Never is Now (2019)
Written by Wendy Kout
Directed by Tony Abatemarco, Celia Mandela Rivera
Produced by Gary Grossman, Michael Kearns
Associate Producers: Amy Pelch, Wendy Hammers
The past is prologue
– THE STORY: What happens when people from diverse backgrounds experience the firsthand accounts of ten survivors who were labeled "undesirable" and thrust into Hitler’s systematic genocide. Playwright Wendy Kout disturbingly links then and now so we may understand what breaks us apart and embrace what bonds us together. A unique event, NEVER IS NOW is just the beginning of the conversation.
Adapted from Survivors by Wendy Kout commissioned, developed and produced by the CenterStage Theatre at the Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester, Ralph Meranto, Artistic Director.
SCHEDULE
Skylight Theatre:
Sep 14 - Oct 27th
Opening Night September 21
Performs: Fri. 8:30pm, Sat. 4:00pm & 8:30pm, Sun. 2:00pm
No performance on Sun. Sep 29
ASL Interpreted Performances: 8:30 Oct. 4 & 4:00pm Oct. 19 only
Groups Sales (8+): Contact local Box Office
New Play
2018-19 Season
BEYOND
CONVERSATION
Enhance
your experience.
We hope to bring more to the conversation begun by the play NEVER IS NOW. Informal chats with invited guests last 20-25 minutes and begin immediately after the performance.
Sat. Sep 28, 4:00pm - THE DEMISE OF DEMOCRACY
Sat. Oct 5, 4:00pm - WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE A "DISABLED" ARTIST AND ACTIVIST TODAY?
Sun. Oct 6, 2:00pm - BULLYING - THE SOCIAL EPIDEMIC
Sat. Oct 12, 4:00pm - THE NEW GHETTO
Sun. Oct 13, 2:00 - ARE THERE GENERATIONAL IMPACTS TO THE HOLOCAUST?
Fri. Oct 18, 8:30pm - HUMAN RIGHTS TODAY
Sat. Oct 19, 4:00pm - IS ACTIVISM WORKING?
Sun. Oct 20, 2:00pm - STOPPING ANTISEMITISM
Sat. Oct 26, 4:00pm - A DIFFERENT KIND OF SURVIVING
MEDIA
2019
THE ARTISTS OF NEVER IS NOW
Wendy Kout
writer
Wendy Kout's Stage credits include: WE ARE THE LEVINSONS won Broadway World Regional awards for Best Play and Best Ensemble, NAKED IN ENCINO won Marlowe Awards for Best New Play and Best Production Comedy and SURVIVORS has been performed in over 20 schools and reached over 7,000 students in New York. Screenplay credits: Festival award-winning DORFMAN IN LOVE, starring Elliott Gould, Sara Rue and Haaz Sleiman. Television credits: Creator and Co-Executive Producer of ABC comedy, “ANYTHING BUT LOVE”, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis.
Tony Abatemarco
director
As an actor, TONY ABATEMARCO won the Ovation Award for Lead Actor in The Mystery of Irma Vep and he is a three-time Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle nominee for lead performance, including South Coast Rep’s Bach at Leipzig, and most recently for Red at International City Theatre, Long Beach. Tony has appeared in Long Beach Opera’s The Soldier’s Tale by Stravinsky, LA Opera's Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein and in the Mozart Festival’s Abduction from the Seraglio by Mozart. He received two National Endowment Directing Fellowships, founded two seminal L.A. theatres: Accident Theatre and The Night House, and has directed on Broadway (Julie Harris in Lucifer’s Child), at The Arts Theatre in London’s West End (Robyn Peterson’s Catwalk Confidential), regionally and in Paris. Selected on-camera work includes How to Get Away with Murder, the films Town & Country, Sleeping with the Enemy, HBO’s Sacrifice, The L Word, E.R. and Frasier. As a playwright, he has won LA Weekly and Drama-Logue awards. His play, Beautified, world premiered at Skylight Theatre, 2012; and his latest, Forever House, premiered here in 2016. His collected plays are being published by F-Stop Books in 2018.
Celia Mandela Rivera
co-director
Never is Now marks Celia’s professional debut as a director. Directing credits: Fresh Brews 10 minute plays, That Long Damn Dark at Atwater Village Theatre (assist. Director). Acting credits: Time Out LA recommended, Love Is Another Country (NeNe) at VS Theatre, Project Nongenue’s Trojan Women (Andromache) and Julius Caesar (Mark Antony), Chase What Flies’ Richard II (Bolingbroke), Illyrian Players’ Fucking A (Canary Mary). Some of her training includes USC (B.A.) British American Drama Academy and Antaeus. National finalist in the Acting Category at KCACTF. Thanks to God & familia. IG: CeliaMandela
Evie Abat
actor
(WOMAN #1) Evie Abat is thrilled to be returning to her Skylight Theatre home, where she enjoyed a successful run earlier this year as Janelle Mae in the all-Filipina cast of AMERICA ADJACENT. She was most recently seen on the Broadwater Main Stage during the Fringe Festival, playing the musical-loving Dr. Krupke in COME BACK, and in front of the camera in the upcoming, SAG-AFTRA web series, CRAZY. She thanks Tony, Gary, Raul, and Wendy for having her on this wonderful stage again, and send much love to Greg and Sissy for putting up with her frequent requests for line runs. Representation: Luxe Talent Agency.
Adam Foster Ballard
actor
(MAN #2) Adam Foster Ballard is a SAG-AFTRA actor based in Los Angeles. Select theatre credits include: La Jolla Playhouse: ACCOMPLICE; Theater Asylum’s BARD FICTION (PULP SHAKESPEARE), Color and Light Theatre Company’s: THE BULLY PROJECT. Select regional/national commercials include: Men’s Warehouse, HBO, McDonalds, and IHOP. He will also be recurring in the web-series I WOULD HAVE KISSED YOU. He is represented by Aqua Talent. More info available at adamfosterballard.com
Eliza Blair
actor
(WOMAN #2) Eliza Blair's selected credits include: DOCTOR FAUSTUS (Robin the Clown/Lucifer - Long Beach Shakespeare), PROOF (Catherine), MEASURE FOR MEASURE (Isabella), INTO THE WOODS (Baker’s Wife), VINEGAR TOM (Betty - Powerhouse Theater). Upcoming: Family Affair (Lead - feature film). Training: LAMDA, Atlantic Acting School. Education: B.A. Theater Dance & Media, Harvard College. Thank you to AMT Artists, Inc. Unendingly grateful to artists and activists everywhere. eliza-blair.com.
Joey Millin
actor
(MAN #1) Joey Millin is proud to be part of such an important piece of theatre, which is also his first full production with Skylight Theatre. Other theatre credits include: THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN (Antaeus), STUPID F**KING BIRD (The Garage Theatre), ALL NEW PEOPLE (The Actor’s Workout Theatre), and various readings at Skylight. Web Series: PARKER AND THE CREW (Disney), CATCHING A BREAK. Upcoming Films: MISDIRECTION and THRESHOLD. Training: Studied Theatre at USC and BADA.
Michael Kaczkowski
actor
Michael Kaczkowski is excited to return to the Skylight Theatre where he recently appeared in the production Never Is Now.. Originally from Seattle, Michael is a recent graduate of the USC School of Dramatic Arts where he acted in many stage productions and short films.
Sarah Tubert
actor
(WOMAN #3) Sarah Tubert performed with Anteaus Theatre Company, Deaf West at the Pasadena Playhouse, and The Group Rep. On TV: “SWITCHED AT BIRTH” opposite Katie Leclerc and Marlee Matlin. Most recently Guest Star on “CLAWS”. Additional credits include “SAND ANGELS.” On YouTube, her ASL version of “HAMILTON” and “THIS IS ME” have over one million hits. Sarah has Film and TV projects in development and enjoys a career as a Motivational Speaker, Emcee and ASL Consultant. Sarah is currently the Setter and Captain of the US National Deaf Women’s Volleyball Team.
DESIGNERS
SCENIC AND LIGHTING DESIGN: Caroline Andrew
COSTUME DESIGN: Mylette Nora
SOUND DESIGN: Christopher Moscatiello
VIDEO DESIGN: Lily Bartenstein
PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER: Christopher Hoffman
REHEARSAL STAGE MANAGER: Garrett Crouch
CASTING DIRECTOR: Raul Clayton Staggs
PUBLICIST: Judith Borne
MARKETING ART AND PROGRAM DESIGN: Guillermo Perez
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHER: Ed Kreiger
VIDEO PRODUCTION: MM Studios, Maxwell Morro
INTERNS: Matt Gardner, Grace Lee
SPECIAL EVENTS
REVIEWS
GO SEE IT. An extremely rare moment in time in which a portion of history…is presented in a very unique unveiling. The voice is different and you will be different for seeing it.
The Skylight Theatre Company continues to provoke and encourage conversation. SUPERB ACTORS…allow for both comedy and heartbreak”
–Jeffrey Scott Broadway World
INTENSE AND ELECTRIFYING... the emotional impact of these stories cannot be minimized.
- Elaine Mura Splash Magazine
Very POWERFUL...very IMPORTANT play... Moving performances
–Joan Alperin Stage and Cinema
RECOMMENDED Never is Now' says it best: We tell the truth and inspire others to keep fighting. Much more than a conversation-starter... A cast diverse in age, race, ability, and sexuality — remarkably differentiates among their various roles...
–Taylor Kass Stage Raw, Top Ten
THOUGHT-PROVOKING THEATRE AT ITS BEST - Shari Barrett Culver City News, Better Lemons
Run! Run! Run! ... A FASCINATING NIGHT OF THEATRE… quietly beautiful and wonderfully effective. Wendy Kout’s work cries out for an awakening, mostly for the people who turn their heads or tune out the unpleasantness around them.
- Joe Straw
A Powerful Play. A theatre experience that YOU WILL BE THINKING ABOUT long AFTER THE CURTAIN FALLS. I know I was. - Better Lemons
DOES MORE THAN TUG AT THE HEART STRINGS, actually beating on one's heart like a drum… Savor the raw, seemingly effortless flow of story. . IT MOVES US, as it should. As it must
- David MacDowell Night Tinted Glasses
ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES
American Sign Language Interpreted performance is scheduled: 8:30pm Oct 4 and 4:00pm Oct 19. ASL seating area is indicated in purple.