FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 30, 2023
CONTACT: Sam Simon 202-329-1851
[email protected]
LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT AND AUTHOR TO PREMIER HIS NEWEST WORK IN THE 2023 CAPITAL FRINGE -- JULY 13, 15, 22, & 23 AT DCJCC - CAFRITZ HALL, 1529 16TH ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC
Dementia Man, An Existential Journey is the autobiographical story of a man who faces his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by actor and playwright Samuel A. Simon.
In this full-length theatrical piece, Simon takes the stage as a man facing his cognitive decline and asks the hard questions of what to do next in the face of what he calls “an existential journey.” It is a peek into the head and heart of the struggle with a broken medical system and a personal and family tragedy. The play challenges the audience to imagine a meaningful future for the millions of people with neurocognitive disease, with accommodation and adaptation.
Cast & Crew includes Samuel A. Simon (Playwright and Actor, playing himself), Thadd McQuade (Director), Gabrielle Maisels (Dramaturg), Marsha Abramovich (Stage Manager)
About Samuel A. Simon (Playwright and Actor)
Samuel A. (Sam) Simon started his career in Washington, DC as a lawyer for Ralph Nader’s first advocacy group. He then spent 25 years as head of a public affairs firm. In that work, he was often in the news, with appearances on Face The Nation, Phil Donahue Show, Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many more. Sam calls his playwriting and theatre work is 4th Age. His first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, has toured from 2013 to the present. In 2021 The Actual Dance was turned into an award-winning biography. Sam lives in Mclean, Virginia, with his wife Susan. They have two children and four grandchildren.
About Thadd McQuade (Director)
Thadd McQuade has been a director, teacher, and performer for 40 years, splitting his time between classical and Greek theater and new experimental works. He has worked internationally with the Odin Teatret and Teatr Gardzienice and has produced multiple shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His work there has been nominated for a Total Theatre Innovation award and won a BBC Most Innovative on the Fringe award. For the last 4 years, Thadd has been working on ways to expand the work of theater to incorporate neuro-diverse voices and artists.
About Gabrielle Maisels (Dramaturg)
Gabrielle Maisels has served as Dramaturg to the playwright and was an essential collaborator in the development of the show. She has also served as acting coach to Sam Simon. She is an actor, playwright, and acting coach, and the writer/performer of two solo shows, Two Girls and Bongani, inspired by her family's experiences in South Africa. Gabrielle studied Political Theory at Harvard and Columbia, acting with Carol Fox Prescott, and playwriting with Matt Hoverman. New York theatre includes: Solo shows in Fringe NYC 2010 and 2011, Clear Cold Place by Caroline Prugh, Agnes in Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day, Esther in Kushner's Terminating, Rocky in Men of Clay (Off-Broadway, with Matthew Arkin, Danton Stone, Steven Rattazzi). Member Actor’s Equity. www.gabriellemaisels.com
Dementia Man plays at DCJCC - Cafritz Hall as follows:
Thursday, July 13 at 6:00pm
Saturday, July 15 at 1:00pm
Saturday, July 22 at 1:00pm
Sunday, July 23 at 4:45pm
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.capitalfringe.org
Dementia Man is a production of The Actual Dance, LLC. All work is original and copyrighted by The Actual Dance LLC. www.theactualdance.com
CONTACT: Sam Simon 202-329-1851
[email protected]
LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT AND AUTHOR TO PREMIER HIS NEWEST WORK IN THE 2023 CAPITAL FRINGE -- JULY 13, 15, 22, & 23 AT DCJCC - CAFRITZ HALL, 1529 16TH ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC
Dementia Man, An Existential Journey is the autobiographical story of a man who faces his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by actor and playwright Samuel A. Simon.
In this full-length theatrical piece, Simon takes the stage as a man facing his cognitive decline and asks the hard questions of what to do next in the face of what he calls “an existential journey.” It is a peek into the head and heart of the struggle with a broken medical system and a personal and family tragedy. The play challenges the audience to imagine a meaningful future for the millions of people with neurocognitive disease, with accommodation and adaptation.
Cast & Crew includes Samuel A. Simon (Playwright and Actor, playing himself), Thadd McQuade (Director), Gabrielle Maisels (Dramaturg), Marsha Abramovich (Stage Manager)
About Samuel A. Simon (Playwright and Actor)
Samuel A. (Sam) Simon started his career in Washington, DC as a lawyer for Ralph Nader’s first advocacy group. He then spent 25 years as head of a public affairs firm. In that work, he was often in the news, with appearances on Face The Nation, Phil Donahue Show, Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and many more. Sam calls his playwriting and theatre work is 4th Age. His first play, The Actual Dance, Love’s Ultimate Journey Through Breast Cancer, has toured from 2013 to the present. In 2021 The Actual Dance was turned into an award-winning biography. Sam lives in Mclean, Virginia, with his wife Susan. They have two children and four grandchildren.
About Thadd McQuade (Director)
Thadd McQuade has been a director, teacher, and performer for 40 years, splitting his time between classical and Greek theater and new experimental works. He has worked internationally with the Odin Teatret and Teatr Gardzienice and has produced multiple shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His work there has been nominated for a Total Theatre Innovation award and won a BBC Most Innovative on the Fringe award. For the last 4 years, Thadd has been working on ways to expand the work of theater to incorporate neuro-diverse voices and artists.
About Gabrielle Maisels (Dramaturg)
Gabrielle Maisels has served as Dramaturg to the playwright and was an essential collaborator in the development of the show. She has also served as acting coach to Sam Simon. She is an actor, playwright, and acting coach, and the writer/performer of two solo shows, Two Girls and Bongani, inspired by her family's experiences in South Africa. Gabrielle studied Political Theory at Harvard and Columbia, acting with Carol Fox Prescott, and playwriting with Matt Hoverman. New York theatre includes: Solo shows in Fringe NYC 2010 and 2011, Clear Cold Place by Caroline Prugh, Agnes in Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day, Esther in Kushner's Terminating, Rocky in Men of Clay (Off-Broadway, with Matthew Arkin, Danton Stone, Steven Rattazzi). Member Actor’s Equity. www.gabriellemaisels.com
Dementia Man plays at DCJCC - Cafritz Hall as follows:
Thursday, July 13 at 6:00pm
Saturday, July 15 at 1:00pm
Saturday, July 22 at 1:00pm
Sunday, July 23 at 4:45pm
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.capitalfringe.org
Dementia Man is a production of The Actual Dance, LLC. All work is original and copyrighted by The Actual Dance LLC. www.theactualdance.com
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