Tonight’s the night! No Exit Theatre Collective presents LA RONDE, adapted and directed by Reuven Glezer.
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Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde, directed by Reuven Glezer, will be performed today, December 4 at 7 p.m. on the No Exit Theatre Collective Facebook page. All shows in our Fortnightly Reading Series are abridged to run less than 90 minutes, with a Q&A with the artists to follow.
Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde is adapted and directed by Reuven Glezer. This reading is co-produced with the Sandra Kahn Wasserman Center for Jewish Studies at CUNY Baruch College.
Anja Avsharian is The Whore
Ben Natan is The Soldier & The Count
Theodosia Arcidiacono is The Maid
Daniel Cabrera is The Gentleman
Myka Cue is The Husband
Anita Okoye is The Wife
Erin Gruodis-Gimbel is The Little Miss
Zeke Bocklage is The Poet
Meagan Sisler is The Actress
Zahra Jean is our Swing
Technical directed by Daisy Phillips.
Director’s note, by Reuven Glezer
Written in 1897 (and unable to be performed until 1920 in Vienna due to its "graphic" content, where even then playwright Arthur Schnitzler suffered the blows of a conservative and anti-Semitic reaction) La Ronde is a lover's round, an unnerving reminder that our loves lives aren't closed roads but strange circles. In the age of endless digital communication, how do these elliptical relationships transform?
At the Jewish Theatre Project at CUNY Baruch College, who have partnered with No Exit for this production, we want to ask questions that feel pertinent to our present moment and with that, we present this new version of La Ronde retooled for a world where the old norms of love and intimacy have evolved dramatically from 1920, and where new possibilities and fears can exist side-by-side. To quote the poet Rainier Maria Rilke, "Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other."
And if that solitude is conditional, well, you'll have to tune in and find out.
Honoring the activist roots of theatre and our artists is at the core of No Exit Theatre Collective. We seek to affect change with our work. With each production we put on, the creative team selects a social justice organization to support. Our support comes from our virtual tip jar, which is on Venmo @NoExit-TC.
This week, we’re supporting the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
For this production, all donations will be going directly to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), an organization that has been on the front lines for the resettlement and support of refugees since their inception in 1881. Through the years, HIAS has never wavered in their mission, from supporting Jewish refugees fleeing European violence, to resettling Vietnamese immigrants displaced by the War in Vietnam, to supporting those whose homes have been destroyed in the Syrian Civil War. HIAS represents some of the best in humanity and we couldn't be more proud to give back in any way we can.
Contributing artists for this project are being paid via a stipend. You can support our art by donating to our tip jar, @NoExit-TC on Venmo.
The rest of the tip jar will be split equally among contributing artists on the project. You can support our art by donating to our tip jar, @NoExit-TC on Venmo.
Anja Avsharian is thrilled to return to the digital stage in another No Exit Theatre Collective production! Anja is currently focusing her efforts on screen as a recurring cast member of the new reality based TV show ‘Spooky Babes’. Notable past credits include Hedda in Hedda Gabler, Baba Yaga in Baba Yaga and the Federal Trade Commission, Beauty in Beauty and the Beast, and Malka Silber in The Argentinian Prostitute.
Ben Natan is the founder and co-artistic director of No Exit Theatre Collective. He is a classical theatre actor, writer and activist. He is so grateful for this opportunity to act alongside his comrades at NETC in such a wonderful show.
Theodosia Arcidiacono is delighted to be returning to No Exit Theater Collective with the wonderful cast of La Ronde! A New York based actor and producer, she graduated from NYU with a BFA in Drama through the Stella Adler Studio. Select credits: Hailey in Daylight (Best Intentions), Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods (NexGen), Frannie in Taboo (New York Theater Festival) and Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (Stella Adler). Insta - @teddyxx97
Daniel Cabrera is a New York City based actor and will be reading for The Gentleman. Currently he is in his apartment in Bushwick working on virtual readings with companies like NETC, Match:Lit and Hunter College. He graduated from NYU with his BFA in Acting from The Tisch School of the Arts in 2017. Daniel studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Some of his favorite credits include Lysander and Ferdinand in Santa Fe Shakespeare’s Productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest, Audrey in Match:Lit’s production of As You Like It in NYC and Joseph the Third in The Potemkin Play at HERE Arts Center. danielcabreraactor.com
Myka Cue (she/her) is excited to be back with NETC after reading for Juliet early in the fall. Born and raised in Manila, she moved to the United States in 2014 to pursue an undergraduate degree at NYU Gallatin, where she concentrated in Multimedia Storytelling and Convergence Culture. She is a current MFA in Acting candidate at Brown University/Trinity Rep, and is always looking forward to collaborating on new projects with artists from all over.
Anita Okoye was raised in Middletown, Connecticut. She went to Emory University, majoring in Creative Writing with a focus on playwriting. She has worked in theatre and book publishing.
Erin Gruodis-Gimbel is an actor, dramaturg, and playwright. Her most recent play, “Baba Yaga and the Federal Trade Commission” was produced by No Exit in October. She has recently worked with Alliance Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Everyman Theatre, the Virtual Theatre Collaboration, Walking Shadow Readers Theatre, and Tectonic Theatre Project. Please stay home!
Zeke Bocklage is overjoyed to be appearing in NETC’s production of La Ronde. Zeke holds his MFA in Acting from Western Illinois University and is currently serving as the Education Associate at Florida Repertory Theatre. Most recently Zeke has appeared in the virtual tour of The Girl Who Swallowed a Cactus, and is music directing It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Past Credits for Zeke have been Richard II, Bernard in Boeing-Boeing, Ben Hecht in Moonlight and Magnolias, and The Man in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Meagan Sisler is a New York City based actor, born and raised in Skillman, NJ. She has trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing. Her recent credits include When We Were Young and Unafraid (Penny), Brilliant Traces (Rosannah), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena) and Of the Sea (Aoife) at Dixon Place. She last appeared with NETC in George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man (Bluntschli) and is excited to be back for a virtual production!
Zahra Jean is a theater enthusiast who graduated from Baruch College with a minor in theater! She just recently performed in Baruch’s production of Days of ReCreation as Narrator and Euphemia. She would like to thank her family for their constant support.