SUMMER HILL SEVEN
Artistic Director
Recently seen as Sgt. Waters in Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play and Harmond Wilks in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, Summer is the director of Platanos, Auction Block and the innovative and neoteric cinematic Poemedy – A Poet’s Pilgramage – now viewable on YouTube. His first book, Notes of A Neurotic! introduced the idea of Poemedy into the lexicon and is described as “bombastic” – “piercing” and “as poetic as Paul Laurence Dunbar”. His latest work Hang Time! a poetic memoir is described as “fiercely powerful” – “gifted” – “entertaining” and “thought-provoking”. He is currently touring colleges with his opus and homage to Langston Hughes, Miguel Pinero and Amiri Baraka entitled: Shakespeare N. Haarlem. Visit: www.poemedy.com
DONI COMAS
Director, Actor
Doni Comas was born in Atlanta, Georgia to two wonderful parents, Mr. Don Comas and Dr. Jacqueline C. Comas. He has lived in over eight (8) different states and inhabited or visited 24 different countries. His travels led him to study theater abroad and now here in New York. He is looking forward to finishing his Master’s in Fine Arts, while pursing a promising photography career at his home studio, The Darkroom Chronicles. His most recent credits include Othello, Boy Willie from the Piano Lesson and Sizwe Banzi is Dead, one of the first South African plays to deal with apartheid in America. Doni would like to thank the Director, Producer, Playwright, Stage Manager, the Actors, and you for supporting my process.
LOUIS VELAZQUEZ
Assistant Director of Auction Block to Hip Hop, Stage Manager
A native of the Bronx , Louis is also an actor, director and playwright. Having stage managed NYC, Regional, touring theater companies. He has appeared in several Shakespeare festivals across the country including “Julius Ceasar” for the Dallas Shakespeare Festival. Has directed many shows including “A Chorus Line” and is in the process of producing his own original play “The Shop” about a family struggling to maintain a print shop in the South Bronx. Louis would like to thank David Lamb for writing such powerful words and hopes that audience members will remember…”it’s up to us, the next generation of decolonized minds…”
RENEE LYNETTE
Stage Manager
Renee Lynette is the proud recipient of a Drama Desk Award. Most recently, she was the Director of Fuhgeddaboudit! Before that, she was the National Touring Stage Manager of Foodplay. She has also stage managed Polyfonic Entertainment’s The Odella Williams Show in 2009 and again during its second run in 2010. In 2008, she stage managed the Fringe Festival’s Dershowitz Protocol. Before that, she was the Production Assistant of a staged reading of Rock of Ages. While studying theater at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, fellow students and her created Turtle Teens Productions, which successfully presented a run of De Donde? in 2004. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from The College of Staten Island.
Assistant Stage Manager
Gina Costagliola has stage managed in NYC, regionally, and abroad. Favorite credits include Miracle in Rwanda (international tour), The Full Monty (ReVision Theatre), Urinetown (DeBaun, NJ) Twist (MITF), Fools in Love (Manhattan Ensemble Theatre), Tempest (Cherry Lane Studio), Sleeping Beauty (ATAFY national tour) and The! Stiking Viking Story Pirates (Arthur Seelen Theatre).
MEGAN DINICOLA
Assistant Stage Manager
Megan DiNicola is a native to Staten Island and received her Bachelor’s degree for both Performance and Technical Theater from SUNY Albany. While residing upstate, she created, taught and directed the Theater Arts Program for the middle/upper school divisions of The Albany Academies, all the while acting, directing and producing with various theater companies throughout the capital region. Making her way back to the city to pursue a more involved life within the arts, she has most recently been working as a freelance musical theater/drama teaching artist throughout NY & NJ.
MARTIN "SHISH" CABA & EDWIN "ATRANE" CABA
Music Score
Shish & Atrane make up the production team called the Manorail. The Dominican brothers were raised in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and are honored to contribute to Platanos & Collard Greens. The production team recently scored Dink Entertainment’s independent film on Arthur Ashe called “Arthur” and are currently scoring Alim Akbar’s independent short “A Poet’s Pilgrimage”. Contact info: music@manorail.com
WAYNE OLIVER
Front of House Manager
Wayne Oliver served as Director of Book Promotions when the novel “Do Platanos Go Wit Collard Greens?” was first launched and has returned to Between the Lines as Front of House Manager. Wayne oversees the front of house staff, manages merchandise sales, coordinates the show starts with the Stage Manager, and is responsible for hosting the on-air radio personalities who host the show. Wayne was the Assistant Director for Radio and Street Team Promotions for Hitmen Marketing. He has promoted artists such as Ghost Face Killer, Suns of Man, Dougie Fresh, Nelly, PM Dawn, The Gravediggaz and Mic Geronimo. Wayne also served as a consultant for DJ Polo and did A&R for Roxanne Shante’s EP.