Park Bench
Confessions

Red and white 'Sold Out' sign with a distressed look.

Stories from the Second Act

A Staged Reading of New Works

Get ready for baking, bouncing, and breakdowns.

Park Bench Confessions is a bold, funny, and unapologetic collection of original short plays about ambition, aging, motherhood, meltdowns—and all the mess in between. Brought to you by The What Next? Collective, our second season humorously explores what women are really carrying—and what happens when they finally say it out loud.

From bake sale breakdowns to poetic showdowns, corporate spirals to prenatal yoga with baggage, this is women’s work—unfiltered, unpolished, and unapologetically real.

Saturday May 10

National Comedy Theater

3717 India St
San Diego, CA 92103

Doors open at 3:30 pm.
Show starts at 4:00 pm.

$25 per person.

Please join us afterward for a Q&A with no-host drinks & appetizers at Shakespeare Pub (across the patio from NCT).

Yellow warning tape with black text saying 'ONE NIGHT ONLY!'
 

Need ADA access? Please email our house manager.

Parking: Street parking is available on India St and in the adjacent neighborhood. Come early, just in case!

Featured Pieces

  • When poetry slams meet playground drama, no one’s sacred—and every verse is a verdict.

    Every week, five women gather under the open sky for their sacred ritual: 3P—Percussive Poetry in the Park. With rhythmic chants, spiritual affirmations, and savage stanzas, they channel their daily frustrations into lyrical liberation. But this week? The metaphors get personal. When a pointed poem unleashes long-buried power struggles, the circle breaks—and the sisterhood is forced to reconvene... in court. Sort of.

    Part poetic battle royale, part absurdist comedy, Percussive Poetry in the Park is a hilarious and sharp-edged exploration of group dynamics, female leadership, and the fine line between creative expression and emotional shrapnel.

    Alice: May Esteban
    Edith: Isabel Canzoneri
    Florence: Analia Romero
    Phyllis: Susan Clausen
    Sybil: Jena Joyce

  • Brains, beauty, and broadcast pressure—what happens when you’ve spent your whole life preparing for the spotlight… and someone younger shows up with a ring light?

    Merrit Rae is a seasoned news anchor with a perfect smile, a flawless script, and a not-so-flawless shot at the top job. As cameras roll and tension builds, she finds herself battling more than just nerves: a TikTok-ready ingénue, the network’s obsession with youth, and her own spiraling sense of self-worth. Meanwhile, her longtime producer, Shallon, may have ambitions of her own—and a few secrets tucked into her headset.

    Fast-paced and unflinchingly real, Breaking News is a razor-sharp dramedy about legacy, loyalty, and what it means to age out of a career before you’re done saying your piece.

    Andi: Jena Joyce
    Merritt: Julie Alexandria
    Shallon: Susan Clausen

  • One trampoline class. One burnt-out mom. One thousand unsolicited calls from work. Welcome to self-care—Gen X style.

    Nora is a stressed-out ad exec, a late-in-life mom, and the kind of woman whose idea of exercise is emailing a coworker while power-walking to the fridge. But when her therapist gently suggests she “connect with other women,” she finds herself bouncing—literally—into the most ridiculous workout of her life: Tramp Camp.

    Led by a glitter-clad instructor with high vibes and higher jumps, Tramp Camp catapults Nora into a world of affirmations, swivels, pelvic floor references, and women who stick their landings with unapologetic joy. But as her phone keeps buzzing and her work demands stack up, Nora must decide: is this just another to-do on the self-improvement checklist—or a lifeline to something freer, funnier, and fiercer?

    Emily: Isabel Canzoneri
    Junie: Naomi Welsh
    Instructor: Julie Alexandria
    Nora: Maria Costello
    Pete: Blair Hatch

  • Motherhood isn’t always biological. Family isn’t always fair. And love—well, love gets complicated when everyone’s carrying their own history.

    In a sunny park on an ordinary day, three generations of women meet with yoga mats, baby bumps, and decades of unresolved tension. There's Gemma, the childless youngest sister who’s done more parenting than anyone wants to admit. Janie, the perennially pregnant older sister whose chaos pulls in everyone around her. Jane, their image-conscious white mother, more comfortable giving critiques than comfort. And finally, Lola—the Filipino grandmother with a lifetime of secrets that say more than words ever could.

    With biting humor and profound vulnerability, Three Generations of Samayoa-Browns explores inheritance beyond bloodlines: trauma, sacrifice, silence, and survival.

    Gemma: Analia Romero
    Janie: Naomi Welsh
    Jane: Maria Costello
    Lola: May Esteban

  • Cupcakes, community, and a crisis of self-worth—what happens when the bake sale starts feeling more like a hostile takeover?

    Jessica’s spent years perfecting the Palo Alto bake sale scene: flawless cupcakes, color-coded signage, and just enough lavender frosting to impress the right people. Maggie’s balancing corporate strategy with cookie placement, and Sophie’s holding it all together with manifestation mantras and whatever pastry’s within reach. But when awards keep slipping through their sugar-dusted fingers—and a “volunteer opportunity” starts looking suspiciously like unpaid management—they realize they might be the only ones taking this seriously.

    As Jessica’s pursuit of perfection runs headfirst into a glass ceiling (frosted, of course), Maggie’s ambition meets suburban politics in yoga pants, and Sophie’s good vibes reach their expiration date, the trio faces a choice: keep playing nice, or flip the damn table.

    Fast, funny, and sprinkled with sharp satire, Sugar Coded is a whip-smart dramedy about ambition, invisibility, and finally charging for what everyone’s been taking for free.

    Jessica: Susan Clausen
    Maggie: Julie Alexandri
    Sophie: Maria Costello
    Will: Blair Hatch

Brought to you by

The What Next? Collective

  • DIRECTOR/ACTOR/LOCATION MANAGER
    Jena Joyce is a lawyer who took the question “What Next?” seriously when her daughter headed off to college in 2018. Venturing back into theater after a hiatus of more than 30 years, she has since performed with Coronado Playhouse, Lamplighters Theater, Poway Performing Arts Center, Thruline Theater, La Jolla Theatre Ensemble, Trinity Theater Company, Vanguard Theater, and more, and serves on the board of the San Diego Performing Arts League.

    Jena studied theater at Princeton University where she performed in a dozen plays, costumed several more and served on the board of the student-run Theatre Intime. After earning her Certificate from the Program in Theater and Dance, along with a BA in History, she performed in San Diego with the now-defunct Fritz, Fiesta, NewWorks and Marquis theaters before making an about face to study and practice law.

    Jena is delighted to be part of The What Next Collective to support this band of creatives, while also growing into her own second act.

  • PRODUCER/WRITER/MC/MARKETING
    Melissa Jordan Grey is a playwright, instigator, and unapologetic fan of messy characters and sharp dialogue. Her play Cringe snagged top honors at the TTC New Works Festival, while Trial and Error and A Walk in the Park were staged back-to-back at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center as winners of the International Memoir Writer’s Showcase.

    She’s the co-founder of The WhatNext? Collective, the creative force behind two bold original productions: Good Girls and Badassery and Park Bench Confessions. When she’s not stirring the pot onstage, Melissa serves on the board of the San Diego Performing Arts League and the IRTS Foundation, and has twice shared her voice (and maybe a few strong opinions) at the San Diego Writers Festival.

    Connect with her at www.melissajordangrey.com or on Instagram: @madeinmelissaland.

  • ACTOR
    Maria Costello trained for theatre and film at Shelton Studios in San Francisco. Shortly before the pandemic, she moved from the Bay Area to San Diego. Favorite roles include "Tina" in the Theatre Critics Circle award-winning play, "Girls Kill Nazis" and "Charlotte" in Beyond Therapy. A mother of two, Maria loves sourdough bread baking, training at her local gym and writing poetry. .

  • WRITER/HOUSE ASSISTANT
    Lolo Moreno Inés is a graduate of La Jolla Playhouse’s Spotlight On courses. When not writing, she can be found enjoying the local San Diego things she grew up on: Pinoy food, boogie boarding during winter Santa Anas, and off-roading in Borrego. Lolo is also a truly proud cat mama.

  • ACTOR/PROPS/SOCIAL MEDIA
    Julie is an accomplished TV host. She has been on the sidelines covering college football on Fox and the Big Ten Network; the US Open for ESPN; and baseball for MLB Network, the Washington Nationals, and, most recently, for the San Diego Padres. Julie has hosted entertainment shows interviewing celebrities for MTV, the Emmys Red Carpet, the Miss USA Pageant, and the Oscars. NYC Off-Broadway: Pieces (New World Stages); Twelfth Night (Urban Stages); Marisol (Hudson Guild Theater). Other NYC/Regional credits include: Tony and Tina’s Wedding, The Diary of Anne Frank (Tennessee Rep); Brighton Beach Memoirs (Long Beach Playhouse); and Yo Soy Latina (Crossroads Theater). Julie was also part of the original cast of the musical Gidget, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Numerous national network commercials and Voice Overs. She can currently be heard as the voice of Progressive Insurance and on the latest installment of Harley Quinn and Joker for DC Comics on Spotify.

  • WRITER/HOUSE MANAGER
    Lindsey Salatka is an author, editor, ghost-writer, and Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach. Her debut novel, Fish Heads and Duck Skin was released by She Writes Press in 2021. Her writing has been featured in several anthologies and performed in the San Diego Memoir Showcase in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and in the What Next Collective in 2024. She is on the advisory board of the San Diego Writers Festival and recently completed a three-year stint as Director of the KidsWrite! Children’s Writing Contest. She also served as Coordinator of the Author of the Month program at the San Diego Central Library from 2022-2024. You can find her at lindseysalatka.substack.com and on Instagram: @mywhatlovelygillsyouhave.

  • ACTOR/PUBLICIST
    Susan most recently performed at Oceanside Theatre Company as Margie in Good People. Scripps Ranch Theatre credits include Donna Orbits the Moon, Good People, Absurd Person Singular, Moonlight and Magnolias, California Suite and How the Other Half Loves. Lamb’s Players Theatre credits include The Nerd, Harvey, A Man For All Seasons, ‘Till We Have Faces and The Diviners. Susan performed in Write Out Loud’s Twainfest from 2010 – 2020 and portrayed Clara Schumann for the San Diego Symphony. Other local credits include Defying Gravity, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Auntie Mame, Dancing at Lughnasa and Jake’s Women at North Coast Rep. On camera credits include Host and Co-Producer of the 10 episode docuseries Lights, Camera, Friendship on the Spectrum (streaming on Red Coral) and Carol in A Christmas Miracle by Joey Travolta’s Inclusion Films. Susan is also a voice over artist and voices the character of “Gooz” for the ongoing children’s radio series Paws and Tales. She teaches filmmaking to teens with developmental and intellectual disabilities via Joey Travolta’s Inclusion Films.

  • WRITER/HOUSE ASSISTANT
    Caroline Gilman is a middle grade writer and business owner who resides in San Diego, CA. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Caroline is currently preparing to query her middle-grade fantasy novel, an adaptation of her recent screenplay.  Caroline serves as the Vice President of the International Memoir Writers Association and Director of Marketing for the San Diego Writers Festival. Her short memoir DFQ was selected as a winner in the San Diego Memoir Showcase and performed on stage at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. Caroline also provides freelance marketing and graphic design support for authors. 

Producer’s Note


Stories from the Second Act

One year ago, we cracked open the window with Good Girls and Badassery and invited you in. What started as a rainy-night idea became a room full of women telling bold, funny, deeply human stories—and the response made one thing clear: there is a hunger for truth, told through the lens of women who’ve lived, loved, led, lost, and still keep showing up.

This season, we return with Park Bench Confessions—a new collection of short plays exploring women’s work in all its complexity. And no, we don’t just mean jobs (though we’ve got those, too). We mean the invisible labor, the emotional labor, the caretaking, the career-climbing, the rule-breaking, the social juggling, the perfection-performing, and the legacy-building work that women do—every. single. day.

Our ensemble has grown, our voices have deepened, and the stories we’re sharing this season are bolder, sharper, and even more unapologetically real. You’ll meet women navigating bake sales, board rooms, trampolines, and generational trauma—sometimes with grace, sometimes with profanity. And often with both.

The What Next? Collective continues to be a creative force powered by women “of a certain age”—meaning we’ve got enough experience to know better and just enough rebellious spirit to go for it anyway. This is not a midlife crisis. This is a midlife mic drop. So here we are—season two. Still writing, still rising, and more fearless than ever.

Pull up a seat, lean in close, and let the confessing begin!

Melissa Jordan Grey
Co-Founder/Producer

Guest Cast & Crew Members

  • A smiling woman with dark hair, wearing a blue top and earrings, against a red and pink blurred background.

    Isabel Canzoneri

    ACTOR

  • Portrait of a young woman with short, dark hair and hoop earrings, looking at the camera with a slight smile.

    Farah Dinga

    SCRIPT CONSULTANT

  • A woman with medium-length brown hair with highlights, smiling at the camera, wearing a blue patterned top, against a black background.

    May Esteban

    ACTOR

  • Man in a light blue short-sleeve button-up shirt, beige shorts, straw hat, and sunglasses standing outdoors near water and rocky terrain, with another man fishing in the background.

    Blair Hatch

    ACTOR

  • A young man with short brown hair smiling and holding a bassoon in front of a brick wall.

    Jac Ostrie

    SOUND TECHNICIAN

  • Analia Romero

    Analia Romero

    ACTOR

  • Close-up portrait of a woman with long dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a black blazer, with blurred warm lighting background.

    Naomi Welsh

    ACTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER