THe Benefit
Written by Julia Doolittle
Directed by Jessica Francis Ficther
ACTORS
YETTA GOTTESMAN (CHRISTINE)
An actor and director of Puerto Rican and Jewish heritage, Yetta was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brazil. She is completely fluent (native fluency) in Spanish, English and Portuguese. She is a Lifetime Member of the prestigious Actors Studio and LAByrinth Theater Company. Yetta has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway plays including originating roles written by John Patrick Shanley and Stephen Adly Guirgis. She has performed extensively on stage, both in New York and regionally, with such luminary directors as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joe Bonney, and Lisa Peterson. In 2010, she received a Best Actress Ovation Award Nomination for her performance in "Mariela in the Desert" at The Denver Center Theater. Her TV work includes guest appearances on "Nurse Jackie" , "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." Some of her film work includes "Sex, Death and Bowling," "Rabbit Hole", "Lucky You", and "27 Dresses".
PRATHER REHM (RENEE)
Prather Rehm is a New York based actor originally from Atlanta, GA. Recent NYC theatre credits include: Boeing Boeing at 3LD, Amiri Baraka’s The Slave at 3LD, Through The Cracks at HERE, Dan O’Brien’s Ondine (directed by Carolyn Cantor), and Machinal (directed by Jesse Berger). Regional: Boeing Boeing at Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. Film/TV: Por Amar Sin Ley (Univision), Dressed As Girl (part of HBO’s NewFest, Portland Film Festival, LA’s Outfest, and New Filmmakers Film Festival, NYC). Prather received her MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University and studied in conservatory at Michael Howard Studios in NYC. She received her BA in Theatre Arts from The University of the South, Sewanee. Prather is a long time student and teacher of The Lucid Body, a physical movement technique for actors. www.PratherRehm.com IG @pratheatre
Yetta Gottesman
MARIA ARGENTINA SOUZA (MARY)
Maria is working to understand what being an artist means during "The Great Pause." She is delighted to be a part of this Actors Circle Ensemble PICplays series to share these stories and looks forward to the moment when we can all be in shared space again. Maria received her MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School. What a piece of work is man. www.maria-argentina-souza.com
Maria Argentina Souza
Prather Rehm
LILLIE RICCIARDI (MISS CAMPBELL)
Lillie Ricciardi is a New York City based actress with a BFA in Drama/Musical Theatre from NYU Tisch: the New Studio on Broadway. Ricciardi has performed on Broadway in Bomshell: the Smash Musical, in several regional productions across the country, and is a voiceover artist with Audible, Edge Studios, and several other audio production companies. Favorite credits include: Anne in A Little Night Music, Jen in John and Jen, Amy in Company, and Nirvana in Road to Nirvana. www.LillieRicciardi.com.
Lillie Ricciardi
Playwright: Julia Doolittle
Julia Doolittle is a playwright and screenwriter raised in Los Angeles. Her newest play, The Absentee, won Bloomington Playwrights Project’s 2019 Woodward/Newman Drama Award for the best unpublished play, and was a semi-finalist for the 2018 Relentless Award. Her other new play, Tell Them I’m Still Young, premiered at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in January 2019, starring Andre Braugher and Michele Pawk. Previously, her play Love and Contracts was seen at South Coast Repertory's Pacific Playwrights Festival, directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel. Her work has also been seen at Victory Gardens Theatre, Portland Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Sam French Off-Off Broadway Festival, Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre, The Tank, Tiny Rhino, Urban Stages, and Rogue Machine Theatre. She's a proud recipient of the Elizabeth George Commission from South Coast Rep, a finalist for the Neukom Award, a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Summer Conference, and a finalist for the 2017 Heidemann Award at the Humana Festival. She is a member of the Obie-Award winning playwrights' group, Youngblood. www.juliadoesalot.com
Director: Jessica Francis Ficther
Jessica Francis Fichter is a New York City-based director. Originally from Columbia, SC, she has worked regionally as an artistic director, actor, teaching artist, and director. Jessica is a SDC associate member and has worked at Flat Rock Playhouse, The Edge Theatre, The Connelly Theater, Feinstein's/54Below, and Chapin Theatre Company as a teaching artist and director, and served as the Artistic Director for Chapin Theatre Company before moving to NYC. She is a graduate of Winthrop University (B.A. theatre education), Columbia College (M.Ed divergent learning) and Actors Studio Drama School (M.F.A Directing). Recent directing credits include: Dandelion: A New Musical (Equity Reading, Feinstein's/54 Below new musical series), Shadows: A Dance Musical (AD to Joey McNeely), The Eleventh Hour (Townstages, Smugbug), If Women Rose Rooted (The Tank), Universe Without Him (Co-Lab), 1MPF (Mile Square), Road to Nirvana (ASDS), The Hallelujah Girls (CTC). She has published a YA novel, entitled Yellow Bird, which can be purchased on Amazon. www.jessicafrancisfichter.com