By Jordan Ramirez Puckett
Directed by Be Boyd

June 4 & 5 – In the face of death on the first manned mission to Mars, Sofía re-examines her lifelong friendship with Zoe and the age-old conflict between science and faith.

10-all astronauts prepare for launch… 9-months and Zoe will be a mother… 8-years old, a promise made we never wanted to break… 7-months, my one-way ticket to Mars… 6-million hours staring up at the stars… 5-seconds left until launch… 4- years old when we first met… 3- decades of friendship and love… 2-peas in a pod until… 1-mission liftoff…   In To Saints and StarsSofía’s life flashes before her eyes. In the face of death on the first manned mission to Mars, Sofía re-examines her lifelong friendship with Zoe and the age-old conflict between science and faith.

Register for the talkback following the performance on Saturday, June 5.

Meet the Playwright

 

Creative Team

Playwright: Jordan Ramirez Puckett
Director: Belinda Boyd
Stage Manager: Kathleen Wilkinson*
Assistant Stage Manager: Cameron Sparks*
Scenic Design Response by: Audrey Casteris*
Sound Design Response by: Kaitlyn Gamory*
Lighting Design Response by: Nick Kelley*
Costume Design Response by: Emma Hosking*

*denotes UCF student. All cast members are UCF students.

CAST

SOFIA WILSON: Kate Milazzo
ZOE CARDENAS: Maddy La Roche
KEN ROBERTS: Timothy Jones II
JOHN CARDENAS: Drew Stark

PEGASUS PLAYLAB STAFF

Artistic Director: Julia Listengarten
Design Advisor: Vandy Wood
Stage Management Advisor: Claudia Lynch
Production Manager: Gary Brown
Marketing Coordinator: Steven Risko
Box Office Manager: Bridget Parry
Dramaturgy Advisor: Chloë Rae Edmondson
Artistic Associate: Sage Tokach*

 

Design Responses

While these readings won’t have sets, costumes, lights or sound design, a team of student designers worked with the creative team to develop design concepts. This process helps the cast and creative team understand what the play may look and sound like while they continue to develop the story and characters.

Costume Design

Scenic Design

Lighting Design

Sound Design

Audrey Casteris (Set Designer) is a third-year student in the BFA Design and Technology program. Previous Theatre UCF credits include UCF Celebrates the Arts 2020 (Production Assistant) and Mojada (Stage Manager). @audreycasteris

Kaitlyn Gamory (Sound Designer) is a first-year student in the BFA Design and Technology program. She has worked with Theatre UCF on Knights’ Ghostlight Podcast (Sound Effects Editor, Assistant Director and Dramaturg, Music Designer and Editor) and will also be involved with the upcoming Pegasus PlayLab production The Amphibians (Sound Designer).

Emma Hosking (Costume Design) is a freshman in the BFA Theatre Design and Technology program. She has worked with Theatre UCF on The Grumpiest Boy in the World (Prop Supervisor) and the upcoming Pegasus PlayLab production Sombra del Sol (Costume Construction).

Timothy Jones II (Ken Roberts) is a junior and third-year transfer student in the [program]. Tim has narrated for the play Flashes and Floaters at the Orlando Shakes. At UCF, he was in the productions of Scaramouch in Naxos(Glaucus) and How To Catch Creation(Griffin). Tim also directed The Worker by Walter Wykes at Pensacola State College. https://tbjii6.wixsite.com/website

Nick Kelley (Electrics) is a second-year transfer student in the BFA Design and Technology program.

Maddy LaRoche (Zoe Cardenas) is a [year] student in the MFA Acting program. She was previously seen in Scaramouch in Naxos (Scaramouch). She obtained her BFA in Theatre from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She is thrilled to be working on new plays this summer with these talented artists. @lalalaroche

Kate Milazzo (Sofia Wilson) is going into her second year in the MFA Acting program. She recently appeared in the Pegasus PlayLab production Dear Helena (Helena) as well as Scaramouch in Naxos (Ione) in the spring. Before coming to Orlando, Kate studied at the University of Evansville, where she starred in The Three Musketeers (Aramis), The Wolves (#7) and a reading of Q2: A New Musical (Rue)

Cameron Sparks (Assistant Stage Manager) is a first-year student in the BFA Stage Management program. This will be his first virtual reading at UCF, having previously worked on Writes of Spring (Production Assistant) at the Orlando Rep Theatre. Other stage management credits include Fun Home, The Robber Bridegroom, The Harvest and Heathers: The Musical.

Drew Stark (John Cardenas) is a second-year-student in the MFA Acting program. Theatre UCF credits include Scaramouch in Naxos (Bacchus), Much Ado About Nothing (Borachio) and El Viaje de Beatriz. Professional credits include Young Frankenstein, Bright Star, Shakespeare in Love, The Diary of Anne Frank, Suddenly Last Summer and 33 Variations.He earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary. Drew is also a fight director/choreographer. @drewstarkactor

Kathleen Wilkinson (Stage Manager) is entering her third year in the BFA Stage Management program. Her Theatre UCF credits include A Knight of Dance 2021 (Assistant Stage Manager) and Urinetown (Production Assistant). She has also worked with Project Spotlight on the virtual production of T19-EC (Stage Manager). Other stage management credits include Footloose, Camelot, and [title of show].

Jordan Ramirez Puckett (Playwright) is a Chicana playwright, lighting designer and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her plays include En Las Sombras, To Saints and Stars, A Driving Beat, Las Pajaritas, Restore and Inevitable. These works have been produced and/or developed by Abingdon Theatre Company (New York, NY), Goodman  Theatre (Chicago, IL), Harold Clurman Laboratory Theatre Company (New York, NY),  Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Playwrights Realm (New York, NY),  San Diego Repertory Theatre and San Francisco Playhouse, among others. She most recently participated in the 2020 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and is the producer of the 2021 Bay Area Playwrights Festival.

Belinda Boyd (Director) is an associate professor at the University of Central Florida. Her areas of focus are acting, directing, voice and playwriting. She is currently the Region IV Co-Vice-Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Recently, she directed Sweat and Charlottesville at Palm Beach Dramaworks. As a Walt Disney Show Director, she directed theme park shows, special events for Disney Event Group and national/international presentations for Disney Institute. Additional professional directing includes productions in New York, Texas, Toronto, North Carolina, Kentucky, Vermont and Florida. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, she has performed for several Shakespeare companies including Shakespeare and Company, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and Kentucky Shakespeare. Selected commercial credits include Disney, Thrifty Car Rental, Belk, Zora’s Roots-(Zora Neale Huston), The National Education Association and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Awards and commendations include the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Kennedy Center Medallion for Artistic Excellence and a Distinguished Career Award from Florida Theatre Conference. She is a Dramatists Guild member with scripts that include Our Darkest Hour: The Story of Trayvon (Urban Film Festival). 

This summer, Theatre UCF’s Pegasus PlayLab returns! Pegasus PlayLab is a festival dedicated to developing plays by emerging playwrights. Audiences are invited to hear staged readings and experience full productions or workshops of new plays. Follow these plays into the next stage of development and be part of the creative process with playwrights, casts and directors!

Performance Schedule

  • Friday, June 4, 2021, 7:30  p.m.
  • Saturday, June 5, 2021, 7:30  p.m.
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