Angels in America Part I: Millennium Approaches

This production of Angels In America contains simulated sexual content, blood, drug and alcohol use, addiction, and AIDS.
As well as the discussions of death, racism, and mental illness.
It also includes harsh language and the use of antisemitism and homophobic slurs.
There will be the use of flashing lights throughout this production.
Angels In America is recommended for mature audiences.

Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches is an exploration of the human experience during a tumultuous era of political upheaval and the beginnings of the AIDs epidemic. The play invites audiences to confront a rich tapestry of resilience, uncertainty, political unrest, and change.

Playwright Tony Kushner writes that “Millennium is a play about security and certainty being blown apart.” I have always looked at Angels not as a history play, but a current events play. For a work deeply embedded in the 1980s, Kushner timelessly holds a mirror to society. I can’t help but to think how distant the ’80s are but how little has actually changed. We lived through another botched pandemic—witnessing fear and hopelessness. The pandemic demanded us to reevaluate the way we live and care for our communities. We saw that we needed to change.

We are on the precipice of something today. Our government isn’t protecting the collective us. We are living in the shadow of a potential right-wing dictatorship—the Supreme Court is stacked, and not in our favor. Our best Presidential option is engaging in warfare. I want to ask audiences how we can do better? What is the good work we practice? How can we transform ourselves?

CAST BIOS

Alec Hoxha is a third year theatre and performance & literature major. Angels in America will be his debut performing credit at Purchase. He is immensely thankful for the incredible support his friends and family have given him.

Amaya is a sophomore theatre and performance major and has been acting since high school. During her acting career, she has written three plays, is a director, editor, and writer. She would like to thank her family, her drama teachers at Forest Hills High School, her mentors at Clubbed Thumb, and her friends at Create HER NYC for helping her flourish and find fulfillment in this field. She participated in Til Death Does Its Part in the spring of 2023 and is now playing Belize, Mr. Lies and Henry in Angels in America in the 2024 spring Main Stage.

Arthur R. Goady is a fourth year BA playwriting and screenwriting student, from Long Island, New York. Purchase Rep credits include Sugar, Sugar, Santa (Donovan, Joseph), Mistake (King), and The Increased Difficulty of Concentration (Kriebel). Much gratitude to everyone who has supported him, and he hopes to continue this new journey of acting.

Colin Chin is a first year Music & Technology student from Boston, Massachusetts. This show will be his debut performance at Purchase. He thanks his family and everyone else who gives him support!

Mary Rose Goff

Nicholas is a second year theatre and performance BA. Past Credits include Twelfth Night (Andrew), The Rocky Horror Show (Dr. Scott), and Our Town (Simon Stimpson). Nicholas would like to thank his mother for her ongoing support and Sebastian Pray for his guidance during this production.

Roxane Guyton - von Eck is a senior Theater and Performance major at Purchase College. She is from Queens. She was a drama major at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City. She has performed in numerous shows including Frame(D), Let it Rain/My Head is Spinning, How to Defend Yourself, and the documentary Cross Eyed. 

Solangel Galindo is a fourth year BA theater and performance student from the Bronx. Purchase Rep credits include Fefu and Her Friends (Juila) , The Silent Observer (Brenda) and Cutting Hair (Elena). Other credits include Rufus is Missing (Haley) and Seven Guitars (Vera). Many thanks to her mentors who have been a great influence to her, as well as her family and friends who have supported her in her on-going journey.

Terry Batch (he/they) Understudy is a Junior studying Arts management major with a psychology minor and museum studies minor living in Queens. Previous Purchase credits include: Ordinary Days Swing (Jason/Warren), numerous acting roles in films and productions made by friends on campus. Two high school productions: Macbeth (MacDuff), and Hair (Claude). He’d like to thank the whole crew for giving him the chance to be a part of this project because it’s been really fun.

Isabella Moncada is a fourth year theater and performance and literature major from Yonkers, NY. Past Purchase College credits include: The Attic (Take and others), Abel’s Baby (Abel). Current projects: This House is Haunted (Avery/Madelyn). She would like to thank her family and friends for all their support.

CREATIVE & PRODUCTION BIOS

Alyssa Bernstein (she/they) is a senior playwriting/screenwriting major. Purchase credits include: Room For Growth (Director), Ordinary Days (Assistant Director), and Refrain (Director). They’ve worked with the Museum Of Chinese In America on multiple projects. They’d like to thank the whole cast and crew, especially Sebastian, for the incredible experience.

Jagger Vera is third year BFA Theatre Design/Technology student with a concentration in Stage Management from Hopewell Junction, New York. Purchase Rep credits include: Babette’s Feast (Run Crew), Barbeque (Run Crew), Henry IV: Part I (Run Crew), Cyrano De Bergerac (Assistant Stage Manager), Good Goods (Assistant Stage Manager), Twelfth Night (Production Assistant), and Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Stage Manager). He would like to thank not only his family for supporting him through this degree but as well as all the friends he has made along the way.

David Fitzpatrick is a fourth year D/T lighting and sound designer from NYC. Purchase design credits include Socrates (Lighting Designer), Fucking A (Sound Designer) and Twelfth Night (Sound Designer & Composer). Many thanks to the lighting department and to the whole team for a wonderful experience creating a beautiful show.

Julia Little is a fourth year in the BFA theatre design/tech program with a concentration in Technical Direction/Production Management. In addition to being a TD, she’s also very involved in the sound department. Julia is the head of the conservatory’s sound shop and her past sound credits include Conduct of Life (Sound Designer) and Twelfth Night (A2). Julia gives special thanks to her parents, grandparents, and long time friend Shira Barnir.

Munirah (Moon) (she/her) is an ambitious costume designer. She’s explored acting, costume design,and stage management. This will be Munirah’s first time working on a purchase production. Munirah has worked on costumes directed for Lucha Esencial, she has also worked with Rising Sun Performance Company as a costume designer for an internship program for Boundless Theater. In 2020, during her education at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Munirah was inspired be one of her professors where she then decided to pursue a career in costume design. Her passion for Theater Arts has equipped her with the skills necessary to help as a props manager and assistant stage manager. Munirah aspires to be able to design and produce costumes for Broadway, cinema, and theater throughout the world. She is anxious to participate in this play, therefore this will be a novel and thrilling experience for her. Many thanks to her family and everyone else who supports for her .

Stella is a junior at SUNY Purchase who loves all things theater production. Her past credits include working on projections for How To Defend Yourself, as well as costume designing many productions including The Addams Family and Mean Girls. She would like to thank her mother for everything ever, and especially for coming to see the show!

Julie Buenaventura

Mateo Vidals is a choreographer and dancer. He has recently premiered two new works at Battery Dance Festival 2023 and Dance Against Cancer under the direction of Earl Mosley 2023. Mateo will graduate from SUNY Purchase with his BFA in dance in May 2024 to continue his journey dancing and creating. Thank you to the wonderful people I’ve met through this process!

Sebastian Pray (he/they) is a director and theatre maker from Upstate New York currently residing in Queens, NY. Sebastian uses a collaborative ensemble driven approach centering queer voices. Sebastian is interested in finding metaphors in movement and generating rigorous, expressive storytelling with a strong sense of play.

Performance credits include Cute Activist (New Saloon, The Bushwick Starr). Directing credits include JFK Was Killed by the Russians (Rat Queen Theatre Collective), GREEDPLAY (After School Special), Gravity of Me Gone (ANT Fest, Ars Nova), The Yellow Wallpaper (Purchase College, SUNY). Assistant Directing credits include Promenade (dir. Morgan Green, Mabou Mines,) The Things That Were There (dir. Lee Sunday Evans, The Bushwick Starr,) Haruki Murakami’s SLEEP (dir. Rachel Dickstein, Ripe Time/BAM’s Next Wave Festival), Three Sisters and Machinal (dir. Rachel Dickstein, Purchase College, SUNY.) Sebastian has shown work at Ars Nova, The Tank, Access Theatre, Mount Tremper Arts, and Barton Booth Make Room. BA, Theatre & Performance, Purchase College, SUNY.

In our teaching and art, the Conservatory values inclusiveness, equality, and excellence. Upholding all of our training is our aim to train and graduate citizen artists: multifaceted people with a strong sense of purpose in approaching an arts education.

What is a citizen artist? Citizen artists seek to discover how their unique voices can contribute to our world. They understand what it means to be an artist, and what they are here on earth to say and do and make.

The Conservatory trains future citizen artists in three degree programs:

+ BFA Actor Training. The BFA is an intensive professional training program offered to a highly select and diverse group of students. The professional training is anchored in four years of study in acting, voice, speech, and movement, complemented by offerings in dramatic literature and analysis, history of the theatre, stage combat, improvisation, mask work, acting for the camera, and the business of acting. As one of five schools in the Consortium of Professional Theatre Training Programs, Purchase is one of a handful of colleges in the world capable of training artists at this level—and of drawing a faculty from the ranks of professional theatre

+ BFA in Theatre Design/Technology. Emphasizing studio and classroom training, our professional training program in theatre design/technology gives students the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of our alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk Awards, among other honors. Quite literally, Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all tristate venues, and with countless touring productions

+ BA program in Theatre and Performance. From traditional theatre to cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the theatre and performance major encourages creativity, intellectual curiosity, social engagement, and critical thinking. The core requirements combine scholarship and practice to provide students with a strong foundation in theatre history and dramatic literature, with mandatory stagecraft/production courses. Theatre and Performance majors are encouraged to expand the scope of their education by studying abroad, as well as pursuing coursework in other programs of study within the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Purchase College.