Salted Lemon was launched in January 2024 in order to produce BUZZER by Tracey Scott Wilson.

Gloria Bangiola had been holding onto the play for a while, waiting for the right partners to produce it with. When she met actors Vincent Van Der Velde and Langston Reese, it all clicked, and with director Toni Kwadzogah on board, a brand new production company was born, with BUZZER as its inaugural project

Buzzer follows JACKSON, a young, successful African American attorney determined to build a life in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of his youth. When he returns “home” with his girlfriend, a teacher named SUZY, and best friend fresh out of rehab, DON—both white, the trio are soon forced to confront the simmering racial and sexual tensions that exist both inside their home, and outside their apartment.

A love triangle in times of gentrification

Tracey Scott Wilson

is an American playwright, television writer, television producer, and screenwriter. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and from Temple University with an MA in English Literature. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Wilson began writing fiction after graduating from Temple University. Finding herself unable to finish a novel, she decided to take a playwriting class. "I didn't see much theater as a kid, so I had no expectations....It just took me over." Wilson soon realized that she had found her métier and wrote a number of short plays. At the encouragement of her mentor, playwright Chiori Miyagawa, Wilson applied for and won a New York Theatre Workshop fellowship in 1998.

Awards and residencies include two Van Lier fellowships from the New York Theatre Workshop, a residency at the Sundance Institute Playwright's Retreat at Cross and the Sundance Institute Theater Lab, the 2001 Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the 2003 AT&T Onstage Award, a 2004 Whiting Award, the 2004 Kesselring Prize, the 2007 L. Arnold Weissmuller Award and the 2007 Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. On February 29, 2014, the Joyce Foundation announced that Wilson was one of the recipients nts of its 2014 Joyce Awards. With her prize, Wilson worked intimately with a community inMinneapolis, Minnesota, and wrote Prep, which debuted at the Pillsbury House Theater during the theater's 2015 season.

Wilson's productions include Order My Steps for Cornerstone Theater Company's Black Faith/AIDS project in Los Angeles; Exhibit #9, which was produced in New York City by New Perspectives Theatre Company and Theatre Outrageous; Leader of the People, produced at New Georges; Buzzer at Pillsbury House Theater and the Public Theater in New York City; two 10-minute plays produced at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, a 10-minute play produced at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and The Good Negro at the Public Theater in New York City.

Wilson's first major Manhattan production was in 2003 with The Story at the Public Theater. The Good Negro was produced at The Public and then at the Goodman Theater in 2010. Wilson's Buzzer was produced as part of the Goodman's 2013–14 season and was added to the Public Theater's 2014–15 season in October 2014. She has taught and guest lectured at Brown University, Yale University, Rutgers University and New York University.

Meet the Team

  • Gloria Bangiola

    ACTOR, PRODUCER

    Gloria Bangiola is a professional singer, actor, and teacher based in Brooklyn. Favorite stage roles include: Portia (Julius Caesar), Gwen (Planned Obsolescence), and The Waitress (Make Her Happen). Gloria made her feature film debut in the dark comedy Glue Trap. Her performance as Eliza was hailed as “annoyingly perfect”. She has written, produced, and performed two folk albums, Past the Willow and the Well and Fool’s Gold, and two cabarets: “Back to School” and “A LITTLE BROAD”

  • Langston Reese

    ACTOR, PRODUCER

    Langston Reese started acting in University of Pittsburgh’s theater program his senior year while finishing a Marketing and Business Administration degree. After graduating, Langston studied at the Philadelphia Acting Studio and then moved to New York to further his studies at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute. Favorite credits include Ferdinand and Sebastian in The Tempest (Quintessence Theater Group) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop (Santa Fe Playhouse). In his spare time, Langston enjoys cooking and making music with his friends.

  • Vincent Van Der Velde

    ACTOR, PRODUCER

    Vincent [He/Him] is a Belgian actor, writer, and producer based in NYC. He’s a 2020 Stella Adler Studio alum, holds a bachelor in finance from KULeuven (BEL), and is the founder of production company Kel Bordel. NYC theatre: When we were young and unafraid; Julius Caesar; The Tempest (Stella Adler); The Sun Tries Dating (Manhattan Rep.); Golden Girl By The Sea (Greek Cultural Center). Regional: Colorado New Play Festival 2021 - company member. International: The Lark (AcSenT), Romeo and Juliet (CC Strombeek) Film: The Chapel (2023), I hope you love me (2023), Brief Encounters (2023), FIX (2022), Mother (2021), Majdoline (2020)

  • Toni Kwadzogah

    DIRECTOR, WRITER

    Toni Kwadzogah is an actor and writer. She is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and has an undergrad degree in English from Rutgers University, with focuses in Comparative Literature and Film Study. Previous directing credits: Smith Street Stage's As You Like it (Asst. Director). Previous acting credits: Escalus/M. Overdone in Measure for Measure, Dot in The Brooklyn Way, Vera Stark in By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, and Karen in Speed-the-Plow.

  • Aryn Geier

    Aryn Geier (BA Musical Theatre - American University) is Bronx-based Actor, Stage Manager, Theatre Educator, and Costume Designer. She takes an interdisciplinary approach to theatre, focusing on stories that spark empathy and understanding of others. Some favorite credits include As You Like It at Smith Street Stage (SM), No Mercy at Moxie Arts NYC (SM and Costume Design), Jooce at New York Theatre Festival (Suncloud).

  • Michael Comp

    If you can think of a job in theater or cinema, Michael Comp has probably had it. Working in the industry since she was 14, she has had the pleasure of appearing on stage and in front of the camera, but has made the bulk of her career gaining and implementing tech skills behind both. She loves to collaborate with others to tell a story and is excited to help take part in bringing "Buzzer" to life. Recent credits include: Dragon Puppeteer/Performer at Evermore Park, Board of Directors/Head Technician at Grassroots Shakespeare Washington DC, Head Broadcasting Producer/Lighting Designer at B'nai Jeshurun, and winner of The Ten Show at The Hive Collaborative.

Court Square Theater

is an Off-Off-Broadway venue in Long Island City, Queens. 2,500 square feet. Permanent thrust stage measuring 35.5’ across at its most upstage point 16' across downstage, and 14.5" deep, raised 6 inches off of the deck. Lighting grid with basic lighting and sound packages included in rental. Dressing room with separate bathroom. Three single bathrooms off of the main space. Theater is recessed from the street, and there is a gate and a loading dock. The back door of the theater leads to an alleyway. Lobby with floor-to-ceiling glass. Industrial feel. Black painted walls. With heating, air conditioning, and multiple doors for ventilation. Loading dock and 24-hour access available. Seats up to 85.

A perfect venue for theater, dance, galas, exhibits, seminars, and film shoots.

Court Square Theater is run and operated by Theatre East in partnership with Bang Interrobang.