Christopher J. Domig, Artistic Director;
Dan Swern, Managing Director
presents

MARCH 14, 2026 @ 7PM

SEA DOG THEATER
209 EAST 16TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10003

TEAM

Writer & Performer
Sean Casey LeClaire

Director
Padraic Lillis

LEELA — a Sanskrit word meaning “divine play” — weaves gritty, small-town storytelling with classical sonnets and stand-up comedy in a raw and luminous journey of self-discovery. This 65-minute solo performance invites audiences to explore themes of mercy, stillness, lust, and power as one man traces his life through violence, poetry, love, and awakening.

Through humor, confession, and poetic reflection, LeClaire transforms the stage into a kind of living meditation — a pilgrimage through the tender and untamed corners of the human heart. Questions arise and linger: What if I stopped? What part of me is still too tender for this world? What passion of mine scares me? LEELA calls us toward a deeper sense of ourselves and the beauty of life lived full on.

SEAN CASEY LECLAIRE

Sean Casey LeClaire’s (Writer/Performer) new solo show Leela has been well received by audiences in Europe and North America. His acting credits include the title role in Rostand’s Cyrano, Smirnov in Chekhov’s The Bear, and Pete in Don Nigro’s Grotesque Lovesongs. While he loves ensemble work, solo performance remains his deepest passion.

His one-man play Small Town Boys premiered at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2018. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Sean is also the author of three books—Hug An Angry Man And You Will See He Is Crying, Mud-Wrestling With My Mind, and Stumbling Into Joy—which share a gritty yet graceful journey toward conscious living.

In addition, Sean is the founding partner of Sean Leclaire & Associates, where he and his colleagues work with global business leaders using awareness practices, emotional intelligence, and Michael Chekhov theatre techniques. Their work supports C-suite executives, professional athletes, and creatives in becoming more effective and self-aware leaders.

Sean also hosts the online series A Meditation on Leadership. He lives in a small town west of Boston, is a father, and travels widely. Sean would venture anywhere for the chance to play Prospero in The Tempest.

PADRAIC LILLIS

Padraic Lillis (Director) is the Founding Artistic Director of The Farm Theater. The Farm Theater’s College Collaboration Project commissioned and developed Kimberly Belflower’s play John Proctor Is the Villain, which was nominated for 7 Tony Awards and is currently in production as a feature film.

For the past twenty-five years, Padraic has been dedicated to the development of new plays. A few of the works he has helped bring from inspiration to production include Lindsay Joy’s Rise and Fall of a Teenage Cyberqueen (NY IT Award for Outstanding Director), Lee Kaplan’s award-winning solo show Bully (NY International Fringe Festival Directing Award), and Adina Taubman’s award-winning solo show The Road Back (Best Director, United Solo Festival).

His solo show Get to Eleven, which explores suicide ideation, was later adapted into a film and aired on PBS. He is currently directing Joan’s Teeth, a film written by Dipti Bramhandkar and featuring Kathleen Turner.

Padraic was awarded the Humana Visiting Scholar and Artist in Residence at Centre College. He is a member of Labyrinth Theater Company and a lifelong Yankees fan.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sea Dog Theater would like to thank: Calvary- St. Georges Episcopal Church for their hospitality and for allowing us to be artist-in-residence. 

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Support our 2026 Season of Workshops, Readings, Spotlight Series Solo Shows, and Special Events in Residency at The Parish of Calvary-St. George’s in Gramercy Park.

  • April 25th, 7pm: A reading of The Second Avenue Subway by Dean Poynor

  • June 27th, 7pm: A developmental presentation of King Lear by William Shakespeare

Talk about us! Word of mouth is our best form of advertising.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @seadogtheater and join our mailing list to learn more at www.seadogtheater.org

SEA DOG THEATER STAFF

Artistic Director and Co-Founder
Christopher J. Domig

Managing Director
Dan Swern

Co-Founder
Janelle Garcia Domig

Administrative Associate
Racquelle Patterson

Marketing and Advertising
Think Big Picture, LLC

Catering
Pixie Scout

SEA DOG THEATER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Holly Piper, President
Chris White, Secretary
Christopher Domig
Paige Host
Meaghan Ritchey
Kathy Treat
Mackenna White

ABOUT SEA DOG

At Sea Dog Theater, we gather around stories, shared meals, and honest conversations to explore questions of alienation and reconciliation. Through intimate and innovative theater productions, we invite artists and audiences into a shared search for meaning, one encounter at a time.

We treat the work of producing plays as a way of practicing community.

  • Extended Hospitality: We turn ordinary spaces into places of shared presence and care. Our post-show gatherings offer food, wine, and intentional conversations that invite honest reflection. We share stories and create space to linger, nurturing a sense of belonging.

  • Attentive Listening: We value the unscripted, the hesitant, the rough and the unfinished. We listen with openness, welcome new ideas, and honor the stories our artists and audiences carry, both in the creative process and in conversations after.

  • Reparative Reconciliation:  We name what’s been broken. Through our plays and conversations, we explore how alienation takes root, naming injustice, acknowledging complicity, and inviting one another into the work of repair and reconciliation. While not always synonymous, we remain committed to both whenever possible.

  • Courageous Collaboration: We step into discomfort: artistically, relationally, and philosophically. We choose work and collaborators that stretch us, challenge assumptions, and open us to new perspectives.

  • Creative Renewal: We rehumanize what has been cast aside. We honor the small, the struggling, the unexpected, and the unseen—trusting that beauty takes root in the most unlikely places.

SUPPORT SEA DOG THEATER

Join our vibrant community as a Sustaining Donor and support the creation of meaningful theater experiences and sustained community engagement. Membership begins at $25+/month and includes:

Priority access to our free reading events, two free tickets to our full productions, and invitations to insider special events.

Donations support our programming and off set the hospitality costs at our shared table. Help us continue to cultivate a welcoming space where audiences and artists thrive while exploring our culture’s most pressing questions of alienation and reconciliation. We can’t do it without you! seadogtheater.org/support

Sea Dog’s Reading Series is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.