About Gwendolyn Phair

Gwendolyn Phair is an actor, playwright, singer, artist and dancer. She has been in 20+ regional productions in Northern California. Two of her favorite roles she’s performed are: Young Mona in Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, and Cecily, in The Importance of Being Earnest. 16000 PSI is Gwendolyn’s first play to be produced in New York City. She is thrilled to be joining the New York City theatrical community.

Director’s Message

Directing this play has been a joy, compounded by how privileged I feel to have met such amazing collaborators. Every cast member brought precision and magnificence to each of my characters. I am beyond blessed to work with these stunningly talented actors. Now the show cannot go on without a crew, and I feel immensely grateful to work with exceptional and extremely dedicated individuals.

I grew up in a house of stories, every night my father would continue one of the many evolving epics he created before I went to bed. Some days we were cats, some days we were dragons, but all days were magical and stoked the already hot embers of my imagination. So when I saw the musical Cats I was enchanted, put under a spell from which I would never wake. I knew that I had to be a part of this world.

This spell drew me to acting when I was ten years old, proudly proclaiming my first lines in a summer camp production of School House Rock. I knew that I loved the smell of the theater and that on the stage, I was home; a story my mother loves to tell. I was once again in a castle of stories and I had the honor to be a living part in a great two hour tapestry. This love drew me through the subsequent 20+ productions from Puck, to Cecily Cardew.

I had fostered my writing in a different realm, mostly with novels and short stories. One day, a set of sisters made themselves known in my. conscience and I wrote down a few lines with no idea as to why or what they would become. I moved to NYC and through a lovely happenstance met someone participating in this festival and I thought, ‘when in Rome’…

A deep thank you to everyone, especially the audience, for diving into 16,000 PSI!

– Gwendolyn Phair