Janka to Be Performed at the 60th Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland

Janice Noga stars in the Oscar Speace play about survival and redemption.

(Fresno, CA) May 19, 2006 – The one-month long, 60th annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, the world’s largest festival, will include the Fresno production of Janka (yan-ka), a drama about one woman’s will to survive in Nazi Germany and her desire to experience the American dream. Twelve Janka performances will be held in the 70-seat theater in The Lindisfarne Room at The Parish Church of St. Cuthbert in the heart of the Edinburgh City Centre from Monday, August 14 through Friday, August 18 and Sunday, August 20 through Saturday, August 26, 2006, from 7pm - 9pm.

Janka, written and produced by Oscar Speace, Fresno-based writer and director, is a one character play based on a letter Speace’s mother, Janka Festinger wrote in 1945 following her liberation from World War II Nazi concentration camps. The play stars Janice Noga, nationally acclaimed actress and singer who has been portraying Janka since 2002. Noga has previously been cast in New York theater in the Zorba, Fiddler on the Roof and Annie. Noga has also performed in numerous concerts from New York to Los Angeles as well as internationally.

Speace is an Emmy-winning producer, director and writer. For more than 20 years, he has produced and directed a wide range of television programming for the Valley Public Television, an affiliate of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and ABC30 in Fresno. In addition to the stage play, he has also produced Janka: One Minute of Perfect Happiness, a short documentary film that received a Telly Award in 2002.

The Guinness Book of Records has named the Fringe the largest festival in the world. Last year, the Open Arts Festival included 735 groups and 1,800 different shows held at 247 venues. Past festivals have included well-known Hollywood stars including Robin Williams, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Jude Law.

“The event attracts over 1000 talent scouts, promoters and producers to the Festival,” says Speace. “We certainly hope our play will attract their attention. Winning the Fringe Festival theater competition could mean a selection for performing in London.”

For more information, contact the Janka Project.