About Playwright Lawson Caldwell

We’re thrilled to collaborate in January 2024 on Relationships: It’s Complicated with Lawson Caldwell, a playwright who has been produced across the country and lives in Charlotte, NC . You may recognize him from our 2018 Short Play Fest, where his short play The Piece was chosen the winner of the Audience Favorite Award. The Piece is just one of the six scripts that will be featured in the January 20 and 21st play reading event. (You can find tickets here.)

Members of the DSP team initially got to know Lawson years ago as actors when given the opportunity to work on an early reading of his play Four Corners of the Circle. Lawson’s plays typically use comedy to explore the ideas of human connection, art, and self-discovery.

A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Lawson also holds a Masters in Speech and Theatre from the University of South Carolina. Lawson’s work has been produced in Germany as well as the United States. 

In 2022, his play Shhh, It’s Olive was named as a Semi-finalist in The Garry Marshall Theatre’s New Works Festival (Burbank, CA). Recent productions include: Serendipitous, Lakeshore Players Theatre (White Lake, MN), Edmonds Driftwood Players (Edmonds, WA). The Brooch, Brewster Theater Company (Carmel, NY), SUNY (Brockport, NY), Winston-Salem Writers (Winston-Salem, NC). Following the Rules of the Warrior’s Waltz, Emerald Theatre Company (Memphis, TN), The Piece, The Gallery Players (Brooklyn, NY), Clifford’s, The Group Repertory Theatre (Los Angeles).

A member of the Dramatist Guild of America, Lawson resides in Charlotte with husband, Curt, and seventy-seven-pound puppy, Levin.

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About the Cast

Dennis Delamar is a longtime Charlotte actor and director. He is also a proud retired NC public school teacher with 30 years service, 20 at Dilworth Elementary. Spring of 2023 found Dennis acting in N. Ft Myers at Players Circle Theatre in FL, playing a new favorite challenging role, Charlie in Larry Shue’s comedy The Foreigner. Last year he also appeared in TheatreCharlotte’s Something Rotten as zany Lord Clapham and the Judge. In February he directed the workshop reading of Charles LaBorde’s new play, One Year to Die at the VAPA Center. In 2023 you might have caught him ever-so briefly as Margaret’s mailman in the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. In 2024 he is directing Theatre Charlotte’s production of NC playwright Ray Kennedy’s new Southern comedy, The Thursday Night Bridge Circle. This weekend, Mr. Delamar appreciates being in the company of such talented and personally admired actors assembled by Donna Scott and Tonya Bludsworth to publicly read his longtime friend Lawson Caldwell’s delightful short plays. Welcome back, Donna Scott Productions!

Sarah Molloy has been doing theatre in Charlotte for the past 9 years. Her most recent roles include Three Bone Theatre’s Andy and the Orphans (Sarah), Charlotte Conservatory Theatre’s POTUS (Dusty), and PaperHouse Theatre’s Vampire Lesbian’s of Sodom (Renee Vain/PJ).

Sheila Proctor is excited to be reading this fabulous collection of short plays by Lawson Caldwell with Donna Scott Productions. She has been an actor and director for DSP dating back to the inaugural show – The Body Chronicles. Other productions include The Fairytale Chronicles and Women Playing Hamlet. She is Co-Founder of Chickspeare – The All-Female Shakespeare Company and has worked with many other local theatre companies. Her most recent appearance was in the one woman play Becoming Dr. Ruth for Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte’s final production. Over the years, she has been a four-time award recipient of Metrolina Theatre Association’s Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Director awards. She has received Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Director awards from Creative Loafing and was Creative Loafing Critic’s Pick for Actress of the Year. Sheila, a venerable multitasker, spends her days as the Senior Commercial Association Manager at MPV Properties.

Tommy Prudenti is excited to be part of workshopping two new pieces and to work with Donna Scott Productions for the first time.  He holds a degree in theater performance from Rutgers University and, since then, has spent several years balancing acting while working full-time in arts administration.  He was a talent manager/booking agent in NYC for six years and has spent the last ten years in Charlotte working for Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and, currently, as the Special Programs Manager for Blumenthal Performing Arts.  Some of his favorite credits include Adam in DOT, Sal in By The Water, John in The Duck Pond, Mikey in The Day They Shot John Lennon, the 2019 Brandless national commercial and the Charlotte’s Got A Lot tourism commercials.  Tommy is signed with Carolina Talent and has been working on commercial, film and print jobs in the Carolinas since 2013.  He’s thankful to have so many talented and vibrant artists from the Charlotte theater community as friends, mentors, and co-collaborators. 

Jenayeda Shephard is a North Carolina native who has trained for over seventeen years in all types of dance and has now acted for over seven years. She has attended The Debbie Allen Dance Academy located in California and has also worked with The Jim Henson Company for puppetry. She previously worked as a yoga instructor and continues to enjoy working out. Maximum effort is the goal in everything she does. Her most recent roles were in I Am Queen Charlotte at Belk Theatre, Liberty Mountain with Sigmon Theatrical and Hype Man at Actors Theatre. She also served as the choreographer for If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be A Muh@#%&*, also at Actor Theatre. Jenayeda is so appreciative for the opportunity to be on stage again.

Roderick Shephard is an actor, writer, director and producer. He has completed four short films as well as a web series. His most recent theatre work was in The Colored Museum and COTO (Chocolate On The Outside). He is excited to return to the theatre after a few years break. Rod would like to thank Donna Scott Productions and Tonya Bludsworth for making the call that made his return possible.

Steven Tyler Sherwood had vastly different possible career paths prior to Acting, including the Air Force, Paleontology, Anthropology, Exercise Science, until finally landing on his passion for telling stories. Steven has been active in the film industry over the past 8 years with credits on numerous series, commercials and films such as ZOA Energy, Angels Unaware, When We Practice to Deceive, Married to Crazy, and most recently the television series Blue Ridge. When Steven is not Acting you can find him recording movie scores, playing RPG Video Games, and helping others break through barriers as a Personal Trainer.

Gina Stewart is currently the Executive Director of Visart Video, the largest collection of Film and Video on the East Coast.  She and her longtime partner Brenda Gambill continue their longtime musical and creative collaboration, the Doubting Thomas Band, with their new release “Forever Changed” due out this spring.  Most recently, Gina was part of an ensemble production of A Doll’s House, Part 2 with Kellee Stall, Laura Scott and Shawn Halliday, directed by Matt Cosper for Charlotte Conservatory Theatre.  This Spring she and Brenda will collaborate with Victoria Bradbury and Abby Felder on a new iteration of her “puppetusical” BUGS, presented by Asheville Creative Arts.  She is also quietly hoping to re-emerge on television in Outer Banks.  So very happy to reconvene with Tonya, Donna and Glynnis!

Hank West has been part of the Charlotte/Metrolina theater scene for over 35 years now as an award-winning performer, theater advocate and theatre fan. He is pleased as punch to be a part of this event with this wondrous cast and crew. He has worked with most companies in and around Charlotte, just recently as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol with Theatre Charlotte. Favorite roles include Richard in Richard III, Nijinsky in Nijinsky’s Last Dance, the gentleman in The Story of the Little Gentleman, Mozart in Amadeus, John Merrick in The Elephant Man, and Bette Davis in Me and Jezebel.  Thank you Donna Scott Productions and Lawson Caldwell for letting me be a part of this magical adventure. And to all: Imagination is Power!