Sol Children Theatre presents Improv Comedy Night 2: Electric Boogaloo!

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients, Sol Children Theatre

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Boca Raton, Children's Theatre, comedy, Improv, Improvisation, Rosalie Grant, Sol Children Theatre, Sol Children Theatre Troupe

Be prepared to enter a wacky world of anything-goes insanity, because the only thing that is predictable is an evening of laughs for everyone!

presents

The IMPROVerished Players
in
Improv Comedy Night 2: Electric Boogaloo

‘Yo dog … it’s time to float, freeze, pop & lock …’

On Saturday April 27 at 7 p.m. Sol Children Theatre will present Improv Comedy Night 2: Electric Boogaloo at their own 70 seat venue, located at 3333 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton.

Recently seen at the Florida Renaissance Festival ‘dressed up like fops and wenches’, the company’s performers are looking forward to donning ‘80s garb and ‘hitting the stage breakdancin’, and are diligently preparing for a night of ‘wacky, anything-goes improvisational insanity.’

Started by artistic director/producer Rosalie Grant in 2002, and now celebrating their tenth season, Sol Children Theatre’s goal is to provide children with a safe, secure, and highly professional theatre experience. Recent productions have included Rumplestilskin and The Ash Girl. Sol also runs a very successful summer camp program in partnership with Olympic Heights Community High School and the Palm Beach County School District.

“Improvisation involves dialogue and actions created spontaneously in response to suggestions from the audience,” explains Grant. “There is no script and no plot. Game playing techniques put the performers in situations where they must use their imagination and comedic instincts, and what evolves is a combination of stand-up comedy and game show—with hilarious results. In the unpredictable world of improvisational comedy, anything can happen” says Grant, “And it usually does. But what makes improv so unique and engaging is that the audience participates in the mayhem.”

Tickets for Improv Comedy Night 2: Electric Boogaloo are $15 and are available by calling 561-447-8829, or online at www.solchildren.org.

Though this event is appropriate for all ages, content is for mature audiences.

For more information about Sol Children Theatre, the company’s summer camp program, and a list upcoming productions, visit www.solchildren.org or contact Rosalie Grant at 561-447-8829 / solchildtroupe@aol.com.

Improv Comedy Night 2: Electric Boogaloo
Saturday, April 27
7:00 pm
Tickets: $15
Sol Children Theatre
3333 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL
Phone: 561-447-8829
www.solchildren.org
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The South Florida Theatre League’s Summer Fest Invitation: ‘Get in Bed with the Arts!’

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients, The South Florida Theatre League

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Actor's Playhouse, Arsht Center, Broadway Musical Theatre, Gable Stage, Get in Bed with the Arts, Lake Worth Playhouse, Mad Cat Theatre Company, Sol Children Theater, South Florida Theatre League, theatre, Theatre League

The South Florida Theatre League Invites Theatres & Patrons to
Get in Bed with the Arts

The South Florida Theatre League is building a bed! Yes, a bed. Its cover will be a map listing all South Florida theatres; its bed skirt will contain the logos of the League’s member theatres; its head board will read Get in Bed with the Arts; and its footboard will feature the South Florida Theatre League logo and website address.
(Rendering of bed by Bombshell Productions)

The goal of the League’s Get in Bed with the Arts campaign, which will run in conjunction with WLRN’s Summer Theatre Fest program, is to raise awareness of the theatrical arts in the South Florida community.

The bed will make its debut at the 37^th annual Carbonell Awards ceremony on April 1^st at the Broward Center for the Arts, and will lead the way to the South Florida Theatre League sponsored after party/celebration; its final appearance will be as a participant in the annual Coconut Grove Bed Race on Labor Day weekend.

The bed will ‘visit’ League member theatres during Theatre Fest (June 1^st through August 31^st) on Thursday evenings (performance days only). Theatre patrons will be invited to participate in the fun – doing interviews, or having their photos taken on or next to the bed. The interviews and photos will be posted on the South Florida Theatre League’s website (www.southfloridatheatre.com/).

The bed was designed, built, and generously subsidized by Fort Lauderdale’s Bombshell Productions. TheatreMania is also a sponsor.

Many of the League’s member theatres are already on board (or in bed!) with the project. Some of the participating theatres are:

Actors Playhouse –
Adrienne Arsht Center – Slava’s Snowshow (July 31 – August 25)
Broadway Musical Theatre – Shrek the Musical (June 1 – 9)
FIU/Alternative Theatre Festival – A Hundred Thousand Years
Gable Stage – Cock (May 18– June 16)
The Lake Worth Playhouse – In the Heights (July 11-28)
Mad Cat Theatre Company – Blow Me (August 15 – September 1)
Sol Children Theatre – Wind in the Willows (August 9 – 25)

A complete list of participating theatres, their productions, and run dates will be announced in the near future.

The South Florida Theatre League is an alliance of theatrical organizations and professionals dedicated to nurturing, promoting, and advocating for the growth and prestige of the South Florida theatre industry.

The Delray Beach Chorale to perform Bernstein & Sondheim April 12 & 13

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by Carol Kassie in Uncategorized

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Bernstein, Chorale, Delray Beach, Delray Beach Chorale, Duncan Theatre, First Presbyterian Church, Leonard Bernstein, Music, Sondehim, Stephen Sondheim

Concerts to Feature the Music of
Two of America’s Most Beloved Composers

The Delray Beach Chorale’s spring concert will feature the music of two of America’s – and Broadway’s – most honored and beloved composers. The 60-voice chorale, under the direction of Conductor/Artistic Director Eric Keiper, will perform selections from the works of Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. The concerts will take place at the Duncan Theatre in Lake Worth on Friday, April 12^th at 7:30 pm, and at the First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach on Saturday, April 13^th, at 3:00 pm.

The April concerts will feature songs from the musicals Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and selections from Bernstein’s West Side Story and Candide, as well as music from his renowned work Chichester Psalms, which will be performed Hebrew.

Founded 30 years ago by a group of Delray Beach singers, the Chorale has consistently attracted talented amateur and professional vocalists from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach. The group performs with an orchestral ensemble consisting of array of talented instrumentalists, including members of the former Florida Philharmonic.
The Delray Beach Chorale’s mission is to promote and encourage the art of singing and to share the experience of great music with the community. Although their initial focus was on the classics of great choral literature, both traditional and contemporary, over the past several years they have broadened their musical scope to include works of 20th century composers, including Rachmaninoff, Copland, and Gershwin.

The Chorale also operates a Music Academy Program, the only one of its kind in the state. The five young professional musicians selected as Artists-in-Residence perform as soloists with the chorale, act as section leaders, and provide instruction to a select group of talented high school singers who also sing with the chorale. These young professionals will be showcased in the April performance.

Tickets for the Delray Beach Chorale’s Spring Concert are $20 each; $5 for students, and can be purchased on-line at delraybeachchorale.org or by phone at 1-800-984-7282.
Special Group Rates (15 or more) are also available.

For more information about the Delray Beach Chorale, please visit http://delraybeachchorale.org/ or
https://www.facebook.com/DelrayBeachChorale?ref=ts&fref=ts

The Delray Beach Chorale Performs Bernstein & Sondheim
Duncan Theatre
Friday, April 12
7:30 pm
4200 Congress Avenue
Lake Worth, FL 33461
1800-984-7282

The Delray Beach Chorale Performs Bernstein & Sondheim
First Presbyterian Church
Saturday, April 13
3:00 pm
33 Gleason Street
Delray Beach, FL 33483

The Florida East Coast Chapter of The National Society for the Arts to honor Palm Beach Opera’s Daniel Biaggi

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients, National Society of Arts & Letters

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Daniel Biaggi, Drama, Music, National Society of Arts & Letters, NSAL, Palm Beach Opera, Red Rose Dinner Gala, Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Shari Upbin, theatre, Young Artists

Boca Raton, Florida, February 7, 2013:

The Florida East Coast Chapter of The National Society of Arts and Letters will honor Palm Beach Opera’s General Director Daniel Biaggi at their annual Red Rose Dinner Gala on April 4^th at the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club.

The National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL) is a National organization founded in 1944, whose mission is to fund, nurture, promote, and assist highly motivated young artists to advance their careers in the artistic disciplines of their choice. Past recipients of NSAL support include Shirley MacLaine, Jessye Norman, and more recently, the organization’s 2004 Musical Theatre winner Megan Hilty, who is currently starring in NBC’s Broadway based hit SMASH.

The award-winning Florida East Coast Chapter, a non-profit, volunteer organization established in 1983, continues to further the Society’s goals.

The aims and objectives of NSAL are to discover talented young people at the beginning of their careers; to create opportunities for career development and expression in Literature, and the Visual and Performing Arts; and to recognize excellence by granting awards via national and local rotating competitions in Art, Dance, Drama, Literature, Music (instrumental and voice), Opera, and Musical Theatre to gifted young artists between the ages of 16 and 32. The Florida East Coast Chapter holds one major competition per year.

In 2011 the Chapter began its Performing Arts High School Scholarship program, and in 2012 they awarded a total of $9,000 in scholarships to various students at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Dillard Center for the Arts, and the New World School of the Arts. They also contributed $3,000 towards the National Society of Arts and Letters Lynn University Scholarship for Strings, Piano, and Theatre Arts.
NSAL president Shari Upbin, NSAL Vice President Marilyn Nelson and singer/songwriter Chloe Dolandis

In May, 2012 The Florida East Coast Chapter was the first winner of the newly established NSAL National Arts Advocate Award for their continuing efforts to identify, encourage and support young South Florida talent.

Now entering his fourth season as General Director of the Palm Beach Opera, Daniel Biaggi is committed to expanding the company’s mission of presenting high quality opera productions and engaging educational and community outreach performances to the communities it serves. Under his leadership, the company celebrated its 50^th Anniversary last season with two Golden Jubilee concerts featuring many of opera’s past and present stars in addition to three fully staged productions at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. To continue expanding its impact in the community, the company is holding the first collaboration with the Lynn University Conservatory of Music to present a Young Artist Production at the Wold Performing Arts Center, as well as an outdoor opera concert at the Meyer Amphitheater at the Waterfront in West Palm Beach.

A frequent panel discussion guest and competition judge, Mr. Biaggi served as Advisor and Judge for the National Society of Arts and Letters Local Florida Chapter Vocal Competition in 2008. Mr. Biaggi has also served as panelist for the Opera America Conference in Denver, and has been a jury member for the Tucker Foundation Career Grant Competition and Awards Nomination Panel, Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, and the Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Competition. His commitment to Young Singers has led him to be invited to MissionAudition as part of Sherrill Milnes’ V.O.I.C.Experience, NYIOP pre-selection auditions in New York, Berlin and Zurich. He has also served as Advisor and Judge for the National Society of Arts and Letters Local Florida Chapter Competition. Daniel Biaggi holds a Post-Graduate and Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, a Bachelor of Music Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Certificate of Musicology from the University of Berne, Switzerland. As a classically trained singer, Mr. Biaggi has performed operatic roles and recitals in the US as well as Europe.

As NSAL Florida East Coast Chapter President, Shari Upbin brings a deep theatrical background to the organization (her father was a writer for Jack Benny). She is producer/director who has been a theatre professional since the age of 13 when she became a member of Actors Equity; she has been a professional tap dancer and choreographer and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers; and she has produced and directed over 50 productions in New York and around the country.
Jan McArt, Judi Asselta, Alyce Erickson, Shari Upbin

Upbin, who brings her considerable talent and energies to NSAL is passionate and excited about the young people the Society supports, “It is an honor and a privilege to serve as NSAL president,” she says. “This organization is an excellent example of ‘pay it forward’. Our chapter has opened doors through our competitions for so many ‘Stars of Tomorrow’. Some of our recent winners are already fulfilling the promise we saw in them: Nadine Sierra has performed at the Met in NY, Krista Ettlinger danced at the Dutch National Ballet, Jose Luaces starred on Broadway in A CHRISTMAS STORY, Gelan Lambert appeared on Broadway in the hit show FELA!, and Kassie Abreu was selected to dance at the Duncan Theatre in Palm Beach. As a theatre producer and director I am thrilled to be part of such a necessary and vital organization.”

Nadine Sierra will be one of the performers at the Red Rose Dinner Gala

Alyce Erickson, who has been involved with the organization since the early 80’s is equally committed. The organization’s work has become even more important “since they started cutting out arts and arts funding in schools,” she explains. “We had only been looking for students in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County, and working closely with the schools to identify, work with, and support these incredibly talented young people. But in May 2012, we expanded our search to encompass the entire eastern coast of Florida and Gainesville.”

For more information about The Florida East Coast Chapter of The National Society of Arts and Letters, The Red Rose Dinner Gala, Daniel Biaggi, or Shari Upbin, contact Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244), or visit www.nsalbocaraton.org/ or
www.arts-nsal.org/

The NSAL Red Rose Dinner Gala
Thursday, April 4^th
6:00 pm
Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club
2425 Maya Palm Drive West
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Tickets: $225
To purchase tickets please call: Alyce Erickson – 561-391-6380

‘Chicago’ – Murder, Mayhem, & Musical Theatre At Its Best!

24 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Carol Kassie in Boca Raton Theatre Guild, Clients

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All That Jazz, Avi Hoffman, Boca Raton Theatre Guild, Chicago, Fosse, Kander and Ebb, Ken Clement, Krisha Marcano, Mucial Comedy, Patti Gardner, Sally Bondi, Willow Theatre

South Florida’s top talent –
Avi Hoffman, Patti Gardner, Ken Clement, Sally Bondi,
and Krisha Marcano (Broadway’s The Color Purple)
in The Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s
Chicago
Sally Bondi, Krisha Marcano, Patti Gardner, Avi Hoffman*

Add sex and sparkle to a combustible mixture of murder, greed, corruption, and betrayal, blend with music and lyrics by the incomparable John Kander and Fred Ebb, stir in the unmistakable look of Bob Fosse’s choreography, combine with an incredibly talented cast of actors – and the result is the Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s upcoming production of Chicago.

Chicago will open on March 1^st and run through March 17^th at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park in Boca Raton.

In Chicago, John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse created a work that flawlessly evokes its vaudeville setting. Flamboyant flappers, crooked lawyers, and merry murderesses are all part of a sparkling script and a classic score that includes “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Razzle Dazzle.”

BRTG producer/director Keith Garsson has assembled a stellar cast to bring some of Broadway’s most beloved and well known characters to life: Avi Hoffman (Billy Flynn), Patti Gardner (Roxie Hart), Krisha Marcano (Velma Kelly), Sally Bondi (Matron Mama Morton), Ken Clement (Amos Hart), and Matthew Korinko (The Announcer) are all on board and looking forward to playing in this classic tale of “…violence, envy, exploitation, adultery and treachery—all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts!”

Hap Erstein (Palm Beach Post/PalmBeachArtsPaper.com) listed the Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s recent production of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia as one of his 2012 ‘10 Favorites of the Year’, and Chicago promises to continue to enhance the Guild’s reputation as one of South Florida’s up and coming professional theatre companies.

“This company – and this production – is going to feature the best of the best,” Garsson says. “Just getting the cast together has been a dream, and working with them is proving to be all I could have hoped for… and more.”

Garsson’s Velma Kelly, Krisha Marcano, originated the role of ‘Squeak’ in the Broadway production of The Color Purple. Marcano’s impressive background includes stints with the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and roles in Fosse, Disney’s Aida, Sweet Charity, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and the film Preacher’s Kid. She holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase and is the co-chair of the business group at Career Transitions for Dancers and the founder of KM Studios.

Avi Hoffman’s recent performances in LUV at the Plaza Theatre, and Parade Productions’ Brooklyn Boy earned him critical praise, and his turn as Wilbur Turnblad in Actor’s Playhouse’ 2012 production of Hairspray earned him a Carbonell Award. Hoffman is also known for his award winning one man shows Too Jewish? and Too Jewish, Too! (Performer of the Year ’95 – NY Press Magazine; L.A. OVATION award – Best Actor In a Musical 2001; NY Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award nominations). On television he portrays lawyer Sid Raskin in the Starz TV series MAGIC CITY. Avi’s newest show Still Jewish After All These Years will run from May 10^th – 19^th at the Boca Raton Theatre Guild.

Patti Gardner says she “is thrilled, honored and terrified to be performing the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago”. Known as one of South Florida’s busiest actresses, Patti just reprised her role in The Interview for The Women’s Theatre Project and was recently seen in LUV at the Plaza Theatre in Manalapan. She is a Carbonell Award-winner for her performance in Lips Together, Teeth Apart at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and has performed as the “Soap Star” in Menopause the Musical nationally for ten years.

Krisha Marcano, Patti Gardner*

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing professional productions and advancing the art of theatre in the South Florida community.

All performances of Chicago will take place in the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park. The theatre is located at 300 South Military Trail in Boca Raton, just south of Palmetto Park Road.
Tickets for Chicago are $35, and are available at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948.

For more information about Chicago and/or the Boca Raton Theatre Guild, please visit www.brtg.org, or contact Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244).
*Chicago photos by Michael B. Lloyd, Lloyd’s Studio Photography, Boca Raton

Chicago
Music: John Kander
Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Book: Fred Ebb & Bob Fosse
Mar 1-Mar 17, 2013
Tues-Sat 8pm, Sat-Sun 2pm
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
Tickets: $35.
Phone: 561-347-3948
Group Sales: 561-948-2601
www.brtg.org
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boca-Raton-Theatre-Guild/103606986210?ref=ts

Parade Productions presents Michael McKeever’s ‘The Whole Caboodle’ January 31-February 24

17 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Carol Kassie in Uncategorized

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Boca Raton, Candace Caplin, Clay Cartland, comedy, Elena Maria Garcia, Kim St. Leon, Michael McKeever, Parade Productions, Studio Theatre Mizner Park, theater, theatre

The multi-award winning author of Stuff, Moscow, 37 Postcards, Suite Surrender and Open Season takes us on a wild ride – careening through seven short plays filled with very funny and wonderfully human characters.

Boca Raton, FL/December 18, 2012.
Parade Productions’ second show of their second season will once again feature Michael McKeever – this time as playwright as well as actor. The multi-talented McKeever will star in The Whole Caboodle, a wickedly funny collection of some of his most celebrated short plays.

The production will preview on January 31^st, open on February 1^st, and run through February 24^th in the Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center’s Studio Theatre, at 201 Plaza Real in Boca Raton.

Stephen Sondheim, Abe Lincoln, Munchkins, ambivalent lesbians, even Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic’ – the award winning playwright skewers them all as he takes apart and reassembles a series of lovably flawed characters and pop culture icons with razor sharp humor and extra-keen insight – with hilarious results.

McKeever, who has just completed a successful run as Macy’s most irascible elf, Crumpet, in Parade’s recent production of David Sedris’ The SantaLand Diaries, is extremely pleased to be continuing his relationship with the young theatre company:

“I’m delighted Parade Productions is presenting this collection,” he says. “These seven pieces represent the best of my short plays. Putting them together was like finding the perfect combination of funny. Even more so, I love working with our director Kim St. Leon. She has a wonderful gift for humor, and has put together a fabulous group of actors. I couldn’t be more happy.”

Kim St. Leon agrees: “It’s all magic,” she says of The Whole Caboodle. “That’s the great thing about theatre. When it all comes together, it’s an experience you’re not going to get on the street . . .”

Elena Maria Garcia, Jacqueline Laggy, Clay Cartland, Casey Dressler, and Candace Caplin will also star in the production.
Caplin, who doubles as the the company’s executive director, says, “We’re excited about Caboodle. Who wouldn’t be? You take Michael McKeever, add Kim St Leon, and you’ve got combustible comedy. We’ve got a great cast, a great cast of characters,” she continues. “When it comes to comedy, you’re not going to do better than Michael Mc Keever and Elena Maria Garcia. We’re lucky they, and the rest of the cast, were available, and that it all came together. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Parade Productions is also offering their audiences an opportunity to support the company, and experience theatre in a uniquely first hand manner. For a tax deductible donation of $100 or more, patrons can ‘play a part’ in The Whole Caboodle, and make a ‘walk on’ appearance on stage during the play.

The versatile Michael McKeever, who recently won a Silver Palm award for his play, Moscow, and a Carbonell Award for Best New Work for his play, Stuff, explores every aspect of the human condition in his work, which incorporates a wide variety of styles and subject matter. He has been honored with an NEA Residency Grant (New Theatre, Miami) and has been a 3-time finalist for Humana Fest’s nationally renowned Heideman Award. He is the proud recipient of three Carbonell Awards; four Curtain Up Awards; and two Florida Individual Artist Fellowships. Six of his plays have been produced at City Theatre’s prestigious Summer Shorts Festival in Miami. He has been a finalist several times at both the Key West Theatre Festival and the Sarasota Festival of New Plays. He is also an award-winning actor and designer. He resides in South Florida and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors’ Equity.

Parade Productions is a not-for profit theatre company whose mission is “To produce high quality theatre experiences that entertain, enlighten, inform, uplift, and inspire audiences, sending them home with new thoughts, insights, questions, and ideas.”

The Whole Caboodle previews on January 31st, 2013, opens on February 1^st, and runs through February 24^th, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $40 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

Tickets are available at: www.paradeproductions.org, or by calling 866-811-4111. For Group Sales please call: 561-291-9678.

For more information, photos, head shots, or to arrange for interviews, please contact Carol Kassie at 561-445-9244/ckassie@gmail.com. For information about ‘walk-ons’ contact info@paradeproductions.org .
(Photos by Justin Namon)

The Whole Caboodle
by Michael McKeever
January 31-February 4, 2013
Thu-Sat 7:30 pm; Sun 3 pm
The Mizner Park Cultural Arts Center, Studio Theatre, 2^nd Floor
201 Plaza Real
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Tickets: $35/$40
Phone: 866-811-4111
Group Sales: 561-291-9678
www.paradeproductions.org
Parade Productions on Facebook

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The Women’s Theatre Project presents ‘The Interview’ January 4-20th

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients

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Boca Raton Theatre, Drama, Faye Sholiton, Genie Croft, Harriet Oser, Holocaust, Patti Gardner, Shoah, The Interview, The Women's Theatre Project, theatre, Willow Theatre

Powerful Memories… Powerful Theatre…

The Interview
by Faye Sholiton
“We awakened a lot of memories,” the interviewer tells her subject.
“They were never asleep,” the survivor replies.

The Interview, The Women’s Theatre Project’s second production in their new venue, The Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park, will open on January 4^th, 2013 and run through January 20^th. The Interview will be The Women’s Theatre Project’s 30^th production since they were founded in 2002.

Faye Sholiton’s deeply moving memory play about the legacy of human suffering, courage and humanity, mothers and daughters, and forgiving and being forgiven, The Interview is at once a powerful documentation of a horrific historical event and one artist’s deeply felt response to it. Written with clarity and feeling, it resonates on all levels.

“It is so meaningful to bring this fine piece of theatre to life,” says the Women’s Theatre Project’s Artistic Director and the play’s director, Genie Croft. “We are all born into some story that affects our emotional, social and spiritual growth,” she continues. “The Interview explores the case of children of Holocaust survivors – and that can be an enormous legacy, a stifled mystery, or a complex gift and burden. It’s exciting to focus on the characters’ evolution as they reveal their intense feelings, traumas, and even dark humor, in terms of individual perception, and communication.”

Harriet Oser will play Bracha Weissman, who has transformed herself into an emotional recluse – her identity defined by the loss of her family in the Nazi death camps she miraculously survived. Performing The Interview, particularly for the children of Holocaust survivors and sharing their memories was an unforgettable experience for Oser, who is looking forward to revisiting the character, whom she played in The Women’s Theatre Project’s 2009 production of the play.

Patti Gardner will once again take on the role of Ann Meshenberg, who arrives one day to record Bracha’s testimony for a video archive. Ann, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, has her own agenda: the need to ask a stranger what she could not ask her parents.

Irene Adjan will play Bracha’s daughter Rifka, and Christopher Mitchell will take on the role of videographer Chris MacDonald.

Playwright Faye Sholiton has developed her work in the Cleveland Play House Playwrights’ Unit since 1996 and in Dobama Theatre’s Playwrights’ Gym since 2009. Her full-length works have been read or produced in more than three dozen venues worldwide and have won more than 20 national honors. She is a four-time winner of Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council. Prior to writing plays, she was an award-winning journalist for local, regional and national publications. A teacher of playwriting workshops, most recently she was the Cleveland Play House Artist-in-Residence at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights. She has also taught scene writing to passengers cruising the South Pacific. Professional affiliations include the Dramatists Guild, which she serves as Regional Representative for Ohio; the Association for Jewish Theatre; and the International Centre for Women Playwrights. She is founder of Interplay Jewish Theatre, a company that produces staged readings of Jewish themed works.

Faye Sholiton will attend the opening night performance of The Interview.

The Interview will run from January 4^th through January 20^th, 2013, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park is located at 300 South Military Trail in Boca Raton, just south of Palmetto Park Road. Tickets for The Interview are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948. Tickets for all performances are $25, or $20 if purchased before December 21^st.

The Interview
By Faye Sholiton
January 4-20, 2013
Thu-Sat 8pm, Sat-Sun 2pm
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
Tickets: $25
Phone: 561-347-3948

www.womenstheatreproject.com
http://www.facebook.com/WomensTheatreProject
http://www.fayesplays.com/

Virtuoso Pianist Jace Vek creates ‘The New Standard’

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients, Jace Vek

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Tags

Anita Havel, cello, Chris Eversoul, Contemporary, Crest Theatre, Delray Beach Center for the Arts, Delray Music, Drew Tucker, Jace Vek, Jazz, Jeff Oster, Jenene Caramiello, Jimi Cokinos, Jonah Kim, Music, pianist, The New Standard, virtuoso, world class musicians

Eight World Class Musicians to Appear On Stage
One Night Only
January 5, 2013
At The Crest Theater
At the Delray Beach Center for the Arts in Old School Square

Emmy Award-winning composer and concert pianist Jace Vek has built a critically acclaimed career combining different styles and genres to create music that ventures far beyond the traditional, yet consistently pleases the ear and the soul. On January 5^th at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts in Old School Square, Vek will continue to stretch the boundaries of his art in a concert he has dubbed The New Standard.

The show, which Vek describes as “instrumental art” will feature a roster of outstanding musicians, all with uniquely different styles of musicianship working together to give birth to Vek’s newest cutting edge creations.

“The music is heavy on melody, and strong in rhythm,” Vek explains. “It ranges from sublime, dreamy interludes to explosive feats of technical virtuosity. It sounds like a film soundtrack on steroids. It’s a sum of the inspirations from many musical styles including, Electronica, Classical, New Age, Jazz, Film music, Hard Rock, Symphonic, Opera, and Hip hop.”

The New Standard will also showcase the formidable talents of cellist Jonah Kim, electric guitarist Jimi Cokinos, flugelhorn/trumpeter Jeff Oster, bassist Chris Eversoul, and percussionist Drew Tucker. Soprano Jenene Caramiello and dancer Anita Havel will also perform.

Winner of 2 Emmy awards, with five album releases, Jace Vek’s music is played on hundreds of radio stations world-wide and is featured on XM satellite radio. He is a composer of new music, has worked with with Grammy award winning artists, and specializes in symphonic-electronic fusion. As a virtuoso pianist, Jace Vek has played for US presidents, and performed in many exclusive venues.

Heralded by the New York Times as the next Yo-Yo Ma, 22 year old cellist Jonah Kim has become a star in the world of classical music. He has worked with numerous superstars, including Sting, Andrea Bocelli, Vic Damone, Kenny Rogers, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Jonah is a graduate of the Julliard and Curtis schools of music. He is Associate Principal Cellist at the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, where he is also the orchestra’s youngest member.

With a career in the music business that has taken him to over 50 countries, electric guitarist Jimi Cokinos brings a world of sound and experience to his music. He has had an extensive career in production and has worked closely with Janet Jackson. Destiny’s Child, Fuel, Creed, James Taylor, and other world famous acts.

Jeff Oster’s (flugelhorn, trumpet) most recent album releases, produced by Grammy award winning producer Will Ackerman, have earned him 2 album of the year awards, and international radio airplay, and rave reviews from critics from all over the world.

Over the past 12 months Chris Eversoul (bass guitar) has appeared with the following groups: Apocalyptica, L.A. Guns, Cinderella, and Stryper. Chris has also worked with Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Dale Stevens, and Patrick Johanson.

Founder of the Tucker Music Academy, which teaches hundreds of students, percussionist Drew Tucker is a leader in community outreach, and a captain of music education.

Tickets for The New Standard are $25, and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased on line at http://delraycenterforthearts.org/ or by phone at 561-243-7922. Performance time is 8 p.m. on January 5^th, 2013.

For more information about The New Standard, to arrange for interviews with various artists, or for photos and/or video, visit www.jacevek.com, or contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com/561-445-9244.

Delray Beach Center for the Arts (formerly known as Old School Square Cultural Arts Center) offers world‐class events, theater, exhibits and learning opportunities. The restored early 20th century school buildings (listed on the
National Register of Historic Places as Delray Beach Schools) house the charming Cornell Museum of Art & American Culture (c. 1913), the intimate Crest Theatre (c. 1925) and a Vintage Gymnasium. The Pavilion, which opened in 2002, hosts outdoor concerts and festivals. The School of Creative Arts offers art, photography and writing classes. The Center also serves as a venue for community, corporate, private and media events. For information on performances, exhibits, classes or facility rentals, call 561‐243‐7922 or visit
DelrayCenterForTheArts.org.

The New Standard
January 5, 2013
8:00 p.m.
Tickets $25
The Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square
51 North Swinton Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
Phone: 561-243-7922
delraycenterforthearts.org

Jace Vek

Jonah Kim Jimi CokinosDrew TuckerJeff Oster
Chris EversoulJenene Carmiello

Parade Productions presents Michael McKeever in ‘The Santaland Diaries’

06 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients

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Boca Raton, Candace Caplin, Christmas, Christmas Comedy, comedy, David Sedaris, Kim St. Leon, Michael McKeever, Parade Productions, Santaland Diaries, Studio Theatre at Mizner Park, theatre

Michael McKeever
stars in
David Sedaris’
The Santaland Diaries

“What’s as much fun as Christmas?” asks Parade Productions’ director Kim St. Leon. “Directing David Sedaris’ wickedly funny script, The Santaland Diaries, with Michael McKeever!”

The Santaland Diaries will open Parade Productions’ second season on December 13^th, and run through December 23^rd at the Studio Theatre at Mizner Park in Boca Raton.

The Santaland Diarieshilariouslyrelates David Sedaris’ experiences when he reluctantly worked as an elf in Macy’s Christmastime Santaland display, and offers an uproarious behind-the-scenes look at how department stores manufacture Christmas spirit.

“The play is witty and smart and tells truths about our heart and our callousness, all the while making us laugh,” St. Leon says. “It truly is a celebration of the human spirit covered in holiday commercialism. And Michael McKeever is a dream to direct.”

Parade Productions’ debut season was an unqualified success. Their production of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy sold out all twelve performances, and a subsequent reading of Stuart Meltzer’s play, Better Than Damn Good, also did very well.

Candace Caplin, the driving force behind Parade Productions, and the company’s executive director, explains: “The audience loved Michael Mc Keever in Better Than Damn Good – so we decided to bring him back! It was a great night – there’s nothing like a group of people coming together and laughing. We’re excited about SantaLand; you take David Sedaris, and mix in Michael Mc Keever, and you end up with something special. It should be a lot of fun.”

McKeever is pleased to have the opportunity to revisit Sedaris’ (s)elf. “There’s a reason this play is one of the most produced every year,” he says. “It’s not only full of sardonic wit and humor, but incredibly insightful as well.”

The versatile McKeever, who recently won a Carbonell Award for Best New Work for his play, Stuff, explores every aspect of the human condition in his work, which incorporates a wide variety of styles and subject matter. He has been honored with an NEA Residency Grant (New Theatre, Miami) and has been a 3-time finalist for Humana Fest’s nationally renowned Heideman Award. He is the proud recipient of three Carbonell Awards; four Curtain Up Awards; and two Florida Individual Artist Fellowships. Six of his plays have been produced at City Theatre’s prestigious Summer Shorts Festival in Miami. He has been a finalist several times at both the Key West Theatre Festival and the Sarasota Festival of New Plays. He is also an award-winning actor and designer. He resides in South Florida and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors’ Equity.

Humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor David Sedaris has been described as ‘the rock star of writers’. He first gained public attention when National Public Radio broadcast his essay ‘Santaland Diaries’ in 1992. Much of Sedaris’ humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating, and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing, his Greek heritage, unusual jobs, education, drug use, obsessive behaviors, and his life in general. Sedaris has been compared to James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, Spalding Gray, Mark Twain, and Nathanial West and was hailed by the New Yorker as one of the funniest writers in America. His books and essays have sold well over seven million copies.

The Santaland Diaries opens December 13th, 2012, and runs through December 23^rd, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $40 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

Tickets are available at: www.paradeproductions.org, or by calling 866-811-4111. For Group Sales please call: 561-291-9678.

The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris; adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
December 13-23
Thu-Sat 7:30 pm, Sat-Sun 3 pm
The Studio at Mizner Park
201 Plaza Real, 2^nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Tickets: $35/$40
Phone: 866-811-4111
Group Sales: 561-291-9678
www.paradeproductions.org
Parade Productions on Facebook

The Women’s Theatre Project’s ‘Delval Divas’ opens November 2nd

27 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by Carol Kassie in Clients

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Barbara Pease Weber, comedy, Delval Divas, Jacqueline Laggy, Jessica K. Peterson, Karen Stephens, Lela Elam, Lisa Braun, prison comedy, Sally Bondi, Sugar Sand Park, The Willow Theatre, The Women's Theatre Project

Who said crime doesn’t pay!?

The Women’s Theatre Project will present Barbara Pease Weber’s contemporary comedy, Delval Divas, at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park from November 2^nd through November 18^th. This will be the theatre company’s first production in their new venue.

Sally Bondi, Lisa Braun, Lela Elam, Jacqueline Laggy, Jessica K. Peterson, and Karen Stephens star in the timely comedy about six capable and intelligent women who just happen to be in prison and find themselves facing a series of challenges – including changes in lifestyle, corruption, and murder.

“I began to write Delval Divas in 2000 and, thinking back, it’s almost like I had a crystal ball into the future,” says playwright Barbara Pease Weber. “Since I was, at the time, an actor in my 40s, I decided that I wanted to try to write a comedy involving strong, educated and bright middle aged women. I considered an office setting then decided it would be boring. Thought about a gym setting. Nah, boring! Then I asked myself, where would a group of well educated, successful and intelligent women find themselves together? A-ha! In the slammer for their various and sundry corporate misdeeds. Hence, Delval Divas was born in my head.”

Weber’s timing couldn’t have been better: “Little did I know at the time I began to write my story that the Enron and Martha Stewart scandals were about to explode,” she says, “And that later in the decade, scandals involving Bernie Madoff, Country Wide Financial, Fannie Mae and Wall Street in general would keep Delval Divas a timely piece.”

Director Genie Croft is in charge of the Divas: “Rehearsing Delval Divas is a creative and imaginative journey as we delve through the process of unraveling the upheavals these characters are trying to manipulate to their personal advantage,” she explains. “Working through the fabric of this clever script has been very rewarding. I’m delighted with the nuanced development of these Divas by my very talented cast. So far I have not had to sentence anyone to solitary confinement!”

Delval Divas will run from November 2^nd through November 18^th, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park is located at 300 South Military Trail in Boca Raton, just south of Palmetto Park Road. Tickets for Delval Divas are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948. Tickets for all performances are $25.

Delval Divas
By Barbara Pease Weber
November 2-18
Thu-Sat 8pm, Sat-Sun 2pm
The Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park
300 South Military Trail,
Boca Raton, FL 33486
Tickets: $25
Phone: 561-347-3948
www.womenstheatreproject.com
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