Presented by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown Ohio and Faultline Ensemble
Act I: Friday 4/2, 8pm Eastern
Act II: Friday 4/3, 8pm Eastern
View at: https://www.twitch.tv/faultlineensemble
Followed by panel discussions on the themes of the play with members of the company
and special guests Rev. Joseph Boyd of UUYO and journalist Laura Jedeed.
Act I: Friday 4/2, 8pm Eastern
Act II: Friday 4/3, 8pm Eastern
View at: https://www.twitch.tv/faultlineensemble
Followed by panel discussions on the themes of the play with members of the company
and special guests Rev. Joseph Boyd of UUYO and journalist Laura Jedeed.
An entertaining, poignant, provocative, and often laugh-out loud tale about guilt and redemption amidst a court case to decide the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot, the Bible's most infamous sinner. Join us to think about forgiveness, accountability, impact, and guilt and how they impact us in this moment.
(Play contains graphic language and references to sexual assault and suicide. And lots of inappropriate humor.)
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT was originally produced by LAByrinth Theater Company, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, Co-Artistic Directors and The Public Theater, Mara Manus, Executive Director; George C. Wolfe, Producer, February 2005.
(Play contains graphic language and references to sexual assault and suicide. And lots of inappropriate humor.)
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT was originally produced by LAByrinth Theater Company, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz, Co-Artistic Directors and The Public Theater, Mara Manus, Executive Director; George C. Wolfe, Producer, February 2005.
Cast and Crew
(in order of appearance)
(in order of appearance)
Stage Directions: Lisbet White
Henrietta Iscariot/Mary Magdalene: Jennifer Ruth
Gloria/Saint Monica/Soldier 3: Monica Houlemard
Judge Littlefield/Butch Honeywell: Thomas Kopache
Bailiff/Matthias of Galilee/Simon the Zealot/Soldier 2: Shabab Ahmed Mirza
Fabianna Aziza Cunningham: Tamara Sorelli
Yusef El-Fayoumy/Uncle Pino: Michael Sharon
Judas Iscariot: Jake Gonnella
Loretta: Lola Lewis
Mother Teresa: Ana Jacome
Saint Peter/Pontius Pilate: Wuyu Wantatah
Saint Matthew/Caiaphas the Elder: Charles Meier
Sister Glenna: Melissa T. Smith
Satan: Matthew Sepeda
Sigmund Freud: John Shartle
Saint Thomas: Timothy Hazin
Jesus of Nazareth/Soldier 1: Alfie Padilla
Producers: Joseph Boyd, Jennifer Ruth
Technical Director: Katrina Enyeart
Director: Taiga A. Christie
Panel Facilitator: Rev. Joseph Boyd
Panelists: Alfie Padilla, Laura Jedeed, Taiga Christie, Timothy Girgis
Henrietta Iscariot/Mary Magdalene: Jennifer Ruth
Gloria/Saint Monica/Soldier 3: Monica Houlemard
Judge Littlefield/Butch Honeywell: Thomas Kopache
Bailiff/Matthias of Galilee/Simon the Zealot/Soldier 2: Shabab Ahmed Mirza
Fabianna Aziza Cunningham: Tamara Sorelli
Yusef El-Fayoumy/Uncle Pino: Michael Sharon
Judas Iscariot: Jake Gonnella
Loretta: Lola Lewis
Mother Teresa: Ana Jacome
Saint Peter/Pontius Pilate: Wuyu Wantatah
Saint Matthew/Caiaphas the Elder: Charles Meier
Sister Glenna: Melissa T. Smith
Satan: Matthew Sepeda
Sigmund Freud: John Shartle
Saint Thomas: Timothy Hazin
Jesus of Nazareth/Soldier 1: Alfie Padilla
Producers: Joseph Boyd, Jennifer Ruth
Technical Director: Katrina Enyeart
Director: Taiga A. Christie
Panel Facilitator: Rev. Joseph Boyd
Panelists: Alfie Padilla, Laura Jedeed, Taiga Christie, Timothy Girgis
Artist and Panelist Bios
Alfie Padilla (Jesus of Nazareth, Soldier 1) is a creative living in Portland, Oregon. Alfie is an actor, Twitch streamer and a big pop culture nerd. Alfie has worked with Faultline Ensemble in two runs of Holding onto the Sky and a reading of a Bright Room Called Day.
Ana Jacome (Mother Teresa) has been working in the NYC theatre circuit since 1987, and was a founding member of Woman Seeking Theatre Company. She studied at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ana is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to be part of this beautiful production, and after all these years to be able to work aside her husband, Thomas Kopache, for the very first time. Deep gratitude to Taiga, Jennifer, & UUYO for making it all possible. She dedicates her performance to the loving memory of her mom, who was a huge fan of Mother Teresa.
Jake Gonnella (Judas) is an actor and producer living in Boston, Massachusetts. His interests include new and experimental theatre and all forms of collaboration. He is thrilled to be working with Faultline Ensemble yet again and to be a part of such a welcoming and dynamic production!
Jennifer Ruth (Producer, Henrietta Iscariott, Mary Magdalene) is so grateful for this extraordinary cast and play! She has acted in theatre classics and world premiere new plays, danced as Ashley Olsen’s stand-in on Saturday Night Live, and moonlighted as nurses and bar-hoppers on daytime dramas. A passion for stories centering on personal, spiritual and societal transformation led to her directorial debut short film Lydia Rising, which screened at national film festivals, and she has several screenplays in the works. Offscreen, she can be found hiking in the woods with her husband Joseph, hanging with their 3 cats, or at her health coaching side hustle Five Season Vegan. Stay in touch at jenniferruthact.com.
John Shartle (Sigmund Freud) is a member of UUYO. He has no prior theatre experience, and is delighted to be part of this terrific production with such great talents. He is retired from federal executive leadership, having spent over 30 years in the field of corrections. John and his wife Cheryl have four grown children between them. They live with their dogs Grace and Lily in Canfield, Ohio.
Katrina Enyeart (Technical Director) is a designer by trade but moonlights as an activist, musician, actress, set designer and occasional writer. She has appeared in the previous Faultline production of A Bright Room Called Day as Annabella Gotchling. She contributed writing to and designed the set(s) for Holding onto the Sky. She is a founding member of Faultline Ensemble.
Rev. Joseph Boyd (Panel Facilitator, Co-Producer) As Minister at UUYO, he has built on the church’s legacy of community engagement and social justice in Youngstown through service as Chaplain for the Youngstown Police Department, and Clergy Caucus Chair for ACTION, a grassroots community organizing collective that demands social justice for residents of the inner city. Rev. Joseph has a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he served as a chaplain at Rikers Island Prison and held a prestigious preaching fellowship at the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights.
Laura Jedeed (Panelist) is a journalist and writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her work appears in Salon, Truthout, and more. She concentrates primarily on social justice issues and the far right. Questions of redemption feature heavily in her work, and she cannot wait to explore those questions with the talented and brilliant actors and panelists through the lens of this play.
Lisbet Searle-White (Stage Directions) is an enthusiastic member of UUYO, currently serving as its Board President. Based in Meadville, PA, she works for a native seed company and is actively engaged in racial and social justice efforts. Lisbet knows that this play is life-changing, because it changed hers. She is thrilled to be part of this remarkable and talented team, and to bring this remarkable play to you, the audience member.
Lola Lewis (Loretta) is a Regional Urban Forester with ODNR-Division of Forestry (1994 to present). Lola, enjoys taking walks, and discovering new jewels of knowledge and wisdom. She is a lifelong learner and an agent of change. Lola has a Master of Public Administration (MPA), a Master of Project & Technology Management (MBA). Lola is the proud mother of a daughter and son. The proud grandmother of 9, 27 years old to 7 years old. She has 4 great-grandchildren, 9 months to eight years. Her family is her foundation and her reason for being.
Matthew Sepeda (Satan) is a theatre actor currently residing in Portland. He's worked with Faultline Ensemble a couple of times in Holding Onto the Sky and a couple readings of A Bright Room Called Day. He's very exciting for the opportunity to come back and play Satan in this performance. He thanks you all for coming and for continuing to support the theatre throughout these crazy times.
Melissa T. Smith (Sister Glenna) In retirement from Youngstown State University’s Department of Foreign Languages, Melissa Smith is exploring all her options in playing the role of Irish nun, Sister Glenna, as she works her way towards becoming Commissioned Lay Minister at UUYO. While meandering towards a long career in Russian and French, Melissa took many detours into the world of theater, acting, translating, and staging Russian plays with her students and amateur theater groups.
Michael Sharon (El-Fayoumy) But for the pandemic and Zoom, Michael Sharon would not have appeared in The Last Days with this outstanding cast. In 30+ years, he has acted in many musicals, dramas, and comedies, on stage, screen, and in immersive theater. Michael is currently acting in other online productions and live as a Standardized Patient training medical professionals. Strange times and creative technology provide the enjoyable opportunity to perform from Cleveland with an extraordinary team from all over. <3 ️LWA
Shabab Ahmed Mirza (Bailiff/Matthias of Galilee/Simon the Zealot/Soldier 2) enjoys making theatre with actors and non-actors. She is a longtime fan of and occasional collaborator with the Faultline Ensemble and other community-based theater initiatives like The Illumination Project and Living Stages (both in Portland, OR). Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Shabab now lives and organizes in Silver Spring, MD on Piscataway land. In her day job, Shabab is a public policy researcher.
Taiga A. Christie (Director) is a rural artist and health worker creating theater for community resilience. She is a founding member of Faultline, and is currently developing Yale’s Humanities, Arts and Public Health Practice Initiative. She has worked in ensemble theater, emergency medicine and public health in the Pacific Northwest and rural Northeast. Taiga is honored to be invited to work with such a skilled and dedicated group of performers on this project.
Tamara Sorelli (Cunningham) is a proud member of Faultline Ensemble and an actor based in Portland, Oregon who has been in love with theatre since her parents co-founded a theatre in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when she was a child. Some favorite roles include Gertrude in “The Lake House Hamlet,” steep and thorny way’s immersive production of “Hamlet" that took place in an actual house; Chorus in Imago’s tilting stage production of “Medea”; and Faultline’s “Counting Pebbles.” Tamara is incredibly grateful to Jennifer, Taiga, Kat, her cast mates - and you, the audience, for being here!
Thomas Kopache (Judge Littlefield, Butch Honeywell) is a professional actor who has worked for decades in theater, film (including, No Country For Old Men, and Catch Me If You Can) and television (including, The West Wing, and Messiah). Look for Tom this fall in Coal Country at the Public Theater, NYC. He is a big fan of Rev. Joseph and UUYO. He feels honored to be working with such an outstanding group of artists on such an amazing and timely play.
Timothy Hazin (Saint Thomas) has studied with the Esper studios in New York, Play house north in Toronto and the Atlantic theatre company in NY. A seasoned writer and photographer tonight is Timothy Hazin‘s debut performance as an actor.
Wuyu Wantatah (Saint Peter/Pontius Pilate) An up and coming entrepreneur that aspired to get his brand in front of as many people as possible, Wuyu (We-you) Wantatah desired product placement in film which led to him stumbling upon his breakout role in the film Worst. Christmas. Ever. He was lauded praise for his role in the film and since then he has built momentum by landing multiple roles in film, tv, and commercials. He has a great desire for much bigger and better roles as he continues to further his career.
Ana Jacome (Mother Teresa) has been working in the NYC theatre circuit since 1987, and was a founding member of Woman Seeking Theatre Company. She studied at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Ana is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to be part of this beautiful production, and after all these years to be able to work aside her husband, Thomas Kopache, for the very first time. Deep gratitude to Taiga, Jennifer, & UUYO for making it all possible. She dedicates her performance to the loving memory of her mom, who was a huge fan of Mother Teresa.
Jake Gonnella (Judas) is an actor and producer living in Boston, Massachusetts. His interests include new and experimental theatre and all forms of collaboration. He is thrilled to be working with Faultline Ensemble yet again and to be a part of such a welcoming and dynamic production!
Jennifer Ruth (Producer, Henrietta Iscariott, Mary Magdalene) is so grateful for this extraordinary cast and play! She has acted in theatre classics and world premiere new plays, danced as Ashley Olsen’s stand-in on Saturday Night Live, and moonlighted as nurses and bar-hoppers on daytime dramas. A passion for stories centering on personal, spiritual and societal transformation led to her directorial debut short film Lydia Rising, which screened at national film festivals, and she has several screenplays in the works. Offscreen, she can be found hiking in the woods with her husband Joseph, hanging with their 3 cats, or at her health coaching side hustle Five Season Vegan. Stay in touch at jenniferruthact.com.
John Shartle (Sigmund Freud) is a member of UUYO. He has no prior theatre experience, and is delighted to be part of this terrific production with such great talents. He is retired from federal executive leadership, having spent over 30 years in the field of corrections. John and his wife Cheryl have four grown children between them. They live with their dogs Grace and Lily in Canfield, Ohio.
Katrina Enyeart (Technical Director) is a designer by trade but moonlights as an activist, musician, actress, set designer and occasional writer. She has appeared in the previous Faultline production of A Bright Room Called Day as Annabella Gotchling. She contributed writing to and designed the set(s) for Holding onto the Sky. She is a founding member of Faultline Ensemble.
Rev. Joseph Boyd (Panel Facilitator, Co-Producer) As Minister at UUYO, he has built on the church’s legacy of community engagement and social justice in Youngstown through service as Chaplain for the Youngstown Police Department, and Clergy Caucus Chair for ACTION, a grassroots community organizing collective that demands social justice for residents of the inner city. Rev. Joseph has a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he served as a chaplain at Rikers Island Prison and held a prestigious preaching fellowship at the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights.
Laura Jedeed (Panelist) is a journalist and writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her work appears in Salon, Truthout, and more. She concentrates primarily on social justice issues and the far right. Questions of redemption feature heavily in her work, and she cannot wait to explore those questions with the talented and brilliant actors and panelists through the lens of this play.
Lisbet Searle-White (Stage Directions) is an enthusiastic member of UUYO, currently serving as its Board President. Based in Meadville, PA, she works for a native seed company and is actively engaged in racial and social justice efforts. Lisbet knows that this play is life-changing, because it changed hers. She is thrilled to be part of this remarkable and talented team, and to bring this remarkable play to you, the audience member.
Lola Lewis (Loretta) is a Regional Urban Forester with ODNR-Division of Forestry (1994 to present). Lola, enjoys taking walks, and discovering new jewels of knowledge and wisdom. She is a lifelong learner and an agent of change. Lola has a Master of Public Administration (MPA), a Master of Project & Technology Management (MBA). Lola is the proud mother of a daughter and son. The proud grandmother of 9, 27 years old to 7 years old. She has 4 great-grandchildren, 9 months to eight years. Her family is her foundation and her reason for being.
Matthew Sepeda (Satan) is a theatre actor currently residing in Portland. He's worked with Faultline Ensemble a couple of times in Holding Onto the Sky and a couple readings of A Bright Room Called Day. He's very exciting for the opportunity to come back and play Satan in this performance. He thanks you all for coming and for continuing to support the theatre throughout these crazy times.
Melissa T. Smith (Sister Glenna) In retirement from Youngstown State University’s Department of Foreign Languages, Melissa Smith is exploring all her options in playing the role of Irish nun, Sister Glenna, as she works her way towards becoming Commissioned Lay Minister at UUYO. While meandering towards a long career in Russian and French, Melissa took many detours into the world of theater, acting, translating, and staging Russian plays with her students and amateur theater groups.
Michael Sharon (El-Fayoumy) But for the pandemic and Zoom, Michael Sharon would not have appeared in The Last Days with this outstanding cast. In 30+ years, he has acted in many musicals, dramas, and comedies, on stage, screen, and in immersive theater. Michael is currently acting in other online productions and live as a Standardized Patient training medical professionals. Strange times and creative technology provide the enjoyable opportunity to perform from Cleveland with an extraordinary team from all over. <3 ️LWA
Shabab Ahmed Mirza (Bailiff/Matthias of Galilee/Simon the Zealot/Soldier 2) enjoys making theatre with actors and non-actors. She is a longtime fan of and occasional collaborator with the Faultline Ensemble and other community-based theater initiatives like The Illumination Project and Living Stages (both in Portland, OR). Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Shabab now lives and organizes in Silver Spring, MD on Piscataway land. In her day job, Shabab is a public policy researcher.
Taiga A. Christie (Director) is a rural artist and health worker creating theater for community resilience. She is a founding member of Faultline, and is currently developing Yale’s Humanities, Arts and Public Health Practice Initiative. She has worked in ensemble theater, emergency medicine and public health in the Pacific Northwest and rural Northeast. Taiga is honored to be invited to work with such a skilled and dedicated group of performers on this project.
Tamara Sorelli (Cunningham) is a proud member of Faultline Ensemble and an actor based in Portland, Oregon who has been in love with theatre since her parents co-founded a theatre in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when she was a child. Some favorite roles include Gertrude in “The Lake House Hamlet,” steep and thorny way’s immersive production of “Hamlet" that took place in an actual house; Chorus in Imago’s tilting stage production of “Medea”; and Faultline’s “Counting Pebbles.” Tamara is incredibly grateful to Jennifer, Taiga, Kat, her cast mates - and you, the audience, for being here!
Thomas Kopache (Judge Littlefield, Butch Honeywell) is a professional actor who has worked for decades in theater, film (including, No Country For Old Men, and Catch Me If You Can) and television (including, The West Wing, and Messiah). Look for Tom this fall in Coal Country at the Public Theater, NYC. He is a big fan of Rev. Joseph and UUYO. He feels honored to be working with such an outstanding group of artists on such an amazing and timely play.
Timothy Hazin (Saint Thomas) has studied with the Esper studios in New York, Play house north in Toronto and the Atlantic theatre company in NY. A seasoned writer and photographer tonight is Timothy Hazin‘s debut performance as an actor.
Wuyu Wantatah (Saint Peter/Pontius Pilate) An up and coming entrepreneur that aspired to get his brand in front of as many people as possible, Wuyu (We-you) Wantatah desired product placement in film which led to him stumbling upon his breakout role in the film Worst. Christmas. Ever. He was lauded praise for his role in the film and since then he has built momentum by landing multiple roles in film, tv, and commercials. He has a great desire for much bigger and better roles as he continues to further his career.
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