WHO'S WHO IN THE CAST - 2025 PDW

Leah:                  TESS KAPLAN 

Tess is ecstatic to be in her first production with Hand to Mouth Players. She is a Tufts theatre and BADA alumna, and an incoming student at Circle in the Square for musical theatre. If Tess really had three wishes, she wouldn’t know what to wish for! She’s already doing what she loves—performing—and has support from the best friends and family.

Shabazz:            BRIAN BAGOT

Brian is honored to be a part of this festival and the incredibly talented group of folks involved. He is thankful to Phil and Tess for making all the hard work fun. He is an actor member of Westchester Collaborative Theater in Ossining, where he has appeared in several original one-act plays as well as full-length productions.  In addition to WCT, he has acted in plays around the metropolitan area, including Agency for the Lost at The Tank, and, most recently, in Do You Feel Anger at the Chain Theater in NYC. 
Other favorite roles include Ken Gorman in Rumors, and Juror 10 in Twelve Angry Men. When not in plays, Brian can be seen in a few independent films and performing with Blind Tiger Improv. 

Dorothy:             CONSTANCE DYCKMAN 

Constance has contributed in a variety of positions with the HTM and YCP theater companies. She has participated as an actor, backstage crew member and most recently as a director for the Hendrick Hudson Free Library Theater Program. Each experience has been enriching and enlightening. Thank you Tom and Albi for your support and encouragement.

Colin:                   ALBI GORN 

Albi has performed in the last two HTM PDWs, playing Borelli in Keith Whalen’s The Beauty of Numbers for which he won acting awards at both the TANYS and ESTA festivals and the following year, playing Keller in Keith Whalen’s Balloon Release for which he again won acting awards at both TANYS and ESTA. Albi is also a playwright and has had numerous plays in the PDW over the years. And he is the “Go” part of GoJo Productions which is co-producing the PDW. Gojoclanproductions.com. You can read his plays and/or hear his songs at albgorn.com.

Alan:                    ROBERT TROIANO     

Rob is excited to make his HTM Players debut. He brings a diverse background in performance, with experience both on camera and on stage. He starred in the award-winning short film Spotless, played the lead in the YouTube short Mr. Tramer, and has contributed voice work to several creative projects. On TikTok, Rob has built a following of over 250,000 through his comedic impressions. His recent stage credits include Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, and he recently appeared as The Grinch in a character performance role at the Lumina Light Experience at Harvest Moon. Rob is grateful to the cast and crew for such a rewarding experience and sends love to his parents for their unwavering support. 

Leah:                   LISA LAWRENCE  

Lisa is proud to be making her Hand to Mouth debut. Lisa was last seen at YCP Theaterworks in Sense & Sensibility, The Thanksgiving Play and The Laramie Project. Lisa has recently taken on "behind the curtain" roles, such as Producer here in Westchester. She would like to thank director Rob for this great opportunity and for the ability to work with this funny/talented cast. And a special thanks to her husband Jef and her son Gavin for their continuous encouragement. 

Ron:                     GARY SIMON  

Gary is an award winning actor, producer, long-time board member for The Hand to Mouth Players, and Co-Artistic Director of this PDW. He was recently seen in YCP Theaterwork’s After-Play; as The Vicomte de Nanjac in M&M Productions’ An Ideal Husband at Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown; and in HTM’s Not Funny and The Rental in NY and Maryland. NYC/Regional productions: HTM Players Playwright/Director’s Workshop, NY Winterfest, Manhattan Repertory Theater, Samuel French Festival, Strawberry Festival, NY International Fringe Festival, Aery 20/20 Festival, Ariane Festival, TANYS, ESTAFest. Local theater: M&M Productions, YCP Theaterworks, Mount Pleasant Comm. Theater, Shades Repertory Theater. When not on stage, Gary is navigating his recent retirement role as former dentist to the stars in Cortlandt Manor, and extends love to his children Addison & Scott, and his wife and new managing partner Jacqueline.  gdocfive@gmail.com.

Nancy:                 BRENDA HETTMANSBERGER 

Brenda has appeared on local stages since 1990. She has trained with HM Acting (Pleasantville) and Susan Ward (Ossining).  In 2019 Bren joined Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT), where she is an actor, writer, director, and lighting tech. She works for medical schools as a Standardized Patient, acting in simulations to train healthcare professionals. She also models and has appeared in commercials and educational, industrial, and web-based videos. Many thanks to Anne, Rob A., Gary, Lisa, and Rob T. for making my first HTM experience a great ride.

Ann:                     HEATHER FIRESTONE 

Heather is a long-time community theater participant, both on-stage and behind-the-scenes. She most recently portrayed Terry in the YCP TheaterWorks production of Anne Meara’s After Play She portrayed both Iola in Dearly Returned and Daphne in The Rental in last year’s Playwright/Director’s Workshop. She performed as Daphne at both TANYS and ESTAFest. Favorite past roles include Aimee Mullins in Memories, Olive in The Tattooed Woman, Sonia in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Agnes in Agnes of God, Elaine in Arsenic and Old Lace, Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Babe in Crimes of the Heart, Whitney in A Piece of My Heart, Alexandra in The Little Foxes, Lady Larken in Once Upon a Mattress, and Gilmer in Godspell. Heather is a YCPTW board member and a CCMS Drama Club Assistant Director, choreographer, and sound tech. She is a science/special education teacher in real life and spends some of her summer vacation reviewing science materials, adapting materials for differentiation, and revising curriculum maps.  

George:               WILLIAM ROYSTON 

Will has worked in theater for years on a wide variety of shows, educational workshops and programs. For Anywhere Theatre Company: Dracula and the Theatre of Doom (Jonathan and Renfield), Save Santa! (Krampus and Santa), The Spectre Bridegroom and Other Valentine’s Ghost Stories (Death/The Spectre Bridegroom), Jungle Book (Shere Khan), Othello(Roderigo), Persephone (Zeus, Sisyphus, Charon), and Twelfth Night (Sir Toby Belch). He is very happy to be in this play!!

Marjorie:           DIANE PRESTON 

Diane has studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and HB Studios.  She has performed both musicals and plays throughout NYS. She is thrilled to have another adventure with this talented group. Special thanks to Anne for this opportunity.

Eleanor:            LAURA MICHALEC OLSZEWSKI 

Laura is incredibly excited to be back on stage after a 35 year hiatus.  While she met her husband on stage while she was in high school and went on to major in theatre, her legal career and raising three children took precedence over performing. By day she is the Assistant Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge for a federal agency and is also a trustee on the Board of Education for Mount Pleasant Central School District. She wishes to thank Gary Simon, with whom she performed in numerous musicals well over 30 years ago, for the inspiration and encouragement to get back on stage. She also thanks her fabulous director Anne Rodgers Pearl for the opportunity as well as for her guidance and words of wisdom.  She thanks her fellow cast mates for their dedication and making this journey so much fun. And finally she thanks her family for their unwavering love and support. Special shout out to her sainted husband Ron for holding down the fort and keeping us all fed by his culinary talents and another shout out to her daughter Jane who was amazing at running lines and giving acting pointers.

Oliver:               GEORGE BURNS

George is thrilled to return for the 31st PDW more than twenty years after his first production with HTM. Most recently, he was in the Spring 2025 Library Series presented by GoJo Clan Productions and Red Monkey Theater Group. He will be returning to the WCT stage for Phoenix Rising in three weeks and then touring the Hudson Valley with the Fall 2025 Library Series. 

Goldie:                SAMANTHA DARLING  

Samantha is delighted to work alongside so many talented directors and actors in this Playwright/Director's Workshop. After a long hiatus, she rediscovered her love for theatre playing Logan in Yorktown Community Players TheaterWorks' The Thanksgiving Play in June '24. Eager for more, she thoroughly enjoyed joining YCPTW again as Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility this past winter. Another memorable experience was performing in Brewster Theater's The 24 Hour Plays. Samantha is also a proud member of the Westchester Women's Chorus, and finds great joy and inspiration singing with them. A Latin teacher by day, Samantha enjoys all things food related, working out, traveling, and spending time with loved ones, both human and canine. She would like to thank her family and friends for their constant support, with a huge shout out to her loving husband, Dru, for always believing in her!  

 Penelope:           KATE GLEESON   

Kate is thrilled to be back at the HTM annual festival. Kate last appeared as Kelly in last year’s award winning The Rental and the year before that as the menopausal mom in It’s Hot in the Kitchen. Other favorite roles include Renee in After Play, Sara in The Sisters Rosensweig, Mother Superior in Agnes of God and the Head Chef in After Dark. Thanks to Rich, Jessica and Sam for being so great to work with, and Rich, Rob, Archie, and Chloe for living with her!  

Rose:                  JESSICA BEITSCHER 

Jessica has worked with Hand To Mouth/GoJo Clan Productions for three summers now and her impressive list of awards from her previous two years includes the Outstanding Achievement in Acting (ESTA, 2025) and People's Choice for Best Actress (TANYS, 2024). She also received TANYS awards for Excellence in Acting for her performances in Balloon Release and Bigger Than Them.  Jessica's stage experience is diverse, including roles in musicals, operas, and straight plays. She has also studied acting methods from Stanislavsky, Meisner, and Uta Hagen.  Jessica's upcoming performance as Cora in Calendar Girls, presented by The Harrison Players, is scheduled for October 23-26. You can find her socials and tickets to her latest endeavors at https://linktr.ee/jessicabeitscher