Stephanie Roosa

The power of memory is a fascinating thing. We all have that one song that transports us back to our wedding day, or that TV commercial that immediately makes us think of our Dad, or a smell that evokes the comfort of Christmas morning. Nora and Delia Ephron’s play “Love, Loss and What I Wore” explores how that same emotional attachment exists with our clothes, and how—often unintentionally—we chronicle the many chapters of our lives, both the ups and the downs, through the clothes we wear.

After a successful play reading in 2017 and a long hiatus due to COVID (for more of the backstory, see Jeff Siuda's director's note), Out of Pocket Productions is finally presenting 'Placebo', a quirky and thought-provoking play by Melissa James Gibson, at Rochester's MuCCC.

I learned early on in the pandemic (Spring 2020, aka COVID 1.0) that filmed/livestreamed/Zoomed theatre doesn't really do anything for me. That's not a knock against any particular show or performer or theatre company, just a reality of the medium itself. When you take the quintessential elements of live theatre-the energy, urgency, proximity, and community of fellow audience members-and strip them away, something vital to the art form is lost. If I'm going to devote two-or-three hours to consuming a piece of storytelling, I asked myself, why would I opt for a piece of filmed theatre instead of one of the innumerable offerings on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, etc., all of which are teeming with movies and TV shows that were designed to be viewed on a screen? Thus I haven't accepted many invitations to do theatre criticism over the past year; the invitations have almost exclusively been for streaming productions, and it didn't seem fair to subject a production to my critique when I had a baseline objection to the format.

Continuing its 2019-2020 season, JCC's CenterStage theatre brings us Raging Skillet, a memoir-turned-play making its regional debut that that tells the story of a rule-breaker and boundary-pusher, a rebellious lesbian Jewish chef whose story is told through food and the ghost of her long-dead mother.

'Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny.' Who would have thought Ernest Haeckel's famous and scientifically nerdy maxim would be central to the theme of one of the most performed plays of the early 21st century? But Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's BOOM embraces that theme and explodes it to cataclysmic comic proportions. BOOM is a combination of bedroom farce and locked door mystery. It is ironically a retrospective about 'the end of the world as we know it' (to quote R.E.M.), satirizing science, relationships and the blasé despondency of millennials.

BRAVURA: The Life and Death of David Hochstein will have nine performances between November 8 - 18 at the Multi-use Community Cultural Center (MuCCC, 142 Atlantic Avenue, Rochester 14607): Thursday, November 8 - Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 PM; Wednesday, November 14 - Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 PM; and Sunday, November 11 (Veterans' Day) & 18 at 2 PM. Advance tickets are $15, $20 at the door, and group discounts are available. Tickets and more information are available at bravuratheplay.com, or call 585-450-9933.

BRAVURA: The Life and Death of David Hochstein will have nine performances between November 8 - 18 at the Multi-use Community Cultural Center (MuCCC, 142 Atlantic Avenue, Rochester 14607): Thursday, November 8 - Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 PM; Wednesday, November 14 - Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 PM; and Sunday, November 11 (Veterans' Day) & 18 at 2 PM. Advance tickets are $15, $20 at the door, and group discounts are available. Tickets and more information are available at bravuratheplay.com, or call 585-450-9933.

Blackfriars Theatre leads the way into the 2017-2018 Theatre Season with a wild new take on Shakespeare's most charming comedy, Twelfth Night.

Blackfriars Theatre leads the way into the 2017-2018 Theatre Season with a wild new take on Shakespeare's most charming comedy, Twelfth Night.

Blackfriars Theatre rings in the holiday season with The Flight Before Christmas, an original comedic play by three of Rochester's most beloved comics.

Yesterday evening, June 26, was a beautiful night for the opening of a Shakespeare in the park production. Apparently not everyone was a fan.

Richard II, Shakespeare's masterful drama of a king who lost his throne and gained insight into his soul, opens for ten performances tonight, April 10 at the MuCCC Theater, 142 Atlantic Avenue. Produced by the Shakespeare Players program of the Rochester Community Players, this will be the first of four history plays, known in Shakespeare circles as the 'Henriad', staged by the company.

Richard II, Shakespeare's masterful drama of a king who lost his throne and gained insight into his soul, opens for ten performances Friday April 10 at the MuCCC Theater, 142 Atlantic Avenue. Produced by the Shakespeare Players program of the Rochester Community Players, this will be the first of four history plays, known in Shakespeare circles as the 'Henriad', staged by the company.

Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare will be directed by Brad Craddock, opening tonight, July 5, and running through July 20, 2013, at the Highland Park Bowl; 1200 South Avenue (corner of South Avenue & Robinson Drive), Rochester NY, presented by The Shakespeare Players, a program of the Rochester Community Players, in cooperation with the Monroe County Parks Department. No admission! Free Shakespeare at the Bowl. Donations will be solicited during intermission. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in action!

Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare will be directed by Brad Craddock, running July 5-20, 2013, at the Highland Park Bowl; 1200 South Avenue (corner of South Avenue & Robinson Drive), Rochester NY, presented by The Shakespeare Players, a program of the Rochester Community Players, in cooperation with the Monroe County Parks Department. No admission! Free Shakespeare at the Bowl. Donations will be solicited during intermission. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in action!

BroadwayWorld brings you the Best of Ireland in the year 2012. Check out the Top Theatre Stories from each month during in the year 2012. We look forward to another exciting year of theatre in 2013!

Stephanie Roosa was awarded 'Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role' honors at the 2012 Acting Irish International Theatre Festival (AIITF) in Dublin, Ireland, May 20, 2012, for her performance as 'Josie' in the Rochester Community Players' Irish Players production of A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill. The festival was held at the Axis Theatre, Ballymun, Dublin; six community theater companies from the United States, Canada and Ireland participated in this year's festival.

A Moon for the Misbegotten, the comic drama by Eugene O'Neill, opens April 13 for three weekends at the MuCCC Theater, before heading off to Ireland for the 2012 Acting Irish International Theatre Festival (AIITF).

The Shakespeare Players, a program of the Rochester Community Players, is presenting Shakespeare's tragedy Othello this summer as our 15th annual Free Shakespeare at the Highland Bowl. The production is being directed by Stephanie Roosa and produced by Patrick White.