The Deep End Productions

INSIDE SHAKESPEARE WITH MICHAEL CUMPSTY, September 29th

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Classic Stage Company's Upcoming Production of RICHARD III

Saturday, September 29th, at 8:00 p.m.

Become a part of the discovery process in this rare, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of bringing Shakespeare from the page to the stage. Michael Cumpsty (star of Broadway's 42nd Street, and Copenhagen) will tackle the role of Richard III - the original man you love to hate - with a cast of master Shakespearean actors. The Wall Street Journal said of Cumpsty: "Is there a better Shakespearean actor in America? I'm starting to wonder."

Sneak Peak: The Disappearing World

The Deep End Productions received a New York State Council on the Arts grant to commission award-winning playwright Kelly Stuart to write a new play based on her extensive travels in Eastern Turkey. Stuart will be writing the play throughout the year; and a work-in-progress presentation took place on April 21st as part of The Insights & Revelations Performance Series. There will be another reading in New York City at The Barrow Group in mid-June. We are proud to support Stuart's work and so glad you can be a part of watching a brilliant artist at work.

We'll keep you updated as the play develops. For now, here is the opening monologue of the play - enjoy!

April 21st: The Disappearing World

The Insights & Revelations Performance Series Presents:

By Kelly Stuart
April 21st, 8:30 p.m.

-- Can translation be an act of terror?
What are the limits of jealousy and trust when you’re under surveillance by the Department of Homeland Security?
Can “Domestic Spying” save your relationship? --

With a New York State Council on the Arts commissioning grant, The Deep End Productions has commissioned a new play, “The Disappearing World,” by nationally-renowned playwright Kelly Stuart in her signature zany, political, sexy, and outrageous style.

In the play, two women (a documentary filmmaker and an ethnomusicologist) battle with intrigue and extremis as they discover they shared the same man, an immigrant musician who performs middle eastern folk music. But who was he really? When one of the women hires a computer hacker to break into the man’s email account, she inadvertently triggers an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, leading to the man’s arrest and worse.

The Deep End Productions at The Ridgefield Playhouse

THE DEEP END PRODUCTIONS PARTNERS WITH THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE

Ridgefield Playhouse Executive Director Allison Stockel has asked The Deep End Productions to work with the Playhouse on its new Theater Series. The Playhouse is programming a wide variety of theatrical offerings, including several distinct takes on the solo form. The Deep End's producer, Anna Becker, will moderate the post-performance discussions of select presentations.

LIFE IN A MARITAL INSTITUTION
(20 Years of Monogamy in One Terrifying Evening)
Saturday, April 28th at 8:00 p.m.

Written and Performed by James Braly

First comes love. Then comes marriage counseling. Braly's latest show is a poignant, humorous tale of lust, love, betrayal, reproduction and redemption

LIAR. MARCH 17, 2007

THE INSIGHTS & REVELATIONS PERFORMANCE SERIES
World Class Artists...Up Close and Personal
Presents:

March 17, 2007, 8:00 p.m. at the Rosenthal JCC Theatre, 600 Bear Ridge Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570.

When it comes to storytelling, "Once upon a time?" is, well, once upon a time. A tale on the stage of "Liar" is more likely to begin, "It's Christmas morning and Dad's rummaging through our dead neighbor's stuff." Which is darkly funny, but is also disarmingly honest.
Or is it?

Inside Shakespeare with Ron Leibman on November 18th

On November 18th, at 8:00 p.m., the Series will welcome Classic Stage Company, one of New York City's classical treasures in an open rehearsal of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." A cast of master Shakespearean actors, led by Tony Award-winning Ron Leibman (pictured below), will be directed by CSC's artistic director, Brian Kulick.

Coming in September: The Barrow Group in a U.S. Premiere

The Insights & Revelations Performance Series presents the award-winning off-Broadway company, The Barrow Group, in a sneak preview of its upcoming U.S. premiere of:

THE TIMEKEEPERS
By Dan Clancy
Saturday, September 30th at 8:00 p.m.
A discussion and reception with the artists follows the performance.

The Timekeepers by Dan Clancy (pictured in foreground) is directed by Barrow Group co-Artistic Director Lee Brock, and stars co-Artistic Director Seth Barrish (pictured in background, director of Martin Moran’s “The Tricky Part”) and Eric Paeper (director/writer, “The Fear Project”). The play is set in Sachsenhausen concentration camp and focuses on the daily struggles of two inmates, one Jewish and one gay; the two must overcome their prejudices toward each other in order to survive. The piece explores the intricate nature of intolerance, as well as the psychological dimensions of daily survival.

Previous Performances

In 2005, the Insights & Revelations Performance Series was in residence at the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts.  There, a wide variety of presentations were offered that included:

Shadow Language, by Kelly Stuart.  A staged reading of a new play by nationally-known playwright, Kelly Stuart.  Kelly received a travel grant from Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater to go to Turkey.  What resulted was

Spring 2006 Season Wrap-up

I am so pleased by the audience turn-out and enthusiasm for The Insights & Revelations Performance Series' spring 2006 season, the first in its new home at the Rosenthal JCC Theatre. Together we are building a community of curious theatre-goers in Westchester and I look forward to seeing how it will grow next season.

On Saturday, May 20th, NPR storyteller James Braly performed his new show "Life In A Marital Institution (20 years of monogamy in one terrifying hour)" for a sold-out crowd. That performance marked the first time the piece had been shown to an audience and served as a valuable launching pad for its premiere in New York City in the fall. Once again, Insights & Revelations audiences were the first to see a work before anyone else, and they were a vital part of the show's development. Your responses to the show (both during the performance and in the post-performance discussion) provide a great deal of useful information to the artists. For both shows in the spring season, the post-performance discussions were lively and quite interesting, thanks to a very intellectually and artistically curious audience.

May 20th: LIFE IN A MARITAL INSTITUTION

Saturday May 20th, 2006 at 9:00 p.m.:  Life in a Marital Institution  (20 years of monogamy in one terrifying hour). Written and performed by James Braly.

April 29th: A SPALDING GRAY MATTER

April 29th, 2006 at 8:30.  A Spalding Gray Matter.  Written/Performed by Michael Brandt.  Directed by Ian Morgan.  (running time 1:10)

The Tony Award-winning producers of Broadway’s “Avenue Q” bring “A Spalding Gray Matter” to the Insights & Revelations Performance Series at the Rosenthal JCC in advance of its New York City engagement.

The following is an excerpted review by Michael Denton of "A Spalding Gray Matter' when it played as a work-in-progress last year:

Michael Brandt's one-man show A Spalding Gray Matter is funny, intelligent, and enormously gutsy. Explicitly intended as an homage to the late great monologist, the piece is structured and mounted in precise Gray style: Brandt sits alone at a table, with just a bottle of water and a notebook in front of him, and a screen just above his head behind him that will hold, occasionally, salient graphics to illustrate this or that point. The whole play is nothing but Brandt talking to us, telling us a long, detailed story about an experience in his life and what he thinks it means, interrupted by tangential threads about related topics. One of the tangential threads is about Spalding Gray himself—the automobile accident in Ireland that derailed his life and career for about a year; the misdiagnosis of depression that followed (he was actually suffering from brain damage); Gray's disappearance on January 10, 2004; and the discovery of his lifeless body in the East River nearly two months later.

The Deep End Productions brings Shakespeare to Ridgefield, CT

The Deep End Productions is collaborating with The Ridgefield Playhouse to launch the Playhouse's new theatre series. The Deep End is advising on show selections and all Playhouse theatre performances will have a post-performance discussion with the artists, moderated by Deep End Producer Anna Becker. As is always the case at The Deep End's Insights & Revelations Performance Series in Pleasantville, a reception with the artists will follow all Playhouse presentations as well.*

The Ridgefield Playhouse's Theatre Series will be launched this summer with SHAKESPEARE ON THE GREEN (information on other upcoming presentations is in the "At The Ridgefield Playhouse" post). For those of you that came and enjoyed The Insights & Revelations Performance Series presentation in Mount Kisco's Leonard Park last summer, the Playhouse's presentation promises to be equally as magical.