MERCURY MAKES THE SKIN GLOW
Leviathan Lab Presents
MERCURY MAKES THE SKIN GLOW
By Gaven D. Trinidad
Directed by Roger Q. Mason
Monday, April 20th | 7:00 P
ART-New York - Aibel Studio | 520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor | MAP
Filipinos love love. Filipinos love beauty. Filipinos love beauty pageants.
Veteran pageant queen Carmelita establishes a new circuit of pageants for the Filipino American community in New York City. Against her daughter Jesca's wishes, Carmelita coerces her seven-year-old grandson, Ernesto, to participate, which unearths troubling questions of race, identity, colorism, and the Global South's multi-billion-dollar obsession with skin whitening. Part unhinged teleserye/telenovela, part beauty pageant, and part historical reckoning, the play investigates how the dangerous pursuit of "whiteness" is more than skin deep.
CAST
Arianne Recto (Export Quality, co-founder of Ma-Yi Theater) as Carmelita
Liz Casasola (Dogeaters, Imelda the Musical, co-founder of Broadway Barkada) as Jesca
Nacho Tambunting (Felix Starro, Spring Awakening: Manila 2026) as Diego
Del Gonzales (The Adventures of Beastie) as Sebastián
Matthew De Lorme (Stuy or Die) as Ernie
Karl Jingco (Eksena PH) as the Pageant Host
PRODUCTION TEAM
Mars Juno Bartolome Neri | Production Stage Manager
Soomin Sun | Production Assistant
Ariel Estrada | Producer
Nacho Tambunting | Associate Producer
MEET THE ARTISTS
Gaven D. Trinidad | Playwright
Gaven D. Trinidad (They/Them, He/Him) is a first-generation Filipino American dramaturg, playwright, director, and educator from NYC. Gaven has collaborated in artistic and administrative roles in Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, Breaking the Binary, and National Queer Theater. Selected plays: Learning How to Read by Moonlight (Boston Critic’s Pick, Company One & CHUANG Stage), Mercury Makes the Skin Glow (O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist), novena (O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist). Selected dramaturgy credits: The Duat (Philadelphia Theatre Company, PlayPenn), Waiting for a Wake (Page 73), The Pink (Primary Stages), The PreP Play, or Blue Parachute (National Queer Theater, NCTC), June is the First Fall (Yangtze Repertory Theatre), Collidescope 2.0 (Ping Chong + Company), Patience (Second Stage). Selected directing credits: Joker (National Queer Theater), Are You There, Truman? (Pride Plays, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Parsnip Ship, Leviathan Lab) Full Contact (Leviathan Lab, National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere). Member of Ma-Yi Writers Lab. After working at New York Theatre Workshop for almost 6 years on its administrative staff, they are now the Marketing Manager of Audience and Community Engagement at Signature Theatre Company in New York City. https://www.gaventrinidadtheatre.com/
Roger Q. Mason | Director
Roger Q. Mason (They/Them) is proud to return to directing for this special presentation of MERCURY MAKES THE SKIN GLOW. Known for their genre-busting historical revisionist playwriting, Mason's plays have been seen on Broadway (Circle in the Square Reading Series; 24 Hour Plays at Town Hall), Off-Broadway, and regionally. As a champion of new play development, Mason has worked as a director and dramaturg for National Queer Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, Padua Playwrights, A Noise Within, USC School of Theatre, Princeton University, Middlebury College, Northwestern University, and Sheryl Lee Ralph's Diva Simply Singing. This summer, Mason will direct actor/comedian Anwar Ali's new show for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. They hold degrees from Princeton University, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. Roger Q. Mason is currently on the faculty at CalArts. IG: @rogerq.mason | https://www.rqmason.com/
Arianne Recto | Carmelita
Arianne Recto is an actor and singer based in Queens, New York. She is a founding member of the Obie Award-winning Ma-Yi Theater Company, one of the longest-running Filipino American theatre companies in the United States. A member of The Public Theater's Public Works, her stage credits include Export Quality (Ma-Yi Theater Company), As You Like It, and Hercules (The Public Theater). Her film work includes Batang West Side/West Side Avenue. She is proud to join the cast of MERCURY MAKES THE SKIN GLOW. https://www.ariannerecto.com/
Liz Casasola | Jesca
Liz Casasola is a NYC-based singer, actor, and producer born in Los Angeles. She is a Co-Founder of Broadway Barkada, supporting Filipino artists worldwide. She has been seen in Dogeaters, Imelda the Musical and has performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center. She is passionate about developing new works that tell Filipino stories. https://www.lizcasasola.com/ | https://www.broadwaybarkada.com/
Nacho Tambunting | Diego | Associate Producer
Born and raised in Manila, Nacho began performing professionally in 2006 with Repertory Philippines in The Sound of Music, later appearing in productions including Peter Pan, Seussical, Camp Rock, The Producers, and Jack and the Beanstalk. He earned his BFA from NYU Tisch and made his Off-Broadway debut originating the title role in Felix Starro with Ma-Yi Theater Company. Stage credits include Trilogy, The Play You Want, and the world premiere of Everything Beautiful Happens at Night. He contributed to developing the Broadway musicals The Notebook and Kimberly Akimbo. Screen credits include recurring roles on NBC’s Rise, Apple TV+’s Dickinson, Netflix’s Ashley Garcia and First Wives Club. Film credits include Asian Persuasion and Come Into My Arms. Nacho was most recently seen as Melchior in Sandbox Collective's Spring Awakening. https://www.nachotambunting.com/
Del Gonzales | Sebastián
Del Gonzales is a New York City based actor and theatre-maker. Filipino Latino American, born in Korea and raised in Louisiana, he trained at Hamilton College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). His stage work spans the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and PhysFest NYC, including his solo devised clown show The Adventures of Beastie soon to be presented at the Denver Fringe Festival and PortFringe. On screen, he leads the indie series Fuck Head (Bad Hombres Films, dir. Erick Moya) and stars in the short film Charlatans (dir. Cassidy Chen). He is delighted to be making his developmental workshop debut with Mercury Makes the Skin Glow. https://delgonzales.com/
Matthew De Lorme | Ernie
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Mars Juno Bartolome Neri | Production Stage Manager
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Soomin Sun | Production Assistant
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Ariel Estrada | Producer
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About Leviathan Lab
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THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS!
Leviathan Lab's 2025 activities are presented with generous support, in part, from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; the 2024-25; and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.