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Founded in 2023 by autistic playwright and producer Anthony J. Piccione, the Neurodivergent New Play Series is dedicated to presenting matinee readings on the 3rd Sunday of every month - with seasonal breaks in December, January, July, and August - of plays written entirely by neurodivergent and disabled playwrights (i.e autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome, etc.) as part of a growing resident company of playwrights whose interests and specialties span a wide range of subjects, genres & structural approaches, with each play personally selected from a neuroinclusive resident company of directors.

Mr. Piccione is an award-winning writer, producer & teaching artist whose eclectic canon of plays have previously been presented in NYC and regional venues such as The Tank, the New York Theatre Festival, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, Midtown International Theatre Festival, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, and more. His debut full-length play A Therapy Session with Myself premiered in January 2019 at the Hudson Guild Theatre before transferring in May to the Kraine Theater for an extended year-long run. Since then, his second full-length play One Empire, Under God made its live premiere at The Tank in November 2021 after previously premiering via Zoom earlier that year and is now published and available for licensing at Next Stage Press, while his next full-length play The Lone Wolf Society received a staged reading at The Tank in November 2022 and is slated to be published at Next Stage Press in 2024. Additionally, his short drama What I Left Behind was named the New York Theatre Festival’s Best Short Play of Winterfest 2018, and his short film The Fire That Won't Stop was named an official selection at the Venice Short Film Awards, the Paris International Short Festival, and the Hollywood International Golden Age Festival. He is also the Founding Artistic Director of the Talking It Out Virtual Arts Festival, which is dedicated to promoting mental health awareness through the arts and was nominated for Festival of the Year at the 2023 Young-Howze Theatre Awards, and currently serves on the Board of the Directors of the Autistic Theatremakers Alliance. He has previously worked as a scriptwriter-for-hire whose work has been commissioned by Sesame Workshop and various other clients, as well as a contributing writer to OnStage Blog from 2015 to 2019, and he has taught playwriting at EPIC Players and Broadway Weekends. Visit www.anthonyjpiccione.com to learn more.

If you would like to make a donation to directly offset production costs for the Neurodivergent New Play Series, please visit https://ko-fi.com/neurodivergentplays

Cast

Creative Team

Meet the Company

Dirk Smile

Sunday

DIrk Smile is very excited for this opportunity to be a part of the Neurodivergent New Play Series. His previous roles include: John in Prophet at PS 122, Doctor/Trouble in In the Blood at the American Theatre of Actors, and Chris/Mark in The Heidi Chronicles at the Jan Hus Playhouse. Dirk is a graduate of Fordham University and has studied sketch comedy and improv at Upright Citizens Brigade, Magnet Theatre, and The Pit.

Jade Mason

Ms. Esther/Eshu

Jade Mason is a dedicated and talented native of Brooklyn, NY, with a deep passion for her craft and a strong connection to her faith. She is gifted in multiple areas, including acting, writing, modeling, and praise dance. In 2023, Jade received her first AUDELCO Award for Best Ensemble for her work in the profound production "Picking Up The Pieces." She is excited to be portraying in this reading as Ms. ESTHER/ESHU. She continues to expand her presence on screen, appearing in Episodes 2 and 8 of "The Nurses Station" series on YouTube, with Episode 9 soon to premiere. As her career has progressed, Jade has also expanded her writing repertoire to include plays such as "Rise Like A Phoenix" and "Walk In Your Light," among others. For more information about Jade Mason, please visit her Instagram page at @JadeMason4Ever.

Cameron Walker

Blessing

Cameron Walker is a singer and actor from Chicago, IL. He has appeared in productions with the Redhouse Arts Center, including Beauty and the Beast (Maurice), Wizard of Oz (Uncle Henry) and Bring It On (Cameron), Thanasis Theatre Company in Fugitive Songs (Joshua), as well as EPIC Players in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Olive’s Dad), the original play Sprawl, written by Michael Ronca, and Broadway Bods in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Charlie). When not performing, Cameron is a mentor for EPIC Players, a nonprofit, neuro-inclusive theatre company. IG: camkablam

Taiwo Aloba

Miriam

Taiwo Aloba is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist based in New York. She was educated at Lagos State University in Lagos, New York Film Academy in New York, Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. She has sung in an ensemble, written books, and ran a marathon in Coney Island.

Sadi Bimwala

Anansi

Sadi Bimwala was born and raised in New York. He is an Actor, Writer, Rapper, and Director. He began his acting journey at sixteen through the Lola Louis Performing Arts Center in the Bronx. Once he graduated from high school. He got accepted at the William Esper Studio for acting. While at the studio he obtained his AA degree in Acting at the Borough Manhattan Community College. His Off Off Broadway credits are Sentence To Life Without Music, Lifetime And Achievements, The Black That I Am, The Gulp Tree to name a few. He looks forward to joining this production.

J Corey Buckner

Playwright

J. Corey Buckner is a Minneapolis based autistic playwright. He is a former Many Voices Fellow at the Playwright's Center. His play, Cross Roads: An Igbo Folktale was a Finalist for the 2020 Bay Area Playwright's Festival, and his play BLERDS was a Semi-Finalist for the 2022 Bay Area Playwright's Festival. He has also been fortunate to develop work with Chicago Dramatists The New Coordinates, and Jackalope Theatre Company. His sketch comedy has been seen at Stage 773 as part of the first annual Story Arc Sketch Comedy Festival, The Playground Theatre, pH Comedy Theatre, The Crowd Theater, and Judy's Beat Lounge at The Second City. J. Corey holds a BFA in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory.

KM Jones

Director

KM Jones (She/Her) is committed to Diversity, Inclusivity, LGBTQIA+, and Neurodivergent voices in Theatre/Film. Member: League of Professional Theatre Women (Previous Co-Executive Vice President, 3 term Board Member), Actors Equity Association, Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Dramatic Question Theatre, ShopTalk, The Workshop Theatre, TRU, Blended City, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (Previous Associate Artistic Director), and The Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Unit. Visit : www.kmjdirector.com

Our next scheduled readings:

Whitehare - Written by Adin Lenahan & directed by Em Hausmann - October 20th at 2pm

altitude - Written by Daniel Prillaman & directed by Annika Beth Nelson - November 17th at 2pm

...and more readings in TBA in January 2025!

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