Why us why now

Silhouettes of four people standing by a red theater curtain, with the person in the middle gesturing with their arm raised.

This production unites a powerhouse creative team uniquely equipped to navigate the play shift from high-brow satire to visceral black comedy, led by seasoned performers, Liam Craig and Nealy Glenn. The cast possesses the technical Shakespearean precision and comedic timing necessary to anchor the play’s volatile power struggle. Directed by Evan Zes, written by Mark Blankenship and produced by Melle Powers, this team offers a sophisticated lens on the intersection of classical theatre and modern psychological conflict.

In 2026, the battle over truth and intellectual agency has never been more critical. The Lady Doth Protest is an urgent exploration of whose voice is deemed "expert" and the dangerous fragility of those who use tradition as a weapon to maintain control. It is a story that needs to be told today because it exposes the terrifying moment when "civilized" discourse collapses into a raw struggle for survival.

MEET THE TEAM

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MEET THE TEAM *

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MARK BLANKENSHIP Playwright

Mark is a playwright, dramaturg, arts journalist, and professor of dramaturgy at The Yale School of Drama. He’s grateful to Nealy and Melle for saying yes to The Lady Doth Protest and to the company that’s bringing this production to life. He started writing this play in a Nashville coffee shop called Fido’s. BlankenshipProjects.com

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LIAM CRAIG Actor

Liam holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Off-Broadway Two Noble Kinsmen (The Public Theater), Aunt Dan and Lemon (The New Group), and Juno and the Paycock (Roundabout Theatre Company). Broadway: Boeing-Boeing. A master of the Shakespearean canon, he has performed in Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra at The Old Globe, and appeared in the world premiere of The Book of Will at the Denver Center. Film/TV: The Royal Tenenbaums, Ripley, Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary, and the Law & Order franchise.

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Nealy Glenn Actress

Nealy is an actress and writer with over 20 years of experience
across New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. A graduate of the NYU Tisch Graduate Acting Program, her classical training is highlighted by her performance as Sylvia in Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona at South Coast Rep. TV: Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, and the CBS mini-series Guilty Hearts alongside Marcia Gay Harden. As
a writer, she has sold the thriller Mistaken to Sony and the drama Slipknot to Relativity Media. Her short film The Wall of Death is part of a 36-film series reframing the history of women through Georges Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations.

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EVAN Zes Director

Evan is a writer, director, and actor. Directing: Rent Control — writer/performer at Soho Playhouse; Honduras by Sara Farrington; The Dancing Fox at Metawee River Theatre. As an actor, he has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, at regional theatres across the country, and internationally.

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MELLE POWERS Producer

Melle, a graduate of NYU Tisch's Graduate Acting Program, is the founder of New York-based production company Joy Powerwed Productions. The company is rooted in high-impact, human-centered storytelling; it develops and produces new work centered on joy, agency, and voices that refuse to stay silent, pairing rigorous theatrical craft with cultural dramaturgy and creative strategy across the arts. The Lady Doth Protest, co-produced with Feminine Productions, marks the company’s international debut at the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For information, email joypoweredproductions.com.

For JB and TB2 — you are the match that lights the flame.

Will holshouser Composer -Musician

Will lives in New York and has played accordion with Regina Carter, David Krakauer, Suzanne Vega, the New York City Ballet, and many others. He has released several albums of his own music, duo albums with trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, and has composed music for theater, film, and dance.

Jose-Maria Aguila Fight & Intimacy Designer

Jose is a New York-based actor, martial artist, and fight and intimacy designer. Theater includes Predictor (Off-Broadway)
and A Legendary Romance (Williamstown Theatre Festival). TV: S.W.A.T., Blue Bloods, and 5th of July. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association

Bella Costantino Costume & Scenic Designer

Bella is a multi-disciplinary designer and theatre maker. She loves exploring new ways to tell old stories and has a deep love for Shakespeare’s heroines. She holds a BA in Theatre from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing her MFA in Costume Design from NYU Tisch. @thanksbella

Dani Jeannette Draper Lighting Designer

Dani is a New York City-based lighting designer originally from Santa Barbara, California. Dani’s passion for lighting has taken her around the globe to theater festivals in North Macedonia,
Armenia, and Georgia. Previous credits include Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Tony Kushner), Top Girls (Caryl Churchill), and Trouble in Paradise (Luz Lorenzana Twigg). Dani holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Theater Arts from Westmont College.

DEB HECHT DIALECT COACH

Deb is an internationally known voice, speech, and dialect coach. On Broadway, she has coached 99 productions, including The Great Gatsby, Sweeney Todd, The Ferryman, Hangmen, and both the original and recent productions of Angels in America. Off-Broadway, her coaching has been
heard in hundreds of productions at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature, MCC, and New York Theatre Workshop. Film/TV: Moana, We Were
the Lucky Ones, Tokyo Vice. She is the former Director of the Speech and Vocal Department of NYU’s Graduate Acting Program.

Ryan Mccurdy Sound Designer

Ryan is an actor-musician, designer, producer, and music director whose work has been seen in NYC spaces including Carnegie Hall, The Bitter End, Minskoff Theatre, 54 Below, and MTC, as well as regional venues in Denver, Los Angeles, Burlington, Savannah, London, Austin, Norfolk, Wheeling, Key West, and Paris. @actormccurdy on IG/TikTok.

Contact us

Have thoughts about the play, need press info, or curious about mounting a production? We want to hear from you! Drop us a line with your questions, ideas, or interest in a run, and we’ll get back to you soon — likely with great enthusiasm and maybe a pun.