Reckless Theatrics

04/04/2026

We're so excited to announce our short film HYPER INATTENTIVE created as part of the
When their parent disappears on a bender, a struggling young woman with ADHD must suddenly take care of her precocious four-year-old sister. With a social worker visit looming, she tries to pull herself and her house together, but her sister's elaborate pillow fort stands in the way. In choosing whether to dismantle the fort or comfort her sister, she confronts her own insecurities about being neurodivergent and embracing a lost part of herself!
This one is close to our hearts. We hope it resonates with anyone who has ever felt like their mind was too much and not enough all at once.
Again a huge thanks to our cast and crew, without whom this could not have happened:
Written by & starring
Directed by
Cinematography by mattiecammedia
AC
AD .mali
Produced by , & .mtm
Watch HYPER INATTENTIVE now!

02/28/2026

Tonight ( ), join us on Zoom or at Court Square Theater in LIC for Fail Risk, a play about navigating love and chronic illness.

This play is written and produced by our Co-Founder, Ali Hardy, and is inspired by her experience living with multiple rare diseases.

The show is from 6PM to 8:30PM. Tickets are pay what you can with suggested prices of $5, $17, or $30 so that cost isn’t a barrier for the community. Link in our bio.

Cast

Crew:

CW: Mature content, strong language, s*xual themes, s*xual trauma related to illness or disability, depictions of ma********on, depictions of s*xual situations when consent cannot be given or revoked due to medical incapacity, fatphobia in medicine, medical trauma, gaslighting, and suicidal ideation.

This project is made possible, in part, with public funds from the Queens Art Fund, a re-grant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

02/27/2026

Tomorrow, February 28th, join us on Rare Disease Day for a reading of the play Fail Risk, written by Ali Hardy.

Here is part two to yesterday's scene, highlighting the sentimentality, feeling, and tribulations faced by Peyton and Alex as they navigate their relationship through shifty medical care.

Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/26/2026

Here’s a sneak peek into the thoughtful lives of Peyton and Alex. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow and come see us at Court Square Theater or on Zoom for our upcoming show, Fail Risk on February 28th. Ticket link in bio.

02/25/2026

In case you missed our last post, we are sharing reviews from early the presentations of Fail Risk in anticipation for the revised version we are excited to share this Saturday!
For the second draft, we hosted a virtual reading with a small group of disabled and chronically ill actors to hear the play out loud and receive feedback on where the story was headed. Here’s what they had to say!

Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/24/2026

In anticipation for our upcoming reading this Saturday, we'd like to share some reviews surrounding an early version of Fail Risk.

In 2021 Reckless Theatrics produced a virtual show consisting of two short plays, one of them being Fail Risk. A scene from Year 4 was turned into a one act of play of its own and the feedback we received was used to shape the full length version we’re presenting this Saturday, including the addition of the character Amanda. This is some of what the audience had to say.

Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/20/2026

Say Hello to our Photographer, Mattie!

Mattie Cameron Rosen (she/they) is a New Jersey-based camera operator and cinematographer with decades of experience in multiple forms of media and visual storytelling. Her years of broadcast journalism for Thirteen and FiOS1 have honed her skills of presentation and problem solving, even under the tightest of deadlines and harshest of conditions. Likewise, her experiences on narrative films have developed a sharp artistic insight to plan and bring projects to life. She brings dedication, vision, and mindfulness to every project and is looking for collaborators who can push her to grow creatively and personally. mattiecam.com

Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/18/2026

Meet two members of our crew, Carla and Alexa!

Carla Burbano (she/her) is a New York City–born and based Latinx stage and screen actress, voiceover artist, and emerging writer. She trained at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and is a semester away from graduating from The New School with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts. Her credits include Broadway (Here Lies Love), immersive theater productions (Stranger Things: The Experience and Money Heist: The Experience), and most recently the short film Table for Three, in which she co-wrote, directed, and starred.
Just as her acting pulls on heartstrings, her writing aims to do the same. With a burning love for dramedies, she’s a sucker for a good cry-laugh. Follow her on Instagram for upcoming work and projects currently in the vault.


Alexa Jones (she/her) is a film student at The New School, where she is developing a multidisciplinary practice across directing, design, performance, and production. Her theater and film credits include Assistant Set Design for Table for Three, serving as Assistant Director for Hamlet at Jamestown Community College and acting in White Doves. She is currently helping to plan The New Screen Fest, an upcoming film festival at The New School, and is excited to contribute and support this production through marketing!


Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/16/2026

Meet Sam and Ben!
Sam Nieves (Non-binary, all pronouns)
Latinx chronically ill & disabled performer, director, and cinematographer. I’m a trained actor (NY Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, AOS Acting for Film & TV) and co-founder of Reckless Theatrics, a fiscally sponsored collective creating original, representative work since 2018. I’m passionate about accessible, trauma-informed, consent-based storytelling and collaborative process. As an actor, I blend rigorous script analysis with play, adaptability, and care for the full production because I know what it takes to make a shoot day work.
Management: Maryann Raposo, Dreammaker Talent Management.


Ben Freeman (he/him) is an interactive artist, experience designer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. He recently wrote and performed music for Erik Ehn’s Creatures at La MaMa E.T.C. His theatrical work includes the full-length play The Shape of the Entire, developed as part of the salon process at The Skeleton Rep(resents); Shattered: A Drama in Two Acts, an unintentionally very funny tragedy that he wrote in the fifth grade; and Death Poem, a shadow play. As a fellow at LABA: The Laboratory for Jewish Arts and Culture, he developed an interactive ritual/theatre/music piece called What Happens on Retreat, and he has written and directed interactive ritual theatre pieces at Lab/Shul, an experimental synagogue.

Ben is the founder of That’s Interesting!, a studio for the playful practice of attention, hosting concerts, participatory art parties, and workshops and one-day ensemble experiences across the city. He is currently at work on a set of memoir essays exploring gay s*x, spirituality, and the attention economy (informally: “The Grindr Essays”). As a singer-songwriter, he has released two EPs and a full-length album, and is currently recording his second full-length album. He holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a BA in Theater Arts and Performance Studies from Brown University.
.studio

Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Ticket link in bio.

02/13/2026

Introducing Ali (playwright, producer, and Peyton) and Fernando as Alex for our upcoming production: Fail Risk

Ali (Uh-lee)(she/they) is an NYC-based artist, advocate, and Co-Founder of Reckless Theatrics. Using theater as a form of both healing and protest, she has spent the last decade creating work that brings the often harsh realities of illness to the stage. Over the past year, their plays have evolved into a theatrical interrogation of the systems and communities meant to help, but that often cause harm. Plays include Fail Risk, Flare Play, Grace & Dennis, Love Over Trust?, Dead Died Dead, Negligent: Or the Cost of Being Believed, and Spoonie Stories: Notes to my Health (devised, lead creative).

In addition to their writing, Ali is a performer and teaching artist whose process is shaped by their work in intimacy coordination and advocacy, prioritizing inclusive, accessible, and consent-forward creative spaces. As an advocate, Ali has collaborated with organizations including Suffering the Silence, Generation Patient, and the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases. Ali is a recipient of the Queens Arts Fund New Work Grant.


Fernando De Jesus (he/him) is a Latino NYC Native, actor, director, producer, & editor; Born with the enthusiasm to create SOMETHING.

Studied and trained at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. Created his own passion projects with Directing/Starring in film ‘Omega Hunters,’ Directing ‘Las Brewhas’ Commercial, Co-creating the ‘K.Lo.K. Podcast,’ Producing/Editing artist Astrid A ‘Ain’t It A Shame’ Music Video, Edited theatre-filmed projects of ‘Darkness After Night: Ukraine,’ ‘The Coming Storm,’ & ‘The Story of Salarno Berserkerac and Barbranne: A Mob Fantasia.’


Join us on February 28 at 6pm at Court Square Theater or on Zoom. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fail-risk-play-reading-tickets-1981837718967

02/13/2026

We’ve got a new show! Join us on Feb 28 ( ) from 6 PM to 8:30PM at Court Square Theater in LIC. We will also be live-streaming so the community can join from their bed.

This play is written and produced by our Co-Founder, Ali Hardy, and is inspired by her experience living with multiple rare diseases. It’s the full length version of the short virtual play we produced in 2021.

Tickets are pay what you can with suggested prices of $5, $17, or $30 so that cost isn’t a barrier for the community.

SYNOPSIS: Fail Risk is a bold, unflinching new play about love, chronic illness, and survival. Following Peyton and Alex through the first five years of their marriage and the onset of a mysterious illness, it confronts guilt, burnout, and medical trauma while rejecting the “love conquers all” cliché. Centering the messy realities of illness, the play highlights the importance of trauma-informed medical care and the vital role of those who truly “get it” in surviving chronic illness.

CW: Mature content, strong language, s*xual themes, s*xual trauma related to illness or disability, depictions of ma********on, depictions of s*xual situations when consent cannot be given or revoked due to medical incapacity, fatphobia in medicine, medical trauma, gaslighting, and suicidal ideation.

CAST: Ali Hardy, Fernando DeJesus, Samantha Marie Nieves, Ben Freeman, and Carla Burbano

CREW: Max Raymond, Emily Smith, Mattie Cameron Rosen, Dante Leach, Alexa Jones, and Stephanie Fuentes

This project is made possible, in part, with public funds from the Queens Art Fund, a re-grant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Tickets:

Be in community on Rare Disease Day and join us for a play reading about chronic illness and relationships.