SUMMER SHEBANG 2025

september 6, 7, and 21

Please consider making a contribution (one-time or monthly) to support the work of Creative Stage Collective—like a suggested donation of $10 for today’s performance!

ONLINE PROGRAM

Shebang Open

American Adult

Babysitter 1

Budget PBS: This VERY Old House

Imaginary Airlines

Narcissistic Therapist 1

Budget PBS: Masterpiece TikTok

ULTA AI

Babysitter 2

Budget PBS: The Microwave Chef

Ants in the Zoo

Narcissistic Therapist 2

Ants in the Vacuum

Budget PBS: The Joy of Drawing in the Dirt With a Stick

Military Dog Training

Budget PBS: Things on the Side of the Road Show

Narcissistic Therapist 3

The Singing Detective

CAST AND CREW

Nicole Greevy, Director, Contributing Writer

Nicole Greevy began with Creative Stage Collective as a volunteer adult performer in the Spectacular! and now contributes as a writer to the sketch concepts developed by the CSC Summer Shebang! troupe. This is her first year directing the Summer Shebang!; she is grateful to Madeline for the opportunity, and overflowing with gratitude to the Actors/Teaching Artists and the kids for their boundless creativity, enthusiasm, focus, and hard work over the past few weeks.

A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Nicole is an award-winning writer and actor with over 25 years’ experience in educational theatre as a writer, performer and director. She is a writer/producer for the fictional podcast Uncanny County (co-created by her husband, Todd Faulkner, who is also a contributing writer to this year’s Summer Shebang!). Her episode, “Our Better Angels,” propelled Uncanny County to its fourth consecutive Parsec Award for excellence in long-form fictional storytelling. She is a 2025 New York State Council on the Arts grant recipient for artistic support in playwrighting as she develops a new full-length work, and currently is writing the book for a new musical about rhinos for the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, to debut onsite in summer 2026.

While Nicole takes great joy in her creative work, her greatest joy is being mom to Griffin Robert Faulkner, and getting to work with him on the 2025 Summer Shebang! has been most excellent. She apologizes for all the times she embarrassed him in rehearsal.

Madeline Bender, Artistic Director

Madeline has had a rich career as an international opera singer, writer, director and producer. She has created numerous devised performances including: Instrumental Storytellers at Symphony Space in collaboration with Concert Artists Guild; the annual Creative Stage Spectacular performances, also at Symphony Space (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023); Summer Shebang! (2018, 2021,2022); and Dancing Storytellers for Carnegie Hall Fall Family Day (2018). She specializes in devising original work with multi-generational, multidisciplinary groups.

Originally an operatic soprano, Madeline has worked with notable opera directors such Sir Peter Hall, Robert Wilson, David McVicar, Paul Curran, and Sir Jonathan Miller. She has appeared as Euridice in Orphee’ at Le Theatre du Chatelet, with Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducting; Helene in A Midsummer Night's Dream (La Monnaie, Brussels, Glyndebourne Festival Opera); Konstanza in Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (Baden Baden, Aix en Provence); Violetta in La Traviata (Santa Fe Opera); Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (New York Philharmonic), and Handel's Messiah (Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with Sir Andrew Davis conducting). Madeline received her Masters degree in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She lives in NYC with her husband, operatic bass Paul Whelan, and their sixteen-year-old son, Zachary, who made his Carnegie Hall debut performing the treble solos in Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York in May 2022.

Tiffany Iris

Tiffany Iris is a Bronx-based actor, singer and puppeteer who began her theater journey at LaGuardia Community College, where she was named a Top 36 Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship nominee at KCACTF. Since then, her credits include: Riddles of the Trilobites (New Victory Theater); Eric Carle’s World of Wildlife (Bronx Zoo); Shakespeare’s Other Women (Island Shakespeare Festival); Sense & Sensibility (Island Shakespeare Festival); When We Went Electronic (The Tank Theater); Isla (Hit the Lights Co.); and 48 hrs in El Bronx (Pregones Theater). This fall, catch her in As You Like It with Word to the People Theatre Company. Tiffany received training from Alan Langdon at Circle in the Square Theatre School. To learn more visit www.tiffanyiris.com

Seth Weinstein - Pianist

Seth Weinstein composed and musically directed the Off-Broadway musical How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes. He wrote and recorded “The Chagall Suite” (eight piano movements inspired by Marc Chagall’s artworks) and “Conversations” (a meeting between Chagall and Elvis Presley) and has performed them in France, Germany, and the USA. He has been the musical director of numerous regional productions, including Black House (Zagreb, Croatia), Do I Hear a Waltz?, and Smokey Joe’s Cafe. He routinely plays for holiday services at Central Synagogue and Or Olam, and he performs regularly with soprano Jodi Keogan in Florida. This autumn, he will complete the Abecedarian Walks, a series of perambulations around 26 islands from Aruba to Zanzibar. For more information, visit sethweinstein.com.

sierra nelson

This is Sierra Nelson’s third Summer Shebang and she is thrilled to be back!

Sierra is an innovative singer, dancer and actress with an extensive range and repertoire. She enjoys singing all genres as a vessel to tell as many stories as possible. Her recent credits include Adebola (Underground), Justice (Liberty & Justice) and Gwen Webb (The Movement). Instagram/Tiktok: @TajFaerie

ty norris

Ty Norris is originally from Yorktown, Virginia and is a graduate of Christopher Newport University with a BA in Musical Theater. He moved to New York to pursue Acting and is happy to say he just closed his first Off-Broadway show, All Because of Infidelity, with Hanging Cow Productions. His favorite roles include Man in Chair from The Drowsy Chaperone and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. Before moving to the city, he directed and taught acting classes to kids 10-15 for two years.

DANIEL OAKES

Daniel Oakes is a professional actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer originally from and based in New York City. He has been in many dramatic and comedic theatrical roles, including playing Robert in Betrayal by Harold Pinter; Roy Cohn in Angels in America by Tony Kushner; Orpheus in Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; and Mr. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder. He is also experienced in film work, having participated in multiple short films including Transference and Call Time, both directed by Elpiniki Tsapatsaris, and Float On, directed by Molly O'Sullivan. He loves to make comedy and has been featured at the PIT NYC in their People’s Sketch Revue. He hopes you enjoy the show and he is very very excited to be working with the Creative Stage Collective for his second Summer Shebang! danieloakes.org

Alex Church-Gonzales, Stage Manager

Alex Church-Gonzales is an interdisciplinary theatremaker who gravitates towards the surreal, silly, and spectacular. She is a resident artist with Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective; Directors Lab North alumnus; frequent director for Serials; and one-half of Monster of the Weak Puppetry. Selected credits: Goatman (SheNYC), [REDACTED] Jr… (Keen Company), Henry Hicks, Attorney at Cowboy Law (NYC Fringe), My Brother Jake (The Flea, The Tank), i can fix him (Dramatists Guild Foundation), FOWL PLAY (La Mama), Pass Over (14th Street Y), All At Once [40th Anniversary Remaster] (The Tank), Fish Meat (SheNYC), Project Sankofa (Broadway Bound Festival), small town icons (Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective). alexchurchgonzales.com @alexncg

CSC Youth Performers:

Ariella Natalya Plaks Bonilla, Bradley Cabrera, Brandon Cabrera, Drew Wiggins, Griffin Robert Faulkner, Itai Tirosh, Kyrie Winters, Lila Graubert-Dolan, Lily Tardie, Logan Cabrera, Noa Ramadge

Writers: Nicole Greevy, Todd Faulkner, Madeline Bender

Choreography: Sierra Nelson, Daniel Oakes

Costumes and Props: Jessica Zindren

Sound Designer: David Ferdinand