"SYNAPSE IS A REASON TO
CELEBRATE DOWNTOWN THEATRE"
|
 |
|
|
Welcome!
Dear
Friends,
HAPPY
NEW YEAR! Thank you to everyone who has
already supported our end of year appeal by making
a tax-deductible contribution. Your support makes
our work possible.
Our 2005-2006
season is off and running! Our production of
ANIMAL FARM (The Puppet Musical)
is charming audiences as it tours around the
country. Meanwhile, here in New York, we will
present the World Premiere of Barbara Hammond's
beautiful new play, NORMAN & BEATRICE:
a Marriage in Two Acts, at the Connelly
Theater in February. Synapse brings
to life plays that engage with issues that matter,
and with NORMAN & BEATRICE we
tackle a topic we all face but none of us likes to
talk about: Aging. Be it pension and healthcare
costs, the retiring Baby Boomers, stem cell
research or Alzheimer's disease,never before has
"growing old" been so present in our
culture. NORMAN
& BEATRICE is a gorgeous and timely
story that captures the joy and pain of enduring
love and the unpredictable humor of growing old.
Shortly after reading this play I learned that by
2030, 50 million Americans could be diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease; that's 1 in 6, and we as a
society are not ready. NORMAN &
BEATRICE is where we start
talking.
Following our
Sunday matinees we will host a variety of
entertaining and informative TalkBacks where you
can meet the artistic team, and exchange ideas and
opinions as part of our discussions with experts
in the field of dementia and Alzheimer's disease
(please check our website for more
details). We look forward
to seeing you at the theatre soon!
"There is nothing more
socially relevant
on
the boards in New York."
-
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Smart, compassionate
and insightful."
-
OFF OFF ONLINE
|
|
|
BY BARBARA HAMMOND
WORLD PREMIERE
February 3 -
March 4
at the
Connelly Theater
 |
 |
Norman is a charismatic retired civil
servant and a loving husband and grandfather.
Beatrice, his devoted
wife, is Norman's soul mate and, in the
end, his salvation. Spanning 50 years, and the onset
of Norman's Alzheimer's disease, NORMAN
& BEATRICE is a humorous
and moving love story about a married
couple facing the unpredictable challenges
of growing old together. This World Premiere of
NORMAN & BEATRICE is
directed by David Travis, who staged Synapse's
Drama Desk Award-nominated production of ANIMAL
FARM (the Puppet Musical). DON'T MISS IT!
|
 JANE
NICHOLS
In addition to 20 years with
Shakespeare & Company and teaching
at Juilliard and Yale, Jane
has numerous Off-Broadway and
regional credits including appearances
at the  Dallas
Theater Center and Portland
Stage. GRAEME MALCOLM
Graeme last appeared on Broadway in Aida and The King and I; Off-Broadway at
Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theater Club, and New York Theater Workshop.
| |
| |
|
|
MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT
a conversation with Barbara Hammond
 Award-winning playwright Barbara
Hammond has had her plays produced in New York
and Dublin. She is a regular contributor to Naked
Angels Theatre Company's readings series, and
she is a resident artist at the Tyrone Guthrie
Center. Barbara recently completed her first
film "June Weddings" (with Tom Noonan).She has
written several full-length plays, but Norman
& Beatrice is perhaps her most personal.
Barbara recently met up with Director David Travis
to talk about the play. DAVID TRAVIS: When
were you first inspired to write Norman &
Beatrice?
BARBARA HAMMOND: My
father's last years were clouded by dementia,
and my mother cared for him at home. His
dependency had made them so close; their conversation
would switch from the real to the absurd without
my mother skipping a beat.
DT: In the play you pay great
tribute to the power of Norm and Bea's love. Their
connection - that stability and security - gives
them the strength to transcend so much of the
uncertainty and fear. And they still manage to
keep their relationship full of humor, thoughtfulness
and joy. It's incredibly brave.
| |
|
". . . are you defined by
who you once were
or who you become?" |
BH: It was really remarkable
to watch my mother create answers for some of
his more persistent questions. She would take
on the role of an Army sergeant, an NBA player
or the Green Bay Packers' coach if that would
put my father at ease.
|
|
DID
YOU KNOW...
Today 4.5
million Americans
live with Alzheimer’s
disease.
The likelihood of developing
Alzheimer’s
doubles every 5 years after age
65.
By
age 85,
the risk reaches
nearly
50%.
60%
of all people with Alzheimer’s disease
will
wander away from home and become
lost.
70%
of people with Alzheimer’s
live
at home.
The direct and indirect costs of
caring for
Americans with Alzheimer’s
disease
are currently at least $100
billion annually.
By
2030, when the entire Baby Boom generation
is 65 years or older, the number of Americans
with Alzheimer’s could rise to more
than 50 million.
For more information about
Alzheimer's disease visit the Alzheimer's
Association at: www.alz.org |
|
OUR NATIONAL TOUR
 The first leg of
the 2005-06 national tour of ANIMAL FARM (the
Puppet Musical) has just been completed,
including performances in New York City, Mahwah,
NJ, North Adams, MA and Purchase, NY.  The second leg of
the tour in March and April 2006 will make stops
in New Brunswick, NJ, St. Louis, MO, Manhattan,
KS, Madison and Green Bay, WI. | | |
|
|
|
|
SUPPORT SYNAPSE
TODAY
SYNAPSE is a
registered 501(c)3 non-profit theatre company.
Donations of all sizes are always gratefully
appreciated – and are fully
tax-deductible.
There are a number of ways
to give:
Online:
Phone: Call 212-674-2716
with your credit card number (Visa/MasterCard
only). Mail: Send us a
check!
220 East 4th Street, New
York, NY 10009
If your employer offers a matching gift
program, please include a completed form
with your gift! THANK YOU!!
|
| |
|
THE CHALLENGE
CONTINUES!
Double your money with
a gift
to Synapse TODAY!
Once again the William and Mary Greve Foundation
has offered Synapse a challenge: If
we raise $50,000 in contributions by June
1, 2006, every donation will be matched by
the foundation.
This means that every
dollar you give will actually be worth $2;
every $50 will be worth $100! It sounds easy,
but to succeed, we need your help!
THANK
YOU for helping us meet this exciting
challenge and for your commitment to supporting
our work; your financial help makes a real
difference in what we are able to achieve.
| |
|
You received
this email newsletter because you attended
a SYNAPSE event and provided us with your
email address, or someone from our board
or staff thought you would find our activities
of interest. If you have received this email
in error, our apologies. If you would like
to be removed from our email list, kindly
send an email to info@synapseproductions.org.
| | |
©2006 Synapse Productions.
All Rights
Reserved. | |
