S2; EP 4 -- Cameron Monaghan & Natalie Rebenkoff: Great Work Survives

Many people go to college for theatre so one can become an educated
actor. Through technique and tools, this will help the actor
sustain a healthy and rich career. But what are students getting in
terms of theatre business? My NYU student, Natalie Rebenkoff,
graduated and took off with flying colors by digging into her
multi-hyphenate potential and producing her first piece of work,
The Nursery, an unpublished Clifford Odets one-act. The production
co-stars Cameron Monaghan from the ever popular television show,
Shameless. So how does one graduate and produce their own work?
What comes easy? What comes hard? What do we learn along the way?
This episode is a great resource for actors who are deep in
learning their technique but can also understand how to produce
their own work – and not let each artform distract the other. 
Natalie Rebenkoff is a New York-based actor, writer, and producer
from Hermosa Beach, California. Her recent theater credits include
Smokeshow (Edinburgh Fringe), Hamlet (RADA), MotherBoard
(Experimental Theatre Wing), and I’m Sorry for Your Troubles (Lee
Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute). Her film credits include
Don’t Look Up opposite Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. She
would like to thank Walt Odets, Robert Ellerman, her family, and
friends for all the support in bringing The Nursery to life and is
excited to finally share this story. Cameron Monaghan is an
American actor, writer, director, and photographer. With a career
of over 25 years, he is perhaps best known for his series regular
roles as Ian on ‘Shameless’ and ‘The Joker’ on Gotham. In addition,
he stars in the ‘Star Wars: Jedi’ game series. Supporting roles
include ‘The Giver’ with Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges, ‘Paradise
Highway’ with Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman, and the lead
role in ‘Jamie Marks is dead’ which premiered at Sundance, amongst
countless other projects. He studied screenwriting at SNHU and has
attended directing courses at the Australian Film and Television
School (AFTRS), The Actors Studio at Pinewood UK, and Marjorie
Ballentine Theatre Company. He most currently filmed TRON: ARES for
Disney. Clifford Odets' The Nursery will be staged Off-Broadway
October 10-12 at The Sam Theatre, with Stella Diji directing. The
unpublished one-act will be presented by Point 5 Collective, in
collaboration with The Lee Strasberg Creative Center.  Set in
the 1950s, The Nursery follows an upper-middle class couple who are
forced to confront the long-simmering fault lines in their troubled
marriage. When the suppressed emotions of their union explode
during a pivotal conversation, the strength of their love is
tested. The Nursery was discovered in the archives of The Lee
Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Visit TheNurseryPlay.com
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