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Pigs Do Fly Productions presents the Southeastern Premiere of THE LADIES FOURSOME

05 Monday Mar 2018

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
Presents
The Southeastern Premiere of
The Ladies Foursome
March 22 – April 8
(Preview performance March 21)

“Norm Foster’s hit comedy The Ladies Foursome is a fun-filled romp from beginning to end…”  Joe Belanger ~ The London Free Press

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244

March 5, 2018
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL:   It’s the day after the funeral, and three women gather for a round of golf in honor of their recently departed play partner.  A mysterious fourth joins them, and so begins a raucous and rowdy 18 holes filled with secrets, surprises, confessions… and sex.  Pigs Do Fly Productions will present award-winning Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s The Ladies Foursome from March 22nd – April 8th at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.  There will be a preview performance at 8 pm on March 21st.

The production will be directed by Genie Croft: “Welcome to the Southeastern premiere of The Ladies Foursome, a witty insightful comedy following four women as they navigate the ups and downs of life on the links,” she enthuses.  The fun starts at the first tee when golfer Tate starts stretching to “loosen up” and Margot does the same by cracking open a beer! 

“These four women have played golf together every week for 14 years, and they believe this is the perfect way to honor their friend,” she explains. “Each one of the foursome has her secrets – some have been taken to the grave, and others are revealed in moments of anger, jealously, drunkenness, and guilt.  As they play the links, confessions about men, sex, love, children, and careers come to the fore as they challenge each other’s views.  The Ladies Foursome is a tribute to the pitfalls and pleasures of friendships and their lasting significance in our lives.”

Croft has cast Janice Hamilton, Deborah Kondelik, Jacquie Laggy, and Elissa Solomon to portray her swinging foursome.

“The Ladies Foursome is so fascinating that I can hardly wait to see the production open myself!” says Pigs Do Fly Productions founder and Executive Producer Ellen Wacher.  “It shows exactly what Pigs Do Fly stands for – people over 50 doing interesting things with their lives.  And our director Genie Croft has created a fabulous show with this foursome.”

Norm Foster is considered to be Canada’s most produced playwright. He discovered his talents as a playwright in Fredericton, New Brunswick, while he was working as host of a popular morning radio show. He accompanied a friend to an audition, and landed his first acting job, as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey, without ever having even seeing a play. Intrigued with the theatre, he set his pen to paper and wrote his first play titled Sinners.

An extremely prolific writer, Foster has had more than fifty plays produced on professional stages around the world. Other well-known plays include The Love List, The Long Weekend; Bedtime Stories; Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun; Storm Warning; Skin Flick; Outlaw; Hilda’s Yard; On A First Name Basis; Old Love; Mending Fences and Here on the Flight Path. Frequently compared to American playwright Neil Simon, Foster pens plays that are known for their humor, accessibility, and insight into the everyday tribulations of life.

Tickets for The Ladies Foursome are $39 and are available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com  or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To arrange for interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

The Ladies Foursome
By Norm Foster
March 22 – April 8
(Preview performance March 21 at 8 pm)
Performance times:
Wednesday, March 21, at 8 pm (preview)
Thursday, March 22, at 8 pm
Friday, March 23, at 8 pm
Saturday, March 24, at 8 pm
Sunday, March 25 at 5 pm
Wednesday, March 28 at 8 pm
Thursday, March 29 at 8 pm
Friday, March 30 at 8 pm
Saturday, March 31 at 8 pm
Thursday, April 5 at 8 pm
Friday, April 6 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 7 at 8 pm
Sunday, April 8 at 7 pm
Tickets:  $39
For tickets:  www.pigsdoflyproductions.com / 866-811-4111

All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 N. Flagler Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

 

 

 

 

 

Pigs Do Fly Productions Presents The World Premiere of Michael Leeds’ IMPRESSIONS – July 21 – August 6

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
Presents
The World Premiere of
Impressions
by Michael Leeds
July 21 – August 6
(Preview performance July 20)

Art… literally brought to life…

June 20, 2017

WILTON MANORS, FL: “I’ve always been drawn to the paintings of the great Impressionists,” award-winning playwright and director Michael Leeds mused recently.  “As opposed to the idealized forms and perfect symmetry that was the norm, the Impressionists chose subjects from all walks of life, capturing who they were and what they were doing in that fleeting moment in time.  I was especially intrigued by the women in their paintings.  What were they thinking? What were they feeling?  What was their world like?”

Leeds explores this theme when Pigs Do Fly Productions presents the World Premiere of his new play, Impressions, at the Abyss Stage in Wilton Manors.  The production will run from July 21 – August 6. (There will be a preview performance on July 20th at 8 pm.)

From a Monet matron to a Degas dancer, Impressions brings these women to life to reveal their joys, their fears and their passions.

“When Michael approached me with his ideas during our last production, Invasion of Privacy, I became excited immediately,” Pigs Do Fly Productions founder and Executive Producer Ellen Wacher says.  “By wonderful coincidence that period of art is my favorite. I’ve worked with Michael – I am, and always have been – a great admirer of his work, and now, after reading the play I can hardly wait to see it myself!”

“Writing Impressions gave me the opportunity to enter the world of each painting and imagine the events surrounding the moments captured by these incredible artists,” Leeds explains.   “And, although it wasn’t intentional, when I was done, I found these women were all linked in some way by the limitations society imposed on them due to their gender, their class, or their age.

“Of course, none of this would be possible without the enthusiastic support of Ellen Wacher and Pigs Do Fly Productions,” Leeds continues.  “When I first brought the project to Ellen, I had no idea she was a passionate devotee of the Impressionists.   We’re both incredibly excited to see how it all comes together. The production elements of the play present many challenges in how to best bring these paintings to life.  Luckily, I’ve got three extremely versatile actresses, and a great design team.  To quote a Sondheim lyric, “Putting it together bit by bit… Art isn’t easy!”

Wacher and Leeds have cast three award-winning actresses – Patti Gardner, Barbara Sloan, and Karen Stephens – to bring the iconic paintings Leeds has chosen to life.  Along with Edgar Degas and Claude Monet, Leeds has chosen works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Gustave Caillebotte, Frédéric Bazille, Isaac Israëls, and Marie Bracquemond to ‘illustrate’.

Leeds and Wacher have enlisted recent Carbonell Award-winner Jodi Dellaventura to design the Impressions set.  Others on the show’s design team are Kevin Black (Projections), Ardean Landhuis (Lighting Design), Jerry Sturdefant (Costume Design), David Hart (Sound). Kevin Raymond Hammond (Wigs). Jeff Ostrow will serve as Impressions’ Production Stage Manager.

Tickets for Impressions are $35 and are available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at The Abyss Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Impressions
By Michael Leeds
July 21 – August 6
(Preview performance July 20 at 8 pm)
Performance times:
Thursday – Saturday at 8 pm
Sunday at 5 pm
Tickets:  $35
For tickets:  www.pigsdoflyproductions.com / 866-811-4111
All performances will take place at
The Abyss Stage
2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
www.infinite-abyss.org
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Michael Leeds: (Writer/Director) B’way: Swinging On A Star (Writer/Director Tony Award nom. Best Musical).  Off-B’way: Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah – The Songs of Allan Sherman (Drama Desk Award nom. Best Director/Best Choreographer), the European Premiere of Arthur Miller’s Playing For Time (Edinburgh Fringe Festival First Award), A Little Night Music at Houston Grand Opera starring Frederica Von Stade and Regina for Florida Grand Opera starring Lauren Flanigan. Film:  choreographed End of Summer starring Jacqueline Bisset, co-wrote The Simian Line starring William Hurt and Lynn Redgrave, and The Last Film Festival starring Dennis Hopper. His many SF directing credits include Mack And Mabel (Carbonell Best Musical) and The Light In The Piazza (Carbonell nom Best Musical, Silver Palm Award for Direction).  Michael is Assoc. Artistic Director of Island City Stage where his directing credits include The Twentieth Century Way (Carbonell nom. Best Ensemble), The Timekeepers (6 Carbonell Awards including Best Director and Best Production of a Play), the World Premieres of Have I Got A Girl For You, POZ, Feeding The Bear and his own play Who Killed Joan Crawford? which received the 2016 Award for Best New Work of 2016 by the Broward/Miami New Times.  His other plays include The First Step – Diary of a Sex Addict, The Gift, Starmaker and Impressions.   Michael teaches an ongoing weekly acting class. (www.LeedsWorkshop.net)

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Pigs Do Fly Productions presents INVASION OF PRIVACY – September 8 – 25

09 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
InvasionOfPrivacy_LOGOonlySeptember 9 – 25
(Preview performance September 8)

“Larry Parr has a flair for sassy humor and for focusing his story on the main issues.”  Sarasota Herald Tribune

August 10, 2016
WILTON MANORS, FL:  In 1943 Zelma Cason filed a ground-breaking lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize-winning author (The Yearling) Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.  Cason claimed Rawlings had invaded her ‘right to privacy’ in the author’s recently published book, Cross Creek. The suit – the first of its kind ever filed in Florida –  used ‘the right of privacy defense’.  At that time the state didn’t even recognize the existence of that right.

Pigs Do Fly Productions will present the South Florida premiere of Larry Parr’s award-winning play, Invasion of Privacy – the playwright’s fascinating examination of the events leading up to and including the trial that had the entire country focused on one small Florida town.   The production will run from September 9th through September 25th at The Abyss Stage in Wilton Manors.  There will be a preview performance on September 8th.

Ellen 2“Invasion of Privacy is our first foray into a full length play,” says Pigs Do Fly Productions Executive Producer Ellen Wacher.   “This one is awesome – it’s based on a real case and trial in 1940’s Florida.  It has great characters; it’s topical and funny, yet it deals with very serious issues.  And it fits perfectly within Pigs Do Fly’s mission – showing the impact people over 50 can have on all our lives.”

Larry Parr

Larry Parr

“I always loved Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ rich and poetic writings about Florida and the Floridians who made their lives from the bounty of the land,” playwright Larry Parr explains.  “I became fascinated by the lawsuit brought against her after the publication of her book, Cross Creek, for Invasion of Privacy – the first of its kind brought against an author.  It played out against the backdrop of early Florida and involved the very people she wrote about, and it involves an issue that is very much in the news yet today – Freedom of Speech versus Right to Privacy.”

The landmark case began when Cason, one of Rawlings’ closest friends took issue with the author’s description of her in Cross Creek as “…an ageless spinster resembling an angry and efficient canary. She manages her orange grove and as much of the village and country as needs management or will submit to it. I cannot decide whether she should have been a man or a mother …”  An additional real-life dramatic element was added to the mix in that Cason was represented by Kate Walton – one of Florida’s first female lawyers – in a time when women were not even allowed to serve on juries in Florida.

Peter J. LoewyInvasion of Privacy will be directed by Peter J. Loewy, whose production of The Rothschilds will open at Stage Door Theatre on September 2nd; his recent production of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together received excellent reviews when it played at Stage Door in May.  He has directed numerous productions in South Florida, as well as at his own Forum Theatre, in Metuchen, New Jersey.

Loewy has selected a talented cast for Invasion of Privacy:  Eight-time Carbonell nominee Missy McArdle will play Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Carbonell nominee Kevin Reilley will play her husband, Norton Baskin.  Also cast are Pepper Thompson as Zelma Cason, Todd Caster as lawyer Sigsbee Scruggs, Jules Pisano as lawyer Kate Walton, and Kerry Sensenbach as Judge John Murphree.

Tickets for Invasion of Privacy are $35 and are available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at The Abyss Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at carol@carolkassie.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
Invasion of Privacy
By Larry Parr
September 9 – September 25 (Preview Performance – September 8)
Tickets: $35
Tickets:  866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
The Abyss Stage
2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
www.infinite-abyss.org

Larry Parr (Playwright) Hundreds of regional productions.  Hi-Hat Hattie Kansas City’s Drama Desk Best Musical, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, American Cinema Foundation; My Castle’s Rockin’ Sart ScriptFest, National Black Theatre Festival;Invasion Of Privacy 1999 Gold Coast Players best-play award, Playwrights First Award in Manhattan, Ashland New Play Festival, Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play Competition, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Dezart Performs Audience Favorite; Sundew Sart Scriptfest; His Eye Is On The Sparrow Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Sarasota County Arts Council’s Fellowship, Dayton Best Overall Production; Shunned Sart’s ScriptFest, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New American Playwrights Project.  2000, 2010 Barbara Anton Playwriting Award.  STAGES ’93, the 1994 Porter Fleming Playwriting Competition, The Arion Award For Music Excellence, Civic Recognition Award, Broome Agency’s Best-Novel Award.  www.larryparr.info

Awards for Invasion of Privacy:
State of Florida Individual Artist’s Fellowship Award
Gold Coast Players Best Play Award
The National Arts Club’s Playwrights First Award in Manhattan
Ashland, Oregon New Play Festival
Theatre Conspiracy New Play Award
Dezart Performs Audience Favorite, Palm Springs, California

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Pigs Do Fly Productions Moves to The Abyss Stage in September

23 Monday May 2016

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Pigs Do Fly Productions Is On the Move!
logo-pigsdoflyprod-vertical Pigs Do Fly Productions announces their September Production, and a move to
The Abyss Stage in Wilton Manors

May 24, 2016
WILTON MANORS, FL – Pigs do Fly Productions is on the move! The company’s September production, Larry Parr’s Invasion of Privacy will run from September 8th through September 25th at The Abyss Stage Wilton Manors.

“We’re constantly looking to grow… to fly,” says Pigs Do Fly’s founder and artistic director, Ellen Wacher.  “And this is the right move for us.  We’ve been lucky enough to have had quite a few sold out houses during each of our runs, so a larger space something we’ve been looking at for a while now.

Ellen Wacher

Ellen Wacher

“And there’s more exciting news,” she continues.  “We’re making another significant change.  Our usual format – and it’s been a very successful one for us – has been short plays.  But we’ve found a full length play that really resonated with our team, and it fits our mission in every way.  It features characters over the age of 50 in a situation based on a true story that’s as relevant for everyone – no matter what their age – today as it was when it took place in the 1940s.

“The play, Invasion of Privacy, is by Larry Parr.  His comedic short play Politically Incorrect, was featured in our March production, and was extremely well received.  When he sent this one to us… well… it just clicked.  It’s got humor, great characters, and social significance.”

Invasion of Privacy is based on the lawsuit brought against Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling) by her neighbor, Zelma Cason.  Cason contended that Rawlings’ description of ‘her’ character in Rawlings’ book Cross Creek made her out to be a ‘hussy’ and sued the author for invasion of privacy (the courts of the time found libel to be too ambiguous).  It was a cause of action that had never been argued in a Florida court.  “That was a time when a woman lawyer was a novelty in the South, and man’s moonshine was nobody’s business, and an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit was something of a brand-new issue, which eventually became a popular reason for going to court.”  Jack Lyons, Theatre & Film Critic

Peter J. Loewy

Peter J. Loewy

Invasion of Privacy will be directed by Peter J. Loewy, whose production of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together is currently running at Stage Door Theatre in Margate.  Loewy has directed numerous productions in South Florida, as well as at his own Forum Theatre, in Metuchen, New Jersey.

Auditions for the Invasion of Privacy will be held in late June or early July – the date, time, and location to be announced.

Tickets for Invasion of Privacy are $35 and will be on sale soon. Tickets will be available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.  Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at The Abyss Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
Invasion of Privacy
By Larry Parr
September 9 – September 25 (Preview Performance – September 8)
Tickets: $35
Tickets:  866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
The Abyss Stage
2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305
561-447-8829
www.abyss-stage.com

Larry Parr

Larry Parr

Larry Parr (Playwright) Hundreds of regional productions.  Hi-Hat Hattie Kansas City’s Drama Desk Best Musical, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, American Cinema Foundation; My Castle’s Rockin’ Sart ScriptFest, National Black Theatre Festival;Invasion Of Privacy 1999 Gold Coast Players best-play award, Playwrights First Award in Manhattan, Ashland New Play Festival, Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play Competition, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Dezart Performs Audience Favorite; Sundew Sart Scriptfest; His Eye Is On The Sparrow Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Sarasota County Arts Council’s Fellowship, Dayton Best Overall Production; Shunned Sart’s ScriptFest, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New American Playwrights Project.  2000, 2010 Barbara Anton Playwriting Award.  STAGES ’93, the 1994 Porter Fleming Playwriting Competition, The Arion Award For Music Excellence, Civic Recognition Award, Broome Agency’s Best-Novel Award.  www.larryparr.info

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Pigs Do Fly Productions presents CURLY TALES ~ March 11-27 at Empire Stage

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents

CurlyTales_logo

Seven Short Plays
at Empire Stage March 11th – 27th
(Preview performance March 10th)

A collection of Seven BRAND NEW Short Plays chosen to appeal to audiences of all ages

February 9, 2016
LAUDERDALE, FL – Pigs do Fly Productions will return to Ft. Lauderdale’s Empire Stage with Curly Tales the first production of their third season, from March 11th through March 27th. There will be a preview performance on March 10th.

Curly Tales will once again feature seven short plays chosen from numerous submissions the company received after putting out a call for works specific to their mission: To highlight vibrant healthy people over the age of fifty doing interesting things with their lives.

Ellen 2“When we began Pigs Do Fly with the idea of highlighting, positively, the many of us over 50,  I had no idea of what to expect,” says Ellen Wacher, the company’s founder and Executive Producer. “I’m thrilled the subject has resonated with so many theater-goers. I think we’ve selected a good balance of comedies and dramas for this production – we look to keep getting better and better and happily move forward. Our audience is growing, and so are we!”

Directing duties for Curly Tales will once again be shared by Elena Maria Garcia and Gail S. Garrisan, both of whom wholeheartedly share Wacher’s vision:

“This time the plays are more personal with attention to life’s details,” Garcia says. “And I’m excited to work with former Pigs cast members as well as new ones. Let’s see where this new journey will take us.”

“It’s both a pleasure and a challenge to find new works that exemplify the mission of Pigs Do Fly,” Garrisan explains. “Working on this affords me the opportunity become acquainted with a number of talented playwrights with whose work I was not familiar.” This will be Garrisan’s second Pigs Do Fly production.

Local actors Brenda Aulbach, Lynn Simmons Chvotkin, Harry Marsh, Stanley Ross, Kerry Sensenbach, Elissa D. Solomon, and Carol Sussman have been cast in Curly Tales.

“Entertaining an audience with a variety of short plays is great,” says Brenda Aulbach. “But entertaining an audience with short plays about people over the age of 50 is even greater because it’s relevant. And performing in this production by Pigs do Fly that clearly values and showcases the talent and artistry of actors over the age of 50 is nothing short of an honor.”

The seven 10-minute plays are (see below for playwright bios):
Yours and Mine – by Glenn Alterman
Flowers – by Sheila Cowley
The Dove – by Joshua Fardon
Land of the Music – by E.M. Garcia
The Nude – by W.L. Newkirk
Politically Correct Police – by Larry Parr
The Mating Season of Flying Monkeys – by Ann R. Wuehler

Tickets for Curly Tales are $35 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 North Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents
Curly Tales
By Various Playwrights March 11 – 27
(Preview Performance – March 10)
Tickets: $35 Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 North Flagler Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33304

Curly Tales – Playwright Bios:

Glenn Alterman (Yours and Mine) is the author of 29 theater related book, including 10 books of original monologues. He’s listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and RecordSetter.com for “The Most Published Original Monologues For Actors”. His plays and monologues have appeared in over 30 “Best of the Year” anthologies. He’s won The Arts and Letters Award In Drama, The Julio T. Nunez Arts Grant, The Bloomington Playwrights Project (Reva Shiner Award) and over 60 playwriting competitions. Glenn’s work’s been performed at Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, LaMama, Beverly Hills Rep, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Circle Rep., and at many theaters in the U.S. and in Europe. 

Sheila Cowley’s (Flowers) plays have been developed in Chicago at Chicago Dramatists and The Equity Library Theatre, in New York with Athena Theatre, March Forth and Reverie Productions, in London through American Actors UK and in Florida at American Stage, The Gorilla Theatre, Stageworks and the University of South Florida. There have been productions of her work from New York to Florida and Texas, with Ohio coming up. Sheila recently completed two commissions, one using live sound effects for a show in New York, and a work drawn from a painting for a local arts performance. www.sdcowley.com 

Joshua Fardon’s (The Dove) play A Painting of a Dog is a semifinalist for the 2016 Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. The Annoyance Theatre, Chicago: The Condition. Theatre of NOTE, Los Angeles: Do Not Disturb – An Evening of Plays by JoshuaFardon, Shake, This Contract Limits our Liability – Read It! Brand Studio Theatre: Julia Arbuck. Short plays for The Naked Angels, EST, Sacred Fools, The Secret Rose, Slap n’ Tickle, the Yale Cabaret, the Yo! Yo! Theatre Company. A graduate of Northwestern University and the acting department of the Yale School of Drama, he is thrilled that Pigs Do Fly.www.joshuafardon.com

Elena Maria Garcia (Land the Music) is a co-founder of Underdog Productions where she has adapted numerous children’s books and stories into plays for young audiences.  Her adaptation of Give A Boy A Gun was produced twice in South Florida to rave reviews from students, teacher, and parents. She was also the co-founder of the all female improv troupe Big Purse and Matching Shoes as well as Separate Checks Improv Troupe, where she learned quickly how to write sketch comedy about current political and social issues.  Through Underdog Productions, Elena has been able to direct, act, write, and produce her one-person show, Do You Speak Mexican? at the Fillmore Miami Beach.  She is currently writing her new one person show titled, Teacher Conference: A True Story.

W.L. Newkirk (The Nude) is best known as a playwright. His recently-written, award-winning stage plays include East Lansing (Winner, Best Play, 2014 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival), 5 to 4 (Winner, Best Play, 2015 4 X 6 Fest), and In Me (Winner, 2015 Vigoda Award, Best Dramedy).  He has degrees from the Ohio State University (Medicine) and Harvard University (Government), where he was a John Harvard Scholar and Lecturer.  He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts and sciences, including Recognition from the Daniel Hanley Trust for “Courage, Leadership and Innovation.” He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Larry Parr (Politically Correct Police) Hundreds of regional productions. Hi-Hat Hattie Kansas City’s Drama Desk Best Musical, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, American Cinema Foundation; My Castle’s Rockin’ Sart ScriptFest, National Black Theatre Festival; Invasion Of Privacy 1999 Gold Coast Players best-play award, Playwrights First Award in Manhattan, Ashland New Play Festival, Theatre Conspiracy’s New Play Competition, Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Dezart Performs Audience Favorite; Sundew Sart Scriptfest; His Eye Is On The Sparrow Florida Individual Artist Recipient, Sarasota County Arts Council’s Fellowship, Dayton Best Overall Production; Shunned Sart’s ScriptFest, Utah Shakespeare Festival, New American Playwrights Project. 2000, 2010 Barbara Anton Playwriting Award. http://www.larryparr.info

Ann R. Wuehler (Mating Season of Flying Monkeys) is a native Oregonian who has traveled to China, Europe and Honduras. Oregon Gothic, a collection of her short stories published by Kensington Gore, came out last year. She is currently working on a new novel that just went into editing. City Theatre, Miami, awarded her play, the Mating Season of Flying Monkeys, Short Playwriting Finalist, 2015. Her Traces of Memory has been made into several short films by Joseph Culp, Jody Jaress  and Jason Figgis, to name a few. She also holds a BA in Theatre, from Eastern Oregon University and an MFA from UNLV in Playwriting.

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Pigs Do Fly Productions to present FLYING HIGH! Seven Brand New Short Plays – at Empire Stage October 8 – 25

14 Monday Sep 2015

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents

Flying High - Goldstar

Seven Brand New Short Plays – at Empire Stage
October 9 – 25
(Preview performance October 8)

A collection of Seven BRAND NEW Humorous Short Plays
chosen to appeal to audiences of all ages

September 10, 2015
LAUDERDALE, FL – Pigs do Fly Productions will return to Ft. Lauderdale’s Empire Stage with Flying High!, the second production of their second season, from October 8th through October 25th.  There will be a preview performance on October 8th.

Flying High! will once again feature seven short plays chosen from numerous submissions the company received after putting out a call for works specific to their mission: To highlight vibrant healthy people over the age of fifty doing interesting things with their lives.

Ellen Wacher

Ellen Wacher

“I’m so pleased and proud to be into our second season,” says the company’s founder and Executive Producer, Ellen Wacher. Wacher and Pigs Do Fly Productions were recently awarded the prestigious Silver Palm Award for ‘for developing works for actors over the age of fifty’.

“Our audiences’ response has been incredibly positive from day one, and we seem to have found a niche for ourselves,” she continues. “But what really pleases me is that our patrons aren’t limited to a certain age range – we seem to be appealing to everyone. And consider this,” she says: “And it’s just my own observation(!): Of our current presidential candidates Hillary Clinton is 68, Bernie Sanders is 73, Joe Biden is 71, Donald Trump is 69, and Jeb Bush, the ‘baby of the bunch’, is 63. And then there’s Patrick Stewart, whose new television program just debuted on HBO, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin who are getting rave reviews in Netflix’ Grace & Frankie, not to mention Meryl Streep, Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Robert Redford, just to name a few in our profession who are currently working. NOT one time have I heard any of these people referred to as “senior citizens!”

Directing duties for Flying High! will be shared by Elena Maria Garcia and Gail S. Garrisan, both of whom wholeheartedly share Wacher’s vision:

Elena Maria Garcia

Elena Maria Garcia

“I’m very excited about the line-up of works we have selected – and about our talented team,” says Garcia. “The plays are sharp, witty, concise, and relevant to our audience. I read some of them again and still laugh out loud! I’m very thankful that our team is enthusiastic about taking the crazy flight again!”

Gail S. Garrisan

Gail S. Garrisan

This will be Garrisan’s first Pigs Do Fly production: “I am happy to be part of the Pigs Do Fly Team,” she says.

Todd Caster, Steven Chambers, Jim Gibbons, Elissa D. Solomon, Carol Sussman, and Donna Warfield have been cast in the production.

The seven 10-minute plays are (see below for playwright bios):

Coming Through – by Pamela Schueler
Dream a Little Dream of Me – by Todd Caster
Exchange, No Returns – by Elena Maria Garcia
Hail Kale – by Carol White
Standing Tall – by Marv Siegel
Stuck – by David Susman
The Rock – by Miriam Kulick

Donna Warfield, who will act in three of the seven plays, has given each of them a great deal of thought:

Donna Warfield

Donna Warfield

“The Rock – What to do when being “stuck” is no longer an option?” she asks.  “The longer we live, the more we realize that things can and will change, but we’re not always ready to move forward.  Sometimes it takes tough love to get someone to take that first step; Dream A Little Dream of Me – No matter what age, we all want to be found desirable.  Even if it’s your best friend…and it’s only a dream;  and
Hail Kale – Dating is hard and the older you get, the harder it is.  Keeping an open mind despite obvious incompatibilities is important,” Warfield says… “And life can be full of surprises!”

Tickets for Flying High! are $30 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.
All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 North Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
Flying High!
By Various Playwrights
October 9-25, 2015
(Preview performance October 8)
Tickets: $30
Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at
Empire Stage
1140 North Flagler Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33304
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No Fear of Flying! – Playwright Bios:

Todd Caster (Dream a Little Dream of Me) is co-founder of Theatre Arts Group in New York’s Hudson Valley and The Palm Beach PlayMakers in Delray Beach, Florida. His most notable full-length works include Broken Angels, Riddle of Three, Little Piggies and Stranded on the Isle of Few. He has had over 30 short plays produced by a myriad of Regional and National theatres and has had two monologues published by Meriwether Publishing and are included in Audition Monologues for Young Women and The Theatre Audition Book 2.

Elena Maria Garcia (Exchange, No Returns) is a co-founder of Underdog Productions where she has adapted numerous children’s books and stories into plays for young audiences.  Her adaptation of Give A Boy A Gun was produced twice in South Florida to rave reviews from students, teacher, and parents. She was also the co-founder of the all female improv troupe Big Purse and Matching Shoes as well as Separate Checks Improv Troupe, where she learned quickly how to write sketch comedy about current political and social issues.  Through Underdog Productions, Elena has been able to direct, act, write, and produce her one-person show, Do You Speak Mexican? at the Fillmore Miami Beach.  She is currently writing her new one person show titled, Teacher Conference; a True Story.

Miriam Kulick, (The Rock) is delighted to have Pigs Do Fly present her newest play.
Miriam has spent the past several decades acting and teaching. She rekindled her passion for writing and has had her works performed by Fly Away Balloon, wrote and performed Almost Tamed-Tales of Mayhem, Motion, & Malarky, and most recently presented her solo show, Open Hearts, directed by Obie winner Gretchen Cryer, at Theatre Row-Off-Broadway, Cherry Lane Theatre, and the DC and Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festivals. A member of the Dramatists Guild, she’s currently working on a new script, and teaches at the Terry Schreiber Studio in NYC, and at the Acting School of South Florida.

Pamela Schueler (Coming Through)Born in NYC, Pamela holds university degrees in Visual Arts, English and Education.  She has lived in six countries and speaks three languages. An accomplished painter, teacher, photographer and writer, she has had art gallery and museum showings, written a book about Bangkok’s waterways (Klongs: Thai Waterways and Reflections of Her People ),  and written a comedy about Expat life – which was produced in Brussels by the American Theater Company.  Pamela thinks the Ten Minute play is the perfect challenge for any writer.

Marv Siegel (Standing Tall) is a prolific playwright and member of the Dramatists Guild. Recently completed plays include The Biography Of Margaret Dawson, a generational clash between an aging movie star and the actress cast to play her as a youth in her screen biography, Mickey And Anthony, the story of a 22 year old African-American petty criminal who finds himself in the position of having to care for a 22 year old Caucasian with a severe brain disorder, The Hospital Room, and Chronic Diseases. His short plays include This Is Not A Test, Signals (mounted by Pigs Do Fly Productions in their May 2015 production), and No Returns. His new full-length comedy Jack Benny Isn’t 39 Any More! was recently published by ArtAge, the leading senior theatre resource center in the country.

David Susman (Stuck) David lives and teaches in Maine. His short plays have been staged at the Boston Theater Marathon; Thespian Production’s “Whistling With Slush in My Shoes” one-act play festival at Joria Mainstage Theater in New York; Theatre Roulette at MadLab Theatre and Gallery in Columbus, Ohio; the New Works Festival at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, Massachusetts; the Maine Playwrights Festival; Fast and Furious II at Stage Left Theatre in Spokane, Washington; the Salem Theater Company’s Moments of Play Ten-Minute Play Festival in Salem, Massachusetts; the 0-60 Ten Minute Play Competition at Longwood University in Virginia; and elsewhere.

Carol White (Hail Kale) of Boca Raton is an award-winning novelist and playwright. Her plays have been produced in over twenty theatres throughout the country, including Off and Off-Off Broadway.  Two of her full-length plays were included in the 2013 and 2015 South Florida Theatre League’s Summer Reading Series. Programs of seven of her short plays were produced in Boca Raton and Plantation in 2013 and 2014. She currently leads a drama workshop for teens at the Milagro Center in Delray Beach. Visit her website: www.carolwhitefiction.com or email her at polowhite@aol.com.

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Pigs Do Fly Productions presents NO FEAR OF FLYING! May 7 – 24

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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Website - Flying - PDF

 A Collection of Seven BRAND NEW Humorous Short Plays featuring works by
Michael McKeever and Michael Leeds

April 15, 2015

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL: Pigs Do Fly Productions will present No Fear of Flying! – seven brand new humorous short plays – to kick off its second season. The production will run from May 7th through May 24th at Andrews Living Arts in Ft. Lauderdale.

Chosen to highlight ‘vibrant, healthy people over the age of 50 doing interesting things with their lives’, the plays were selected with all audiences in mind – their first two productions proved to Pigs Do Fly Production beyond a shadow of a doubt that humor is an ageless commodity!   Six of the seven plays are world premieres, including pieces by well-known local playwrights Michael McKeever and Michael Leeds. Other playwrights include John Kane, Marj O’Neill-Butler, Marv Seigel, Jeffrey Strausser, and Charles West.

Michael McKeever’s and Michael Leeds’ plays were commissioned by Pigs Do Fly Productions; the remaining five were chosen from almost 300 submissions – all read by a committee of six. The top 12 pieces were presented at two consecutive ‘cold readings’ at Books & Books in Coral Gables in August, and audience members were asked to vote for their favorites. Those top five vote-getters along with the two commissioned plays comprise No Fear of Flying!

Ellen Wacher“I am so excited about this production,” says Pigs Do Fly Productions Executive Producer Ellen Wacher. “We have seven very diverse plays. All different topics. We’ve got seven terrific actors, and two talented directors. And we’ve proved that there’s a market for, and an interest in what we’re doing. Yes…definitely…no fear of flying!”

Wacher and Pigs Do Fly Productions were recently awarded a prestigious Silver Palm Award for ‘for developing works for actors over the age of 50.’

Beverly Blanchette, Todd Caster, Harry Marsh, Michael H. Small, Elissa Solomon, Carol Sussman, and Donna Warfield have been cast in the production. Elena Maria Garcia will direct three of the plays, and Marj O’Neill-Butler will direct four.

“The funnier and more loving aspects of life after fifty is an area of play production that has been neglected in the past,” says O’Neill-Butler, Pigs Do Fly Productions’ artistic director.

The seven 10-minute plays are (see below for playwright bios):

The European Plan by Charles West
Long Story by John Kane
There’s Still Time by Jeffrey Strausser
The Lie by Michael Leeds
Mitzi Has A Meltdown by Michael McKeever
They Called It Teasing by Marj O’Neill-Butler
Signals by Marv Siegel

Tickets for No Fear of Flying! are $25 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.
All performances will take place at Andrews Living Arts, 23 NW 5th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, 33301.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
No Fear of Flying!
By Various Playwrights
May 7 – 24, 2015
Tickets: $25
Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 2 pm
All performances will take place at
Andrews Living Arts
23 NW 5th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

No Fear of Flying! – Playwright Bios:

John Kane (Long Story) is the author of the short plays Are You David Mamet? (Fusion Theatre, 2013, Audience Award) and A Thief in the Night (The Puzzle Play Festival, 2014) and the full length play The Eleven O’Clock Number (world premiere, Rising Action Theatre, Ft. Lauderdale).  He is also the author of the comic mysteries Best Actress (Ballantine Books) and Somebody is Killing the Trophy Wives of Beverly Hills (Books for a Buck).  He lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at JohnKaneLA@aol.com.

Michael Leeds (The Lie) wrote and directed Swinging On A Star (Tony Award nomination-Best Musical). Other plays include The First Step, Who Killed Joan Crawford, The Gift, Starmaker, Mira, Mating Habits of the Urban Mammal and numerous 10 minute plays.  For Film: co-wrote The Simian Line (starring William Hurt & Lynn Redgrave) and The Last Film Festival (starring Dennis Hopper & Jacqueline Bisset). As a director, his South Florida productions have earned numerous Carbonell nominations and Awards. As Associate Artistic Director of Island City Stage his production of The Timekeepers garnered six Carbonell Awards including Best Production of a Play and Best Director. Michael teaches a weekly acting class in Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach (www.LeedsWorkshop.com).

Michael McKeever’s (Mitzi Has a Meltdown) plays have been produced throughout the United States, Europe and Russia. He is the recipient of numerous Carbonell Awards, Silver Palm Awards and Florida Individual Artist Fellowships. He is also a Carbonell award-winning actor and designer. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Marj O’Neill-Butler (They Called it Teasing), a member of the Dramatists Guild, has had the following plays produced: True Blue, Special Delivery, Flight Fright, Life Imitates Art, At The Bus Stop, Spartan Woman, Leaving Home, What If?, Scavenger Hunt, Missed Connections, Elf Yourself, Chairs, One Less And a Reader’s Theatre Script The Women Of The Beat Generation.   Marj is a proud member of Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Visit her online at www.marjorieoneill-butler.com.

Marv Siegel (Signals) is a prolific playwright and member of the Dramatists Guild. Full-length plays include Generations Apart, The Autobiography Of God As Told To Mel Schneider, Taking Secrets To The Grave, Like Marshmallow Chicks In A Box, Moses Of The New Millenium, Powerballs, Mickey And Anthony, The Hospital Room, and The Biography Of Margaret Dawson. Short plays include This Is Not A Test, Standing Tall, and No Returns. His new full-length comedy Jack Benny Isn’t 39 Any More! has just been published.

Jeffrey Strausser’s (There’s Still Time) latest high school and community theatre productions include Somewhere Else Dreams, The Decorator, The Last Prejudice, Family Matters, The Promise, and Peaks and Valleys. Smith & Kraus included The Promise in its anthology, Best One-Act Plays, 2013. Peaks and Valleys was highly acclaimed by Broadway World last year.

Charles West (The European Plan) recently retired after 37 years of teaching. He has published poetry and fiction, and his novel, The Sacred Disc, was published in 2000. His play, Hamlet’s: It’s a Wonderful Life, was produced by the Camino Real Playhouse in Southern California. As a part of the Woodward Shakespeare Festival, in Fresno, CA, he will appear in Two Gentlemen of Verona this summer.

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Pigs Do Fly Productions to present FIFTY PLUS – A NEW ATTITUDE! – Six Brand New Short Plays – at Empire Stage Sept 11 – 21

26 Tuesday Aug 2014

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Logo---Attitude-PDF Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
Fifty Plus – A New Attitude!
September 11th – 21st
A Collection of Six BRAND NEW Humorous Short Plays

Ellen Wacher

Ellen Wacher

Audience response to Pigs Do Fly Productions’ first outing, Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It confirmed what the company’s producer and artistic director, Ellen Wacher already knew – that the short, humorous plays she and her production team chose to present last May in Ft. Lauderdale would resonate with theatre patrons of all ages. The show sold out at Empire Stage, and sold even more tickets than anticipated when it ran for eight ‘encore’ performances in Boca Raton in August. The company’s newest production Fifty Plus – A New Attitude! will run at Empire Stage from September 11th through September 21st.

“We received close to four hundred submissions when we sent out a call forAttitude---ck plays last winter,” Wacher says, “and we quickly realized – even before our first run was over – that we’d found a great concept, that audiences were loving what we were doing, and that we still had a deep pool of excellent material to choose from. So…” she laughs, “I thought, why not do it again!?”

Empire Stage offered dates in September, and Wacher and her team revisited at least 75 of the previously submitted plays. Six plays were chosen and auditions were held in early August.

Todd Caster, Adela Del Rio, Kerry Sensenbach, Elissa Solomon, Troy Stanley, and Janet Weakely were cast.

The new collection, titled Fifty Plus – A New Attitude! reflects the company’s mission, to produce plays that highlight the actor over 50 as a viable, fully involved, full of life character perfectly.

Marj O'Neill-Butler“Anyone, any age, can do anything.  If you do it well at 25, you can do it twice as well at 50.  Not everything entertaining should be aimed at the young,” says Marj O’Neill-Butler, one of the show’s two directors.  You can have fun with an older crowd too.  Good stories resonate at any age.”

Beverly_BlanchetteCo-director Beverly Blanchette agrees: “Fifty Plus – A New Attitude! reminds me of Molly Shannon’s SNL character, Sally O’Malley, whose catchphrase is: “I’m proud to say I’m 50 years old. And I like to kick! Stretch! And kick! I’m 50!” Shannon says the phrase means: “Watch out people, here I come. . . I can kick ass.” And that’s what Pigs Do Fly Productions does.”

The six 10-minute plays are (see below for playwright bios):
Buddhists in the Basement  by Mary Beth Smith
Rainbow Sprinkles by Stacey Lane
Memoir by Donald Steele
Remote Control by Connie Schindewolf
Your Kiss is on My List by Christopher Lockheardt
Mrs Greenblatt’s Place in the Universe by Sharon Goldner

Tickets for Fifty Plus – A New Attitude! are $25 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.
All performances will take place at Empire Stage, 1140 North Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, 33304.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Fifty Plus – A New Attitude!

By Various Playwrights
September 11 – September 21, 2014
Tickets: $25
Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.org
Performances:
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
All performances will take place at Empire Stage.
1140 North Flagler Drive.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Fifty Plus – A New Attitude! – Playwright Bios:

Sharon Goldner’s (Mrs Greenblatt’s Place in the Universe) plays have been produced and workshopped in NYC; Canada; FL; WI; OH; PA; VA; TX; CA; & MN. She’s a member of Dramatists Guild.

Stacey Lane’s (Rainbow Sprinkles) plays have been performed at 400 theatres on 6 continents. She has 35 published works and has received numerous grants, awards and commissions. www.StaceyLaneInk.com

Christopher Lockheardt’s (Your Kiss is on My List) plays have been produced over 140 times nationally and internationally, but never before in Florida. His father, who lives in Merritt Island, was starting to take it personally.

Connie Schindewolf (Remote Control), an award-winning playwright, has had productions across the United States (including NYC and LA), Canada, and Australia.  She’s a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and when she’s not writing, she’s saving sea turtles.

Mary Beth Smith (Buddhists in the Basement) won the 2014 Peter Honegger award for “Keep A-breast”, a dramedy about her bizarre experiences surviving cancer, living proof that laughter heals.

Donald Steele (MEMOIR) has had four plays published by Samuel French. He is a Fellow of the MacDowell Colony and member of the Dramatist Guild.

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Pigs Do Fly Productions Takes off at Empire Stage May 1st – May 11th

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Working in association with Empire Stage,
Pigs Do Fly Productions will produce
Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It
A Collection of Seven Humorous Short Plays
logo-pigsdoflyprod-vertical

The plays have been chosen and casting is complete for Pigs Do Fly Productions’ very first production – Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It. Producer Ellen Wacher, along with directors Marjorie O’Neill-Butler and Beverly Blanchette and a committee made up of members of the South Florida theatrical community, spent several months weeding through the 353 short plays they received in response to their call for submissions. The final seven were selected at a marathon read through at Empire Stage on March 3rd.

Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It will run at Empire Stage from May 1st through May 11th.

Ellen WacherWacher was extremely specific in her search for just the right plays: “We looked for scripts that resonated with us; for situations that will strike a chord with our audiences; and of course, for humor,” she explains. “I’m really excited to be flying (pun intended!) this concept for the first time in South Florida. It’s definitely an idea whose time has come.”

Pigs Do Fly Productions’ mission is to produce plays that highlight the actor over 50 as a viable, fully involved, full of life character; the company’s goal is to tap into the 100 million plus Americans who are over age 50 and are under recognized by the marketers of products and entertainment – with theatre that reflects their world and resonates with them.

“Ellen told me she wanted to produce plays, and we agreed that she should produce plays about people over 50 since she is always discussing the lack of work for more mature actors,” says Marjorie O’Neill-Butler.  “I suggested the short play format; she came up with the idea of making the plays about people who are fit and happy.” O’Neill-Butler will direct four of the seven plays, Beverly Blanchette will direct three.

Todd Caster, Mark Kroczynski , Kitt Marsh, Troy J. Stanley, Carol Sussman, and Janet Weakly will all be featured in the production. Several of the actors, all of whom fall within the demographic Wacher hopes to attract, had signed on even before the plays were chosen. “However,” she stresses, “I have absolutely no doubt these plays will appeal to everyone. They’re funny, and witty, and touching, and will resonate with anyone who sees them.”

The seven 10-minute plays selected will be mounted in the following order (see below for playwright bios):
Flight Fright by Marjorie O’Neill-Butler
Kiss Her Goodbye by Mike Vogel
Theater In the Red byJoan Broadman
Mrs. Jensen Isn’t Here Now by Steve Korbar
Spice by David Susman
Poison Control by Rebecca  Gorman O’Neill
How Nice of You to Ask by Rich Rubin

Tickets for Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know it are $25 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com. To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

~*~

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents
Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It
Dates:  May 1 – May 11, 2014
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
Tickets: $25
Tickets: 866-811-4111 / www.pigsdoflyproductions.com
All performances will take place at Empire Stage.
1140 North Flagler Drive.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Pigs Do Fly Production Team:
Producer/Artistic Director:        Ellen Wacher
Director:                               Marjorie O’Neill-Butler
Director:                               Beverly Blanchette
Stage Manager:                    Jeffrey Ostrow
Set Designer:                        Preston Bircher
Marketing & Public Relations:  Carol Kassie

Playwright Bios:

Joan Broadman (Theatre in the Red) has written twelve short plays, three full-length plays, and three feature-length screenplays. Her plays have been performed in twelve states, Australia, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Her many playwriting awards include “Excellence in Playwriting” from the Theatre Association of New York State. In June 2013, Broadman completed UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting.

Steven Korbar’s (Mrs. Jensen Isn’t Here Now) full-length and one-act plays have been produced throughout the United States and Canada. Productions include I Understand Your Frustration at the Turtleshell Theatre NYC, Let Go at Future Ten in Pittsburgh, Hard at Elephant Stageworks in LA, Circles at Shelterbelt Theatre in Omaha.  His comedy What Are You Going to Be was recently published as part of Smith and Kraus’ “Best Short Plays of 2013”.

Rebecca Gorman O’Neill (Poison Control) was born in Akron, Ohio.  She escaped at age 17 to attend Dartmouth College, and she went on to earn her M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University.  Rebecca’s original plays have been produced across the country, and her plays Tell-Tale and The Greater Good are available from Eldridge Publishing and Next Stage Press, respectively.  Rebecca is an Associate Professor of English at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she reaches playwriting, screenwriting, cinema studies, and the graphic novel.

Marj O’Neill-Butler, (Flight Fright) a member of the Dramatists Guild and the International Center for Women Playwrights, is a produced playwright of True Blue, eight Theatre for Children scripts, short plays Stalwart Woman, At The Bus Stop, Life Imitates Art, Leaving Home, What If?, Scavenger Hunt, Missed Connections, Elf Yourself, Chairs, One Less, and a reader’s theatre script The Women Of The Beat Generation.   She is proud member of Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Visit her online at http://www.marjorieoneill-butler.com.

Rich Rubin’s (How Nice of You to Ask) plays have been produced throughout the U. S., including theaters in New York, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. Internationally, his work has been staged in London, Berlin, Sydney, Singapore, Mexico and Canada. Rich is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild as well as Portland’s Nameless Playwrights and P-Town Playwrights.

David Susman’s (Spice) short plays have been staged at the Boston Theater Marathon, the Maine Playwrights Festival, the Playwrights’ Platform Festival of New Plays in Boston, the Company Theatre’s Winter Shorts Festival in Norwell, MA, and the 0-60 Ten Minute Play Competition at Longwood University in Virginia. He lives and teaches in southern Maine.

Mike Vogel’s (Kiss Her Goodbye) full-length comedy March Madness was successfully produced off-Broadway in Fall 2012 at NYC’s Abingdon Theatre. He has had numerous one act plays produced nationwide and also writes a weekly column for a NYC newspaper.

 

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Pigs Do Fly Productions Takes Off May 1st at Empire Stage

18 Tuesday Feb 2014

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Pigs Do Fly Productions
Takes Off
May 1st
at Empire Stage

There will be a new theatre company starting up next spring!
logo-pigsdoflyprod-horizPigs Do Fly Productions
will present their first production of short plays, featuring healthy, vibrant characters over fifty, played by actors over fifty

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carol Kassie
ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244
Contact: (Producer) Ellen Wacher
ellenwacher@gmail.com / 305-431-6667

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 19, 2014

 

Ellen WacherEllen Wacher noticed a distinct and specific lack when she worked on a project for the SAG-AFTRA National Women’s committee recently.  The multi-faceted actress, teacher, and Miami local SAG-AFTRA vice president was tasked with presenting a live screening of a report on Women over 50 within the organization.  Her findings indicated not only a lack of roles for women of a ‘certain age’, she discovered there aren’t that many leads for their male counterparts either.  The project clearly brought into focus for her the need to better recognize actors – and audiences- over 50, from theatre, to television, and film.
Wacher, who has had successful careers in a number of fields, including teaching and lobbying, decided to do something about the situation.

On May 1st, 2014, the first performance by her brand new theatre company, Pigs Do Fly Productions, will take place at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale.   The company’s mission is to produce plays that highlight the actor over 50 as a viable, fully involved, full-of-life character.   And its goal is to tap into the 100 million plus Americans who are over age 50 and are under recognized by the marketers of products, entertainment, etc., with theatre that reflects their world and resonates with them.

The company’s first production, Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It is a collection of seven or eight short plays by playwrights from across the United States.  Wacher, along with director Marjorie O’Neill Butler, put out a call for 10 minute plays whose themes match the new company’s directive. They received over 350 scripts. “We immediately discarded any that dealt with nursing homes, death’s door situations, or other stereotypical or depressing subject matter,” says Wacher.  “We looked for scripts that resonated with us; for situations that will strike a chord with our audiences; and of course, for humor.  I had a terrific group of script readers,” she continues, and we rated the scripts very carefully.  We’re still in the process of honing our choices, but we’re really pleased with the quality of what we received, and we can’t wait to see and hear our audiences’ reactions.”

Script choices will be finalized on March 3rd, and casting will be completed on March 17th.

Marjorie O’Neill-Butler and Beverly Blanchette will share directing duties.  Wacher will not act in any of the plays – her focus is on getting the fledgling company up and running.

Tickets for Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know it are $25 and will be on sale as of Monday, February 24th.  Tickets can be purchased on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111.

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit pigsdoflyproductions.com.   For more information about Ellen Wacher, please visit www.ellenwacher.com.  To set up interviews, or for photos, please contact Carol Kassie at ckassie@gmail.com / 561-445-9244.

Pigs Do Fly Productions presents
Fifty Plus – A Celebration of Life… As We Know It

Dates:  May 1 – May 11, 2014
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 8 pm
Sunday: 5 pm
Tickets: $25
All performances will take place at Empire Stage.
1140 North Flagler Drive.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Pigs Do Fly Production Team:

Producer/Artistic Director:     Ellen Wacher
Director:                            Marjorie O’Neill-Butler
Director:                            Beverly Blanchette
Stage Manager:                 Jeffrey Ostrow
Set Designer:                     Preston Bircher
Marketing & Public Relations:  Carol Kassie