First Look Series | NOT by Romina Paula | April 25, ’26

FIRST LOOK SERIES

NOT

a new play by ROMINA PAULA

Directed by ROMINA PAULA

Produced by Joben Productions & *Necessary Digression

A creative process is always a new beginning. A way to see the world, to define it, even. An opportunity when in good hands. A director convenes three actors. They don’t know each other. They don’t even speak the same language, literally. They try to agree on a common territory and hopefully an untranslated Argentinian novel will give them the material they are looking for. Until then, it won’t be easy to find common ground. Instead questions of immigration, futility, transcendence, capitalismo, et cetera fill the room.

NOT is a new work in progress by Argentinian playwright and director Romina Paula. The work is being developed across two continents slowly, intentionally and seeks to create a dialogue between artists in Buenos Aires and New York City. Un encuentro | an encounter. Un intercambio | an exchange.

This residency was produced with the support of Joben Studios, *Necessary Digression, Torn Page, and Tony Torn. Additional performances co-presented at Torn Page, April 29.

PERFORMANCES

Saturday, April 25th @ 2:00pm

Saturday, April 25th @ 7:30pm

Approximately 65mins (no intermission)

TICKETS

All other ticket tiers provide the same level of access to the performance with low interactivity.

Please make your purchase according to your needs.

General Admission: FREE

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For any questions, please contact necessarydigression@gmail.com

A dedicated track for emerging artists and companies who are willing to jump head-first into a fast and furious process of getting their new work on its feet and in front of an audience.

FIRST LOOK SERIES crafts moments for audiences to be in the room at the precipice of a production’s journey before all hell breaks loose. Artists get a feedback session and occasionally an invitation to connect deeper at Theaterlab.

MEET THE ARTISTS

ROMINA PAULA (Playwright/Director)

Romina Paula is an Argentine artist who thrives in diverse creative roles as playwright, film actor, theater director, filmmaker, and novelist. Her plays include Sombras, por supuesto (2023), Cimarrón (Rewilding, 2016), Fauna (2013), El tiempo todo entero (The Whole of Time, 2009), Algo de ruido hace (The Sound It Makes, 2008). In 2019 Paula made her debut as filmmaker with De Nuevo Otra Vez which won the San Sebastian Film Festival Horizontes Award. Paula has published four novels, ¿Vos me querés a mí? (2005), Agosto (2009), Acá todavía (2016), Hija biográfica (2025), and a collection of short stories, Archivos de Word (2021). Her novel Agosto was translated into English by Jennifer Croft and was published by The Feminist Press at CUNY (2017). Fauna and Other Plays was published by Seagull Books (2023) and translated into English by Jean Graham Jones, April Sweeney, and Brenda Werth.

BEN BECHER (Performer)

Ben Becher was born and raised in New York, where he’s worked in downtown and Off-Broadway theater, including Tis Pity She’ a Whore, Letters to Sala, and The Whole of Time, which received a Drama Desk Award nomination. Regionally, he performed in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class at Long Wharf Theater. He has trained in the US, UK and Argentina. On screen, he’s appeared in Before You Know It (Sundance), American Thief (Amazon), and I Need Your Love (Tribeca, Slamdance Jury Prize). His television credits include Law & Order: SVU, and he recently wrapped the feature The Down.

DENIS GROESMAN (Performer)

Denise Groesman is visual artist and actor from Buenos Aires who studied at the National University of the Arts (UNA). She has participated in group exhibitions and fairs in Argentina, Chile, France, and the United States. Groesman’s solo exhibitions include: Isla Flotante (2012/2014), Otero (2015), Big Sur (2017), UV Estudios (2018), Teatro Nacional Sarmiento (2018), El Bucle – Rosario (2019), Moria Galería (2019/2022) and Móvil Arte Contemporáneo (2021). In 2020 and 2022, she curated and produced “El sol por atrás” Art Festival at Parque los Andes, Buenos Aires. For over ten years, she has been teaching art classes in her studio and in the park. In film and theater, she has worked with Lola Arias, Agostina Lopez, Paula Hernandez, Agustina Munoz, Mariana Oberstern, Romina Paula, among others.

JOSEFINA SCARO (Performer)

Josefina Scaro is an Argentine actress, dancer, and producer based in New York whose work spans film, television, and theater across Latin America and the United States. She made her North American film debut in American Thief (2021), which screened at international festivals and is now available on Amazon Prime. Her recent screen work includes the feature films Farewell (dir. Teresa Costantini) and Legal (dir. Daniel Arango), both set to premiere in 2026. Her work has received international distribution across platforms including MUBI, Hulu, Apple TV, and Cine.ar, among others. In theater, she recently starred in the 2025 Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway production The Whole of Time, directed by Tony Torn. Through her collaborations with the Segal Center and Torn Page, she contributes to ongoing artistic exchange between Latin America and New York.

APRIL SWEENEY (Performer)

April Sweeney is an actor and theater director whose work has been seen in theaters and festivals in Europe, Latin America, and the U.S. Over the last two decades she’s worked in regional theater, a national tour, off-Broadway and downtown NYC. As a director she has created intimate chamber and site specific works, a four episode transmedia performance memoir with Sauda Jackson, staged new and old plays in the U.S. and abroad, and created theater with communities in Argentina and Bolivia. Her work has been supported by the National Endowment of the Arts, National Endowment of the Humanities, New York State Council of the Arts, and the New York City Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre.

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COVID-19 policy: In guidance with the city and state COVID-19 policies, we will no longer be requiring masks, but strongly recommend them.