Richard Hollman's BACK AND FORTH to Return to Central Park in June

After a run in October 2021, Richard Hollman's BACK AND FORTH will return to Central Park this summer for a return engagement. Performances will begin on Tuesday June 13 with opening night set for Friday June 15, and the run will continue through July 23, 2023.

Performed in Central Park's East Meadow, BACK AND FORTH shows two long-time friends, Marty and Drew, meeting up for their first in-person game of catch since the pandemic. While Marty is ready to rekindle the friendship they had when they first came to New York, Drew has a secret he's dreading sharing. Audience members receive pocket radios in order to eavesdrop on Marty and Drew from 100 feet away.

BACK AND FORTH is an intimate story of two old friends reuniting for the first time since a forced period of extended social isolation (yes, that period of social isolation) and discovering that despite having felt basically immobile for the past 18 months, quite a lot has changed. Experienced amongst everyday park-goers, the audience will experience the play via headphones to observe and eavesdrop at their leisure.

BACK AND FORTH is written by Richard Hollman and directed by Katie Young. The cast is Chris Roberti and Richard Hollman, with stage management by Tamar Friedman, sound design by Jennie Gorn, and artwork adapted from Tamsi New. BACK AND FORTH is produced by Jeffrey Hollman.

Audience members will receive an email 24 hours before their performance telling them where to enter the park and how to recognize the house manager, who will advise them on how to tune in to the show and where they may want to sit, though ultimately the audience will decide how they want to observe this particular game of catch.

The schedule for BACK AND FORTH is as follows: Tuesday June 13 through Thursday June 15; Thursday June 22 through Sunday June 25; Tuesday June 27 through Thursday June 29; Friday July 7 through Sunday July 9; Thursday July 13 through Saturday July 15; Thursday July 20 through Sunday July 23. All performances are at 7pm.

Tickets are $25 and are on sale now at BackandForthPlay.com.

Richard Hollman

(Playwright / Marty) is an actor, writer, musician, and teacher living in New York City. In New York, Rich has performed at the Cherry Lane Theater, Playwrights Horizons, La MaMa Etc., the Lucille Lortel Theater, and in The Public Theater's production of the lost Frank Loesser musicals, The Blueprint Specials. On tv, he's played roles on "Law and Order," "As The World Turns," "All My Children," and "Guiding Light." Additionally, Rich performs with the touring company of the premiere musical improv group, "Baby Wants Candy," and did a five year performance run with the improv group, "The Baldwins." As a musician, Rich has composed music for the toy company, Thinkativity, and has scored numerous theater pieces including Playhouse on Park's production of Metamorphoses in Hartford, Connecticut, where he's also acted in several main stage productions. His play Back and Forth was produced by Super Secret Arts in 2021 and was selected as a Critics Pick by the NY Times. Rich also co-wrote, co-produced, wrote original music for, and starred in the feature film Songs for a Sloth, which earned several festival accolades and was selected for international streaming distribution in 2021 by Gravitas Ventures. Rich has served on the faculty of the Buckley School, the New School, the Pelham Film Academy, and has led leadership and brainstorming workshops at West Point Academy, Con Edison, and the branding firm, Clark McDowall. He also was the improv coach for the Real Housewives of NYC. Which was fine. In 2017 he gave a TEDx talk on improv technique and compassion and is the founder of the registered charity, Care Packages for the Homeless, now in its 8th year.

Katie Young

(Director) (she/her/hers) is a New York based director & stage manager. She directed the world-premiere sold out run of Paradise Lost and Found by Tirosh Schneider (Isle of Shoals Productions) and served as the Associate Director for Waterwell's The Courtroom. Katie was nominated for Best Director in the New York Theater Festival with the world premiere of Loyalty by Rob Ackerman (Without A Net Productions). Her all-female production of Julius Caesar (Pocket Universe) was met with critical acclaim and a sold out run at Access Theater. She is a founding company member of The Coop, and a member of the 2019 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Select Stage Management includes: B'way/Tour: The King and I, Hamilton, School of Rock, Something Rotten, Amazing Grace, Once. Off-B'way/Regional: NYTW, Second Stage, Park Avenue Armory, Signature, The Coop, LCT3, The Shed, Waterwell, Playwrights Horizons, WP Theater, The Pearl, Rattlestick. www.katieyoungtheater.com

CHRIS ROBERTI

(Drew) lives in Greenpoint with his wife and two children. He's thrilled to be working with the Back and Forth gang again. Chris is an actor, writer, and director. He's acted in "High Maintenance" and "Broad City." He's also passionate about biking and safe streets.

JEFFREY HOLLMAN

(Producer). Following a thirty-five-year career in education (English teacher, high school principal, assistant superintendent), Jeff began writing full time, mostly for the stage. In February 2006, Emerging Artists Theatre in New York staged his full length one-act, Real Danger, for an Equity run of one month. The following year, the same company produced his short play, For The Good Of The Nation. In 2009, Bird Watching was runner up out of 38 entries in the Strawberry One-Act Festival. In September 2011, his play, Owa-Todo-Piam was produced in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. In 2015, Forty-Nine Years was produced in the Thespis One-Act Competition. Birthright, a new one-act, was published in Fleas On The Dog, in 2021, and Everything was printed in Literature Today in 2023. A sculptor for thirty-seven years, he has exhibited works in numerous galleries and shows on Long Island and in Brooklyn. Several pieces are in private collections.

TAMAR FRIEDMAN

(Stage Manager). Tamar is thrilled to be joining the Back and Forth team! Previous: How to Defend Yourself (New York Theatre Workshop), Camp Siegfried, To My Girls (Second Stage), Queen (Long Wharf), Sonata 1962, Play Like a Winner (NYMF), Meet You Downstairs (Fresh Fruit Festival). BA Emerson College.

Jennie Gorn

(Sound Designer) (they/she/he) is a sound designer and engineer based in New York City. They are currently the A2 on Titanique and were previously the A1 at the Signature Theater working on Samuel D. Hunter's A Bright New Boise. They are thrilled to be a part of Back and Forth, especially since a secret skill of theirs is working on outdoor theatre!

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