Join us for an intimate evening honoring Colt Coeur Company Member actor Ato Essandoh (Netflix’s “The Diplomat”, Colt Coeur’s Fish Eye) and corporate leader RoAnn Costin. 

Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 7pm
Live Music, Drinks & Nosh
Raffle & Auction at 8.30pm

Casa La Femme

Check out our amazing offerings on our
ONLINE AUCTION (event attendance not required to win. closes 10/13)

BENEFIT COMMITTEE
Devon Aoki & James Bailey, Audrey Vuong Broome, Deborah DeCotis, Tim Daly & Teá Leoni, Braley Degenhardt, Betty Gilpin, Lucas Kavner, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Roberta Kelly, Irene Lazaridis, Steven Levenson & Whitney May, Lucy Maloney, Alex Marrs, Moriah Musto, Lawrence O’Donnell, Tomi Olabanji, Andrew Perlmutter, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Dale Russakoff, Erica Rotstein, Jenny & Jon Steingart, Joe Tippett

Ato and Adrienne first crossed paths at Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2010, Ato was starring in Six Degrees of Separation, directed by Anne Kauffman, and Adrienne, Ato, and a fellow cast member named Lucas Kavner hit it off. A few months later they started developing what was to be Colt Coeur’s 2nd world premiere: Fish Eye, starring Betty Gilpin, Joe Tippett, Katya Campbell - and Ato. Ato has been a dedicated compay member ever since - he’s been an integral part of development of new projects and has served as a Teaching Artist and Mentor for multiple years. We are thrilled to welcome Ato to the Colt Coeur Board this fall.

RoAnn Costin got to know Colt Coeur through her college friend (and Adrienne’s mom), Meg Campbell and has been a champion of the company’s work for over a decade. RoAnn has been especially supportive of world premieres including Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel and Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector, and has been a tremendous thought partner to Adrienne.

Celebrate with us as we toast to 13 years of creating original, story-driven visceral theater that pulls you close and doesn’t let go and help us raise essential funds to support our 3 primary activities: 

1. Pipeline for new plays - both creating plays from scratch AND mounting world/NY premiere productions, as well as Parity Plays Fest & Play Hotel development of new plays

2. Incubator & Artistic home - for company members, CoCo Residents & through education, internship & mentorship programs

3. Education Initiative & Mentorship - nurture the next generation of theater artists

Check out highlights from last year’s event!

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Produced our 14th Annual Education Initiative, a free 5-day workshop where NYC public school students work with professional actors, playwrights, directors and designers to conceive and create original short plays that highlight their creativity, and uplift their stories. 

• Welcomed new Resident artists: Rashad T. Bailey, Katie Book, Dustin Chinn, Katie Douglas, Rachel Herron, Niara Mae, Sarah Sander and Corey Umlauf. This program provides artistic, administrative and financial support to these talented artists during a year-long residency. 

• Produced our 15th World Premiere, Dodi & Diana, a CoCo commission from Kareem Fahmy! 

• Developed new commissioned plays from Francisca da Silveira and Natalie Margolin

UP NEXT 

• Our 16th World Premiere, Bite Me, a co-production with WP Theater running September 23 - October 22. 

• Announcing our 7th cohort of Resident artists 

• Facilitating our 15th Annual Education Initiative 

• Our 17th World Premiere, soon to be announced, as part of our 2023-24 Season. 

ABOUT OUR HONOREES

RoAnn Costin is the founder and president of Wilderness Point Investments, a private equity company that focuses on investing in early and expansion stage consumer non-durable product and retailing companies. Ventures in which Ms. Costin has invested and sits or has sat on the board of directors include Lululemon Athletica, Genuine Health International, 2020 Onsite Optometry and Sarah Flint, Inc. Ms. Costin began her career in 1981 working for State Street Research and Management, Co. She was the first woman investment analyst, portfolio manager and partner in the firm. In 1989, Ms. Costin joined the Putnam Companies as a member of the Quality Growth group, and in 1992 she founded and was president of Reservoir Capital Management, a firm specializing in quality growth equities investments. Prior to her career in business, Ms. Costin worked in government at the federal and local levels. She received an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Government, cum laude, from Harvard University, where she was an All-American in swimming and crew. She currently serves on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, American Repertory Theater and Codman Academy Charter School.

Ato Essandoh (he/him) Born on a Saturday, late July in Schenectady New York, the first child of Ebow and Monica Essandoh did not have an official name. Ghanaian custom dictated that the new parents wait a week before divining a name during a traditional ceremony. Seven days hence, "Baby Boy Essandoh" became Ato Essilfi Brakutu Essandoh. "Ato" meaning Saturday born, "Essilfi" after his grandfather, a beloved school teacher in Ghana, and finally "Brakutu" a designation meaning "warrior." While studying Chemical Engineering at Cornell, Ato was dared by his college sweetheart to perform in a play. Years later, Ato still marvels at the experiences and opportunities that have been afforded to him since that fateful performance at Cornell. Ato’s career has blossomed over the years with memorable turns in movies such as “Garden State,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Jason Bourne.”  On TV Ato has had the fortune to play a great variety of roles. His favorites include a Civil War doctor in BBC America’s crime series “Copper;” a blues singer in HBO’s music industry drama “Vinyl;” and an astronaut in Netflix’s space saga “Away.” Currently Ato stars as “Stuart Hayford” in Netflix’s hit drama “The Diplomat.” Ato has been a Colt Coeur company member since 2011, when he developed and starred opposite Betty Gilpin, Joe Tippett and Katya Campbell in Lucas Kavner’s Fish Eye.

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT

Mail a check, payable to Colt Coeur:
ATTN: Benefit
20 Jay Street, Suite 208
Brooklyn, NY 11201

To place an ad in our digital journal, give by wire transfer or stock, in-kind contributions, volunteer hours: email Heather Cohn at ColtCoeurEP@gmail.com