Nancy Drewinsky
Nancy Drewinsky
and the Search for the Missing Letter
 

NANCY DREWINSKY

 
 

and the Search for the Missing Letter

 
 

Written and Performed by ROBIN BADY
Directed by PETER MICHAEL MARINO

 
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ABOUT THE SHOW

In 1960, nine-year-old Robin Bady aspired to be the next Eliot Ness. She wrote a letter to J. Edgar Hoover detailing her qualifications, and Hoover himself replied: “As you know, women can not be agents, but they can be file clerks.”

Unbeknownst to young Robin, her family was already acquainted with the FBI. In 1953, 41 Jewish scientists were labeled Communist spies by Sen. Joseph McCarthy.  Robin’s father was one of them … though it wasn’t until years later that she made this heart-wrenching discovery. To name her fears and claim her truth, Bady reveals the deeply personal story of what happened when her father was accused of being a traitor. Her family was never the same.

 

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

 
“I felt myself oddly reassured by [Robin Bady’s] solo show about her family’s persecution during McCarthyism. The persecution is not so reassuring, but making theatre about it, especially during the new period we’re entering, is very much so”
— TravSD, Travalanche
““Robin Bady lived this story! This story is actually true! Amazing!””
— Antwan Lewis, Fox 5 News Anchor
““Nancy Drewinsky is history at its best – intertwining the personal and political – a mix of humor and mystery.””
— Loren Niemi, Founder of the Public Policy Project
““A story well-spun and enticingly performed. We all to-a-person, simply HAD to “Lean In” and nestle safely in the bosom of a very personal Robin Bady story.””
— Veronica Redd, actress, “The Young and Restless"
““My favorite show at the Indy Fringe!””
— Lou Ann Homan, Professor, Trine University
 
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MEET THE TEAM

 
 
 
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Robin Bady (Writer, Performer) is a storyteller / writer / speaker / teacher / MothSlam winner.  She has been performing nationally and internationally for the last 30 years.

Robin Bady

Robin Bady (Writer, Performer) is a storyteller / writer / speaker / teacher / MothSlam winner. She has been performing nationally and internationally for the last 30 years.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, she performs at countless spoken word venues, Fringe Festivals and storytelling festivals. Her children’s work is featured at major museums, schools, theaters, libraries and parks.Robin is the founder and curator of “No, We Won’t Shut Up!” – a powerful project showcasing the voices of a diverse group of women speaking about racism, bigotry, wage theft, sexual assault and gentrification.

You can see and hear Robin nearly every month in Brooklyn hosting the BADYHouse Storytelling Concerts.

Robin is currently touring her solo show – “Nancy Drewinsky and the Search for the Missing Letter” – a story about McCarthyism, anti-Semitism and her family.

Robin received a BFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at New York University. She was a co-founder of the Bread and Roses Theater; founded the Organic Youth Theater, Chicago and the Children’s Theater Workshop of the 92nd Street Y; founded the multi-ethnic storytelling ensemble Shirazad’s Children; and she is past Director of the Storytelling Center of New York City.

She is published in Storytelling Across the Curriculum and Storytelling Magazine. Her recent CD, “Stories, Stories, Stories”, was made with her partners The RagTag Band – instrument builder Skip LaPlante and violinist Concetta Abbate. She is the recipient of the JJ Reneaux Emerging Artist Award and the Oracle Award for Leadership and Service for the MidAtlantic Region of NSN, as well three Su-CASA grants for work with seniors.



Return Home
 
petermichaelmarino

Peter Michael Marino (Director) is an award-winning teacher, director, producer, writer, and performer. He’s the creator of SOLOCOM, which has launched over 600 world-premiere solo comedies at The People’s Improv Theater. petermmarino.com

Peter Michael Marino

Peter Michael Marino (Director) is an award-winning teacher, director, producer, writer, and performer. He’s the creator of SOLOCOM, which has launched over 600 world-premiere solo comedies at The People’s Improv Theater.

Solo show directing credits include: Amy Marcs’ “Nice T*ts,” Mark Demayo’s “20 & Out,” Mark Giordano’s “Mad Man,” and dozens more. His long-running solo comedy “Desperately Seeking the Exit” chronicled the unmaking of his West End musical flop “Desperately Seeking Susan” – receiving 5-star reviews and a London transfer. His solo show deconstruction “Show Up” played everywhere from NYC to Edinburgh. The family-friendly version, “Show Up, Kids” has been playing around the world since 2017.

His production company PM2 Entertainment, has presented UK comedian David Mills, The Unofficial Upper East Side EdFest, Jason Kravits’ “Off the Top!,” trumpcon: A Performance Festival of Yuge Proportions at The Kraine, LA comedy duo Moby Alpha, the NYC premiere of “Joe’s NYC Bar,” and the acclaimed solo show hit “David Carl’s Celebrity One-Man Hamlet.”

 
meganwellos

Megan Wells (Original Direction) is a story artist and a theater artist. She creates the warm intimacy of storytelling and more. meganwells.com

Megan Wells

Megan Wells (Original Direction) is a story artist and a theater artist. She creates the warm intimacy of storytelling, and more. Megan infuses characters with living souls and delivers the experience with delicious theatrical timing. Author and Professor Rives Collins says it best: “Megan Wells is both intimate and epic in equal measure.”

A national award-winning storyteller, Megan performs in museums and symphonies, entertains families in festivals and libraries, enhances education for thousands of children and helps executives, actors and storytellers craft powerful stories to effect change. With over forty-years of experience, Megan has a vast repertoire. She tells traditional tales, multi-cultural myths, historical events, as well as true and personal stories. Her daughters say it best; “Mom’s a storytelling jukebox. Put a quarter ‘n pick your favorite” Megan is also among the top literary storytellers in America.

As the Artistic Director of the Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival, Ray granted Megan permission to perform his works. She is equally comfortable in the jazzier domains of Chicago’s current spoken word explosion. Megan Wells began her career as an actress and director in Chicago. National and local awards include: Circle of Excellence, National Storytelling Network, Joseph Jefferson Award for theater direction, Education Press’s Distinguished Achievement Award; Parent’s Choice Gold, Parent’s Choice 25 best of 25 years. Her website, meganwells.com, includes her calendar of performances.

 
lorenniemi

Loren Niemi (Development Director, Dramaturge) has spent thirty-nine years as a professional storyteller, creating, coaching/directing, performing and teaching stories. lorenniemistories.com

Loren Niemi

Loren Niemi (Development Director, Dramaturge) has spent thirty-nine years as a professional storyteller, creating, coaching/directing, performing and teaching stories about what matters to audiences of all ages in urban and rural settings. Loren tells the life he lives with immediacy, poetry and insight.

Loren has appeared on stages in theaters, cabarets, festivals, churches, schools, and on the platforms of Minneapolis’ Light Rail line where commuters can watch him as part of a public art instillation. He has performed on the Great Wall of China, been the Humanities Scholar in Residence for Northern Minnesota, worked with Catholics and Protestants in Belfast, Northern Ireland to tell the stories of “the Troubles” and appeared at Fringe Festivals across the country since 1995. His work has been called “post-modern,” “with the dark beauty of language that is not ashamed of poetry.”

Loren teaches Storytelling in the Theater Program of Metropolitan State University (St. Paul, MN) and storytelling for mission and branding in the Executive Leadership Institutes at the University of St. Thomas. He has provided storytelling workshops and organizational consulting around the country working with businesses, non-profit organizations and government programs to illuminate the role of storytelling in organizational culture and improve their presentation and messaging skills. In 1998, Loren was a recipient of a Bush Leadership Fellowship to research the vital role of storytelling in neighborhood and community development. In 2001 he created The Public Policy Project, training low-wealth and communities of color identify, shape and effectively tell their advocacy stories of race, poverty, and community.

Loren is the author of the award-winning The New Book of Plots, published by Parkhurst Brothers, on the uses of narrative in shaping meaningful stories and the co-author, with Elizabeth Ellis, of Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories, from August House Publishers, the critically acclaimed text on the value and necessity of telling the stories that are hard to speak and uncomfortable to hear. He is also a published poet whose most recent chapbook is Coyote Flies Coach from Sister Black Press He is chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Network. lorenniemistories.com

 
 

CALENDAR

New shows will be added soon!

 
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CONTACT US

 

For information, press inquiries, interviews

For booking a performance

 
 
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