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Carol White, David Susman, Elena Maria Garcia, Ellen Wacher, Empire Stage, Fifty Plus, Ft. Lauderdale Theatre, Gail S. Garrisan, Marve Siegel, Miriam Kulick, Over 50, Pamela Schueler, Pigs Do Fly Produc, short plays, Todd Caster
Pigs Do Fly Productions
presents
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
“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
“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
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
“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.
Carol Kassie 