Staged Reading: Wendy and the Neckbeards Creative

Company Director

David Lee

David Lee has served as the Artistic Director at Avenue Arts Marketplace and Theatre since the conception of the theatre company in 2017. He has had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of actors including youngsters as the Director of the young actors workshop each fall and spring. Some of his favorite shows with the the Junior class are “Annie JR”, “Willy Wonka JR”and “Shrek JR”. David also understands the importance in the development of new works and has formed a company of actors called “Underground” that preforms staged readings of new works. He invites you to check out the season of new works at AvenueArts.org. David is a Canton, Ohio native and attended Malone University where he was trained in the Michael Chekhov Technique of acting and revived and B.A. in Communication, Visual and Preforming Arts.

Company Manager

Emily Hisey

Emily Hisey has loved theatre since she was chosen to play the coveted role of Twinkle the Christmas Angel at age nine - she’s been escaping reality ever since. Past stage credits include Jane Eyre, Dancing at Lughnasa, Doubt, and A Year With Frog and Toad. Emily is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such talented and hardworking artists. “Enjoy the show and thank you for supporting live theatre!”

Original Creative Team

Kari Bentley-Quinn (Playright)

Kari Bentley-Quinn is a playwright based in New York City. Her plays have been presented at or developed with Lark Play Development Center, Artemisia Theater, Pace University, Lesser America, Mission to (dit)Mars, The Chain Theatre, The Secret Theatre, Caps Lock Theater, The Brick Theater, Packawallop Productions, the Access Theater, Fringe NYC, the Play Development Collective, and more. She has been a finalist for the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, the Playwrights Realm and the Public Theater Emerging Writers Group. She has also been an honorable mention on the Kilroys List.

Kari’s full length plays include THE PERMANENT NIGHT (2008 FringeNYC award winner), PAPER CRANES (Backstage Critic's Pick), THE UNLIKELY ASCENT OF SYBIL STEVENS (Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist), THE OCEAN THOUGHT NOTHING (O’Neill NPC Finalist), PREPARED (Rita and Burton Goldberg Award), and THE WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD (Princess Grace Semi-Finalist). She is a founding member of Mission to (dit)Mars, a theater and arts collective based in Astoria, Queens. Kari has a BA in Theatre Arts from Pace University and an MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College, where she studied with Tina Howe, Mark Bly and Arthur Kopit. She was nominated for the Doric Wilson Playwriting Award, and won the Rita and Burton Goldberg Playwriting Prize.