One dying planet and two sisters who have trained their whole lives to build a future for humanity away from Earth. NASA scientists (and twins) Stella and Cassie haven’t seen each other since Stella dropped off the grid and Cassie left for a year-long mission on the Moon. Now, Cassie has returned to find Stella living with her fiancé in one of the few beautiful places left on Earth. But time is running out for Cassie and Stella to bridge the planet-sized chasm that has grown between them, and to make an impossible choice: should they try and save an Earth that seems too-far-gone, or try and save humanity by colonizing another planet? WALDEN is a thorny examination of ambition, family divides, and the painful choices we must make in a broken future of our own creation.
Summit's production is directed by Shawnté P. Gaston.
July 12 & 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM
EITELJORG MUSEUM, 500 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, 46204
Walden is presented through special arrangement with TRW PLAYS, 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036 www.theatriccalrights.com. New York Premiere Produced by Second Stage Theater, New York, 2024. Bennett Leak, Interim Artistic Director, Lisa Lawer post, Executive Director; Walden was first presented on stage by Sonia Friedman Productions.
The reading runs 90 minutes with no intermission. There will be a talkback immediately following the reading.
CONTENT DISCLOSURE: Adult language/Profanity
CAST
Stella
LaKesha Lorene*
Cassie
Kelly Kel
Bryan
Scott Russell*
Stage Directions: Christa Shoot Grimmer
*Appearing through an Agreement between this theatre, Summit Performance Indianapolis, and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
LaKesha Lorene* (Stella) LaKesha is thrilled to be working with Summit in Walden this season! LaKesha Lorene is an actress, producer, and creative entrepreneur. The actress has worked onstage and on film/tv locally and nationally. She is excited about her produced film work 5 Hours to Georgia and Naptown Narratives Season 4 & 5 streaming nationally on Tubi! A proud Indy Shakes Company member and arts and culture leader, she feels grateful and blessed to be doing what she loves in entertainment and community. She would like to thank Alex, her family, and friends for their consistent love and support. To God be the glory!
Kelly Kel (Cassie) Kelly Kel is an Indy native creative. She has been gracing the stage for over a decade. You may have seen her in Detroit ‘67, Julius Caesar, or The Wiser of Odds. More recently you could have caught her in 3 Gen Molly, The Made Man Improv Show, or Blood at the Root. When she is not living her dreams on stage, she follows her heart as an instructor for the Blacklight theater. Her family is the biggest motivator and supporters. She’s loves them more than words can express. Thank you for everything.
Scott Russell* (Bryan) Scott is an AEA actor, director, SDC Fight Director, and a Full Instructor with Dueling Arts International; he currently teaches theatre at Franklin College. His work has been seen at IRT, the Phoenix, ATI, IndyShakes, Summer Stock Stage, Metropolis PAC, Skokos PAC, TheatreSquared, Arkansas Shakes, and many more. Most recent credits include Fatherland (American Lives Theatre), A Christmas Story: The Musical, and Maple and Vine (Constellation Stage and Screen). Upcoming projects include Johnnie's Song, Annie, Charlie Brown, Waiting for Lefty, and Exit, Pursued by Bear. Scott received his MFA from the University of Arkansas, is a graduate of The Conservatory at Act One Studios – Chicago; and holds his undergraduate degree from Belmont University.
Christa Shoot Grimmer (Stage Directions) Christa is thrilled to be part of the creative endeavors of Summit Performance Indianapolis, including Helen (2020) and Do No Harm (2023). Grimmer serves as full-time Actor/Interpreter at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis since 2009. Grimmer has worked as director, administrator, choreographer, teacher and/or performer for TCM Lilly Theater, Children’s Theatre Institute, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Junior Achievement of Central IN, Gemini Children’s Theatre (Pittsburgh), Actors Theatre of Indiana, Footlite Musicals, Spotlight Players, Hendricks Civic Theatre, Rough Magic Productions, Indy Fringe, EclecticPond Theatre Company, ACT-OUT, Saltworks Theatre Company (Pittsburgh), Conner Prairie Players, University of Indianapolis, and CTI Productions. Favorite roles include Julius Caesar and Mrs. Claus. Go Herron Achaeans!! Go Space!!
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright
Amy Berryman
Director
Shawnté P. Gaston
Stage Manager
Nico Meisner
Talkback Facilitator
Jenni Werner
Amy Berryman (Playwright) is a playwright, actor, and teaching artist from Seattle by way of West Texas. Her play Alien Girls recently concluded its World Premiere production at The Old Globe in San Diego. Prior to that, her play Walden premiered Off Broadway at Second Stage, directed by Whitney White, (nominated for the Outer Critics Circle’s John Gassner Award and Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play) after its world premiere on London’s West End in 2021, produced by Sonia Friedman. Other plays include The Treatment, Sometime Daughter, God’s Flesh (MTC/Sloan commission; O’Neill Finalist 2025), and Three-Year Summer, among others. Amy is a Core Writer at the Playwrights’ Center and a recent MacDowell Fellow. amy-berryman.com.
Shawnté P. Gaston (Director) Shawnté is very excited to be a part of another production with Summit Performance. She is a proud company member of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company and the Sapphire Theatre Company. Some of her favorite shows she's been in include Spay, Ricky 3, A Very Phoenix Xmas Returns: The Return of the Very Phoenix Xmas, The Convent, Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rent, As You Like It, Yas Twain, A Very Phoenix Xmas: Merry Superstitious, A Madwoman's Late-Nite Cabaret, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Lysistrata. She can also be seen performing in classrooms as a teaching artist for several theatre companies. Shawnté is a graduate of the University of Southern Indiana.
Nico Meisner (Stage Manager) Nico Meisner (Stage Manager) is so excited to be back for their second Summit show. Nico works for the Indianapolis Ballet as their Production Stage Manager but loves to explore more theatre opportunities in the Indy area. Nico's next step will be exploring the Tennessee area but will be glad to come back to Summit at any point. Enjoy the show!
Jenni Werner (Talkback Facilitator) In a career spanning over twenty-five years, Jenni Werner (she/her) has been at the forefront of artistic innovation and organizational change. She currently serves as The New Harmony Project’s Executive Artistic Director, where she is responsible for creating organizational stability, an artistic vision, and a structure that will serve the organization’s mission of nurturing writers in the development of scripts and new works that interrogate the complexity of hope. In her first year at NHP, Jenni launched PlayFest Indy, a season of workshops and readings of new scripts by alumni writers, in partnership with producing theatres in Indianapolis. Previously, Jenni was the Director of Literary and Artistic Development Programs at Geva Theatre in Rochester, NY. There, she shepherded new plays from idea to production, including the development of over 45 new plays in workshop readings. She served as dramaturg on more than 30 productions, including classics and world premieres, and served as an artistic producer on productions and innovative programming like Journey to the Son, a 4-day blues festival celebrating the legend of blues musician Son House. Prior to Geva, she served as the Director of Programming at Theatre Communications Group, where she produced the largest gatherings of theatre leaders in the U.S. She has served on the boards of Image Out, Rochester’s LGBTQ+ film festival, the National New Play Network, and Indianapolis’ Athenaeum Foundation. B.A. in theatre and history, Knox College (Galesburg, IL). M.F.A. in dramaturgy, UMASS Amherst.
SUMMIT STAFF
Founding Artistic Director: Lauren Briggeman
Artistic Manager: Kelsey Leigh Miller
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