Don’t be put off by the fact that Margo Singaliese and Jezabel Montero met on a production called A Couple of Bimbos Sitting Around Talking. These high-energy women have a lot to say, but they do it with substance and style.Singaliese and Montero, both professional actresses, have teamed up to create Kismet Theatre Company, a new Hudson County troupe that’s mounting its first production. Chewing Mother’s Bones, a dark comedy by local playwright Sally Deering, runs through Sunday, June 6, at the Jersey City Museum’s Guarini Theatre.
In addition to numerous New York theater roles, Singaliese – a Hoboken native – has played featured parts in the third season of The Sopranos and on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. She has also taught for many years at Demarest Middle School in Hoboken.
Montero, a bilingual actress of Cuban descent, received the Spanish-language equivalent of a Tony Award for her role in the revival of El Super. She appeared in the movie Far From Heaven, which starred Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore, in addition to several independent films and New York theater productions. She also works at Curves, a women’s fitness center, in downtown Jersey City.
Less than a year ago, the Hoboken duo’s Kismet Theatre Company began to take shape.
“We were doing the rounds in the city,” Singaliese says, referring to the endless audition process. “Both of us were doing well. We’d get work in television, feature movies, and independent movies.”
But that game gets old after a while, Montero says.
“You start to get tired of auditioning,” she explains. “When you do get the phone call, it’s a part that you’re not crazy about.”
On a trip to Los Angeles, Singaliese says, they had an epiphany: “The whole thing is to do it yourself.”
‘Theatre that’s meant to be . . .’
With help from Volunteer Lawyers for Artists, Singaliese and Montero began to set up a nonprofit theater group. Last November, they raised $5,000 at their first fund-raiser, held at Rodeo-Ristra in Hoboken.
“Everybody’s really hungry for theater in this area,” Montero says. “We want to bring theater to people here, instead of people going to New York.”
So Montero and Singaliese have turned their two-bedroom Hoboken apartment into an office and rehearsal space for Kismet.
As for the name – “kismet” comes from a Turkish word meaning “destiny” – Singaliese says it was inspired by the way things started to come together for the group.
“It happened – boom – everything fell into place miraculously,” she explains.
Montero adds, “The way we met and the way we started working together – it seemed like destiny.”
Kismet’s motto is “Theatre that’s meant to be . . .”
For their first production, Singaliese and Montero chose Chewing Mother’s Bones by Weehawken playwright Sally Deering. They were looking for something that would really hook an audience, Singaliese says. And Deering’s work is top-notch – her musical Dr. Sex will open on Broadway in February 2005.
“Part of our mission is to do new, diverse, multiethnic theater,” Montero adds – “things people haven’t seen before.”
In Chewing Mother’s Bones, Montero and Singaliese star as two estranged sisters who are reunited when their mother is hospitalized. The production is directed by Jersey City actor Bruno Irizarry.
What’s next?
In the fall, Kismet will mount its second production, Ladies of Avignon. Singaliese says it’s a fabulous play – a poignant comedy, originally written in Spanish, about five prostitutes involved with Picasso.
On Stage
Chewing Mother’s Bones
When: Wednesday, June 2, at 7 p.m.
Thursday, June 3, at 7 p.m.
Friday, June 4, at 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 5, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 6, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Where: Caroline L. Guarini Theatre
Jersey City Museum
350 Montgomery St.
Tickets: $22 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, call (201) 792-1082 or e-mail kismettheatre@optonline.net.
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