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The Dog Days Are Now
A new play by Nick Baker. This staged reading is being produced as part of Studio Theatre Worcester's First Stages initiative.
Nick Baker's play, The Dog Days are Now, is a contemporary dark comedy about the brutal fears, anxieties, and consequences of paying for each day without the confidence of affording tomorrow. The action centers on indebted reality-show contestant Ollie as he is publicly and humiliatingly pushed past the point of breaking. Through chaos, cops, and pizza, this working class spectacle reveals the true cost of dreams, and what sacrifices are really worth the price of reaching them.
Credit: Conor Horgan
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Nick Baker (he/him) is a playwright, actor, and deviser based out of Worcester, MA. He is an alum of Company One's Season 25 Volt Lab as well as The Hanover Theatre Repertory's Worc at Play program. Currently, he is a facilitator and editor-in-residence for the Worcester Writers’ Collective. Nick is beyond excited to be working with Studio Theatre Worcester and is forever thankful for the support of his friends and family.
NOTE: This play contains depictions of gun violence, a hostage situation, police brutality, alcohol use disorder, manipulation, and references to suicide. Two prop guns, both solid and incapable of firing, are used in this production. Audio of gunshots are used. ​If you have any questions or concerns about the play's content, please email info@studiotheatreworcester.org, and a staff member will be happy to assist.
Meet the Team
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Mitch Kiliulis
(Director)
Mitch is excited to return to Studio Theatre Worcester having directed Cake, Drinks, & Lies for the Boston Theatre Marathon XXVI last year. Previous directing credits include: Marriage Proposal (Self Produced at the Ashland Farmer's Market), In a Flash (Ghost Light Players' Shoestring Festival), Portrait of a Madonna (Roger Williams University), Life Under Water (Roger Williams University). Mitch is a proud graduate of the Roger Williams University Theatre Department and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting Summer Conservatory.
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Lydia Cochran
(Dramatug)
Lydia (she/her/hers) is in her second season as Co-Artistic Director at Studio Theatre Worcester, where she directed the musical The Mad Ones, and has multiple credits in dramaturgy and producing for Proof, The Thanksgiving Play, Into the Breeches, and the Boston Theatre Marathon XVI. She was the Literary Assistant at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre for the 21/22 Season, where her credits included dramaturgy for Steel Magnolias, Toni Stone, New Age, and Titanic: The Musical. In addition to her freelance work as a new play development and production dramaturg, she is currently serving as the Assistant Director for Triumph of Love at The Huntington Theatre in Boston. She graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and History.
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Kyle Hargrove
(Stage Directions)
Kyle Hargrove is an actor, poet, and fiber artist in Worcester, MA. He's acted and worked as an assistant stage manager on productions throughout Central Mass, including The Translator with Museful Intent Productions, written by Mary Darling; The Monkeybar Mafia with the Gateway Players, written by Ed Humphries; and The Cookie Referendum with the Free Soil Arts Collective by Raysam Donkoh-Halm. He's also performed in Twelfth Night and Macbeth as part of the Worc at Play program, run by Livy Scanlon at the Jean McDonough Arts Center.
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Morgan Fitzpatrick
(Stage Manager)
Morgan is currently the Office Coordinator for The Prior Performing Arts Center at College of the Holy Cross, and a new Board Member of Studio Theatre Worcester. She is thrilled for the opportunity to stage manage The Dog Days Are Now, a fantastic new play! Recent credits include, Stage Manager (Hatful of Rain, Enter Stage Left Theatre), Stage Manager (Proof, Studio Theatre Worcester), Stage Manager (Nellie: The Musical, 4th Wall Stage Company), Stage Hand (The Game's Afoot, Lyric Stage Company), and Stage Manager (The Thanksgiving Play, Studio Theatre Worcester). Morgan is excited for audiences to experience this reading and is looking forward to how it evolves!
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Wesley Tiso
(Ollie)
Wesley Tiso is an actor and musician from Syracuse, New York. He is excited to be in his first production with Studio Theatre Worcester.
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Cameron Patrick Ward
(Joshua)
Cameron Patrick Ward is thrilled to be making his Studio Theatre Worcester debut in the staged reading of The Dog Days Are Now! Regional: Seyton/Malcolm (u/s), Macbeth (Hanover Theatre Rep). Gaston, Disney’s Beauty & The Beast (The Hanover Theatre). Film: Good Burger 2, Get Together, Graffiti. TV: The Gilded Age. Live Events: Boston Tea Party 250th Anniversary Reenactment, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, Enchant Christmas. Cameron is a proud graduate of Dean College in Franklin, MA where he received a BA in Theatre (Concentration in Acting) with a minor in History. He would like to thank his entire family (who are from the Worcester area) and his community of Worcester theatre artists who made this wonderful opportunity possible. Onwards and upwards!
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Erica Shields
(Diane)
Erica Shields (she/her/hers) is an actor and musician based out of Worcester, MA. Previous stage performances include The Crucible (THT Rep), Little Shop of Horrors (Penobscot Theatre Company), Twelfth Night (THT Rep), and Mary Poppins (Penobscot Theatre Company). Other performances include voice-over works such as “Voices from the Field” and “Kula Kula Island." She is thrilled to be working with Studio Theatre Worcester and taking part in this staged reading of The Dog Days are Now!
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Rachel Hall
(Sam)
Rachel Hall is an actor, director, and teaching artist currently based in Western and Central Massachusetts. She is a governing member of Real Live Theatre, a local theater company. Her most recent acting credit is Nina in Stupid F*cking Bird with Hovey Players in Waltham, currently in rehearsal. This marks her first collaboration with Studio Theatre Worcester, and she’s very happy that it's happening.
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Matthew Johnson
(Eddie)
Matthew Johnson, born and raised in Worcester, MA, started his stage career behind the drumkit playing for many different bands and genres of music all around the region. A love of performance led him to the Hanover Conservatory where for the past six years he's been studying his craft of stage acting. He's been a two time WORC @ Play alumni and has recently been in the Brick Box THT rep productions of Twelfth Night directed by Brendon Fox and Macbeth directed by Livy Scanlon.
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Brita Turner
(Regina)
Brita Turner is a writer and artist from Northbridge, MA. She enjoys photography, fashion and jewelry design, nail art, horror movies, and eating lots of candy. Her most recent acting credits include Off Hand Co.’s Bat Country and Not Just Friends, Episode 2. She has a B.A. in journalism from UMass Amherst.
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Lena Vani
(Viapiano)
Lena Vani is a small woodland fairy who is ruled by the moon in the sky and the plants on the Earth. Unable to stay in one place for long, she follows her heart around the world connecting with souls and chasing creativity. Vani graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a B.A. in Theater. Additionally, Vani is co-founder of the production company, Off Hand Co. Her most recent credits include Miami Theater Works production of Paradise for New York Theater Festival and Evening Crane Theater's Off-Broadway production, Etched Glass Decanter.