(Babe Reilly) This past fall, John could be seen in Translations at the Irish Rep. Other recent favorites include Autumn Royal, Two by Synge, Lady G, Pigeon in the Taj Mahal, The Weir (three runs, including the virtual run in 2020), and The O'Casey Cycle (2020 Callaway Award) and he was very honored to share the Irish Rep Sustained Excellence Award with Terry Donnelly in 2019. A prominent New York stage actor, John has also performed with Theatre for a New Audience 6 times (most recently in Arin Arbus' The Winter's Tale and Trevor Nunn's Pericles), and many other NYC companies, including Atlantic, Roundabout, Mint, Irish Arts, Pond, La Mama, Coop, and Pearl, most leading American regional theatres. TV includes Boardwalk Empire (recurring), “The Blacklist”, “John Adams”, “The Following”, “Ray Donovan”, “SVU”, “Alpha House”, “High Maintenance”, “Nurse Jackie”, “Lipstick Jungle”. Film includes Kelly Reichardt's First Cow (Time Magazine film of the year 2020), Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man (winter 2023), The Lone Ranger, Emerald City, Misty Button, Freedom. John has narrated over 200 audio-books (Audie winner, SOVA nominee).

(The Gatekeeper) Zoë Watkins trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and toured nationally in the UK before moving to NYC. Off Broadway includes: The Report (NYC and London) When I was a Girl I used to Scream and Shout (Fallen Angel: Theatre Row) The Pigeon In The Taj Mahal (Irish Rep) Agamemnon Home (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble), Rosemary and Time, The Round Room (1st Irish Festival) and most recently Gwendolyn In The Importance of Being Earnest for the Phoenix Theatre Festival in Nyack. Film and TV includes: “Louie”, “The Blacklist”, “Wall Street English”, “Got Skillz”, Weekend at the Agamemnons, and Zoë can be seen as recurring character, Steph, on the Channel 4 (UK) comedy, “Lee & Dean.” www.zoe-watkins.com

(Jasper) John is a New York based singer and actor. A resident member of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, he performs in NYC and on tour as the tenor Nanki-Poo in their reimagined production of The Mikado. John has premiered a number of roles with the cell theatre in their productions of Crackskull Row (also at Irish Repertory Theatre), Larry Kirwan’s Hard Times, Rady & Bloom’s Peter/Wendy, and Marianne Driscoll’s McGoldrick’s Thread and The Biscuit Club. Other local performances have included a turn as John Lawless in the 50th Anniversary concert of Disney's The Happiest Millionaire at Joe's Pub. TV/Film: “FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS), “The Plot Against America” (HBO). Originally from Hammond, IN he is a graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a member of AEA. www.jcmclaughlin.com ig: @portionctrl

(Penny) is a NYC based actor who’s thrilled to be back at The Cell after performing in the November 2023 workshop of Beatrice as Nurse Sybil. Her work as the Morgue Victim in New York’s Premier Haunted Attraction: Blood Manor garnered her a feature in The New York Times, Time Out: New York and other notable media sources. Nicole trained at Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy in commedia dell’Arte and cirque performance, developing her love for physical theater and clowning. She is an actor in the 2023 cohort of the 24 Hours Plays: Nationals where she performed as Raccoon in Rotten is the Flesh at Classic Stage Company. Member of the Soft Brain Theatre Company. Fordham BA Theatre Performance, NYU MA Ed Theatre. nicoleborbone.com

Playwright

Marianne is a longtime collaborator at the cell. Her most recent collaboration was The Biscuit Club in the spring of 2015 also directed by Kira Simring. Her first play, McGoldrick's Thread played to sold out performances at St. Mark's Theatre 80 in the East Village in 2013 as part of the 1st Irish Theatre Festival and won top honors including Best Production, Best Director (Kira Simring) and Best Choreography. Marianne has been creating images and stories her entire life, running her own portrait studio, as well as documenting numerous events on film, both in the U.S and abroad.

Director

Kira Simring is the Director of Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre in NYC, where she has developed and directed new works since 2006. Directing credits include the world premiers of The Women Who Rode Away by Natalia Zukerman (the cell and off the WALL), Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom (Irish Rep), Crackskull Row by Honor Molloy (New York Times Critics’ Pick) and Hard Times: An American Musical by Larry Kirwan (New York Times Critics’ Pick). Kira is a three-time Origin Theatre 1st Irish Award Winner for Best Director.