“everyone wants to know
more about love.
we want to know what it means to love,
what we can do in our everyday lives
to love and be loved.”
Pages From a Love Manifesto
Inspired by bell hooks’ “All About Love,” Pages From a Love Manifesto is a devised theatrical exploration into the lives and loves of three young couples, each at a different critical stage of their respective relationships. When they come together for a weekend retreat that doubles as a surprise engagement party, their cabin proves to be less of an intimate getaway and more a pressure tank ready to explode. Secrets and hidden truths emerge that force each of them to reexamine their connections to one another, and question what it means to be in love.
production photos curtesy of Will Olivia
12 week summer book club with friends and colleagues, ages 18-22
facilitated conversations with readers, often through weekly discussion questions and open forum; compiled and archived notes from each meeting for future use
june - august 2021
script conception and devising, acting company of 8
utilized passages from the text, archival material from book club, and various movement/improv techniques to explore company’s initial responses to the work - included various couples’ exercises & interviews for personal testimonies
developed characters and respective relationship dynamics out of that exploration and began creating a story through open scene work and writing exercises
september - decemeber 2021
first draft staged reading workshop, open to the public
8-hour rehearsal with first completed draft culminating in a staged reading, with minimal movement in the style of show
presented a post-show Q&A with audience
PSM, Marianna Oropallo
AD, Jenna Sargent
Dramaturg, Paige Rosko
devising company
Angelina Bell
Irving Zuniga
Sumire Muratsu
Julia Senise
Chris Lunetta
Freddie Rose
Jadin Vega
Abbe Schulties
reading cast
Nahni, Irving Zuniga
Mitch, Sean Walsh
Cadence, Jadin Vega
Arrin, Jocelyn Meija
Ollie, Angelina Bell
Sass, Julia Senise
Stage Directions, Sumire Muratsu
decemeber 2021
script revision and full production, student designed and produced with SUNY NP
spent the beginning of 2022 revising + editing the script following the audience q&a, along with guidance and critique from mentors/professors [special thanks to Tony Speciale, the project’s primary advisor, for the many hours of collaboration and conversation he has gifted]
pages was produced in SUNY New Paltz’s spring 2022 season as their Praxis production- meaning it would be completely student designed, produced, and run
with a combination of returning and new actors, continued to devise and develop the script, including longer movement sequences as part of the storytelling; simultaneously worked with a group of designers to imaginatively build the world with a limited budget and resources
february- april 2022
rehearsal shots curtesy of Ashlie Morrison
Nahni, Arianna Tice
Mitch, Angelina Bell
Arrin, Julia Senise
Cadence, Emma Reifschneider
Sass, Khiara Richards
Ollie, Molly Walsh
PM, Shannon Dodson
PSM, Joni Honeywell
Assistant Director, Katie Gudzik
Scenic Designer, Natasha D’Amico
Lighting Designer, Martin Benesh
Sound Designer, Andrew Paolillo
Costumes Designer, Kiana Duggan-Haas
Dramaturg, Marianna Oropallo
Pages From a Love Manifesto received nominations for the following 2022 BroadwayWorld Central NY Awards: (in the non-professional category) Best Play, Best New Play or Musical*, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical*, Best Lighting Design of a Play or Musical, Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical, Best Sound Design of a Play or Musical*, Best Direction of a Play*, Best Performer in a Play- Arianna Tice, Angelina Bell*, Best Supporting Performer in a Play - Emma Reifschneider*, Molly Walsh
*indicates runners-up