Paradise Untapped
Staged Reading & Talkback
Written by Jack Wolfram
Directed by Catherine Blake Smith
April 1 & 8, 2025
Deborah Milton, daughter of John Milton, and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley entered our world a lifetime apart in England, born to world-renowned intellectuals and tethered across time by shared fiery intellect, circumstances of birth, and creative compulsion. As both yearn to make a name for themselves and share the stories each feels that only they carry, their isolated connectedness illuminates centuries of stories untold, writers never written, and a Paradise Untapped.
Cast & Crew
Deborah Milton – Hayley James
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley – Miranda Mars
The Creature – Janet Holloway-Thomas
John Milton – Bradley Goodwill
Percy Bysshe Shelley – Ronan Pirkle
Sir Timothy Bysshe Shelley & William Godwin – Gerard Menendez
Stage Directions – Yolanda Suarez
Playwright – Jack Wolfram
Director – Catherine Blake Smith
Costume Designer – Anna Salizzoni
Stage Manager – Erin Lammie
Production Manager – Jane Mattinson
Ticketing and Box Office
Pay-what-you-can tickets
The box office opens 30 minutes before curtain.
Performance Dates
Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Masking & Air Filtration
All audience and staff are required to wear masks in all spaces unless they are actively eating and drinking. The theatre has minimal airflow and air filtration devices, so utilizing masks maintains safety for our performers, patrons, and staff. If you forget your mask, we will have extras available at the box office.
Bios
Jack Wolfram – Playwright
Jack (he/him) is a Kentuckian playwright and Ph.D. student in English at the University of Washington. He’s passionate about interrogating who gets to “make sense” within dominant stories of history, time, and identity, as well as how to embody otherwise. The southern-fried storyteller’s work has received prior support from Theatre Puget Sound, SCRiB LAB, Underground Theater, Digital Development Project, Kennedy Center ACTF, and Emory University. Other plays-in-progress include “ONE FISH, TWO FISH,” a disability- and trans-inclusive heist comedy about schoolteachers and salmon, “BLACK IRISH,” an epistolary queer love story simultaneously unpacking Irish-American assimilation, and more. Thanks for being here!
Catherine Blake Smith – Director
Catherine Blake Smith (she/her) is a dramaturg, director, playwright, and producer. She has been a company and staff member of Annex Theatre since 2012, fulfilling a range of roles from Artistic Director to production manager and marketing director. Recent projects include writing All Caroling for Victorian Christmas Cards: Return 2 Sender (Best Translation) and directing THE PARTICIPANTS! by Jesse Calixto at Annex. Favorite curation projects include Spin the Bottle, Seattle’s longest-running late-night variety show (2015 to 2020) and Script Coordinator for Script Tease (2015 to 2023), which were full-length improvised new plays by local playwrights. In her precious spare time, she enjoys riding her bike and cuddling with her geriatric cat, Coco.
Hayley James – Deborah Milton
Hayley James is a multi-faceted artist and is so excited to debut this work with Annex. She holds a degree in theatre from TWU, and recent acting credits include Latitude Theatre’s Victorian Christmas Cards: Return 2 Sender, Coming Late of Age with RBCC Players, Taproot Theatre Company’s Christmas touring and educational outreach touring, and Eleven in Stranger Things: The Experience. On weekends you can often find her portraying various characters for kids’ birthday parties and local events. When not performing, she cosplays (IG @hayley.makesthings) and has recently published her first book, a poetry collection titled Love & Loss: The Diary of a 20-something Romantic, and is currently preparing her first novel for publication. She hopes you enjoy this production!
Miranda Mars – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Miranda Mars is an actor, a playwright, a musician, a costumer, and perhaps most importantly, an enormous fan of Mary Shelley and her writing. She is so excited to have a chance to bring this version of her to life. You may have previously seen her as Helena in Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Imogen in Cymbeline at the Grassroots Shakespeare Company. If you want to see more of her work, you can find her on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube under @mimsymars.
Janet Holloway-Thomas – The Creature
Janet Holloway-Thomas is a Seattle based actor and performer. They are thrilled to be working with such a talented and wonderful cast. You may have seen them recently in WOMEN & FEMMES, or FEMALES (Theatre Off Jackson) or Tenderness (Annex), both written by Nelle Tankus. Other favorite roles include Beatrice in Fern Shakespeare’s all femxle Much Ado About Nothing, and Trinculo in The Tempest. Janet says big thanks to friends and family for help and support in rough times.
Ronan Pirkle – Percy Bysshe Shelley
Ronan Pirkle is a Seattle-based actor and alumnus of UW’s School of Drama. Recent credits include Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Battery), Men on Boats (inD Theatre), and WOMEN & FEMMES, or FEMALES (Theatre Off Jackson). Outside of rehearsal, you can find Ronan going for long walks and gushing about the Muppets.
Bradley Goodwill – John Milton
Bradley is very excited to be working with Annex. Locally, he has acted at Seattle Rep, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, As If Theatre Company, The Shattered Glass Project, and 14/48. Regional credits include shows for The Cleveland Play House, Porthouse Theatre, New Harmony Theatre, and Monomoy Theatre. On screen he can be seen in episodes of Grimm, Z Nation, and The Librarians and the films The Architect, Warmuffin, and The Very Private Work of Sister K.
Gerard Menendez – Sir Timothy Bysshe Shelley & William Godwin
Gerard can often be found building on stages around town helping Seattle’s gifted theater community do what they do so well. He’s delighted to be participating in this reading in a different way but might put some sawdust in a pocket anyway.
Anna Salizonni – Costume Designer
Anna is a self-taught sewist who recently joined Annex as a staff member. With Leave Only Footprints conceived by Emily Sershon and Emily Pike being her very first foray into the world of costuming, she is excited to add a second Annex production to her resume with Paradise Untapped!
Erin Lammie – Stage Manager
Erin Lammie is excited to be Stage Managing again at Annex Theatre. She had a blast working on last season’s THE PARTICIPANTS! by Jesse Calixto. Recent credits include Site Managing for Seattle Shakespeare’s Wooden O production of Two Gentleman of Verona as well as Assistant Stage Managing Romeo and Juliet at Seattle Shakespeare last Spring. She hopes you enjoy the show.
