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NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCES is an evening of 5 unique storytellers with 5 unique stories to tell with two musical interludes.
The storytellers are Beverly Donofrio, Verna Gillis, Jennifer Maidman, Nicole Quinn, and Chris Wells.
The musicians are Joey Eppard and Marianne Osiel.
Premiere of Video WHO WAS THAT PERSON? Created by Verna Gillis, Jennifer Maidman and Nancy Ostrovsky.
This is a celebration of local talent in the wonderfully iconic Rosendale Theatre.
About the Performers:
Beverly Donofrio is the author of the memoirs Riding in Cars with Boys, Looking for Mary, and Astonished, plus two award-winning children’s books, Mary and the Mouse, the Mouse, and Mary; and Where’s Mommy? Riding in Cars with Boys was made into a motion picture directed by Penny Marshall and starring Drew Barrymore.
Joey Eppard is a true musical triple treat; an accomplished vocalist, a brilliant songwriter, and an innovative master of his own finger-style approach to guitar playing. He is the driving force behind the Hudson Valley-based rock band “3,” as well as a renowned solo performer, often leaving his audiences shocked that so much sound can emanate from a single human being.
Verna Gillis, her one older woman’s TALES FROM GERIASSIC PARK – On the Verge of Extinction, won Best Comedic Script at the United Theatre Solo Festival in NYC in 2014. Her niche is aging. At age 68, she won her first story slam.
Now at age 80, she finds that it’s “not as funny as it used to be!”
David Gonzalez is a storyteller/musician/poet/playwright. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from International Performing Arts for Youth. David was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and his poem El Barrio was nominated for The Pushcart Prize.
Jennifer Maidman is a singer, writer, producer, and musician born in England. She has worked with a vast range of artists, including Boy George, Joan Armatrading, Bonnie Raitt, and Van Morrison. She was a key member of the seminal world music ensemble Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Dakota Lane’s documentary about Jennifer was nominated for the 2018 NYC Indie Film Festival. Psycho Loco, a collaboration with writer Verna Gillis, won the funk category at the 2020 New York Independent Music Awards. Jennifer is a member of The Secret City Arts Collective.
Nicole Quinn’s feature film (writer/dir) Racing Daylight stars Academy Award winner Melissa Leo and Emmy winner David Strathairn. Her short plays are published by Playscripts. In addition, Quinn produces/narrates audiobooks for Audible. Quinn has been a writer for HBO, Showtime, Jodie Foster’s Egg Pictures, and John Singleton’s New Deal Productions; She’s a founding board member of the Rosendale Theatre Collective. She currently serves on the boards of the Woodstock Film Festival and the Institute for History and Healing.
Marianne Osiel has been a professional musician and multi-instrumentalist /singer-songwriter/arranger for four decades. She is equally comfortable as an oboe player in a symphony orchestra as the bandleader of her own blues/folk/jazz-influenced groups. More recently, she’s been seen carrying equipment for her more portable “BOO” (Band Of One.)
Chris Wells is an Obie Award-winning actor, writer, teacher, and community leader; Wells is also the founding artistic director of The Secret City, a secular church of art begun in NYC in 2007. Theater credits include Yale Rep, The Public Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, the Taper New Works Festival, Alabama Shakespeare, seven years as a member of the Actors’ Gang, and more. TV: ER, The Path. Chris’ most recent film was The Grotto, written and directed by Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason. His storytelling podcast is Big & Salty, produced by Radio Free Rhinecliff. In addition, Wells recently completed his first novel.