THE HONEY TRAP (World Premiere)
BY LEO MCGANN
DIRECTED BY MATT TORNEY
in association with the Kennedy Center’s Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program
November 2 - 19, 2023 | Atlas Performing Arts Center - 1333 H St NE, Washington, D.C.
"smoking hot...a riveting world premiere...the production shouts the talent of up-and-coming playwright Leo McGann" - The Washington Post
The Honey Trap is one of the finest productions of the year." -Unprofessional Opinion
"The Honey Trap is one of the best plays of the 2023-2024 DMV season. It is just November and there are many more productions to come, but this world premiere is that good." - MD Theatre Guide
ABOUT THE PLAY
When two off-duty British soldiers go for a drink on the outskirts of Belfast in 1979, they meet two local girls. What seems like a typical night at the pub turns into something much darker. Decades later, reliving that night for an American oral history project, Dave reopens old wounds that send him back to Belfast in search of answers and revenge.
FEATURING
Jonathan Holmes, Rebecca Ballinger, Jordan Essex, Jared Graham, Emily Erickson, Mallorie Stern, and Lise Bruneau*
*Member - Actors' Equity Association
CREATIVE TEAM
Matt Torney (director), Nadir Bey (scenic design), Alberto Segarra (lighting design), James Garver (sound design), Heather Lockard (costume design), Katherine Offut (props), Adrien Alice Hansel (dramaturg), Rex Daugherty (producer/choreography), Charlotte La Nasa (assistant producer/community engagement).
Jonathan Holmes (Dave Henson) is an actor, voiceover artist, teacher and director with over 30 years of professional experience. He has appeared on stages across Canada, UK, Australia and the US including work with Bristol Old Vic, Liverpool Everyman, Kneehigh Theatre, Richmond Gateway, Vancouver Arts Club, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Arena Stage. He has over 50 Film and Television credits to his name including Rogue, Descendants, Almost Human, The 4400, Stargate: Atlantis and Peter Greenaway’s Nightwatching. Recent highlights include creating the role of The Childchewer in the Steven Spielberg helmed The BFG and three seasons as William Barry on the Netflix series Anne with an E. His voice can be found on numerous animated series and can currently be heard as Runaan on the Emmy award winning Netflix series The Dragon Prince.
Rebecca Ballinger is an actor and comedian. Previously with Solas Nua: Pegeen in The Playboy of the Western World. Other credits include The Outsider and Shakespeare in Love at Keegan Theatre, A Civil War Christmas and The Member of the Wedding at 1st Stage, Every Christmas Story Ever Told and Beehive at NextStop Theatre, as well as Make Way for Ducklings and Fairytales in the Sun at Adventure Theatre. She has also understudied Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Studio Theatre as well as Melancholy Play and The Caucasian Chalk Circle at Constellation Theatre. Becca has a BA in Theatre from The University of Maryland. RebeccaBallinger.com
Jordan Essex (Bobby) DC AREA: Imagination Stage: The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Signature Theater: Passing Strange; Round House Theatre: The Tempest; Constellation Theatre: Once On This Island; Folger Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; PG Shakespeare:The Tempest; Faction of Fools: Love Like Tuesday; Rorschach Theatre: The Toxic Avenger; Artscentric: Little Shop of Horrors; Maryland Ensemble Theater: Bob Marley’s: Three Little Birds; TOUR: National Players: A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Raisin in the Sun. EDUCATION: Catholic University: BM in Musical Theatre
Jared H. Graham he/him (Young Dave) is a DMV based performer, educator, director, and producer. Jared holds an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia dell’ Arte in Arezzo, Italy and a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Memphis. He is the Director of Education for the Keegan PLAY-RAH-KA Theatre Education program and has appeared on several local stages. Previous credits in the DMV area include Keegan Theatre: N, An Irish Carol; NextStop Theatre: Frankenstein; 4615 Theatre: Macbeth, Dinner, Betrayal; Adventure Theatre: The Fisherman and his Wife; PG County’s Shakespeare in the Park: Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing; Chesapeake Shakespeare: Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet; Olney Theatre Center/ National Players: Othello, The Great Gatsby, Alice in Wonderland; Brave Spirits: As You Like It, The Changeling, The Duchess of Malfi; and The Team Room Foundation: The Team Room.
Emily Erickson (Lisa) is an actor, coach, music director, and multi-instrumentalist based in DC. Recent credits include People, Places & Things (Studio Theatre), Our Black Death (Taffety Punk), Fitting In (Arts on the Horizon), Much Ado About Nothing (Chesapeake Shakespeare), STATIC: Noise of a New Musical (Flying V), Man Covets Bird (Spooky Action), Richard II (Her Majesty & Sons). Emily serves on the NTI faculty at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and teaches at Shakespeare Theatre Company and Round House Theatre. Proud MFA graduate of The Academy at STC/GWU. BFA: NYU. @emierickson
Mallorie Stern (Kirsty) is thrilled to make her Solas Nua debut! She is a company member at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) and a local teaching artist. MET credits: CraftTown, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, The Rainbow Fish Musical, Meteor Shower, The Rocky Horror Show. Recent regional credits: Mr. Popper’s Penguins at Imagination Stage, Bright Star at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Noises Off at Other Voices Theatre. She holds a B.A. in Musical Theatre and Public Relations & Strategic Communication from American University. Upcoming: Inebriated Holiday and Elephant & Piggie: We’re in A Play at MET.
Lise Bruneau* (Sonia): Actor, director, and New York transplant to DC, Lise makes her Solas Nua debut with this production. Most recently she appeared in Silent Sky at Asolo Rep, Hamlet and Oresteia in NYC at the Park Avenue Armory, and was on Broadway in The Cherry Orchard at Roundabout. Local audiences have seen her in People, Places, and Things at Studio Theatre; Othello (Emilia), Hamlet, and The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare Theatre; and Broken Glass and Brighton Beach Memoirs (HH Nominated, directed by Matt Torney) at Theater J, among others. As a director, she’s helmed productions for Chesapeake Shakespeare Co., the Academy for Classical Acting, and MetroStage; while continuing to cause trouble at Taffety Punk: leading the Riot Grrrls and Bootlegs, and lots in between. Lise trained at RADA and is proud to be a Taffety Punk.
Karen Lange (Swing) is a DC based theatre artist. Selected credits: Happy Days (Mead Theatre Lab), Henry IV Part and The Trojan Women Project (Brave Spirits), Assassins (Pallas Theatre Collective), The Events (Theatre Alliance), TAME (Avant Bard), A Bright Room Called Day (Nu Sass), The Carolina Layaway Grail (The Welders), A Perfect Arrangement (Source Festival), Ouroboros: Dawn of the Cabaret (TBD Immersive), and A Killing Game (dog&pony dc). She is Artistic Director of Pinky Swear productions, where she co-wrote, performed in, and produced two shows that won Best Musical/Best Overall at Capital Fringe Festival - Over Her Dead Body and Bell Wringer. She’s thrilled to be working with Solas Nua for the first time. Karenleslielange.com
Gil Mitchell (Swing/Understudy) is a multi-hyphenate artist and educator, currently based out of DC. Recent credits include: Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, All's Well That Ends Well, (STCA); King Lear (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Romeo and Juliet, Comedy of Errors (American Shakespeare Center); Coriolanus (Polaris Shakespeare Company) The Sea Voyage, King Lear (Fireside Shakespeare Company). This is Gil's first production with Solas Nua. gilmitchell.com
