THE ACTUAL DANCE Comes to Theatre Row This Winter

Winner of the 2013 Northern Virginia Theater Alliance Award for Best Production, Samuel A. Simon's THE ACTUAL DANCE, with original music by Eli Zoller, and directed by Kate Holland will play a limited engagement at the Studio Theatre (Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street). Performances are Saturday, January 10th at 2:00 pm through Sunday, February 1st at 3:00 pm.

Each performance will be followed by a post-show dialogues facilitated by special guests--including Greg Johnson, Emblem Health's Director of Community Outreach, Nadja Fidelia, Master of Divinity and founder of Women Anointed Mission, Rabbi Joshua Stanton, Rev. Robert Chase, Rabbi Nancy Wiener, and Barbara Mannix.

Witness an inspiring testament to the healing power of love with The Actual Dance. The Actual Dance is a graceful journey through the uncharted waters of illness, where the resilience and strength of the human heart ultimately persevere.

When first noticing his wife at the age of sixteen, Sam could not predict the profound connection they would share-they are two halves of the same whole. In their 33rd year of marriage, that love was tested...and the ringing in Sam's ear was not as one would expect, in fact it was an orchestra, playing the music of his life -- The Actual Dance.

The show will feature live music composed and arranged by Music Director Eli Zoller, whose experience as a Music Director and professional musician extends from Broadway to regional theaters and universities across the country. The original music is arranged for guitar and cello.

The production features movement direction by Marine Sialelli, dramaturgy by Gabrielle Maisels, and Esti Bernstein is the stage manager.

THE ACTUAL DANCE plays Saturdays at 2:00 pm, Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $26.25 and are now available at theatrerow.org or by calling 212-239-6200. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Theatre Row Box office between noon at 8:00 pm daily. Running Time: 60 minutes. For more information, visit www.TheActualDance.com.

BIOGRAPHIES:

KATE HOLLAND (Director) trained in London as an actor and director at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (now part of Central School of Speech and Drama). She has performed in New York, regional theatre, and international arts festivals. Kate studied acting with Carol Fox Prescott and directing with Karen Kohlhaas of Atlantic Theatre Company. Directing credits include: Little Wing at the Kraine Theatre as part of a Field Artist Residency, Cloud 9 at the Drayton Theatre in London, Henry VI Part 1 at the Fall Festival of Shakespeare in Lenox, MA, Bongani in the 2011 New York Fringe Festival, June and Nancy in the 2012 New York Fringe Festival, and Clear Cold Place and A Bright Room Called Day, both produced by Vilde Chaye Collective. Kate is currently directing Sam Simon in The Actual Dance and is collaborating on a new play with Caroline Prugh, No Provenance.

SAMUEL A. SIMON (Playwright/Performer) is the playwright and performer of The Actual Dance. He also is the Artistic Director of the company that has been formed to produce the show. Sam describes The Actual Dance work as his "fourth age." He comes to it after a career as a prominent member of America's consumer movement. Trained as a lawyer, he started his career as one of the original member of Ralph Nader's very first legal advocacy group in Washington, DC in 1970. Early in his career his leadership was recognized through a profile in the New York Times. (NY Times, Jan 29, 1971 p. B1). After a stint in the US Army as a JAG Captain, Sam returned to work for Ralph Nader and then start his own consulting firm. During that time Sam became a regular in the national news, appearing in program such as Face the Nation,, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, The Nightly News, Phil Donahue Show, and the Oprah Winfrey Show, among others.

In 2008 Sam began his "third age" following the sale of his consumer affairs firm in Washington and became a Senior Fellow with the then new non-profit, Intersections International, a social justice initiative of the Collegiate Church of New York. He has transitioned that work at Intersections to serve on its advisory board in 2013 as he began to devote himself full time to The Actual Dance.

Sam returned to theater as an avocation in the late 1990's. He is new to play writing. He has been active in community theater in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area for about 15 years. He has performed in Temple Rodef Shalom Players group, including roles in plays such as Last Night of Ballyhoo (Adolph), Neil Simon's "Fools" (Doctor) and roles in annual hour long plays. He has performed with other companies in Washington, DC area including McLean Drama Company and Great Falls Players. He is also trained in improv starting with Sylvia Toone in Washington as a member of the S*T*A*R*S Troupe. He has worked with Artistic New Directions of New York through their acting and improv workshops and has attended ten AND Improv Retreats in the Catskills including three "master retreats". He has taken Gary Austin, Rachael Hamilton, Scotty Watson and Michael Rock workshops. He was an acting student of Carol Fox Prescott for four years and continues as a student of On the Breath technique with Gabrielle Maisels. The Actual Dance is his first play.

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