The Wood$tock Tontine by Steffi Rubin
LOCATION
The Road on Lankershim – THEATRE
5108 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA 91601
(Street parking or paid lot parking at 5125 Lankershim Blvd)
The Wood$tock Tontine
By Steffi Rubin
Directed by Riley Steiner
CAST
ROBERTA- Laura Gardner *
SHELLEY- Julia Sanford*
VERONIKA- Amy Tolsky *
TRUDY- Janet Chamberlain
BJ – Mary Sala
*Appears courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
SYNOPSIS
Fifty years after a chance meeting at Woodstock, five women test the bonds of their friendship with an unusual investment.
TICKETS
No reservations or advance tickets. Admission is by donation ($15 suggested).
MEET YOUR PLAYWRIGHT
STEFFI RUBIN became a playwright in 2017 with the premiere of “The Wood$tock Tontine,” Women’s Theatre Festival, Raleigh, and is thrilled to bring this story out west. Short works produced this year include “Coffee for Two” (Grand Rapids, MI; Rockford, IL), “Not My Ride” (Lake Charles, LA), “Familiar Enough” (Wilmington, DE), “Let’s Stay Together Al Green” (Hollywood, CA), “Upright and Blameless” (Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD) and “The Closet” (Charles Town, WV; Cary, NC; Monsey, NY). Her musical “My Other Mother,” based on her life as an adoptee searching for her birth mom (with composer, Miriam Kook) just completed a staged reading in Columbia, MD. Steffi lives in Chapel Hill, NC.
MEET YOUR DIRECTOR
RILEY STEINER has been an actress since the Stone Age, selling myriad products in dozens of commercials, dying on General Hospital, and sharing the stage with Anthony Hopkins. Upon discovering her love for teaching and directing, she recently returned to school, earning her MFA degree in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University in Virginia. Steiner teaches Acting, Shakespeare, and History of Theatre at the New York Film Academy, ironically located in Burbank. She is thrilled to be back at the festival this year working with myriad favorite people.
An Interview with Playwright Steffi Rubin
1: What is the name of your play?
THE WOOD$TOCK TONTINE
2: What was your first job in the theatre?
Ensemble in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
3: Do you ever model characters after real life people?
The WT is based on myself and four friends. Since moving to Chapel Hill I have met an interesting bunch of gals who hold differing world views and come from varied backgrounds. We have become close friends. I put these ladies into a fictionalized story and let them loose. Their interaction reflects some of what I have come to enjoy in my friends: curiosity, courage, honesty. And laughter.
4: As an artist, what subjects tend to draw your interest?
Relationships. How we respond to one another and what we are looking for from friends, family and the world around us. And it seems that almost everything I write includes an adoptee (which—surprise!—I happen to be). So, finding one’s place in one’s family/community is always something I show characters grappling with.
5: Do you have other passions aside from playwriting?
I am a painter and graphic designer and I love reinventing myself and watching others summon up the courage to try to do so.
6: Are you currently working on any new projects?
I am working on a musical called “My Other Mother,” about an adoptee in her 60s who locates her bio-family on Ancestry dot com. [stranger than fiction] Reconciling reality with a lifetime of imagining teaches her about family but more, about herself. And collaborating with my fabulous composer Miriam Kook has been a revelation in itself.
7: Here’s a fun question! What is your favorite dessert?
Vegan green tea ice cream.
8: Any acknowledgements or words of encouragement?
I am a rookie in the world of playwriting. A year ago I had a blank page for a resume. A lot has happened in this year that I could not have imagined, and I would encourage others to pursue their interests fearlessly. You never know…
9: Describe your play in 3 words!
Investing in friendship.