2025 New Works Festival
Four staged readings of brand new shows.
September 18-20, 2025
Art House North, St. Paul, MN
Missed the Boat Theatre is proud to host its first New Works Festival on September 18-20, 2025 at Art House North in Saint Paul, MN. Out of over 100 submissions, four plays were chosen to be read dramatically onstage, in front of the playwright, director, and an audience. This is one of the final stages of development before these shows are ready to be produced fully. This festival is dedicated to the development of shows written from a Catholic Christian worldview.
Home by Fleur Alys Dobbins
Long Shot by Fr. Kyle Kowalczyk and Chad Berg
How to Supervise Women by Lou Clyde
The Martin Sisters by Samantha Vargo and Olivia Baum
Special acknowledgement to our runners-up: The Lost Art of the Private Eye by Hannah Reller and Questions for My Mother by Kiley Lawrence.
Home
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Cast List
Gwen Gmeinder as Maryrose
Michelle Adam as Elizabeth (Beth)
Jayne Windnagel as Susan (Sue)
Christopher DeVaan as Trenton (Trent)
Mark Geis as Justin
Angela Cahill as Genevieve (Gen)
Ana Martin as Miss Trudy (Miss Tru)
Molly Miner as Miss Ada
Maddie Hubbly as Miss Rebecca
Brad Vanasse as Father EsperanzaStage Directions read by Mara Teefy Hertelendy
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FLEUR ALYS DOBBINS is an actress, singer, playwright, and composer. Under the banner of Apostle Theatre: Theatre for the Soul, her works are devoted to revealing God’s presence through art. Her play, Home, about a family coping with Alzheimer’s, was written as a prayer of deliverance and conversion. She is also the creator of Storytellers Rite, an immersive storytelling experience for seekers of creative exploration and sacred
discovery into the path of joy, clarity, and becoming.
Fleur recently performed her one-woman musical Who’s My Girl? at the Fort WorthInternational Fringe Festival. She is the author of Hushabye, a sung-through musical about the shaping of a girl by one generational lie, and The Light of Kyle, a short story about a young boy who dies and goes on a thrilling journey to heaven. Her faith-filled articles can be read on her Substack, Little Yellow Bird and The Dreamer.
Fleur has performed on and off Broadway, in regional productions, TV, and independent films and has worked on new musicals in the recording studio, including The Sweet Potato Queens by Grammy Award–winner Melissa Manchester. In New York, she was seen as Lizzie in The Rainmaker at the Sheen Center and received Outstanding Actress for her performance in the Short Subject Play, Between Men, at the Midtown International Theatre Festival.
Fleur holds a BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University and a certificate of study in acting Shakespeare from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. fleuralysdobbins.com
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ELIZABETH TEEFY brings 18 years of professional theater experience in acting and is a member of Actor’s Equity. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and holds an MA in theater and dramaturgy. Elizabeth has worked internationally in Italy, Brazil, and London, as well as in New York City as a performer, and directed numerous plays for adults and children.
Thursday, September 18 at 7 PM
Written by Fleur Alys Dobbins
Directed by Elizabeth Teefy McGregor
It’s 2018 in Texas where five siblings traverse a rocky landscape: the caretaking of their elderly mother, Maryrose, who is fighting tooth and nail against the onslaught of Alzheimer’s. Maryrose, a southern matriarch, must now relinquish her long and coveted control as the children make the difficult decision to move her to a memory care facility - and she flatly does not want to go.
Home, a dramedy, spans the six months before the passing of Maryrose from summer through Christmastime. Act one occurs in Maryrose’s own home as negotiations are managed, decisions are made, and realities are intensified. Act two takes place in an altogether foreign place, the Home; another paradigm with new helpers, much needed wisdom, unexpected arrivals… and one conversion no one saw coming. Before the passing of Maryrose, what has long been in the dark will explode into a miracle of light. Home contemplates where, and what, “home” really is and if it is ever too late to find it.
Long Shot
Friday, September 19 at 7 PM
Written by Fr. Kyle Kowalczyk
Music by Chad Berg
Directed by Michael Conroy
Music Direction by Josh Wang
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Adapted from a screenplay by Haynes Brooke
Melvin had his whole life planned out, and used all of his actuarial skills to avoid every risk that could derail that plan. It was working great, until he met Christa. Then it was like someone tampered with the odds of probability and nothing added up anymore. First, he is diagnosed with a very rare and deadly disease, then his childhood friend convinces him to spend the rest of his short and meaningless life doing all the things he’s missed out on, like asking out a girl––the first girl he sees––which of course happens to be Christa. Then, because, of course he can’t tell her he’s in love with her when he’s dying, he does something dumb instead like playing the slot machines, and wouldn’t you know it he wins a trip to the moon! (You can’t make this stuff up!) So, now he really can fulfill his lifelong dream––that he had stuffed down to the bottom of his soul when his parents died––of flying to the moon, which really will be awesome and a very sweet ending to a very crazy story, except… she won’t be on the moon. So, what should he do now?
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Michael Koester as Melvin Saline
Tamara May as Christa Petersen
Ben Stefonowicz as Deke
Rachel Audi as Sally Petersen
Payton Morris as Ensemble
Sam Patet as Ensemble
Nic Persoon as Ensemble
Michael Conroy as Ensemble
Bella Schaps as Ensemble
Veronica Kramer as Ensemble
Lara Moll as EnsembleStage Directions read by Rob Conroy
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FR. KYLE KOWALCZYK is one of the co-founders of Missed the Boat Theatre and its Chief Visioning Officer. He fell in love with theatre his sophomore year of high school and wrote his first play his senior year. He went on to major in television production with a minor in theatre, and after graduating college received a certificate in writing from Act One, an intensive Hollywood- based screenwriting program for Christian artists. While he was in seminary, he got a master’s in Catholic studies and founded the St. Paul Seminary Theatre, producing, writing, directing, and acting in plays until he was ordained in 2016. He considers MtBT his apostolate and has been truly blessed to see how many devoutly Catholic artists have been impacted by this ministry. “When we do theatre, we are many parts but one body, giving a beautiful gift to our brothers and sisters, all for the greater glory of God!”
CHAD BERG is making his composing debut with Long Shot. A classically trained singer, Chad was the founder and arranger of the University of St. Thomas’ male a cappella group, the Summit Singers. His most recent stage appearances were the original production of CYA (Tyler) and MtBT’s cabarets. Chad’s compositional style draws on elements from the musical theatre he grew up with—the stylistic variety of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the sweeping ballads of Wicked, the raw vulnerability of Dear Evan Hansen, and the musical motifs (and yes, the rapping!) of Hamilton. Outside of music, Chad works in banking and enjoys spending time with his wife and two young girls. He is deeply grateful to MtBT, especially Fr. Kyle, for the opportunity to bring Long Shot to life, and he looks forward to one day returning to the stage alongside his daughters when they are old enough.
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MICHAEL CONROY is a Minnesota-born actor and director with a particular passion for bringing new theatrical works to life. A theatre performance BFA graduate of Creighton University ’14, Michael has participated in every MtBT production to date (including Paulus in CYA and directing the past two cabaret fundraisers), and is humbled by the trust given to him to bring Long Shot to the stage. Offstage, Michael is a proud uncle of four and enjoys playing trivia with friends and family and traveling around the world in his finite free time. Up next: The Christmas Pickle with Seasons Dinner Theatre and directing MtBT’s June 2026 production.
OSH WANG is a musician specializing in choral conducting, organ, and piano. He currently serves as Director of Sacred Music at the Church of Saint Mary in St. Paul, leading the schola and polyphony choir and curating a growing program of guest musicians. He is also an assistant organist at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. In addition to his church work, Josh is the choir director at Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello and teaches sacred music. Starting this fall, he will teach music at the Saint Augustine School in Mendota Heights. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and son and enjoys cooking and film photography in his free time.
How to Supervise Women
Saturday, September 20 at 2 PM
Written by Lou Clyde
Directed by Christina Malloy
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It’s 1942 and the Consolidated Electronics leadership team is faced with hiring women for factory jobs ordinarily held by men. But women in factories scare the hell out of them. The newly hired female assembly team on line 3C breaks all stereotypes and delivers excellence with comedy and heart. How to Supervise Women is a poignant and touching historical comedy with a topical social message.
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Leo Martin as George Perroni
Andrew Schafer as Herman Mueller
Elizabeth Schafer as Loretta Beutel
Valerie Martin as Shirley Kaminski
Monica Clarke as Millie Kram
Alexandra Brutus as Joyce JohnsonStage Directions read by Abigail Oldenberg
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LOU CLYDE is an award-winning playwright living in South Carolina.
Pouf! was selected as a winner in the SheNYC Arts New Play festival and was presented at the Connelly Theatre in New York in July 2021. Pouf! was also awarded first place in the 2020 Centre Stage Theatre New Play Contest. Pouf! is published by Dramatists Play Service and is scheduled to be staged in two markets in the U.S. and Canada in 2025. Heck the Dolls with Chardonnay in a Box was a finalist in the 2023 Centre Stage Theatre New Play Contest. Her newest play, Stilt Girl, represented South Carolina at the SETC Convention earlier this year. Lou’s short plays have received accolades and have been staged in Los Angeles, Tampa, and Gulfport, Florida. Senior Discount was awarded best short play at the 2023 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival. Lou was awarded Erma Bombeck Humor Writer of the Month in January 2024. She loves comedy and her humor has been influenced by the works of Erma Bombeck, David Sedaris, and Tina Fey. She is obsessed with Schitt’s Creek. -
CHRISTINA MALLOY—Since performing in Fr. Kyle’s Moonshine Abbey in 2021, Christina has been an instructor, director, and theatre artist for MtBT. Originally from California, her training is in devised theatre, dramaturgy, and Bogart and Suzuki techniques. Creating theatre for the glory of God is her passion, especially using her gifts to bring healing through methods of acting. She tries to live by Karol Wojtya’s (St. John Paul II’s) words to artists: “We have to admit that the greatest talent of all that we possess is the talent of our own humanity. This is the greatest talent...Because God paid for our humanity.”
The Martin Sisters
Saturday, September 20 at 7 PM
Written by Samantha Vargo and Olivia Baum
Directed by Jaclyn Mack
Music Direction by Corrin Rome
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In The Martin Sisters, a family of five sisters and their father wrestle with their family ties, faith in God, and–above all–what to do with the rest of their lives. Inspired by classic sisterhood stories like Little Women and Sense and Sensibility, this play tells the true story of a band of sisters coming of age in a Catholic way. Set in late 19th-century France, their family includes three members (Thérèse, Louis, and Zélie) who went on to be officially canonized as saints in the Catholic Church. What was it about their family life that led to such holy outcomes? What were the sisters like who haven’t been declared saints? And what does it mean to hear the voice of God? Follow along with Marie, Pauline, and the whole Martin family to find out–and be inspired by sisters who learned that “the good Lord does not do things by halves; He always gives what we need. Let us then carry on bravely.” –St. Zélie Martin
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Emma Knapik as Marie Martin
Bernadette O'Keefe as Pauline Martin
Catherine Kracht as Léonie Martin
Monica Kracht as Céline Martin
Lucy Kracht as Thérèse Martin
Nikelle Morris as Zélie Martin
Marcela Hedrich as Sr. Marie-Dosithèe
Fr. Aric Aamodt as Père Pichon
Christopher Mogel as Louis MartinStage Directions read by Clare Kracht
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SAMANTHA VARGO has over a decade of experience at professional theaters, including several which specialize in creating original theatrical works and thus offered the opportunity for Sam to learn and develop skills as a director, deviser, and writer. She has worked on projects including a staged reading and developmental workshop of David Reiser’s Any Other Way; an interactive “alternative college tour” show, Welcome to Campus; an original musical, The Devil’s Auction, written for the 125th anniversary of Drexel University; and a game/theater experience exploring mortality called The End. Sam discovered MtBT within
a week of moving to the Twin Cities in 2019, and immediately found an artistic kinship that has grown as she has been part of the theater’s leadership ever since, transitioning into a full- time role as Executive Director in 2024. She holds a BS in entertainment and arts management from Drexel University and an MA in Catholic studies from the University of St. Thomas.OLIVIA BAUM is a playwright and actress, previously appearing in MtBT’s production of Sense and Sensibility. Several of her short plays have been performed as staged readings with Focal Theatre Lab, including the one-act musical Mirrors, which she was awarded a Focus Artist Grant to produce. Olivia was a contributing writer to the devised play Iowa Odyssey, which went on to receive two national Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival awards. Olivia holds a BA in performing arts and music from Iowa State University and an MA in Catholic studies from the University of St. Thomas. When not writing plays, she can be found on her Iowa homestead with her husband and daughter, where she enjoys planting flowers, playing in the dirt, and raising pastured Berkshire pigs. She puts her writing skills to use, too, penning the monthly farm newsletter (follow along at www.prairiemechanics.com)!
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JACLYN MACK is deeply grateful to return for her 6th journey with MtBT. Her creative path with the company has been rich and varied—taking on roles as stage combat choreographer, actor, prop designer, choreographer, vocal artist, and now, director. A true multidisciplinary artist, Jaclyn moves fluidly through the worlds of film, theatre, music, modeling, dance, and design—each a thread in her ever-evolving tapestry of expression. She is full of gratitude for the extraordinary team of artists, visionary playwrights, and creative souls who poured their talent and passion into bringing these stories to life. “Thank you for allowing me the honor of guiding this journey—and for guiding me in return.”
CORRIN ROME is honored to be music director and accompanist for her first production with MtBT! Prior to The Martin Sisters, she has served as rehearsal accompanist and played in the pit orchestra for two musicals in Maple Grove. Corrin teaches music at St. Croix Catholic School and cantors at various parishes in the metro area. In her free time, she enjoys floral arranging, cooking, and beating her husband at cribbage.
