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When forced to testify in court about my
life as a prostitute I understood that despite
my shame I needed to share all the secrets of
my past. At this turning point, I chose to let
the truth pour out of me, not to tuck in into a
distant corner. Although I was subpoenaed to speak as a witness, I did not share
honestly because I was forced to, but because the impact of my
life’s truth into the world was imperative to healing my own as well
as others. Sugar is the culmination of this realization. -April Daisy White
APRIL DAISY WHITE
(Writer/Performer)
April Daisy White was born in France of
American parents, White has been writing and
performing since childhood. She starred in the
French television series LE RE DE CAIN
directed by Marcel Moussy. Other European
film credits include: BILLY directed by the
Ceasar-winning director Marcel Bluwal,
POWER AND LOVERS with Gemma
Redgrave and Julian Glover, THE BALKAN
RUNNER, TEMARRE PAS C'EST POUR
RIRE, VIOLATED, and SILENT MADNESS.
Her US film credits include Henry Jaglom's
SHOPPING, she portrayed Sonia Biberman in
ONE OF THE HOLLYWOOD TEN with Jeff
Goldblum directed by Karl Francis. Most
recently she was seen in PICKING UP THE
PIECES directed by Alfonso Arau and had the
great fortune to portray Sylvia Plath in
DEFYING THE STARS directed by Carrie
Hamilton. On stage, Miss White won an LA WEEKLY AWARD in 1999 for her portrayal of
Lula in THE DUTCHMAN at The Theatre at the
Improv. She made her Broadway debut with
Tony Randall's National Actor's Theatre in
THE LITTLE HOTEL ON THE SIDE directed
by Tom Moore, starring Lynne Redgrave and
Rob Lowe. In her second season with the
company she appeared in THE SEAGULL
directed by Marshall Mason starring Jon
Voight, Laura Linney, and Tyne Daly. She
played Carol in OLEANNA at the Rome
International Theatre.
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Her Off-Broadway work includes: THE
CHRISTMAS RULES, LA RONDE, A
SHAYNA MAIDEL, and THE JACK AND
TONY BURLESQUE SHOW directed by
Martin Charnin. Other L.A. Theatre credits
include: BALONEY and CRAZY EIGHTS.
Ms. White lives in Los Angeles where she
facilitates other artists in telling their true-life
stories through the memoir writing course
she teaches, which focuses on personal
exploration writing as a healing process,
called RIGHT YOUR LIFE BY WRITING
YOUR LIFE. She is currently writing her
memoir "LOVE FOR SALE", co-writing the
screenplay BIRTH OF AN ENEMY about
rape camps in Bosnia, and is also working
on a documentary about sex-workers, which
explores the human side of prostitution,
THE OTHER SIDE OF NIGHT.
LARRY MOSS
(Director)
Mr. Moss studied his craft with Stella Adler,
Sanford Isner and Warren Robertson. He
began his career at New York's famed
cabaret Upstairs at the Downstairs and
went on to appear on Broadway in
numerous productions. After teaching in
New York at Julliard and Circle in the
Square, he moved to Los Angeles and
founded The Larry Moss Studio. It was here
that he directed and developed THE
SYRINGA TREE, which had its world
premiere at ACT in Seattle. THE SYRINGA
TREE opened in New York in September
2000 and won the OBIE AWARD for BEST
PLAY of 2001, the DRAMA DESK AWARD
AND THE OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE
AWARD for OUTSTANDING SOLO
PERFORMANCE. He also developed and
directed Bo Eason's one-man show, RUNT
OF THE LITTER, which was voted one of
the top ten plays of the year by New York
Daily News and was bought by Castle Rock
to be made into a major motion picture.
Moss coached Helen Hunt in AS GOOD AS
IT GETS (Academy Award); Hilary Swank in
BOYS DON'T CRY (Academy Award);
Michael Clarke Duncan in THE GREEN
MILE (Academy Award Nomination), Hank Azaria in TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
(Emmy Award), Jim Carrey in THE
MAJESTIC, Tobey Maguire in SEABISCUIT
and Leonardo DiCaprio in THE AVIATOR.
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Moss is a founding director of the Edgemar
Center for the Arts—a new two-theater multicultural
complex encompassed in Frank
Gehry's architectural landmark building,
which opened in Santa Monica in September
2003. He will direct the film THE LILY FIELD
by Pamela Gien and produced by Matt
Salinger. His book on Acting "THE
INTENT TO LIVE" was published by Bantam Dell in 2004. In 1998, Moss directed the award-winning
short film DOS CORAZONES. He directed Michael Raynor’s WHO
IS FLOYD STEARN? Off-Broadway last
season and directed Richard Kalinoski’s
BEAST ON THE MOON off-Broadway this
season. He will direct THE AWFUL
GRACE OF GOD by Jack Holmes at The
Cultural Project in November 2005, CLINT
HOLMES LIVE Off-Broadway and
SUGAR by April Daisy White in the Spring
of 2006.
JEAN-LOUIS RODRIGUE
(Movement Specialist/ Co-Producer)
Jean-Louis Rodrigue has previously worked
with Larry Moss on The Syringa Tree and on
Bo Eason's RUNT OF THE LITTER. Rodrigue
has coached actors on Broadway, Mark
Taper Forum, Steppenwolf, Geffen
Playhouse, and coached the circus artists of
Cirque du Solliel in LA NOUVELLE
EXPERIENCE. In film and TV he has
prepared Mary MacDonnell in PASSION
FISH, Keanu Reeves in LITTLE BUDDHA,
Julia Sweeney in IT'S PAT, Tate Donovan in
PARTNERS, Wendy Liebman HBO Comedy
Special, Kirsten Dunst in THE CAT'S MEOW,
Patricia Arquette in HUMAN NATURE, and
Hilary Swank and the cast in THE AFFAIR
OF THE NECKLACE, and most recently with
Juliette Binoche in the upcoming BEE
SEASON. Rodrigue is currently on faculty at
Verbier Festival & Academy in Switzerland
and UCLA Department of Theater and
Department of Music.
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'Sugar' in
Santa Monica |
BY LISA CHURCHILL
Thanks for coming to the second workshop
production of Sugar.
Please stay after the show if you can for the
Q&A as we are still developing the piece and
both need and welcome your feedback at this
very beginning stage of our work.
This innocuous message greeted the
audience members when entering the Edgemar Center Theatre in Santa Monica
Sunday night for April Daisy White’s performance
of her true-life story titled
“Sugar.” Little did anyone know what a profound
effect the night would have on everyone
there.
From the subject matter to the acting,
right down to the depressurizing of the
Q&A session that followed, each element of
the night coalesced into a therapeutic way
to spend the evening.
For those who are mortified at the idea
of spending time with a therapeutic anything,
there is enough eroticism to keep
their attention.
“Sugar” is about the journey of an international
call girl. It starts out with the trial of
White on charges of pandering and goes
back in time to explore the reasons behind
such a career choice.
White gives an amazingly in depth, emotional
performance that keeps the audience
spellbound. And it’s a good thing there’s no
intermission because half the audience had
tears streaming down their face by the end.
It seems an impossible task, but White is
able to play both herself as a child and her
molester with equal believability.
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She gives insight into the minds of her
johns and the insanity of chasing such a
lifestyle.
This culminates in a caged-animal scene
in which White transforms into a believable
feline. In this way, passion, rage and desperation
are conveyed so succinctly it puts
the audience on the edge of their seats.
She never fully disrobes physically, only
emotionally.
White received a much-deserved standing
ovation for her performance last night.
Ten minutes later, in the Q&A, some
well-known actors commended White’s performance
and her courageously honest portrayal
of her former life as a call girl.
Sitting with Director Larry Moss, White
answered questions from the audience and
went through the humbling experience of
taking comments on her work. Even
though most of the comments were complimentary,
a few gave constructive criticism.
It was refreshing to hear that Moss and
White were open to this feedback.
The Edgemar Center’s mission is to provide
a physical environment that encourages
collaboration between writers, directors,
actors, musicians, dancers, filmmakers
and visual artists; to create an artistic
learning environment for adults and children;
and to invite the community to
observe, engage and interact, to add its
voices to their creative discovery. They certainly
meet their task.
Edgemar Center for the Arts is located at
2437 Main Street, Santa Monica. For more
information, call 310-399-3666.
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Daily Commerce
Monday, November 17, 2003
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