TILES, MOSAIC THEATRE'S BLOG

What an incredible two weeks it has been of our World Premiere A Measure of Cruelty by renowned author Joe Calarco. Audiences were on their feet for this compelling drama featuring Carbonell Award Winners Dennis Creaghan and Todd Allen Durkin, and also starring Andrew Wind making his Mosaic Theatre debut. This critically acclaimed production is made possible by Funding Arts Broward/Knight New Work Award and will run through May 13.

“This is one of those benchmark productions that people will reference for the next decade in discussions about South Florida theater, as in ‘Yes, such and such show was great, but did you see A Measure of Cruelty?’ … riveting performances from Dennis Creaghan, Andrew Wind and an indelible tour de force by Todd Allen Durkin.” Bill Hirschman, Florida Theater On Stage

“A World-Premiere Masterpiece … It’s a transcendent piece of theater and I feel humbled and honored to have experienced it.” John Thomason, New Times

“A gripping examination of bullying … Confidently directed and superbly acted.” Rod Hagwood, Sun-Sentinel

“Director Richard Jay Simon moves this drama along at a stunning pace, with the prowess of Durkin and two other award-worthy performances … well-crafted by prize-winning playwright Calarco.” Ron Levitt, Florida Media News/ENV Magazine

“Under the direction of Richard Jay Simon, all three actors give intense performances – Durkin especially.” Christine Dolen, Miami Herald

“A well presented, well directed, and extraordinarily well acted piece of theatre.” Roger Martin, MiamiArtzine

“Mosaic adds another victory wreath. You couldn’t ask for a better cast. A Measure of Cruelty is beautiful theater, theater at its best.” Jesse Leaf, Around Town

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Join our very special guest, American Idol semifinalist (Season 10) Brett Loewenstern on Sunday, May 6 at 2:00. Brett is an advoacte for anti-bullying and his latest single reflects that. You can learn more about this song and more by clicking here. Please join us for this very special event as Brett will also be signing autographs.

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Do not miss a very special discussion with author Joe Calarco following the 3:00 PM matinee on Saturday, May 12.Audiences will have the opportunity to participate in a Q & A session with the playwright. Discuss what works and what doesn’t in this vital conversation that may influence Joe to make tweaks to the script before it gets published. Even if you have seen it once, you might want to see it again and share your thoughts!

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Why not give your Mom the gift of Theater? Purchase a Mosaic Theatre Gift Certificate!

Come see A Measure of Cruelty on May 13 and receive a special Mother’s Day Gift from your Friends at Mosaic Theatre!

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AN ANONYMOUS DONOR WILL MATCH YOUR
CONTRIBUTION IF MADE BY APRIL 17.

That’s just 5 Days to Go!  Please help spread the word!

FRIENDS OF THE THEATRE 100 was launched last season to offset cuts in government funding. We are currently $5,800 shy of our goal and one donor will MATCH YOUR GIFT made between now and April 17, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500. That’s TWICE THE BANG for your buck! Click here to see where we are in relation to our goal.

GIVE YOUR GIFT OF $100 OR MORE TODAY!

Plus you will receive…

• Free piece of Art from Mosaic’s gallery
(select from 25 pieces)

• Recognition on Commemorative
11th Anniversary Display

• Private Reception held in Your Honor

• Sneak Peak into Mosaic Theatre’s Season 12

THREE WAYS TO GIVE

1. Give online at mosaictheatre.com
We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express

2. Call us at (954) 577-8243
Office hours 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

3. Mail your check to:
Mosaic Theatre
“Friends of the Theatre 100″
12200 West Broward Blvd. Suite 3121
Plantation, Florida 33325

IF YOU LOVE THE ARTS, SHARE THIS BLOG WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

* Mosaic Theatre is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation and your donation is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Our anonymous donor has agreed to match up to 25 “Friends”contributions.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Avi Hoffman and Laura Turnbull some questions as I wanted to learn more about what it was like for husband and wife to collaborate on a play. I asked Avi and Laura to answer these questions separately without sharing their answers with each other. Death and the Maiden runs March 8 – April 1 and you can click here for tickets.

1) Theater has been tradition in your family for a long time and obviously means a great deal to you both.  Tell me a little about that.

AVI: Indeed… Some of my fondest memories, as a child, was going to the Yiddish Theatre in NY, not to mention seeing Zero Mostel in the original Fiddler on the Roof. I played Tevye when I was 8 years old in the Hillman Ave. Community Center in the Bronx and started working professionally by the age of 10. Theatre has always been a major part of my life.

LAURA: Theatre has been a part of my family for decades.  My dad acted in a couple of productions in Denver as a young man, but was primarily a musician and a cinematographer.  As a child I appeared in a few of his films and commercials, and he conducted the pit band for a few of the first shows I ever did as a teen at one of our local theatres.  My mom taught speech and interpretation, among other things, and also ran the drama club at my high school. My parents co-wrote several musicals together including an animated annually televised Christmas special, in which, at the age of 12, I voiced one of the characters.

2) How long have you been married and please share the story of how you met.

AVI: We have been married for over 17 years and have been together over 20. We met when Fyvush Finkel needed a replacement for an actress, who was caught stealing, in the Off-Broadway production of Finkel’s Follies.

LAURA: Avi and I have been married for nearly 18 years.  We met over 20 years ago when I was hired to replace a woman (who turned out to be a kleptomaniac ie: stealing from the other cast members and the director) in the Off Broadway show Finkel’s Follies  starring Fyvush Finkel.  Avi had been with the show for quite a while when I joined the four person musical (and I only got 5 days of rehearsal before I had to go on!)

3) Tell us about your previous experiences working together as husband and wife.

AVI: We met when Laura replaced an actress who was fired for being a kleptomaniac in the Off Broadway production of Finkel’s Follies, starring Emmy award winner Fyvush Finkel. We have worked together extensively since, primarily in creating our two beautiful daughters Arielle and Liana. We have performed together several times in Florida, in Jacques Brel and Fiddler on the Roof, and I directed her once before in a world premiere of Lucid Moments.

LAURA: Other than Finkel’s, and not counting this one, I believe we’ve done eight other productions together:  As performers:  Closer Than Ever, Apple Tree, Frankie and Johnny;  two productions of Fiddler (he starred in both but also directed one of them); two Productions of Jacques Brel (performed in both and co-directed one of them), and he directed me in Lucid Moments.  (I hope I’m not forgetting any!) 

4) Who do your children come to for acting advice, mom or dad?

AVI: Mostly Mom. Mother knows best.

LAURA: Maybe because they’re girls, but I think they come to me more often, although we have both helped them and worked with them on auditions, etc.    I have directed both girls in a couple of school shows and Avi directed Arielle in a beautiful production of Our Town last year at her high school.  

5) Are there certain ground rules whereby work is never discussed outside of rehearsal time?  What are your “rules of engagement?”

AVI: No rules. Anything goes.

LAURA: No, there are no rules of any kind about discussing work.  Although it doesn’t happen often, we do have conversations (usually instigated by me as an actress), that stem from my questions – and discoveries – about my character, and my desire to make the right choices in portraying her.

6) What quality in your wife do you admire most as an actress?  What quality in your husband do you admire most as a director?

AVI: I am stunned and amazed at the incredible chameleon-like ability that Laura has to completely transform herself, physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, into the character that she is portraying.

LAURA: Mostly how easy-going he is.  But besides that, he seems to come in with a clear vision, a distinct point of view, but is still open to working in a collaborative way.  Conversation and discussion is encouraged, perhaps even relished throughout the entire rehearsal.  He’s also very actively involved.  Literally.  He’s on his feet quite often, showing us what he wants, etc.  And because he’s also an actor, he allows each of us to have our “process” without any undue pressure or constraints.  He LOVES directing!

 7) Laura, if you could give your husband a directorial note it would be…
Avi, if you could give your wife a note that you haven’t already, it would be…

AVI: I plead the Fifth…

LAURA: That’s a hard one……   I guess I’d say, “You can stop explaining it now.  I think I get what you want without your having to act out the entire thing.”  (Even he’ll admit that he does like to talk.)

This play, Death and the Maiden, without revealing too much, is far from a comedy and forces actor/director to go to some dark places.   What has the journey been like so far and how has the experience been different (if at all) to go through it with your spouse?

AVI: I don’t think the experience has been very different for me as a director, but knowing Laura as well as I do; I am probably a little more sensitive to the emotional difficulties and challenges that Laura has to confront in portraying Paulina Salas.

LAURA: It’s been a little different for me, but not hugely.  There are few things in this play that strike a chord or hit a nerve on a personal level, (and I’m pretty sure Avi would agree with me),  but I just see those as places that help me to really create the most honest emotions within my character. 

9) If this process of working on Maiden was captured in an autobiography what would the title be?

 AVI: What did I do for my 54^th Birthday or Confrontation, Equivocation and Negotiation  (This refers to the content of the play, not the experience of working at Mosaic)

LAURA: MARRIED TO THE DIRECTOR (Letting My Husband Be the Boss For A While)

10) Laura, tell us about your experience earlier this year sharing the stage with your daughter at Palm Beach Dramaworks.

AVI: I was the proudest man on earth!!!

LAURA: Working with Arielle was something so wonderful, so fulfilling, that it’s hard to put into words.  I was sooo proud of her!  Standing backstage at the very top of the show and listening to her opening monologue in Gamma Rays gave me such a rush.   I would feel myself getting emotional, my eyes welling up with tears at the sheer joy of sharing the stage with her, and then realize that I needed to get it together because I had to step out on that stage and be unbelievably cruel and monstrous to her.  Calling this beautiful and brilliant girl ugly and stupid was quite an acting exercise for me!

 11) What is next for you both?

 AVI: This month I am performing my relatively new one man show – Avi Hoffman’s Still Jewish After All These Years: A Life in the Theatre – at the Century Villages and several other South Florida condos, as well as a trip to NJ to perform at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown.

In April, I am back in NJ for a world premiere of ‘Hanky Panky’ in a new Equity theatre – The Grove Street Playhouse – in rep with Still Jewish. In May I perform in NY at Baruch College, with yet another one man show – Reflections of a Lost Poet – for the Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre.  After that…. Make me an offer…

LAURA: I start rehearsal mid-April for Becky’s New Car at Actors’ Playhouse.

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NEED MORE REASON TO ATTEND ON MARCH 10, ASIDE FROM SUPPORTING A GREAT THEATER, HAVING SUMPTUOUS FOOD, FREE DRINKS AND SEEING A GREAT SHOW?

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♦ Broadway Tickets!

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♦ Exclusive Golf Outings at the Polo Club, Weston Hills, Grand Palms, Bonaventure and more!

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Only a few tickets remain for “Dial M for Mosaic Theatre” 2012 Gala on March 10 (An Evening of Hitchcock). Admission is $150 and includes gourmet dinner, open bar, live/silent auction, raffle and a show!  Click Here for tickets.

We are excited to announce that the panel of celebrity judges for our Stop! The Violence Video Contest will include: Brett Loewenstern (finalist, American Idol Season 10), Emmy Award Winner Louis Aguirre (of WSVN’s Deco Drive), and Lucille Lortel Award Winning playwright/director Joe Calarco.  The exciting contest is open to high school students in grades 9-12 who want to express themselves on issues of bullying and teen violence.  Students are invited to submit creative videos (2 to 5 minutes in length) in any style including, but not limited to monologue, scene, song, illustration, animation, collage, and dance, addressing the aforementioned themes.  We encourage you to spread the word about this contest and vote for your favorites.

The grand prize winner will be announced Monday, May 21 and will receive the $500 Stuart and Cecelia Kirsner Scholarship and an SAT Prep Course by Huntington Learning Center (HLC).  The second prize winner will receive a $200 scholarship and an HLC SAT Prep Course and the third prize winner will also receive an HLC SAT Prep Course. 

Stop! The Violence Video Contest is in conjunction with the world premiere of “A Measure of Cruelty” (April 19 – May 13), a play commissioned by Mosaic Theatre and made possible by a Funding Arts Broward/Knight New Work Award. “A Measure of Cruelty” by Joe Calarco is inspired by the 2009 case of a local teenager who was severely burned by four of his schoolmates (a case that shocked South Florida’s local community and touched a nerve in our nation’s conscience).  Mosaic theatre announced this video contest to encourage students to join in what has become a national dialogue on these important issues. 

Video submissions will be accepted until 5:00 pm EST April 2, 2012.  Check out our exciting video clips and vote for your favorite.  Then spread the word and get your friends to vote!   The celebrity judges will help select the top three finalists, and audiences attending “A Measure of Cruelty” will vote for the top prize.  Entrants should submit their video here.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF “A MEASURE OF CRUELTY” BY JOE CALARCO

Made Possible by Funding Arts Broward/Knight New Work Award

STOP! THE VIOLENCE Video Contest

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE

ONLY 150 TICKETS TO BE SOLD!

Enter Mosaic Theatre’s Cruise Raffle to win a cruise certificate entitling the bearer to sailings to the Caribbean on “Oasis of the Seas” or “Allure of the Seas,” or sailings to Canada, Alaska, and Europe on other RCL ships. 

The certificate covers cruise fare, port charges, gov’t tax and fees, and prepaid gratuities. Accommodations are in a balcony cabin with an ocean view. Valid for 6- or 7-night sailings year round (excluding Christmas & New Year’s). Airfare not included.  Tickets are just $100 and makes a great gift while supporting one of your favorite charities. Click here to enter the raffle!

The winner will be drawn at the “Dial M for Mosaic Theatre – Gala & Auction 2012.”  You do not need to be present to win.

Award-winning Mosaic Theatre is excited to announce the winners of the “Jack Zink Spirit Award” to be presented at the “Dial M for Mosaic Theatre” – Gala & Auction 2012 on Saturday, March 10. Our winners have demonstrated excellence in the areas of leadership, creativity, commitment and passion for the arts. This year we are thrilled to bestow the “Jack Zink Spirit Awards” upon Bill Hirschman and Publix Super Markets Charities.

Mosaic Theatre renamed its annual “Spirit Awards” in August of 2008 to honor legendary theatre critic Jack Zink. The prestigious “Spirit Awards” recognize extraordinary souls who help drive forward the mission of the Mosaic Theatre and cultural arts in Broward County. It is only fitting that the magnificent sculpture should bear the name of a true cultural arts leader and advocate such as Mr. Zink.

Wm. F. “Bill” Hirschman is the editor and chief critic for Florida Theater On Stage which he began with his wife, Oline H. Cogdill, in August as the latest act in a life that has intertwined journalism and the arts for more than 40 years.  He has been a professional journalist since interning during high school in 1966 in Westchester County, New York. He began reviewing theater for the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1998 and has written about the arts and reviewed books for several decades, especially books. His arts coverage has appeared in Variety, American Theatre magazine, Playbill.com, A & E magazine, the Miami Herald among many other outlets. His work as the founding critic for the South Florida Theater Review won him first place for arts criticism in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State Awards. He serves on the executive committee of the American Theatre Critics’ Association, treasurer of its Foundation and the chairman of its new plays competition which presents the Steinberg/ATCA Award.

Publix Super Markets Charities has a longstanding tradition of support for the mission of Mosaic Theatre and the arts in South Florida.  Publix is a privately-held company operating stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee, and was founded by George W. Jenkins in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida.  Jenkins founded Publix with the spirit of giving in mind. He was once asked, “If you hadn’t given away so much, how much do you think you would be worth today?” His response, without hesitation: “Probably nothing.”  In tribute to his shining example, Publix Super Markets Charities continues to be a corporate giving leader and its philanthropic efforts continue to have a significant impact on youth, education, literacy, and the arts.

Toast our esteemed honorees by purchasing a tribute ad in our Gala Program for as little as $150, and it will also run in our Show Playbills for an entire year!  Tickets to join our winners at “Dial M for Mosaic Theatre – Gala & Auction 2012”  may be purchased by calling Mosaic Theatre at (954) 577-8243 or online.

PLANTATION–Award-winning Mosaic Theatre is excited to announce that Ariel Dorfman’s Olivier Award winning play and recent London hit, Death and the Maiden, will replace Conor McPherson’s The Birds as the third show of the company’s 2011-2012 season.

Executive/Artistic Director Richard Jay Simon said, “Playwright Conor McPherson requested that we delay our premiere and we will open our next season with The Birds in September. Selfishly, I’m excited about the switch because that gives me an opportunity to direct the piece which I absolutely love. Death and the Maiden is a modern classic that has always been a favorite of mine and I’m excited that we have the opportunity to do it. It’s only a matter of time before this play is revived on Broadway and I’m pleased that we can do it first.”

Tony Award winners Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss and Gene Hackman starred in the original Broadway production of this political thriller. Set in an unnamed country that is, like the author’s native Chile, emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship, the play explores the after-effects of repression on hearts and souls. This white knuckle thriller is a riveting intellectual and emotional tug of war.

Guest director Avi Hoffman will direct a stellar cast featuring award-winning actors Stephen G. Anthony, Laura Turnbull and Oscar Cheda. The extraordinary creative team includes Set Designer Douglas Grinn, Lighting Designer Suzanne B. Jones, Sound Designer Matt Corey (2011 Carbonell Award Winner), Resident Costume Designer K. Blair Brown, Production Stage Manager Linda Harris and graphics/photography by George Schiavone.

Death and the Maiden runs March 8 – April 1, Thursdays through Saturdays @ 8:00 with a Saturday matinee at 3:00 and a Sunday matinee at 2:00.  All performances are at Mosaic Theatre located in the American Heritage Center for the Arts at 12200 West Broward Boulevard in Plantation.  Ticket prices are $39.50 for adults, $34 for seniors, $15 for students.  Group rates are also available.  Tickets may be purchased by calling (954) 577-8243 or visiting www.mosaictheatre.com.