The Bench

Performance History

Virtual Table Reading, Actor Trade on Facebook

Matrix Theater, Los Angeles CA

Hudson Theater, Los Angeles CA

Venice High School, Los Angeles CA

West Adams High School, Los Angeles CA

WordTheatre, Los Angeles CA

East Village Playhouse, New York NY

Rikers Island Jail, New York NY

Cherry Lane Theatre, New York NY

Dixon Place, New York NY

The Kitchen, New York NY

The Horse Trade Theater, New York NY

Performance Studies International Conference, Wales UK

Victoria Theatre, Portsmouth England

The Gas Station, New York NY

Collective Unconscious, New York NY

The Performance Studio, New Haven CT

Art In Heaven, New Haven CT

"Galinsky effortlessly assumes the bodies and voices of his characters, instantly transforming from one to the next from monologue to dialogue — it is really quite extraordinary. All that’s really called for is a bench. Other than that, Galinsky doesn’t need any help." Backstage Magazine

"'Galinsky's street dwellers speak in their own voices, and their voices ring true." The New Haven Independent 

"Galinsky is manic, deadpan, and  takes aim with psychotic precision.” High Times Magazine 

"This brother is down with the corn!" Street News Newspaper

"Galinsky…downtown poet priest." New York Observer

 “Not your normal kind of theatre… it keeps your head moving.” The New York Amsterdam News

"Galinsky herds multiple personalities into an evening of furious poetic justice." New York Press

"Galinsky’s performance itself was not unlike a well crafted Bach chorale or fugue where one musical motif seems to merge seamlessly into the other creating layers at times harmonious and other times resolving into an unexpected cluster of dissonance once again opening us up to yet another motif or character which all seem to be born of each other thru Galinsky himself." Wayne Lopes, Production Manager, The Kitchen

Writer/Performer, Robert Galinsky; Presenters: Chris Noth, Barry "Shabaka" Henley; Director, Jay O. Sanders; Producer, Terry Schnuck, Associate Producers; Shannon Hamm, Benjamin Quinto, Nigel Brown, Pamela Abalu, Chinedu Echeruo, Mark Schoenfeld, Adi Sideman, Barella Shakoor Kirkland, Susan Mufson; General Manager, Jeff Chrczcon, Public Relations, Joe Trentacosta; Company Manger, Reed Ridgley; Set Design and Graphic Novelization, Daphne Arthur; Audio Design, Deep Singh.

ROBERT GALINSKY (playwright/performer) Galinsky is a contributing writer to The Fresh Toast, is Head Speaker Coach for TEDxTeen, TEDxFultonStreet, and teaches writing and performance at Rikers Island Jail, through the non-profit Literacy for Incarcerated Teens and GalinskyCoaching.com. His work as an artist activist has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, and on The VIEW, NPR, ABC Nightline News and many media outlets.

JAY O. SANDERS (director)  Jay O. Sanders most recently appeared at the Public Theater in a trilogy of new plays written and directed by Richard Nelson called The Gabriels; Election Year in the Life of One Family, with a company including his wife, Maryann Plunkett. The productions then toured the world, were filmed by WNET, and live streamed on BroadwayHD. Before that, they also appeared together in Nelson’s four-play series, The Apple Family which was filmed and shown as well on WNET before touring Europe. A a passionate Shakespearian, Sanders has also been seen in King Lear, Titus Andronicus, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others, as well as portraying George W. Bush in David Hare’s Stuff Happens at the Public and Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion at the Roundabout on Broadway. In 2015, his own play, Unexplored interior, had its world premiere as the inaugural production of Washington D.C.’s Mosaic Theater. His long list of film credits includes JFK, The Day After Tomorrow, Glory, Tumbleweeds, Half Nelson, Edge of Darkness, and Revolutionary Road. Recent Television includes Sneaky Pete, True Detective, Blindspot, The Good Wife, American Odyssey, and Person of Interest. His voice can be frequently heard narrating a long list of PBS documentaries, from WGBH’s NOVA to WNET’s Secrets of the Dead. 

CHRIS NOTH (presenter) Christopher David Noth was born in Madison, Wisconsin, to Jeanne Parr, a CBS news reporter, and Charles James Noth, an attorney. He rose to prominence as Detective Mike Logan on the original Law & Order (1990), where he spent five seasons before going on to set hearts aflutter as the iconic Mr. Big on HBO's groundbreaking series Sex and the City (1998). Noth garnered his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy playing the unattainable bachelor who gradually evolves into the love of Carrie Bradshaw's life. Meanwhile, Mr. Big became a central point for the Carrie character and the series as a whole, with their tumultuous storyline launching two blockbuster movies Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010) in which he also starred. Next came a critically lauded turn as the flawed and powerful Peter Florrick opposite Julianna Margulies on the CBS hit drama The Good Wife(2009). Noth's complex performance earned him a second Golden Globe nod - this one for Best Actor in a Drama, as well as two SAG nominations for Best Ensemble. The show is coming to a close after seven seasons.

BARRY "SHABAKA" HENLEY (presenter) Equally riveting on the big screen, small screen or on stage, veteran actor Barry Shabaka Henley draws from a rich history of acting in many high profile films, television shows and theatre productions. Over the past 25 years, Henley has amassed an impressive amount of film and television credits. He has starred in the big budget hits including "The Terminal", "Rush Hour", "Patch Adams", "How Stella Got her Grove Back" "Bulworth" and “Carrie”. Henley has been honored to have director/producer Michael Mann cast him in several projects such as including his films "Ali", "Collateral" and "Miami Vice". He recently co-starred in Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson" which was in Official Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.  He next appears in “A Star Is Born” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Henley’s numerous television credits include starring roles on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Providence,” “ER,” “Body of Proof,” “Veep,” and “Shameless” well as a recurring role on the series’ “Close to Home,” “NYPD Blue,” and “Flashforward.” He was a series regular on Showtime’s “Barbershop” and worked with Michael Mann as a series regular on “Robbery Homicide Division” and was featured in a recurring role on Mann’s HBO series “Luck” starring Dustin Hoffman. Recent appearances include "Better Call Saul", "NCIS: New Orleans", "Black-ish"  and a recurring role on “Bosch”. Henley has toured extensively with the theatre production of “Jitney” and was a featured player in “Richard II,” “Waiting for Godot” and “As You Like It.” He won a NAACP Image Award for his work in “Rabbit Foot.” Most recently, he was the writer and star of "Mingus Remixed" which premiered at the Lorraine Hansberry Theater in San Francisco and the production of "Satchmo at The Waldorf" at the Court Theater in Chicago and Palm Beach Dramaworks. Born in New Orleans, Henley currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

TERRY SCHNUCK (producer) Terry Schnuck is the Managing Member of Linden Park Productions LLC. He is a five-time Tony Award winning Broadway and Off-Broadway producer whose numerous Broadway credits include: Bandstand; Sunset Boulevard; Fun Home (Tony); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Matilda the Musical; Clybourne Park (Tony); The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Tony); Hair (Tony); Spring Awakening (Tony); You Can't Take It With You; Bonnie & Clyde; High; Race; Superior Donuts; Burn The Floor; Blithe Spirit; The Homecoming; Martin Short: Fame Becomes M; The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial; 'night, Mother; Enchanted April. Off-Broadway: Shear Madness; Falling; Silence! The Musical.Terry is also a principal of The Manhattan Monologue Slam. Currently on the board and former chairman of The MUNY in St. Louis (America’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre, he has is formerly chair of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis.

DAPHNE ARTHUR (set design, graphic novelization) received an MFA from Yale in 2009 and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. Solo exhibitions include: RARE gallery in NY and the University of Massachusetts Boston and group exhibitions nationally and internationally at the Honfleur Gallery in DC, City College of NY, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Laviolabank Gallery, Marvelli Gallery, Rush Arts Gallery, Arena 1 in Santa Monica, California African American Museum in LA, Land of Tomorrow in Louisville, Mexic-Arte Museum, 59 Rivoli gallery in Paris and Florence Biennale VIII in Italy.

JOE TRENTACOSTA (public relations) Joe Trentacosta (President) began his career in public relations over 15 years ago as an assistant at Springer/Chicoine PR. He was a PR assistant on the Tony Award winning show Side Man and NAT’s Judgment at Nuremberg. In a short time, he rose in the ranks and eventually became Vice-President of Springer Associates PR, overseeing all live theatrical and special events including running the pr campaigns for campaigns for the Earth, Wind and Fire musical Hot Feet and the multi-cultural Broadway productions of Tennessee William’s A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with James Earl Jones and Terrence Howard and A Streetcar Named Desire with Blair Underwood to name a few. Off-Broadway companies included The Actor’s Company, Theatre For a New Audience, The Women’s Project, Tada Youth Theatre, Amas Musical Theatre as well as the Off-Broadway hit the Gazillion Bubble Show (which has been feature on many national television shows including: “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Regis and Kelly” and many more), Throughout his career he worked with a number of celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta, Al Pacino, Debbie Allen, Steve Buscemi, Anika Noni Rose, Phylicia Rashaad and many more.

JEFF CHRZCZON (general manager) has 25 years of experience as Producer and General Manager of live entertainment. His Broadway credits include: The Temptations & Four Tops on Broadway, Billy Crystal 700 Sundays, Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth, The Lyons, Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony, Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, Saturday Night Fever, Jekyll & Hyde, Sandra Bernhard’s “I’m Still Here Damn it!”, Patti Labelle on Broadway, The Kentucky Cycle, and Solitary Confinement. Off-Broadway: Shear Madness, Bikeman: A 9/11 Play, Lady Day, Falling and more. National tours: Man of La Mancha, Damn Yankees, Spider-Man Live! stunt spectacular, Saturday Night Fever, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Evita, Selena the Musical, Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Jesus Christ Superstar, She Loves Me, Hair, and more.

SHANNON HAMM (associate producer) is an actress, producer and meditation teacher in NYC. Born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, Shannon moved to New York City to study in the Integrated program at The American Musical And Dramatic Academy. Shortly after graduation, Shannon was lucky enough to land a job doing background work on the hit CBS Drama, The Good Wife. Working behind the scenes at The Actors Green Room, one of the top actors networking studios in New York, Shannon has learned an invaluable amount about what happens on the other side of the table and in the audition room. She knows that the creative process encompasses so much more than just the talent on screen and loves the team process involved in making a film or television show come to life. Shannon prides herself on knowing as much as possible about all aspects of filmmaking and thrives on a curiosity that is always looking for ways to learn more. 

BENJAMIN QUINTO (associate producer) is Co-President of Natural Immunogenics Corp, makers of the #1 selling silver supplement, Sovereign Silver. His background in youth advocacy and global organizing includes initiating the United Nations Youth Assembly Project at age 18, and founding the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) at 21, which connected over 10,000 organizations in 180 countries, working closely with the United Nations to increase youth participation. Benjamin also helped to organize the 2000 US National Youth Conventions, launch Global Youth Service Day (the largest annual celebration of young volunteers), Chat the Planet TV (airing on MTV) and Three Dot Dash, a teen leadership initiative of Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation. He has spoken at the UN, the White House, TEDxTeen, and appears in multiple social change documentaries; he speaks 5 languages, has self-published 2 books of his photography, poetry and art (Book of Smiles, 2008; Ben & Paper, 2010), and loves travel, photography and music.

CHINEDU ECHERUO, (associate producer), co-founder of The Love and Magic Company. believes that individuals, empowered by imagination and inspiration, can solve virtually any problem. Chinedu is a serial entrepreneur who dares to invent the future: His first company Hopstop was acquired by Apple and now powers the transit app in iPhones and his second company Tripology was acquired by Rand McNally now owned by USA Today. He is committed to making the world a better, more cohesive place through the free flow of information and sees technology as the coordinating aspect of love for all. 

PAMELA ABALU (associate producer) Design Pioneer Pamela Abalu, co-founder of The Love and Magic Company, delivers cutting edge work infusing consciousness and inclusivity into global workplace transformation. Pamela has practiced enterprise scale, cross cultural, human centered design and is a proselytizer for the “Love and Magic” required to build environments which help people be their best selves and share that impact societally. Pamela and Chinedu have launched The Love & Magic Company to empower creators and urge budding creators (and all humans) to see, not what is likely or expected, but what is possible.

Mark Schoenfeld (Associate Producer)

Adi Sideman (Associate Producer)

REED RIDGLEY (company  manager) currently works as the Development Manager at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Previous General Management positions include the Vineyard Theatre, Classic Stage Company, Manhattan Class Company, Red Bull, and The New York Musical Theatre Festival. Production highlights include The Scottsboro Boys by John Kander, The Book of Mormon (Workshops), The Long Christmas Ride Home by Paula Vogel, A Boy And His Soul by Colman Domingo, Wig Out! by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Avenue Q, Carrie, and [title of show]. Reed is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a proud member of the teaching staff at Modo Yoga, NYC.

DEEP SINGH (audio design) has been steeped in music since the age of three and has led to some very innovative collaboration’s with leading artists from the East and West. Singh has composed music for the prime minister of India (“Anthem of US”), as well as for Broadway musicals and has worked on various projects with Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.