Full Productions

The Apollo of Bellac

An HB Production

Playwright: Jean Giraudoux

Director: Marlene Mancini

Cast: Carlos Masero, Richard Mawe, Kerry Armstrong, Wallace Johnson, Ed Kershen, Ken Young, Craig Bacon, Jophi Ries, Carleton Carpenter, Dorthy Dorff, Barnetta Carter

(Set): Mina Albergo, (Lighting): Craig Miller, (Costumes): Patricia, (Production Manager): Marlene Mancini, (Technical Director): Robert Fleri, (Stage Manager): Mary Monier, (Assistant Stage Manager): Jolie Steckart, (Assistant to Craig Miller): Michael Baumgarten (Scenic Artists): Carolyn Leslie King, (Production Electrician): Joseph Ouellette, (Sound Electrician): Don Sileo, (Production Assistants): Anne Gillis, (House Managers): Sally Burtenshaw, (Poster): Margaret Ritchie

The Apollo of Bellac was performed July 27th-August 8th, 1983

Synopsis: Here is the quintessence of Giraudoux’s extraordinary imagination and style. A shy girl applying for a job at the Office of Inventions learns from a nondescript man that she can have her way with any man if she declares that he is as handsome as the nonexistent statue of the Apollo of Bellac. The play is alive with wry and trenchant observations on the comical attitudes and truths that men assume in life.

The White Crow

An HB Performance

Playwright: Donald Freed

Director: Danny Selznick

Cast: Herbert Berghof, Pierre Shrady, Uta Hagen, Michael Garr

Set: Mina Albergo; Lighting: Howell Binkley; Costumes: Clare Gosney; Production: Marlene Mancini; Technical Director: Robert Fleri; Stage Managers: E.T. Hefter & Michael Garr; Understudy: Edith Meeks; Assistant Set Designer: Marguerite Montello; Assist. Set Designers: Kimberly Messner & Susan Knightly; House Managers: Sally Burtenshaw , Loretta Church, Mariana Rence, Trudy Steibl; Poster by: Helen Buttfield

The White Crow was performed May 1st, 1985

Synopsis: Adolph Eichmann in Jerusalem for the trial of the century.

Easter

An HB Performance

Playwright: August Strindberg

Director: Herbert Berghof

Cast: Margaret Eginton, Paul Roebling, Alice McLane, Peter Byrnes, Sally Burtenshaw, Herbert Berghof

(Lighting): Lisa Pinkham (Sound): Robert Fleri (Costume): Lydia hamza (Stage Manager): Mia Alicea (Lighting Assistants): Sandt Litchfield, James Windus (Sound Assistant): Andrew Nelson

Easter was performed August 20th through August 31st, 1990

Synopsis: The Heyst family live under a shadow. The father is in prison for embezzlement and the daughter, Eleanora, has been committed to an asylum. Mrs Heyst and her son Elis live from day to day on the edge of collapse. They fear that they are on the brink of ruin, but as the snow melts and a single daffodil appears, Easter Eve brings them hope, joy and mercy.

Inca of Perusalem

An HB Studio Student Workshop Production

Playwright: George Bernard Shaw

Director: Carol Rosenfeld

Cast: Dena Beth Alan, Edmund Day, Maggie DeVora, Andy McCutcheon, Jess Osuna, James Wilson.

Stage Managers: Catherine Kjome, Celeste Gregoire, Lorena Arancibia, and David Shih.

Inca of Perusalem was performed on January 25th-27th, 2005

Synopsis: In a hotel sitting room the Princess is met by the hotel manager. Ermyntrude, now dressed very plainly gets the job as her lady’s maid. Captain Duval, a messenger from the “Inca of Perusalem” appears with news that Inca wants one of his sons to marry the Princess. Ermyntrude realises that the messenger is in fact the Inca in disguise. She offers to return the trick, by pretending to be the Princess to find out what his intentions are. The Princess, who is very timid, agrees to let Ermyntrude take charge. Ermyntrude receives the “captain” with an air of great superiority. She is given a gift of a jewel, designed by the Inca, but she is horrified by its size. The Inca is impressed by the “Princess”‘s grand manner and reveals his true identity. However, he says that he recognises Ermyntrude. He knows she is the Archdeacon’s daughter, not the Princess. But she is so convincing as a princess that now he wishes to marry her himself. Unfortunately he already has a wife, so he suggests they should to convert to Islam so he can legally have another one. Ermyntrude says the Inca is far too poor for her, since his country is going bankrupt because of its foolish war. The Inca says that the war will result in his overthrow and the creation of a republic, but this will not be a problem as he will be elected as “super-president” of the republic. He then says how surprised he is by the popularity of the war in his homeland. He used to rely for popularity on his contributions to art, literature and science, but he was ignored. Now the mass killing in the war leads to cheering crowds. Despite being turned down for marriage, the Inca offers to take Ermyntrude on a drive round the town. She accepts, but emphasises that she will “refuse any incorrect proposals” he makes to her.

Blessings

An HB Studio Student Workshop Production

Playwright: Mary Hall Surface

Director:  Trudy Steibl

Cast: Allison Abrams, David Adams, Emily Adler, Molly Carden, Michael Carrigan, Tigran Eldred, Liam Mitchell, Suzanne Wasik.

Stage Managers: Elizabeth Froese & Robert Crosby.

Blessings was performed on January 25th-27th

Synopsis: What is it like to be cursed and blessed at the same time? “Blessings” looks at questions of parenting and childing, of being lost and being found all in one weekend in the Santa Cruz mountains. While all of us are not faced everyday by Rene’s challenges- severe dyslexia and auditory perception deficit- we are all blessed and cursed by who we are, and, just as importantly, by what others think we are.

Play By Ear

A 2001 Herbert Berghof Memorial Production

Playwright: Julie McKee

Director: Pamela Berlin

Cast: Patricia Conolly*, Mary Fogarty*, Rebecca Nelson*.

Scenic Design: Vicki R. Davis, Lightning Design: Chris Dallos Costume Design: Amela Baksic Sound Design: Robert Auld Production Stage Manager: David Apichell* Artistic Director: William Carden Managing Director: Robert Callely Master Electrician: Edmond Deraedt Technical Director: Josh Sherer Set Construction Crew: Steve Hayes & Rob Graham Electrics Crew: Andrew Schwartz & Kate Lewis Assistant Stage Managers: Damian Acosta & Angie Morrow Sound Board Operator: Sasenarine Ramlakhan

*Appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association

Play By Ear was performed December 8th-21st, 2001

Poster_Flyer_Playbill_Play By Ear

The Airport Plays

Playwrights: Neena Beber, Catherine Filloux, Alexandra Gersten, Dmitry Lipkin, Quincy Long, Julie McKee, Daniel Reitz, Ari Roth, Peter Sagal, Joe Sutton, Jay Tarses, Tug Yourgrau

The Airport Plays - HB Studio

Directors: Jessica Bauman, Aleksy Burago, Kevin Confoy, Deborah Hedwall, Caroline Kava, Kimberly I. Kefgen, Jordan Lage, James Milton, Jules Ochoa, Shira Piven, Jean Randich and David Simonds

Cast: Jessica Allen, Marc Ardito, Peter Birkenhead, Victoria Boothby, Robert Burke, Shannon Burkette, Snezhana Chernova, Caitlin Clarke, Tami Dixon, Tom Draper, Ryan Dunn, Joel Garland, Grant Goodman, Pamela Jayne Gray, Paula Gruskiewicz, Michelle Hurst, Rhonda Jensen, Diana LaMar, Julie Fain Lawrence, Salem Ludwig, Jason J. Madera, Tony Martinez, Jennifer McGowan, Sheryl Moller, Julia Mueller, Harsh Nayyar, Patricia O’Grady, David Prete, Gerriane Raphael, Richard Rodriguez, Martin Shakar, Godfrey L. Simmons Jr and Amy Wright

Set: Andy Warfel Lighting: Chris Dallos Sound: Robert Auld Costume: Deborah R. Rosen and Kyra Svetlovsky Technical: Carlo Adinolfi Production Stage Manager: Kimberly I. Kefgen Stage Managers: Gro Engelstoft, Ruth McKee, Liz Sabia Artistic Director: William Carden Managing Director: Robert Callely

The Airport Plays were performed June 8th – 27th.

Plays:

Departures: Two sisters, Pauline and Jane, were conversing  in the airport as they were about to board the plane. Pauline starts having a sort of anxiety so she holds off on going on the plane, but as the last call for boarding is announced they finally rush to get on the plane.

Storks: Anne is a woman who is accompanying  her aging grandmother back to her home in France and while waiting for the flight discuss life choices and regrets.

The Airport Play: A woman and a man waiting at an airport terminal form a connection through literature and eventually have an in depth conversation about life in which they consul each other.

I AM LAIKA: Two dogs in an airport pet carrier bond over what they perceive as unjust treatment.

The Flight of the Last Calhoon: Calhoon, a young man scared to go on an airplane, complains to the dentist about his situation. After, the dentist puts Calhoon to sleep to remove his wisdom tooth, and he has a dream of his mother and father.

HAERE MAI KI AOTEAROA:  Fiona is entering New Zealand and as she waits to enter she converses with herself.

Where I Come From: An American couple converses about middle eastern people and culture not knowing that a middle eastern man named Aziz was waiting in the airport with them. The woman named Shay converses and flirts with Aziz everytime Mark, the man who was with Shay, left to go to the store.

Terminal Connection: While in an airport terminal, Cordella and Morgan are having a long conversation with each other. Cordella is supposed  to go home to her family but is restricted not by force but by the words of Morgan to not go home. The end result leads both of them to go home.

Happenstance: Amy and Martin, two old lovers run into each other at an airport and talk about their current lives.

Layover: Four strangers in an airport lounge bond over “making love”.

Cecila: A man tells a woman about his play in an airport terminal and tries to convince her to let him use her likeness for a character. 

Peanuts:  In a departure gate, an elderly couple, Herb and Frances wait with there friend Phil to board an old propellor plane. As they are going through the process the Gate Agent is giving everyone a very hard time.

 

Voir Dire

An HB Studio Performance

Playwright: Joe Sutton Voir Dire - HB Studio

Director: William Carden

Cast: Tamaris Canals, Todd Gearhart, Laura Sametz, Lynn Cohen, Sally Stewart, Dorothea Harahan, Kevin Gleason

(Director): William Carden (Lighting): Chris Dallos (Costume): Chris Field (Sound): Doretta Berry (Production Stage Manager): Kimberly I. Kefgen (Casting): Stuart Howard, Amy Schecter, Howard Meltzer

Voir Dire was performed from March 26th- April 11th, 1998

Synopsis: A prominent black man is arrested for buying crack. His lawyer says he was framed, set up by a racist white cop. It is left to a jury of six (as is the case in misdemeanors and many civil cases in New York State), a racially mixed group of five women and one man, to decide who is telling the truth. This they do over three brutal, often explosive days of harrowing deliberation, as we take a peek behind the one door that will always remain closed to us—the door to the jury room.

 

Collected Stories

An HB Studio production

Playwrights: Donald MarguliesReview_Uta Hagen_Collected StoriesCollected Stories_Uta Hagen - HB Studio

Director: William Carden

Cast: Uta Hagen, Lorca Simons

Set: Ray Recht Lighting: Chris Dallos Sound: Robert Auld Costumes: Mirena Rada Casting: Adrienne Stern Production Stage Manager: Lloyd Davis, Jr

Collected Stories was performed from March 26th- April 3rd

Synopsis: This play explores the vexed emotional and legal question of a writer’s right to create art from the biographical material of another person’s life-particularly when that other person is also a writer. Meditating upon the recent, real-life conflict between poet Stephen Spender and novelist David Leavitt, Margulies has created two of the most vivid and moving fictional characters of his career: Ruth Steiner, an aging, highly regarded author who never wrote about her youthful affair with real-life poet Delmore Schwartz, and Lisa Morrison, a student of Steiner’s who, after publishing a much-ballyhooed first short-story collection under Steiner’s direction, follows up with a novel that draws upon the Schwartz affair. The result is charged drama with the depth and weight of the finest prose fiction.

Short Eyes

HB Studio Production- Short Eyes
HB Studio Production- Short Eyes by Miguel Pinero

HB Studio Production of Short Eyes

Playwright: Miguel Pinero

Director: William Carden

Cast: Ted Brunson, Cooley, Doc Dougherty, Ian Friday, Danny Gonzales, H. Clark Kee, Rey Lucas, Joseph Murphy, Andre Royo, Otto Sanchez, Alem Brhan Sapp, Bill Timmins, Guy Whitlock

Set: Ray Recht Lightning: Chris Dallos Costumes: Tonya Canada Sound: Becca Blackwell Fight: Ian Marshall Technical Director: Carlo Adonolfi Casting: Nadette Stasa Production Stage Manager: Kimberly I. Kefgen

Short Eyes was performed November 5th – 22nd

Synopsis: This powerful drama of prison life is set in a house of detention where a group of young convicts-predominantly black and Puerto Rican-taunt, fight, insult, and entertain one another in an attempt to preserve their sanity and to create a semblance of community. When a young white prisoner accused of child molesting is thrown into the cell block by a guard who says he belongs in Sing Sing because “the men up there konw what to do with degenerates like you,” the stage is set for an explosive series of events; for, among prisoners, this child molester called “short eyes” is the lowest of criminals.