2026 COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Not Forgotten Play Festival
August 20th-23rd
Staten Island Playhouse
New Voices
10-Minute Plays
* denotes founding member of WPC
Mona Bruno
Mona Bruno is an actor, writer, and occasional karaoke singer. This is her first stab at playwrighting since she was a teenager. She performed with WPC in the 2025 Not Forgotten play festival. Other recent performance credits include The Comedy of Errors with SIST and The Rise and Fall of Falstaff with Ghostlight Players.
Susana Kuhn
Susana is a multi-faceted theater maker who was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. She is a graduate from the University of Virginia with a duel-degree in Drama and Global Development Studies where she first fell in love with script writing and built a philosophy around the importance of art in facilitating social change. Susana has spent the past two years teaching English throughout Spain with summers volunteering at the Fringe Theater and Comedy Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland where she (genuinely) enjoyed feeling far too funny to sell tickets at a desk while rubbing elbows with the UKs finest and funniest. Now back home in NY, she has enjoyed building art into her life wherever she can and is thrilled to be a part of the creative community at WPC that helps makes that possible!
Gabrielle Canci
Gabrielle is a Staten Island-based Actress and Director with a passion for bringing compelling stories to life both on stage and through innovative direction. She is thrilled to be writing with the Women’s Playwright Collective for their exciting 2026 season.
Ally Thomas
Ally Thomas (she/her) is a NYC-based theatre artist and educator. Her multidisciplinary work centers care and compassion for folks of all body shapes, sizes, and abilities with a focus on fat liberation and accessibility. Ally creates and performs nostalgic stories about unapologetic authenticity, with recent productions at The Kraine, The Tank and the Tampa Fringe Festival. She fosters community through her work as a director and teaching artist in theatres and schools throughout NYC and across the country. MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, Certificate of New Play Performance from Hollins University. | allythomas.info | @allymaethomas
Justine Giachetti
Justine (J.) Danielle Giachetti is a professional trans actor, Dramatists Guild playwright/lyricist, director, and arts educator. Acting credits include The Little Mermaid (Ursula), Seussical (Mr. Mayor/Wickersham 1/Dance Captain), She Kills Monsters (Orcus), The Merchant of Venice (Gratiano), Puffs (Wayne Hopkins), Romeo and Juliet (Nurse), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Quasimodo). Directing credits include The Lightning Thief, Trail to Oregon, Doctor Faustus, The Tempest, The Penelopiad, She Kills Monsters, Dog Sees God, The Laramie Project, How I Learned to Drive, and Rabbit Hole. J. is the book writer and lyricist of Relapse: The Musical (sold-out Off-Broadway run at Theatre Row, 2023) and the playwright of Faith in Shackles and The Greatest Olympian. They currently serve as Associate Artistic Director and Touring Company Director for IlluminArt Productions.
Maria Lee Vazquez
Maria is super excited to be a part of WPC. She is an actor and writer really hoping to get her work out there so this is a great way to do it! She most recently was seen in IlluminArt’s production of Seussical as Jojo but now hopes to take a step back from being on the stage.
New WORLDs
1-Act Plays
* denotes founding member of WPC
JURY PICK:
Kerry Robinson*
Kerry Robinson is a Staten Island-born actor that began writing with the collective back in 2018 when it was founded. After graduating from CSI with a BS in Dramatic Arts, she has spent a lot of time performing on the island, primarily with the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company. Her works with the collective have been deeply based on her own inner struggles with anxiety and how she tries to relate to others around her. Though she was unable to participate last year, she is very excited to be back this year to work with the many talented women in the collective, both returning and new.
"Stay In Lane"
AUDIENCE PICK:
Catherine hails from the small town of Westford, Massachusetts, resides in Queens, and loves talking about herself in the third person. She attended Penn State where she got her BFA in Acting. Last Summer, she made her playwriting debut at the New York Theater Festival with God's Favorite. God's Favorite was nominated for 5 awards, including best play, and went on to win in two categories.Since then it has been accepted into the Larking House Theater Company's 2024 digital intensive as well as make the Seattle Public Theater's 2025 New Work Festival Short List. Her play, Little by Little, and Then All At Once, competed in last years festival and she is excited to be back for another Summer with WPC!
"Summer Is Temporary"
