Austin Pendleton Directs COLLECTED STORIES Starring Judy Rosenblatt and Annemarie Hagenaars

Ensconced in her cosily messy, book-infested Greenwich Village apartment, Professor Ruth Steiner, an aging established short story writer and professor, mentors Lisa Morisson, an ambitious 26-year-old graduate student. Over the course of six years, their relationship blossoms, changes and survives incidents that threaten to destroy it. But when Ruth shares her long kept secret about a love affair with the real-life poet Delmore Schwartz and when Lisa uses this story in her first novel, the young author and the revered mentor get confronted with a complex dilemma: when is it permissible to write about another person's life without their consent?

Hailing from NYC and the Netherlands, JUDY ROSENBLATT (www.womanbeforeaglass.com) and ANNEMARIE HAGENAARS (www.annemariehagenaars.com) met over Zoom. Attracted and delighted by what they saw of each other's work and encouraged by the iconic director Austin Pendleton, they began to work on this engaging and multi-dimensional play. Over a period of 5 months, they delved into the depths of the two fabulously layered characters they portrayed, and delightfully researched the real life poet Delmore Schwartz, the secret love in Ruth Steiner's life, and explored the Beat Greenwich Village scene of the 1950s. At the zero hour, Judy and Annemarie applied and got accepted to perform at the fabulous KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival.

CATCH PERFORMANCES BEFORE THE SHOW MOVES INTO THEATERS ALL OVER THE USA & EUROPE!!

Judy Rosenblatt & Annemarie Hagenaars in Donald Margulies' COLLECTED STORIES, directed by the award winning director Austin Pendleton.

The 2020 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, will host performances on: Tuesday, 9/15 5:30pm; Saturday 9/19 5:30pm; Monday 9/21 6:30pm; Thursday 9/24 7:30pm.

$5 tickets now on sale at: rochesterfringe.com where more information is also available.

Words from the director Austin Pendleton:

"I have seen many renditions of COLLECTED STORIES and never seen one that hasn't been very exciting. This rendition by Judy and Annemarie is right up there with the best of them. I would love to see them render the whole play. I think a lot of other people would too."

More about Fringe: Since its debut in 2012, the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival has become one of the most successful fringe festivals in the U.S., as well as the largest multi-arts festival in New York State. The 2019 Fringe attracted more than 100,000 attendees to over 665 performances and events - of which 219 were free of charge - in 25+ downtown venues. Due to COVID-19-related health and safety regulations, 2020's 12-day festival will be a virtual, online one. It will feature an open-access portion submitted by artists, as well as some safely-enjoyed headline shows curated by the Fringe. The non-profit organization's overarching mission is to provide a platform for artists to share their ideas and develop their skills, as well as to make arts readily accessible to audiences, while stimulating downtown Rochester both culturally and economically.

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