20% off cut and do with this ad (new customers only) alon 271 30 Evergreen Lathrup Vi I I age 248-424-8989 We specialize in haircutting & coloring. Also, manicures, pedicures, facials, face waxing CARRY-OUT ONLY ($15 or more) Carry-Out Phone No. (248) 538-7080 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS from page 79 All of Dubin's works mix comedy and drama, and the six short pieces represent a continuum of humor. Directed by Geoffrey Sherman, win- ner of the 1999 Detroit Free Press Best Director Award, the play includes two actresses who have been in earlier performances of Dubin's scripts. Henrietta Hermelin, who portrays the manicurist, a waitress and the nursing home patient, has done JET staged readings of Dubin's works in progress. Robin Lewis, who did a Dubin monologue for a University of Detroit Mercy production, appears as the woman in the video store, the nursing home volunteer and the young wife visiting a marriage coun- selor. The playwright is pleased that two of the short pieces already have been honored in professional compe- tition. Mimi and Me won third prize in last year's New York City 15-Minute Play-writing Festival, and this year, Tough As Nails was selected as a semifi- nalist in the same competition. Funding for The Day We Met is furnished in "My plays are very contem- part by a Hudson's Project Imagine Grant, one porary with a right-now feeling of six grants the department store is awarding about them," explains Dubin, this year. The Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET) who has written Jewish charac- is the only Jewish organization receiving a ters into her pieces. "The old stipend from the chain in the year 2000. lady in the nursing home "I am delighted that Hudson's Project comes across as Jewish through Imagine is sponsoring a group of new plays by her language and perspective. a local award-winning playwright, Kitty The couple meeting through a Dubin," says Scott Ferguson, Hudson's regional newspaper ad placed that ad in JET Receives Imagine Grant The Jewish News." Dubin, who teaches play RESTAURANT MID-EASTERN, CHALDEAN & AMERICAN •Lambchops • Lamb Shish Kabob •White Fish Curry • Tabouleh • Hommus •Vegetarian Entrees • Fresh Catch •Chicken Shawarma • Etc. •Fresh Juice Bar • Cocktails and Wine 6123 HAGGERTY RD. (JUST N. OF MAPLE) BLOOMFIELD AVENUE SHOPS WEST BLOOMFIELD (248) 668-1800 27060 EVERGREEN (AT 11 MILE & EVERGREEN) LATHRUP LANDING LATHRUP VILLAGE (248) 559-9099 COUPON GOOD AT BOTH LOCATIONS .50%o OFF Lunch or Dinner IN 5/19 2000 82 With purchase of a second lunch or dinner entree of equal or greater value I • Dine In Only In • 1Coupon Per Couole I • Not Valid With other Offers • Expires 12/31/2000 Catering For All Occasions director. "Our partnership will provide an enjoyable experience for theater-goers of all ages. Hudson's Project Imagine is a multiyear and sponsorship initiative igiving community g writing at Oakland University, gave up her career as a psy- chotherapist last year. While she's happy to be more fully immersed in writing, she also feels that her experience listening to people — and hearing what they're really saying — provided a good train- ing ground for writing dialogue. "I think the short play as a theater form has been neglected, and it's been fascinating to work with six that have the same theme," says Sherman, who has enjoyed a 30-year stage career -including time as artistic director of Meadow Brook Theatre. "Short plays force an economy of style to communicate heartfelt and essential comments about humanity. In that way, each one can be very effective." Just as exploring one theme was unplanned, so was Dubin's entry into the world of theater. "I was at Wayne State University pursuing a master's degree in English, and I took a course in play- an economy of style to communicate heartfelt and essential comments ,, about umanity. * Director Geoffrey Sher ma!