Ambry A NEW WORK BY SOUTH FLORIDA PLAYWRIGHT RICK NEGRON
Although Hurricane Andrew initially caused major job loss, close to 10,000 jobs were created by the middle of 1993 in an effort to rebuild South Florida.
Playwright
RICK NEGRON Raised in the Florida panhandle, Rick moved to South Florida to study film at the University of Miami where he focused on directing narrative and documentary films. After graduation, he cut his teeth in the Miami commercial production industry, both on set and in the editing room. Rick worked as an assistant editor in New York City and as an editor for various companies in South Florida.Sensing a strong calling on his life, Rick withdrew from his film and video work to focus on becoming an educator. He started the filmmaking program at Calvary Christian Academy, the largest KÂ-12 evangelical school in Florida. This program quickly became one of the most competitive programs in the state, and its students have produced many award winning films and have gone on to work in the film industry. Rick earned his Masters of Fine Arts from Regent University in Script and Screenwriting, and has taught film, photography, and writing classes at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is currently the Chair of the Film Production program at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. Rick continues to write and direct original work; Ambry is his second fullÂ-length play.
NEW CITY PLAYERS presents at
FIRST EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH ARLETTE DEL TORO, MARK KROCZYNSKI, KITT MARSH, ALLY MENDEZ, SHEIN MOMPREMIER, & BEN PRAYZ in A STAGED READING OF
AMBRY A NEW WORK BY SOUTH FLORIDA PLAYWRIGHT
RICK NEGRON
Director
RYAN MALONEY Stage Manager
CAREY BRIANNA HART
Please join us for a Q&A and discussion with the cast and creative team immediately following both readings.
A note from the Playwright,
RICK NEGRON “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” The Apostle Paul, Romans 7:15, NLT This verse reveals a tragic, yet fascinating part of the human condition. We realize that ceasing an activity and perhaps starting a new one will open up a door that will be beneficial and ultimately lifegiving. But often we stand, staring at the door, unable to take the next stepbecause something is pulling us away; fear, pain, shame, addiction... we are unable to make that decision to move forward. We give up and walk away, linger uncertainly, or are gracefully pushed through kicking and screaming. Sometimes, we may actually have the courage to step through. Ambry is the story of Randy, his wife Kathy, and their teenage daughter Ambry. A construction worker, Randy moved his family to South Florida following Hurricane Andrew to start a new life. Physical injury and the tragic loss of their older daughter Jennifer caused Randy and Kathy to slip into a downward spiral of depression, inactivity, and prescription drug abuse. It is now 2003; the house and most of the money are gone, and the family resorts to living in a storage unit until Randy’s disability checks start to arrive. As the couple literally sleeps among their possessions and broken memories, their sixteen yearold daughter Ambry yearns to start her own life. y hope is that Ambry will lead us to examine our own personal, M difficult decisions that stand before us; can we recognize them, and do we have the strength to face them? What will it take for us to reach the point of moving forward, regardless of the immediate cost? Secondly - and more importantly I hope that this is a story of grace, reminding the viewer that we are all doing the best we can in a fallen world. It will often take making sacrifices anddifficult decisions f or each other to discover the truth and life that is available to all those that seek it.
Ambry, A Staged Reading AMBRY ....................................................... Ally Mendez KATHY ................................................. Arlette Del Toro RANDY ................................................ Mark Kroczynski JANET .......................................................... Kitt Marsh DAISY .............................................. Shein Mompremier DON .............................................................. Ben Prayz
TIME South Florida, 2003
SETTING Scene 1: A Self-Storage Unit Scene 2: A Street Sidewalk Scene 3: A Self-Storage Unit Scene 4: A Street Sidewalk Scene 5: A Car Mechanic’s Office Scene 6: A Self-Storage Unit
Scene 7: A Car Mechanic’s Office Scene 8: A Self-Storage Unit Scene 9: A Motel Room Scene 10: A Self-Storage Unit Scene 11: A Motel Room Scene 12: A Self-Storage Unit
A quick look at
HURRICANE ANDREW • • • • • • • •
August 24th, 1992 Winds at landfall 165mph / gusts to 180mph 16.9ft storm surge / 10 mile wide eye 300 square miles of total devastation 300,000 homeless right after the storm 8% of all Florida agriculture destroyed 41 killed as a direct result of the storm 2nd most costly natural disaster in U.S. history behind Katrina ** Information about Hurricane Andrew was collected from http://www.hurricanecity.com/
Ambry, A Staged Reading
CAST ALLY MENDEZ, AMBRY Ally is a seventeen year old senior high school student who will graduate Summa Cum Laude this year. She is honored to be a part of Ambry and would love to thank New City Players for this opportunity. Ally can be seen in multiple independent films that will be released this year playing the lead in Talk Therapy and The Reunion. She would like to thank Ruby, her family, friends, Julie Pappas-Smith, Marc Durso, and Kim Brokaw.
ARLETTE DEL TORO, KATHY Arlette is thrilled to be taking part in this amazing project with New City Players. Most recently, Arlette was seen as Myra in ACT of Davie’s production of Deathtrap. Other favorite theatrical roles include Gabriela in References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (West coast premiere), Anna the Zombie in Sunken, Hymen in Boy and Suzy Stevens in Anybody for Murder?. She has also appeared in numerous commercials, voiceovers and independent films, including The Naked Proof, starring playwright August Wilson. Arlette can be seen next in this Fall’s production of Perfect Arrangement at Island City Stage. MARK KROCZYNSKI, RANDY Mark has had major roles in: Lost in Yonkers, The Drawer Boy, Prisoner of 2nd Avenue, A Thousand Clowns, The Boys Next Door, The Matchmaker, Pigs Do Fly, Arsenic and Old Lace, and the lead, John Bosco Maclain, in The Chastitute. Most recently, he played Big Daddy in Diego and Drew Say I Do at Broward Performing Arts. He’s had speaking parts on TV in commercials, in South Beach Tow and Fugitive Chronicles; comedic film roles in A Dame is A Dame and Krissy Belle, and dramatic roles in Love and Hostages and Not for Human Consumption as well as many others. He is excited to be working with New City Players for the first time as Randy in Ambry!
Our Summer 2016
SEASON SPONSORS
CityChurch South Florida, is one Church, with congregations in Fort Lauderdale & Pompano, seeking to be the very presence of Christ in South Florida by cultivating communities of Faith, Hope, & Love.
www.CityChurchSFL.com
Ambry, A Staged Reading
CAST KITT MARSH, JANET Kitt was most recently seen in the Fort Lauderdale Fringe Festival short play festival. This past spring she performed in Evening Star’s production of Murdered to Death as well as Outre’s Medea. Favorite performances include: New Theatre’s Women Playing Hamlet and Visiting Hours, Women’s Theatre Project Necessary Targets and Bold Girls, and the Infinite Abyss production of Mitzi’s Abortion. She has her masters degree in Theatre from Kent State University and currently teaches writing at McFatter Technical College. She has performed in over fifty productions. SHEIN MOMPREMIER, DAISY Shein Mompremier was born and raised in the melting pot of Miami, Florida. After graduating from the University of Florida with a BA in psychology and a minor in theatre, she began training at ActTrue in Miami. From there she attended The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where she studied under a great number of directors and professors. Shein also enjoys doing improv in her free time, and is currently a part of the Villain Theatre.
BEN PRAYZ, DON Ben has played in several South Florida productions including Cabaret and Old Jews Telling Jokes (Broward Stage Door Theatre), Tsunami with Nilo Cruz (South Miami Dade CAC), A Christmas Carol (Amaturo), Inherit the Wind (Lake Worth Playhouse, Best Supporting Actor Nom LWP) and Gilligan’s Fire Island (Empire Stage). Productions up north include Happy Days, the Musical (Roxy Regional); Red (Porchlight Theatre, Best Actor Nom – NJ Perrys); Last Days of Judas Iscariot and The Real Inspector Hound (T. Schreiber Theatre); Mr. Hirsch Died Yesterday (Woodie King Jr., dir. @ Castillo Theatre); A View from the Bridge (Studio Playhouse); Macbeth (Secret Theatre); and The Foreigner (Hudson Theatre). Ben has done numerous indie features and shorts (on IMDB), including Life of an Actress (with Taylor Louderman) and Giorgio, as well as many industrials, commercials, videos, web shorts. He is slated for the independent feature Coupons & Dreams to begin shooting in West Palm this fall and will be appearing in Outre Theatre Company’s productions of The Normal Heart and Tommy this season. www.benprayz.com
Our Summer 2016
SEASON SPONSORS
A note from the Director,
RYAN MALONEY Welcome to the final production of the 2016 summer season! We are so grateful that you have chosen to join us on this journey and hope that you will continue to return again and again! As we sat in a company meeting back in January, we decided to close our season with a staged reading for several reasons: 1. It fulfills our mission to perform “classical and contemporary works.” 2. It allows us to commune with our audience in a way we haven’t pursued before - asking them to not only be recipients of the product (as in the cases of our previous performances) but contributors in the process. 3. It challenges us to cultivate new artistry and foster growth. Forcing actors and directors to engage directly with a playwright and to wrestle with meaning and story and characters, culminating in a presentation full of true collaboration and originality. So, welcome to the process, the messy, unpolished, and at times clunky perspective of the artist’s workshop. Be prepared to engage despite a lack of scenery, lights, and costumes. Be prepared to sigh, chuckle, and scoff. Be prepared to respond, discuss, and critique. We welcome that, we need that, for the only way for us to better our art and craft is through refinement. We implore you to engage with us this evening, and to be a part of the cultural and spiritual renewal here in Fort Lauderale.
“So you want to make culture? Find a community, a small group who can lovingly fuel your dreams and puncture your illusions. Find freinds and form a family who are willing to see grace at work in one another’s lives, who can discern together which gifts and which crosses each has been called to bear. Find people who have a holy respect for power and a holy willinglness to spend their power alongside the powerless. Find some partners in the wild and wonderful world. And then, together, make something of the world.”
Andy Crouch, Culture Making
Ambry, A Staged Reading
PRODUCTION TEAM Director ..................................................................... Ryan Maloney Stage Manager ............................................................... Carey Hart Narrator .......................................................... Krystal Millie Valdes Box Office .............................................................. Tim & Sam Davis House Manager ..................................................... Johnny Contini Graphic Designer .................................................. Michelle Hopper Production Crew ............................................................. Jesse Veliz RYAN MALONEY, DIRECTOR Ryan is an actor and scenic designer who recieved his BA in Art from Taylor University. Professional acting credits include: NCP’s The Glass Menagerie (Tom), The Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio), The Speckled Band (Watson), Thirst (The Gentleman), Wit (Jason). University credits include: Romeo & Juliet (Mercutio), Waiting for Godot (Vladimir), Noises Off (Garry), Incident at Vichy (Lebeau), and All My Sons (Chris). Notable stage designs include: NCP’s The Glass Menagerie and No Exit, Taylor University’s Godspell and Working, and Calvary Christian Academy’s The Curious Savage and The Drowsy Chaperone. “From the bottom of my heart and with all my love, thank you Jess, for always being willing to ‘pursue that flighty temptress—adventure’ with me.”
CAREY BRIANNA HART, STAGE MANAGER Carey is a native Floridian born in Miami. She is a graduate of Miami’s New World School of the Arts and the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Carey has served as a theatre educator for Miami Dade County Public Schools System and the Children’s Theatre Programs of Area Stage and M Ensemble Theatre Company. Carey has worked on stage and backstage in South Florida theatre at the African American Performing Arts Community Theatre, AreaStage, GableStage, M Ensemble Theatre Company, Mad Cat New Theatre, Thinking Cap Theatre, the Vinnette Carroll Theatre and the Women’s Theatre Project. She is thrilled to have the pleasure to work with the New City Players. Carey is a member of the Theatre League of South Florida and the Screen Actors Guild.
Our Summer 2016
SEASON DONORS PATRON $1 - $99 The Borres Family Tatyana-Marie Carlo Evan Doyle Stephen Kaiser Jocelyn Lonquist Lucas Sweitzer Martha Valdes Anonymous BRONZE $100 - $249 Kinsley Koons Jim & Ann Mullen Brent Wells Kevin & Lydia Worden SILVER $250 - $499 Samuel & Tammy Davies
Jesse & Brianna Mahoney
Aaron & Katy Mills PLATINUM OVER $1000 Mark & Karen Davis
New City Players
FOUNDING MEMBERS Artistic Director ............................. Timothy Mark Davis Managing Director ......................... Krystal Millie Valdes Marketing Director ................................ Johnny Contini Production Manager ................................. Ryan Maloney Literary Manager ............................. Andrew Paul Davis
NEW CITY PLAYERS WOULD LIKE TO SAY A VERY SPECIAL “THANK YOU!” TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHOSE GENEROUS SUPPORT HAS MADE THIS PRODUCTION POSSIBLE! Mr. Josh Diaz Mrs. Stephanie Lateulade The Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts First Evangelical Lutheran Church
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WHO WE ARE New City Players is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), ensemble theatre company in Fort Lauderdale. OUR MISSION We exist to produce exceptional classic and contemporary works that provide an emotional and transformative experience for every audience member. OUR VISION To see people from all walks of life in our city experience spiritual and cultural renewal through theatre.
New City Players is a proud member of the South Florida Theatre League www.southfloridatheatre.org
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