The Team
Co-Created by Mason Rosenthal and Paul Kruse
Conceived and Researched by Mason Rosenthal
Performed by Mason Rosenthal
Videography by Paul Kruse
Production Design by Aaron Flynn
Original Music by Alex Bechtel
Production Assistance by Brisa Shaw and Veronica Looney
a Rude Fusion project in development
at Crashbox
About the Show
Life is tough for Geoffrey Giraffe Jr.
Barbie’s dumped him for G.I. Joe, his father disowned him, and he’s living out of a storage unit.
But you know what they say? “When Hashem closes a door, he opens a window!”
With the help of his co-host, Mr. Potato Head, Geoffrey produces a series of videos for Jewish boys in advance of their b’nai mitzvot.
Paul and Mason used Rude Fusion’s support to shoot How Do You Jew?, the video reimagining of While Supplies Last, a devised theatre project built off of original research on the Jewish history of iconic American toys. Look for the video shorts to be released in early 2021!
About Mason and Paul
Paul William Kruse is a playwright, film/video maker, and teaching artist from western Wisconsin. His work flows from his Queer identity, Catholic roots, and ever-evolving experience of family. He is a founding member and resident playwright of Hatch Arts Collective in Pittsburgh, PA. Paul often writes collaboratively, drawing from his years of experience as a videographer and documentarian. His work has been produced by Adjusted Realists in Brooklyn, NY; Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; the Vortex Theater in Austin, TX; and in high schools around the country. Paul has developed work at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Yaddo, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, and Middlebury College. Paul recently completed his MFA at UT Austin where he was a fellow with the Michener Center for Writers.
Mason Rosenthal is an original performance maker, director, actor, and teacher raised in Skokie, Illinois. He is a Co-Director of the Philadelphia-based devised theatre company, Lightning Rod Special (recent: NYT “Best Theater of 2019” The Appointment, Jenn Kidwell and Scott Sheppard’s ’16 Obie Award for Best New American Theatre Work Underground Railroad Game). Mason holds a BFA in Drama with a minor in Art and Public Policy from New York University. He was on faculty at NYU’s Atlantic Theater Company Acting School from 2007 to 2011, and has studied improvisational dance with his teaching mentor George Russell since 2006. In 2011, he moved to Philadelphia to be the Headlong Performance Institute’s first teaching fellow. In 2020, he completed his MFA in Performance as Public Practice with The University of Texas at Austin.
