[NoHo Arts District, CA] –  Producing Artistic Director John Lant of Write Act Repertory is pleased to announce its annual collection of original one-act plays, Write of Spring (2025): Cracking Open Art.

About Write of Spring (2025): Cracking Open Art

A world premiere collection of six original one-act plays written by various Write Act writers for a limited run of performances.

Enter a world of art and all that it encompasses, standing alone and open for interpretation. With homages to Write Act Repertory’s historical one-act festivals from years past to fresh new works from new voices, there will be plenty to make you think and shed light on a new perspective of what it truly means to live through different art forms.

A collection of 6 world premiere tales surrounding the theme of ART, 6 one-act plays brought to life by 7 writers, 7 directors, and 17 actors.

THE OTHER PAINTINGS IN THE ROOM WITH THE MONA LISA

Three of the paintings in the same room with the Mona Lisa are upset that they’re ignored by the crowds coming to admire her. Written by Thomas J. Misuraca. Directed by Kyle Blumenthal.

THE CUSTOMS OFFICER’S BEAUTIFUL DREAM

In a dream, a struggling artist reunites with his dead muse. Written by Susan C. Hunter,  Directed by Darrin Yalacki.

HANAMI FESTIVAL

A mother and daughter journey to Japan for the Hanami Festival where they are forever changed by the myth of the cherry blossom trees. Written by Rochelle Perry and directed by Anne Mesa.

MUSINGS

Two smug art fans who think they’re better than the other discover they’re more similar than they originally thought. Written and directed by Carla Cackowski.

THE EYE

When Aaron visits a piece of art of his on display with his art teacher, he discovers something is amiss. Written by Darrin Yalacki. Directed by Susan C. Hunter.

AFTERTASTE

Inspired by Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, a first date melts into a fiasco. Written and directed by Mitch Metivier and Jorge A. Pulido.

The Team

Written by Carla Cackowski, Susan C. Hunter, Mitch Metivier, Thomas J. Misuraca, Rochelle Perry, Jorge A. Pulido, and Darrin Yalacki

Directed by Kyle Blumenthal, Carla Cackowski, Susan Eiden, Mitch Metivier, Anne Mesa, Jorge A. Pulido and Darrin Yalacki.

Produced by John Lant, Darrin Yalacki, Susan Eiden and Anne Mesa. Associate Producers Jonathan Harrison and Jorge A. Pulido

The Cast

Erika Godwin, Veli Gonzalez, Justin Gubersky, Jude Jones, Gwendolyn Joyce, Lillian Kamm, Jennifer Kenyon, Tony Kim, Adam Kroksh, Gemma Kyle, Paige Laviolette, Jack Lechich, Helena Maggiore, Naledi Miga, Patrick PL Ip, Margo Rowder and Helen Wu.

The Playwrights and Directors

Kyle Blumenthal – Director

Kyle is beyond ~stoked~ to make his Write Act directing debut! Along with acting and writing, he has been directing for 8 years. He has co-devised with Tectonic Theatre Project (Laramie Project, Moment Work) on #HereToo, a devised theater piece about American gun violence. In the spring of ’22 his original hip hop theater piece GRAFF premiered at the Downtown Theatre in Happy Valley, PA, fully produced with an original score. The following year he collaborated with Climate Change Theatre Action, Arts and Climate Initiative, and ArtSake Theatre Company on All Eyes on Tomorrow, a climate awareness festival with his short play Trash and Space. In ’24 he made his film directing and writing debut with the short film Pray for Me, which was a semi-finalist at the San Diego International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival, among others. Connect with him on Instagram @ky.blum!

Carla Cackowski – Writer / Director

Carla Cackowski is a writer, director and improviser living in Los Angeles. She regularly tours across the country with her two-person improv show, “Orange Tuxedo”. Carla toured on boats with Second City and performed on Harold Teams at both iO West and UCB Los Angeles. She directed the International Ensemble at the Vancouver Improv Festival in 2018 and has traveled all over the world teaching and performing in comedy festivals. Carla was an improv teacher at The Second City in Hollywood for twelve years, is the former Artistic Director at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica and the former Co-Artistic Director at Curious Comedy Theater in Portland, Oregon. Some recent improv Das Improv Festival (Berlin), Copenhagen International Improv Festival, Detroit Improv Festival, Sarasota Improv Festival, Last Best Comedy Fest (Bozeman, Montana), and The Last Word Comedy Festival (Williamsburg, Virginia). You can currently see her performing monthly at Outside In Theater with her four-person team, “Weird Tuxedo” (Craig Cackowski, Bob Dassie, and Stephnie Weir). www.orangetuxedoimprov.com www.carlacackowski.com

Susan C. Hunter (Eiden) – Writer / Director

Susan’s works include Caddie Woodlawn published by Concord Theatricals, The Boy Who Ruled the Moon and Sun (San Diego Opera), Karma, The Musical (Write Act Repertory), The  Grand Adventures of Jim & Huck (Whittier Center Theatre), Kissinup to Mr. Bliss (Write Act Repertory), In the Shadow of a Lunatic Moon (All Original  Playwrights  Workshop). The  Beauty and  The Computer  Geek  (East  Valley  Children’s  Theatre  – National Playwriting Award) and the recent Cringe Fest  2023 at Write Act  Rep, of which she has been a member since 2008. Life Member of Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and Playground-LA since 2012. See more at susanhuntereiden.com

Mitch Metivier – Writer / Director

Mitch is a Midwestern writer/director from a small town called Normal, with a love for stories that are anything but. After graduating from the film program at Full Sail University, he moved to LA and got his start working in production offices on numerous TV shows and movies, as well as assisting executives at multiple talent management companies. Mitch’s primary ambition is to write/direct dark comedies and to provide cheeky and entertaining escapes that leave audiences feeling lighter.

Thomas J. Misuraca – Writer

Tom studied writing at Emerson College in his hometown of Boston before moving to LA. Over 150 of his short plays have been performed globally, often winning audience favorite awards. Thirteen of his full length’s have been produced across the country. His musical, GEEKS!, was produced Off Broadway by Write Act in 2019. In 2023, his full-length play, In Dog We Trust, was second place winner of the Pickering/Colbeck Award. It won first place in the 2024 Meanwhile Park Playwright Prize. It will be produced in Utah in July. Most recently, his short play, Straight Acting, won the grand jury prize at Acting Out’s Quare Tales in Ireland. He’s writer-in-residence for Roaring Epiphany Production Company in NYC, who create opportunities for neurodivergent actors. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, Force of Nature Productions and First Stage LA. www.tommiz.com.

Anne Mesa – Director

“Annie” produced multiple world premieres, full length plays, musicals, one acts, improv, spoken word at Write Act Rep and other venues: How Katrina Plays, Blues For Central Ave, Brooklyn USA, Just A Song At Twilight, Our Beds Are Crowded, No Fault, Berlin Cowboys, Geeks the Musical, Their Finest Hour, Show Me A Hero, Hello World, A Journal of the Plague Year, Edge Improv and more; received Hollywood Fringe’s “Encore Producer Award” for Four Tree Plays. She recently directed Expect Asian (NY and LA), as well as Coupon Caper, If Nietzsche Dated, The Glass Ceiling, Failure to the Family, Cocktail Party, and Feathermore and Short films (producer): Krampus (2017), Do Over (2023). She is from Okinawa, Japan, grew up in LA, and has worn many hats in the entertainment industry including serving as Chair for Warner Bros. Discovery’s and Paramount’s AAPI Business Resource Groups, spearheading events/programming, leading groups, collaborating with various Film/TV studios and organizations, and recently served as a panelist for USC’s entertainment event for cinema students (Asian Pacific Cinema Association).

Rochelle Perry – Writer

Rochelle has written plays with groups as East West Players, Theatre of Note, FirstStage, and the Eclectic Company Theatre. Some of her produced plays include Unforgettable, A Good Mother, Candy Cane Killer, Quit While You’re a Head, a play within a series she produced called Curious Conversations, for which she received rave reviews. Velma and Manny is one of her fondest pieces as it was inspired by a good friend of hers. She works in the Animation Industry as a Producer and is a Motherhood and Lifestyle Content Creator on social media. Follow her on IG  @japinaychi

Jorge Alexandro Pulido – Writer / Director

Jorge is a writer with a Mexican-American upbringing from a small California farm town, and a New York City education. He currently lives in Burbank where he writes teleplays and shorts about flawed characters navigating morally-dubious worlds, performs with Write Act Rep’s Edge Improv team, and stresses about keeping his 8 plants alive.

Darrin Yalacki – Writer / Director

Darrin, is a writer and improviser in Los Angeles, hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He trained in improv, at ComedySportz San Jose. After moving to Southern California, he continued his training at iO West and ComedySportz Los Angeles. While at iO West he has performed with several groups as well as written and performed with the acclaimed sketch show What! and the sketch group, No Beaks. In addition, he has also directed several improv and sketch groups and runs the Improv Lab at Write Act, including the recent Cringe Fest 2023. Darrin created, produced, and starred in the pilot Rehab. He contributed as a producer for the pilot presentation PepU. He wrote and produced Con-Sequences:  The Web Series and produced and acted in Corporate: The Web Series. He also played Rafael in the new musical Beguiled and performed his one person show Human Me-Sources (a show about how working in Human Resources for 10 years destroyed him as a person) and has recently completed his short film Interpretive Dance and his play Not/Now.

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