The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time: Virtual Playbook

adem c A s t w n e e sr eb PHre k c a r r Ba

THE

y

F S O U O CURI EDNOTG D I C H ITNHTE E E IN M I T T H G NI e ns n Writte

A Barrack Hebrew Academy Production

by

ph e t S n Simoirected by ney D her c e D a Sophi ‘21

Production Team

Sophia Decherney…………………………………………………………………….………….Director Niva Cohen……………………………………………………………………………………………. Assistant Director Brandon Singer……………..………………………………………………………………….…. Dramaturg Peter Decherney………………………………………………………………………………….. Cinematographer Eric Baker……………………………………………………………………………….……………. Lighting Designer Nick Escobar ………………………………………………………………………….……………. Composer Dewey Oriente ……………………………………………………………………………………. Producer

CAST AND CREW Ethan Simon………………………………………………………………………………..………….Christopher Kayla Bleier ……………………………………………………………………………………………. Siobhan Ben Fisher ……………..………………………………………………………………………………. Ed Daniela Barow ………………………………………………………………………………………. Judy Noah Hamermesh ………………………………………………………………………………. Roger, Voice Two Ash Chelder …………………………………………………………………………. Mr. Thompson, Voice Three Claire Manshiem …………………………………………………………………………. Mrs. Sheers, Voice 1 Jacob Spivack …………………………………………………………………………. Reverend Peters, Voice Four Rosie Ackerman ………………………………………………………………………………. Punk Girl, Voice Five Rebecca Weinstein ……………………………………………………………………. Mrs. Alexanders, Voice Six Harper Harwitz ………………………………………………………………………………………. As herself Rafi Hamermesh……………………………………..…………………………………………..…Stage Manger Noah Kessel ……………………………………..…………………………………………..… Lights Technician Markus Kanter ……………………………………..…………………………………………..… Spotlight

PR ER O D U C

To our best and brightest star,

PR ER O D U

C

Brandon WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT! Love you infinitely and madly, Mom, Dad and Lulu

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime takes the audience into the diary of autistic fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone (played by Ethan Simon 21’).

Despite Christopher’s extraordinary intelligence, he struggles to make his way in a world that was simply not built for him. However, when suspected of killing his neighbor’s dog, he is determined to uncover the real culprit. On his detective journey, he unearths a life-changing secret, reunites his family, and discovers that no matter what life brings, he can, in fact, do anything he sets out to do.

Like Christopher, the cast of Curious Incident has struggled to navigate theater in the world of the Coronavirus. In the face of social distancing, limited inperson rehearsals, and numerous snow days, the cast and crew showed enormous resilience to ensure not only that the show would go on but also that our theater community would stay as strong as ever. When I chose this play last fall, I had hoped it would bring to our school community a message of inclusion and understanding of difference. During the rehearsal process, the cast extensively researched autism and how to respectfully portray actors with disabilities.

In this challenging time, Christopher’s story becomes more important than ever: a tale of isolation and connection, of family, of understanding another’s perspective, and of finding meaning in a confusing and scary new world.

I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who helped with this process. First I want to thank Dewey and Mrs. Farrell for believing in me and giving me so many fabulous opportunities throughout my time at Barrack. Next, I thank my family for supporting me and especially my father for the hours he spent filming and editing the production. I am grateful to Nickolas Escobar for the beautiful music he composed, and to Eric Baker for his stunning lighting design and patience with our myriad of technical difficulties. I thank Mr. Dorsch, the Simons, and Marcia Horowitz for tirelessly promoting our production; Brandon and Niva for their wonderful virtual presence in our production; the security guards who stayed late and came in on the weekends to keep us safe; and the parents who made many trips in the snow to drop off and pick up cast members. Finally, I want to thank my fabulous cast and crew for all of their fantastic work! A special thanks to the seniors in the cast and crew with whom I am truly honored to be working after our years growing up together in the Barrack drama department.

~ Sophia Decherney

G ST OL AR D

Congratulations to Noah & Rafi Hamermesh, and the entire cast and crew!

Love, Abba, Eema, Sammy, Yonah, Lila, Ozzy, Seamus, Gandalf, & Kenny

G ST OL AR D

Congratulations to the cast, crew and our shining star Jacob Spivack!!! We are so proud of you. Love, Dad, Mom, Dylan and Scout

G ST OL AR D

G ST OL AR D

CA BI ST O S

Ethan Simon (Christopher):When Ethan Simon first heard that his fellow senior, Sophia Decherney, was producing a show called The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime he thought back to the time Ethan and Sophia starred as Cogsworth and Chip in the Perelman 5 th-grade Musical Beauty and The Beast. Though she was the youngest member of the royal castle, she was always the fiercest. 8 years later, she's still bossing Ethan around, including casting him in this show. Under her direction, Ethan is so excited to present the show to you as he plays Christopher, a 15-year old boy trying to solve the mystery of who killed his dog. This will be Ethan's 8th production in high school, and 11th show overall as a Barrack thespian. He most recently played an assortment of characters in the Barrack Repertory Company production The Laramie Project. You might also have seen him in Our Town (George), Mamma Mia! (Bill) Noises Of (Tim), Hello Dolly (Waiter), Peter and the Starcatcher (Prentiss), Into the Woods (Cinderella's Prince), The Lion King Jr. (Simba), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Jacob, Potiphar). Ethan would like to thank Sophia for allowing him this amazing opportunity, and for her skillful directing. He would like to thank the rest of the cast for their fun excitement and never-ending energy. Ethan's goal for The Curious Incident is to remember all his blocking for each scene, and not to lose any of his hundreds of props. Thank you for virtually coming out to see him!

Kayla Bleier (Siobhan): Kayla Bleier is incredibly excited to debut (albeit a bit late) as Siobahn in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. As a senior, she is a bit sad that her opening performance in the Barrack Drama Department is so close to her graduation, but has regardless put her all into this show. She began her acting career in middle school, playing novel roles such as Peter in Peter Pan, Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, as well as - likely her most important role - a tree in The Wizard of Oz. She wishes the best to her fellow cast and crew mates and looks forward to returning to Barrack for future productions.

Ben Fisher (Ed): Ben is honored to serve under his longtime friend Sophia Decherney. He can still remember participating in the 5th grade show of Beauty and the Beast at Perelman alongside her. For this particular outing, Ben is playing the role of Ed, the father of fifteen-year old Christopher. This will be Ben’s 15th show at Barrack. Previously, he has played such roles as the Wolf (Into the woods), Bill (Mamma Mia) and Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility). Ben would like to thank Sophia for putting up with him these past 12 years, and his amazing fellow cast members for keeping him “sane”. However, it would be wrong to not thank Rafi Hamermesh (the stage manager), Niva Cohen (Assistant Director) and the rest of the crew. They keep the shows moving, and somewhat smooth. Finally to everyone watching, he hopes you enjoy the production as everyone worked very hard on it.

Daniela Barow (Judy): Daniela is a senior at Barrack and is so excited to be performing her last play in high school with such an amazing cast!

She recently appeared in The Laramie Project earlier this year and many past Barrack productions. She would like to thank Sophia for her kindness and hard work in directing such an amazing show in these stressful times.

Rebecca Weinstein (Mrs. Alexanders, Voice Six): This is Rebecca’s 10th show in the JBHA drama department. Previous roles include Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher, Dotty in Noises Of!, Mrs. White in Clue, Rosie in Mamma Mia!, and Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility.

She is proud as usual to act alongside her fellow thespians, impressed as always by the talent and skill of the camouflaged crew, and in awe of (but not surprised by) the raw incredibleness of stage manager Rafi Hamermesh and fellow senior and student director Sophia Decherney.

As she prepares to play one more meddling old lady to top off the rest, she hopes you sit back, relax, and enjoy the virus-free show.

CA BI ST O S

Ash Chelder (Mr. Thompson, Voice Three):This is Ash’s 13th (his lucky number!) show with JBHA’s drama department. He is “excited” that he experienced putting on a show during such a bizarre time. He is disappointed that this is his last play at Barrack but can’t wait for what the future holds. He’d like to thank his Zayde for driving him to every rehearsal (with minimal, sometimes less minimal) complaining. He’d also like to give a huge thank you to Sophia for not only being an incredible director but also a fantastic friend (who reprimands Ash whenever he makes bad choices, which is very often). He also gives a huge “todah rabbah” to all the crew and staff that were (very importantly) required to supervise the rehearsals. Lastly, he’d like to congratulate one of his favorite people and best friends, Ethan Simon, on absolutely dominating his role as Christopher. Enjoy the show from the social distance of your houses!

Noah Hamermesh (Roger, Voice Two): Noah likes to act.

He is playing Roger Shears.

He likes haikus too.

Claire Mansheim (Mrs. Shears, Voice One): Claire is excited to be a part of her 6th Barrack show. A tenth grader, she’s previously appeared in Sense and Sensibility as Fanny/Lucy, The Laramie Project as Romaine Patterson, and The Beat Goes On. Claire would like to thank her wonderful director Sophia Decherney and the cast and crew of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Also an added thanks to her mom for getting her to and from rehearsals. And another added thanks to her best friend Lily for being awesome and also definitely not telling her to write that.

Jacob Spivack (Reverend Peters, Voice Four): Jacob is pleased to continue his tenure doing Barrack theatre with his sixth show in the drama department. In the past, he has played other comedic roles such as The Cop in Clue: On Stage, Pepper in Mamma Mia!, and Edward in Sense and Sensibility, as well some more serious roles, such as Dr. Gibbs in Our Town. He is excited to break new ground with his role in this show! He would like to thank his cast and crewmates for seamlessly adapting to every challenge that they have faced, as well as his family for putting up with his long hours spent rehearsing. He would also like to thank his fellow students and teachers for virtually coming to support the Drama department, even during the pandemic!

Rosie Ackerman (Punk Girl, Voice Five):Rosie Ackerman has participated in Barrack Drama Department productions since the sixth grade. She’s played such roles as Milky-White in Into the Woods Jr. and Bird Girl #3 in Seussical Jr, and she’s even been on stage crew. She would like to thank: Sophia Decherney, for making this show happen, her parents, for obvious reasons, and Eliana Pasternak, for dictating this bio.

She is very excited to be a part of this production (strange as the circumstances may be) and hopes you enjoy the show!

Harper Harwitz (As Herself): At the ripe old age of eleven months, Harper is elated to make her acting debut under the care of one of her very best friends, Sophia Decherney! Harper’s favorite pastimes include digging in the snow, meeting new people and dogs at the park, watching the Eagles with her dad, big sister, and big brother, and eating vanilla ice cream at 1:00 A.M. with her mom. An extremely social COVID puppy herself, Harper is disappointed to not have the opportunity to individually hug and lick each of her adoring fans, but hopes you enjoy the show all the same!

Ruff, ruff!

CR BI EW O S

Sophia Decherney (Director): Sophia is incredibly grateful for the chance to participate in her 15th Barrack production - this time as director! She thanks her extraordinary cast and crew for their patience, determination, and flexibility throughout this entire production. Sophia also wants to give a huge thank you to her father for hours of filming and editing, her mother for endlessly supporting her, Dewey for always believing in her, her brother Asher for that one rehearsal where he helped clean up, and everyone else who made this play possible.

Rafi Hamermesh (Stage Manager): This is Rafi’s second time as stage manager, and his 7th show as stage crew. After being stage manager from Frozen Jr. Rafi feels he has moved up in the world. He is somewhat excited to work alongside crew members Noah Kessel and Markus Kanter. He can’t wait to have the chance to watch one of his now numerous masterpieces play out on screen.

Niva Cohn (Assistant director): Niva is so excited to be participating in her fifth Barrack show!

After playing Elinor in Sense and Sensibility and The Cat in the Hat in Seussical (among others), Niva has loved experiencing the other side of the production process for this show. She has marveled at Sophia’s control and leadership throughout the process and is so glad to have been a part of it.

Brandon Singer (Dramaturg):Brandon Singer is elated to serve as the dramaturg for Sophia Decherney’s production of The Curious Incident of Dog in the Nighttime. Participating in JBHA productions since 6th grade, Brandon found working behind the curtain to help put on such a magnificent show to be immensely eye-opening and rewarding. He’d like to thank Sophia and Dewey for allowing him the opportunity to pursue his passion for theater behind the screens, Niva for being such an exquisite support system throughout the production process, the entire cast for providing the deep-belly laughs and catharsis he so desperately needed, the crew for reminding him that no physical barriers could prevent the magic of art from touching audiences, and *insert humorous reference here to provide comic relief from the sapfest he just took you on*.

G ST OL AR D

Congratulations Sophia! – Love Mom, Dad, Asher, and Carter

Congratulations with pride and love! Dee Dee and Alan

Congratulations to Sophia and her amazing cast and crew! Love, Bob and Marilyn

Congratulations to the cast and crew! We are proud of your hard work and dedication. We are looking forward to enjoying the production.

Your Upper School Deans, Mr. Cooper, Mr. McLaughlin & Mrs. Trajtenberg

Mazal Tov to Rosie & the entire cast and crew of Curious Incident! We love you - Ema, Abba, Josh, Dani, Elijah, Natalie & Seamus (your very own 'Dog in the Night'). We're so proud of you.

S N O PA TR

Marilyn and YOU Robert Steiner THANK TO MikePATRONS and Debbi Bass OUR Cindy Singer Roy and Georgia Goldman

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO: Chris Farrell, Sharon Levin, Justin Cooper, Mr. McLaughlin, Mrs. Trajtenberg, Dewey Oriente, Matthew Dorsch, Susan Harding, Marcia Harwitz, The Drama Committee Members, & Parents of All the Cast and Crew.

“Thank you to the Director, Cast & Crew for your moral courage”—Rabbi Lev. “Noah Kessel, so proud of you– Love, Mom!”— Susan Kessel “Congrats to the whole Cast and crew and to Sophia for a job well done!”— Susan Kessel ‘Hoooray to Rebecca! Senior year and a glowing future...We send much love as we shep nachas!”— Grandma + Danpa “Mazel Tov to the Cast and Crew! A job well done” — Love, The Resource Department

SH O O U U TS T !

“Mazel Tov Sophia Decherney on GREAT DIRECTING!!!” — Love, Lynne, Scott & Bentley “The show must go on! Yay Barrack Drama!” — Love, from Mrs. T ”Dear Claire, It is such a joy to watch you on stage.” — All our love, Bubba and Zayda “Ethan Simon is so delicious, we could watch him all day!!! Great job Sophia, cast & crew!” Love, Iris, Josh, and Madelyn “Mazel Tov Sophia! We can't wait to see your work. We know it will be amazing” - Elizabeth Abercrombie ”Mazal tov to the talented Barrack students” - Judy Wortman.

“Congrats to Harper Harwitz – a pup with a future!” - Carter Decherney ‘So proud of you, Jacob Spivack love you” - Aunt Gloria “GO GO ALYSSA... WE ARE PROUD OF YOU.” - LOVE DAD ISABELLA BUBBIE AND ZAYDE

Please note, advertisements and donations made after this performance will be recognized in the virtual playbook published on Barrack’s website. https://www.jbha.org/arts/drama We appreciate your generous support of the Barrack Drama Department!

Look for More Information About our upcoming performances