TBTB

EXCUSE MEEEEE! Don’t you dare give me that look. Marriage shouldn’t be about judgement but… Mel and Gavin face off over Gavin’s plans of “co-writing” a script with one of his students in Bruce Graham’s “According to Goldman.” Image description: Left, Mel (Pamela Sabaugh), a light-skinned woman with short brown hair, wearing blue slacks, a white shirt, and a navy-blue sweater. She sits cross-legged on a white couch, holding a book. Beside her is Gavin (Nicholas Viselli), a light-skinned man, dark hair shaved very close to the scalp, wearing jeans, a shirt, and a sport coat, holding a script. There is a dark wood coffee table in front of them, a side table on the left, and the back wall is decorated with various framed movie posters.

‘WHEN YOUR FRIEND TELLS YOU, 'TRUST ME! I’VE WATCHED THREE SAMURAI MOVIES.' Tybalt and Romeo go at it in TBTB’s (4 actors in search of) Romeo & Juliet. Image description: “Tybalt,” played by Emily Young (left, a light-skinned woman), is decked out in a red jacket, a gray-and-white beanie, and sunglasses, and has an intense "I've totally got this!" expression as she grips the sword with determination. “Romeo,” played by Greg Mozgala (right, a light-skinned man with dark hair), looks much less confident, wearing a face that says, "This seemed like a good idea five seconds ago." He’s wearing a red-and-gray sweatshirt with khaki pants.

MEETING YOUR NEIGHBORS ACROSS THE WORLD! Nicholas Viselli, Ann Marie Morelli, and Tottori Prefecture Governor Shinji Hirai meet at the Bird Theatre Company for Tottori’s 8th annual international theatre festival welcome party. Mr. Hirai used to live in Hell’s Kitchen, a hop, skip, and jump away from Nick and Ann Marie’s apartment. Too bad we didn’t meet until he moved 6,900 miles back to Tottori. Image description: Left: Nicholas Viselli (a light-skinned man) leaning towards the center, wearing black pants and a long-sleeved shirt with white and navy stripes. His hand is on Ann Marie Morelli (a light-skinned woman), in the center, seated in a power wheelchair, wearing a bright pink cardigan over a striped blouse and black pants. Shinji Hirai (right), a tan-skinned man, also leaning towards the center, wearing a black suit, a blue tie, and glasses. They are all smiling warmly for the camera.

This past Sunday morning, our tech guru, Tucker Salovaara, completed the Hope & Possibilities 4-mile Run in Central Park. He competed with others and was grateful to his bike instructor, Ishmael, and his support staff. Check out his bike below and give him a warm welcome, congratulations! #TuckerSalovaara #Hope&Possibilities #TBTB #TechGuru Image description: Tucker Salovaara is a light-skinned man with dark hair and green eyes. He is using a red adaptive bike and is wearing a white helmet, glasses, and a purple tank top with a neon green shirt underneath it. Behind him is Ishmael, who is a tan-skinned man with black hair and a beard. He is wearing glasses and a gray sweatshirt.

MEET OUR ACTORS! TRANSCENDENCY RISING: SHORT PLAYS ABOUT DEFYING LIMITATIONS was TBTB's 1st Short Play Festival in 9 years. It featured 10 writers, 6 directors, and 22 actors. This is JENNIFER ELIZABETH BRADLEY, who played Gloria in “Forgotten Corners Of Your Dark, Dark Place,” and here is her bio: Jennifer hails from Chicago, where she had the good fortune of sharing stages with Joel Hatch (Come From Away, Billy Elliot), Jeff Richmond (comp./prod. 30 Rock, Mean Girls), Alexandra Billings (Transparent, Wicked), Howard Platt (Sanford and Son, The Bob Newhart Show), Adria Dawn (Popular), and Gary Griffin (Dir. The Color Purple, Honeymoon in Vegas). She has studied with Betty Buckley, headed “The Wizbang Trio" cabaret combo, and is on the original Chicago cast recording of “Fairy Tales.” Jen is truly grateful for another opportunity to work with Artistic Director Nicholas Viselli and Theater Breaking Through Barriers! It was a joy to work with Jennifer again, and we look forward to working with her again sometime soon! Image description: Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley is a light-skinned woman. She has black hair and green eyes and is wearing a dark blue top.

MEET OUR ACTORS! TRANSCENDENCY RISING: SHORT PLAYS ABOUT DEFYING LIMITATIONS was TBTB's 1st Short Play Festival in 9 years. It featured 10 writers, 6 directors, and 22 actors. This is SAMANTHA DEBICKI (Emma in “The Body Is A Waiting Room For Ghosts”), and check out her bio below: Sam is a long-time company member of TBTB and performed in their productions of Power Plays and Still More of Our Parts at Theatre Row. Other New York credits include Hysterical! (NY Fringe) and Shadows (Hoi Polloi at JACK). Sam is also the lead screenplay competition and screenwriting event producer at Urbanworld Festival, a freelance writer, a seasoned yoga instructor and teacher trainer, and a mom to two feisty girls. It was a joy to work with Samantha again, and we look forward to working with her again sometime soon! Image description: Samantha Debicki is a light-skinned woman. She has red hair and blue eyes, and is wearing a blue and white floral dress.

MEET OUR ACTORS! TRANSCENDENCY RISING: SHORT PLAYS ABOUT DEFYING LIMITATIONS was TBTB's 1st Short Play Festival in 9 years. It featured 10 writers, 6 directors, and 22 actors. This is MARC WINSKI (Original Monologue), and check out his bio below: Marc is an actor and disability awareness influencer. Credits include Grease (National Tour), Hairspray, Rent, and Disney Cruise Line. He recently served as lead voice consultant on HBO’s Emmy-winning The Penguin. Marc advocates for people who stutter across theatre, film, and television, using his 400k social media platform to spread awareness with wit, creativity, and authenticity. “Speak your truth.” marcwinski.com It was a joy to work with Marc, and we look forward to working with him soon! Image description: Marc Winski is a young, light-skinned man with brown curly hair and dark eyes. He is wearing a light brown jacket and a green shirt.

KEEPING OUR FRIENDS CLOSE! The incredibly talented Kiera Allen and Nick Viselli are catching up after not seeing each other for a while. #KieraAllen #NickViselli #TBTB Image description: (left) Kneeling, Nick Viselli, a middle-aged, light-skinned man with dark hair and eyes, wearing a black suit jacket with a blue shirt. Kiera Allen (right), a young light-skinned woman with red hair and light eyes, wearing a black and white striped shirt and maroon pants, is seated in a wheelchair.

IT’S ALL FUN GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES A TOOTH! “Just the facts, ma’am.” Veronica (Christiane Noll) delivers the facts as she sees them concerning a playground dispute. TBTB’s 2023 production of “God of Carnage” by Yasmina Reza, directed by Nicholas Viselli. #GodOfCarnage #YasminaReza #NicholasViselli #ChristianeNoll #DavidBurtka #CareyLeighCox #GabeFazio #TBTB Image description: (left-right) seated in an armchair, Michael (Gabe Fazio, a light-skinned man), seated on a couch, Annette (Carey Leigh Cox, a light-skinned woman), and Alan (David Burtka, a light-skinned man). Standing and resting, Veronica (Christiane Noll, a light-skinned woman). The set consists of red walls and a floor with a patterned carpet, grey furniture, and a glass coffee table. There are captions on the far-right upper-hand corner displaying what Veronica is saying.

MY DOGS ARE BARKING SOMETHING FIERCE! “Who stole MY shoes?” Gary Bergman is “Gogo” in an incredible production of “Waiting for Godot,” directed by a director, actor, musician, and writer — the multitalented Pamela Sabaugh —in 2013. #WaitingForGodot #PamelaSabaugh #GaryBergman #Multitalented #TBTB Image description: A picture of Gary Bergman as Gogo in “Waiting for Godot.” He is a light-skinned man wearing a black suit and a top hat, sitting on a box. Gary is removing his boot.

“TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT!” An exceptional production of “Waiting for Godot” directed by Pamela Sabaugh! #SamuelBeckett #PamelaSabaugh #FredBackus #DavidRosarStearns #Slavery #TBTB Image description: (left) Lucky (David Rosar Stearns) hunched over, dressed in raggedy clothes, carrying heavy bags, being led with a rope in his teeth by Pozzo (Fred Backus), standing proudly, dressed in clean, more expensive clothing.

THE CREATORS! Playwright Amy Clausen and the director, Evan Cummings, are ready to present the inaugural presentation of Amy’s new play, “WIZZIWIG.” It was performed on Friday, May 8, at Playwrights Horizons in Manhattan, and on Saturday, May 9, at Queens Theatre. This staged reading was co-produced by Theater Breaking Through Barriers and Queens Theatre. Image description: Amy Clausen, a light-skinned woman (standing) with long curly red hair, wearing pink slacks and a pink/white floral blouse. Evan Cummings, a light-skinned man with dark hair/beard, glasses, wearing black pants and a t-shirt, is seated in a wheelchair.

Wow, we had a truly remarkable season, and we just published our 2026 Spring Newsletter on Monday! Check it out below and stay up to date with everything we are working on! #TBTB #SpringNewsletter myemail.constantcontact.com/-TBTB-s-Spring… Image description: A logo that shows a white background with a multi-colored bubbling letter that reads, “TBTB.” Below the letters, there are words in a black font color that read “Theater Breaking Through Barriers.”

TRANSCENDENCY HAS RISEN! Our short play festival was a tremendous success thanks to the incredible talent involved! Here’s Veronica Cruz showing off the Playbill backstage. #VeronicaCruz #TBTB #TranscendencyRising Image description: Veronica Cruz, a smiling, young, light-skinned woman with short dark hair, dark eyes, wearing a floral V-neck blouse and jeans, holding Transcendency Rising Playbills.

Look at the joy on this handsome dude’s face. Nothing like finishing an incredible run Off-Broadway. Enrique Huili shows how it’s done with class. Thank you for bringing “peace” every night! #EnriqueHuili #TBTB #PeaceSign Image description: Enrique Huili, a young, light-skinned man with short black hair and dark eyes, smiling widely while flashing a “peace sign,” wearing a black shirt and black jeans.

PLAY US A SONG, PRETTY LADY! The incredibly talented and beautiful TBTB company member, Pamela Sabaugh, shows off just one of her talents playing guitar during TBTB’s 2021 production of “Brecht on Brecht.” She acts, sings, plays music, directs, and writes… she’s limitless! #PamelaSabaugh #TBTB #BrechtOnBrecht Image description: Pamela Sabaugh, a light-skinned woman with dark short hair, light eyes, wearing a grey dress, playing guitar with an impish smile.

HANGING OUT, WAITING FOR THE FESTIVITIES TO HAPPEN! TBTB makes its presence known at the first ever Disability Pride Parade in NYC, July, 2015. The parade celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law on July 26, 1990. #ADA #DisabilityPrideParade #TBTB Image description: Patrick Freeman (standing left), tall, a light-skinned male, 30s, wearing jean shorts, a red t-shirt with the TBTB logo, and a baseball cap. David Rosar Stearns (standing center), tall, a light-skinned male, 30s, wearing jean shorts, a blue t-shirt with the TBTB logo, and sunglasses. Russell Barnes (seated right in wheelchair), an African American male, 40s, wearing khaki shorts, a grey t-shirt with the TBTB logo, and a white Panama hat.

DIRECTORS PUT IT ALL TOGETHER! Here’s one of our favorite directors, Christopher Burris, guiding his actors to a flawless rhythm. #ChristopherBurris #LawrenceMerritt #StuartGreen #TatianaGRivera #MelanieBoland #TBTB Image description: Sitting on the left behind a music stand, Lawrence Merritt, an older light-skinned gentleman with grey hair, a mustache, and glasses, wearing all black. Standing in the center, Christopher Burris, a young African American man, is wearing jeans, a red shirt, and a blue baseball cap. Sitting on the right behind a music stand, Stuart Green, a young light-skinned man with dark hair, is wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.

“YES, MASTER!” Some men just got it. Or perhaps it’s a simple case of Evil Hypnotism. Either way, George Ashiotis seems to have Melanie Boland under his spell. #GeorgeAshiotis #MelanieBoland #TheMiddleAges #ARGurney #TBTB Image description: A scene from the Middle Ages with George Ashiotis (L), light-skinned male, 60s, dark hair in a black tuxedo with a white shirt and a white bowtie. Melanie Boland (R), light-skinned female, 60s with blonde hair, wearing a beige tea-length cocktail dress, gloves, and a red accent hat. She is standing with her arms outstretched in front of her with a blank stare on her face.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE WHEN YOU HAVE A FAIRY GODMOTHER! Laughing on wheels! Ann Marie Morelli is incredibly entertained by Anita Hollander’s antics while visiting Japan. #AnnMarieMorelli #AnitaHollander #TBTB #BirdTheatre #DavidHenryHwang Image description: (Left) Ann Marie Morelli, light-skinned female, brown hair, wheelchair user in a blue polka dot dress, a white sweater, and red shoes. (Right) Anita Hollander, light-skinned female, light-brown hair, a leg amputee sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a pink fairy dress, white shoes, and a tiara.