Perisphere’s August 2021 production of Time Is On Our Side received rave reviews and standing ovations!
About the play
What if everything you thought you knew about your family history was wrong?
Annie and Curtis are friends who produce and host a wildly unpopular podcast about Philadelphia history. When they discover a diary suggesting that Annie’s grandmother was a closeted lesbian, the two friends—both gay themselves—have thoroughly opposite reactions. Curtis sees the story as a way of taking the podcast in a new direction and building its audience. Annie is afraid that delving into the past will destroy her idyllic image of her family.
In addition to exploring the issues of friendship and honesty, this hilarious and poignant play tackles fundamental questions about how we view the past: Who owns history? Who gets to tell it? Are there parts of it that are best left untold?
About the playwright
R. Eric Thomas (he/him) is the long-running host of The Moth in Philadelphia and D.C. Until recently he was a senior staff writer for Elle.com where he wrote “Eric Reads the News,” a daily current events and culture column with hundreds of thousands of readers. His debut memoir-in-essays, Here for It, was released by Ballantine Books in 2020 and was hailed by Lin-Manuel Miranda as “David Sedaris-level, laugh-out-loud funny.” As a playwright, Thomas is a 2018 winner of the Dramatist Guild Lanford Wilson Award and was a finalist for the 2017 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. For Time Is On Our Side, Eric won the 2016 Barrymore Award (Philadelphia) for best new play.
About the director
Gerrad Alex Taylor (he/him) is an actor, director and educator in the DMV region. He is an associate artistic director of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore and director of The Studio at CSC, which offers classes year-round for area youth and adults. Taylor also teaches in the theater departments at UMBC and George Washington University. He holds a BA in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University and an MFA in Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has worked with theaters and educational institutions across the country including Great River Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, Pacific Conservatory Theatre-PCPA, Everyman Theatre, Constellation Theatre Company, Mosaic Theater Company, and Washington Stage Guild. He is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association and the Society of American Fight Directors.
About the cast
Jordan Brown (he/him) (Curtis) is excited to be back on stage! He has had his shots and is safe to be around humans once more. Notable credits include She Kills Monsters (Rorschach Theatre), The Ties That Bind (Catholic University), Bobtail Bong Bong (InterAct Story Theatre), and The Wolf You Feed (Theatre Prometheus). Jordan plans on diversifying theatrical spaces in his artistic path. He holds a BA in Theatre and Media Performance from Stevenson University.
Emily Dalton (she/her) (Annie) is a Virginia native and VCU grad with 9 years of professional acting under her belt. She has written and performed two comedic solo shows with the PIT-NYC; written, directed, and performed numerous original one-acts throughout New York City, trained with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA; and, most recently, toured with Olney Theatre Center’s National Players – Tour 70, as Viola in their Twelfth Night, Ann Putnam in The Crucible, and ensemble in Around the World in 80 Days. Emily proudly supports Black Lives Matter, wearing a mask, and giving people space.
Pauline Lamb (she/her) (Claudia, Mr. Ramondi, Gisella) couldn’t be more hype to make her post-pandemic, onstage debut with Perisphere Theater! She is a teaching artist, choreographer, dancer, and properties designer who has hit the DMV stage as Sylvia Henson in Blight (Pinky Swear Productions) and Simone Young in Weep (Nu Sass Productions). She’s excited to bring this powerful series of characters she gets to play to life, and she sends love and positive energy to each and every soul surrounding her who made it a possibility!
Leo Delgado (he/him) (Rene, Mr. Blankenship, Lawrence) is thrilled to be doing his first show with Perisphere Theater. Area credits include La Vida Es Sueño (GALA Hispanic Theatre); The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Scena Theatre); Beyond These Walls (Common Themes Productions, Capital Fringe); and Underworld (TBD Immersive). Leo studied acting at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Special thanks to Mom, Dad, Kate, and Danny.
About the production team
Kevin O’Connell (he/him) (Producer, Dramaturg, Sound Designer) Kevin is the artistic and executive director of Perisphere Theater.
See About Us page for bio.
Sam Rollin
(they/them) (Stage Manager) DC area credits: Pride and Prejudice (NextStop Theatre), As You Like It (Brave Spirits Theatre), A Civil War Christmas (1st Stage), Blight (Pinky Swear Productions), How’s That Workin’ Out For Ya? (Capital Fringe Festival 2018), Perfect Arrangement (Source Festival 2017).
Greg Stevens (he/him) (Set and Costume Designer) is a Helen Hayes Award nominee and has directed plays; designed, built, or painted sets; or designed costumes for over 150 shows in Washington, New York City, San Diego, and elsewhere. He is a founding company member of Helen Hayes Award-winning Factory 449 where he has these credits: Agnes of God (HH nomination, outstanding production), Lela & Co. (HH nomination, outstanding production), Closet Land (set), The Amish Project (HH nomination, set), The Saint Plays (set/costumes), and 4.48 Psychosis (set). For Rainbow Theatre Project: Clothes for a Summer Hotel (direct/design), Kingdom of Earth (director), Suddenly Last Summer (director), In the Closet (set/costumes), Get Used to It! (set/costumes), and The Oldest Profession (set/costumes). For WSC Avant Bard: The Tempest (set/costumes), Emilie… (set), and Lulu (costumes).
Adam Mendelson (he/him) (Lighting, Photography, and Projections Designer) is the Senior Lecturer in Lighting and Sound Design at the University of Maryland Baltimore County where he has been on the faculty since 2012 and helped prepare the new theatre spaces for the opening of the state-of-the-art Performing Arts and Humanities Building. He previously taught at the University of Wyoming, the University of Texas-Arlington, Stephens College (Columbia, MO), and Lawrence Academy (Groton, MA). His design work has been seen across the country and as far afield as Edinburgh, Scotland. Recently, he has lit shows for Rep Stage (Columbia, MD) Lexington Children’s Theatre (Lexington, KY), Annapolis Shakespeare Company (Annapolis, MD), and the Towson University Department of Dance. He lives in Catonsville, MD, with his wife, Catherine, and their menagerie, Lailah and Kona.
Pauline Lamb (she/her) (Properties Designer) couldn’t be more hype to make her post-pandemic, onstage debut with Perisphere Theater! She is a teaching artist, choreographer, dancer, and properties designer who has hit the DMV stage as Sylvia Henson in Blight (Pinky Swear Productions) and Simone Young in Weep (Nu Sass Productions). She’s excited to bring this powerful series of characters she gets to play to life, and she sends love and positive energy to each and every soul surrounding her who made it a possibility!