North of Providence

Based on Edward Allen Baker's off-Broadway drama of the same title, NORTH OF PROVIDENCE contains visceral dialogue that stays true to its

impressive theatrical origin. The conversation between a depressed slacker brother and his hovering sister all takes place in the man's bedroom, a place he cannot seem to leave. The love of his sister comes out in a disturbing manner, yet we see that she only wants him to accept the reality of what has happened to their father and family.

Superb naturalistic acting during a brutal and saddening argument builds to a well-earned reconciliation.

In October of 2001 when Mark Belasco and Judy Del Giudice met, to find a scene to work on for George Di Cenzo’s acting class they could never have imagined the exciting, challenging and rewarding adventure that was to come. Mark suggested they take a look at NORTH OF PROVIDENCE by Edward Allan Baker, a long time playwright at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and after reading only a few pages it was clear that this play had everything they were looking for: humor, raw emotion and characters who came vividly alive. After a rigorous rehearsal schedule, they performed an abbreviated scene from the play for their Master Class and George suggested that their connection to the work was so intense and complete they consider producing the play themselves. The following Spring, Mark and Judy decided to go for it and started looking at spaces to rent for the Fall. After choosing the Sande Shurin Theatre and putting a down payment on the space they went ahead and contacted Dramatists Play Services to get the rights to the piece.

To their surprise, after waiting anxiously for a few weeks, Judy received a call from Ed Baker himself. A lunch was arranged and Ed was supportive, generous and receptive to Mark and Judy’s ideas and amazingly willing to lend a hand any way he could. A few weeks later when they couldn’t find an appropriate companion piece, Ed offered to write something for Mark and Judy’s new company, Alter Ego Theater. The result was a four-character comedy, JANE’S EXCHANGE, which had its world premiere along with NORTH OF PROVIDENCE on November 2002 in an evening known as ACTS OF PROVIDENCE 2002. As a result of a stroke of auspicious timing, they were able to get award winning

RUSSELL TREYZ to direct the production and the reviews for both shows were extraordinarily positive. Words like “sublime” and “amazingly natural” made Mark and Judy feel that their journey with NORTH OF PROVIDENCE wasn’t quite over yet. On closing night over dinner, they spoke to Ed and Russell of their dream of making the play into a short film and both were encouraging and interested in taking the next step.

During the next few months, Mark and Judy talked often about the possibilities until Mark finally made the decision to produce the film himself. Judy and Russ eagerly agreed to be involved and Mark made it all happen by pulling every detail together from funding to location and everything in between. The result is a film that he, as well as everyone involved, can be proud of. The making of this film was and is a labor of love, determination and dedication, a journey they are all proud to share.