Description

No Strings Theatre presents the World Premiere of "Delicious Nut," a new play by Ross Kagan Marks, directed by Mark Medoff. "Delicious Nut", which stars Jonathan Benson, Marcie Bowman, Bob Diven, David Edwards, and Toni Marie, opens Friday, October 3 and runs through Sunday, October 19 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N Downtown Mall in Las Cruces



"Delicious Nut" is a painfully funny, compassionate, sometimes explosive look at a diverse group of characters at an in-patient psych ward. Their very humanity is tested during a single group therapy session. Joseph Landsman (played by Bob Diven) is a psychiatric counselor at the ward, specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy, which says mind can control mood. However, Joe may be in more need of counseling than his own patients who represent a wide variety of conditions. Toni-Marie plays Irene who, though she suffers from Alzheimer's, still maintains her humor about her life. Leon (played by David Edwards) suffers from severe clinical depression; underneath his pain is a man of great dignity and warmth. Marcie Bowman plays Angela who is beautiful, schizophrenic, and desperately in need of love. Chip (played by Jonathan Benson) lives in a set of circumstances which have made his life unbearable; he is disappearing before his own eyes. This group finds themselves thrown together in need of help emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. In the end, the human spirit triumphs as patients and therapist touch and are touched by each other.

A native of Highland Park, Illinois, Ross Kagan Marks graduated New Mexico State University with a BA in 1990. Ross was one of the youngest graduates of the prestigious American Film Institute (AFI) Directing Program, where he received his MFA in 1994. In 1994, Ross also directed the award-wining short film "Showdown on Rio Road" featuring Robby Benson. In 1995, Ross directed the full-length feature film, "Homage", starring Blythe Danner and Frank Whaley, written and produced by Mark Medoff. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received an award and went on to receive more awards at numerous film festivals. In 1997, Ross directed the film adaptation of the play "The Twilight of the Golds." The film opened the Chicago film festival in 1998, won an award at Sundance and went on to receive additional awards.



Mark Medoff is playwright, screenwriter, and director of stage, film and opera. His play "Children of a Lesser God" received both the Tony Award and the London's Society of West End Theatres Award for best play. He received an OBIE Award for "When You Comin Back Red Ryder." He was nominated for an Academy Award for the film script of "Children" and for a Cable ACE Award for his HBO Premiere movie, "Apology." Among his movies are "Clara's Heart," "Off Beat," and "City of Joy." Two other movies, "Homage," and "Santa Fe" (with Andrew Shea) were shot in New Mexico. In 2001, he directed the feature film, "Children on Their Birthdays," based on the story by Truman Capote. Among other awards, it received the Houston World Film Festival Award for Best Family Film.His novel, "Dreams of Long Lasting," was published in 1992. He is Artistic Director of The Creative Media Institute for Film & Digital Arts at NMSU.

The cast consists of actors well known to Las Cruces theatregoers. Jonathan Benson works at The Creative Media Institute for Film & Digital Arts at NMSU. He was seen at the Black Box Theatre in "A Life In The Theatre." Angela Bowman graduated from NMSU with a BIS and a minor in Theatre Arts. She lives in Santa Fe where she does background casting for feature films and TV. Bob Diven is an artist, playwright and composer. His original musical "Extinction: A Love Story" was premiered by DALO last October and his one-man show "John Singer Sargent: Painting Madame X" opened at the Black Box Theatre in October, 2005. Both productions were directed by Mark Medoff. David Edwards has been an actor, director and teacher for more than 35 years. He has worked at ASTC, LCCT, DALO, lo-fi Productions and NSTC. He is the manager of the Rio Grande Theatre. Toni Marie has been seen at the Black Box Theatre in "Three Viewings," "The Belle of Amherst," and "Woman before a Glass," and at LCCT in "Messugiah Nuns."

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