About The show

A Really Real Serious Play (A Clownprov show) is an open rehearsal of a new, necessary, and exciting work that is totally rehearsed and not at all improvised. Adapted from Tennessee William’s most famous work A Street Car Named Carl, A Really Serious Play is helmed by notable Broadway Director, Rachel Resnik. The cast includes Julia Vanderveen, Lola Broward, Brooke Ferris, Aya Tucker, Ania Upstill, Edu Diaz, Kevin Allen, Octavia Leona Kohner, Soojeong Son, Lucy Evans, Jackie Skinner

Julia VanderVeen (she/her) is an award-winning clown & “a very nice girl,” as she thinks her grandmother might have said once. Her solo show, My Grandmother’s Eyepatch, directed by Aitor Basauri, and later by Isaac Kessler, has toured nationally & internationally to great acclaim. Julia also just began teaching clown herself, in very exciting locations like Goshen, Indiana!

Lola Broward is a clown of many questions. When she’s not interviewing strangers in bars and parks, she writes Circus City, a monthly newsletter documenting clown life in New York.

Brooke Ferris is an actress & singer who loves to perform new work. In ’16, she was seen off-Broadway in Babel, an acrobatic-theatrical dance piece. She performed at the Duplex in October ’19 with the 4-part harmony group Harmonic Proposal in I Can’t Even; and has also appeared at the Duplex in her one-woman shows On Fire! Don’t Put Me Out and You Must Be Under 5’ Tall To Ride This Ride. Her voice has been heard in commercials for Clearasil, McDonald’s, XMU Radio, ‘The History of Animation’ in Blue Man Group: Tubes Rewired, among others. IG: @songstars

Aya Tucker (she/her) holds an MFA in Lacoq-Based Actor Created Theatre. Her original clown act, Kiki and Ted, was nominated for The NY Downtown Clown Golden Nose Awards (Audience Choice Best Clown Act). She’s performed in London & NY, including Hold Music (Sightline Arts; The NY Innovative Theatre Awards nominee for Outstanding Performance Art Production). Aya is a certified Lucid Body instructor, a healthcare clown for Laughter League, & one of the inaugural Clown Cohort members of Clown Gym. Originally from Japan, her mission is to make acting/clown training accessible to the Japanese theatre community, non-native speakers & beyond – with self-care, compassion & playfulness.

Ania (they/them) is a queer & non binary performer, director, theatre maker, teaching artist & clown. A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre’s Professional Training Program, Ania’s recent work celebrates LGBTQIA+ artists, focusing on gender diversity. Performance credits include Today’s Mess w/Clown Gym, their solo show Transhumance (International); In Many Hands (BAM); Thou Shalt Not (Thinkery & Verse); and R+J: A Genderqueer/Female Reimagination (Hypokrit Productions). They toured Palestine with Clowns Without Borders USA, and taught clown internationally. Ania has also performed in NYC venues including House of Yes, The Duplex & The Tank.

Lucy (they/them) is a drag king, clown, performance artist & general fool who doesn’t subscribe to the rule of three. They usually perform under their moniker /alter ego /the son their mother actually wanted called Sir Cum Sized, who is pretty sure he’s the first person ever to play klezmer music on the kazoo, but don’t look it up. A really real seriously play is Lucy’s Serious Acting Debut as themselves. Who knows if their mother will show up.

Kevin Allen (he/him) is an actor & writer. He was the understudy for Dad/Obama in the national tour of Jabari Dreams of Freedom; appeared as Juror #10 in 12 Mo’ Angry Men, a NY Theater Festival Best Play Nominee; and co-starred as Chris Price in the O’Neill Award Finalist play, Abigail. Kevin is a member of the Writers Guild of America & has been recognized as a Black List quarterfinalist & a Big Apple Film Festival semifinalist. When not writing or performing, Kevin teaches Iyengar Yoga to adults & children.

Octavia Leona Kohner refuses the normal constraints of an artist bio & encourages you all to k*ll your local p*g. Push comes to shove: she’s a bouffon, a comedienne, an impersonationist, and available by appointment (but only before 10 PM; she takes Sundays off- not for the lord- just for herself). She also can’t juggle so please if you must throw things at her make sure they are soft.

Rachel Resnik is a comedian who has toured with her solo comedy shows internationally. She’s a graduate of the School for Theater Creators by Paola Coletto, in Padova Italy. She also trained with Phillipe Gaulier, The NY Goofs, & The Celebration Barn Theater, where in ’18, she was awarded the Julie Goell Scholarship for Eccentric Women. Of her performance at The Adelaide Fringe Festival ’19 in Australia, a reviewer wrote: “ever been to a wedding where the bridesmaid is so drunk she makes the kind of cringe-worthy speech that makes your blood curdle? That’s Rachel Resnik, only there’s wit & gender commentary below the clever veil of champagne.”-The Advertiser. She’s a very mean director, but a very nice teacher who teaches Clownprov workshops & intensives.

Edu Díaz (he/him/él) is a Fulbright-awarded performer, theater producer, and writer from the Canary Islands based in NYC. Edu has performed in several plays & films, such as Smoking Club (129 Rules) and the upcoming Third Week. This summer he will perform in Twin Towers at The Players Theatre as he keeps developing Fantastic Mr. S, his solo show that premiered last October at the United Solo Festival (Theatre Row).

Jackie Skinner Comedian & creator of Lies We Tell Ourselves, a solo character show showcased at PIT Solocom, Improv Boston, Chicago Sketchfest and Austin Sketchfest, selected as one of Timeout NY’s “Top things to do this weekend” in ’22. She’s also performed stand-up in shows and festivals all over the US, including the Boston Comedy Arts Festival, iO Chicago’s Comedy Festival, Seattle’s Highlarious Festival, and Funniest Person in Austin, to name a few.