KRISTEN VAUGHAN WINS 2011 NYIT AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Lead Actor winners Nick Paglino and Kristen Vaughan with presenter actor John Glover.
Kristen Vaughan won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation's IT Awards, which honor excellence in Off-Off-Broadway Theatre. John Glover presented Ms. Vaughan with her award at a ceremony held on September 19, 2011 at Cooper Union's Great Hall.
Kristen was honored for her portrayal of Jane in Retro Production'sBenefactors, written by Michael Frayn.
"They say Off-Off-Broadway is a labor of love, and my God, feel the love in this room," said Ms. Vaughan to the crowd, who jumped to their feet in applause when her name was announced.
Ms. Vaughan acted in Pisces Moon's 2003 version of The Laramie Project before she followed her career to the New York stage. In prior productions with Pisces Moon, Kristen played Amanda in The Food Chain in 2000 and Sydney in The Altruists in 2002. She assayed several characters in 2002's The Laramie Project, and played Olivia in Adam Bock's Five Flights in 2003. For more information, read this review of Benefactors and this article about the awards ceremony.
JANA MARCUS IS FEATURED IN A GOOD TIMES COVER STORY ABOUT HER NEW BOOK TRANSFIGURATIONS
Jana Marcus on the cover of the Good Times Weekly
Photographer Jana Marcus and her new book, Transfigurations, are the subjects of the September 22, 2011 Good Times cover story. The book is based on Jana's photography exhibit of the same name, which has been shown all over the country since 2005.
"The 55-piece exhibit, of large black and white images with text," says Ms. Marcus, "explores what it means to be a man and a woman, by people who have transitioned to the opposite sex, which blurs the lines of gender separation, stereotyping, and ultimately discovering cultural influences."
With the help of funding from KickStarter.com and generous supporters, Jana transformed her exhibit into a book, which she will be signing during speaking engagements on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Capitola Book Café, 1475 41st
Ave., Capitola, (831) 462-4415, and at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13 at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, (831) 423-0900.
Ms. Marcus photographed 13 of Pisces Moon's productions: Durang, Durang, The Food Chain, Durang, Durang: The Second Coming, The Altruists, Five Flights, Never the Sinner, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Swimming in the Shallows, Dead Man Walking, and each of the three iterations of The Laramie Project.
Transfigurations can be ordered through 7 Angels Press or purchased locally at Capitola Book Cafe or Bookshop Santa Cruz. Learn more about Jana Marcus and her work at JanaMarcus.com.
from left: Shaun Carroll as Owen, Erik Gandofi as Ed and Jake Vincent as Angel
Shaun Carroll as Owen
Julie James as Mara and Yahel Townsend as Hilberto
Yahel Townsend as Hilberto
Julie James as Mara and Jake Vincent as Angel
from left: Erik Gandolfi as Ed, Julie James as Mara, Jake Vincent as Angel, Shaun Carroll as Owen and Yahel Townsend as Hilberto
Jake Vincent as Angel (left) and Erik Gandolfi as Ed
Julie James as Mara and Jake Vincent as Angel
Julie James as Mara and Shaun Carroll as Owen
photos by Steve DiBartolomeo
Leah Tutman (pictured above right), played Anne Frank in the 2007 Pisces Moon Young Company production of And then they came for me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank. Leah, her parents and her brother, Avi, have created a multi-tiered production Heart and Mind,
inspired by Anne Frank's short but powerfully influential life. To read more, please click here.
Teaching Tolerance Magazine - Spring 2009
Dead Man Walking, Pisces Moon Young Company plays and our work in schools to promote social justice theatre have been featured in the Spring 2009 Issue of Teaching Tolerance a publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center in the article "Flipping the Script on Bias and Bullies" by Scott Hewitt
An excerpt from the article:
"To ... Pisces Moon Theater Company in Santa Cruz, Calif., doing social justice theater means choosing edgy, issue-oriented plays — and drawing on perspectives from the community ... When Pisces Moon was preparing to stage ... Dead Man Walking, [Artistic Director Susan Myer] Silton worked with a local high school to develop a broad interdisciplinary look at capital punishment. 'They went all across the curriculum,' she said. 'There were courses in the history of the death penalty, writing, political activism, and forensic science — even political cartooning and art, which led to the creation of marketing materials for the play.'"
... click here for more from"Flipping the Script on Bias and Bullies"in Teaching Tolerance, Spring 2009
Pisces Moon Co-Founder Susan Myer Silton has been honored with a 2009 Gail Rich Award
In running her
Santa Cruz theater company Pisces Moon Productions, Susan Myer Silton
isn't interested in mere entertainment. To her, theater is a direct
avenue to open people's eyes and improve their lives. Under Susan's
direction, Pisces Moon has, for instance, staged the sobering drama
"The Laramie Project" three times, including last fall to mark the 10th
anniversary of the anti-gay hate crime that inspired the play. To
Susan, staging "Laramie" is about making a community statement about
violence and tolerance. She started her theater career as an aspiring
playwright, switched to acting and found her stride as a director,
overseeing Pisces Moon in productions ranging from gripping dramas to
satirical comedies, but always with a heartfelt humanist bent. Pisces
Moon has also established youth outreach programs and has collaborated
with local schools in such productions as last year's harrowing death-penalty meditation "Dead Man Walking." As it marks 10 years in the community, Pisces Moon has become the tool for Susan to express her beliefs in community and humanity.
-- Wallace Baine, Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 4, 2009
the 2009 gail rich awards ceremony is now playing on community television of santa cruz county
program schedule for a schedule of dates and times of upcoming broadcasts of the 2009 Gail Rich Awards ceremony, please click on the icon to the right
Kristen Vaughan as Sunny in Retro Productions' "Mill Fire"
former Pisces Moon company member Kristen Vaughan was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for Sunny in Mill Fire
Pisces Moon Co-Founder Christopher Sugarman and former Pisces Moon company member Flynn Witmeyer wrap up principle photography on the second film with their company Synchronium Films
