May the fourth be with you

Saturday May 4, 2024 7 pm
The Performing Arts Studio
224. E. Main St.
Port Jefferson, NY

Tickets: $20 online, $25 at the door (cash only) Tickets include bottled water and a treat! Tickets on this link

(mostly) TRUE THINGS, a game wrapped in a storytelling show that features true stories - with a twist. In this show the stories will inspire improv scenes performed by Make A Scene improvisers trained at Lifestage, Inc.. There is also a game. Some of the stories include subtle little lies and the audience gets to question the storytellers to try to figure out what they are. One storyteller tells their story with no lies. Audience members who figure it out get a prize. It is a highly entertaining, completely unique evening of entertainment and connection. 
This show will honor Star Wars day with stories on themes in the Star Wars universe.

Stories by:
Adam Grundfest is Director of Member Engagement at Sid Jacobson JCC . He has worn many hats during his professional career…attorney, educator, camp director, business development, customer experience and more. He uses connection, storytelling, and other skills to help make SJJCC members’ experiences better and to expose the public to the amazing programs, services and people that can enhance their lives. He was a featured storyteller in Stories Untold at the JCC in March 2024.

Mindy Pfeffer is an award-winning actor/playwright/solo performer. Mindy has appeared in over 60 plays regionally and in NYC. Favorite plays: Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Grapes of Wrath. NYC playwriting credits include Finding Elvis: The Road Trip at IRT Theater and How To Live at 14Y/LABA Second Stage. How To Live was also seen at the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, Poland. Mindy’s solo play There’s Iron in Your Future - about training for an Ironman triathlon - was seen at the NYRR RunCenter, Omega Institute, and various fringe festivals. Her other solo work has been seen at Irondale On Women Festival, EAT Spark Festival, and the Woodstock Fringe Festival. Mindy works as a teaching artist-puppeteer with NYC Kids Project, teaching about inclusion. She is a member of Actors Equity and the Dramatists Guild.

Lydia Franco-Hodges is an Assistant Professor of Practice at Stony Brook University. From NASA to the Nature Conservancy, from national laboratories to global initiatives around the world, Lydia facilitates and designs curriculum for in-person workshops and programs strengthening the communication skills of STEMM professionals. Lydia co-designed and co-facilitated online curricula including the Women in STEM Leadership Program empowering women to become agents of change to help shift the culture in their fields. Previously she taught acting and movement at Stony Brook University and, in her classes, bolstered students to take risks, develop their courage, confidence, and the ability to co-create with each other. Inspired by Alan Alda, Lydia views communication as the essential beating heart of change and champions connection and making positive impact in our world. She is passionate about family, friends, and creating.

Barb Ponella is storyteller who has been a featured performer with Now You're Talking and Risk! She is also a singer/songwriter, and she and her husband are are part of OOMPA, the Organization of Open Mic Performance Artists, that hosts many Long Island open mics and organizes charitable events for Toys for Tots as well as coat and food drives. She believes in using whatever talent you have to spread love and make the world a little bit brighter.


HOST: Jude Treder-Wolff, recently featured on Story District in Washington, D.C., RISK! Live show and podcast, Generation Women at Joe’s Pub, Funny Over 50 at Caveat in NYC, The Armando Diaz Experience at Magnet Theater and many other shows in New York and around the country