playbill vip

Tessa Slovis (she/her)

(director, Sugarcoated)

Tessa Slovis is an Actor, Director, and Educator. A proud alumna of Barnard College at Columbia University, she earned her MFA in Acting from USC, where she now teaches acting, film, and digital media. Tessa began acting professionally at 9 and has performed Off-Broadway and regionally for over 20 years.

Her short film Pizza Party, a magic realist retelling of the night before the Larry Nassar trials, screened at 25 film festivals and received awards including Special Jury Mention at Ashland and the Female Gaze Award at Portland, with nominations at Florida, Cinequest, and Rhode Island Film Festivals.

Recently, Tessa directed Luis Alfaro's Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles at Cal State LA. After a hit run at the Denver Fringe Festival, she is thrilled to once again direct Jen Ponton in her solo play Sugarcoated at The Flea Theater. tessahopeslovis.com

Dominick LaRuffa, Jr. (he/him)

(director, The Longer my Mother is Dead the More I Like Her)

Dominick recently starred in the Off-Broadway world premiere of ‘TIL Death opposite Tony winners Judy Kaye and Robert Cuccioli, following his double duty leading Powerhouse (A.R.T. NY) Off-Broadway and producing The Kite Runner on Broadway. Known for his film and TV work, recent credits include Paul on CBS/Paramount+’s Bull, a recurring role on Amazon’s Gravesend, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (Netflix), and the upcoming psychological thriller Abandoned Heights.

As a Broadway producer, Dominick has earned six Tony nominations. Highlights include All The Way, You Can’t Take It With You, On The Town, Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening, The Realistic Joneses, China Doll, Six Degrees of Separation, American Son, The Lifespan of a Fact, and Betrayal. bluecollarartiststudio.com