Created, written, composed and performed by Russell Kaback.
With storytelling coaching and creative contributions by Antonio Rocha.
russellkaback.com @russellkaback
EMAIL: russellkaback@gmail.com
Video Sample
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine,
Portland, Maine. May 2024
25044 Holding On Reprise - clip
Hear what audiences are saying about
Russell Kaback's "25044"
25044 Audience Reactions
Russell Kaback (writer, composer, performer) is a musician and educator based in South Portland, Maine. He teaches in K-12 classrooms, and writes, produces and performs original music. He received the 2016 Joel and Linda Abromson Award and the 2018 Maine Arts Commission Project Grant in support of bringing his musical story, based on his grandfather’s experience during the Holocaust, into schools in Maine. This work has been performed in venues in Maine and Massachusetts since 2014, at the PortFringe festival in Portland, and in his grandfather’s hometown of Bendzin, Poland in 2018. In 2022 he began collaborating with master storyteller Antonio Rocha to create the one-man musical storytelling version of the show, titled “25044”. The performance debuted in Turner, Maine in March 2023.
Antonio Rocha (storytelling coach and creative contributor), originally from Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from University of Southern Maine and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique fusion of mime and spoken word has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between, including 20 countries on 6 continents and 44 US states.
RUSSELL KABACK
"25044" will be the featured in-school performance at Portland Ovations in 2024-25.
Click image below for more info and to request a performance at your school.
What students and teachers are saying about Russell Kaback’s “25044”:
“...by far the most meaningful and real story I have seen.”
“...intuitive and raw.”
“It felt like I was watching a movie in my head using imagination.”
“What a lovely way to discuss a heart wrenching topic into something suitable for even children.”
"...a strong, emotional, impactful performance."
"I wish that all of us, both staff and students, could have the opportunity to experience this sharing of such an important part of history."
"...run, don't walk, to see him while he's here."
"His style of storytelling through movement, motion, and song was so captivating."
"It is a must see performance!"
Select quotes from reviews of Russell Kaback’s PortFringe 2023 performance of “25044”:
"‘25044’ is a must see."
"Brilliantly written and vocalized..."
"An incredible use of the short play format..."
"...non-stop energy and captivating storytelling skills."
"This is definitely something I would recommend for the whole family."
- Christina W. Richardson, PF23 Independent Review Team
"Kaback does not shy away from the atrocities his grandfather, Szyjek Magier, lived through during the Holocaust, but neither does he dwell in them or exploit them."
"He’s not out to shock the audience with ancestral trauma. His message is uplifting — an invitation, even."
"Kaback foregrounds highly physicalized storytelling interlaced with guitar accents and song..."
"Kaback’s energy and focus are consistently engaging and his voice is strong and resonant."
"Guided by seemingly divine instructions at key moments and a promise made to his mother, Szyjek Magier’s story is one of resiliency and triumph.
- Amanda Painter, PF23 Independent Review Team
