NY Area Event: Axial Theater Presents Staged Reading of "What The Constitution Means to Me" Starring Cady McClain, Patrick McGuinness, Najah Imani Muhammad and Marissa Lowe

Axial Theatre will present a staged workshop reading of Heidi Schreck's powerful play What the Constitution Means to Me on Friday, March 22, at 7 PM, Saturday, March 23 at 7 PM, and Sunday, March 24, at 3 PM, at Bethany Arts Community, 40 Somerstown Road, Ossining, N.Y.

As a 15-year-old, Heidi Schreck earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human show, Schreck resurrects her teenage self to trace the profound relationship connecting four generations of women with the founding document that shaped their lives. Audience Advisory: Although presented in a thoughtful style, the material contains some discussion of violence against women that some may find triggering

The Axial Theatre production stars Axial Artistic Director and three-time Emmy© Winning actress Cady McClain of Manhattan, alongside Axial Theatre ensemble members Patrick McGuinness of Brewster and Najah Imani Muhammad of the Hudson Valley. For tickets www.Axialtheater.org.

The workshop reading is directed by Axial Associate Artistic Director Nathan Flower, of Ossining, and produced by Managing Director Marisa Lowe, of Peekskill. Tickets are available at axialtheatre.org for $35 adults; $25 seniors; $20 Axial Ensemble members, friends and family; $15 students enrolled in high school or college or Howard Meyer Acting (HMA) classes.

What the Constitution Means to Me was a 2019 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, as well as a Best Play winner and nominee for the Tony Award and other major competitions. In its review of the original Broadway production, The New York Times wrote, “What the Constitution Means to Me is one of the things we always say we want theater to be: an act of civic engagement. It restarts an argument many of us forgot we even needed to have.”

WHO’S WHO 

Cady McClain, Axial Theatre Artistic Director and Actor, is a history-making three-time Emmy© award winner for her roles in daytime television. She has appeared on TV in Law & Order SVU, Cheers, St Elsewhere, Spencer for Hire, and in Home Movie, Retreat, My Favorite Year, Pennies from Heaven and other films. Cady recently performed the one-woman show Shirley Valentine at Cape May Stage (New Jersey) and reprised the role for an Axial fundraiser. Off-Broadway venues include Second Stage, Lincoln Center Theater, Hudson Theater Guild, Westbury and Valley Forge Music Fairs, and the Westbeth Theatre Center. In 2023, Cady performed with The Actors Studio lifetime member Alfredo Narciso in a workshopped reading of Deer for Axial. cadymcclain.com

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An interview with Cady on The LIBBY Show: Video HERE

Patrick McGuinness, an Axial Theatre ensemble member since 2017, has performed in Axial productions and with GoJo Productions, Westchester Collaborative Theater and Philipstown Depot Theatre. Credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Godspell, South Pacific, Macbeth, Brigadoon, Rope, and Arsenic and Old Lace. Patrick has appeared in feature films, including One-Eyed King, written and directed by Academy Award winner Bobby Moresco and starring William Baldwin, Armand Assante and the late Bruno Kirby. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and the Trinity Rep. Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island.

Najah Imani Muhammad is an Axial Theatre ensemble actor and writer whose acting credits include Mipsterz’s Alhamdu short film (featured in Tribeca & Atlanta Film Festivals), “Mama” in A Raisin in the Sun (Heights Players), and The Dinner Detective, a live improv interactive show in NYC. Najah has served as red carpet host and correspondent for several film festivals. She has taught at Girl Be Heard, The Leadership Program, Kaiser's Room, Beacon Performing Arts Center, Disney Theatrical Group, and co-leads her mother’s non-profit organization, Leaders by Choice. Najah’s podcast, Underrepresented Representatives, is available through Spotify, Apple, and beyond @underreppedreps. @najahknows.

Nathan Flower, Axial Theatre Associate Artistic Director and Director, is the Founder of the Hudson Valley Moving Company – a physical performance collective (HVMCo), the head of Movement Training at Terry Knickerbocker Studio in Industry City, Brooklyn, and AssociateArts Professor at NYU. Recent and Upcoming Credits include the film The Woman Clothed by the Sun starring Amanda Seyfried (dir Mona Fastvold), Season 5 of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime), The World Only Spins Forward (a theatrical reckoning with America’s Opioid Crisis- July 2024), and Victory Garden Plays (Tara Meddaugh) at Westchester Collaborative Theater (June 2024).

Marisa Lowe, Axial Theatre Managing Director and Producer, is an alum of Howard Meyer's Acting Program and the Michael Howard Studios Conservatory. As an Axial ensemble member, she recently appeared in staged readings of Craig Lucas's Ode to Joy and Eric Conger's Zombietown and in Axial's Best of Cactus Flowers production. Marisa appeared in The Night of January 16th with the Manor Club Theatre and in Misha Sinclair's There's a Storm Coming at Westchester Collaborative Theater.

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Get to know Marissa Lowe in this interview on SuzeebehindtheScenes HERE

ABOUT AXIAL THEATRE
Axial Theatre is a 24-year-old not-for-profit institution founded by playwright/director Howard Meyer. It is dedicated to supporting the professional development of the independent voice through audience involvement and is committed to presenting challenging and relevant theatrical experiences. The company and its productions have been reviewed in The New York Times and are supported by the William T. Morris Foundation and ArtsWestchester, among others.