Theater 1: Custody
Theater 1: Custody
Sofia and Jessica fall in love at Miami University in the early 1980s, graduate from college, and settle down in the country with their daughter until tragedy strikes and the courts get involved.
Writer/Director:
Bernadette Armstrong
Bernadette Armstrong moved to Los Angeles to work in film in the late 1990’s and after her first two films went to festivals she took a short hiatus from writing until she fell in love with small theater. Since 2008 she has had several successful theater projects produced in No Hollywood. Her play The Reading Group was named Pick of the Week by LA Weekly Magazine and in 2017 her play Simple Lives was nominated for Outstanding Writing of an Original Play or Musical by the Valley Theater Awards (the only woman nominated).
Actors:
Goreti da Silva
Goreti da Silva has had the pleasure of working on several of Bernadette Armstrong’s plays: Dark Stage, Unheard Voices, Simple Lives and Joan. Goreti has won The Michael Grossman Most Inspirational Award for her work in the Desert, and the Valley Theatre Award for for her work in “Park Plays: Portland”.
Anne Cooper
Anne Cooper has acted under the direction of influential Film and TV directors such as Sam Raimi, Paul Schrader, and Kat Coiro. She has performed with Angela Lansbury, Mary Beth Hurt, William Hurt, Danny DeVito, Lee Remick, and Geraldine Page and most recently in the new film MARRY Me with Jennifer Lopez and John Bradley of House of Thrones. Anne studied acting under Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof and Michael Schurtleff, and attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She has a BA from EMU. In addition to her acting career, She has directed and developed plays both in NYC and LA. She is a theatre consultant to LA GOA, which provides services for adults with developmental disabilities. Anne is on the summer acting faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts. She has dual citizenship from USA and Italy and speaks fluent Italian. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles and New York. She is a big fan Bernadette Armstrong as a writer and director, and was in her production of SIMPLE LIVES and feels lucky to again be working with Bernadette.
Barika Croom
Barika Phillips Bell originally hales from Dallas, TX. After graduating Suma Cum Laude from Fisk University in Nashville, TN, she received her bachelor's degree in Psychology & Theater. She is an accomplished actress, singer, director, published poet & spoken word artist, a playwright & producer. "James & Joseph" produced by Barika, was nominated for an NAACP award. Past credits include: "And Then There Was You" with Brian White and Lynn Whitfield, the films "No Sunlight", "Maternal Instincts", and "A Mother's Ordeal" and "The Last Appeal". She is currently working on a digital series called "The Quarantine Chronicles" airing now on IG TV as well as the new show [Their] Story coming to a streaming network near you.
