The Assignment
PREMIERED 2017
The assignment
Written By Camilo Almonacid
Directed by Emily Joy Weiner
Developed and Inspired by Manuel Borras Olivera, Elaine Lane, Jeffrey Solomon, & Emily Joy Weiner
Inspired by the true stories of, and unlikely friendship between, two individuals touched by gun violence, THE ASSIGNMENT is an original play by Camilo Almonacid about an English professor who is shaken when a student’s personal essay describing an act of violence reopens long buried wounds. The play explores the long-term emotional toll of violence from both sides of the gun barrel, and the struggle to forgive others and ourselves.
Brought together by Houses on the Moon Theater Company’s workshop process, THE ASSIGNMENT was inspired by a friendship between two individuals–a woman who founded a youth violence prevention program after her teenage son was murdered by street violence, and a man who found education and rehabilitation while serving 17 years in prison for manslaughter. Though a fictionalization, the seeds of the play were born from a mother’s desire to understand what caused another to take her son’s life, and a man’s need to express remorse.
THE ASSIGNMENT was inspired by and developed in response to gUN COUNTRY, a collection of true stories written, cultivated, and presented by Houses on the Moon Theater Company members and members of the community who have been impacted by guns and gun violence.
THE ASSIGNMENT was presented in repertory with gUN COUNTRY at NYC’s ART-NY Theatres from April 17-May 7, 2017. A licensed production of THE ASSIGNMENT was presented at New Jersey’s Luna Stage from November 29-December 9, 2018.
Contact us to bring The Assignment and gUN COUNTRY to your community. Licensing is available for The Assignment; please contact us to inquire about a perusal script and terms.
Artistic Team
Camilo Almonacid
Playwright
Camilo Almonacid is a bi-coastal, multi-talented artist based in the Los Angeles area. His most recent play, Hotel Happy, premiered Off-Broadway in February 2024 to critical acclaim, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for outstanding puppetry, and received the NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (2018). Expanding his storytelling into film, Camilo wrote and directed his first short, The Teaching Artist, which won the Creating Creators “2025 Create Challenge” and was fully produced by the company. In addition to being a playwright and screenwriter, he is a seasoned bilingual copywriter, collaborating with major media companies such as Netflix, Vice, Refinery29, and Remezcla, spanning various high-profile projects, for which he crafted branded content scripts, promotional trailers, sizzles, and documentary-style content in English and Spanish. www.camiloalmonacid.com
Emily Joy Weiner
Director
Emily Joy Weiner is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Houses on the Moon Theater Company. Since the company’s inception in 2001 she has been creating, developing, performing, producing and directing new works that explore the complex and sensitive issues of our time. Directing highlights include THE ASSIGNMENT (ART/New York Theatres), THE SANTA CLOSET (Teatro Circulo), and the touring storytelling production of gUN COUNTRY. Performance highlights include COMING THROUGH (American Place Theatre), OTHELLO (West End Theater), FEFU AND HER FRIENDS (Williamstown Theatre Festival), and DE NOVO (Next Door at NYTW). She penned and performed in SHARED SENTENCES which premiered in 2022 (Theater 122CC) and co-developed and toured a one-woman adaptation of Faulkner’s AS I LAY DYING with the late Wynn Handman. The League of Professional Theatre Women honored Emily with the Josephine Abady award for her work with Houses in the creation of multicultural works.
Jamie Rose Bukowski
Stage Manager
Jamie Rose Bukowski graduated from Pace University’s School of Performing Arts with a B.A. in Stage Management. She’s very grateful to have worked with Houses On The Moon on 5 of their full productions and countless readings and events since 2016, and considers it a second home. She has also recently worked at Goodspeed OperaHouse, A.C.T. of CT, White Plains Performing Arts Center, and with LAByrinth Theatre Company. She has been on tour with The Kite Runner, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rockin’ Road to Dublin and worked regionally with Quisisana Musical Theatre Resort.
Patrick Rizzotti
SET DESIGN
GENEVIEVE BELLER
COSTUME DESIGN
Erik T. Lawson
SOUND DESIGN
Christina watanabe
LIGHTING DESIGN
Cast
Karen Kandel
Helen Payne
Karen Kandel is the co-Artistic Director of Mabou Mines. Her work as a performer and generative artist has received numerous awards, fellowships, residencies and grants, including: multiple OBIE Awards, NYFA Women’s Fund, TCG/Fox Fellowship and United States Artist Fellowship, among others. She originated the role of Helen in “The Assignment” (Houses on the Moon, 2017).
Erick Betancourt
Julian J. Torres
Erick Betancourt is a New York- based actor. Broadway: U/S COST OF LIVING (dir. Jo Bonney), BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY (dir. Austin Pendleton) Off-Broadway: JESUS HOPPED THE ‘A’ TRAIN, dir: Mark Brokaw, OUR LADY OF 121st, dir: Phylicia Rashad. Radio play ROMEO Y JULIETA dir: Saheem Ali, JULIUS CAESAR dir: Oskar Eustis, SHAKESPEARE TRILOGY dir: Phyllida Lloyd, LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT dir: Estelle Parsons; Other theater credits: World Premiere of THE PRINCE OF PROVIDENCE – Trinity Rep Co.
TV: “Special Ops: Lioness,” “Blue Bloods,” “New Amsterdam,” “For Life”, “Blacklist:Redemption,” “Broad City,” “Law & Order SVU,” and “Sneaky Pete.” FILM: “Life After You,” “11:55,” “Missing William.” TRAINING: MFA: Actors Studio Drama School. BFA: University of Rhode Island. Erick received the 2020 Theater Hall of Fame: Emerging Artist Award. He is a Lifetime Member of the Actors Studio and proud member of the LAByrinth Theater Company.
