Theater 85: Six Italians, Seven Fishes
Summary
In the play, Six Italians, Seven Fishes, an Italian-American family is gathered at the home of Joe and Marie for Christmas Eve dinner prior to Midnight Mass. Dinner (the seven fishes, a family tradition) is on hold because Vinnie and his Polish wife Peony have not yet arrived. The hours drag by, and Vinnie and Peony are still missing. Has something happened to them? Are they all right? Will the family ultimately be together for Christmas Eve dinner?
Writer:
Patricia Motto
Patricia Motto’s first published work came in the Byford Booster when she wowed her teacher with two complete correctly punctuated sentences at the age of six. Since then she has at various times taught college-level composition and continues to make a living as a freelance writer. She graduated from law school and became an attorney specializing in sexual harassment. She now has three completed full plays and several one-acts under her belt and is working on turning her Vietnam-era play into a musical. She lives happily with her shelter dog, Fosse, in Elmhurst, Illinois where she also choreographs for and dances with The Tree Town Tappers.
Patricia Motto
Director
Bernadette Armstrong
Bernadette moved to Los Angeles to work in film in the late 1990s 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.) Bernadette is also the producer and founder of Open Door Playhouse Podcast!
Bernadette Armstrong
Cast:
Elaine Mello (Marie)
Elaine Mello is excited to be participating in Open-Door Podcast. Elaine has been working with Bernadette on many projects and continues to do so because of her creative talents and willingness to seek innovative and thought-provoking material. Grateful to be part of such an accepting movement of the arts.
Elaine Mello
David Purdham (Joe)
As a professional actor and director, David Purdham has worked extensively in theatre on and off Broadway, in many of the great resident theatres in our country(including New York Shakespeare Festival, Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Old Globe- San Diego, Yale Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival) as well a lot of television and film during the last 45 years. He is a member of the NEW AMERICAN THEATRE, and directs The Tempus Theatre Group’s Classical Play reading series (an exploration by professional actors of the evolution of theatre from the Greeks forward.) There is a nice Television Series on HBO - “Winning Time”, in which he plays Larry O’Brien, the commissioner of the NBA.
David Purdham
Anne Cooper (Catherine)
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 the 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 of Bernadette Armstrong as a writer and director, and was in her production of SIMPLE LIVES and feels lucky to again be working with Bernadette.
Anne Cooper
Gary B Lamb (Tony)
Gary B. Lamb has appeared as an actor in more than 50 plays and musicals as well as on TV and film. He recently completed a National Tour of EVITA as Juan Peron and the title role in MACBETH for Shakespeare @ The Castle in Ohio. He can be heard on the recently released podcast DREAMLAND as Bruce. He has also been behind the camera directing several films including; THE BOX (over 5 million hits on youtube); THE BUG A CREEPY COMEDY; ROOMMATE RULES and most recently FITZWATER & MUTTON, A BUDDY FILM. His Voice-Over work includes several animated series and dubbing on several Columbian Novellas. Gary has been a stage actor/director/producer for most of his life. Repair at www.GBLambMusic.com. Available on iTunes and Amazon.
Gary B Lamb
Natalie Eleftheriadis (Tess)
Natalie graduated with a BA in Theater Performance; Arts Academy, Federation University of Australia. Starring as M in Birthday (Chapel off Chapel, The Bakehouse Theatre), Natalie received rave-reviews later reprising the role on screen, winning Best Actor (Cannes Independent Film Festival); and nominated Best Actress (12th Melbourne Underground Film Festival). Recent theatre credits include Eve St.Croix in Lyman (El Portal Theatre); Vera in And Then There Were None (Morgan-Wixson Theatre); Ruby in The Powers That Be (Premiere the Play Podcast). Recent film credits include; Rose in Not Today Dir. Mingjun Zheng; Elise in Indie Feature I’ll Be Around Dir. Michael Cuenca (BEST INDEPENDENT FILM Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival 2020).
Natalie Eleftheriadis
Michael Fletcher (Mike)
Michael Harvey Fletcher loves to perform whether it be on the stage or on the screen. No part is too large or too small for although he has played heavy hitters like Hamlet and Caligula, he's also played more quirky character bit parts than you can count!
Michael Fletcher
Oscar Alejandro Maldonado (Vinny)
Oscar Alejandro Maldonado, age 31, is a Dallas, TX native with over eight years of acting experience. Currently based in Los Angeles, Oscar recently appeared in Warner Brother’s “Winning Time,” Netflix’s “Queen of The South,” CBS’s “The Seal Team,” and The History Channel’s “The Greatest Heists.” Oscar, along with the cast from the short film, “Just One Night” won The Frank Capra award accompanied with $20,000 at The Sundance Film Festival. The Dallas native relocated to Los Angeles, CA to pursue his career in acting, voice-over, comedy, and improv just over six years ago. Oscar Maldonado is best known for his versatility, dual linguistics, calm yet charismatic demeanor, and unconventional looks.
Oscar Maldonado
Leah Jarvik (Penny and Siri)
Leah is a Los Angeles-based actress and a recent Seattle transplant. Recent theatre credits include Cybernella (Culver City Public Theater), The Fifth Wave and Blood Water Paint (Macha Theatre Works), I Did The Holidays My Way (Tales of The Alchemysts Theater), The Winter’s Tale and Head Above Water… (Powerhouse Theater). During the pandemic she has performed online with V.S. Theatre Company, AFI Conservatory, Station House, and the Secrets of Chekhov (LA); GreenStage, The Seattle Film Summit, Zelda Oasis Productions and Macha Theatre Works (Seattle); and Clamour Theatre Company (Florida). Leah completed a double major in Theatre and English at Haverford College, and is the current Literary Associate at Macha Theatre Works. Come visit at leahjarvik.com or on Instagram @leahjarvik.
