Meet the 'Lean-To' Team
STEPHEN SHEFFER
Playwright
Stephen is a Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based writer, performer, and teaching artist. His work has been seen on stages & screens (big & small!) all over North America. Plays for the stage include the freshly-penned S.O.S., Private Property (Out of the Box Theatrics, NYC), the award-winning Back To Mine, and the one-acts The Spark (Mastodon / Barrow Group, NYC) and IRMPOV SHOW. He also writes episodic concepts, including: The Innkeepers, Geri Atrick Mayor (Bell Canada), and Archipelago (with collaborator Meghan Hemingway). As an actor, Stephen appeared in Rattlestick's New Country at The Cherry Lane, and sang the iconic 'Ballad of Mack The Knife' in Marvell Rep's Drama Desk-nominated The Threepenny Opera. He's also been seen on-stage at Ars Nova, HERE Arts, Walkerspace, The Barrow Group, Hartford Stage & The Flea. In the comedy world, he is a founding member of the Dirty Little Secrets Improv Show which has been running in NYC's East Village since 2015, and The Quizard of the triviatastic Feelz Right Quiz Night. "The play's the thing!" More at stephensheffer.com.
NLTP debut.
JESSE JOU
Director
Jesse is a director of new and contemporary plays and musicals. Favorite projects include Bruise &Thorn by C. Julian Jiménez (world premiere, New York Times’ Critic’s Pick); I Wanna F*ck Like Romeo & Juliet by Andrew Rincón (world premiere, New Light Theater Project); Cebollas by Leonard Madrid; and The Betrothed by Dipika Guha (Boston Globe Critic’s Pick). He is an alumnus of the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, the Drama League’s Directors Project, the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and the Civilians' R&D Group. He received his MFA in directing from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
NLTP: I Wanna F*ck Like Romeo and Juliet
JOHN ALEJANDRO JEFFORDS
Xavier
John is always the most delighted when he is a part of creating new works!! Other recent works include The Year That Never Was: A Trash Day Special (book by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson), An Axemas Story (at the iconic Players Theatre), and Discovery (Drama Club Productions). Other recent credits: Jesus Christ Superstar (Riverside Theatre), Waitress (A.C.T. of CT). To Stephen - Thank you for bringing me down this path.
NLTP debut.
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LARISA OLEYNIK
Yvonne
Larisa started her career at age eight in a San Francisco production of Les Misérables. TV and film include: The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Baby-Sitters Club, 10 Things I Hate About You, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Mad Men, Hawaii 5-0, and currently Erin & Aaron on Netflix. Favorite recent theatre: West Coast premiere of Miss Lily Gets Boned at LA’s Rogue Machine, one-woman show I Loved I Lost I Made Spaghetti at the Hangar in Ithaca, POTUS at Santa Fe Playhouse, and off-Broadway musical comedy Who’s your Baghdaddy, a NY Times Critics' Pick.
NLTP debut.
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JOSHUA DAVID ROBINSON
Zander
JDR's bio coming soon.
NLTP: War Words
CAT COPELAND
Technical Dierctor
Cat is a Brooklyn-based theatre maker. She graduated from the University of Montevallo with a BFA in Theatre. They are a resident artist with New Light Theater Project and have worked for four summers at Pendragon Theatre as the Technical Director. Highlights include: Madame Butterfly, Twelfth Night.
NLTP: Fog and Ice, This is Government, Room 1214, Night Sings Its Songs, Tracks.
BETHANY FITCH
Company Manager
Bethany is an NYC-based actor and arts administrator. She is a longtime friend of NLTP and served as their Development Associate this fall. She was the Company Manager at Trinity Repertory Company for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and returns to Pendragon Theatre most summers to join their administrative team. She is also a Storyteller with NYC Secrets & Lies and an environmental historian. Her research is published in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. BA in Theatre and Environmental Studies from Bucknell University. @bethanyfitch
NLTP: Fog and Ice, This is Government
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CONNOR GALLERANI
Scenic Designer
Connor's bio coming soon.
NLTP debut.
JENNIE GORN
Sound Designer
Jennie's bio coming soon.
NLTP: This is Government, Night Sings Its Songs, Room 1214, This Is Not a Time of Peace
KRISTA GREVAS
Costume Designer
Krista's bio coming soon.
NLTP: This is Government, Room 1214, Tracks, This Is Not a Time of Peace, The Greatest Hits Down Route 66, War Words, The Lights Are On, According to the Chorus
ELAINE WONG
Lighting Designer
Elaine's bio coming soon.
NLTP: Room 1214, War Words, Everything is Super Great, The American Tradition, Bubba