SUMMER SHEBANG 2024
september 7, 8, and 29
Please consider making a contribution to support the work of Creative Stage Collective—like a suggested donation of $10 for today’s performance!
ONLINE PROGRAM
Cold Open - Paris Olympics
End Your Summer With a Shebang! — Sung to the tune of Respect by Otis Redding (recorded by Aretha Franklin)
Costco Reconstructive Surgery Department
Adult Babysitting
Backyard Dirt
Dirt Song! — Sung to the tune of Bourrée from Water Music by George Frederick Handel
Family Roadtrip
San Francisco App
Brainy-O’s
Are You Meaner Than a Sixth Grader?
Meanie Song — Sung to the tune of There’s No Business Like Show Business from Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin
A Cheesy Musical Finale — With original lyrics set to tunes by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon of Queen, including:
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Bohemian Rhapsody
Don’t Stop Me Now
I Want to Break Free
We Are the Champions
CAST AND CREW
Madeline Bender, 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 fifteen-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.
PAYTON GEORGIANA
Payton Georgiana is an actor and writer, located in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. She was nominated for an Irene Ryan award for her role of #7 in The Wolves, and was announced the winner of best classical performance in KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival). As an actress, Payton Georgiana recently appeared on Law and Order: SVU. Furthermore, she made her Off Broadway debut in the leading role of Barbra Payton in Ode to The Wasp Woman, performed at The Actors Temple. She was the lead in an episode entitled “Mrs. Todd's Long Cut,'' part of the Dark Echoes Horror Series for Valencias Motion Pictures. She is signed with FORWARD Talent in Atlanta, Georgia and managed by Dream Maker Talent in NYC. Instagram: @Paytongeorgiana66
Tiffany Iris
Tiffany Iris is a versatile artist with credits ranging from puppetry (Riddles of the Trilobites at the New Victory Theater and The Wildlife Witches Super Scary Halloween Show at the Bronx Zoo) to Shakespeare (Island Shakespeare Festival).
Tiffany received training from Alan Langdon at Circle in the Square Theatre School, with theatrical projects ranging from straight plays to short films. Also a singer, Tiffany played the role of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, for which she was nominated for an Irene Ryan acting scholarship. As a proud Latina, proving to the world that you can create beautiful, meaningful and fun content without having to be stereotyped drives Tiffany to continue in this unpredictable yet rewarding career path. Read more about Tiffany HERE.
Seth Weinstein - Pianist
Seth Weinstein graduated from Harvard College with honors in music and has been a classical and theatre pianist in New York for more than 20 years. He was the musical director and composer of the Off-Broadway musical How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes (New World Stages, 2006). He has toured internationally with Fosse and Ivan Jacobs’s The Phantom of the Opera and in the USA with Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver. He has been the musical director of Black House (Zagreb, Croatia), Do I Hear a Waltz? (Arvada Center), and Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), among other shows, and he has played for Holland America Line and Hapag-Lloyd cruises. Seth wrote and recorded “The Chagall Suite” (eight piano movements inspired by Marc Chagall’s artworks) and “Conversations” (a musical meeting between Chagall and Elvis Presley) and has performed them in France, Germany, and the USA. He plays regularly in a burlesque opera show and is the pianist for the MAC and Bistro Award–winning Screen Gems: Songs of Old Hollywood (featuring Sarah Rice) and Operation Opera (baritone Adelmo Guidarelli’s amusing tribute to opera and a participant in the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe). For more information, visit sethweinstein.com.
sierra nelson
Sierra Nelson is an innovative singer, dancer and actress with an extensive range and repertoire. She enjoys singing all genres, telling as many stories as possible, and she is thrilled to be joining this season's Summer Shebang! Sierra also has a growing following on YouTube. She has released 150+ music videos since 2014. Learn more about her body of work at this link.
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, dancer, and singer based in New York City. He has been in many dramatic and comedic theatrical roles, including Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, and 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 hopes you enjoy the show and he is very very excited to be working with the Creative Stage Collective! danieloakes.org
FOUAD HASSAN, STAGE MANAGER
Fouad Hassan (he/him) is a New York-based stage manager from Beirut, Lebanon. While his journey and love for theatre began in Beirut, his career has since led him to live and work in several cities and countries around the globe. Through his stage management work, Fouad strives to be a part of telling the untold stories. As a creative leader, he prioritizes empathy, care, and appreciation for both the people and the story. Fouad earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, where he studied both film and theatre, and his MFA in Stage Management at Columbia University.
CSC Youth Performers:
Logan Cabrera, QueenNa'eemah Oluwakemi, Griffin Robert Faulkner, Ariella Natalya Plaks Bonilla, Lila Graubert-Dolan, Noa Ramadge, Kyrie Winters, Marlie-Ongania Opa, Zoe Dublin Moldovan
Assistant Director, Mena Hassouna
Assistant Stage Manager, Greta Davis
Costumes and Props, Christina Burke and Hollie Hazelle
Sound Designer, Alan Davis
Assistant Sound Designer, Isaac Milliband
And very special thanks to Ella Smith for assisting us with scriptwriting!
