Pauline Anne Schantzer is a junior transfer student pursing a communications major and theater minor at Temple University. She says she auditioned for the play E-mail: 9/12 because of the director, Andre Brown. "His passion and persistence for the script inspired me," Schantzer explains. "I hope that the audience will feel as if they are physically there on the streets of NYC and connected to the characters that we are bringing to life."
E-mail: 9/12 recounts how people were able to connect via e-mail the day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. At a time before Twitter and Facebook, on a day when when cell phone calls couldn't always get through, e-mail became a lifeline for people to connect, to laugh, to grieve, and to support one another. Penned by New Jersey Playwright Midge Guerrera, E-mail: 9/12 is based on her own experiences, of keeping in touch with family and friends online.
...AND Company Theatre is presenting the play as an ensemble piece. Schantzer gets to show off her acting range as she takes on characters as diverse as a shocked French-Canadian Institutional Trader, a sexy bride-to-be in her early fifties, and a terrified four-year-old girl.
Schantzer has been acting for four years, but says she always knew she was going to be a performer. "The moment I began to pursue acting was when I was 18, my mom told me that the only place I belonged was on a stage."
Performances are scheduled for one day only, Saturday, September 24th, 2011. 3pm Matinee and 7pm Evening show. Venue: Christ Church Neighborhood House Theatre located at 20 N American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tickets, $25. Discounts available in advance online. Tickets at the door will be sold on a cash only basis. More info: www.andcompanytheatre.org or 609-891-7555.
