News Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Casabuena Cultural Productions

Our Philly fringe Debut, The Church Bells All Were Broken is rehearsing now and this show promises not to disappoint audiences! A fictitious story inspired by the real Westboro Baptist Church and its members, this new play by Philadelphia Playwright Dave Ebersole, challenges the audience to see all sides of the issues at hand with humor, music, and drama. This story could not be more relevant to the times we live in. A time where LOVE not HATE needs to prevail. We are proud to get the opportunity to tell this story as we make our debut at the Fringe Festival this year.

Visit our EVENT PAGE HERE for other sneak peek videos from rehearsals and interviews with the cast.

For information about tickets and showtimes during the Fringe Festival visit our TICKETS PAGE HERE.

Meet the talented and funny cast of Hamlette by Alison Williams. Directed by Brian Weiser come see what is rotten in the state of Denmark!

Imagine if you will that “Hamlet” was not “Hamlet” at all, but “Hamlette” – a girl! This play is a twisty-turny interpretation of the classic Shakespearian tale.

Still haven’t gotten tickets yet? Don’t miss out- CLICK HERE to buy now!

The Ghost/Polonius

Paul Del Signore is super duper excited to be working with the Casabuena Team on his first stab at “Shakespeare” in Hamlette. He’d like to thank and congratulate the wonderful cast and crew. He’d like to, but then again, he’d like to star in Polonius, King of the High Seas, too!! And that ain’t happening either!!

Queen Gertrude/King Claudius

Faith Yesners has been active in theatre productions in the Philadelphia area for many years. This is her debut with Casabuena Cultural Productions! Favorite rolls include Maudie (To Kill A Mockingbird), Florence (Odd Couple, Fem.version), Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible), Esther (The Price) various roles (Les Miserables), Godspell, String of Pearls. Faith has appeared in commercials and film, but her passion is the stage. She is also a singer-songwriter, with 2 solo CDs

Hamlette

Batya Reich is a junior at Cheltenham High School. Hamlette is Batya’s third show with Casabuena. She has previously worked with the company as in Puberty: The Game Show and Naggy the Witch in MmmBeth. Batya has also previously been in school shows, including Young Frankenstein (Frau Blucher) and Footloose (Vi Moore). Another of her experiences is Yes! And…’s Winter Sort of Thing (yearly original shows) which she has been a part of for the past eight years. When not acting, Batya is involved in AP courses, National Honor Society, Cheltenham’s Touring Ensemble, and Select choir.

Horatio

Colin Polisano, a freshman at Cheltenham High School, is beyond excited to be a part of the production Hamlette! This is his first production working with the Casabuena Theatre Company as is honored to work with such talented and brilliant directors and cast members. He has performed in Cedarbrook Middle School’s The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Adam Long), The Addams Family: The Musical, and Cheltenham High School’s Footloose!, musical theatre is a very important of facet of Colin’s life. Aside from being on stage, Colin participates in his school’s all-male a cappella group, Sons of Pitch, enjoys reading, singing, and working as a camp counselor over the summer.

Laertes/Ophelia

Jared Taylor is an actor, writer, director, and musician, This is his fourth year as a Casabuena member. Previous shows Jared has been in include MmmBeth(MacDuff), Puberty: The Game Show(Tommy), and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged(Prop Boy). Jared also worked on the short film High Stakes, and last summer shot and directed a short film he wrote called Eleventeen. He is heavily involved in the Central High School Drama Society, and has written and directed two one acts there. Jared is very excited to be in this year’s show, and wants to thank everyone in the shows, especially Brian and Batya for being so helpful with Hamlette.

Bernardo

Ben Vlam is currently a senior attending Friends-Select School. He like long walks in the park, star gazing, and dank memes. In the past, he was homeless man #2 in RENT, Dracula in Dracula, and Mitch in A Street Car Named Desire. Ben would like to thank his cat Violet for being his rock. He guesses he would also like to thank his parents. Finally, he would like to thank Casabuena Cultural Productions for this wonderful opportunity. If Ben sounds like someone you want to talk to, dial 1800-thisisnotarealnumber. Enjoy the show(s).

Francisco

Steven Lepore is an aspiring actor who’s been with Casabuena Cultural Productions for many years, as a stagelight manager, stage manager, and actor. He has been in multiple plays before such as Talk radio and Puberty The Game Show. He also does some acting for the Multimedia Club at Saul High School, of which he is soon-to-be graduating from.

Meet the wonderful cast of Life Comes to The Old Maid by Le Wilhelm. Directed by Mariangela Saavedra, these two talented actresses will tug at your heart strings!

A reclusive old lady named Mave is visited by a woman who remembers things that she is too young to have experienced: hayrides, dances and the final farewell of a boyfriend on a river bank. Who is Fay and why has she come by for a visit?

Got your tickets yet? Don’t miss out- CLICK HERE to buy now!

Mave McGinnis

Marilyn Leah is a director/actor/teacher/coach from Philadelphia who has been in the theater and film community for over 40 years. At Allens Lane she was in TORCH SONG TRILOGY and directed FLAMING GUNS OF THE PURPLE SAGE. She has acted next to Helen Mirren in the film SHADOWBOXER along with Cuba Gooding, Jr. Some of her theater roles include: Bea in A View from the Bridge, Marjorie in Tale of the Allergists Wife, Kate in Broadway Bound. Her directing credits include: a Shayna Maidel, A Soldier’s Play, Jitney, Butterflies are Free, Born Yesterday and Mauritius.
In September, Marilyn will be teaching intro to acting here at Allens lane for actors and non actors. Marilyn has a big smile on her face and is happy to be here.

Fay

Lia Taylor just turned 11 and is finishing 5th grade at C. W. Henry School. A Mt. Airy native, Lia has been performing since she was 3 years old and took her first ballet class. She danced the role of an angel in The Nutcracker at age 6. Lia is a born actress and has studied drama at Allen’s Lane’s summer camp, Philadelphia Parks & Rec’s summer youth drama camp, and several classes and workshops at the Arden Theatre. Aside from a fashion spread in Working Mother magazine at age 5 and appearing in Casabuena’s short films of Shel Silverstein’s A to Z poems, MmmBeth was her first professional stage performance where she played Twit the Witch. She appeared in Casabuena’s award winning short film “Bros & Arrows” as well as appearing last year in “Puberty:The Game Show”. This is Lia’s 3rd year working with Casabuena & has enjoyed the experience.

Meet the hillarious cast of The Philadelphia by David Ives. Directed by Mariangela Saavedra

In this Play we meet Al and Marcus. Marcus is a man in a restaurant who has fallen into “a Philadelphia,” a Twilight Zone-like state in which he cannot get anything he asks for. But Al has the answers about how to survive just a fate…or does he.

Got your tickets? Don’t miss out- CLICK HERE to buy now!

Marcus

Thomas Taylor is pleased to be making his adult acting debut with Casabuena Cultural Productions! He wants to make clear that he finds his beloved adopted hometown to be much more Alice’s Restaurant than Through the Looking Glass. But seriously, cheesesteaks need to step aside for roast pork as our official sandwich. Thanks to Mariangela for the opportunity, and to Jared and Katherine for being so tolerant of the rookie.

Waitress

Katherine Cooper is very excited to perform as The Waitress in her first year with Casabuena. She is in tenth grade at Cheltenham High School. Previously, she has been in two musicals with her school, Footloose (Ethel McCormack) and Nine To Five (ensemble). Last summer, she was also in the Arden Theatre Company’s summer camp production of Les Miserables (Factory girl/ensemble). Outside of theatre, Katherine sings in the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, and in the Select Choir and Touring Ensemble at her school. She also enjoys reading, writing, and the internet. She would like to thank Autumn and Batya for introducing her, Mariangela for the opportunity, and Samantha for stepping in for her on night two.

Jared Taylor is an actor, writer, director, and musician, This is his fourth year as a Casabuena member. Previous shows Jared has been in include MmmBeth(MacDuff), Puberty: The Game Show(Tommy), and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged(Prop Boy). Jared also worked on the short film High Stakes, and last summer shot and directed a short film he wrote called Eleventeen. He is heavily involved in the Central High School Drama Society, and has written and directed two one acts there. Jared is very excited to be in this year’s show, and wants to thank everyone in the shows, especially Brian and Batya for being so helpful with Hamlette

Waitress*
*Understudy, performing Saturday June 4th.

Samantha Simpson is a graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, MD, and just received her Masters Degree in Theatre from Villanova University in May 2015. Some of Samantha’s favorite roles onstage have been Sally in John van Druten’s The Voice of the Turtle, Corie in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, and Ann in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. Samantha is a co-founder of the Villanova Shakespeare Initiative, which had its debut in August of 2014 at the Media Theatre with Twelfth Night, where she will be played Viola. Samantha is a resident of Mt. Airy, where she lives with a small menagerie. Samantha’s first productions with CCP were as Lady MmmBeth in MmmBeth, June of 2014, and as “The Assistant” in our short film High Stakes shot in July 2014. She is currently featured in our short film Eleventeen in production now, in the role of “Secretary to the CEO”. She is currently stepping in as the understudy for the role of The Waitress in The Philadelphia and will be performing that role on Saturday June 4th at 7:30pm at Allens Lane.

Meet the talented cast of Words Words Words by David Ives. Directed by Mariangela Saavedra

This play is about Kafka, Milton, and Swift, three intelligent chimpanzees who are put in a cage together under the experimenting eye of a never seen Dr. Rosenbaum, a scientist testing the hypothesis that three apes typing at random for an infinite amount of time will almost surely produce Hamlet (a variation on the infinite monkey theorem). The show’s title is a reference to a line from Shakespeare’s play. The performance comprises the ape characters humorously confronting and conversing with each other in order to understand the purpose of the exercise put upon them.

Got your tickets? Don’t miss out- CLICK HERE to buy now!

Milton

Ben Vlam is currently a senior attending Friends-Select School. He like long walks in the park, star gazing, and dank memes. In the past, he was homeless man #2 in RENT, Dracula in Dracula, and Mitch in A Street Car Named Desire. Ben would like to thank his cat Violet for being his rock. He guesses he would also like to thank his parents. Finally, he would like to thank Casabuena Cultural Productions for this wonderful opportunity. If Ben sounds like someone you want to talk to, dial 1800-thisisnotarealnumber. Enjoy the show(s).

Kafka

Madeline Vlam is fifteen and in ninth grade at Friends Select School. She has been in many shows, including (not limited to) the Laramie Project, 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid, Broadway on the Parkway, and many more. Madeline enjoys writing, singing, acting, reading, talking in third person, and many other things. She is thankful for her best friend Maggie, for being her best friend for almost sixteen years now (you poor soul).

Swift

We are pleased to announce the casting for our evening of One Act Plays in June!!
It is going to be a really wonderful night of theater!

Hamlette
Hamlette – Autumn Angelettie
Laertes/Ophelia/Player – Batya Reich
Horatio/ 2nd Player – Colin Polisano
Queen/King/Host – Faith Yesner
Ghost/Polonius – Paul Del Signore
Francisco – Jared Taylor
Bernardo – Ben Vlam

The Philadelphia
Mark – Thomas Taylor
AL – Jared Taylor
The Waitress – Katherine Cooper

Words Words Words
Kafka – Madeline Vlam
Swift – Steven Lepore
Milton – Ben Vlam

Life Comes to The Old Maid
Fay – Lia Taylor
Mave – Marilyn Leah

Dear Friends and fellow Theatre Enthusiasts,

The Season of giving is upon us, and this year I am so pleased to announce that Casabuena Cultural Productions (CasabuenaCP) is now officially a non-profit charitable entity, sponsored by Fractured Atlas!

We are now able to raise charitable funds to support our mission of giving children and young adults the opportunity to work side by side with Performing Arts Professionals to produce high quality theatrical productions and short films.

We have had a wonderful 2015 Season and are looking forward to an exciting 2016 season! It will include the World Premiere of a play by Philadelphia Playwright Dave Ebersole that will run in the 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, as well as our One Acts in June, and the Spring screenings of our latest short films.

Support from friends like you will go a long way to making sure our season is the best we have ever had!

This giving Tuesday please consider making a donation to CasabuenaCP so that we may continue to offer exciting theatrical experiences to the next generation of theater and film professionals.

See how exactly your money can help, and some of the fun perks that come with your tax-deductible donation by reading our donor levels here.

Donations can be made HERE through Fractured Atlas.

More information about Casabuena Cultural Productions, our mission and past seasons, can be found here on our Website: www.casabuenacp.com

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Mariangela Saavedra

Artistic Director

Casabuena Cultural Productions

Casabuena will be a part of the Mt Airy Village Fair on Sunday Sept. 20th, from 11-4pm.

Stop by our Booth to play Theater Sports, Improv Games, and get a silly picture taken in our make-shift “Photo Booth”, using our props and small costume pieces! You will also be able to meet our Artistic Director and some of our Youth Company Members as well as some of our Professional Company Members too!

Lots of fun to be had at our spot in the Fair! More information about the Mt Airy Village Fair can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Hope to see you Sunday!

We could not be more excited about our next short film Eleventeen written and directed by our Youth Company Member Jared Taylor (pictured here being a Production Assistant for last years film shoot of High Stakes Written by Brian Weiser).

Based on his poem of the same name, Jared’s short film humorously explores the fate of a world where a number like Eleventeen is allowed to exist. Principal photography starts Monday June 22nd and shoots on various dates and locations like the Allen Lane Train Station, The Mt. Airy Read and Eat, and The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown. We will also shoot an entire scene on a green screen! (This is a CCP Films first). Filming wraps up on July 9th.

Eleventeen stars Company Member Brian Weiser in multiple roles, as well as appearances by company members Jim Broyles, Eric Gershenow, Adrienne Cascarella, Samantha Simpson and Stephanie C Kernisan. Youth Company Members Halin Hegamyer-Gershenow, Lia Taylor, and Steven Lepore will also be featured in the film as well as many CCP newcomers!

We plan to screen this film in the Fall at the Read and Eat’s little theater!

Stay tuned for more details and pics from the set!

Puberty: The Game Show! by Greg Atkins–Directed by Stephanie C. Kernisan
In this game show parody gone berserk, two blameless adolescents are forced to negotiate the horrors and highlights of puberty… on national television. The hapless duo suffer through categories like Hormone Highjacks, Embarrassing Moments, My Parents Will Kill Me and oh, so much more! Meet the cast below! We hope to see you at the Show!!

Autumn Angelettie is thrilled to perform in her second show with Casabuena Cultural Productions! Prior to Puberty, Autumn played Haggy the Witch in MmmBeth (2014), and appeared in the short film High Stakes (coming soon). Outside of Casabuena, Autumn has played several roles including Gary Coleman in Avenue Q: School Edition (2012), Elizabeth Benning in Young Frankenstein (2013), Lady Lucille in Once Upon a Mattress (2014), and Violet Newstead in 9 to 5 (2015). In addition to acting, Autumn has student directed Cedarbrook Middle School’s production of The Laramie Project (2013), and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged, revised] (2014). Aside from acting, Autumn performs with Touring Ensemble, her school’s show choir, and Up the Octave, a student run, all female a cappella group.

Jared Taylor is a young actor, director and musician. He has been involved in many Casabuena productions, including McDuff in MmmBeth and Prop Boy in the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). He was also a Production Assistant and Assistant Editor for the film High Stakes, shot last summer. He was also part of Casabuena’s 2014 48 Hour Film Project Team that produced the award winning short film Bros & Arrows. This summer he is directing his short film Eleventeen. If you enjoy him in Puberty: The Game Show, look up Jared Taylor mall in Lancaster you won’t be disappointed ;-). Jared would like to thank all his friends and family, specifically his best friend Halin. You’re pretty cool.

Batya Reich is a tenth grader at Cheltenham High School. Puberty: The Game Show is Batya’s second performance with Casabuena. Her first performance with Casabuena Cultural Productions was as Naggy the Witch in MmmBeth. She has previously been in school shows including Phantom Tollbooth (Lethagerian/Count of Connotation), Young Frankenstein (Frau Blucher), Once Upon a Mattress (Lady Merrill), and 9 to 5 (Missy Hart, Roz u.s.). She has also performed in Yes And…’s yearly original shows for the past seven years. When not acting, Batya can be found involved in National Honor Society, singing musical theater songs, or performing in her school’s touring show choir and select choir.

Madeline Vlam is in eighth grade at Friends Select School, she has been participating in the theater program since second grade when she acted as a magical zero. She has continued with plays since then. This is her first year with Casabuena Cultural Productions. She’d like to thank her family and friends for their amazing support. To her brother, Ben, for being her acting role model through life. She wouldn’t be on stage if he wasn’t there.

Marcus Smith-Hobbs is 13 years old, he is the youngest of three and the only boy. Marcus previously attended Frankford Friends School from 1st -5th grade before transferring to C.W. Henry School where he is currently an 8th grade student. Marcus is delighted to be making his debut with Casabuena Cultural Productions. Marcus’ first experience with the theater came when he auditioned and was cast for the role of “Sebastian” in his school play “The Little Mermaid” It was here that he discovered his love for the theater. Marcus then took that experience to the Arden Theater, where he auditioned for the role of “Travis” in “A Raisin in the Sun”. Due to his height, he did not get the role but was however, cast as the understudy which was a wonderful achievement for him as a new Actor. To this end, Marcus will be attending The Philadelphia School for Creative and Performing Arts as a Theater Major in the Fall in order to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

Rosa Wright is 13 years old and this is her first play with Casabuena Cultural Productions. She has however been in past plays at her school theater, Cedarbrook Performing Arts. Even though she has little experience with theater she will work hard to make this place success. She would like to thank her friends and family for supporting her this far. She hopes you enjoy the show.

Halin Hegamyer-Gershenow is the Stage Manager for Uncle Shelby’s Tall Tales and Puberty: The Game Show, as well as playing the roles of Miguel and Kevin’s inner voice, and has been working with Casabuena on many plays. He worked on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), and MmmBeth and on the staged reading of Talk Radio. Through all of these plays he has worked on props and stage crew till Talk Radio when he worked for the first time as Stage Manager and this will now be his second time Stage Managing and final time in our productions. (Though we hope he changes his mind about that.)

Steven Lepore is a 17-year-old youth company member who has been with CCP since 2013, doing stagework for plays like Mmmbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (revised), and recently started acting with them in the staged reading of Talk Radio the did for The Stagecrafters Theater in Chestnut Hill. Steven won an award by acting for a school recruitment video, Alice in Farmland he appeared in for W.B. Saul Agricultural School as the ‘Mad Potter’. He has done Sound for the 48 Hour Film Project award winning short film Bros & Arrows. Steven hopes you have a great time watching his performance in Puberty: The Game Show.

Lia Taylor just turned 10 and is finishing 4th grade at C. W. Henry School. A Mt. Airy native, Lia has been performing since she was 3 years old and took her first ballet class. She danced the role of an angel in The Nutcracker at age 6. Lia is a born actress and has studied drama at Allen’s Lane’s summer camp, Philadelphia Parks & Rec’s summer youth drama camp, and several classes and workshops at the Arden Theatre. Aside from a fashion spread in Working Mother magazine at age 5 and appearing in Casabuena’s short films of Shel Silverstein’s A to Z poems, MmmmBeth was her first professional stage performance where she played Twit the Witch. She made a performance in the award winning short film “Bros & Arrows” as well. This is Lia’s 2nd year working with Casabuena & has enjoyed the experience.

Category: News

Dear Friends and fellow Theatre Enthusiasts,