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“Since
I took Matt’s class, doors have opened for me. I’m being
produced all over the city!”
Christine Fall
“DON’T BREAK YOUR EGG”
NY Midtown Int’l Festival Official Selection
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Whether
you are a Broadway veteran, an accomplished writer or an absolute
beginner,
Drama-Desk nominated playwright, professional actor and renowned
solo show teacher Matt Hoverman will gently guide you through
his unique, powerful, fun, supportive, proven process to create
the solo show of your dreams!
You
will:
• Learn the fundamentals of exciting storytelling!
• Perform crisp, hilarious character monologues!
• Cut loose in a rant!
• Flesh out and shape an existing project!
• Create a Solo Show that you can do anytime, anywhere!
• TELL YOUR STORY!
SIGN
UP FOR THE “CREATE YOUR OWN SOLO SHOW” WORKSHOP NOW! |
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STORIES |
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"BRIDEZILLA STRIKES BACK!"
Cynthia Silver
FringeNYC 2005, Ars Nova,
NY Solo Play Lab, A run at LA’s Zephyr Theatre… and an impending film deal!
*Winner: FringeNYC 2005 Best Solo Show Award!
“An irresistible cautionary tale!... hilarious!”
NY TIMES
“I found it fascinating, and I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t have a commercial run.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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TRUTH VALUES: One Girl's Romp Through MIT's Male Math Maze
A gifted young Berkeley chick takes on sexism while pursuing a math Ph.D. at MIT, where girls aren't supposed to be girls . . . especially girls with a penchant for fighting back with fashion!
www.unexpectedtheatre.org
Six Figures Theatre Company’s Artists of Tomorrow Festival 2008, Emerging Artists One Woman Standing Festival 2008, FringeNYC 2009* And... A run at Cambridge, MA’s Central Square Theatre
*Winner: FringeNYC 2009 Best Solo Show Award!
**** [FOUR STARS]
“De Cari is animated onstage, and inhabits no fewer than 30 roles with gusto. She bounds from moments of depression to those of elation and triumph, each rendered on an empty stage that hints at the countless stories similar to hers but untold."
TIMEOUT NEW YORK
"Funny and insightful one-woman show… replete with hilarious characters… the story is riveting… she can make a reading of her math thesis compelling!... go
see this show!”
CURTAINUP.COM
"De Cari is an earnest performer and a snappy writer... sincere and entertaining... quick and passionate... she's an ace at taking on the story's
30-odd characters."
- BOSTON HERALD
"Hilarious one-woman show... De Cari nails not only accents and postures but the presence of each of her impersonations... opts for the refreshing delights of humor, even compassion, and creates a rich and wry reductio ad absurdum."
- EDGE Boston
"Every bit as funny and serious and entertaining as I hoped... sharp and funny... like the best monologists, De Cari balances the deeper story arc with a steady stream of funny bits."
- HubArts.com
"De Cari is an appealing and nimble-witted performer, showcasing her versatility... as she races barefoot about the stage."
- BOSTON GLOBE
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“HOT CRIPPLE”
By Hogan Gorman
One Woman's hilariously devastating journey into this country's broken healthcare and welfare systems.
www.HotCripple.com
FringeNYC 2008*
*Winner: FringeNYC 2008 Best Actress Award!
“…a talented storyteller and mimic...
Gorman brings wonderful levity to a very dark yet real story."
BACKSTAGE
**** (Four Stars)
"Hogan Gorman gives a top-notch performance...
This is a moving story, performed with humor,
grit and grace.”
TIME OUT NEW YORK
“She is as real and tasty as a garlic salad... The piece has tremendous impact...”
CURTAINUP.COM
“What’s hot is Hogan’s spunk and determination to have a voice, rather than another number sulking on a waiting room chair.”
SHOWBUSINESS WEEKLY
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“SACRED IS THE NEW PROFANE”
By Cheryl Harnest
A darkly comic journey from drama queen to dharma queen. The truth might be about to set Cheryl free, but first it's going to really
piss her off.
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2008*,
"Women at Work" Festival @ Stage Left Studios 2008
*Winner: MITF “Outstanding Overall Production
of a Solo Show” Award!
"Cheryl Harnest is wacky, athletic, bold, and often hilarious.
Her statements and questions go to the edge and beyond."
NYTHEATRE.COM |
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“MY SALVATION HAS A FIRST NAME: A WIENERMOBILE JOURNEY”
by Robin Gelfenbien
The true story* of an insecure goody-goody who finds redemption behind the windshield of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. (*98% Facts. 2% Nitrates.)
www.wienermobileshow.com
FringeNYC 2008, Emerging Artists One Woman Standing Festival 2008, tongue in cheek theater’s PLUS ONE SOLO SHOW FESTIVAL 2009
“…the consummate storyteller…”
EDGEBOSTON.COM
****(Four Stars)
"…a painfully honest and hilariously self-deprecating tale of getting one's first real job after college."
TIME OUT NEW YORK
"Gelfenbien is beyond endearing...”
NYTHEATRE.COM
“Gelfenbien demonstrates the makings of a star… one of the most talented and likeable comics in
New York.”
HYREVIEWS.COM |
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“BABYCOW”
by Christine Renee Miller
Beset by unquenchable desires, a Korean/African American woman questions the path that led her to marry young. Watch babycow milk her teats for all they’re worth!
www.babycow.org
FringeNYC 2008, Manhattan Rep One-Act Festival 2007
“…hysterical… a lovely and captivating performer. I was surprised to read in the program that this is her stage debut. She is relaxed and confident on stage, with a beautiful physical life and a delightful rubber-faced expressionism... this is a delightful show that I found to be a very enjoyable kick-off to my FringeNYC viewing."
NYTHEATRE.COM
“…endearing… Miller has great energy and a gift for mimicry..."
TIME OUT NEW YORK |
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“PICCOLA COSI”
by Aja Nisenson
A provocative, comical, musical ride through the underbelly of Bologna Italy's jazz scene. (With a live jazz band onstage!)
www.ajanisenson.com
FringeNYC 2008, 6th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival
at the DR2
“As full of talent as she is of spaghetti, she recalls in vivid, sidesplitting detail her trip through Italy as a 21-year-old virgin who becomes a sought-after jazz singer… Nisenson is a natural storyteller, with an ear for impersonations and an eye for glamorous and gritty detail.”
BACKSTAGE
“I saw this show twice… After that first time, I cried—not immediately, but in the street. I cried over risk, over sexuality, over danger as success and safety as failure, over being a woman and an artist. Isn't that what theatre does at its best—cut you to the core?”
NYTHEATRE.COM
**** (Four Stars)
“…an engaging portrait of that special time of life when nascent adults go overseas to find themselves, and end up getting into cars with strangers.”
TIME OUT NEW YORK
“The gorgeous Aja Nisenson demonstrates she can do it all in an autobiographical show about discovering herself in Italy, during which she sings jazz (and a bit of opera), impersonates the colorful people she met with wit and charm, and tells hilarious stories."
HYREVIEWS.COM
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“MOTHER MAY I?”
by Joy Gabriel
A Mormon girl's journey to independence from the tag-team of Mom and Jesus.
www.joygabriel.com
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2008*
*Nominated: 2008 MITF Best Solo Show & Best Solo Show Performance Awards!
“We are treated to a glimpse of how Mormon theology is translated in a girl's imagination, as well as the terrifying psychology of a parent becoming, literally, simultaneous with an Almighty God… real comedic moments… A fragile, cheerful smile serves as a way in and out of characters, as well as a shield from the trauma being played out; it is a heartbreaking last remainder of the little girl trying always, desperately, to be good, to be what Mom wants.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
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“FLAGBOY:
Finding His Way”
by Cornelius Jones Jr.
A New Play About Living Life Out Loud written and performed by Cornelius Jones Jr. from Broadway's
The Lion King
www.corneliusjonesjr.com
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2008*
*Nominated: Best Solo Show Performance Award!
Capital Fringe Festival,
Washington DC**
**FIVE STARS: Rated “Best of the Fest” by DCTHEATRESCENE.COM
"With unbridled energy and a finely written script... The autobiographical Flagboy, which finished its run on the last day of the Capital Fringe Festival, is one man's expression of life and love, and in Jones' very capable hands, the solo piece is a delightful affirmation of life and authenticity... It is so charming, committed, and powerful that the story feels like a beloved childhood fairytale that never gets tired in the retelling.”
DCTHEATRESCENE.COM
“…the likable and talented Cornelius Jones, Jr. delivers a wonderful and humbly honest solo performance in Flagboy… a strong and grounded performance.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
“…a highly reflective, purposeful and raw oral history that is not simply his story, but that of countless queer people… 60-minutes of brilliantly witty personal stories… Flagboy is a testament to the power of triumph over the repercussions of one bad decision.”
ABOUT.COM
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“HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN FAMILY”
Written & Performed by Jeff Seabaugh
Follow one gay man as he searches for the real meaning of family while caring for his terminally ill mother, inheriting his developmentally disabled aunt, and finally forming a family of his own through the miracle of adoption. An outsider's story of finding family against all odds.
www.jeffseabaugh.com
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2009
“Jeff Seabaugh's one-man play How to Make an American Family is a warm and wise tour-de-force about his own unorthodox journeys toward parenthood... Seabaugh's writing throughout is rich and funny and compassionate, and his acting is superb as he moves among these various creations effortlessly, shifting from one to another on a dime... It is a splendid solo performance... How to Make an American Family is exquisite theatre, offering some thoughtful and loving insights about being a son and being a father and learning how to be better at both.”
NYTHEATRE.COM |
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“YO HOT MAMA(S)!”
2 solo shows written & performed by
Natalie Kim & Karen Fitzgerald
There are many weird and wonderful turns on the road to “Enlightenment”,
as Natalie Kim and Karen Fitzgerald discover in their comic, offbeat solos shows,
billed collectively as “YO HOT MAMA(S).”
www.YoHotMamas.com
Midtown International
Theatre Festival 2009*,
HERE Arts Center
*Winner: MITF 2009 Producers Award
"Natalie Kim seems to have the type of spunky attitude that gets her into trouble in real life but is fun to watch on stage... Writer/performer Karen Fitzgerald has an easy assured presence on stage and her story flows out of her with humor and candor... Her smooth, simple, and confident delivery is tribute to Matt Hoverman's experienced hand as director and self-described midwife of solo shows. Fitzgerald shows vivacity, vulnerability, and some pretty serious chops as a performer... a joy to watch."
NYTHEATRE.COM
"Directors Kenneth Heaton (for Kim) and Matt Hoverman (for Fitzgerald) allow no unnecessary flash into their presentations, forcing the women to extract the shows entirely from their own personalities and experiences, which - paired with the actresses' abundant abilities and finely honed comic senses - ensures they're as robust as they can be."
TALKINBROADWAY.COM |
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“A PERFECT SPECIMEN OF FEMININITY”
by Lisa Dominique
Things are not always as they seem in suburbia.
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2008*, Groove Mama Ink “Wonder
Women Week” 2007
“Dominique's writing is clever and humorous, especially when describing in detail the people in her life… she absolutely lights up when remembering fun pranks she played on boys with her friends or the process of creating the fake IDs needed to go to the happening night club in her neighborhood in Queens… Director Matt Hoverman does an excellent job at layering in the elements needed to bring Dominique's story to life.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
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"SODOMY AND PEDICURES”
Written & Performed
by Jessica Hedrick
FringeNYC 2007 &
Jimmy’s (in NYC)
Blue Theatre & play!Theatre Space (in Austin, TX)
"Jessica Hedrick's one woman show, SODOMY & PEDICURES is funny, entertaining, and often surprising. I left with a smile on my face, feeling like I just spent an hour with a good friend telling me an entertaining and frequently hilarious tale of sex, love, and sexual politics."
NYTHEATRE.COM
“Hedrick is hysterical
from start to finish.”
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
"Jessica Hedrick is a dirty thief. She broke into the collective female consciousness, stole a bunch of the hidden, unpublished note cards that detail our deepest, darkest secrets, and crafted a wicked, hilarious little tour de force out of them."
THE AUSTINIST |
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"IS DICK CHENEY EVIL?"
Written & Performed by Brian Longwell
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007
"NON-MOTIVATIONAL, NON-INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER"
Brian Longwell
Comedy clubs and corporate events around the country
*****(5 out of 5 stars! Rarely given!)
"With a satirical humour based on anger and disbelief, fans of American politics will love this topical and witty presentation. Look out for this man - he deserves a bigger stage from which to share his opinions with the world."
THREEWEEKS/eDAILY |
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“DON’T BREAK YOUR EGG”
Written & Performed by Christine Fall
Midtown Int’l Theatre Festival 2005, Estrogenius Festival 2005, Peoples Improv Theater
“Her script is replete with hilarious one-liners, her stories are endearing, and her “laziness” becomes
simply charming.”
OFF-OFF-ONLINE.COM
“Diagnosing herself as a chronic procrastinator, Fall has us all believing that the very play she's performing is unfinished, until—laughing so hard—we realize the final joke is on us. Fall and her director, Matt Hoverman, have indeed crafted a clever, seamless and complete show about how incomplete her show is.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
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“SHELF LIFE”
Written & Performed
by Camille M. Brown
(original cast member of THE LION KING)
FringeNYC 2006, Peoples Improv Theatre, Where Eagles Dare Theater
“Together, Camille Brown and director Matt Hoverman have concocted an entertaining piece that is both comedic and poignant… Brown is a gifted physical comic with a witty sensibility.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
Camille M. Brown (also an alum of Playwriting 101) was a semifinalist in the 2007 Strawberry One-Act Festival for her play
“OSAMA LOVES WHITNEY”
(Director Matt Hoverman was also nominated for the Best Director Award.) |
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“OUTROVERTED”
An evening of solo shows featuring Craig Durante, Richie McCall and Susan Rankus
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2007
(Susan Rankus has also performed “RENAISSANCE” at Stage Left Studio & Manhattan Rep One-Act Festival)
"Susan Rankus' warm and funny RENAISSANCE… captures the absurdity of a fair... Rankus uses her malleable face to imbue her universally recognizable story with a sweetly hopeful spirit."
THEATRE NEWS ONLINE
"RENAISSANCE, performed by Susan Rankus, is funny and quite charming"
NYTHEATRE.COM
"ME AND STEPIN' is very well acted by Richie McCall. McCall is without a doubt a fine actor, I truly enjoyed his performance."
NYTHEATRE.COM
"HOLDING OUT is a grabber of a story, and Craig Durante's intensity holds us."
THEATRE NEWS ONLINE
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“CAT-HER-IN-E”
Written & Performed
by Amy Staats
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2007*, Ensemble Studio Theatre
*Nominated: MITF Best Solo Show Award!
"Watching Amy Staats in her solo show, CAT-HER- IN-E, is like watching an entire collection of home movies squeezed into one body. Staats has a knack for nailing personal quirks and expressions, and it comes through in her multiple roles."
OFF-OFF-ONLINE.COM
"An imaginative coming-of-age story... Shockingly funny. The transitions are so fluid there are moments that come as a complete surprise, and both we and the actor are lucky to experience them."
NYTHEATRE.COM
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“TWO GIRLS”
Written & Performed
by Gabrielle Maisels
Corinne, Jewish, and Lindiwe, Black, are coming of age within the warped mirror of apartheid.
We follow their journey towards the hope they know they're entitled to.
Capital Fringe Festival in
Washington, DC 2009,
Midtown Internatonal Theatre Festival 2009 |
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“ UP A RIVER / DOWN
THE AISLE”
Written & Performed
by Jake Lipman
The neurotic girl's guide to mourning & marriage.
www.tictheater.com
Midtown International Theatre Festival: Short Subjects Division 2009,
Strawberry One Act
Festival 2009*
*Semi-finalist |
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“LIFE SWAP:
Two Short Solo Shows”
Includes:
“SPEECH TEAM TRYST”
Written & Performed by
Alexis Fedor
High school love.
With trophies.
And...
“TOP DRAWER”
Written & Performed by
Adelaide Mestre
Sometimes it's the bargain basement where you'll find what you're looking for.
Midtown International Theatre Festival: Short Subjects Division 2009
"The best pair of solo shows I've seen!"
-Lee Spielberg, Lincoln Center Performance Archivis |
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“ HELLO TOMORROW:
Two Solo Shows”
Includes:
“ RUN FAST THE FIRE”
Written & Performed
by Ellen Lindsay
To Jonestown and back: One woman who survived will talk about it. For the first
time. Tonight.
This show is her story.
www.runfastthefire.com
And...
“ THE REAL THING”
Written & Performed
by Mary Sheridan
A search for one woman’s most favorite things:
the big city,
the right relationship and the opportunity to perform.
www.marysheridan.net
Midtown International Theatre Festival: Short Subjects Division 2009 |
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“THE SUDDEN DEATH OF EVERYONE”
Written & Peformed by Catherine Rogers
Long before terrorism became a daily headline, a young Catholic girl in upstate New York battled her own private terrors: Dante’s Inferno, the Red Scare, high school love, the AIDS crisis... and her first Argentine tango lesson scheduled
for September 11, 2001.
Dixon Place, Emerging Artists Theater: One Woman Standing Festival 2006,
The Shubin Theatre (Philadelphia), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 2009
In 2008/9:
Solo Show Worskhop alum Catherine Rogers was awarded a prestigious FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP – to teach solo show writing in Greece!
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“UNANSWERED QUESTIONS... ABOUT MY MOTHER”
This evening featured a one-act play UNANSWERED QUESTIONS and
the solo show:
“NOT MY MOTHER”
Written & Performed
by Robin Amos Kahn
How Do You Say Goodbye to Someone Who Never Leaves?
Midtown International Theater Festival: Short Subjects Division 2009
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“THE MAKE-OUT QUEEN”
Written & Performed
by Bronwen Prosser
Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, but when it's not... damn
Emerging Artists: One Woman Standing Series 2009 |
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“AMERICAN REFUGEE”
Written & Performed
by Meg Renton
A U.S. Airforce jet drops out of the sky onto one family’s suburban home.
An incredible but true story.
Emerging Artists: One Woman Standing Series 2009,
Groove Mama Ink 2006, City College (NYC), Bergen County Players (NJ) |
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“THE POOP SHOW”
Written & Performed by Marjorie Suvalle
One woman's quest to make it to the top, while coping with her bottom.
..in the same evening as…
“HOLDING OUT”
Written & Performed by Craig Durante
The coming of age story of one well-raised, maladjusted, college drop out, lead singer, stockbroker virgin!
Manhattan Repertory Theatre Summer Festival 2008 |
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“THE CIRCLE FLYING DANCE”
Written & Performed
by
Myla Pitt
A woman's remembrances help her recapture the freedom and anarchy of her girlhood in the sixties.
Emerging Artists One Woman Standing Festival 2008 |
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“BLOOD, SEX & TEARS”
Written & Performed
by Glynn Borders
One man’s sexual journey from innocence to decadence to reverence.
Emerging Artists One Man Talking Festival 2008, Stage Left Studio
“THE ENFORCER”
Also written & performed by Glynn Borders
Of corporal punishment and Chopin. tongue in cheek theater’s PLUS ONE SOLO SHOW FESTIVAL 2009, Naked Angels’ Tuesdays@9 |
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“MAYBE LATER”
Written & Performed
by Sarah Kauffman
The secret longing for strangers… on the
downtown F.
tongue in cheek theater’s PLUS ONE SOLO SHOW FESTIVAL 2009 |
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“FROM SPARKLES TO ASH: AN EPIC TALE OF LOVE”
Written & Performed
by Nancy Noto
“MINDSTUFF”
Written & Performed by Deborah Ramirez
“SKIPPING ROCKS”
by Michelle Ciarrocca
Performed by Jessica Page
Were all performed in
Groove Mama Ink’s "Wonder Women Week" 2007 |
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“RADIO LOVE SHACK”
A One Act Play
Written by (and featuring) Playwriting 101 Alum Thomas St. Claire
was produced at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater!
www.thomas-st-claire.net
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In 2008:
Playwriting 101 alum Kaite Langen Aymes submitted the play she wrote in class – and got accepted into the NYU MFA Playwriting program – in Singapore! |
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“PIE-OBSESSED DRUNKEN FATTIES”
Written & Performed
by Julie Perkins &
Marjorie Suvalle
(both alumni of the Solo Show Workshop)
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2006
“The two writer-performers, Julie Perkins and Marjorie Suvalle, each with a fair amount of solo work under her belt, are more than capable of handling the stage on their own. The play is funny and the characters never cease to be interesting and entertaining.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
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“DAMAGED DANCERS”
Written & Performed by Marjorie Suvalle
Emerging Artists Theatre's One Woman Standing Festival 2006, Manhattan Rep One-Act Festival 2006, The PIT |
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“SAFETY IN NUMBERS”
Written & Performed
by Jan Rudd
Midtown International Theatre Festival 2004 (NY), “I Have a Better Idea!” Solo Festival on Theatre Row (NY), The Arts Guild Theatre
(Prince Edward Island)
“SAFETY IN NUMBERS is written and performed by the dazzling comedienne/actress Jan Rudd. Rudd's timing in her writing is as sparkling as her performance, and there are some moments that are quite moving in this comedic show. It is not often that a reviewer encounters a towering talent like Ms. Rudd-- Lily Tomlin, Whoopee Goldberg
come to mind.”
PERFORMING ARTS INSIDER
“Rudd is absolutely dynamite. She is a multitalented actress in possession of a show so human and touching that it surpasses most of the commercial productions on the Great White Way.”
OOBR.COM
“Rudd is a wonder. She has created a diverse group of characters that are painfully similar to people I have known in real life. I laughed until my sides hurt.”
NYTHEATRE.COM
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“CO-OPS & KRYPTONITE!”
Written & Performed
by Craig Bridger
Mo Pitkins’ House of Satisfaction, Lake George Rep, Peoples Improv Theatre, NY Solo Play Lab
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“FOUR ON THE FLOOR”
An Evening of 4 Solo Shows
(Also featuring the music of John Mercurio)
Written & Performed by
Katie Atcheson, Edmund Friedman, Adelaide Mestre and Tommy Stephan
(All 4 are alumni of the Solo Show Workshop)
Where Eagles Dare Theatre (SOLD OUT RUN)
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“MY BUDDY & ME”
Written & Performed
by Maggie Jeary
Emerging Artists Theatre's One Woman Standing Festival 2006 |
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“TREASURE ME/JUNK YOU”
Written & Performed
by Natalie Picoe
NY Solo Play Lab, Peoples Improv Theater, Where Eagles Dare Theatre
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“MR. MORNING
MENDS HIS MIND”
Written & Performed
by Liz Parker
Stage Left Studio
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