Meet the company of The Thanksgiving Play

Joel Iwaskiewicz (Caden) is overjoyed to make his theatre KAPOW debut. A New Hampshire native, Joel has performed with community and professional theatres across the state as well as the Greater Boston area, including Vicious Mole Theatre Collective, Theater in the Open, Seven Stages Shakespeare Company, Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative, and more. Most recently, he portrayed the title character in RGC Theatre’s October production of Macbeth in Newmarket. Offstage, Joel teaches English and directs the drama program at Exeter High School. Joel is grateful to Matt, Carey, Kyrie, and the entire KAPOW team for making this project possible. Furthermore, he thanks you, our audience, for supporting the arts. As always, this performance is dedicated to Laura, Miles, and Phoebe, who make every day a wondrous adventure.

Peter Josephson (Jaxton) is in his thirteenth season as a member of the theatre KAPOW company. An accomplished actor and director, he has won two New Hampshire Theatre Awards for his roles in Penelope and Exit the King (both with tKAPOW). He has performed with the New Hampshire Theatre Project, the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, and the Seven Stages Shakespeare Company, and has appeared in numerous productions with theatre KAPOW, including Agamemnon, A Dream Play, Macbeth, Buried Child, A Tempest Prayer, Mr. Wolf, and most recently Tiny Beautiful Things.  He is the director of The Riverbed Theatre Workshop. For almost 40 years (!) he has benefited from the love and support of his wife, without whom he would be a shadow of his present self. This performance is dedicated to the Habib and Taranow families.

Molly Litt, she/her, (Alicia) is an NH-based actor, voice actor, artist, and model. She is the proud recipient of the 2021 Joan Plowright (Lady Olivier) Acting Prize for Performance. In 2021, Molly obtained her BA (Hons) in Acting from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). Noteworthy among her accomplishments are her roles as Hamlet in Hamlet, Cordelia in King Lear, Bottom in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Older Sister in Stoning Mary, and Sarah/Ensemble in 4.48 Psychosis. Molly has also demonstrated her talent as a director and choreographer in productions such as 4.48 Psychosis, the 2021 LIPA Showcase, and several short films that she wrote and created. To learn more about Molly and her work, please visit www.mollylitt.com.

Rachael Chapin Longo (Logan) received her BS in Theater from Skidmore College and her MA in Educational Theatre from NYU.  She is an actor, director, educator and playwright.  Rachael has dedicated herself to educational theatre and has worked as a professional teaching artist and education director; creating curriculum and teaching classes in acting, directing, playwriting and movement.  Her directing credits include The Wizard of Oz, The Laramie Project, The Death of a Caterpillar, West Side Story, The Tempest, South Pacific, Sister Act, Singin’ in the Rain, The Ash Girl and Silent Sky (for which She was a finalist for a NHTA “Best Director” Award in 2019).  Acting credits include The Importance of Being Earnest, The Crucible, Desdemona, Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play, The Penelopiad, The Burial at Thebes, Natural Shocks, Gideon’s Knot and The Wolves.  Rachael has taught theater at the college level for many years and is the owner of Shawsheen Arts Studio in Andover, MA.  She is also a company member and actor with theatre KAPOW. She most recently appeared as “Beth” in Breadcrumb and “Letter Writer 2” in Tiny Beautiful Things during theatre KAPOW’s 15th season. She is grateful to have the support of her tKAPOW family as she continues to train and learn. Special thanks to her incredible family for all their support and cheers.

Carey Cahoon (she/her, Stage Manager) was last seen on stage with tKAPOW as Sugar in Tiny Beautiful Things, and she is pleased to don a headset once more to stage manage this production. For tKAPOW’s 2017 production of Living in Exile as Briseis she won the NH Theatre Award for Best Actress. She also won the 2017 NH Theatre Award for Best Actress as Queen Marguerite in Exit the King, and in 2014 for her roles in tKAPOW’s 3-person Macbeth. Other favorite roles include Sarah Goodwin in Time Stands Still, Cassandra in Agamemnon, Hedda Tesman in Hedda Gabler, the Pilot in Grounded, Penelope in The Penelopiad, and Ashlee in Dance Nation. Carey has also performed, directed or designed with Glass Dove Productions, Boston Playwright’s Platform, Stage One Productions, the Palace Theatre, and the Anselmian Abbey Players. She holds a BA in Classics from St. Anselm College, and trained at the Atlantic Acting School, Shakespeare & Company, and with SITI Company. careycahoon.com

Matt Cahoon (Director) is the Artistic Director of theatre KAPOW.  Matt has directed many productions for the company including: The Boyg, Agamemnon, A Dream Play, Raining Aluminum, and The Penelopiad  His work with theatre KAPOW has resulted in three NH Theatre Awards for Best Director. Matt has directed for a number of other companies including the Winnipesaukee Playhouse (Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Miss Julie, Robin Hood), Jean’s Playhouse (Kimberly Akimbo), and LaMaMa ETC. (The Life and Times of Lee Harvey Oswald in NY and Me and Bea at LaMaMa International in Spoleto, IT). Matt’s theatre training includes work with Double Edge Theatre Company, SITI Company, the New England Center for Circus Arts, and Tectonic Theater Project. In 2013, Matt attended the International Symposium for Directors at LaMaMa Umbria in Spoleto, Italy. After 18 years as the Director of Cultural Programming at Pinkerton Academy, Matt is excited to be the new Theatre Director at New Hampton School.

Kyrie Ellison (she/they, Intimacy Choreographer) is a performance maker, designer, and Intimacy Advocate based in New Hampshire. Her work utilizes the choreographic, through stage combat and movement, to build femme communal spaces and speculative narratives to confront oppressive forms. She’s curious about the stories we tell each other to “just get through it” and how they relate to the fairy tales and tropes made popular by writers. Since graduating with her M.F.A in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College, Kyrie is working as the Assisant Director of Theatre for the New Hampton School in New Hampton, NH, and collaborating with theatreKAPOW as an Intimacy Choreographer.

Samantha Griffin (she/her, Assistant Intimacy Choreographer)) is an actor, playwright, and theatre artist based in Southern NH. Apart from finding words on the stage fascinating, she is also beginning her work as an intimacy choreographer following a five-week course led by Gregory Geffrard. As an actor, her most recent work was on stage with tKAPOW in A Midsummer Night’s Dream after finishing her college career with Sunday in the Park with George. Her writing has been published twice, and she was able to attend the New South Young Playwrights Festival in Atlanta this past May. A recent graduate from Columbia College Chicago, Sam is exploring her relationship with the art of live theatre and all the avenues of connection to be found within it. She wants to thank Kyrie, as well as Matt and Carey, for trusting her to share the space and become a part of this exciting premiere. Samantha can be found on Instagram (@samdgrif) and is in the process of building a website to more easily share her art.

Barbara Holbrook (Costume Designer) has a BA in Theatre, an MFA in Costume Design, and a passion for creative collaborations on stage and off. She’s delighted to have been with Theatre Kapow for all 3 of this season’s shows. Past projects with special places in her heart include Pippin, The Secret Garden, Annie, Godspell, The Imaginary Invalid, Merrily We Roll Along, Candide, Shadowlands, The Good Person of Szechwan, and The Man of La Mancha. Her path has taken her through various positions in theater, retail, consulting, and being a mom of three. She enjoys practicing and teaching energetic intelligence; she’s the co-founder of 4th Wheel Flow, a Reiki Master, yoga teacher (Yoga Alliance RYT-500), and serial pattern disruptor. She lives north of Boston in a multi-generational household where she hones her daily practices of love, humor, resilience, and unapologetic self-care.

Sallie Ahn Werst (Guest Choreographer) grew up in Merrimack, NH and received her early training at Southern NH Dance Theater under the directorship of Patricia Lavoie. She also studied at Vermont Chamber Ballet, Bossov Ballet Theatre, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Ballet Austin. Sallie graduated from Pace University’s Lubin School and Pforzheimer’s Honors College with a BBA in Advertising and Promotion, also completing a minor in studio art through an exchange program with the Accademia di Bella Arti in Florence, Italy  During her time in NYC, Sallie was part of the scholarship programs both at Ballet Academy East and STEPS on Broadway training classically with such esteemed teachers as Darla Hoover, Peter Frame, Cheryl Yeager, Finis Jhung, and Nancy Bielski and explored hip hop with Buddha Stretch, Jonathan Lee, and Vandana Hart. Upon graduating college, Sallie traveled to Africa where she took part in developing a dance outreach program in Arandis, Namibia.  She moved back to NH and took her dancing to yet a new context as a New England Patriots Cheerleader. With the NFL, Sallie had the opportunity to perform on the sidelines of Gillette Stadium, model for the team’s calendar shoot in Aruba, and appear on national TV during Super Bowl XXLV.  She has continued sharing her love of all movement, teaching throughout her home state and across the country over the past 16 years, more recently serving on faculty at Regional Dance America’s Northeast Festivals and National Choreographic Intensive. Sallie is currently a dancer with NSquared, NH’s premiere professional contemporary dance company, founded and directed by Zack and Nick Betty-Neagle.

Tayva Young (Lighting Designer) is in her 13th year with tKAPOW. She is thrilled to o be working on the 16th season: Where we Are. She considers tKAPOW her theatre family and could not have asked for a more talented, supportive and imaginative group of people to work with. She enjoys the collaboration process with so many talented individuals, bringing the magic of live theatre to all audiences. A few of her favorite tKAPOW productions are: Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl, Living in Exile by Jon Lipsky, Grounded by George Brant and Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson. She lives in Maine on a small homestead with her family, where she also runs a small Massage Business out of her home. She thanks each and every one of you for supporting the arts,  and hopes you Enjoy the Show!

ThanksgivingPlayProgram

Following the December 3 matinee performance of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse, audience members joined a conversation with members of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook – Abenaki People and the Mashpee Wampanoag. They unpacked some of the play’s themes exploring the influence of stereotypes and misunderstandings, and uplifted the indigenous communities here in New Hampshire and throughout New England today. 

N’dakinna, the homeland of the Cowasuck Bank is now known as the province of Quebec in Canada, and the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts in the United States.  The Wampanoag Nation once included all of Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island, encompassing over 67 distinct tribal communities.

To learn more, visit https://www.cowasuck.org/index.html and https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/

“Go see this play. It is well worth the money and more. It will make you laugh…it will make you pause…it will make you laugh and pause simultaneously…thought provoking and incredibly well done. Bravo.”