Director's Note-
It is a wondrous thing to come across a story that resonates with a reader so serendipitously. Five Women is that play for me.
Not only did this play premiere the year I was born, but my mother had the same peach (and pastel blue) colored bridesmaids’ dresses for her wedding the year before. My parents also got married in the summer, and 30 years later, they are the bulk of my inspiration for this production. This one is for you two. “Everything I do, I do it for you.”
When I first read the play in its entirety, I never felt so seen as a young woman about to start her life. I wondered “What does it mean to be a woman?” In any age, any time period. Alan Ball touches on that wonderfully. He brings together five very different women of different ages with very different life experiences into a room to talk. Just talk. No big plot. No big extravagant gestures. Just people having a conversation to work through their problems, laugh about their past, and in the end get to a place where they can enjoy the promise of their future.
Alan Ball’s words peel back the layers these characters have hidden beneath the veil that society has deemed proper. This is a story about the complexity that is woman, the desire to be unique and in turn, be praised for it. “You are glamorous, damn it!”
This is a story about connection and healing. This is a story about hope and the acceptance of others. It is a story about love in all of its forms and how that love can lead us to a wonderful life. Thank you, Alan Ball.
Thank you for coming to see this passion project. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to City Gate Productions for all of their support and encouragement. Thank you to my team for helping this vision of mine come to life. I couldn’t have done it without any of you. Enjoy the show!
Amanda Montoni
Director of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Ashley Gage (Mindy) is making her NY debut! And what better way to make an entrance than with this powerhouse cast. When not performing you can catch Ashley filming self tapes in her room or playing Dungeons and Dragons . . . also in her room. Huge shout out to City Gate Productions for giving her this shot!
Liv Campbell (Meredith) is so excited to be making her New York City debut with City Gate Productions in Five Women Wearing The Same Dress! She is a recent graduate of The University of Evansville where she played roles such as Usher/God/Understanding in Everybody, #00 in The Wolves, and a drunk Monk in Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle. She is so lucky to have been able to work with such an amazing cast and wants to thank her family and friends for all their love and support. You can follow her on @livcamp.bell on Instagram.
Margaret Leisenheimer (Frances) is thrilled to be playing Frances with City Gate Productions! A NYC based actor, Margaret grew up just a few blocks from The Moose Lodge. She earned her BA in Theatre at Binghamton University and is currently repped by UGA Talent. Previous roles include Darlene in 'Honky Tonk Angels' and Beth in 'Little Women', along with the lead role of Muffy in the upcoming horror short 'Midnight Snack'. When Margaret isn't acting, she's reading, writing, and now she's concerned with keeping the alliteration going when she really wanted to say knitting. Follow Margaret on Instagram @_margaretjean and check out her website www.margaretleisenheimer.com.
Regina Lim Fischedick (Georgeanne) is ridiculously, over-the-top, screaming from the rooftops ECSTATIC to be debuting her first straight play in her home of Queens, New York. She is even more thrilled to do it with her beloved theatre group, City Gate Productions, for which she is a very proud Board Member. And a juicy comedy at that?! Jackpot. *confetti* Originally from the Philippines, she’s been active in the Queens community theatre scene since 2009, performing in various musicals and revues for multiple groups she considers her very large and supportive theatre family. Performing keeps her sane on top of her day job. Sending her eternal thanks to Mith Montoni for this opportunity to perform an incredibly fulfilling role in Georgeanne. Hugs to our production crew, Jim, Tim, Thom, Amy, and Anita for the tireless support in putting this show together. All the love and excitable squeeees to all my immensely talented fellow five in the cast: Ginny, Gage, Livvy and Marge - you have all been a frickin' dream to work with, and I'll do it all over again and again in a heartbeat with you all. And finally, to Bubs, for the relentless support on my creative endeavors - love you! This performance is dedicated to Mommy in heaven, George in doggo heaven, and lastly, for my little Finny - thanks for understanding Mama's time away while she pursues her creative outlet - I just always want to make you proud of Mama. Love and light to all! <3
Virginia Harmon (Trisha) is a Queens based actress and director who is thrilled to be back with City Gate after directing last season’s Rabbit Hole. NYC: Morticia in The Addams Family (Maggie’s Little Theater), Julia Budder in It’s Only a Play, Clarissa Hailsham-Brown in Spider’s Web (Parkside Players). Philadelphia: Elaine in The Graduate, Gretchen in Boeing, Boeing (Colonial Playhouse), Ruth in Book of Days (Pulley & Buttonhole Theatre Company), The Girl in The Seven Year Itch (Broadway Theater of Pitman) Film: Death's Embrace, Something Better Along, TV: Amish Haunting for Destination America. She gives her love to an amazing cast and team, her husband Thom and two magical little daughters!
Jordan Leer (Tripp) is an actor, writer, filmmaker and stand-up comedian originally from Constantine, Michigan. After studying film and acting at Michigan State, Jordan moved to Los Angeles where he performed stand-up and improv at The Comedy Store, Marty's, The Hollywood Improv and UCB theater. Jordan's acting can be seen on TV shows including Young Sheldon and the Goldbergs. In Los Angeles he studied the Meisner method under Sanford Meisner pupil William Alderson, and also performed the lead role of Jerry in Edward Albie's 'The Zoo Story' at The Hollywood Fringe festival in 2022. Jordan is an award winning filmmaker and screenwriter with his films and screenplays 'One Night Only', 'Blue Flower', 'NunChuck', 'Desert Wrestling Alliance', and 'Slasher in Paradise' being selected for numerous festivals worldwide. Jordan resides in New York City where he is currently producing his first stage play "Love is an Al Gore Rhythm" and working on his next comedy special "Sex, Drugs, and Open Mics".
Amanda Montoni (Director) is delighted to bring one of her favorite plays to life. Past Directing Credits include The Wedding Singer, The Addams Family, Hairspray, Peter Pan Jr., Beauty and the Beast Jr., and her original work, Visions of Wishes (included in the 2023 Queens Short Play Festival). She has also directed her original podcast play, Boiled Breakup, for Random Thursdays Radio Theatre. She is a Queens and Long Island-based choreographer, dance teacher, performer, author, and writer. You can check out her work on www.amandamontoni.com @amanda.montoni
Gabby Fidis (Assistant Director), is a recent graduate of the NYU Drama Therapy Master of Arts program (September 2021). Currently, she is working at NYC H+H/Bellevue Hospital Center as a Creative Arts Therapist in acute adult inpatient psychiatry. This play marks her first project with Citygate Productions, and her return to community theatre since 2020. She most recently was the Assistant Director/Dramaturg for the award-winning short film Behind Blue Sky produced by NYU’s As Performance series in September 2021 (NADTA “Performance Award” – November 2022). Past directing credits: (Parkside Players) Holmes and Watson, and (Manhattanville College) including scenes from: A Bright Room Called Day (Tony Kushner) and {Proof} (David Auburn). Gabby also conceived/directed her undergraduate senior thesis project entitled, “Life. Loss. Change,” inspired by the five stages of grief as introduced by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Her master’s thesis led to the development of a working idea playbuilding/devised theatre protocol with adult survivors of childhood domestic violence as a therapeutic intervention.
Jim Haines (Stage Manager)—An Actor/Artist from Queens, Jim makes another step in his journey with his Stage Managing debut with City Gate Productions. Next time, he’ll take the bus.
Amy Ellis (Costume Designer) is a 26-year-old, self-taught costume designer and who has a history of working with community theater productions around Queens since 2017 and outfitting such productions as Man of La Mancha (2018) and The Addams Family (2019) with Maggies Little Theater, Newsies (2019) with Royal Star Theater, 1776 (2017), Legally Blonde (2018), Beauty and The Beast (2019) and Seussical (2022) with The JC Players. She also had the pleasure of creating costumes for The Mary Louis Academy’s spring musical for the past two years: Shrek: The Musical Jr. (2021) and Frozen Jr.(2022). During the pandemic Amy dove into another creative endeavor: Mermaiding! She now runs an online business selling made-to-order mermaid tails and artfully designed matching apparel, and in her free time you can usually find her in the pool, swimming her fins off! While she may not appear on stage often, she is happy to use her creative talent to contribute to the experience of each show and would like to thank her community and found-family who serve as her continuing source of inspiration.
Women's Health Resources:
Planned Parenthood - plannedparenthood.org | 1-800-230-PLAN (7526)
NYC Health + Hospitals - nychealthandhospitals.org/services/womens-health/
Tia Clinic - asktia.com | email: sayhello@asktia.com | 1-646-650-5337
LGBTQIA+:
Trevor Project - thetrevorproject.org/resources | Call: 1-866-488-7386 | Text: 678-678
glaad: glaad.org/resourcelist
LGBT National Help Center - LGBT National Hotline: 1-888-843-4564; LGBT National Youth Hotline: 1-800-246-7743; LGBT National Senior Hotline: 1-888-234-7243; LGBT National Coming Out Support Hotline: 1-888-688-5428
Faith-Based Support:
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - nami.org/Get-Involved/NAMI-FaithNet/Resources
Recovering from Religion - recoveringfromreligion.org/support-groups | 1-844-368-2848
Eating Disorders:
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) - nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support | Call/Text: 1-800-931-2237
Our Featured Artist Sandra Vucicevic
This Fall at City Gate Productions
