Axial Theatre is a Grant Award Winner! Thank you ArtsWestchester for selecting us for the Matching Grant and two program grants!
Axial Theater is an ensemble based not-for-profit theater company currently in its 24th season. We are dedicated to supporting the professional development of playwrights and actors through presenting staged workshops, development readings, and full productions.
Howard Meyer - Founder
Howard Meyer is the founder of Axial Theatre and it's affiliated acting school, Howard Meyer’s Acting Program (in its 26th year) as well as the founding Artistic Director (recently emeritus) of Axial Theatre (now in its 24st season). He retired from his role as Board President in May of 2024.
Howard has earned recognition for his plays Senescence (2017 semi-finalist), Paint Made Flesh (2015 semi-finalist), and Radiance (a two-time semi-finalist (2011, 2012)) at the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. The production of Radiance featured Obie award-winner Chris McCann. It also received a week-long developmental workshop at The Drama League featuring Lou Liberatore (Tony award nominee, Burn This). WELCOME, This is a Neighborhood Watch Community was presented at Axial Theatre and directed by Drama Desk award-winner, Josh Hecht. The production featured Labyrinth Theater co-founder, David Deblinger, and Emmy-nominated actor, Jon Lindstrom. His play Lost In Paradise is under option for a motion picture. Plays Paint Made Flesh, Maybe Never Fell and Senescence have had readings and workshops at venues including The Lark, Naked Angels, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, ArtsWestchester, and Half Moon Theatre. Paint Made Flesh was workshopped at Steppenwolf in February 2018 and presented in New York City in June 2018 at The Cell directed by Cady McClain. The production was made possible in part by the support of Sotheby’s. His play, Capture, was workshopped in October, 2019 at The Denizen Theatre in New Paltz, NY, featuring acclaimed playwright/actor John Peilmeier.
Meyer was selected as a “50 for 50” award winner as a part of ArtsWestchester’s 50th anniversary celebration, honoring 50 artists from different disciplines. He was proud to be honored for his theatre service by the Westchester County Board of Legislators proclaiming April 1, 2019 “Howard Meyer Day” in Westchester County.
Rachel Jones - Founding Member
Rachel Jones (A.E.A., SAG-AFTRA) is a founding member of Axial Theatre where she has participated as an actor, director and teacher. She is in her twenty-second year as a member of Axial Theatre and as a teaching artist with Axial’s affiliate organization Howard Meyer’s Acting Program. Since 2005, she has served as the Director of Student Performance Workshops with bi-annual productions. (The past two years have been an exception due to the pandemic, but HMAP has continued to offer classes online.)
As an actor she has toured the U.S. and Canada with the First national Tour of the Tony award winning production of M.Butterfly. Her film work includes Fresh Horses, Dracula’s Widow and City Boy. She was also a member of New York’s Avalon repertory where she both acted and directed. Favorite Avalon directing productions include The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds, and Fifth of July.
With Axial she has originated many roles including Dahlia in Lost In Paradise, Vivian in Angelbeast, Hannah in All That’s Fair, and Samantha in the dynamic, improv based ensemble production of The Contract. She has also performed as Lori in Adam Rapp’s Train Story, Emily in Cuban Chinese, Cassie in Billy Bubblehead, Cherie in Cherie and Jerry, Irina Arkadina in Axial’s acclaimed production of The Seagull and many other roles over the past twenty-two years.
In recent years, Ms. Jones has focused mainly on her work as director and teacher. For Top Shelf Productions she directed a production of Rabbit Hole at The School House in Croton Falls.
For Axial, she has directed many productions including Crimes of The Heart, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, The Kiss as well as numerous one-act plays in various festivals (Twisted Valentines, Glass Ceiling Breakers).
in 2021 she co-directed, along with Catherine Banks, Axial’s production of Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike which was the recipient of Broadway World’s Best Production of 2021 (Westchester division.) Most recently she directed "Oat Squares" at TheaterWorks New Milford by New Milford resident George Barnett.