Cast & Crew Bios - Theater in the Rough

Sara Covey (Lady Anne, Young York), 23, moved from Los Angeles to Jerusalem in June. Sara is currently studying Hebrew in Ulpan Etzion and would like to pursue her MA in social work. Sara is a professionally trained opera singer, and previously performed in various theatre groups, choirs, and ensembles in southern California. She is thrilled to be involved in the theatre world once again, and would like to thank her beloved cast and crew for their love and support.

Simon Montagu (Stanley, King Edward IV, Ghost of Henry VI) was born in England and has lived in Jerusalem since 1982. Simon’s stage debut was as Asaf in “A Night In May” at the Khan Theatre in 1989. Since then his roles have included Lord Goring in “An Ideal Husband”, Geoffrey in “The Sisters Rosenzweig” and Sir Robert Morton in “The Winslow Boy” with JEST; and Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Caliban in “The Tempest”, David Malter in “The Chosen” and Camillo in “The Winter’s Tale” with the Centre Stage Theatre. Offstage he is a software engineer with the Mozilla Corporation and father of four.

Gilad Petranker. (Clarence, Catesby) Geologist, counselor, teacher, singer, actor, not necessarily in that order. Has been with the Theater in the Rough troupe for 2 years now, this being his third Shakespear play, following Romeo & Juliet (Paris) and Much ado about Nothing (Don John).

Tamar Naggan (Queen Margaret / murderer 2), 44, commutes from Beer Sheva for the sheer joy of being part of Theater in the Rough. Her day job is as an English lecturer at Sapir College and a life coach.
Previous acting credits: major roles in LOGON productions of A funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady and South Pacific; An original 2 actor play written for the Nefesh theater; Nurse in Theater in the Rough’s Romeo and Juliet and Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret.

Andrea Katz (Duchess of York/Lord Mayor of London/Lord) is usually cast as a buffoonish man or independent shrewish woman – both different aspects of her real personality. In her dotage, Andy has renewed her youthful love of theater by acting in number of English-language productions in Jerusalem. Other than her magnificent family, her “naches” comes from her Hebrew -speaking troupe of adults and children at Kehillat Yedidya’s “Parsha Players”, where she translates, adapts, produces, directs, costumes and set-designs a humorous look at the Torah portion of the week.

Avital Sykora is a performer and member of the creative team at Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret, an evening of raunchy and refreshing musical theatre. She is currently in rehearsal for J-Town Playhouse’sCompany (October 2013) in the role of Amy. Previous credits include Martha in The Secret Garden, Hero and Verges in Much Ado About Nothing, Maria in Twelfth Night and Tzeitel in Encore’s Fiddler on the Roof.

Ezra Abbey (Prince Edward) is a student, musician, baseball player, and actor. He has performed in English and Hebrew productions in Jerusalem in the last few years, including, “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Winter’s Tale,” and “Tzlil Hamuzika.” He made his Shakespeare in the Rough debut in “Romeo & Juliet” in 2011. Ezra is a student at the Sudbury Demoratic School in Jerusalem. When he is not acting, and playing guitar or drums, he is the second baseman for the Jerusalem Syndrome in the Junior League of the Israel Association of Baseball.

Natan Skop (Buckingham, Richmond), 23, moved from NYC to Jerusalem in 2006. Natan is the producer and co-founder of Theater in the Rough and is on the board of Encore! Educational Theatre Company. 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 inMuch Ado About Nothing (Theater in the Rough); The Perfectly Marvelous Cabaret; Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret; Training: Month-long intensive 2012 (Shakespeare & Company, MA);

Itai Leigh (Grey, Ratcliffe), 25, born and raised in Jerusalem, Itai attended the Charles E. Smith High School for the Arts and participated in the preparatory course for acting in Nissan-Nativ in Jerusalem. Previous acting credits: Poseidon in The Trojan Women; An Alien in Betty’s Summer Vacation; Tommy in Trainspotting;

Chanel Lallouz (Dorset, Young Elizabeth, Brakenburry and Stanley’s Messenger) was born in Canada. She made her theatrical debut in Encore!’s production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers” followed by “The Secret Garden”, whereby she was approached to join AACI and J-Town Playhouse’s upcoming production of ‘Company’ as Assistant Director. Chanel enjoys acting, singing, painting, writing, traveling and volunteers much of her time and art to various charities. Chanel holds the position of Junior Copy Editress of Lallouz International Magazine and is an Ambassador for Artists for Charities. Since moving to Jerusalem, Chanel works in the graphic art department for www.Kosher-Media.com.

Ira Skop (Hastings, Tyrrell, Oxford) is appearing in his fourth Theater in the Rough production, having played 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 (Lord Rivers, Bishop of Ely) 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 last summer as Borachio in Theater in the Rough’s production of Much Ado About Nothing 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.

Josh Bloomberg (Richard, Associate Director) started as a film actor in America before making Aliyah in 2007. In Israel, apart from appearing in several commercials (Glide, GreenRock, and others), he is currently performing in the new original musical “Ah, Jerusalem”. Bloomberg has been with Theater in the Rough since its first summer in 2010. That year, he appeared in “Twelfth Night” as Malvolio, and the year after in “Romeo and Juliet” as Mercutio.

Beth Steinberg (Director), 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.

Meira Sykora (Stage Manager), is 19 years old, and has been performing on stage since age ten. After branching out into script writing and directing, she worked as an assistant drama teacher for “Creative English Drama” classes for 11-year-olds, for whom she wrote and directed a play. More recently, Meira has taken on various roles backstage as well including production assistant for Encore! ’s The Secret Garden, and house manager for Speakeasies: A Jerusalem Cabaret. This is her second season with Theater in the Rough, having stage managed for Much Ado About Nothing in 2012.

Bayla Lewis (Costume Designer) 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 and Richard III. She also designs children’s clothing, women’s wear and bridal couture.

Noemie Bloomberg (Vocal Coach) made Aliyah from France five years ago and lives in Jerusalem. She is finishing her degree in speech therapy and audiology. Before working with Theater in the Rough as the company’s voice coach, she was in charge of a vocal therapy group at Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital. She also happens to be Josh Bloomberg’s wife.

Marina Alberhasky (Production Costume Manager) moved to Jerusalem with her husband in 2011 from New York City. She has a Bachelors in Theater from Rutgers University, NJ. Her love of Theater began with “Peter Pan” at Hunterdon Central High School, and in the last decade she has assumed many roles. Her favorites are stage manager, costumes manager and assistant director. Marina co-directed Central’s annual variety show “Devils Cabaret” during her junior and senior year and was inducted into the International Thespian Society. While studying at Rutgers, she developed and taught an after school theater program for kids at her local elementary school before moving to NYC. Marina would like to thank the Theater in the Rough troupe for a challenging yet fun experience!