Ben

Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given name Benjamin (as well as Benedict, Bengt, Bennett, Benoit, Benvolio, or Ebenezer, among other names). It is also used as a given name in its own right.

Ben (in Hebrew: בֶּן‎, Son of) forms part of surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham (Hebrew: אברהם בן אברהם‎). Bar-, "son of" in Aramaic, is also seen, e.g. Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא‎). The Arabic "Bin" (بن) or "Ibn" (ابن), also meaning "son of" is an obvious cognate.

People with the given name Ben

The Tempest

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where the sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using illusion and skilful manipulation. He conjures up a storm, the eponymous tempest, to lure his usurping brother Antonio and the complicit King Alonso of Naples to the island. There, his machinations bring about the revelation of Antonio's lowly nature, the redemption of the King, and the marriage of Miranda to Alonso's son, Ferdinand.

There is no obvious single source for the plot of The Tempest, but researchers have seen parallels in Erasmus's Naufragium, Peter Martyr's De orbe novo, and eyewitness reports by William Strachey and Sylvester Jordain of the real-life shipwreck of the Sea Venture on the islands of Bermuda, and the subsequent conflict between Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Somers. In addition, one of Gonzalo's speeches is derived from Montaigne's essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero's renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medea in Ovid's poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Act 4 may have been a later addition, possibly in honour of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in 1613. The play was first published in the First Folio of 1623.

Mila Kunis

Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (/ˈmiːlə ˈkuːnɪs/; born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. In 1991, at the age of seven, she moved from the Ukrainian SSR to Los Angeles with her family. After being enrolled in acting classes as an after-school activity, she was soon discovered by an agent. She appeared in several television series and commercials, before acquiring her first significant role prior to her 15th birthday, playing Jackie Burkhart on the television series That '70s Show. Since 1999, she has voiced Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy.

Her breakout film role came in 2008, playing Rachel in the romantic comedy-drama Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Her other films include the neo-noir action film Max Payne (2008), the post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli (2010), the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits (2011), the comedy Ted (2012), the fantasy Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) as the Wicked Witch of the West , and the film Black Swan (2010), in which her performance gained her worldwide accolades, including the Premio Marcello Mastroianni for Best Young Actor or Actress, and nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater is a non-profit physical theater company located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It performs at the Crystal City Theatre in Arlington Virginia. Its declared mission is to "redefine theatre by blending innovative techniques and movement, investing in artists’ growth, and creating unforgettable visceral experiences for every audience." Since its formation its productions have received numerous awards.

History

Founded in 2001, Synetic Theater began as an artistic subgroup within the now defunct Stanislavsky Theater Studio which performed at the Church Street Theater in Washington, D.C. – the result of an artistic split by the husband and wife team of Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili from Andrei Malaev-Babel, the other co-head of The Stanislavsky Theater Studio. It made its artistic debut in April 2002 with a wordless adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, known as Hamlet…the rest is silence. The production was remounted the following season, receiving the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Resident Play, Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director. Despite the artistic split, Synetic Theater and The Stanislavsky Theater Studio continued to share resources and performance space into the following season, but in 2003, after a series of disagreements over financial matters, Synetic set off on its own. The following year Synetic merged with Classika Theater, a children's theater based in Shirlington, Virginia.

Kristen Bell

Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress and singer. Born in Detroit, she began her acting career by starring in stage productions and attended the Tisch School of Arts in New York. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and starred in the Broadway revival of The Crucible the following year. In 2004, she had a supporting role in the film Spartan and received praise for her first leading performance as Gracie Thompson in Gracie's Choice.

Bell gained critical acclaim for her first major role as the title character in the teen noir drama television series Veronica Mars (2004-2007). Her performance was lauded by critics and audiences and she received two nominations for the Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama and was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. She reprised the eponymous role in the 2014 film continuation of the series.

During her time on Veronica Mars, Bell appeared as Mary Lane in the 2005 film Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a reprise of the role she had played in the New York theatrical production of the musical upon which the film was based. In 2007, Bell joined the cast of the sci-fi television series Heroes, playing the character Elle Bishop, for which she was nominated for a Saturn Award, and the drama series Gossip Girl, as the off-screen titular narrator.