Valley Players AZ Proudly Presents
PLAGUE PLAY
Director: Noah Delgado
Stage Manager: Kaitlyn Kief
Property Design: Maya Thomas and Abbey Sepiol
Scenic Design: Naya Dell and Noah Delgado
Costume Design: Maya Thomas
Lighting Design: Kayla Santos
Sound Design: Allyson Harding
Stage Crew: Abbey Sepiol
Written by Erin Proctor
Cast of Characters:
Moses: Kang Lee
Aaron: Rory Williams
Miriam: Catarina Cisneros
Tzipporah: Mantra Rostami
Moses/Aaron Swing: Jackson Smith
Miriam/Tzipporah Swing: Audrey Hendrix
Anera provides humanitarian assistance and sustainable development to advance the well-being of refugees and other vulnerable communities – including low-income families, displaced people, women and children, older adults, and people with disabilities – in Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Who's Who in the Cast
Rory Williams (AARON) is an actor and voice actor based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is overjoyed to be doing his second show with Valley Players, previously having been in their production of Significant Other. He's also actively working on his own audio drama Afterworld Radio. When not acting, Rory can be seen playing dungeons and dragons, thinking about dungeons and dragons, or playing dungeons and dragons. He also wants you to know that Locusts are the only kosher insect! This is a real, true fact. Look it up. Also look up Afterworld Radio. End of bio... I love you? Yeah, end it there. That's good.
Kang Lee (MOSES) is excited you’ve come to enjoy the show! You may have seen him in previous productions such as Valley Players’ 12 Angry Jurors as Guard or in SSFT’s production of Hamlet as Guildenstern. He hopes you have a wonderful time and remain unharmed and unaffected :)
Mantra Rostami (TZIPPORAH) is excited to be a part of the Arizona debut of The Plague Play. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in neuroscience #YaySTEM. Her previous stage credits include Mojdeh in How to Defend Yourself, Deb in Ordinary Days, Tilly in She Kills Monsters (AriZoni nominee), and Annie in The Play That Goes Wrong. She is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such a talented group of artists and is honored to be part of this creative team. She extends special thanks to her friends and family for their unconditional love and support. Specific shoutouts go to her mom and Mia for drilling lines with her. ig: @mantrarostami
Catarina Cisneros (MIRIAM) is extremely excited to be a part of the Arizona premiere of “Plague Play” with such an incredible group of artists. She is an Arizona State University Alum, graduating with degrees in theatre and film. She was involved in numerous ASU student films in different capacities and acted in the ASU production of the play, “Safe at Home” at Tempe Diablo Stadium. She hopes everyone can find something meaningful in this beautiful play.
Audrey Hendrix (TZIPPORAH/MIRIAM SWING) started acting on the Scottsdale Community College stage and has performed in shows across the valley. Previous stage credits include Virgilia in Coriolanus, Lula in Dutchman, and Anne Putnam in the Crucible. She extends her gratitude to her amazing friends and family for all their love and support. Audrey is so excited to be a part of this amazing production with this group of talented artists.
Jackson Smith (MOSES/AARON SWING) is an actor in Arizona, who loves new challenges and opportunities. If he’s not acting onstage or working on films, you can find him enjoying basketball, martial arts and many other fun activities. He hopes all of you enjoy the show!!
Who's Who in the Crew
Noah Delgado (DIRECTOR) is a muti-disciplinary artist based in Phoenix, AZ. He is thrilled to be directing his second show as part of the Valley Players team! While known primarily for his work as an actor in the local theatre community, he has worked extensively both on and off the stage in service of bold and innovative theatre. He served as a Deviser and Assistant Dramaturg for the ariZoni award-winning play Anthropocene by Dr. Rachel Bowditch as well as the Vision Keeper and Playwright of Adam of the Ash, an original play inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. With a passion for unique and challenging art, he is so excited to be bringing this incredible story to life.
Allyson Harding (SOUND DESIGN) is an Arizona-based actor and playwright. You may have seen her latest work "Grieving Girls and their Totally Magical Sourdough Spell," produced by Valley Players in the fall. Onstage, you may have seen her as Emily in "Our Town" at CGCC, or as Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" at SCC.
Kaitlyn Kief (STAGE MANAGER) is a theatrical artist in the valley who loves bringing new work to life, and she is so excited to help bring “Plague Play” to life for its Arizona debut! This is her third Valley Players show, having directed previous work like “Many Winding Roads” and “Grieving Girls and Their Totally Magical Sourdough Spell”. She is also a recent addition to the Valley Players board, and is overjoyed to be given the opportunity to keep bringing new, exciting, and unique shows to the valley. Thank you to all who helped bring this show to life, and thank you for coming to see it!! Local theatre would not exist without your support!
Kayla Santos (LIGHTING DESIGN) is a theatre artist specializing in acting, writing, and directing with a passion for making stages bright! You may have seen her work at ASU in shows like “Safe at Home” and “Iphigenia: The King’s Child” or her various productions as Company Manager of Prism Theatre Co.! This is her first production with Valley Players as a designer and newly appointed board member and looks forward to many more! -She wants to dedicate (her design work in) the show to her grandfather Daniel Santos.
Erin Proctor (PLAYWRIGHT) is over the moon to be making her regional and west of the Mississippi debut with Valley Players. She is based in NYC and is a resident artist with LakehouseRanchDotPNG, an experimental theatre company based in South Florida. RECENT: Overlap (LakehouseRanchDotPNG). UPCOMING: Alternative Canon (The Tank NYC), Deconstructing a Human Sacrifice (Center at West Park), and Don’t Call Me Virgin (Midnight Snack Productions). Her work is published through 1319 Press. Visit erincproctor.com for more :)
Maya Thomas (PROPS/COSTUMES) is an Arizona native actress and singer with a passion for theatre, music, and creating art. She is proud to have created a space for all artists to enjoy and feel safe. She would like to thank her valley players team noah, allyson, kaitlyn, and kayla for all. They do. She has enjoyed being involved with many productions such as GRIEVING girls and their totally magical sourdough spell (florence) , (Into the Woods (Witch), Cinderella (Gabrielle), and Anastasia (Countess Lily) . Enjoy the show!
Abbey Sepiol (STAGE CREW/PROP DESIGN) is helping backstage working crew in a community theater show for the first time. She typically can be found on the stage, but for this show she has assisted anyway she possibly could from costumes, to props, and to the set. “I really want to thank everyone in this production for not only bringing this show to life, but bringing me back to life. I have never met more supportive and kind people so truly a huge thank you to cast and crew. You all bring light to the stage and to my life.”
Director's Note
When I first read Plague Play, I was struck by how much it dared to tackle. It’s a reimagining of a Bible story with contemporary language that draws a clear parallel between God’s wrath as inflicted upon Egypt and familiar cycles of state-sanctioned violence, war, oppression and compounding tragedy. It’s a funny, moving and chilling exploration of two questions that weigh heavily on me: Does violence simply beget more violence? When is enough tragedy enough?
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While I always intended this production to respond to current events, I was woefully unprepared for just HOW relevant this play would prove to be. The months since we started planning to stage Plague Play saw escalations in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the capture of Nicolas Maduro, and the initiation of the 2026 Iran War. In the midst of all of this, the amount of innocent civilians brutally killed has only increased, both abroad and at home. I’ve shed tears thinking of the children whose lives have been destroyed by this constant bombing and killing. Through it all, I read and reread this play; seeing in the characters something familiar and haunting.
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In their debates over their guilt, their struggles and their desire to be righteous and good people, the characters show a familiar striving to escape the quagmire of global violence. These characters speak of an amorphous end to their suffering, one that we all know will never come. And yet, they keep talking about it, and God continues to bombard Egypt with devastation. Rivers of blood flow over there… but not here. Disease wreaks havoc over there… but not here. Balls of fire fall from the sky and destroy schools over there… but not here.
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That’s not to say this play is without hope. There is plenty to be had. But hope is not something that one plucks out of the air. Hope is something that must be nurtured, cared for and maintained. Violence doesn’t stop if we wait long enough for it to. Violence only stops when we choose to stop it. When we finally speak up to the ones who have power and say “This is unacceptable! Not in my name!”
As you watch this incredible piece, I hope you see something familiar in the conversations it's having. I hope you see your own friends and family in these characters. I hope that you watch this and feel many things: empathy, disgust, sorrow, but above all I hope you feel hope.
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Tikkun Olam. Repair the world.
- Noah Delgado