New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
born writer/performer, character artist and producer. Born to a Jewish parents, a German mother Ruth Filler (born Ruth Adler in
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...
, Germany), and Sol (Schaja) Filler, a Pole fro Brzozow Galicia, who survived Plascow, Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt concentration camps. Her maternal grandparents fled from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
to New Zealand in 1938 (her maternal grandfather's family's history can be traced back to the late sixteenth century in Germany). The family lived in
Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen () is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden.
Obernkirchen is a small town in the shadows of the Bückeberg, a h ...
and
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...
Obernkirchen
Obernkirchen () is a town in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 8 km southwest of Stadthagen, and 15 km east of Minden.
Obernkirchen is a small town in the shadows of the Bückeberg, a h ...
Growing up in Auckland, she attended Mt Roskill Primary, where the local
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
vicar, preaching to the entire school over the school intercom, informed the school it was the Jews who had killed Jesus. At the age of 9 she insisted to the vicar that her family had no part in killing Jesus and he recanted his statement publicly. As part of th Little Folksingers of
Mt Roskill
Mount Roskill is a suburban area in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is named for the volcanic peak Puketāpapa (commonly called "Mount Roskill" in English).
Description
The suburb, named after the Mount, is located seven kilometres to ...
, a local recording group, she attended several folk concerts including
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s.
White grew up in the South ...
,
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...
, and met Peter Paul and Mary, who encouraged her to continue singing folk songs. Also at age 9 she began to play guitar, mimicking socially important and intricately harmonized folk songs, determined to pursue a career in folk music The Little Folksingers of Mt Roskill recorded
Malvina Reynolds
Malvina Reynolds (August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/ blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her songwriting, particularly the songs "Little Boxes", " What Have They Done to the Rain" and " Morningt ...
' songs,
Puff the Magic Dragon
"Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Yarrow's group in a 1962 recording released in January 1963.
Lipton wrote a poem about a ...
Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz
Machon Le Madrichim (hebr. for " Institute for Youth Leaders"), officially known as Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz ( he, מכון למדריכי חוץ לארץ)("Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad"), is a gathering of young people in Jerus ...
leadership institute in Israel, she enrolled to study as a teacher trainee at the
Auckland College of Education
The Auckland College of Education, earlier known as the Auckland Training College and the Auckland Teachers' Training College, was a teachers' college in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. It was established in 1881 and was based in the Aucklan ...
, specializing in drama. It was during this period, in 1974, she met
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
. Bernstein was so delighted her father had attended a
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
he had played for Holocaust survivors at the Landsberg Displaced Person's Camp, near Munich in 1948, that he closed the
Auckland Town Hall
Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian building on Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Council meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and ...
and played a piano concerto entirely to Filler. Bernstein became a major role model for Filler both professionally and personally, who often quoted his warmth and generosity on and off stage. Filler co-wrote, "Mr Bernstein", a short film slated for production as part of the New Zealand Film Commission Premiere Shorts program. She taught music, theatre and English for the
Auckland Education Board
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
at area schools for three years, creating a musical, ''Giz A Go Travelling Road Show'', touring in a friend's painted bus with her students.
Early career
Filler was lead singer in several rock and roll bands and a founding member of two celebrated New Zealand punk cabaret groups, "The Ratz" and Debbie and the Dum Dums wit
an Sarah Pierse Also played music in the Backstreet Women's Theatre, a company formed by feminists in the New Zealand Women's Movement, reacting against a prominent anti-abortion bill at the time in New Zealand, which was overturned. Left New Zealand to study theatre in London but stayed in New York when she discovered
Stella Adler
Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. ''
Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...
, and Deborah Hedwall. Her off-Broadway debut was in ''Sophie'', a musical comedy based on the life of singer
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...
. She performed in Europe with various 1980s theatre companies. Her first one-woman show, a variety of sketches which she wrote and performed in, was named 'Pick of the Fringe Festivals' by the CBC, Canada. Performing at various 1980s New York downtown cabaret spaces she worked alongside
John Leguizamo
John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...
, Blue Man Group, as a featured artist at the 'Gusto House Cabaret' and was chosen to tour as a headliner from Gusto at the 1990 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with fellow performers including Jim Turner. A tour of the U.K. followed.
Theatre
Filler has worked as an actor, writer and comedian internationally including the Stratford Festival and in The Handmaid's Tale. She is best known for her character artistry and autobiographical writing and performance, ''Punch Me in the Stomach'' a comi-tragedy, blending laughter and tears. '''', co-written with Alison Summers, was her first major solo show. She performed thirty-six characters and the show was initially workshopped at La Mama Theatre in New York. It toured to the Adelaide Festival, and th New Zealand International Festival of the Arts where she won 'Critics' Pick'. It opene off-Broadway at the
New York Theatre Workshop
__NOTOC__
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it hou ...
in 1992 and has frequently toure internationally including return shows t Melbourne Sydney, Auckland and Berlin. It opened New York's Jewish Museum's refurbished theatre, sold out at Sydney' Belvoir Street Theatre and around the world and opened the new Hong Kong Theatre for the Arts. The show was adapted to a film by documentary filmmaker and directo Francine Zuckerman .
"FILLER UP!" co-written wit is a twenty-seven character solo play where she bakes a loaf of challah bread onstage, ending with the story of how her father upon his liberation, was able to bake bread with the captured German POW's, because everybody was hungry. The play was workshopped in New Zealand at the Wellington Fringe 2000, at Rhubarb! Festival in Toronto Baltimore Theatre Project], Theatre J Washington, Gloucester Theatre Company, Open Stage of Harrisburg (at their 2nd Annual WomenSpeak Festival in 2001), in Winnipeg and at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. World Premiere of the show at Drill Hall Theatre, London 2003 to a sellout run. Equally successful runs in Toronto, Berlin, Sydne Auckland and the U.S. (Alexandria, VA, and FL).
Playwriting stints include the Adirondak Theatre Festival] and guest playwright Buddies in Bad Times Theatre AnteChamber, and an ongoing member of the Usual Suspects Playwrights Lab at New York Theatre Workshop.
Film and television
The Handmaid's Tale, Hulu, Shark Lords, FX, Reign, Odd Swiad, Lucky 7, Mr Bernstein, Punch Me in the Stomach the film toured theatrically and was later screened on television internationally including on PBS.
Short films, 'Ladies and Gentlemen:Biddie Schitzerman," (writer and performer) and 'Trip'(co-writer) Angst a documentary produced by the ABC. Appeared as Elaine, from Elaine's Restaurant New York
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events leadi ...
with Harvey Keitel and Finn's Girl.
Print and other work
Voice of the Peg Bundy doll and "Mummy" in the award-winning animated series,
Bob and Margaret
''Bob and Margaret'' is an adult animated television series created by David Fine and Alison Snowden and produced by Nelvana. The series was based on the Academy Award-winning short film '' Bob's Birthday'', featuring the same main characters, ...
. Contributing writer i DAUGHTERS OF ABSENCE edited b Mindy Weisel Worked on numerous productions as co-writer, coaches, m.c's live entertainment shows.