More about A Midsummer Night’s Dream: in motion

Supporters

Bar Kayma, The Jerusalem Foundation

Ruth Shlossman, Jeffrey Green, Drs. Anita and Carl Jacobs, Ricky Fleischer, Hillel Wallick & Freda Rosenfeld, Mike Berlin, Sharon & Hanoch Young, Anonymous, Elli & Adina Sacks, Anonymous, Arthur Fraynd, Cara Spoznik, Marc and Ellie Render, Fern Braniss

Links

Cast

Andrea Katz (Francis Flute, Cobweb)
In her third year with Theater in the Rough, Andy is happy to be given the opportunity to explore her feminine and masculine characteristics as the male mechanical who plays Thisbe and as a feminine fairy who is constantly addressed as “Monsieur”. Andy has also unearthed vocal and movement talents…..well, they’re probably better left buried.    Our rehearsals have been a fun-filled, frolicking, frisky, fraught festivity and island of insane sanity in the midst of reality.Andy dedicates her performance to her father, Daniel Epter, her first audience member, a fanatic  fan and enthusiastic publicist.

Sara Comparado (Snout, Moth)
Sara Comparado is an English major, a performance arts’ enthusiast, and grew up in the world of the Greek tragedy. She stems from Portugal and moved to Jerusalem almost 4 years ago to work with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. In her spare time, Sara collects mugs, knits and belts out Broadway songs in the most inconvenient places and times. She’d like you to know she drinks coffee for your protection.

Tamar Naggan (Hippoylta, Titania)
Tamar lives in Omer with her two children and for the third season is commuting to fair Jerusalem for the love of theater and Shakespeare. Tamar teaches English at Sapir college and next month will begin teaching orchestra, English and singing in the Waldorf school in Be’er Sheva. In her spare time she plays the viola in chamber groups and sings in cabaret evenings.

Avital Sykora (Puck)
Avital is a performer and member of the creative team at Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret. Previous credits include Amy (Company) with J-Town Playhouse, Queen Elizabeth (Richard III), Hero and Verges (Much Ado About Nothing) and Maria (Twelfth Night) with Theater in the Rough, as well as Martha (The Secret Garden) and Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof) with Encore Educational Theatre Company. Avital dedicates her performance to her grandfather, Joel Sykora (Z”L), whose mischievous sense of humor and love of life matched that of her Puck.

Lianne Ratzersdorfer (Helena, Flute understudy)
Lianne is a singer/actress/ English Literature M.A. candidate. She originated and continues to perform the role of Judy in Tom’s Diner, an original jukebox musical written and produced by English on Stage.Previous productions include The Importance of Being Earnest (Gwendolen, J-Town Playhouse),Twelfth Night (Viola, Theater in the Rough), and Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel, Encore!). Lianne is a cabaret and burlesque singer, and has taken part in The Perfectly Marvelous Cabaret, Scandal!, Showstoppers,and TiTR’s Speakeasies. She also makes up half of the acoustic duo The Underwearwolves. Her extra-curricular activities include aerial acrobatics, teasing the family cat, and masked vigilantism.

Natan Skop (Theseus, Oberon)
Natan, 24, moved from NYC to Jerusalem in 2006. Natan is the producer and co-founder of Theater in the Rough. Natan also works as a freelance web developer. Previous acting credits: Michael in Tick, tick…BOOM! (Center Stage Theater); Kepp in Korczak’s Children (JEST); Chorus in Yeoman of the Guard, Wizard of Oz (Encore!); Feste in Tweflth Night, Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Buckingham/Richmond in Richard III (Theater in the Rough); The Perfectly Marvelous Cabaret; Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret; Training: Month-long intensive 2012 (Shakespeare & Company, MA), Song of the Goat Theater (Wroclaw, Poland);

Gilad Petranker (Lysander)
Gilad is a geologist, counselor, teacher, singer, actor, not necessarily in that order. Has been with the Theater in the Rough troupe for 3 years now, this being his fourth Shakespeare play, following Romeo & Juliet (Paris), Much Ado About Nothing (Don John) and Richard III (Catesby, Clarence).

Ira Skop (Bottom)
Ira is appearing in his fifth Theater in the Rough production, having played Hastings/Tyrell in Richard III, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing, Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. He also played the Wizard in Encore!’s The Wizard of Oz, Teddy in Way Off Productions’ Arsenic, The Musical, and appeared in Encore!’s Oklahoma! and The Yeomen of the Guard. Ira is Theater in the Rough’s financial manager, and, when time permits, a risk management consultant, with expertise in visual analysis and business intelligence. He lives in Jerusalem, at the Theater in the Rough headquarters and costume warehouse.

Tzviya Brickel (Snug, Mustardseed, Egeus)
Tzviya lives in Ma’ale Adumim. She debuted on stage in Jerusalem in The Diary of Anne Frank with JEST and has since appeared in productions with JEST, Merkaz Hamagshimim, Encore, and Israel Musicals. She has also worked backstage in the past year as stage manager for Evita and The King and I wit hIsrael Musicals. She appeared two summers ago as Borachio in Theater in the Rough’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, last summer as the Lord Rivers/Bishop of Ely in Richard III, and is thrilled to be back. In her “spare” time, she homeschools her children, works at a health food store, and plays violin with the Hovevei Hamusica orchestra in Jerusalem.

Tammy Elashvili (Hermia)

Toby Trachtman (Demetrius)

Annabelle Landgarten (Peter Quince, Peaseblossom)

Sarah Landgarten (Changeling, Extra)

Crew

Penina Beede (Stage Manager)
Penina is thrilled to be a part of this year’s production. This is Penina’s debut tech involvement in in Israel, as she made aliyah two months ago. Soon after this midsummer dream ends, Penina will be joining Garin Tzabar on Kibbutz Be’erot Yitzhak, and then onto being drafted into the army. Penina is very grateful for this experience of art here in Jerusalem as among her first memories of living here.

Liel Almog (Vocal Coach)
Liel is a voice teacher in Jerusalem with many years of experience, working with ages 8-87. Liel’s approach to voice work is holistic: There are few people whocannot learn to sing properly; there are only many who feel that they can’t.In addition to singing, she studied the Alexander Technique and also participated in workshops and private studies at the Roy Hart Theatre.
Liel welcomes new students eager to improve their singing, ear training and intonation, acting, speech, and interpretation of text and music.
Liel can be contacted at [email protected], or by phone 02-6784253.

Rachel Jacobson (Donkey Head designer)
Rachel eagerly returned to the studio to create Bottom’s Ass for Midsummer, after plunging into production work last year, building Audrey Two for Little Shop of Horrors. As for what’s more fun —  behind-the-scenes work or dancing on stage — why choose? Rachel recently debuted as a rose-seller in Oliver! and can’t wait to appear in Annie Get Your Gun this coming winter. When not on- or back-stage, she works in educational R & D at the Hadassah Pilot Study School for hospitalized children. Rachel thanks her family for putting up with her mild insanity, and to Beth, Natan, Bayla and Ira for being a joy to work with.

Beth Steinberg (Director)
Beth is the artistic director and co-founder of Theater in the Rough.  She’s also the executive director and co-founder of Shutaf, creating inclusive, informal-education programs for children and teens with special needs in Jerusalem. Founded in 2007, Shutaf serves a community of more than 100 children and teens at year-round day camps and weekly youth group gatherings. Beth is also a writer and web-content developer with The Honey. Beth and her family moved to Israel from the NYC area in 2006, where she founded and ran the NYCHEA players, a NYC based theater ensemble for children and teens.
Directing credits: 1776, Oliver!, I Remember Mama, Once Upon a Mattress, Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Romeo & Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III.

Bayla Lewis (Show Design)
Bayla is a graduate of the Mason Gross School of Fine Arts, a division of Rutgers University in New Jersey. Over the past 8 years Bayla has been involved in costume design for various theater productions based in Israel. Her passion for costume design stems from her drive to create functional art, and to give that art life by utilizing the human form.  Most recent productions she has been involved with are; CATS, Light Headed, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolored Dream Coat, The King and I, Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also designs children’s clothing, women’s wear and bridal couture.

Pnina Berk (Performance Manager)

Michal Friedman (Performance Manager)

Noa Lavi (Choreography)