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

07 Thursday Feb 2013

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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 4th 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.
Shari Upbin, Marilyn Nelson, Chloe DolandisNSAL 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.

Daniel BiaggiNow 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 50th 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                       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 4th
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

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

17 Monday Dec 2012

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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.

WHOLE_CABOODLE_LOGO

Boca Raton, FL/December 18, 2012.
Michael McKeeverParade 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 31st, open on February 1st, and run through February 24th 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.
CABOODLE_1 croppedCaplin, 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 1st, and runs through February 24th, 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, 2nd 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

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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 4th, 2013 and run through January 20th.  The Interview will be The Women’s Theatre Project’s 30th 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 4th through January 20th, 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 21st.

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/


Parade Productions presents Michael McKeever in ‘The Santaland Diaries’

06 Tuesday Nov 2012

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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 13th, and run through December 23rd 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.

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 Santaland Diaries opens December 13th, 2012, and runs through December 23rd, 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, 2nd Floor
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Tickets:  $35/$40
Phone:  866-811-4111
Group Sales:  561-291-9678
www.paradeproductions.org
Parade Productions on Facebook

WORLD PREMIER! ‘The pleasure is… all Mime’ A Pantomime in Two Acts

04 Thursday Oct 2012

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Renowned Theatrical Educator Edward Rozinsky
teams with Pantomime Artist Nina Hlava
to create a unique theatrical experience

Miami, Florida October 5, 2012:
Professor Edward Rozinsky and pantomime artist Nina Hlava will present the world premier of their unique creative collaboration The pleasure is… all Mime October 11th through 14th at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach.

A pantomime in two acts, The pleasure is… all Mime is a clever send-up of pop culture expressed in a series of plays, vignettes, and sketches.  Topics as familiar, yet diverse as pop stardom, public education, reality television, loneliness, drug use, are united in the art ‘silent action’.  Graphic animation, music, dance, acrobatics, puppetry, and juggling are also incorporated into Hlava’s two-hour performance.

A graduate of the prestigious Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography, stage director, dramatist, educator, actor and mime artist Edward Rozinsky has been performing professionally since the age of 12.   Rozinsky’s extensive research in the area of Stage Movement and Mime resulted in a series of articles, a book, “The Silent Art” published in Leningrad, USSR, and a recently published textbook “Essential Stage Movement.” He has produced a video instruction program in stage movement that is offered via the Internet as a full 30 lesson course for actors (www.stagemovement.com).  His new textbook, “Essential Stage Fencing” is about to be published.  A resident of South Florida since 1983, Mr. Rozinsky was a Founder and Artistic Director of the Chamber Theatre, a professional theatre for children in Coral Gables.  He has also taught at the University of Miami, FIU, and Barry University, and is currently teaching at The New World School of the Arts in Miami.  Several of Professor Rozinsky’s former students now perform as clowns in Cirque du Soleil, and his apprentice Slava Polunin is a star of the  internationally acclaimed “Slava’s SnowShow.”

Nina Hlava is equally versed in pantomime, comedy theater, clowning, vaudeville, grotesque and tap dance. She holds a Ph.D. in non-verbal theater from the Academy of Performing Arts (HAMU) in Prague, Czech Republic. Nina has been a member of the “Bühne Heidenreichstein” theater group (Austria) since she was five years old. She studied under the National Theater Association in Austria, as well as at the Scuola Teatro Dimitri (Switzerland), and Atellier de Belleville (France). Ms. Hlava’s goal is to keep pantomime and physical comedy alive and to pass on the art of solo performance in the traditions of her teachers: clown and mime professor Boris Hybner; mime Martin Sochor; mime Ivan Bacciocchi; clown Stevo Capko; tap dancer Petr Zamostny; tap and jazz dancer Katherine Kramer; and, most recently, stage movement professor, mime and director Edward Rozinsky.  For more information about Nina Hlava, please visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nina-hlava/1b/440/12.

Performance times for The pleasure is… all Mime are October 11, 12, 13, & 14 at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $25 to $35 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 305-674-1040. The Colony Theatre is located at 1040 Lincoln Road, in Miami Beach (33139).

Video Links:
The Pleasure is… all MIME on CNN Espanol

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Just in Time for Halloween! Entr’Acte Theatrix presents ‘The Rocky Horror Show’

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Entr’Acte Theatrix
to present
Richard O’Brien’s
The Rocky Horror Show
October 25th – November 4th

Halloween is just around the corner, and who better to celebrate with than the denizens of Dr. Frank N. Furter’s home-sweet-castle in Richard O’Brien’s beloved cult classic, The Rocky Horror Show.   And Entr’Acte Theatrix is inviting audiences to come do the Time Warp again… when they present ‘Rocky’ at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Center for the Arts at Old School Square from October 25th through November 4th.

The Rocky Horror Show is an outrageous assemblage of the most stereotypical science fiction movies, Marvel comics, Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello outings and rock ‘n’ roll of every vintage. The play (upon which the classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show is based) has grown from an experimental production originally produced in a small London theatre in June 1973, to a cult phenomenon with fans world-wide.

Rocky is also the quintessential audience participation show, and Entr’Acte will have what have come to be known as  ‘survival kits’ available for purchase for those who want them.

Rocky ‘virgins’ and Rocky veterans alike will delight in Entr’Acte’s production, which features a talented young cast led by well known South Florida director Kevin Black, who is thrilled to be involved with the show: “As a teenager, I was completely obsessed with Rocky Horror,” he says. “And I’m so excited to finally get the chance to direct the stage version with this amazing cast. We’ve decided to put a fresh new twist on this cult classic, propelling this outrageous and campy piece into the next millennium.”

Among the cast are:

Ross Parris (Dr. Frank N. Furter) was most recently seen as James in Entr’Acte’s 2012 summer production of Jesus Christ Superstar.  His previous theater credits include Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls, and Annie at the Lakeworth Playhouse, and The Pajama Game with the Island Players in Palm Beach.

Elaine Flores (Janet) is a recent graduate in Musical Theater from the New World School of the Arts in Miami, and a Miami native. She has played Wendla in Spring Awakening (The Colony Theatre), Janet in the Drowsy Chaperone (Louise O. Gerrits Theatre), and Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (New World School of the Arts Studio Theatre). Elaine has also studied at the American Theatre Wing in NYC and appeared in the Major Motion Picture Rock of Ages.
Juan Gonzalez Machain (Brad) studied Vocal Performance and Musical Theatre at the University of Miami and was most recently seen as Peter in Entr’acte’s summer production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Other credits include Jesus in Entr’acte’s Godspell , Matt in The Fantasticks (The Lyric Theatre) Kenny in Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (New Theatre in Miami) and Van in Dog Sees God (University of Miami). Juan has also toured Latin America for six months with the Argentinean Educational Theater Company ARTSPOT.
Entr’acte Theatrix, is a not-for-profit, semi-professional, showcase company for young actors, providing performance opportunities for emerging theatre artists.  An off-shoot of the Palm Beach Principal Players, a twelve-year-old acting company for theater students of high school and college age, Entr’acte, as the name suggests, is the “next step,” from classroom to career, and provides the young actor his or her first professional, all-important, resume-building credit.

The Rocky Horror Show will run for 12 performances only, from October 25 – November 4, at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square.  The theatre is located at 51 North Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach, 33444.  Tickets are on sale now, and are available by calling 561-243-7922.

Tickets are $25; $20 for groups of 15 or more; or $10 Student Rush – with I.D.

For more information about Entr’Acte Theatrix or The Rocky Horror Show visit www.entractetheatrix.org

Performance Dates and Times:
Oct. 25 ~(opening night) 8 pm
Oct. 26 ~ 8 pm
Oct. 27 ~2 pm and 8 pm
Oct. 28 ~2 pm and 7 pm
Oct. 31 ~8 pm
Nov. 1 ~8 pm
Nov. 2 ~8 pm
Nov. 3 ~2 pm and 8 pm
Nov. 4 ~2 pm

The Rocky Horror Show
By Richard O’Brien
October 25 – November 4
The Crest Theatre at the Delray Center for the Arts at Old School Square
51 North Swinton Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
Tickets: $25, $20 for groups of 15 or more, $10 student rush, day of show, with ID.  All seats reserved.
Phone:  561-243-7922 ext. 1
http://www.entractetheatrix.org

The Women’s Theatre Project presents ‘Delval Divas’

13 Thursday Sep 2012

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Who ever said that 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 2nd through November 18th.  This will be the theatre company’s first production in their new venue.

“I’m delighted to open our season in our new home with this comedy exploring the devious techniques all the characters employ to manipulate their lives behind bars, as major upheavals threaten to turn them into “real criminals,” says the play’s director and The Women’s Theatre Project’s artistic director, Genie Croft.

“Delval Divas invites us into the posh and extravagant world of a tightly knit group of fortunate felons,” Croft explains. “This is an extremely funny peek into a prison comedy where four very clever con artists (all white collar female prisoners – doctor, technology wizard, lawyer, Wall Street stockbroker) have used their various talents and skills to turn their prison into a luxurious resort hotel.”

Six of South Florida’s most talented and popular actresses will inhabit the cellblock at the Delaware Valley Federal Correctional Facility:  Sally Bondi, Lisa Braun, Jacqueline Laggy, Jessica K. Peterson, and Karen Stephens have been cast as the ‘pink collar’ criminals and Lela Elam will play their ‘own’ special guard, Lucille.

The cast is extremely enthusiastic about the play, and about working with The Women’s Theatre Project in the company’s new venue:

“Though I’m “not guilty”, if I have to spend time, there’s no other place I’d rather be then with my fellow Delval Divas at The Women’s Theatre Project!” Says Sally Bondi, who will play ‘Rosemary Adams, Esq’ (convicted lawyer and skimmer of reallocated mortgage funds).  “First production in the new space – first time in the big house – coincidence? I think not!!!”

Lisa Braun, who will portray ‘Sharon Watson’ (arrested and charged with killing her first husband’s third wife) agrees.  “I’m honored to be in my first show with TWTP (in a NON-musical, another first!), and I’m inspired by all the talented Divas who are providing such amazing tutelage in the art of incarceration on stage.”

Delval Divas will run from November 2nd through November 18th, 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 will be on sale August 1st and can be purchased at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948. Tickets for all performances are $25, or $20 if purchased before October 20th.

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
http://www.facebook.com/WomensTheatreProject

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild presents A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia”

16 Thursday Aug 2012

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                            An entirely different take on the ‘eternal triangle’!

“Give a dog a woman’s name and you start to treat her like one,” one of the characters in Sylvia  comments during A.R. Gurney’s clever, funny, and unusual play about a man, a dog, and the chaos their relationship generates.  Gurney (Love Letters, The Cocktail Hour, The Dining Room) taps into the fragility of human relationships, and the joys and frustrations of pet ownership to create what is often cited as his best work – a delicate balance of humor and poignancy.

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s production of Sylvia will run from September 28th through October 14th at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.

Sylvia was first produced in 1995 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, and starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner. Called ‘delicious and dizzy’ by the New York Times, the play received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Actress in a Play (Parker), and Outstanding Costume Design.

Sylvia focuses on Greg, a middle-aged businessman disenchanted with his job and somewhat adrift in life, who finds a stray in the park—a dog named Sylvia who absolutely adores him, much to the consternation of his wife Kate. Jacqueline Laggy (Other People’s Money, Chapter Two) will play Sylvia, the energetic lab-poodle mix, and Keith Garsson (Other People’s Money, Chapter Two) and Patti Gardner (The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) will play Greg and Kate.  Mario Betto (The Sisters Rosensweig, playwright – Combing Through Life’s Tangles) will also star.

Genie Croft, who recently helmed the BRTG’s sold out production of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, will direct: “I’m delighted to be directing A R Gurney’s intelligent, insightful, hilarious script,” Croft says. “Gurney’s variation on the plot of the married, menopausal male falling in love with an exciting, enticing younger woman, who just happens to be an adorable stray dog, offers keen observations into American life.  Yet it is first and foremost a love story, deeply comical and touching, because Sylvia remains a dog with an animal’s instincts and urges.”  Croftwas also responsible for guiding the Guild’s successful productions of Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound and Charles Busch’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.

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.

Sylvia will run from September 28th through October 14th at 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. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets for Sylvia are $25, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948.

For more information about the Boca Raton Theatre Guild, please visit www.brtg.org, or contact Carol Kassie (ckassie@gmail.com/561-445-9244).

Sylvia
by A.R. Gurney
September 28-October 14
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
Group Sales:  561-948-2601
www.brtg.org
www.facebook.com/pages/Boca-Raton-Theatre-Guild/103606986210?ref=ts

Avi Hoffman, Sally Bondi & Ken Clement to star in the Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s “Chicago”

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Boca Raton Theatre Guild

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The Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s
Chicago
to feature some of South Florida’s
Top Talent!

Carbonell Award-winning actor Avi Hoffman will star as Billy Flynn in the Boca Raton Theatre Guild’s upcoming production of Chicago. The classic Kander and Ebb musical will run from March 1st through March 17th at the Willow Theatre in Sugar Sand Park.  Sally Bondi will play Matron Ma Morton, and Ken Clement has been cast as Amos Hart. Auditions for other roles in the production will be held on Monday, September 10th, from 5 pm – 9 pm at the Willow Theatre.

Chicago will be directed by Keith Garson, and choreographed by Ron Hutchins. Eric Alsford will serve as the show’s musical director.

Populated with flamboyant flappers, crooked lawyers, and merry murderesses, Chicago is a musical tale of “murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery – all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts.”  With a sparkling script and a classic score that includes “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Razzle Dazzle”, Chicago has everything that makes musical theatre great.

Avi Hoffman took home a 2011 Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Wilbur Turnblad in the Actors Playhouse production of Hairspray. Other recent roles include novelist Eric Weiss in Parade Productions’ production of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy at the Studio Theatre in Boca Raton; the lead role in Tracy Lett’s Superior Donuts at Gablestage (Broadway World Award for Best Featured Actor, and Carbonell award nomination for Best Actor in a Play); and Kolenkhov in the Florida Rep production of You Can’t Take it With You.  He is well 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, Hoffman portrays lawyer Sid Raskin in Starz TV series Magic City, and was featured as ‘Teddy Wayne’ in the NBC series Law and Order. He also starred in the motion picture The Imported Bridegroom and was seen in the PBS documentary They Came For Good: A History of the Jews in the U.S.

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 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 will be available at the Willow Theatre Box office: 561-347-3948 in the fall.

For more information about the Boca Raton Theatre Guild, please visit www.brtg.org.

For Chicago audition information: http://www.brtg.org/uploads/BRTG_Chicago_Audition_Notice.pdf

Chicago,
Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb
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
http://www.brtg.org

Michael McKeever to play a major role in Parade Productions’ 2012-2013 Season

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in Clients

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Award Winning Playwright Michael McKeever
figures prominently in Parade Productions’ 2nd Season

Parade Productions is pleased and proud to announce their 2012-2013 schedule.  Boca Raton’s newest theatre company has two productions planned for its second season: Michael McKeever will star in Joe Mantello’s adaptation of David Sedaris’ The Santaland Diaries, and McKeever’s collection of short plays, The Whole Caboodle, will run for four weeks in February.  Both plays will be produced at the Studio Theatre at Mizner Park. Parade Productions debuted solidly last winter with an entirely sold out run of Donald Margulies’ Brooklyn Boy.

“Last season we took a leap of faith, and the community followed right behind us,” says Candace Caplin, the company’s executive producer and the driving force behind Parade Productions.  “We’ve had tremendous support, and we’re grateful. People have asked us to continue bringing more, quality theatre to Boca Raton, and that’s just what we’re going to do.  We’re excited about how we’ve begun, and where our partnership with the community is going. This year our focus is on humor,” Caplin adds, “and with Michael McKeever, we’ve got the best.”

From December 13th through December 23rd, McKeever will star in The Santaland Diaries, the one-person performance piece written by humorist David Sedaris and adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello. This hilarious piece of theatre relates Sedaris’ own experiences as he reluctantly worked as an elf in Macy’s Christmastime Santaland display, offering an uproarious behind-the-scenes look at how department stores manufacture Christmas spirit.

And from February 2nd through February 24th, audiences will discover whatStephen Sondheim, Abe Lincoln, munchkins and ambivalent lesbians have in common, as they all get the McKeever touch in The Whole Caboodle, the award-winning playwright’s wickedly funny collection of some of his most celebrated short plays. With a razor sharp sense of humor and extra-keen insight, The Whole Caboodle takes apart and reassembles an entire series of loveably flawed characters and pop culture icons with hilarious results.   Along with McKeever himself, Parade Productions has assembled a top-notch cast for The Whole Caboodle: Elena Maria Garcia, Jacqueline Laggy, Clay Cartland, Casey Dressler, and Candace Caplin. Both productions will be directed by Kim St. Leon.

Michael 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.  His plays have entertained audiences throughout America and Europe. From the deep-rooted prejudices of small town America to the delicate dysfunction of society’s wealthiest homes, the playwright creates stories that entertain and enlighten. 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 Santaland Diaries opens December 13th, 2012, and runs through December 23rd, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

The Whole Caboodle previews on January 31st, 2013, opens on February 2nd, and runs through February 24th, with performances Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $35 ($30 for groups of 15 or more).

A special two show package price of $30 per ticket is also available.
All seating is reserved.

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

Kim St. Leon
Candace Caplin
Elena Maria Garcia

Jacqueline Laggy

Casey Dressler