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jewish women’s theatre & the braid Present the world premiere of Annie Korzen Famous Actress Written and performed by Annie Korzen Directed by Susan Morgenstern Produced by Ronda Spinak Assistant Producer Technical Director Barbara Koletsky Michelle Altman Lighting Designer Daniel McNay Video/Audio Production Andrew Fromer Associate Producers Susie Yuré & Rose Ziff Annie Korzen Famous Actress is a commission of Jewish Women’s Theatre made possible with a grant from Gail Solo. JWT @ The Braid • The Gallery @ The Braid 2912 Colorado Avenue #102, Santa Monica, CA 90404 310.315.1400 • www.jewishwomenstheatre.org Annie Korzen (writer/performer) Annie was the recurring Doris Klompus on Seinfeld. She is well-known in the spoken word circuit in Los Angeles and New York, and she teaches storytelling. Annie has had the honor of touring with The Moth Mainstage throughout the U. S. and can be heard on The Moth Radio Hour. She has performed her solo shows on three continents. Annie is the author of Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap, and has done humorous essays for NPR’s Morning Edition, The NY Times, LA Times, LA Jewish Journal, AARP, and many more. She has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Tavis Smiley, and the late Roger Ebert loved her on www.OldJewsTellingJokes.com. Annie is some- times happily married to Danish film producer Benni Korzen (Oscar- winning Babette’s Feast.) Annie is proud to be an artist-in-residence at Jewish Women’s Theatre, and will be forever grateful for the gentle guid- ance Ronda Spinak, JWT Artistic Director, has given her in developing these stories. Anything else you want to know about Annie will be mentioned in the show. If you still have a question, just ask her afterwards. She has no secrets. www.AnnieKorzen.com SUSAN MORGENSTERN (Director) began directing in college, by staging musical theatre concert readings while co-teaching American Musical Come- dy with Tom Lehrer at UC Santa Cruz. She went on to teach and direct at the renowned Stage Door Manor, a performing-arts camp in upstate New York. Los Angeles productions include: at Theatre West - selections from David Ives’ All in the Timing, the musicals Just Too Cool, book by Mary Garripoli, mu- sic by Phil Orem, Saturday Night at Grossinger’s, book by Stephen Cole, music by Claibe Richardson, as well as Barbara Nell Beery’s play, The Socialization of Ruthie Shapiro; at the Falcon Theatre - Leap, by Arnold Margolin, Surviving Sex, by David Landsberg, and the hit comedy, The Psychic, by Sam Bobrick. At the Whitefire Theatre, she directed Richard Martin Hirsch’s Memorizing Rome. Susan directed Happy Days, a New Musical, book by Garry Marshall, music/ lyrics by Paul Williams, at Cabrillo Music Theatre’s 1800 seat auditorium. For the Skylight Theatre, she directed an INKubator series fully staged presen- tation of Ghost-s, a Musical About a Musical, book by Kincaid Jones, music by Brian Woodbury, as well as an extended run production of Meryl Cohn’s comedy Reasons to Live. Most recently, she co-authored and directed I’m Not Famous: A Musical Journey with Barbara Minkus, which is enjoying an extended run at the Santa Monica Playhouse. Susan works as a consultant show director at Disneyland Parks and Resorts, Anaheim, where she has the privilege of working with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and all their pals. She has directed numerous JWT salon shows, and is especially proud to be Producing Director, working closely with a tremendous group of brilliant, creative women. RONDA SPINAK (Producer/JWT Artistic Director) created and produces JWT’s At-Homes Salon Theatre Series, beginning its 10th season. She has curated more than 35 original Jewish-themed salon shows for JWT, as well as adapted many of the pieces performed. Spinak developed and produced Not That Jewish at JWT’s The Braid, which ran for 16 months, garnered LA Drama Critics Circle nomination, only stopping to move to off Broadway. She also produced Rain Pryor’s hit show, Fried Chicken & Latkes for The Braid. Spinak co-wrote Stories From the Fringe, putting the stories of women rabbis on stage for the first time. Since then, she and her team have interviewed on videotape, 150 national and international women rabbis, and in partnership with Jewish Women’s Archive have made many of the interviews available online at www. jwa.org. She’s the author of the critically acclaimed exercise book, ProBodX (HarperCollins), wrote for Rugrats, and her plays include Oscar Wilde’s Wife, a favorite at the Ashland New Play Festival. Spinak graduated from Stanford University, completed her MBA at UCLA and her masters in writing at USC. She has served as a grant reviewer for the Los Angeles County Arts Commis- sion, is on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatres and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She feels blessed to be working with the many talented and inspiring women who give so generously to Jewish Women’s Theatre. Find more information: www.jewishwomenstheatre.org. BARBARA KOLETSKY (Assistant Producer/Stage Manger) worked for the last six months on the production of “Not That Jewish” in New York at New World Stages, where she was a Production Associate and Costumer. Prior to that, she served 16 months on the Los Angeles Production of “Not That Jewish” as an Assistant Producer/Stage Manager. She has been with Jewish Women’s Theatre for eight years, working in many capacities on the At-Homes Salon Series: Assistant Producer/Stage Manager/Catering. Barbara served as president and principal designer for a special events company R.S.V.P. She started her career in marketing and promotions at Polygram Records. DAN MCNAY (Lighting Design) designs and builds custom light fixtures for Home Decor. He has been involved in concert, dance, theatrical and corporate events contributing lighting, set, sound, design and technical direction. He’s worked projects in the music and other industries such as; Barbara Streisand / Sheryl Crow / Keiko Matsui / Boeing. He enjoys small, intimate and immersive works. His work can be seen on Facebook at Daniel R McNay and Ray Daniels Designs. [email protected] MICHELLE ALTMAN (Technical Director) graduated from Drake University with a BFA in theatre/acting in 2012. Since then she has been performing, writing, and directing in Chicago. Performance credits include Silent Night of the Living Dead, The Cherry Orchard (Charlotta) and Beast Women (Standup/ performance art). Directing credits include The Chocolate Affair, Sure Thing, A Smell of Burnt Feathers, Immature (co-writer), When Angels Wept, Everybody Needs a Good Night Out, and The Titus Andronicus Project (co-writer). Thank you to all who support the arts community! SUSIE YURÉ (Director of Community Engagement/Associate Producer) has proudly worked with JWT for 7 years. She has volunteered in non-profit organizations, in which she has held leadership roles in fundraising, event planning, facilities coordinating, programming, membership, marketing, and administration. Susie has produced musical theatre productions, classical concerts, and cabaret performances. She holds a BA and MA in elementary education from USC, along with her California lifetime teaching credential. While at USC, she met her husband. Her favorite role is as mom to her two children and recently as a grandmother. ROSE ZIFF (Associate Producer) is new to performing arts. She came out of retirement after working at UCLA Medical Center for 33 years, where she func- tioned as “den mother” to more than 1000 interns, residents, and clinical fellows at UCLA, the VA, and Olive View-UCLA Medical Centers, providing resources and support. Rose is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Lev Eisha, a Jewish women’s nonprofit religious organization and spiritual community. A Message from JWT’s Artistic Director, Ronda Spinak As we begin our 10th season, we are more passionate than ever to leave no Jewish story untold while celebrating the truths that connect us all. Since we opened The Braid in 2014, we have been blessed to produce hit shows: Monica Piper’s, Not That Jewish, which ran for 16 months in LA before a successful Off Broadway run, and most recently, Fried Chicken & Latkes by Richard Pryor’s daughter, Rain Pryor. We thank our patrons and donors who support JWT and The Braid. Without you, we could not share the stories that empower individuals, inspire community and build a cultural legacy. And now, Annie Korzen, a long-time JWT writer and performer takes center stage with her one-woman show, Annie Korzen Famous Actress, commissioned and developed by JWT, and underwritten by a generous grant from Gail Solo. Annie’s show is important. Just when other men and women of a certain age feel undervalued and invisible, Annie speaks her truth that it’s never too late to be creative, to learn and to offer something of value. Thank you, Annie. You are an inspiration. Annie Korzen On Working With JWT and The Braid by Maureen Rubin JWT: How did you first learn about JWT? I was introduced to JWT by Monica Piper, (who just brought JWT’s commissioned piece Not that Jewish to off-Broadway). I had seen some of the things they did and I just had the feeling that JWT could be a creative home for me. And I was right. JWT: What was your first involvement? I believe they commissioned me to do a piece about going to the hospital and almost dying. But then I started meeting the other members of the company. And I just liked them so much. The company became a family. JWT: So JWT continued to ask you to write and perform pieces that would fit with the themes of certain shows? Yes, and sometimes I wasn’t sure I wanted to write what they asked for.

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