FIRST RESPONSES Festival

FIRST RESPONSES Festival
world premiere plays by Anthony Jackson, Kathryn Kahlson, Betty Migliaccio, and Ben Toderico
March 22-April 16, 2023

A one-act festival of 4 world premiere plays by first responders about their experiences on the front line.

Captain Anthony Jackson of Richmond Police takes us to a fresh crime scene that opens a portal to the past, present, and future in SOMETHING SO SMALL; Kathyrn Kahlson, a retired Fire Captain from Chesterfield Fire & Emergency Services, navigates the parallel lives of two mothers -- a first responder and the woman she meets on an emergency call in MOTHER AT WORK; In Betty Migliaccio's EIGHT BUTTONS, the Richmond Firefighter takes us on a flashback journey of memories triggered by the death of a colleague; and former Richmond Police Detective Ben Toderico gives us a front row perch to a suicide intervention in PILLAR.

Our festival partners are Richmond Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 995 and Virginia First Responder Support Services.The plays in the festival were originally written in Frontline Writers.

​​Performer Ensemble:
Briana Creque
Dwyane Daniels II
Keydron Dunn
Enrique J. Gonzalez
Lindsey June
Jimmy Mello
Lorin Mello
David Rogozenski
Amanda Spellman

Production Team:
Directors - Amy Berlin, Andrew Gall, Mark Lerman, Lian-Marie Holmes Munro
David Robbins - Dramaturg/Co-Producer
Emily Vial - Festival Coordinator
Todd LaBelle - Production Designer
Kate Statelman - Composer
Andrew Bonniwell - Lighting Designer
Anna Bialkowski - Costume Designer
Jake Buccella - Assistant Director
Stage Managers - Jae Austin, Dennis Bowe, Aleta Findlay, Emily Vial

Performance Schedule:
ALL 4 PLAYS ARE PERFORMED EVERY PERFORMANCE and THERE WILL BE A TALKBACK AFTER EVERY PERFORMANCE

Wed March 22 @ 7:30pm (preview)
Thu March 23 @ 7:30pm (preview)
Fri March 24 @ 7:30pm (preview)
Sat March 25 @ 7:30pm (opening)
Thu March 30 @ 7:30pm
Fri March 31 @ 7:30pm
Sat April 1 @ 7:30pm
Sun April 2 @ 3pm
Thu April 6 @ 7:30pm
Fri April 7 @ 7:30pm
Sat April 8 @ 7:30pm
Thu April 13 @ 7:30pm
Fri April 14 @ 7:30pm
Sat April 15 @ 7:30pm
Sun April 16 @ 3pm

​Tickets:
$35 general admission