Fabulous Invalid Theatre Company

One Night Reading of 110 Flights

2007-09-11T22:05:00.000+10:00

The Fabulous Invalid Theatre Company is honored to present a one night showing of 110 Flights, written by Nahal Navidar.

This will be a staged reading, to mark the Anniversary of 9/11 and to help Nahal in revisions of the script for a full production of the play, set for next Spring in Albany, NY.

110 Flights is a two person play toiling back and forth between two drastically different perspectives after September 11th. To call it a play about 9/11 would be inaccurate. It's more so a play about a very tender human relationship tarnished by the tragedies of 9/11. Shahla (an Iranian-American psychology graduate student) is married to Patrick (an Irish-American NYC cop). The play opens as Patrick and Shahla are planning for a very happy future: having babies, planning new careers and so on. When Patrick's best friend Evan dies in the attacks on 9/11 however, their world is turned upside down. Shahla has experienced grief on this level before having grown up in the Iran Iraq war. Patrick, however, has never experienced this kind of loss and doesn't know how to deal with his pain. He begins to despise middle eastern people and place all blame for his grief on them. As the play unfolds, Patrick falls deeper and deeper into his solace leaving Shahla without any idea of how to help him.

Show info:

Saturday September 29 2007 @ 7PM
American Memorial Park Auditorium
Tickets $5
Email Fabulousinvalidtc@hotmail.com

Another great Review. Tonights the Last Night!

2007-06-09T00:34:00.000+10:00

Story appeared in the Saipan Tribune on June 9th, 2007

By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

The great chemistry between Nahal Navidar and Keisha Paez was in full display in Jessica Goldberg's Stuck during its premier showing Sunday night.

Stuck tells the tale of two 23-year-olds, Lula and Margaritah, best friends since they were 5 years old, and the history of such a long relationship was ably fleshed out by the two main leads, who managed to sustain the interest of the audience with palpable chemistry that was a delight to watch every time they appeared together on stage.

Paez, a recent graduate from Marinas High School, plays the role of young mom Margaritah, while Navidar plays her best friend, Lula. The play is set in backwater Middletown, U.S.

Margaritah and Lula work at a video store during the day and hang out in their car at night while minding Margaritah’s baby and wishing they could get out of Middletown. Lula also takes care of her mom (Lynda Rowe).

The play shows how the two's relationship unravels, the fulfillment they once found in each other beginning to wane. Margaritah falls in love with a right-wing Argentine businessman, played by Kelvin Rodeo, whose political agenda excites her. Lula hits the bars and ends up in bed with the father of one of her old school chums, convincingly played by Java Joe's Rick Jones.

The play’s inevitable climax was a moving experience for the audience, with some wiping a tear or two as the curtains came down.

Paez was born and raised on Saipan. For several years now she has been involved in small theater production by the Real Christian Theatre where she gained most of her experience in acting.

Navidar, founder and director of the play, has been a familiar face and talent in the Commonwealth with her appearances in Vagina Monologues and In Transit.

The new theater group, Fabulous Invalid Theater Company, brings the play to Saipan. Tickets are still available for today's show at 7pm, also at the American Memorial Park.

Tickets are available at the gate. Ticket buyers can also email the group at fabulousinvalidtc@hotmail.com.

What People are Saying about STUCK

2007-06-07T22:49:00.001+10:00

By Barbara Sher
For Variety

NAHAL Navidar’s new Fabulous Invalid theater company opened their new show, “Stuck” to an impressed and appreciative audience.
The play is about two young women in a small U.S. town struggling to fund hope and love and overcome the despair that threatens to keep them stuck in an unhappy life.
Coming from abusive or neglectful parents, they gorge a friendship that brings them joy and understanding, jealousy and fear. Real life stuff.
And that is the beauty of this play written by a Jessica Goldberg. The dialogue is so natural that it’s easy to forget that the characters aren’t just making it up as they go along. Younger people will love the show because they can relate to the conversations and older people will enjoy listening in on what the young ones think and talk about.
Everyone will be impressed with the acting. Each cast member is perfect in their part and Nahal and Keisha Paez, who played the bonded friends, are outstanding. They were able to evoke whole thoughts by just a look. For example, the friends decided to cheer themselves up with a list of “the reasons to stay alive.” The look on their faces as they internally sought the answers caused an empathetic surprised laugh to wave through the audience.
The other actors also gave their characters the depth of complexity. No two-dimensional people here. The alcoholic mother, played by Lynda Rowe, was astoundingly rude and insensitive but still able to make the audience sorry for her. Kelvin Rodeo convincingly played the shallow Argentine lover with idealistic doctrines and Rick Jones showed us how a smarmy older man could also have a kind heart.
The whole production was complex in that it involved numerous set changes. The American Memorial Park theater provided a wonderful intimate setting but no backstage. The production crew, headed by Bree Reynolds, had to huddle behind a screen beside the stage and kept changing the set by moving pieces and adding props with the precision of turning the lights up and down at exactly the right moment in the numerous scene changes.
It was clear that this was a piece of theater that had been well rehearsed because it worked so well and felt so real.
Saipan may be a small island but it keeps having original, unique and live theater to rival any town.
“Stuck” shows again at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Park. You won’t want to miss it.

STUCK Opening Night a Success!

2007-06-01T22:53:00.000+10:00

STUCK openedJune 3rd at 7 pm inside the American Memorial Museum theater. The play was a great success and received rave reviews. 2 Performances Remain, June 8th and 9th at 7pm.

OPENING NIGHT 1 WEEK AWAY!!!

2007-05-26T14:58:00.000+10:00

Tickets are now on sale for STUCK by Jessica Goldberg, directed by Nahal Navidar. Call 285-9014 or post a comment with how many tickets you'd like and number where we can contact you. Tickets are $5 and will also be available at the door. Performances are June 3rd, 8th and 9th at 7:00 pm. at the American Memorial Park Theater.

Character Analysis

2007-05-17T10:04:00.000+10:00

Character Analysis of Jorge and Margaritah

Jorge:

Jorge is an evangelical--only the gospel he preaches is fascist. He clearly makes the rounds checking up on his father's factories in the states and while he is there, he uses all his seductive abilities to win converts. (He tells Margaritah that she will be his favorite American girl.) Jorge is a true believer must: that he has absolute belief in his cause (it also allows him to fuck and run without guilt, which is a bonus.) He sees the poor people in American factory towns as being the spiritual kin of the working class in Argentina. He wants to make them believe in the power of the state via Peronism. His version of Peronism, as I see it, is that the masses are enthralled because of the recognition the politicians and the captains of industry
give them. They try to create a popular political cult in which they are worshiped by the masses.

Margaritah:

Margaritah was sexually abused by her stepfather. Probably her mom knew to some degree but did not protect her, probably out of weakness. Then Margaritah gets popular in High School and becomes prom queen, which rescues her self esteem and identity. She becomes a top chick, gets a guy with a car (Ray) and has a friend, Lula, who adores her. But then she graduates and finds herself married to a dimwit who cares more about cars than her, working in a video store, then pregnant and then a
young unprepared mother. She has no significant education, even though she graduated. Her prospects are dim. She is miserable. She gets headaches she can't explain and which can't be diagnosed without going to a big city to see a specialist--so she begins to attribute them to either pollution or insanity--both seem plausible causes. She begins to remember all those things she heard in church as a kid and begins to connect her misery to demonic forces, all the while hoping for angels to bring her----hope. In spite of her instability she still manages to do the best she can with Olive and to have occasional fun with Lula.

MARK DALTON

Professor of Drama and Acting at University at Albany

Open Mic Night Draws Diverse Crowd

2007-05-14T18:10:00.000+10:00

The Fabulous Invalid Theatre Co. and Porky's Bar hosted an Open Mic Night, Saturday May 12th, at Porky's in Garapan. A portion of the proceeds from the evening will be used for the production costs of the theatre company's inaugeral production, Stuck by Jessica Goldberg.

Party goers were treated to a variety of people expressing their creativity through music, poetry and dramatic monologues. Throughout the evening, local musicians Roger and Albert, provided music. Kerry Uhl, serenaded the crowd with a piece from an opera, Ben Salas, Walt Goodridge, Carmen Sablan, Bree Reynolds and Shar moved the crowd with poetry, Leila treated everyone to some music by Ani Difranco, Bob Marley and Sublime, Bree sang a couple of tunes as well.

Off the Beaten Path surprised everyone when the foundation's representative, Fran Castro, presented The Fabulous Invalid Theatre Co. with a check for $300.

Several other people and businesses helped make the night a success. Shelly's Pizza, Java Joes, Marconi and Adam, and Porky's Bar donated prizes for a raffle drawing. Bruce Bateman, owner of Porky's helped with advertising and offered a venue for the event.