EPIC Players Presents World Premiere of Original Play “BUM BUM (or, this farce has Autism)”

This December, EPIC Players, New York’s leading neuroinclusive theater company, presents the world premiere of BUM BUM (or, this farce has Autism), a sharp-witted, genre-bending comedy by award-winning autistic playwright Dave Osmundsen, at HERE Arts Center in Manhattan.

Blending farce, satire, and social critique, BUM BUM is a radical, hilarious takedown of how media and society package neurodivergence for mass consumption. EPIC’s Neurodivergent and Autistic cast brings authenticity and bite to this bold new work, continuing the company’s mission to challenge stereotypes, increase representation, and center Disabled artists as creative leaders. And, in a perfectly meta turn, EPIC holds a mirror to the industry and joyfully dismantles the very tropes they’ve spent years replacing.

Farce meets authenticity in this wild, subversive, and deeply personal satire of performance, representation, and what society really wants from its “inspirational” Neurodivergent and Disabled artists.

“At EPIC, we’re passionate about telling stories that center Autistic and Neurodivergent voices - not as symbols or side characters, but as complex, funny, and deeply human. BUM BUM flips the script on how Autism is represented in theater: it’s bold, subversive, and unapologetically authentic,” says Aubrie Therrien, Executive Artistic Director, EPIC Players. “We’re thrilled to produce Dave’s work in collaboration with HERE Arts Center, and to challenge tired stereotypes that infantilize autistic adults - proving that neurodivergent stories belong squarely at the center of the stage.”

"As an Autistic playwright, I'm thrilled that EPIC Players, a company whose advocacy for the Neurodiverse community is unparalleled, is the first to present BUM BUM to the world,” says Dave Osmundsen. “The show explores the right to authentic autistic expression, how Disabled artists are packaged to mainstream audiences, the challenges of self-advocacy--and there are jokes, too! Let's laugh ableism down several pegs this holiday season!”

Set during a chaotic live telethon benefiting “Singing and Hearing Autistic Greatness” (aka SAHAG or SHAG), the play follows three Autistic performers as they’re pressured to deliver sanitized, “palatable” routines for a mainstream audience. Lisa is going to perform a little ballet. Sean is going to do a family-friendly comedy routine. And Jason is going to perform with his trusty ventriloquist dummy, Gil McGillicuddy. But the three can only take condescending press reps, problematic pop stars, and the widescale infantilization of autistic people for so long. When they band together to take over the broadcast and perform their less “appropriate” routines, hijinks (naturally) ensue.

The cast: includes Cameron Walker (Jeff), Max Tunney (Sean), Jordan Patricia Boyatt (Lisa), Nancy Redman (Susan), Meconan Ashe (Jason/Gil), Carly Hayes (Caty), and Amy Hope Miller, aka Gravity (Rhina). The play is directed by Meggan Dodd.

About EPIC Players

EPIC Players (Empower, Perform, Include, Create), founded in 2016, is a nonprofit, neurodiverse theater company dedicated to creating professional performing arts opportunities and supportive social communities in the arts for Neurodivergent and Disabled artists. Through inclusive mainstage productions, musical cabarets, original showcases, skills-based classes and career resources, EPIC hopes to increase critical employment opportunities, pioneer increased inclusion in the arts, and break down social stigmas surrounding Neurodiverse communities. For more information, visit www.epicplayersnyc.org.

About Dave Osmundsen (Playwright)

Dave Osmundsen (He/Him/His) is an autistic playwright and dramaturg whose work has been seen and developed at KCACTF Region 8, the Kennedy Center/NNPN MFA Playwrights Workshop, the Great Plains Theatre Conference, Purple Crayon Players, Florida Studio Theatre (where he once interned!), Sewanee Writers Conference, the William Inge Theatre Festival, Premiere Stages, the Valdez Theatre Conference, and more. He was one of two recipients of the Blank Theatre and Ucross Foundation’s inaugural Future of Playwriting Prize. His play Light Switch received its world premiere with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble in April 2022, and received a Jeff Award-winning Chicago premiere with Open Space Arts. Light Switch was also the 2021 Distinguished Achievement recipient of the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, an Honorable Mention finalist for BAPF 2021, longlisted for the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award, a finalist for the 2020 Carlo Annoni Playwriting Prize, and a semi-finalist for the 2020 National Playwrights Conference. His play More of a Heart received its world premiere at BLUEBARN Theatre in 2024. His plays have been published by The Dionysian, Canyon Voices, Exposition Review, Fresh Words: Contemporary One Act Plays Volume 5, and Broadway Play Publishing. MFA: Arizona State University.

About the cast

Cameron Walker is a singer, actor, and director from Chicago, IL. He has performed with EPIC in Spelling Bee (Olive’s Dad) and in several cabarets at 54 Below and Joe’s Pub. His favorite credits outside of EPIC include: Beauty and the Beast (Maurice), Wizard of Oz (Uncle Henry), Bring It On (Cameron), Fugitive Songs (Joshua), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Charlie), as well as EPIC’s Spelling Bee (Olive’s Dad). Cameron is also a mentor and advocate with EPIC and was assistant director and co-host of the Dream Roles cabaret at Joe’s Pub.

Max Tunney is thrilled to be performing in EPIC’s production of BUM BUM! Past credits with EPIC include A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods and Spring Awakening. He has also performed in cabarets at Joe’s Pub and the Green Room 42. He would like to thank his family for their love and support.

Jordan Boyatt is an actor and singer who graduated from Adelphi University with a BFA in Theatre/Acting. She has been in multiple EPIC Player Cabarets as well as two main stage shows and is always eager to participate in more. Jordan brings enthusiasm and energy into the room wherever she goes and aims not only to have delight in what she does but also to bring it to the people around her.

Nancy Redman is an award‑winning actress/comedian/playwright, United Solo Festival Multi‑Award Winner and recipient of the Kaufman Award from the American Renaissance Theater Company. As an actress, she has appeared at HB Playwrights, Hudson Guild, La MaMa, and ARTC among others. Featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show (ABC), two‑time winner on America’s Funniest People (ABC), she performed regularly at Dangerfield’s, opened for Charo, Soupy Sales, Chubby Checker, and Jackie Mason.

Meconan Ashe is a NYC-based actor. He developed his love for drama in high school, where he trained in the acting program performing in roles such as Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. He also earned a degree in Theater Arts from Queens Community College, where he performed in original theater productions. He hopes to pursue a career in acting and voice acting.

Gravity is thrilled to make her EPIC debut! She is a singer, songwriter, performer, artist, performance artist, art model and grounding guide. Gravity’s musical theater and underground nightlife background formed the sound that she has since molded into a craft. Berklee College of Music alum.

Carly Hayes is a NYC-based AEA actor, improviser and artist with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Missouri State. Favorite EPIC credits include Baker's Wife (Into the Woods), Rona (Spelling Bee), and Miranda (The Tempest). When not improvising with her indie team Siblings, she can be found teaching EPIC Improv.

EPIC is an inclusive theater company and welcomes all theater patrons to enjoy its productions. In order to make all shows more accessible to individuals with disabilities and members of the Neurodiverse community and their families, EPIC offers the following accommodations, services and policies:

• ADA Seating: Wheelchair and companion seating is reserved for the exclusive use of patrons with disabilities and their guests who require the features of the seat. The accessible seat locations offer wheelchair accommodation for guests who need to remain in their wheelchairs or who would like to transfer, have no steps for guests with mobility disabilities, and are easy to access from the theater entrance.
• Access Coordinator and volunteers on site, noise-canceling headphones, and quiet zones in the lobby area.
• The venue has an accessible bathroom that is on the basement level and requires a freight elevator to access.
• A relaxed atmosphere will be adopted at all performances to allow patrons with developmental disabilities to talk and vocalize as they wish, as well as leave and re-enter the seating area as needed.

• Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Friday, December 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM
• Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
• Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Friday, December 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
• Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 6:30 PM
• Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Location: HERE Arts Center, DOT Theatre, 145 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10013

Phone: 212-647-0202

Tickets are available at https://here.app.getcuebox.com/o/CCTQ0T6B/shows/KYFY7JH2.

This production of BUM BUM (or, this farce has Autism) was made possible through collaboration with HERE Arts Center's HERE Hosts program. It is also in part supported by The Howard Gilman Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Hoffman Charitable Trust, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Actors Equity Foundation, The Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation and the Corneila T. Bailey Foundation.

Praise for EPIC Players

A Neuro-Inclusive Take on ‘Spring Awakening’: “We Don’t Need to Break People Down” by Hollywood Reporter

EPIC’s production of You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown was named a Top 10 Theatre Pick for 2017 by YesBroadway.com (EPIC was #3)

EPIC was named one of the “Top Five Theater Companies to Know in New York City Working with Actors with Disabilities” by TDF Magazine

“The joy and commitment of the EPIC Players are infectious. I don’t know when I’ve seen so many people have such a good time. . . . All in all, the energetic exuberance of this group is something everyone can enjoy and appreciate. Take your kids. It’s a production for the ages. HAPPY FACE”
— Hi! Drama, Peter and the Starcatcher

“The EPIC Players’ pursuit is a noble one; to be the beacon, the proverbial shining city on a hill, bravely providing an example for the rest of us to follow.” – My Entertainment World

“Nick Moscato said as an autistic man with a lifelong love of musical theater, this show lets him step into the spotlight. . . . ‘When I was community theater, I was with a bunch of neurotypical people and I was always cast in the ensemble,’ Moscato said. ‘But with this theater group, I was able to blossom more.’” — WNYC, National Public Radio

“Great audience interaction, so much laughter, so much movement, amazing set design. All around all-star production.”— EPIC Audience Member, The Little Prince

About HERE
From our home in Lower Manhattan, HERE builds an inclusive community that nurtures artists of all backgrounds as they disrupt conventional expectations to create innovative performances in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media, and visual art. By providing these genre-blending artists with an adaptive, flexible home for developing and producing their work, we share a range of perspectives reflective of the complexity of our city. HERE welcomes curious audiences to witness groundbreaking performances, responsive to the world in which we live, at free and affordable prices.

HERE strives to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive home in which all people have fair access to the resources they need to realize their visions. We acknowledge structural inequities that exclude individuals and communities from opportunities based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography, and seek to counter those inequities in our work. Through mindful actions on sustainability and regenerative practices, we work toward climate justice, and a safe, livable planet for present and future artmakers and audiences.