by Marla Lewin image copyright Robert J. Saferstein  I first met David Mamet in Chicago, at his St. Nicholas Theatre. I was the guest of actor Robert Strom, and I sat between him and David, it was American Buffalo.  Bob was planning to do a one man show on Charlie Chaplin, and I was to write my first script for him. Bob was a member of the St. Nicholas company.  David wanted to know if I was an actress?  He offered to assist us with the play. David was not yet inter...

 "The Voysey Inheritance" is a play about greed involving an upper class family's crisis and ponzi schemes, sound familiar?  Harley Granville-Barker, one of the most unfamiliar playwrights of the early 20th century, wrote the play over 100 years ago in 1905. Barker, also an accomplished actor was overshadowed by the fame of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Granville-Barker also wrote detailed notes on how to stage Shakespeare. In 2006 David Mamet, one of Americas' most famous w...

Sir Ben Kingsley, an Oscar winner for his lead role in GANDHI and an Oscar nominee for his role in SEXY BEAST, will receive the Maverick Spirit Award at the Cinequest Film Festival, to be held in the city of San Jose, California from March 1 to 12.Kingsley will present An Afternoon with Sir Ben Kingsley at the historic California Theater in downtown San Jose on March 5th. He will speak about his television, stage and film careers, which have made him one of the most distinguished actors of our t...

Respect: Joe Mantegna will be honored at "The Sixth Annual Los Angeles Italian Film Awards" (LAIFAFEST 2004), which will be held on April 20-24, 2004, at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. Mr. Mantegna  will be presented with the  LAIFA 2004 Life Time Achievement, festival Director Luigi Campanile announced today.Chicago native Joe Mantegna has a strong background in both theater and film. After making his Broadway debut in Stephen Schwartz's musical of Studs Terkel's Working, Joe was awarded ...