28th Annual Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival Announces Director and Line-Up of Host

Juliette Jeffers

The 28TH Annual Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) has a roster of distinguished artists who will co-host six evenings of programs virtually. This year’s overall theme is And Still, We Rise!  

The six evenings of Festival shows this year will be directed by Fay Hauser-Price. A member of the Directors Guild of America, her directing credits include Where There’s Smoke, 5150, Paris in Search of a Dream, Read to M, L.A., The Emerging Artists Showcase, Story of a People,  24/Seven; A Gift of Son; and The Other Side of Victory. She is also a producer, writer, and actor.

Thursday, March 25, 2021, at 7 p.m., The Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony honors five distinguished women for their contributions to theatre and presents song and dance performances.  

Theme of the GALA: Empowered Women.

Hosts are Hattie Winston and Ted Lange.

Hattie Winston has starred on Broadway (The Tap Dance Kid, The Me Nobody Knows, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Hair, Scapino!, I Love My Wife), on television (Becker, The Electric Company, Homefront), and feature films (The Battle of Shaker Heights, Beverly Hills Cop III, and Jackie Brown). She is a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company.

Ted Lange is known internationally for his portrayal of Isaac Washington on the long-running TV series The Love Boat. Lange received the Renaissance Man Theatre Award from the NAACP for his stage accomplishments as an actor both on Broadway and in Los Angeles, playwright (23 plays), and director. His one-man show in which he portrays Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Behind the Mask, tours worldwide.

Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m.

Theme: Balancing Acts.

Hosts are Margaret Avery and Dawn Didawick.

Margaret Avery was the recipient of an Academy Award ® nomination for The Color Purple, Ms. Avery appeared regularly on the BET TV series Being Mary Jane. She starred in the acclaimed Robey Theatre Company production of The River Niger, and won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance in Does The Tiger Wear a Necktie?

Dawn Didawick is a founding member of Antaeus Theatre Company. Her long, varied career has taken her from New York to Europe in the classics and new works.  At Antaeus, her credits include: The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Bear, Pera Palas, Autumn Garden, The Seagull, The Crucible, and multiple roles in ClassicsFest including Amanda in The Glass Menagerie and Big Mama in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof {Stage Raw Award).

Saturday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

Theme: Truth to Power.

Hosts are Florence LaRue and Rosie Lee Hooks.

Florence LaRue is an original member of the legendary, Grammy® Award-winning pop singing group The 5th Dimension. The last remaining original member of the group that originated the genre called “Champagne Soul,” she still tours with the current version of the group today, singing the group’s original songs, and more. She also appeared in the national tour of the Broadway hit Ain’t Misbehavin’, and tours with Just As I Am.

Rosie Lee Hooks - A founding member of the musical performance ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, she more recently appeared in the acclaimed Robey Theatre Company productions of Knock Me a Kiss and Transitions.  She is currently Director of Watts Towers Arts Center and Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center. She was also a founding member of the D.C. Black Repertory Theatre Company.

Sunday, March 28 at 7 p.m.

Theme: Secrets.

Hosted by Juliette Jeffers and Jessica Lynn Johnson.

Juliette Jeffers is a Caribbean-American writer and performer. Her plays include Judgment Day, Chocolate Match,  Pan Gyul,  Batman and Robin in the Boogie Down (Bronx Council on the Arts Award), and Tio Pablo (Hollywood Short and Sweet Festival Award)). She has also appeared in film and TV roles and over sixty national commercials. Additionally, she is a director and producer. She is also the Curator of the Black Voices Solo Theatre Festival at the Whitefire Theatre.

Jessica Lynn Johnson is acclaimed both as a solo performer and as a director of solo artists. She is the founder of the company Soaring Solo LLC. Her directing credits include Unemployed Finally, The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly, 365 Days of Crazy, Triangles Are My Favorite Shape, Bully-mia, Not My Show, Answers Outta The Blue, Dear Yoko, and more. She received the award for Best National Solo Artist and multiple awards from the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Monday, March 29 at 7 p.m

Theme: Boxed In, Set Free.

Hosts are Kat Kramer and Iona Morris.

Kat Kramer founded Kat Kramer's Films That Change the World to showcase motion pictures that raise awareness about important social issues.  She has starred in two popular one-woman shows, The Colors of Myself and Kriss Krossing. Kat has played the classic roles in The Miracle Worker, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Great Expectations, David and Lisa, and The Lark. She can be seen in the indie feature film Turnover.

Iona Morris is a director/writer/actor. who wrote and directed the short film, Celeste’s Dreams, which is making the Film Festival rounds with 16 Festivals screening her film. Ms. Morris’ won awards for her theatre directing and as an actress as well. She has directed and helped many celebrities create their one-person shows; Jenifer Lewis, Blair Underwood, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Kim Wayans to name a few. She is currently the Acting/Dialogue Coach on the comedy Black-ish.

Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m.

Theme: Unbound.

Hosts are Angela Gibbs and Jahna Houston.

Angela Gibbs produced the plays 227 (subsequently developed as a TV series) and Checkmates, starring Denzel Washington and Ruby Dee. Ms. Gibbs has a diverse background in the entertainment industry that spans four decades. As an actor, her credits include films (Love Jacked, Straight Outta Compton) and TV shows (recently On My Block and a series regular role on Black Jesus).

Jahna Houston is an actor, producer, and writer. She has appeared on stage in Undertow,  I Feel Like Going On, and Guess Who’s Coming for Me? She performed on television in Hollywood Fiction, Get Thee Behind M,e and the mini-series Wicked. She has performed roles in the feature films Triumphant: She Fights to Win,  A Fatal Friend,  and A Little Problem.

Festival performers and honorees are the subjects of separate releases. For more information about Festival programming and tickets, please go to www.lawtf.org or call (818) 760-0408.