TOXIC FLOWER
A Deaf supervisor of a garden department in a big box home improvement store gives an orientation to newly hired Deaf employees. As a safety measure, she instructs them on identifying poisonous flowers and plants that are for sale in the store. The new hires learn what is really toxic in the store.
Trigger warnings: bullying around body type /ableism and mild profanity
[ID: SPF poster for “Toxic Flower”, with dark text on a dark yellow background with a brick pattern. A silhouette in half of a floral bouquet crossed to resemble a skull with orange blossoms in place of eyes, and a pair of crossed bones underneath in the style of poison warnings. Larger text on right centered: Toxic Flower by Willy Conley.]
TOXIC FLOWER TEAM
Headshot ID: Willy Conley is a Caucasian male with a shaved head and a goatee wearing a plaid shirt and a bolo tie.
Willy Conley | Playwright
After the production of his play, Broken Spokes, and recently winning SDFF’s 2022 Best Experimental Film award, Willy Conley is thrilled to return to Deaf Spotlight. His latest books include: The World of White Water, Visual-Gestural Communication, Listening Through the Bone, The Deaf Heart, and Vignettes of the Deaf Character.
Headshot ID: Joshua Castille is a white guy in his 20's with brown hair fixed up.
Josh Castille | Director
Joshua Castille is a Deaf artist based out of Los Angeles, California. He is known for the following: Ernst (Spring Awakening, Broadway), Quasimodo (Hunchback, 5th Ave), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet, ACT Theatre). Soon to be seen in the upcoming Fox anthology series ACCUSED. Josh strives to form meaningful collaborations that explore the boundaries of art. Amidst the adrenaline rushes, he harbors the humility of knowing that no matter how you communicate, you have a voice to be heard. Joshua is repped by KMR & Associates.
Headshot ID: Siena Rafter is a white, non binary person with shaved head in a dark top front of a green background.
Siena Rafter | Stage Manager
Siena is a proud graduate of LaGuardia High School’s Drama program and Brown University’s Theater Arts class of 2020. Broadway: Sam Gold's King Lear starring Glenda Jackson (ASL team), Children of a Lesser God (Assistant Director to Kenny Leon).
As an actor: Off-Broadway/ Lincoln Center: Liz Swados' Runaways (City Center's Encores, Off-Center), Deep Blue Sea (Bill T Jones at the Park Avenue Armory), American Song Book Series. The Public Theater/Delacorte: Twelfth Night (written by Shaina Taub), Runaways, For the Love of Vinyl (Joe's Pub), From Hair to Hamilton...Gala '17. TV/Webseries: HBO's Crashing, Don't Shoot the Messenger, and Scholastic's Dear America series.
Headshot ID: Anna Bracilano is a white woman with dark blond hair and hazel eyes. She has her hair pinned up and out of her face in a dotted top front of a chartreuse background.
Anna Bracilano | as Presenter
Anna is a native Seattle born and raised just right outside of the city. She got her acting start with Deaf Youth Drama Program (DYDP) here in Seattle as a child. Some of Anna's acting experiences include acting in West Side Story, The Three Musketeers and a lead role in Scapina with DYDP, backstage crew and acting roles with NTID Performing Arts in Rochester, NY, supporting DeafSpotlight with various theatre and film festival programs, and a role in Bunnicula with Gallaudet University Performing Arts. The most recent theatre experience she had was directing and coaching the Utah Deaf theatre team with Utah Schools for the Deaf, DeafWest and Sunshine 2.0 for the annual National Deaf High School Theatre Festival in 2021.
Anna just settled back into the Seattle area this year and is looking forward to growing her Seattle Deaf theatre roots again!
Headshot ID: Rhonda Cochran, a Black, female with single braids. Wearing a white v-neck t-shirt with a short sleeve black cardigan over it. Wearing 3-tier necklace, front of a chartreuse background.
Rhonda Cochran | Employee / understudy
An avid theater lover, Rhonda has performed in previous Deaf Spotlight productions including “Skin” and “Other”. She has also participated in plays that bring awareness to the issue of sexual violence in the Deaf community.