RAT CAGE
Written by Coco Justino
Directed by Em Majewski
October 9 – October 24, 2026
Preview: October 8th
Welcome to the technological nightmarescape where The Next Big Violent Thing is only an assaulting barrage of buzzes, notifications, and TV static away. Can Vendetta Payne (her stage name, obviously) navigate her new relationship, family pressures, and totally-not-a-stripper job? Or will the oligarchs of this world— business moguls called The Rats from the hit TV show Rat Cage— best her?
Performances
Thursday, October 8 at 7:30 pm (Preview)
Friday, October 9 at 7:30 pm (Opening)
Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 pm
Friday, October 16 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 18 at 2:00 pm (Matinee)
Monday, October 19 at 7:30 pm (Industry Night)
Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 pm
Friday, October 23 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 pm (Closing)
Coco Justino
PLAYWRIGHT
(she/they) is a local multi-disciplinary artist. Holding a BFA in Acting/Original Works from Cornish, Coco's work is greatly influenced by her intersectional identities and her love for folk and rock music, horror movies, and reality TV. She would like to thank Annex for being home to her debut as a produced playwright and Em Majewski for making her dreams come true!
Em Majewski
DIRECTOR / SET DESIGNER
(they/them) is a Seattle-based multidisciplinary theatre artist. They believe the transformative power of theater can radically change an individual’s experience of themselves, their community, and the world at large, and carry this ethos into all of their creative practices. To learn more about Em's body of work and their mission, visit www.em-majewski.com
CAST
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Kasi Gaarenstroom
VENDETTA
she/they
is a FilAm Seattle-based actor and arts professional who loves telling stories that bring people together. They have worked across theater, film, and live events while championing accessible and inclusive arts programming. When they're not on stage, Kasi is probably producing an arts event, rolling dice in a D&D campaign, or enthusiastically talking about movies. -
Tony Simmons
JAMELLE
they/them
is making their Annex Theatre debut. They were last seen in The Ever Expanding Moment at the Common Area. Tony would like to thanks their friends and family and girlfriend Stella for their love and support in everything Tony puts their heart into. Tony is forever grateful to the beautiful Seattle Theatre community
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Kaelyn Langer Mendonca
RAT ONE / PODCASTER ONE
she/her
is really so excited to be part of Rat Cage as a Pod Caster and Rat - two life-long dreams for different reasons #blessed #knowyourprivledge. Favorite roles include Magenta (The Rocky Horror Show at the Showbox Market), Theresa (i never asked for a gofundme, Seattle Public Theatre Distillery), Bridget Sullivan (Lizzie The Musical, Pullman vs. Paxton). Kaelyn has trained at Circle in the Square and with Robin Lynn Smith and Susan M. Carr. She is the co-founder of Bleecker St. Playhouse, which champions narratives about women over 40 and their extraordinary lives. Let’s make some cool shit together @kaelyn_acts -
Tagen Mathews
RAT TWO / PODCASTER TWO
he/him
is an actor with a deep love of creature acting and All kinds of hyper-expressive physicality. He graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Acting and Original works. Tagen is excited to join the cast of Rat Cage after seeing it indevelopment at Cornish Years ago. (Congradulations COCO!)
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Taylor Melville
MOM / KHANH
she/her
is a proud hapa/mestiza actress from the Bay Area. She's a multifaceted theater artist and was most recently seen in W.E.T's "Cowboys with Questions". She is thrilled to be part of this play again and has been honored to be part of its first production. Mahalo Nui to Travis, the 'Ohana and her friends!
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Philip Gregory Smith
CHARLIE / TV ANNOUNCER +
a former former-actor, has been haunting the Seattle theatre scene for about 25 years, while working “real” jobs around town. Having decided that “real” jobs are for suckers (and dispiritingly hard to find lately) he made a return to acting. He is honored to take up with the intrepid Annex Theatre.
CREATIVE TEAM
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Hannah Wang
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
they/them
is a Seattle-based social worker, writer, and theatre artist. Their most recent theatre credit was acting in GreenStage's production of Coriolanus over the summer. They are a member of the Latitude Theatre Artistic Ensemble, and they also work at Seattle Public Theatre on show weekends. They couldn't be more thrilled to sink their rodential teeth into the production of Rat Cage! -
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Logan Thomas
LIGHTING DESIGNER
he/him
is a Seattle-based Theatrical Lighting Technician, Lighting Designer, and Network Admin, and is embarking on his fifth season as the Head Electrician at Union Arts Center (formerly ACT Theatre)! He is lucky enough to have his boyfriend, Gabriel Fitzpatrick, cheering him on, right beside amazing friends :) -
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Amaya Zhané
PROJECTIONS DESIGNER
she/ her
is a multi-disciplinary artist who specializes in theater and live performance arts.
Raised in Orlando, Florida- she finds herself in Seattle after graduating Cornish College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Original Works.
Her most recent projects include:
Desdemona's Child (blood cry) at Cornish Playhouse and FAT HAM at Seattle Rep.
And new works; OBSIDIAN featured in On The Boards' NorthWest New Work Festival and PHAT (independently produced). -
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Andi Villegas
SOUND DESIGNER
she/her
is a freelance sound designer and audio editor born and raised around the Puget Sound. She has most recently worked with Seattle Public Theater, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, and ArtsWest. She holds a BFA in Performance Production with a concentration in Sound Design from Cornish College of the Arts. -
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Meaghan Darling
COSTUME DESIGNER
she/her
has been sporadically making theater in Seattle for the last 25 years as a costume designer, production manager, and stage manager for numerous different organizations both still around and not, including but not limited to 14/48 Projects, White Rabbit Inc, Pony World Theatre, UMO Ensemble, ACT, ToJ, Cafe Nordo, Printer’s Devil, Boomer’s Classics, and of course, Annex.
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Jake Dahms
COMPOSER
he/him
is a composer, playwright, performer and educator based in Seattle. Jake recently appeared as the composer for Mother Courage and Her Children (dir. Leah Adcock-Starr) and songwriter/performer/co-orchestrator for his song cycle 'hope this helps' (dir. Richard Gray). Jake has taught in Seattle Public Schools, Seattle University and Seattle JazzEd and is a working Music Director and Pit Musician. -
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Lucien Oberleitner
CHOREOGRAPHER
they/them
has been developing new work in Seattle for twelve years. In addition to being a Staff (current Artistic Director) & Company member of Annex, they are a Teaching Artist with Freehold's Engaged Theatre Residency at WCCW and a proud alum of Parley Productions. They have had the pleasure of working in many capacities; as a performer, director, choreographer, dancer, writer, and producer. Lucien is a political artist, focusing on original work that undermines systems of oppression.
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Brandon Eller
STAGE MANAGER
he/him
relocated to the PNW in 2015, and has since had the good fortune to work as a stage manager for several local production companies. Recent stage management credits include: The Aliens (White Rabbit Inc), Crash Course (Theatre Off Jackson), and Scott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas (Shoes & Pants Prod.).
