APRIL 2023

Courtney Emerson is a Staten Island based actress and visual artist, who began writing in 2020. This is her first year writing with The Collective, after previously having directed the short play “It’s Genetic” by Ariana Nicoletta for 2021’s Not Forgotten Play Festival. Her most recent acting roles include Ann Deever (All My Sons) and Patty (Blackout) both at Seaview Playwright’s Theatre, as well as Fortinbras (Hamlet) with the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company. 

Holly Pepe has been writing since she could hold a pencil. Her mother relishes telling anyone who will listen about the time she ran out of paper and caught four-year-old Holly writing a book on a stack of coffee filters. She uses a Mac now. Holly has written numerous short stories, poems and essays; additionally, she wrote the novella, “Cruise to Nowhere” and she wrote and directed the one act play, “Pumpkin Soup” with the help of her son Chris. The play was later performed at a Staten Island middle school to raise autism awareness. She is also the author of the novel, Lesson Plans. Since 2005, she has had the privilege of teaching English at Staten Island’s New Dorp High School. This past summer, she had the amaing experience of playing Lady Montague and The Apothecary in Staten Island Shakespeare’s production of Romeo and Juliet. She is honored and humbled to be a part of the Women’s Playwright Collective.