NEVER. the film CREDITS
Ray Manard (Director)
has a passion to work with non-profit organizations – including arts organizations – to help them to tell their story on film in a moving, compelling way. He considers himself to be a content artist, crafting pieces that are meant to be seen, touched and felt. Handling such a historically important and delicate topic as
Bruce Buell (Producer)
runs Buell Advertising, a full-service agency created in 1989. In collaboration together, Bruce and Ray have won many Telly Awards for their clients with creative storytelling for TV and video. Whatever medium is being employed, the key is to connect the mind with the heart so that the message resonates with viewers and listeners of the project. Bruce has voiced thousands of radio commercials and been on-camera and/or voiced hundreds of TV commercials and videos, often writing the copy as well. He has acted, directed, and produced virtually all his life. For this documentary, he served as an interviewer for cast members and family members of the survivors. Drawing out honest and emotional responses is important. Understanding the actor's mind allows him to probe deeper. This documentary has been a tremendous learning experience for Bruce and the whole crew. Both heartwrenching and heartwarming with hope abiding in the stories of the survivors.
Wendy Kout (Writer)
is an award-winning writer/producer of stage, film, virtual screen and television, whose work has been appreciated around the world.
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Sandi Henschel (Director of "Survivors" The Play)
has spent her entire career in theater and is the directed each year of the Rochester stage production. One of the most accomplished directors in our area, she has directed performances of: Agnes of God, Annie, 42nd Street, A Chorus Line, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, The Secret Garden, The Waiting Room, My Left Breast, and countless others, including TYKEs’ productions of Llama Llama Red Pajama, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Go Dog Go!, and Seussical. She has worked with virtually every local theater company including the JCC CenterStage, Shipping Dock Theatre, Rochester Community Players, Rochester Children’s Theatre, Blackfriars Theatre, Rochester Shakespeare Players, and many more. Also a gifted actor, she has appeared in productions ranging from James and the Giant Peach to The Diary of Anne Frank, Richard III, Cinderella, Macbeth, and many more.
Ralph Meranto (Co-Producer)
was inspired to commission SURVIVORS as a way to ensure the stories of Rochester’s Holocaust Survivors would continue to be told after their deaths. As a Producing Artistic Director of CenterStage Theatre at the JCC his passion and national reputation for new work developed has led to multiple new plays created locally and in conjunction with the National New Play Network and Alliance for Jewish Theatre. Recent new works include Tracy Jones by Stephen Kaplan, Division Street and On the Market (Jason Odell Williams), RuPaul’s Drag Race star Mrs. Kasha Davis’ There’s Always Time for a Cocktail (Off-Broadway Premiere at Beechman Theater), Bruce Sabbath’s Searching for Tevye, Wild Horses by Allison Gregory and the annual popular music series Hitmakers. Ralph directed the world premiere of Jason Odell Williams’ Church & State which made its NYC debut at New World Stages (OBA Nominee Best New Play). Church & State has been licensed by Dramatist Play Services for over 65 productions across North America.
Freyda Schneider (Co-Producer)
is TYKEs’ Theater founder and director and has 25 years of professional theatre management experience. She also works with aspiring young actors each summer at TYKEs’ KidStage to write and perform original on-stage productions, and writes for adults as well including Writers & Books’ 24 Hour Plays and the original production of A Sharing Stone based on the Stone Soup fable. A local JCC member since childhood, she has strong connections to the Jewish community, maintaining a focus on pinpointing and addressing audience needs. Passionate about children’s theatre, her goal is to spark creativity and out-of-the-box thinking among young people to inspire upcoming generations of thoughtful, caring theatre performers and patrons.