R. SKY Palkowitz is known internationally as "The Delusional Diva", an Avant-Garde Multimedia Performance Artist, Actor, Musician, Filmmaker, Educator and Character Illusionist from New York, who has been acting and singing professionally since the age of 14. SKY's serious training began when she was the youngest member chosen for the prestigious Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP), the nation's top graduate conservatory for Shakespeare and classical theatre, at the University of Delaware. She then went on to receive her MFA in Acting at the University of Iowa, where she taught acting, performed in 3 seasons of Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre, and wrote, directed and produced her first multimedia extravaganza, "All About Malcolm", and first solo show, "Alien Rhoda". SKY has taught acting and toured nationally for the past 16 years, performing educational theatre in hundreds of schools around the country to thousands upon thousands of kids. She's scripted, moderated and conducted numerous workshops on anti-violence, anti-smoking, drug-abuse prevention, and sex-abuse prevention for kids, teens, parents and teachers; using the techniques of Augusto Boal's forum theatre, while touring Illinois schools with Imagination Theatre in Chicago. SKY performed in 2 tours of the Pacific Northwest with The National Theatre For Children, our country's top issue-based, touring children's theatre company. Sky has taught acting, voice, commercials, auditioning techniques, and Shakespeare with many companies such as Bizkids USA, Performing Arts, and Pasadena Children's Theatre, to kids of all ages, and still continues coaching children and adults privately in LA. While living in Chicago, SKY re-invented herself as The Delusional Diva, a character specialist who, with the use of costumes, wigs, and voices, has created tons of characters, following in the footsteps of some of her heroines, such as Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard, Tracey Ullman, and Anna Deavere Smith. It was in Chicago that SKY wrote and performed her 2nd solo show, "Delusional Diva: Cheese For Thought", which she premiered at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, receiving great press and a special guest appearance on "Good Morning Philadelphia". Her third solo, "Synapse Hysteria" played in Chicago, Philadelphia, and at the Minneapolis Fringe Festival, where SKY also covered the front pages of newspapers with her outrageous host of zany characters and faces. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2000, SKY quickly became the Executive Director of the Women's Theatre Company Los Angeles (WTCLA) at the Hudson Ave. Theatre in Hollywood, where she cast the company, taught workshops, acted, directed, and produced industry showcases, monologue festivals, one-act festivals, gender-bender series and short plays; in the company comprised of top professional female directors, actors, writers and producers. It is there that SKY worked with director/dramaturg, Irene Pinn (Lily Tomlin's first director), and produced "Delusional Diva: How Did I Get Here?", her second semi-autobiographical piece where SKY plays all the characters. In LA, SKY began working closely with her legendary mentor, Rachel Rosenthal, receiving multiple scholarships, training and performing in her studio, Espace DBD, for nearly a decade. SKY is a founding member of Rachel's past company, Fauve Conspiracy, and continues the traditions of Rachel's avant-garde teachings and techniques by incorporating them into the performance art SKY creates regularly. Under Rachel's guidance SKY produced "Alien Love", a one night only multimedia happening that took place in three locations, where the audience was abducted by aliens and taken from venue to venue by a bus donated by the City of Los Angeles. The evening culminated with an art opening party and viewing of 44 pieces of SKY's alien-themed visual art. SKY paints aliens and writes songs in her spare time. Her house is known as "The Harvard Hive Alien Art Museum, Animal Queendom and Crystal Earth Creation Station Gallery, Studio, Workspace and Performance Place", where she hosts performances and art parties. SKY was sponsored personally by Lily Tomlin in 2009 to join the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival, a multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary festival that celebrates and honors women solo artists from all over the world in an annual, week-long festival. She is Treasurer of this non-profit organization, as well as Chair of the Finance/Fundraising Committee, and is often a celebrity host at their festivals and performances. SKY has been living in Los Angeles for 13 years and has performed regularly at venues such as: The World-Famous Comedy Store, Highways Performance Space, Theatre Theater, Hudson Theatre, The Lillian Theatre, Theatre Asylum, Theatre of Note, and The 24th St. Theatre... She's worked with Orphean Circus, LA Connection Comedy Theatre, Chrysalis Stage, and Independent Shakespeare Company; and with such greats as Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Ken Roht, John Fleck, and Penny Arcade, to name a few. She has been seen on MTV, Time Warner NY, SONY Pictures, FOX TV, LOGO, Bravo, TeenNick, Adult Swim, Warner Brothers... Last summer SKY had the opportunity of returning to her classical roots, playing Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet" in Shakespeare By The Sea's 22 city tour across California to 25,000 people. Sky performs improvisation, stand-up comedy, music and original performance art regularly around Hollywood. She is a SAG-AFTRA actor who also does film, TV, music videos and commercials. She is the star of the internet web-series, "A Palkowitz Now!", co-created with her long time art-partner, Jason Jenn, whom she also makes tons of short films, music videos, vlogs and live performances with, that can be found all over the internet. SKY and Jason have been hosting performance art happenings and themed parties known as the Phyllis' Garage happenings since 2000. SKY's latest trans-media solo tour-de-force, "CALLING AMERICA: DON'T HANG UP!!" premiered at the Exit Theatre's San Francisco Fringe Festival in September of 2012, and just back from the BROADWAY DISTRICT PREMIER at The United Solo Theatre Festival at THEATRE ROW on 42nd St. NYC this past November, 2013. The show was a SOLD-OUT BESTSELLER where SKY plays 50 characters in 90 mins. More info and videos can be found at www.youtube.com/DelusionalDiva - IMDb Mini Biography By: R. SKY Palkowitz
