ALL WRITE! SPRING 2025

HOSTED BY MADELINE COHEN

READINGS BY
Crystal Dickinson, Philip Estrera, Khris Lewin, and Sonia Manzano

I Am From…. by Martha Tapia
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House
Performed by Sonia Manzano

Our Advice to New New Yorkers by Almoustapha Diop, Nadouba Kourouma, Gagny Niakate,
Gemima Nsanga, Creuth Bertold Obaliko Isse, and Deccy Rodriguez
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by The Company

Don’t be Shy to Leave the Cage by Domenico Mariniello
New York City Department of Education Queens Adult Learning Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

My Imagination by Adama Soukouna
Bronx Community College Adult Basic Education and Training Program
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

How to Carry Food by Fatoumata Doukoure
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson and Sonia Manzano

Job at the Store by Maria Garza
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Project Reach Youth
Performed by Sonia Manzano

When No One is Home by Yanlin Liu
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Monroe the Cat by SherryAnn Rodd
Brooklyn Public Library Flatbush Learning Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

Water Stone by Londyin Gonzalez
Lehman College Adult Learning Center
Performed by Khris Lewin

My Day Before…. by Maryna Dovenko
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Family Support Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Still Breathing by Olena Rosovska
Brooklyn College Adult Literacy Program
Performed by Philip Estrera

Longing for Hope by Olena Osmolovska
Shorefront YM-YWHA
Performed by Sonia Manzano

Canvas by Liping Chen
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Family Support Center
Performed by Khris Lewin

Dear Planet Earth, by Kiya Johnson
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Project Reach Youth
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

A Wonderful Flower by Dzhamshet Bakhronov
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Family Support Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

Voice of a Room by Mirianna Acevedo
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Performed by Khris Lewin

In My Room by Tanisha Bush
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Performed by The Company

He Was by Kristine Steinert
CommonPoint - The Hub
Performed by Sonia Manzano

What I Cannot Say, I’ll Say Here by Genesia Williams
CommonPoint - The Hub
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

I’m Rabel by Rabel Tejada
Bronx Community College Adult Basic Education and Training Program
Performed by Sonia Manzano

The Umbrella by Tetiana Davydenko
Shorefront YM-YWHA
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Childhood by Tiesheng Li
Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Family Support Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

Where I’m From by Jose Valdez
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Performed by Khris Lewin

Real Art by Kamilla Ananeva
New York City Department of Education Queens Adult Learning Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

A Freaky Friday Night by Cristal Alcántara
Queens Public Library Peninsula Adult Learning Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Embracing Change with My Teenage Daughter by Ngoc (Ruby) Pham Bich
Queens Public Library Elmhurst Adult Learning Center
Performed by Sonia Manzano

Where I’m From by Nidhar Abdulkhalik
Borough of Manhattan Community College
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Down Time by Diariou Barry
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by Sonia Manzano

My Home by Deccy Rodriguez
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

Tristeza in the Classroom by Susana Ortega
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House
Performed by Khris Lewin

Verbally Hyper by Amadou Ndiaye
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

Flying without wings by Leticia Soberanes
New York City Department of Education Queens Adult Learning Center
Performed by Khris Lewin

“I AM” Poem by Elionor Gina
Queens Public Library Peninsula Adult Learning Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

A Collection of Stones by Svetlana Davydova
Queens Public Library Elmhurst Adult Learning Center
Performed by Sonia Manzano

Speaking English: A terrible experience by Aurelia Reino
New York City Department of Education Queens Adult Learning Center
Performed by Khris Lewin

Interview by Alusine Jalloh
New York City Department of Education Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center
Performed by Philip Estrera

My Fear by Sanaa Moudrik
New York City Department of Education Queens Adult Learning Center
Performed by Crystal Dickinson

THE ARTISTS

Crystal Dickinson

Crystal Dickinson recently starred in The Blood Quilt and Broke-ology at Lincoln Center. She won the Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 2012 production of Clybourne Park and subsequently appeared in You Can’t Take It With You on Broadway in 2014. Her additional theater credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars, Wine in the Wilderness, and Gem of the Ocean at Two River Theater, Lessons in Survival at the Vineyard, The Low Road and Cullud Wattah at The Public, Covenant at the Roundabout, The Trees at Playwright’s Horizons, and Blues for an Alabama Sky at the McCarter. Her film and television credits include The Accidental Wolf, I Origins, The Good Wife, Feed the Beast, New Amsterdam, and recurring roles on The CHI and For Life. Dickinson has taught at Stella Adler Studio, Spelman College, Pace University, Princeton University, the Juilliard School, NYU, University of Illinois, and Seton Hall.

Crystal Dickinson recently starred in The Blood Quilt and Broke-ology at Lincoln Center. She won the Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 2012 production of Clybourne Park and subsequently appeared in You Can’t Take It With You on Broadway in 2014. Her additional theater credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars, Wine in the Wilderness, and Gem of the Ocean at Two River Theater, Lessons in Survival at the Vineyard, The Low Road and Cullud Wattah at The Public, Covenant at the Roundabout, The Trees at Playwright’s Horizons, and Blues for an Alabama Sky at the McCarter. Her film and television credits include The Accidental Wolf, I Origins, The Good Wife, Feed the Beast, New Amsterdam, and recurring roles on The CHI and For Life. Dickinson has taught at Stella Adler Studio, Spelman College, Pace University, Princeton University, the Juilliard School, NYU, University of Illinois, and Seton Hall.

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Philip Estrera

Philip Estrera is a NYC-based actor whose theater credits include Orphan of Zhao at La Jolla Playhouse and Monstress at the American Conservatory Theater. He appeared in the Sesame Street Thanksgiving special as Anton the bus driver, which introduced the first Asian American puppet to the series. He can be seen in episodes of Blue Bloods and New Amsterdam, and is active in the New York indie film community. Estrera is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theater’s MFA program.

Philip Estrera is a NYC-based actor whose theater credits include Orphan of Zhao at La Jolla Playhouse and Monstress at the American Conservatory Theater. He appeared in the Sesame Street Thanksgiving special as Anton the bus driver, which introduced the first Asian American puppet to the series. He can be seen in episodes of Blue Bloods and New Amsterdam, and is active in the New York indie film community. Estrera is a graduate of the American Conservatory Theater’s MFA program.

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Khris Lewin

Khris Lewin is thrilled to return to Symphony Space, where he has enjoyed performing in Selected Shorts and as part of many Bloomsday celebrations. NYC theatre credits include Richard II with Fight or Flight Theatre Company, Extreme Whether at La Mama ETC, Personnel Best at the Secret Theatre, Horatio in the world premiere of Boris Akunin’s Hamlet. A Version, Oliver! at Harbor Lights, Fêtes de la Nuit at the Ohio Theatre, and a new translation of Brecht's Private Life of the Master Race at Walkerspace.

Khris Lewin is thrilled to return to Symphony Space, where he has enjoyed performing in Selected Shorts and as part of many Bloomsday celebrations. NYC theatre credits include Richard II with Fight or Flight Theatre Company, Extreme Whether at La Mama ETC, Personnel Best at the Secret Theatre, Horatio in the world premiere of Boris Akunin’s Hamlet. A Version, Oliver! at Harbor Lights, Fêtes de la Nuit at the Ohio Theatre, and a new translation of Brecht's Private Life of the Master Race at Walkerspace.

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Sonia Manzano

When you think of Sonia Manzano, you immediately think of children and television. Her most recent accomplishment was creating a children’s program, Alma’s Way, for PBS Kids. The series has won two Imagen Awards for Best Youth Programing, a 2022 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program, and a 2023 NAACP nomination for an Image Award. But what Ms. Manzano is best known for performing the role of “Maria” on Sesame Street for 44 seasons, where her work affected the lives of millions of parents and children and garnered her two Emmy Award nominations in addition to the National Academy of Arts and Science’s Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy in 2016. As a writer for the show, she took home 15 Emmys. In 2022, Manzano was honored with the Beacon Award from PBS. She is also an author whose most recent Scholastic novel, Coming Up Cuban, set in 1959, follows the lives of four children who represent different intersections of race and class during the Cuban Revolution.

When you think of Sonia Manzano, you immediately think of children and television. Her most recent accomplishment was creating a children’s program, Alma’s Way, for PBS Kids. The series has won two Imagen Awards for Best Youth Programing, a 2022 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program, and a 2023 NAACP nomination for an Image Award. But what Ms. Manzano is best known for performing the role of “Maria” on Sesame Street for 44 seasons, where her work affected the lives of millions of parents and children and garnered her two Emmy Award nominations in addition to the National Academy of Arts and Science’s Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy in 2016. As a writer for the show, she took home 15 Emmys. In 2022, Manzano was honored with the Beacon Award from PBS. She is also an author whose most recent Scholastic novel, Coming Up Cuban, set in 1959, follows the lives of four children who represent different intersections of race and class during the Cuban Revolution.

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Madeline Cohen

Madeline Cohen is the Director of Symphony Space’s adult literacy program, All Write! She held the position of Education Director at Symphony Space from 1989 - 2022, and has been working in arts education for 48 years as a teaching artist, staff development leader, administrator, and consultant at Lincoln Center Institute, United Federation of Teachers, and Teachers College, among others. In addition, she is a costume designer.

Madeline Cohen is the Director of Symphony Space’s adult literacy program, All Write! She held the position of Education Director at Symphony Space from 1989 - 2022, and has been working in arts education for 48 years as a teaching artist, staff development leader, administrator, and consultant at Lincoln Center Institute, United Federation of Teachers, and Teachers College, among others. In addition, she is a costume designer.

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