THE JOURNEY!

by Melissa Center

I sat down to write this play after a dear friend invited me to her women's writer's group - women supporting women. I knew I needed to invite more joy into my life, as for several years I was creating from deep, deep pain. I sat down to write, and suddenly knew it was time to tell this story. The words poured out, as did song lyrics, and suddenly, I was writing a one-woman musical!

Cut to: The Seed & Spark Creative Sustainability Summit.

I was NOT expecting to be selected to pitch for Mark Duplass. In fact, I almost didn't submit a pitch at all! In fact, the pitch that I submit was a different story entirely: I shared with Mark that my story felt heavy, and that I was resistant to even work on it. He asked me what I wanted to work on, and I responded with:

"Well I happen to be writing this play..." 

The rest is history. The crowd went wild, I received an incredible amount of support, and I knew I had to make this happen in a BIG way.

I submit the play to Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, the largest arts festival in the world, and was accepted! This was an incredible opportunity to walk in the shoes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose Fleabag premiered there a few years ago.

As fate would have it, I learned that at the same time of the festival, Jake would be starring in Sunday in the Park with George in London alongside Annaleigh Ashford (who I appeared with in Masters of Sex). It was too good to be true! I bought plane tickets to London, show tickets to Sunday in the Park, and somehow, Tanny (Producer) & I would meet Jake and tell him about our show.

Cut to: Coronavirus.

The world was opening up to me until it wasn't. Edinburgh cancelled, and theaters went dark. Now I couldn't perform my show as intended, nor have any idea when I'd be able to perform live again.

Thankfully I have a brilliant team, who believes in this play, and believes in me. I'll give full credit to my incredible Producer Jordan Ancel, who came up with the idea to livestream the play. This would fulfill both my need to re-connect with live performance AND fulfill a gaping hole in the hearts of theatre lovers across the world. He also suggested that in moving forward with this project, we'd be able to inspire fellow artists to keep creating, and to never give up - no matter what life throws at you.

Michelle Bossy is a Mexican-American director. Films Michelle has directed include Under the Lantern Lit Sky (Feature Film), Ladies Lounge, The New 35 and 18, amongst many others. She directed music videos for Yassou and Brooke Josephson.

She co-created the musical High School Confidential for Primary Stages, where she was the Associate Artistic Director. She holds the first undergraduate directing degree from Webster University’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts. Michelle teaches for the Graduate Dramatic Writing Program at NYU, and Syracuse University.

Member: Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and SDC. Recipient: Denham Fellowship.

www.MichelleBossy.com

Tanny is an independent film producer and writer. In 2004 she became an assistant to an award-winning writer-director, David O. Russell, where she learned how to support an artist’s vision while maintaining a functioning production. Having worked closely with coordinators at Sundance, she was personally invited to attend the prestigious Sundance Producers Conference in 2006.

She produced the critically acclaimed short film, More Than One, written by Jordan Wong and directed by Takahisa Shiraishi. The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner.

During her tenure at Harvard Divinity School, she produced several live events including: Harvard’s Buddhism and Race Conference, Monthly Buddhist Film Series and HDS Film Festival. Currently, Tanny is an associate producer for “The Psalm of Howard Thurman”, researching and developing an immigrant story that reflects her own family’s immigrant experiences & is the co-founder of Whole Self Systems & Whole Self Stories with creative partner Melissa Center.

Jordan Ancel is an award-winning filmmaker and producer with four projects slated for production in 2021. As a former actor with his roots in New York theater, he had the privilege of being personally mentored by the late Mike Nichols and the late-great Paul Sills until their deaths.

He was a founding member of the award-winning Off-Broadway theater company, The Greenwich House Theater Company (1993), in The West Village of NYC, whose members included the late Academy Award-Winning Kim Hunter, Sylvia Miles, Harvey Keitel (guest readings), and Ellen Barkin (Board of Directors). 

As a serial entrepreneur for over 20 years, Jordan has helped launch successful entertainment startups. He is currently the Chief Creative Officer of the entertainment startup MediaU, and sits on the board of the developing theme park, Game Nation, Inc.

Melissa Center is an actress, filmmaker, and co-founder of a Whole Self Systems, which is dedicated to empowering women & diverse voices to sharing their authentic stories with the world. As an actor her credits range from a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy to a tour of A Chorus Line. Her award-winning short, R.V, about the threat to women's reproductive rights, has reached over half a million people, and has won awards for it's social impact. Her feature film All I Want, is available for purchase on mulitple streaming platforms. www.melissacenter.com

We are blessed & grateful to be partering with The Pico to be bringing this special play to you. Thank you, Mika, for your enthusiasm & generosity!!

We are raising funds for the livestreamed and filmed production of MELISSA CENTER IS...MARRYING JAKE GYLLENHAAL. Weddings are EXPENSIVE! And so are theatrical productions.

It is our goal to use this project to support the incredible artists who are jobless due to Covid-19. We are doing so practically, and by setting an example of what's possible.

All funds raised will go to our incredible cast, crew, renting camera equipment, musical compostition, food, the works! We are passionate about elevating artists and particularly women's voices, and that includes paying them for their work.

We are committed to giving back on multiple fronts through this production. Once funded, we will be making personal donations based on how much we are able to raise during this campaign. We are proud to partner with THE INDIE THEATER FUND, who provide Rapid Relief Emergency Grants to artists in the most urgent need, centering artists of color, LGBTQIA+ artists, immigrant/undocumented artists and those with disabilities.

DEEP THOUGHTS BY THE PRODUCING TEAM:

Producing this project in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic is a deliberate choice. It will provide work to our cast and crew, most of whom are currently unemployed due to the circumstances. It's an act of courage in and of itself, but it isn't a careless one. Our goal is to create the safest environment possible for our cast and crew. We've come up with a plan that follows the strict guidelines of the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health. We've designated a covid-19 Compliance Officer to enforce all safety protocols. As much as this time-sensitive project is dear to us, nothing takes precedence over our team's health and safety.

DEEP THOUGHTS BY MELISSA CENTER:

Straight up, when my mom kept sending me things about Jake Gyllenhaal, I thought she was nuts. But after enough time, and after enough small-world connections to him, I started to feel tickled by the whole thing. And my perspective of my mom slowly changed for the better.

And a big part of the theme of this play is about my relationship with my mom, and how to carve out my own identity, and find my own voice, especially when things in my life aren't going so well.

It's hard to stay true to your hopes & dreams when life confronts you with obstacle after obstacle. It's hard to trust yourself when there are external voices telling you that you are on the wrong path. It's hard to believe dreams can come true, when you aren't where you want to be in your career AND in your love-life.

But the journey of this play alone is proof that dreams CAN and do come true...