21st Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival Set

          The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) marks 21 years of producing close to 500 extraordinary multicultural and multidisciplinary solo performers from around the globe.

          The longest-running annual solo festival for women in Los Angeles, LAWTF will return March 27-30, 2014 to the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Avenue, Venice, CA 90291.

          The Champagne Gala and Awards Ceremony on March 27, 2014 will be held in honor of exceptional women who have made laudable contributions in theatre. Following the reception at 7:00 p.m., the festivities continue at 8:00 p.m. with the presentation of the Integrity, Eternity, Rainbow, Maverick and Infinity Awards to distinguished women. (The Honorees will be announced in a separate release.) Hosts for the Gala include Starletta DuPois (“Lost,” “The Notebook”)  and Ted Lange (“The Love Boat”).

          Entertainment for the evening of Thursday, March 27, 2014 will include:

          Ingrid Graham: “The Passage.” This dance explores one woman’s journey to self-acceptance through gratitude and meditation.

          Tia Matza : “Grief and Grace.” This aerialist piece channels the grace of Tia’s mother as it also honors the divine feminine in all of us.

          Sloan Robinson: “Bananas: A Day in the Life of Josephine Baker.” An excerpt from the award-winning show about the beloved entertainer.

Friday, March 28, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “Transformations.” Hosted by Fay Hauser-Price (actor/producer/director) and Angela Robinson-Witherspoon (“Ugly Betty”).

          Tracy Silver: “Motion Cures.” A misunderstood child in a dysfunctional family shares how the beauty and grace of ballet saved her life.

          Sofia Marie Gonzalez: “Bully-Mia.” This piece on bullying chronicles one person’s journey from victim to victor.

          Katie Rubin: “Why I Died, A Comedy!”  An unlikely exploration of forgiveness, unity and ultimately enlightenment in the life of one actor.

Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. Theme: “Mirrored Reflections.”  Hosted by Kat Kramer (“My Duet With Mick”) and Sky Palkowitz (“Calling America: Don’t Hang Up”).

          Cynthia Ling Lee: “rapture/rupture.” The intimate and bittersweet rapture of poetic love-in-separation is reinterpreted through cultural and gendered difference in this contemporary abhinaya (emotional expression in Indian dance) piece.

          Ansuya Nathan: “Long Live the King.”  A big fan of Elvis, a young Indian woman arrives in Australia with her husband the day The King dies. She fears her marriage is drifting apart due to pressures of migration and the impending birth of their first child.

          Marlene Ondrea Nichols: “Dress Kiss Me.” A dress becomes a bridge to understanding a woman’s seamstress mother who hopes to create enough beauty through clothing to block memories of war and loss.

          Lisa Marie Rollins: “Ungrateful Daughter: One Black Girl’s Story of Being Adopted Into a White Family…That Aren’t Celebrities.”  An adopted Black girl shares her mixed experience growing up in an Anglo family.

Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “Rising Above.” Hosted by James Pickens, Jr. (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Karen A. Clark (“The Women”).

          Dacyl Acevedo: “Will Work For.”  This farcical journey uses clowning, storytelling and physical theatre to illustrate how one actor navigates through the trials of unemployment to survive the economic crash.

          Jozanne Marie: “Beautiful.” Jamaican-born, Jozanne shares her brave story of survival, faith and victory in a personal story about a girl, an island and a secret.

          Anita Noble: “Polly Bemis.”  From “Unbinding Our Lives” by Geralyn Horton, Anita portrays the historical Polly Bemis, a pioneering Chinese woman who was bought and sold as a saloon girl and ultimately became a famous figure of the Wild West.

Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. Theme: It’s All Relative.” Hosted by Bertila Damas (“Grimm”) and Adleane Hunter (director/producer).

          Karen A. Clark: “The Women.” In this excerpt, through music, poetry and storytelling, Karen A. reflects on the women in her family, and particularly her mother, who added a “wow” factor.

        Estela Garcia: “Remedios Varo: La Alquinista.”  In Spanish and with supertitles, this piece uses multimedia to bring alive paintings by visual artist Remedios Varo that speak as metaphors for her personal family life.

          Jennifer S. Jones: “Appearance of Life.”   An Argentine woman searches for her daughter, Rosa, who becomes one of many desaparecidos (disappeared) during the Dirty War of Argentina, from 1976 to 1983. This piece is based on the writer’s first-hand interviews.

          Ciera Payton: “Michael’s Daughter.” One woman’s paper-trail relationship with her incarcerated father.

Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Theme: “Riffs” Hosted by Starletta DuPois (“The Notebook”) and Barry Shabaka Henley (“State of Play,” “Carrie”).

          Karen Bankhead: “Etta Mae Humphries: And the Rest Is History.”  Etta Mae Humphries, better known as “the Black Forrest Gump,” is full of wisdom, humor and anecdotes of her influence on celebrities. She knows everybody who is anybody.

          Mwanza Furaha: “Excerpts from Cabaret Underground.” This jazz cabaret artist speaks to her own life and pays tribute to some of the vocalists she has had the pleasure of working with during her career.

          The Lindz: “WASP.” This poet speaks on relationship-related, socially conscious, goofy, insightful, sardonic and riotous poetry.

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival was founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed. The Festival is an annual event unique among American cultural institutions and should not be missed.

The Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of the following individuals and organizations: Supervisor Zev Yarolslavsky; Councilman Bernard Parks; Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; City of Culver City; City National Bank; Union Bank; KPFK-FM; Adilah Barnes Productions.

Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is a non-profit organization.  Admission to the Gala is $45, or two tickets for $80 (includes light fare and Champagne). For the other programs, ticket prices this year include general admission single show tickets at $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. Students, seniors, and groups of ten or more, $18. Children 12 and under, $10.

Reservations: (818) 760-0408. Online reservations will be available at http://www.lawtf.org .  To join and follow LAWTF on Facebook and Twitter, click on their links at http://www.lawtf.org .