hard work. Thank you to Sloan and Dan for supporting me – love you! Thank you to the audience for supporting Live Theater! Finally, thank you to the cast for all the fun!
CHEYENNE WALENT (Marianne) returns to the Phoenix Stage after appearing in THE GREAT AMERICNA TRAILER PARK CHRISTMAS MUSICAL. Stage Credits include; Fiona in ONE HIT WONDER with Landmark Community Theater. The Chaperone in Goshen Players’ DROWSY, Mrs. Phelps in MATILDA, Paulette in LEGALLY BLONDE, Penelope Pennywise URINETOWN and Rona Lisa Peretti in 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. All my love to Phyllis and the tribe I hold closest for their never-ending love and support!
LORI POULIN (Marta) is the Phoenix Stage Company Production Manager. PSC credits include Stage Managing FOR BASKERVILLE, ANY BODY HOME?, EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD, A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE and more. Director of FOUR WEDDINGS AND AN ELVIS, MOON OVER BUFFALO, DEATH BY FATAL MURDER, FARCE OF NATURE, JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL and appearing on stage in DEATH & TAXES, KILL ME DEADLY, DARK AND STORMY NIGHT and LADY PARTS. Other credits include Costume Designer for THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, GODSPELL and ELF, THE MUSICAL at Landmark Community Theater. Thank you to Ed for encouraging me to play on the other side of the stage and to Deb for always having my back. It is a pleasure to work with this marvelous group of ladies, all of whom I am proud to call my friends. As always to JP & Gma, thank you for supporting me and our Phoenix family. Thank you to our audience for trusting PSC with new works and sharing this journey with us.

BEHIND THE SCENES

ED BASSETT (Director) is a founding member of the Phoenix Stage Company. Performance credits include: FIREFLIES, FOUR WEDDINGS AND AN ELVIS, THE FOREIGNER, A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD, and a few others with PSC. Other credits include; SHERWOOD (Director), CLIFFHANGER (Director), BASKERVILLE (Director), REBEL YELLS (Director) DEAD RINGER (Costume Design) and THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE (Costume Design) for PSC. Ed is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Thank you to our wonderful Phoenix family and to you, our audience for your continued support of new work. A special thank you to Laura King for trusting us with her work and to Kathy Pingel for her guidance and dedication to this amazing process. 

DEB CRYAN (Stage Manager) is backstage again at Phoenix Stage Company!  Past productions include: KILL ME DEADLY!, MOON OVER BUFFALO, A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, THREE MURDERS AND IT’S ONLY MONDAY, THE DINING ROOM, THE BUTLER DID IT! and many more. We look forward to seeing Deb in the director’s chair for our upcoming One Act Festival! Thank you to Geoff for knowing I love to come out and play with theater folk – I love you, Honey!
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LAURA KING (Playwright) lives in Barnesville, Georgia. She holds an MFA in playwriting (with a concentration in dramaturgy) from the Playwrights Lab at Hollins University. Currently, she serves as a Dramatists Guild ambassador for the Atlanta region and on the Southeastern Theatre Conference Publications Committee. Her play Merritt Anne and the Mighty Oak is a Write Now 2019 winner. Her full-length plays - INDEPENDENCE DAY AT HAPPY MEADOWS (which won the 2016 SETC/Stage Rights Ready to Publish Award) and THE HARMONY BAPTIST CHURCH LADIES’ AUXILIARY CHRISTMAS JUBILEE - are available for licensing through Stage Rights. Her plays for young audiences, including YOUTH ON THE ROOF, THE CAROL OF TINY TIM, and several 10-minute plays, are available through YouthPLAYS. The Atlanta-based playwright is also an instructor of Theatre at Gordon State College. Her works are available at YouthPLAYS, StageRights, Polychoron Press, and the New Play Exchange. Laura is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Working Title Playwrights, and the Southeastern Theatre Conference.
KATHY PINGEL (Dramaturg) Until her retirement in 2015, Kathy Pingel was the Director of Education and Youth Programming at the Des Moines Community Playhouse for ten years. She also served as Artistic Director of the Kate Goldman Children’s Theatre. She holds a BA in theatre from Eastern Michigan University, a MA from Northwestern University in Performance Studies and an MAT from Northwestern. Kathy has adjudicated at the state and regional, national and international festivals for the American Association of Community Theatre. In 2017, she was named an AACT Fellow and in 2019 was given the prestigious Art Cole Lifetime Achievement Award. Since leaving the Des Moines Playhouse, Kathy has directed and taught in Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma and Ansbach, Germany. Kathy’s newest role is Dramaturg for AACT’s NewPlayFest.
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