Elizabeth
The CEnter at west Park presents
Elizabeth
As a part of the Evolution Festival
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 @ 7:30PM
Location The Sanctuary
At St. Paul & St. Andrew
Appropriate for 18+
On 15 January 1947, Elizabeth Short’s body was found bisected and discarded in a Los Angeles lot. In the years since her murder, she has been catapulted to celebrity status. The story of her death has been retold countless times, cementing her as just as much a mythological figure as well as permanent fixture in the true crime genre. She is remembered more for her death than for her life. "Elizabeth" tells the true story of the Black Dahlia Murder through the eyes of Elizabeth herself, but most importantly celebrates her life.
Marissa Alaniz- Playwright Alysia Homminga- Director
Maddie Macaufflie- Stage Manager Sharon Lita- Elizabeth Short
Alithea Howes- Aggie Underwood Meagan Sisler- Ann Toth/Others
Bennett Saltzman- Red Manley/Leslie Dillon/Mark Hanson/Male Voice Heather Lee Rogers- Phoebe Short/Lt. Hanson/Others Gigi Brown- Betty Bersinger/Wain Sutton/Others Maura Rygg- Dr. De River/Jimmy Richardson
About the Lead Artist
Originally an actor, Marissa Alaniz fell into playwriting out of frustration with the female characters she was always cast as or was reading for. Her work lives in the world of dark comedy and often explores queerness, trauma, quotidian horror and misfits. She holds an Associate's degree from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she received an award for Excellence in Drama from the Lee Strasberg studio. She is a founding member of the Imaginarium Theater Company, which advocates for equity and sustainability in the theater. She is currently working towards her MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
The CWP Evolution Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
