Support for Young Minnesota Playwrights was provided by:
Linda Beth Reiff
Jodi and Jeffrey Upin
The Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson Foundation
Special thanks to:
Stephen DiMenna — Producing Artistic Director, Park Square Theatre
Jack Moorman — Education Director, Park Square Theatre
Matthew Connolly — Director of Marketing & Development, Park Square Theatre
The entire staff and crew at Park Square Theatre
Jack Reuler
Jefferey Hatcher
Michael Haney
William Leaf
Mary Beidler Gearen
Julia Brown
Paul de Cordova
Stephanie Walseth
Alli St. John
Tim Nolan
Playwrights
Hanna Osman
PiM Arts High SchoolBless Me, Dear Sinner
A young man grapples with his sexual identity and his conflict with the Catholic Church.
Spare Me
At a bowling alley, two teenage boys are asked to bowl with a stranger, leading to confrontation and the uncovering of deeper truths.
Isaiah McKnight
Woodbury High SchoolOgygia
An Adaptation of The Odyssey. Odysseus is stranded on an island, longing to return home to his wife, while Calypso detains him in her desperate search for companionship.
Wade Pohlman
Rushford High SchoolDystopian Pizza Rolls
A comedy about a group of teenagers escaping an apocalyptic dystopia while also trying to find boyfriends.
Lily Olmstead is a sophomore at Crookston High School. She has been in numerous plays and musicals throughout her life and was the assistant director for the 2025 CMS One-Act Play. Lily is an active member of her speech team, student council, knowledge bowl, choir, and Leo Club. Dystopian Pizza Rolls is the first play she has ever written.
Lily Olmstead
Crookston High School
Coon Rapids High SchoolRichard Pina-Raya
Under the Sun
In 1916 Mexico, a young couple reflects on their relationship during political unrest, interrupted by the presence of a mysterious rooster.
Born and raised in Minnesota, son to two Mexican immigrants, and a passion for storytelling in all forms.
Blood is Thicker Than Ink
Set in Victorian London, an aging man with fading memory becomes entangled in the investigation of a newsboy’s death.
McKenna Woodruff
Hopkins High SchoolMentors
Maje Adams is a Nigerian-American singer-actor, director, multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, and playwright based in Minneapolis. Their diverse theatre artistry covers a plethora of genres and styles and has taken them to stages across the country. Most recently they assisted directed Between Riverside and Crazy at Park Square Theater. They also appeared in The Convert at the Gremlin Theater.
Maje Adams
Laurie Flanigan Hegge is a playwright, lyricist and dramaturg. Her plays and musicals have been produced around the country and beyond. She has served as Artistic Associate at History Theater where she worked extensively on new play development and dramaturgy, has worked with BFA acting students at the University of Minnesota on best practices in new work development, and has taught playwrighting for young writers at Children’s Theater Company. She is currently the Twin Cities Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild.
Laurie Flanigan Hegge
Gemma Irish is a playwright, dramaturg and educator. She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Goddard College and is 2025/26 McKnight Fellow in playwriting at the Playwrights Center. Her plays have been seen at the Jungle Theater and the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, and Normandale College. She has also served as a mentor to student playwrights at South High School, and the Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts. www.gemmairish.com
Gemma Irish
Rachel Lynett is a playwright, dramaturg and educator whose plays have been produced at theaters around the country including Florida Studio Theater, American Stage Company, Barrington Stage, the Kennedy Center, Orlando Shakespeare to name a few. In 2021 she was the recipient of the Yale Drama Prize and the 2021 recipient of the National Latinx Playwriting Award. Lynett was also a staff writer for a Netflix show in production and for The Winchesters.
Rachel Lynett
Emma Y. Lai is a producer, director, dramaturg and playwright. She has directed at the Childrens Theatre and the Playwrights Center, assisted directed at the Guthrie and serves as Artistic Director of The Picnic Basket Theater. Ms Lai is affiliated with the National New Play Network and was a directing fellow at Theater Mu. www.emmaylai.com
Emma Y. Lai
Whitney Rowland is a core writer for the Playwrights Center and was a 2024-25 McKnight Fellow. Her plays have been produced at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Minnesota Shorts Festival, Rochester Rep and she has work developed at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Ms. Rowland has taught at both the high school and college level. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Carnegie Mellon.
Whitney Rowland
Acting Company
George Kleven
George is psyched to be working with Young Minnesota Playwrights! George is a rising senior at the University of Minnesota BFA Acting Program in association with the Guthrie Theater. He recently appeared in The Winter’s Tale at The Other Place in Stratford upon Avon with Royal Shakespeare Company Education. Around town, he has recently been seen working on A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Modern Rep, in Rope at Gremlin Theatre, and in Only Ugly Guys at Open Eye Theatre. He has had a really good time working on this show and hopes you enjoy it as well! @georgekleven
Landon Hudson
Landon graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a BFA in Musical Theatre in May 2026. Landon is a 7x American College Theater Festival Finalist, winning the Musical Theatre Intensive in 2025, and placing 2nd twice in the Irene Ryans Acting Competition in 2024 and 2026. Landon also took first in the National Association for Teachers of Singing Musical Theatre Competition in 2025, as well as performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC before its demise. Much love to A.V. @landonhudsonofficial
Henry Zavos
Shannon O’Sullivan (They/She/He) is thrilled to be performing in this amazing festival of new work! Shannon is an actor, musician, and stage manager originally from Delaware (which, believe it or not, is a real state). They are a rising fourth-year student in the UMN BFA Actor Training Program. They are honored to have been a part of so many amazing shows through UMN including Brand New Ancients, Much Ado About Nothing, Book of Days, The Moors, and The Winter’s Tale in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. You can catch them next in Uncharted Theatre Company’s production of The Crucible.
Shannon O’Sullivan
Eric Lee (He/Him/His) - Eric has called the Twin Cities home since 2020. He has been particularly active in musical theatre, appearing as Da in “Once” with the late DalekoArts, a few Fringe productions, in “Assassins,” with Northern Starz, and in a few shows now with Lyric Arts, including, most recently, appearing as Sam in “Mamma Mia.” Prior to arrival in the Twin Cities, he was an Ensemble Member with the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, MN. He grew up in Des Moines, IA and received his Degree in Theatre from the University of Evansville in 1999. Eric has also spent some time in Chicago and just a little in Los Angeles, where you may have seen his 2012 Wayfair commercial.
Eric Lee
Vanessa is very excited to be a part of this production! A graduate of UW-Stevens Point, Vanessa is incredibly passionate about being in spaces where their art challenges perceptions. This will be their first show in the Twin Cities and they couldn't be prouder to share these wonderful stories with you all. Special appreciation and thanks to their partner, Kyle. They hope you enjoy the show and roll dawgs!
Vanessa Guillen
Bob Malos has been involved in Twin Cities theatre since 1987. He has played everyone from Niels Bohr to Mark Antony to Hermann Goering plus a whole lot of characters based on no one in particular. He was named Best Actor by City Pages in 2006 and was the narrator of the Emmy award winning documentary "Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story" in 2010. He was also an actor for the Science Museum of Minnesota. Bob recently retired from his 40-year career as a computer programmer.
Bob Malos
Skye Sparks is a Minneapolis-based actor eager to bring these Young MN Playwrights’ plays to life at Park Square Theater! As a graduate of Carleton College, with a B.A. in Theater and English, Skye has appeared in numerous stage productions, including Much Ado About Nothing, The Revolutionists, and Aphrodite & Adonis. Her training includes Meisner technique, Shakespeare, voice and speech, improvisation, and movement studies with generous instructors and programs such as The Second City Chicago, Guthrie Actors Lab, and the British American Drama Academy (MIO). In her leisure time, Skye enjoys taking ballet & contemporary dance classes, writing poetry, partaking in promenades, and eating sour candy.
Skye Sparks
Sasha Rapacz is delighted to be working with Young Minnesota Playwrights to bring some of these wonderful creations to life. A twin cities based performer and artist, he is passionate storytelling through live and interactive mediums. When not onstage for YMP, you can find him making crazy costumes, at local circus events, or just making noise somewhere else. He has previously performed with groups like Theatre in the Round Players, Circus Juventas, Novagrex Theatre, and Singing Knights Acapella, among others
Sasha Rapacz
Nico Sacco (Manuel in Under the Sun) is delighted to debut with the Young MN Playwrights company. He is currently a student in the University of Minnesota BFA Actor training program of 2027. Recent credits include: UMN- Welcome to Thebes, Polykleitos/Plautus; Brand New Ancients, Kevin; The Winter's Tale, Antigonus; Twelfth Night, Sebastian/Valentine; Anna in the Tropics, Cheché. Open Eye: The Great Mutton Maul, Puppeteer. And particularly has a passion for brewing kombucha and expressing his culture and love of food with others.
Nico Sacco
Production Team
Bert Goldstein
Bert Goldstein (Founder/Producer, Young Minnesota Playwrights) is a theatre professional with more than forty years of experience as an actor, producer, director, and educator. He served as Education Director at the Cincinnati Playhouse for 12 years. He most recently served 15 years as Director of the Institute for Arts and Creativity at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University, where he built nationally recognized programs in Shakespeare education, musical theater, playwriting, and arts integration. He also launched Wharton Center Theater Productions, producing and directing over a dozen plays and musicals, commissioning work from artists including Keith Glover, José Cruz González, The Dance Exchange, Inlet Dance Theater, and Ken LaZebnik.
Co-Founder, Director
Steve Barberio
Steve Barberio (Producer, Director), is a seasoned theatre producer, director, and nonprofit leader. While achieving artistic and educational success as Artistic Director of Stages Theatre Company for 17 years, Steve led the creation of the Hopkins Center for the Arts, sparking a cultural renaissance in downtown Hopkins, Minnesota. He also co-founded the Mainstreet School of Performing Arts (now PiM Arts High School) and achieved national recognition for his leadership in arts education. Steve now serves as an independent producer, director, and facilitator. His work blends artistic vision with entrepreneurial leadership to grow communities and organizations.
Co-Founder, Director
Sharifa Yazmeen
Sharifa Yazmeen (she/her) is a trans Arab-American director, actor and playwright. Sharifa focuses on work that speaks to the heartbeat of humanity, often uplifting the voices of those most marginalized. She has completed directing fellowships with The Drama League, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Manhattan Theatre Club, Geva Theatre, and was a Eugene O’Neill national directing fellow. Yazmeen’s playwriting focuses on the intersection of Queer and Arab identities. Her plays have been produced with Playwrights Foundation, Amphibian Stage, Women’s Theatre Festival, American Blues Theatre, taught at DePaul, Susquehanna, and Kansas Universities, and published in The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays. Her play Close to Home was distinguished by the American Theatre Wing when recognized and recommended at the annual Antoinette Gala. Yazmeen was honored as the inaugural recipient of the SCDF Barbara Whitman Award in 2021 for her work in directing. She currently serves as a member of The Drama League's Directors Council and is completing her MFA in Directing with Brown/Trinity Rep.
Director
Becca Kravchenko
Becca Kravchenko is excited to join Young Minnesota Playwrights Festival for their inaugural year. Some of her local credits include: Six Points Theater (Last Yiddish Speaker, Act of God, Just For Us, The Messenger, Torch Song, Sisters In Law), Skylark Opera Theatre (Christmas Spider), History Theater (Whoosh!), and Theater Mu (Kung Fu Zombies). She has a BA in Theatre Arts from Augsburg University.
Stage Manager
Virgina Culhane
Theatre: Illusion Theater: Miss Richfield 1981: There’s a Pill for the Holidays!, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gay Man, Nobody No Time, Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot, Keepin’ It Real. Park Square Theatre: LAB Series: Red Herring.
Stage Manager
Kaitlyn Callahan
Kaitlyn Callahan is a Twin Cities theatre performer, educator, and administrator, Alongside working with YMP, she also works as the Performing Arts Coordinator Intern with the City of Eden Prairie, and teaches with Children’s Theatre Company and Youth Performance Company. She also directs, choreographs, and stage manages youth theatre around the cities, most recently working with Bluewater Theatre Company, Northeast Middle School, Morningside Theatre Co, and Great River School. She is thrilled to be working on this project with such phenomenal artists— thank you for supporting new work and for supporting theatre education! kaitlynrcallahan.com
Administrative and Marketing Coordinator