A journalist and her protege help a whistleblower expose a secret cult in this world premiere play.
May 3 - 16, 2026 at The Flea
After a wildly successful inaugural season that included Clay McLeod Chapman’s feejee mermaid and Kayla Eisenberg’s Lilith in Pisces, Drops in the Vase present the World Premiere of TIHS IS NOT A DEATH CULT by Maggie Cino and Scott C. Sickles with additional material by Montserrat Méndez May 3 - 16, 2026 at The Flea (20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007). The performance schedule varies. Tickets are $25 - $35, available at www.dropsinthevase.com.
In THIS IS NOT A DEATH CULT, a legacy media journalist and her protege help a whistleblower expose a philanthropist’s secret cult.
THIS IS NOT A DEATH CULT is directed by Pete Boisvert starring Stephanie Cox-Connolly, Marx, Marcus Troy and Natalia Mar Urzua with stage management by Berit Johnson. The production team includes Sandy Yaklin (Scenic Designer), Ben Philipp (Costume Designer), Ivy Walker (Lighting Designer), Ari Cleveland (Sound Designer), Dana Rossi (Props Master) and Emily Edwards (Intimacy & Violence Director).
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Maggie Cino has been described as “a writer of extraordinary versatility and imagination.” Her playwrighting credits include: WARM ENOUGH FOR SWIMMING (FringeNYC Encore Series, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist, excerpts appear in the Smith & Krause Best Men’s and Best Women’s Monologue series), DECOMPRESSION (FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Playwrighting, Chain Theater Minor Variations Series, published by Indie Theater Now), and ASCENDING BODILY (published in the Plays and Playwrights series).
Scott C. Sickles (he/him) is an internationally produced LGBTQ+/ neurodivergent/ American Born Mixed Korean writer. Plays include NONSENSE AND BEAUTY (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Edgerton Award, ATCA Steinberg Finalist; Next Stage Press), MARIANAS TRENCH (Leviathan Lab; Road Theatre; Portland Stage), PANGEA (Garry Marshall Theatre), PLAYING ON THE PERIPHERY: MONOLOGUES AND SCENES FOR AND ABOUT QUEER KIDS (Whim Productions, KCMO). Emmy and five-time Writers Guild of America Award winner for GENERAL HOSPITAL.
Montserrat Méndez: Writer. Director. Professional Troublemaker. Born in Puerto Rico, raised on Jersey grit, and baptized in the raw, unfiltered chaos of New York’s indie theater scene. His play THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST PART DEUX: THOROUGHLY STUPID THINGS won Outstanding Playwriting at FringeNYC 2008. His chamber musical EL FUEGO Y SU HEREDERO, centered on Lolita Lebrón’s armed uprising in the U.S. Capitol, was a finalist for the Perelman PAC’s Democratic Cycle—because nothing says “revolution” like a musical.
Pete Boisvert is a director, actor, and graphic designer. He has produced and directed dozens of plays in NYC over the last quarter century, including THE ADVENTURES OF NERVOUS-BOY (A PENNY DREADFUL), INFECTIOUS OPPORTUNITY, THE LITTLE ONE, and BROKENHEARTEDS. In 2024 he directed Drops in the Vase's inaugural production, Clay McCleod Chapman's FEEJEE MERMAID, and he serves as Director of Artistic Producing for the company. Co-Artistic Director of Nosedive Productions (1999-2013), Co-Creator of THE BLOOD BROTHERS PRESENT… horror anthology series (2006-2016).
Drops in the Vase was founded in 2023 by Stephanie Cox-Connolly, Pete Boisvert, Brianna Sauvage, Morgan Zipf-Meister, Chris Connolly, and Sarah Lahue. It is a not-for-profit production company committed to independent theater and community building. By providing artists with opportunities to create, promoting audience engagement, and producing live theater, we seek to foster the next era of artistic expression while maintaining a connection to our community’s past.