Opening August 22, 2014 Running: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2pm Closing performance: October 11, 2014
While Passover is a celebration of freedom, it is also a quarrel about the meaning of freedom, the value of life, and the shadow of death, which symbolically “passes over” the house. During the course of the evening, conflicts emerge about the merit of faith over conversion, the truth in religion, and the nature of parental responsibility. This night is different from all other nights and of course, this being a Jewish family, it is also a comedy. We're all ...Read More
Opening August 22, 2014 Running: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2pm Closing performance: October 11, 2014
While Passover is a celebration of freedom, it is also a quarrel about the meaning of freedom, the value of life, and the shadow of death, which symbolically “passes over” the house. During the course of the evening, conflicts emerge about the merit of faith over conversion, the truth in religion, and the nature of parental responsibility. This night is different from all other nights and of course, this being a Jewish family, it is also a comedy. We're all going to die--but first, you should eat.
Robin Uriel Russin (Playwright) is a Rhodes Scholar, playwright, and award winning screen writer. Credits include projects for the Discovery Channel, "Vital Signs" for ABC, "Alcatraz: The Escape" for Fox, and the screenplays "On Deadly Ground," "Abracadabra," and "Shark in a Bottle." He is a Professor playwriting/screenwriting at the University of California, Riverside and has written and directed for the stage, with plays produced in Los Angeles, New York, and regionally. Robin co-authored the books "Screenplay: Writing the Picture" and "Naked Playwriting." At a National Endowment for the Humanities Institute, he presented and published papers on Shakespeare, film noir, and dramatic storytelling. At RGT he created and implemented the ongoing Playlab to help both emerging and established playwrights develop new work.
“In some ways it’s a play about identity, about what we believe, and who we think we should be. What we owe to our faith, our past, and our tribe is an often comical, sometimes heated argument that plays out in many families, and not just Jewish ones. All families are a little crazy, only the details are different.” - Robin Uriel Russin; Playwright
Sarah Figoten Wilson (Director) helmed Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well at Costa Mesa Playhouse, Odilia at Chance Theater, (Kennedy Center ACTF Winner), Riders to the Sea (Grand Central Arts Complex), and This Property is Condemned (Hallberg Theatre, CSUF), among others. She served as Assistant Director on Death of a Salesman and The Motherf**ker with the Hat at the Tony-Award winning South Coast Repertory Theatre under Marc Masterson, and Michael John Garces, respectively. Sarah holds her Directing degree from Cal State University, Fullerton’s Theatre Arts Department. As a designer, Sarah is a recent LA Weekly Award nominee (Best Costume Design-El Grande de Coca Cola) and NAACP Award nominee (Best Costume Design-Mutiny at Port Chicago) for work at Ruskin Group Theatre. Next up, Sarah will direct She Loves Me at The Chance Theater.
THE FACE IN THE REEDS opens August 22nd and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm through October 11, 2014. Ruskin Group Theatre is located at 3000 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Tickets are $25 ($20 for students, seniors, and guild members) and can be purchased in advance by calling (310) 397-3244 or online at www.ruskingrouptheatre.com. Free parking is available at the theater.
John Ruskin (Artistic Director) founded the profession company in 2001. He helmed the critically acclaimed production of Strange Snow at RGT. John’s years of experience include studies at the Yale School of Drama, British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England, and the University of Colorado in Boulder. In New York, Ruskin joined the acting faculty of the Neighborhood Playhouse at the request of Sanford Meisner (who he then apprenticed with) before moving to Los Angeles where he founded his own school of acting along with the professional theatre company. RGT provides outreach programs to people in need with their "Healing Through the Arts" project.
Michael Myers (Producer/Managing Director/Santa Monica Arts Commission Chair) co-founded the Ruskin Group Theatre in 2001, has produced more than 75 projects for the company, and directed the world premiere of Digging Up Dad and the critically acclaimed production of Faithful at RGT. Michael is a co-creator of the Ruskin Group Theatre’s CAFÉ PLAYS. He produced the World Premiere of Sideways the Play, which ran at the Ruskin for 8 months and is slated for Broadway in 2014. He co-created a master class at the Ruskin school, which has been taught by Anthony Hopkins, Ed Asner, David Mamet, Ed O’Neill, Dylan McDermott and many more. In 2008 the city of Santa Monica appointed him to the arts commission. He served as vice-chair of the arts commission in 2010 and has served as chair since 2011.
Nicole Millar (Assistant Director & Stage Manager) has worked on El Grande de Coca-Cola, the World Premiere of Talhotblond. Paradise, Sideway’s the Play, The Tragedy of the Commons, Come Sundown, and the West Coast Premiere of Green Eyes, among many others. RUSKIN GROUP THEATRE launched the WORLD PREMIERE of Rex Pickett’s Sideways The Play, picked up by La Jolla Playhouse and now slated for Broadway, as well as last season’s Paradise-A Bluegrass Musical Comedy. Ruskin’s Healing Through The Arts program brings their actors into Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA to work with and entertain the children. The CAFÉ PLAYS, created by RGT are produced monthly and are the culmination of writers, actors, and directors who meet at 9am, where they are given a theme. They then write, produce, and perform a show by 7pm the same day. When celebrating their 8th anniversary, RGT supporters Ed Asner, Dylan McDermott, Chris Mulkey, Olivia d'Abo, and other industry celebrities joined to produce the Best of Café Plays (both shows sold out within hours). Anthony Hopkins, Anthony Franciosa, David Mamet, Ed O’Neill are just some of the noted guests to have taught at the Ruskin School master classes.
OUR ENSEMBLE:
Tom Berklund (Patrick) performed on Broadway in the revival of A Chorus Line (Greg, Zach u/s) and in The Addams Family (Ancestor, Lurch u/s). Recently, he toured with George C. Wolfe's Tony award winning production of The Normal Heart (Craig/Grady). Film/TV credits include Disney's Enchanted, Royal Pains, The Aspect Ratio and the upcoming FX comedy, Partners.
Ari Blinder (Patrick) has appeared in the series Homeland (SHOWTIME), The Mentalist (CBS), Crisis (NBC), Banshee (Cinemax) and Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime).
Chip Bolcik (Barry) most recently performed Off-Broadway as Ted in Breaking Out Is Hard To Do at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York. Previous stage credits include roles such as Willmore in The Rover at the Folger Shakespeare Theater, Col. Joseph Ryan in The Advocate, and Robert Windham in A Hotel On Marvin Gardens at the 12 Miles West Theater. Chip performed the roles of Herb Tucker in I Ought To Be In Pictures, Greg in Sylvia, and Les in Breakfast with Les And Bess at the Bickford Theater, as well as Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. TV credits include Kreskin’s Amazing Mysteries and numerous narratives for National Geographic, TruTV, The Learning Channel, and The Discovery Channel among others. As a playwright, several of his 33 plays have garnered awards. In The Third Person won the Manhattan Repertory Theater competition in New York, and his play The Writer won the prestigious "The Seven" festival in Albuquerque, NM. The Blizzard, recently won the Strawberry One-Act Festival in New York.
Stacey Moseley (Christina) has appeared in New York at The Public Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Signature Theatre Company. She originated the role of Mary Lennox in the World Premiere of The Secret Garden, and has worked on TV series such as Bones, Big Time Rush, Lie to Me, The West Wing, and Law and Order. FILM credits include Born on the 4th of July and Welcome to the Dollhouse. She has written and developed numerous projects including Miss'ed America, a web series based on her experiences as a beauty queen.
Angela Stern (Christina/Alternate) has performed numerous Shakespearean roles such as Lady MacBeth, Titania, Kate, Helena, Rosalind, Portia, and Olivia. Contemporary stage credits include Iris in Down the Road, Jackie-O in The House of Yes, and Dabby in Our Country's Good. Angela performed in several independent films this year including Little Emily, When I Hear Peace, and in the comedy Game of Scones.
Julia Arian (Rachel) appears in the short film, Choice, which was accepted into the Court Métrage at the 2013 Festival de Cannes, and received Official Selection at the 7th Annual GI Film Festival. She graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Theatre in 2012, and spent the majority of her younger years as an elite gymnast.
Aidan Blain (Mose), now 12 years old, has had a long career in the theatre performing in a dozens of plays in Los Angeles and at the Santa Monica Playhouse. He is an accomplished drummer and violinist, and aspires to play professional football with the NFL. In the art imitates life department, Aidan’s real life Bar Mitzvah is on November 8th much the same timing as the character he plays.
Paul Zegler (Sol) has appeared at Long Wharf Theater, The Goodman Theater and the Mark Taper Forum, among others. He has been a member of Second City in Chicago where he worked along side such luminaries as Bill Murray and Betty Thomas, and the Ace Trucking Company with Fred Willard. Paul has appeared in numerous films including Popeye, Fatso, and Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams. Paul received Chicago’s prestigious Joseph Jefferson Award-Principle Actor for The Killer and the Comic as well as a Best Ensemble award as Abe Burrows in Are You Now or Have You Ever Been.
OUR PRODUCTION TEAM: Amy Ramirez (Set Designer) has designed sets for Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Stages’ Twilight Zone, as well as Four Clowns’ That Beautiful Laugh for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. In addition, she has assisted scenic designers at South Coast Repertory. Other projects include productions of CSUF’s Chemical Imbalance, Inspecting Carol (Co- Scenic Designer), and Stages’ American Buffalo. Mike Reilly (Lighting design/Production Manager) designed the lighting for recent productions of Talhoblond, El Grande de Coca-Cola, Sideways the Play, as well as The Lonesome West, and Arthur Miller's A Memory of Two Mondays at Ruskin Group Theatre. As a director there, he has helmed productions of The Lonesome West (LA Weekly GO!) Down the Road, Cowboy Mouth, Lobby Hero, and Brilliant Traces.
Katelin Phillips (Costume Design) has designed for the films Princess in the Park, and Punch Kick Love! She previously worked with Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana and is currently interning in the Disneyland costume workroom. A graduated from Chapman University with a BA in Theatre Technology, she designed costumes for there for Transcend: Student Produced One-Acts.
Paul Ruddy (CSA) cast the critically acclaimed El Grande De Coca Cola, and last year's hit musical Paradise-A Bluegrass Musical Comedy at RGT, as well as Talhotblond. For over a decade, he has cast numerous film, television, web, and theatre projects. His most recent film credits include “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” starring Gena Rowlands, Cheyenne Jackson, Rita Moreno and Jacki Weaver, and “Cold Turkey” starring Peter Bogdanovich and Cheryl Hines. Robert Cannon (Producer) has executive produced two plays at the Pacific Resident Theater, A View From The Bridge and Sweet Thursday. In September he will be producing Dorothy Parker’s Shorts in the Co-Op at PRT. This is the second production he has co-produced at the Ruskin Group Theater, the first one being Talhotblond. Robert is co-producer of the educational short film Heloise, Faith, Hope, and Love.
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