FIRST PRIZE To Star Brian Dykstra, Susan Ferrara At Arclight, Begins 4/28

kef theatrical productions (Adam Fitzgerald, Artistic Director) is proud to present the World Premiere of Israela Margalit's First Prize, directed by Margaret Perry. First Prize will begin performances on Thursday, April 28 at 8PM and will open on Monday, May 2 at 7:30PM and will run through May 21, 2011 at the Arclight Theatre (152 West 71st Street). Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting www.kefproductions.com or by calling 212.352.3101.

This world premiere production by renowned concert pianist and award-winning writer, Israela Margalit, explores a young woman's quest for glory and fulfillment in the cutthroat world of classical music. Inspired by her real-life experience, Margalit weaves a story of colorful characters with wit, charm, passion and dynamic classical music. The production features Margalit's piano playing from her numerous internationally acclaimed recordings.

The cast includes: Brian Dykstra (The Jesus Factor, Clean Alternatives, Americana Absurdum, Killing Women), Susan Ferrara (Peasant), Christopher Hirsh (Film: Academy Award Winner God of Love, The Ring: Part 1 at PS122), Lori Prince (Lyric is Waiting, MTC's Sarah, Sarah, Killing Women, Regional: Pride and Prejudice).

FIRST PRIZE
Written by Israela Margalit; Directed by Margarett Perry
Begins performances April 28; Opens May 2 and runs through May 21, 2011
Performances are: Monday at 7:30PM; Thursday- Saturday at 8PM
Added performance, Sunday, May 1 at 7:30
Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting www.kefproductions.com
or by calling is 212.352.3101.
Arclight Theatre is located 152 West 71st Street
Running Time: 2 hours

Brian Dykstra (cast) Most recently: The Body Politic and his one-man Christmas Show; HO! Previously in NYC: His own plays, A Play On Words, Clean Alternatives, Strangerhorse, That Damn Dykstra: The Box Set, The Jesus Factor (DVD,) Cornered & Alone. Other NY: Breaking Legs, Killing Women, Antigone, America Absurdum, Much Ado About Nothing, King John, Love's Labour's Lost (all three with NYSF.) Regional: The Seagull (Trigorin), Hamlet (Claudius), Copenhagen (Heisenberg), Dinner With Friends (Gabe), A View From The Bridge (Eddie Carbone), Twelfth Night (Sir Toby.) Film: Knight & Day, Freedomland, Corn, Spectropia, Another Bed (also screenwriter) Television: Law & Order, Third Watch, (718), and is one of two people to appear on Chappelle's Show and HBO Def Poetry in the same season - Which is pretty cool, admit it.

CHRISTOPHER HIRSH (cast) Film: God of Love, a Luke Matheny Production. Winner, 2011 Academy Award for Live Action Short. New York: The Ring: Part 1 at PS122 Undergroundzero Festival. The Ring: Part 1 and 2 at The Bushwick Starr. Take Ten 2010 at Walkerspace presented by Theatre Masters, The Golden Ass at Vortex Theatre. Regional: North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Roles include: Ferdinand, The Tempest; Borachio, Much Ado About Nothing; Oswald, King Lear; Lucentio, Taming of the Shrew; Chorus and 3 others, Henry V; B1, B2, Michael, A Number (reading); Berowne, Loves Labors Lost; Leo, Pentecost by David Edgar. MFA: UConn. (Dale AJ Rose)
Susan Ferrara (cast) is an actor and playwright. She has written and performed her own solo show Peasant at The Zipper Theatre and Theatre Row in Manhattan. As an actor, she can be seen on the small screen (series regular, best-supporting actress nominee, the award-winning "Then We Got Help", Seasons 1 and 2), the big screen and on The Onion News Network. She has performed at The Public Theatre, The Beckett Theatre, The Clurman, The Connelly Theatre, among many and has originated roles in over 20 new plays in Chicago and New York. As a playwright, she has written The Machine (O'Neill semi-finalist, Leah Ryan Award Finalist), Suicide On Pennsylvania Avenue And Buzz..., among many. Susan studied acting in London, Chicago and New York. She is a member of Actors Equity, the Screen Actors Guild, the Dramatists Guild and Resonance Ensemble. www.susanferrara.com

Lori Prince (cast) Off Broadway: Lyric is Waiting (kef productions), Sarah, Sarah (Manhattan Theatre Club). Regional: Educating Rita (Triad Stage), Pride and Prejudice (Denver Center Theater Company), Rocket City (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) Midsummer Night's Dream (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival), Pirandello's Henry IV (Repertory Theater of St. Louis), The Front Page (Playmakers Repertory), Hamlet and Key West (Geva Theatre Center), Killing Women (kef productions), Lobby Hero (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre), The Book of Ruth (ALLIANCE THEATRE Company), A View From The Bridge (Theatrefest), And Then They Came For Me (George Street Playhouse) and Shayna Maidel (The Bickford Theater). Film: Last Call, 212, Johnny Montana. TV: Are We There Yet?, Law and Order, Law & Order: SVU and As The World Turns. She has a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University and an Edward J. Greer Award for Classical Acting

Israela Margalit (Playwright) is a critically acclaimed, award-winning playwright and television writer, concert pianist, and recording artist. Her TV shows received the New York Film & TV FestivAl Gold Medal, two NEA Media Awards, and an Emmy nomination. She got a special mention at the NY Short Play Festival for Outstanding Play. Her produced plays include Night Blooming Jasmine (directed by Jeremy Dobrish, The Tribeca Playhouse); 3 O'Clock in Brooklyn (directed by Margarett Perry, Access Theater); and Trio (directed by Pyoter Stein, The Soveremenick Theater, Moscow) a smash hit in Russia for five years and currently running in it's US premiere at the Loung Theater in LA. She has written television specials for ZDF, Transtel/Deutsche-Welle/PBS, and Arts & Entertainment, including a celebrated series with Sir Peter Ustinov. She has appeared as a piano soloist with many of the world's greatest orchestras, and recorded for Universal, Decca, EMI, and Chandos. She received The British Music Industry Award for Best CD. She's married to Paul Rauch, and is mother to Ilann and Fiona Maazel.

Margarett Perry (Director) directed Margalit's comedy, 3 O'clock In Brooklyn at Access Theater during her tenure as Producing Artistic Director. She directed the critically acclaimed Clean Alternatives by Brian Dykstra at 59E59 Theaters that went on to win the Fringe First Award at The Edinburgh Festival. Favorite NY credits include A Play On Words (59E59, Americas Off B'way), Welcome To Arroyo's (Hip Hop Theatre Fest), The Jesus Factor (Barrow St), The Body Politic (59E59), Forsaking All Others (Access) and Spill The Wine (GayFestNYC). At The Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, Margarett has directed numerous productions including world premiere's by Rachel Axler, Brian Dykstra and Darian Dauchan and classics Old Times and Private Lives. At The Human Race Theatre in Dayton, her production of The Retreat From Moscow won a DayTony Award for Best Ensemble and Painting Churches won for Best Overall Production. Perry is an Artistic Fellow at The Lark Play Development Center. Upcoming projects include God of Carnage at The Human Race, opening their 25th Anniversary season. www.margarettperry.com