Merri Biechler

Tammy Faye Bakker was the sweetheart of Christian TV in the 1980's, until scandal and fraud brought the empire crashing down. As Tammy Faye nears the end of her life, she attempts a comeback. In a fevered dream, she enlists the men in her life to audition for one final TV show. "Tammy Faye's Final Audition" goes beyond the makeup and the tears to the naked truth.

"'Tammy Faye's Final Audition' is relentless, a force of energies alternatively touchingly sad and truly funny." -Eames Armstrong, DC Metro Theater Arts, 4-1/2 stars

"The result is funny, entertaining, and surprisingly moving look at the real life behind an unreal celebrity, staged as affectionate satire without condescension or scorn." -Joshua Buursma, Washington City Paper

"Solid directing by Dennis Lee Delaney. Biechler's play...is a swiftly moving and multilayered creative work. C. David Russell's costumes and Mitch Ely's wigs transform the actors into those people we know well." -Jennifer Perry, BroadwayWorld.com

"Shelley Delaney is fearless, fearsome, and thoroughly transporting. There is nary a moment when she doesn't have you in the palm of her actor's hand, and she takes us to surprising and powerful places. She turns on a dime when called upon. It's a performance that impresses an audience while honoring her subject. Wow." -Christopher Henley, DC Theatre Scene, 5 stars

“Touching, amusing and ultimately inspiring, 'Tammy Faye's Final Audition' transcends easy stereotypes about the teary-eyed televangelist. Deft writing, resonant acting and a vivid design help ensure that the 85-minute one-act packs a punch in exploring a distinctly American saga about celebrity, religion, television, suffering and redemption.” -Michael Grossberg, Columbus Dispatch

College freshman Katie considers herself to be a Real Girl. When beauty queen Dakota announces she's running for Miss Freshman B Dorm, Katie joins the race in the name of Real Girls everywhere. But in an age of Internet images and instant fame, how does a girl stay real? "Real Girls Can't Win" is a comedy with consequences.

"When Mae Benjamin moves back home to Oklahoma to care for her terminally ill father, she imagines moments of reconciliation and grace. But as her father’s health declines, his obsession with the Sci-Fi Network and creating a machine to deliver him to another dimension intensifies. Using the machine, Mae summons her mother for guidance, and with humor and compassion strives to reach her final goal…to give her father a good death." The play works beautifully as a reading and has been read at medical and nursing schools around the country to address the difficult topics of death and palliative care.

You think you know the classic Dickens “A Christmas Carol.” But what if the story was set in Appalachia in 1907 and old Eb Scrooge owned the local coal mine? What if Bob Cratchit helped organize the mine workers, and Fezziwig’s holiday party featured local musicians playing live onstage? Spinning the traditional ghost story and tale of redemption, “An Appalachian Christmas Carol” honors Appalachia’s rich coal mining and labor union heritage, while simultaneously celebrating the spirit of the season. This is a joyful story of redemption, rooted in rural storytelling and intertwined with regional traditional music.

It’s America. Almost now. An underground movement of young women calling themselves Civilians are strapping bombs to their backs and blowing up Government Officials. Bombs are the new black. Someone has to bury what’s left of these dead girls. Someone has to stand up for the Government Officials. And someone has to tattoo the girl’s identity to her foot before she makes her delivery. In this new world, five women persist in finding hope and humor in their new role as survivors.

“What appears cryptic at first will be made clear by the end of the play and when all those pieces align, the resulting picture is one that will make you think long and hard about the consequences of our actions today. OCCUPATION’s message packs a powerful punch.” – Ellen Dostal, Broadway World dot com

“‘Occupation’ will haunt you. While we go about our daily business determined not to believe that the world as we have known it is coming to an end, there is a still small voice within us that asks, ‘But what if….’” – Hollywood Fringe reporter Susan Lowry

“‘Occupation’ manages to combine a rather high-concept world and premise with grounded, human stories that work perfectly on a small stage. … In today’s political climate, these messages ring more true than they perhaps ever should, and you’ll likely leave the theater wondering how you might react in a similar situation.” - Erin Conley, On Stage and Screen

“‘Occupation’ at the 2016 Fringe Festival has stayed with me, a genuinely challenging piece that in retrospect maybe should be staged again, perhaps even expanded in the wake of the election. Taking place amidst a dystopian (but not, just to be precise, totalitarian) future America, it follows a group of women in that future time trying to make their way, heal their souls, make peace with the world, and decide for themselves the right thing to do. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet the depth of how this one-hour play explored that idea reminds me more than anything of a really profoundly beautiful haiku. -David Zahir, Night-Tinted Glasses, Dozen Best of 2016 (Los Angeles)

“Beautiful and thought provoking. This is not my favorite style of theatre (it’s quite abstract), but that being said, I was thoroughly engaged and captivated the entire time. The cast is so strong (particularly Ashe, Baker and Alexander) and the work they do with the script is stunning. There are some truly incredible scenes, and the whole thing will definitely have you walking away discussing what you just saw.” -Hollywood Fringe certified reporter Kristen Boule

“It is a wonderful reminder that all you really need is an empty space along with good writing to tell a powerful story.” - Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative

It’s about Dennis, who designs smart bombs. It’s about Ellen, his wife, who runs away to clown college. It’s about Hannah, their daughter, who counts the dead. It’s about Dark Girl, who may or may not exist. It’s about a family blown apart. It’s about bingo.

Dennis has suffered traumatic brain injury at the hands of a suicide bomber. As he sits in his hospital room, he hears the bingo game down the hall. Because his brain isn't working in a linear fashion, his thoughts and memories aren't either. Each scene in the interior of the play is designated with a bingo ball number. When that ball is drawn live from the bingo cage onstage, that scene is performed. The random quality of the bingo mimics a traumatized brain trying to make sense of a chaotic world. With 3,628,800 possible scene orders, something singular happens: the audience sees the play for the first time, because it is the first time.