Celebrate the first day of National Stuttering
Awareness Week at
Our Time Theatre Company's
2nd Annual Benefit Gala
in New York City
Honoring Dr. Alan Rabinowitz
Hosted by Jane Alexander
Monday May 10th, 2004
6 pm cocktail party
8 pm performance
Performances by:
The Our Time Teens
STOMP
Adam Pascal
Alice Ripley
Everett Bradley
Special appearances by:
Phillip Schneider
and the President of the
Stuttering Foundation of America, Jane Fraser
For more information or
reservations
please call: Our Time at
212-414-9696
or email:
moreinfo@ourtimetheatre.org
Our Time Theatre Company, a
non-profit organization dedicated to providing an artistic home for young
people who stutter, will hold its annual benefit on Monday, May 10th, 2004, the
first day of National Stuttering Awareness Week. The gala will be held at 8:00 pm at the Lucille Lortel
Theatre in New York City, and will be hosted by Tony award winning actress and
former NEA chair, Jane Alexander.
At this event, Our Time will continue the tradition of honoring a person
who has improved the quality of life and been an inspiration for people who
stutter. The second annual Our Time Award will be presented to Dr. Alan
Rabinowitz, author, explorer, and Director of the Science and Exploration
Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, based at the Bronx Zoo in New
York City.
The evening will feature
performances from the Our Time Teens, accompanied by Broadway performers,
including the cast of STOMP, Adam Pascal (RENT, Aida, Cabaret), Alice Ripley (The Who’s Tommy,
Sunset Blvd., Side Show), Everett Bradley (STOMP, Swing!), and more to
come. Jane Fraser, the president
of the Stuttering Foundation of America, will present Dr. Rabinowitz with the
Our Time Award. The evening’s festivities will begin at 6 pm with a
cocktail party where guests get a chance to meet and greet with Jane Alexander,
Jane Fraser, Dr. Rabinowitz, and the performers.
Last year’s benefit
was a remarkable evening. Our Time
honored actor, writer, director, and teacher Austin Pendleton. Sam Waterston
(TV’s Law and Order) was on hand to present Mr. Pendleton with the
award. The audience was
entertained, educated, and moved.
The gala provides a rare opportunity for Our Time’s teenagers to
speak publicly about the challenges facing young people who stutter. One of the highlights last year was a
speech by 14-year-old Corom Buksha, one of Our Time’s first company
members.
“When you’re
a teenager people don’t even give you a chance and just laugh in your
face. That’s why I enjoy Our Time so much because we can stutter and
nobody cares…We can express ourselves through acting…Once you can do
a two hour play in front of hundreds of people, talking to a friend or a
stranger is nothing.”