Laura E. Johnston (Senior Sylvia/Harry)
Laura is an actor, director and producer. Favorites—NYC Theater: Great Aunt Arthur in Lemon Stew (New Perspectives Theatre Co.); Mamie Till in Clover (LaMaMa Experimental Theater); Leonardo in Much Ado About Nothing (Classics in Color). Regional: Calpurnia in To Kill A Mockingbird (Arkansas Rep). Staged Readings: Helen Stayner in Dorothea Puente Tells All by Mark Loewenstern (Industry Read). Film: Genie in James White (Borderline Films). TV:  Tawanda in “Wu Tang: An American Saga” (Hulu). Producer: Life on the Mississippi (The Workshop Theater, NYIT nominee). Director: I Gotta Home by Shirley Graham DuBois – reading (On Her Shoulders Pgm.); Artificial Light by Lynda Crawford (SPARK Theater Fest); African Folk Tales (Theater Works/USA). Always for J.J. IG: laura.e.johnston

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Jasmine Hawkins (Young Sylvia/Elizabeth)
is a New York-based multi-hyphenate creative—actor, director, writer, producer, and casting artist—originally from Virginia. Recent performance credits include DJ in Breeders (Centenary Stage Company), The Young King (Miles Square Theatre), Choosing (Apollo Theater), Looking Glass (Violet Mirage Theatre), and As You Like It (Amoeba Productions). JHawkins-Theatre Resume 2026 .pdf She holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College and has worked across performance, directing, producing, casting, and new-play development. JHawkins-Theatre Resume 2026 .pdf Jasmine is passionate about bold, community-centered storytelling and creating work that celebrates the complexity of Black life. Instagram: @jazz.hawkins

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Jackie Maruschak (Mistress Dubois/Man 1)

Jackie has done Regional Theater, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway and where-the-hell-is-Broadway. She’s worked in productions Off Broadway’s "Tony n'Tina's Wedding, The Signature Theater, The Atlantic Theater (director’s project), The Barrow Group, The Lincoln Center New Works Series, The Public Theatre’s Reading Series, The New York and Los Angeles Fringe Festivals and The Shoestring Players at the National Theatre in Washington, DC.  She received an Ovation Award (LA) nomination for her solo show, “Last Stop: Neverland” which she wrote and performed and is the voice of Harley on the Xbox games "Outlaw Golf I and II", "Outlaw Volleyball" and "Outlaw Tennis". She has also done film, commercials, voiceovers and stand-up comedy. She is a proud member of The Barrow Group/FAB (theater FOR, ABOUT and BY women), ARTC and New Circle Theatre Company.   She is thrilled to be a part of telling this story about Sylvia Dubois, a truly inspirational woman.  

www.jackiemaruschak.com

 

Margo Hammond (Playwright, Producer)

Margo (Gogo Group Inc.) is grateful for Speranza and for Hudson County’s LAP grant in supporting the development of “Sylvia’s Moxie”. And, the Museum of JC History has been a great place for encouraging history stories. Another of Margo’s plays,“Horseshoe Empire”, was presented here at the museum in 2023. That play was about Frank Hague, JC’s most notorious mayor, and it received sold out houses, rave reviews, an interview with WNET’s Steve Adabado and the J. Owen Grundy Award from JC’s Landmarks Conservancy. Margo’s plays have also been presented in London, Milan, NYC, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Abingdon, Va and at various other theatres across the U.S. Her play “Mistress Marlene” is published in Smith & Kraus’ “Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2015” and “Mae the Magnificent” received 1st Place (The Standing Ovation Award) in their 2019 anthology.  “Let Maisy Rest In Peace” was part of Barter Theatre’s Appalachian Festival of New Plays 2019. “Blades” was published in Applause Books 2021 and it was presented at The Magnetic Theatre (Asheville NC), also at Cornell U (Ithaca) and Watchung Hills Regional High in Warren, NJ. Margo is a 1st Prize recipient of the Jerry Kaufman Award for Excellence in Playwriting 2016. Member of Dramatist Guild, Actors Studio PDU, ARTC, LPTW (League of Professional Theatre Women), AEA, SAG/AFTRA  www.margohammond.com  www.gogogroupinc.org  

 

Joseph Franchini (Dominucus Dubois/Ruffian 2/Lawyer)

Joseph Franchini is a New York based actor.  Most recent appearances include Margo Hammond’s Mae the Magnificent for The Chain Theatre’s Summer Festival 2026, the American premiere of The Land of Swollen Faces by Paolo Bignami at The Tank,  Cherry Jam (an adaptation of The Cherry Orchard), and Zamboni at SoHo Playhouse.  He received a Drama Desk nomination for his work in The Navigator by Eddie Antar.  www.josephfranchini.com

 

Frank Hankey  (Stage Directions) 

Frank Hankey appeared at the Apple Tree House as Mayor Hague in Margo Hammond’s Horseshoe Empire.  Other recent work includes Chief Beatty in Farenheit 451 (Greenhouse Ensemble) and Valter in Love Sex and Real Estate (ARTC). He has worked on Broadway (End of the World) Off-Broadway (The Dining Room, The Cocktail Hour), extensively in regional and summer theaters (Boston, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Williamstown) and on TV (in Trial of Standing Bear and lately in Nick Garr’s YouTube series Nurse’s Station). He has an MFA in acting from Brandeis University.

 

Tia Dionne Hodge  (DIRECTOR) 

Actor, director, and award-winning writer TIA DIONNE HODGE most recently appeared as Supporting Lead--Linda--in Quinn Shephard's Not Okay"(Hulu, 2022) and as guest-star, Nedra Lewis, Esq., on FBI: Most Wanted. She has appeared in Forever, 666 Park Avenue, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order SVU, and Conviction, as well as in Nicole Holofcener's The Land of Steady Habits as Tamara, and as the female lead--Wendy Coleman--in Executive Producer Shaquille O'Neal's redemption drama, Steps, with Robby Morgan, Walter Fauntleroy, and Robert G. McKay. In addition to acting, Tia Dionne's plays have received productions and readings at New Perspectives Theatre Company (NYC) and Luna Stage (Montclair, NJ). Her monologues and essays can be found in More Monologues for Women, by Women; vol II, Black and Comedy: 9 Plays, and in her collection of monologues for young actors, PLAY. SPEAK, (OddInt Media, publisher). Tia Dionne is a former National Poetry Slam Team champion, and she shares writer, director, and producer credits for the short film "Big Bully" which won Best Children Short Film at the Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes (2019). Tia Dionne earned her M.A. and B.A. in English Literature from Case Western Reserve University. She and her husband, Thomas, are the proud parents of their daughter, Logan.