Staged Reading
August 13, 2021
7:00 pm via Zoom
Synopsis
Imagine a sudden time, a thousand places, and single day where you wake up and find yourself not knowing where you are in your own house, where you find yourself shaking without control over your body, where you find yourself, your mind, just being crazed by some inevitable force that no one can see, that no one can guess about. Based on true events, on a true journey of growth, of despair, of hope, Emily Walz is just a regular, eighteen-year old girl who’s just graduated from high school and who’s ready to enter the wild roller coaster ride of college when, she suddenly wakes up to find that her whole life has turned upside down, and that she has an illness that no one can find a diagnosis for. She goes from doctor to doctor to doctor, but all say that the illness is all in her head and that she should be in a psychiatric hospital. Her journey is one of repetition, where she has hope of a diagnosis and where she loses all faith in ever finding out what is truly wrong with her and the next day she goes through this journey all over again. Will any doctor be able to find out what ails this now fragile Emily, or is she really this crazed girl, who is to remain a medical mystery forever.
This play is based on real life events and contains adult themes that may be triggering for some individuals. Themes that are mentioned are: self-injurious behavior, blood, clowns, rape, needles, knives, vomiting, psychiatric hospitals, and mental illness.
Meet the Cast
Maureen Henderson
Actor 1
Maureen is over the moon to be in the cast for "All in Your Head.” by Emily Walz. This is Maureen's fist show and hopefully not the last with Pink Umbrella Theater. She was last seen as the Lamplighter in Waukesha Civic Theater's production of "The Little Prince.” Maureen wants to sincerely thank Katie and Kayla for giving her this chance as well as her loving family and friends for all their support. Maureen would also like to thank Emily Walz for bravely telling her story. Enjoy the show.
Jamie Pavlofsky
Actor 2
Jamie Pavlofsky is thrilled to make her Pink Umbrella Theater debut with “All In Your Head” by Emily Walz. She is based in Dayton, OH, where she is active in several area theaters. Favorite credits include CHILDREN OF EDEN, RAGTIME, and SAVING CINDERELLA. When not onstage, Jamie is a teaching artist including two sessions with Pink Umbrella in 2021. Thank you to Katie and Kayla for this opportunity!
Doreen Lopez
Actor 3
Doreen Lopez is a retired teacher who recently moved to Milwaukee
from CT. After driving her children to auditions and rehearsals for many
years, she decided to take the plunge herself. She has since performed
in many musicals, a few plays, 2 independent films and a music video.
Favorite roles include Mae Peterson in Bye, Bye Birdie and Julie in
AVOW. This is her first theater experience in the Midwest, and she
would like to thank Kayla and Katie for the opportunity.
Laila Sahir
Actor 4
Laila Sahir (she/her) is a theater artist based in Minneapolis, MN. She has worked with companies including Walking Shadow Theatre Company, Lyric Arts, Children's Theatre Company, and Wayward Theatre Company. This is her first production with Pink Umbrella Theater and she's so excited to be working with this team!
Rose Beach
Actor 5
Rose is super excited to be part of her first performance with Pink Umbrella Theater! Some of her other favorite roles so far include Rona Peretti in "Putnam County Spelling Bee" with Sun Prairie Civic Theatre and Marmee (Irene Ryan Award nominee) in "Little Women" at Madison College. Since 2019, Rose has also been a part of Billboard-charting classical crossover trio Tre Principesse. When she isn't on stage, she's usually at the dog park or live-streaming ukulele covers at twitch.tv/rosemaemusic.
Esther O'Brien
Actor 6
After almost 4 years out of the Milwaukee theater scene, Esther is incredibly excited to be
performing with The Pink Umbrella Theater again. Esther is grateful for this opportunity and the people that have made this possible. Big thanks to Katie, Emily and EK for the motivation and hard work. Enjoy the Show!
Kristina Jin
Actor 7
Kristina Jin is a first generation Chinese American actress and storyteller. Born in California, raised in Texas, and currently, in Georgia, Kristina hopes to continue developing her craft and dive into filmmaking. She is passionate about bringing important, underrepresented characters to life and telling stories that showcase the authentic Asian American experience.
In her free time, you can find her experimenting with laminated dough, nurturing her houseplants, or taking photos of her black cat, Levi.
Noah Stone
Actor 8
Noah Stone is so excited and honored to be able to participate in and bring this performance to life! He has participated in numerous small theater productions and voice work, and has worked as a production assistant in several other shows. He is currently planning to go for his masters in Library Science this fall! He would like to thank his fellow performers and directors for their amazing performances and direction and his family for their support.
Marvin Hannah
Actor 9
Marvin began performing with dynamic Washington, D.C.-based gospel group, PL&MoM, as a long-time resident of the district. The Fords, Warner, and Lincoln theaters; The National Cathedral, The Lincoln Memorial, and Kennedy Center; Springsteen, Beyoncé, Garth, and Mariah are but a few celebs, with whom he's shared these stages. His debut theatre performance as ‘Messenger’, in ‘Gospel At Colonus’, was well-received, at Skylight Theater. His live/virtual musical, televised, and film endeavors, include works with PBS Milwaukee, FX’s Fargo, Joe Para, Shakespeare in the Park, and numerous readings and recordings. He enjoys collaborating and identifying artists of tomorrow.
Adam Qutaishat
Actor 10
Adam is thrilled to be returning to Pink Umbrella Theater after appearing in the JEROME staged reading. Adam is an multidisciplinary theatre artist operating throughout the Midwest and serves as the Associate Artistic Director of Music Theatre of Madison and as an Artistic Associate with All In Productions. You can learn more about Adam's work at adamqutaishat.com
Erick Bowser
Actor 11
Erick Bowser is making his theatrical debut in “All In Your Head” by Emily Walz. He is excited to perform and gain more experience on stage. His hobbies include playing video games, watching movies, writing songs and going for walks. This experience will take Erick out of his comfort zone, but he likes to try different things. Erick lives with his mom, stepdad, nephew and their Rottweiler Molly. He looks forward to making new friends and is excited about this opportunity.
Meet the Crew
Kalya Tillisch, Director
Kayla Tillisch is honored to be working with Pink Umbrella Theater Company. She has a deep passion for this line of work and has been inspired primarily from her sisters Morgan and Kasey. Her theater experience includes both acting and directing with a particular love of Shakespeare. Currently, she's pursuing her Masters in Exceptional Education at UW-Milwaukee and is a Special Ed teacher at Next Door Foundation.
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Amanda Harris, Production Assistant
Amanda Harris is a recent graduate of Marquette University. While at Marquette, Amanda majored in Writing Intensive English with minors in History and Peace Studies. In Spring 2021, she interned for Pink Umbrella. Amanda hopes to be a publishing children’s author. She loves to write about social justice oriented topics. She also plans on teaching English abroad in Italy and connecting with more people. Amanda has enjoyed being a part of the Pink Umbrella Team. She is excited to be taking on a Production role in the upcoming Staged Reading “All In Your Head.”
Ben Montero, Production Assistant
Ben Montero is a teacher, learner, and theatre artist born with Amniotic Band Syndrome. He is originally from the Rio Grande Valley in deep south Texas. He got his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education at The University of Texas at Austin before moving up to Milwaukee. This is his first production with Pink Umbrella.
Emily Walz, playwright
Emily Walz is a twenty-three-year-old girl who lives at home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her two loving parents, Moira and John. She enjoys watching old movies, one of her favorites being ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and ‘To Catch a Thief’. One of her favorite hobbies of all time is reading, especially Agatha Christie murder mysteries and biographies. She loves fashion and works at Miss Ruby’s Bridal Boutique. She started writing when she started Middle School.