THE LOOKING GLASS THEATRE PRESENTS
THE THREE SILLIES
A new children's play written and directed by Aliza Shane
October 6 - November 18
The Looking Glass Theatre proudly presents
The Three Sillies, a new children’s play written
and directed by Aliza Shane, which opens at
The Looking Glass Theatre on Saturday, October 6.
About The Show…
Growing up is serious business…
Sammy is really starting to outgrow her
embarrassingly silly family. With her birthday
approaching and her friends smirking, Sammy
decides to run away forever with nothing but her old
childhood toy; a wise-cracking teddy bear
come-to-life. Thus begins a magical journey through a world even sillier than Sammy's rollicking home. The Three Sillies is loosely based on the English folk tale of the same name.
CAST: Ayelet Blumberg, Christine Burnett, Mark DeFrancis, Michelle Foytek,
Catherine Gasta, Kyle Minshew, Matthew Rini, and Miranda Shields
CREATIVE TEAM: Aliza Shane (Playwright/Director), Shira Danan (Assistant Director/Stage Manager), Jana Mattioli (Scenic Designer), Alison May (Lighting Designer), and Brent Barkhaus (Costume Designer).
About the Playwright/Director Aliza Shane…
Born and raised in New York, Ms. Shane has directed new works Cancel the Arugula and Aquarium at The Looking Glass Theatre. She most recently adapted and directed Molière’s The Misanthrope and The Imaginary Invalid, which both won multiple artistic awards from Looking Glass. Ms. Shane also serves as Forum Producer for The Looking Glass Theatre. Additional directing experience: The Acoustic Nerve (Groove Mama Ink) and Drum Beat (Ciona Taylor Prod.), both at the Gene Frankel Theatre; Hamlet, The First Quarto at Genesis Repertory; and Cabaret: A New World (Towards Truth Prod.). Assistant director credits include Avenge! The Spanish Tragedy (Spotlight On Festival), The Duel (Samuel French Festival), and Flyers & Other Tales (Midtown International Theatre Festival). She also co-directed The Bacchae (Cypreco Theatre Co.), which was performed at the Cyprus Consulate and the HBO Summer Stage. Ms. Shane earned a BA in Theatre from Queens College.
About The Looking Glass Theatre…
The Looking Glass Theatre’s mission is to explore and expand the feminine aesthetic, producing works by historic female playwrights, new works by women, and productions of the classics re-imagined by contemporary women directors. In June 2006, The Looking Glass Theatre and Artistic Director Justine Lambert received The Lucille Lortel Award from The League of Professional Theatre Women. Additionally, New York Resident named Ms. Lambert one of the Top 100 New Yorkers of 2003 for her work with the company.
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THE THREE SILLIES -- October 6 - November 18, 2007
SCHEDULE: Saturday @ 12PM & 2PM; Sunday @ 2PM & 4PM
TICKET PRICE: $15 adults, $12 for children (12 and under)
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
PHONE: (212) 307-9467
TDF Vouchers Accepted!
CAST
AYELET BLUMBERG (Sammy) is thrilled to be back at LGT and working with the incredible Aliza Shane! She received her BFA in Acting from The Hartt School in Hartford, CT. While working towards her degree, Ayelet had the incredible opportunity to train during one summer at Circle In The Square in Manhattan. NYC credits include: Little Nun, The House of Blue Leaves (MITF - Nom. for Best Featured Actress); Lucetta/Stephano, The Rover (LGT Spring Forum); Célimène, The Misanthrope (LGT Winter Forum - Nom. for Best Actress); Nicole, The Baby Is Blue (MITF); and Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Queens Players). Love to her mishpacha v'chaverim. www.ayeletblumberg.com
CHRISTINE BURNETT (Sally, Silly Sister One) is thrilled to be adding The Looking Glass Theatre to the list of New York theatres in which she’s performed. Others include; Manhattan Theatre Source, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Impact Theatre, and Astoria Performing Arts Center. She also performs comedic improve weekly at National Comedy Theatre. Some of her favorite roles have been Kattrin in Mother Courage, Evelyn in The Shape of Things, and Donna in Hurly Burly. Christine received a Theatre Arts degree from Boise Sate University.
MARK DeFRANCIS (Teddy) has been working with the Mirror Repertory Theatre Company most notably as the director of Circus Chimps and Theatre is the Thing with Tentacles for their No Boundaries Festival (2006) as well as assisting in the production of Macrune’s Guevara and The Contrast. He is also an experienced theatre educator currently teaching 5th graders to be superstars at Midtown West Elementary. He is a graduate of Northwestern University where he studied theatre and art history.
MICHELLE FOYTEK (Silly, Classmate) is a recent transplant from upstate where she performed for the Merry Go Round Youth Theatre, originating roles in The Fisherman and His Wife, The Nearsighted Knight and the Farsighted Dragon, Aladdin, and The Commedia Princess and the Pea to name a few. Additionally, she has performed for Shakesperience Productions (CT), The Kitchen Theatre (NY), and the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre (FL). Originally from Orlando, Fla., she holds a BFA in Performance from the University of Central Florida.
CATHERINE GASTA (Mom, Silly) is very excited to be a part of this silliness! This is Catherine’s first production with the Looking Glass Theatre. Most recently Catherine returned to her role of Gertrude at the Kennedy Center in Synetic Theater’s silent production of Hamlet…the rest is silence for the Washington D.C. Shakespeare Festival 2007. Catherine relocated to New York a year ago after an eight-year Company Membership with Synetic Theater of Washington D.C. Other favorite roles with Synetic include Wife of Dracula in Dracula, Koroviev in Master and Margarita, Herodias in Salome, The Marionette Doll in the pantomime The Miraculous Magical Balloon and Flubber and Robot in the pantomime The Misadventures of Dr. Frank-n-Flubber PhD. Catherine also enjoys teaching mime and movement for The All Stars Youth Onstage!
KYLE MINSHEW (Dad, Silly) is excited to be a part of his first outing with Looking Glass! Previous credits include Off-Broadway: 8 Ways to Meet Your Neighbor, The Poet's Opera, Callous Kingdom, Come Away, Pirates of Penzance, The Most Happy Fella and Kouros. Off-Off Broadway: Comedy Of Errors, Enough For All, Cinderella's Mice, Bippity Boppity Boo, Redemption, Exodus, That is The Question, Miss Nelson Is Missing, Miss Nelson has A Field Day, Axis and Bob on the Boardwalk. National Tours: A Christmas Carol, The Magic Flute and Die Fledermaus. Regional: That is the Question, Seven Deadly Sins, Age of Discovery, The Annunciation, Brooklyn, It's Only A Play, Complete Works of Shakespere (Abridged) and Bye Bye Birdie. Film/TV: “Guiding Light,” “All My Children,” “Sex and The City,” “Law & Order” and “Dawson’s Creek."
MATTHEW RINI (Silly, Classmate) is pleased to be performing again at the Looking Glass as part of The Three Sillies. Previously, he appeared in The Taming of the Shrew in the Looking Glass Spring 2007 Forum. Other credits include premieres of the new plays Horatio and Sex and Hunger; Rumors; Cosi; Dancing at Lughnasa; and many Shakespearean pieces. Matthew has also done children’s theatre tours with the National Theatre for Children, and has taught Shakespeare and stage combat in schools in New York and Connecticut.
MIRANDA SHIELDS (Silly, Classmate) is delighted to be making her Looking Glass debut in The Three Sillies. She was recently seen in Life Among the Natives with The Milk Can Theatre here in NY. Last year Miranda joined the Berkshire Theatre Festival as an Artist-in-Residence where she was seen touring The Three Threads of Fate and teaching playwriting/acting at various Berkshire elementary schools. Favorite credits include Nursery Rhyme Cafe and Way Out West for BTF and Othello (Desdemona) at the Oxford Shakespeare Festival. Miranda received her BFA in Acting from the University of Mississippi. She thanks her family and RAMM.
CREATIVE TEAM
ALIZA SHANE (Playwright/Director), born and raised in New York, has directed new works Cancel the Arugula and Aquarium at The Looking Glass Theatre. She most recently adapted and directed Molière’s The Misanthrope and The Imaginary Invalid, which both won multiple artistic awards from Looking Glass. Ms. Shane also serves as Forum Producer for The Looking Glass Theatre. Additional directing experience: The Acoustic Nerve (Groove Mama Ink) and Drum Beat (Ciona Taylor Prod.), both at the Gene Frankel Theatre; Hamlet, The First Quarto at Genesis Repertory; and Cabaret: A New World (Towards Truth Prod.). Assistant director credits include Avenge! The Spanish Tragedy (Spotlight On Festival), The Duel (Samuel French Festival), and Flyers & Other Tales (Midtown International Theatre Festival). She also co-directed The Bacchae (Cypreco Theatre Co.), which was performed at the Cyprus Consulate and the HBO Summer Stage. Ms. Shane earned a BA in Theatre from Queens College. She is so grateful for this amazing cast and crew.
SHIRA DANAN (Assistant Director/Stage Manager) is excited to be working at the Looking Glass Theatre for the first time. Directing credits include Willy Russell’s Stags and Hens and Chowdah Sketch Comedy. Recently, she has been seen appearing with Chowdah, for which she also writes, and Klaritin, a long-form improvisation team. She is a graduate of Columbia University where she studied Religion.
JANA MATTIOLI (Scenic Designer) has designed sets for both the theatre and the big screen. She recently finished up the design for the Off Broadway play Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues. In the film world, Jana recently burnt down a bakery in “Dough Boys,” decorated lovely East Side apartments for “Between Love and Goodbye,” and built a CSI lab for a spoof titled “BSI.” Feel free to look her up on IMDB. onesourcejana@yahoo.com
RYAN METZLER (Lighting Designer) is the Lighting Designer in Residence at the Looking Glass Theatre, where he designs the semi-annual Writer/Director Forums. Productions in New York include: Copito, Sex and Sealing Wax, and The Quiet Model (Midtown Festival); Chess (NY Fringe); Spring’s Awakening, Odyssey, Baal, Helix 999, and Bug Boy Blues (Looking Glass Theatre); The End of Civilization (Locus Theatre Company); Eight Ways to Meet your Neighbor and Soccer Moms from Hell (The Theatre Studio, Inc.); Stone Cold Dead Serious (Small Pond Entertainment).
BRENT BARKHAUS (Costume Designer) is a recent graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a MFA in theatre design. He is very excited to be designing his first production with The Looking Glass Theatre. Past productions include the world premiere of Pumped Fiction with John Eaton's Pocket Opera Players; The Bacchae at the National Theatre in Warsaw, Poland; Measure for Measure; and I'd Leave You, but We Have Reservations. In his home state of Wisconsin, Brent has designed Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Amal and the Night Visitors, and The Rocky Horror Show.
BRENT BARKHAUS (Costume Designer) is a recent graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a MFA in theatre design. He is very excited to be designing his first production with The Looking Glass Theatre. Past productions include the world premiere of Pumped Fiction with John Eaton's Pocket Opera Players; The Bacchae at the National Theatre in Warsaw, Poland; Measure for Measure; and I'd Leave You, but We Have Reservations. In his home state of Wisconsin, Brent has designed Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Amal and the Night Visitors, and The Rocky Horror Show.
