July 1 – August 14, 2022
by Meg Berger, directed by Sarah Hawkins Rusk
TO BOOK THIS SHOW, or any of our other Driveway Shows, visit our DRIVEWAY THEATRE page
MEET THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Stephanie VanAlstine (Taylor) is excited to be making her Open Book Theatre debut in It’s My Party! She is an Ann Arbor local performer who recently made the move back to Michigan after living in New York City and completing her Masters in Music at NYU. Some of her favorite roles she’s played in the past have been Mary Lane in Reefer Madness, Gertrude Stein in the NYC Debut of the Stephen Flaherty musical Loving Repeating, and Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls. She is also a voice teacher and is the owner of VanAlstine Voice, a thriving in person and online studio for singers.
Danielle Wright (Max) is excited to return to Open Book! Some of her most recent roles include Lydia Wickham in The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley with Open Book Theatre, Shelley in Book’d a virtual production with Theatre Nova, Lydia Wickham in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley at Open Book Theatre, #2 in The Wolves at Slipstream Theatre Initiative, Almost Maine at The Snug Theatre, Kaylie in Unsportmanlike Conduct at Outvisible Theatre Company, and multiple credits at Little Door Theatre. She attended Wayne State Theatre and received her BFA in Acting. When not acting, she loves teaching theatre and doing princess impressions! She hopes you have fun and enjoy this adorable show!
Meg Berger (Playwright) is excited to be back with Open Book Theatre after writing last summer’s Advantage Rule and two plays for our Weekend Wonders Online New Play Festival (The Patriarchy Isn’t Going to Smash Itself in February and Love is an Ocean of Emotion in April). She has been a part of the Metro Detroit theatre community for the last decade as an actor, writer, stage manager, costumer, and director. Her one-acts have been performed at the Rosedale Community Players One-Act Festival, Ridgedale Community Players One-Act Festival, and BoxFest Detroit. When she isn’t writing scripts, she toils away on the manuscript for her romance novel, which is untitled, but features plenty of consensual smooching!
Sarah Hawkins Rusk (Director), a native of Indiana, has been working as an actress, director, and educator across the country for the last twelve years. Sarah received her MFA from Wayne State University and BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. At Open Book, Sarah has directed Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Wonder of the World, and Emilie, and performed as Ada Lovelace in Ada and the Engine. Sarah is a certified teacher in the Michael Chekhov technique and teaches theatre at University of Detroit Mercy.
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