29th Annual Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival Returns March 24

Tanya Thomas in 'Naturally Tan'
photo by Cameron Jordan

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival will again present virtually this year. The overall theme of the Festival this year is BEYOND BOUNDARIES.

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) marks 29 years of producing well over 600 extraordinary multicultural and multidisciplinary solo performers from around the globe.

The longest-running Annual Solo Festival for women in Los Angeles, LAWTF will take place March 24- March 27, 2021, online.

The virtual Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony will take place Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 8 p.m. PST and will be hosted by Hattie Winston (Becker) and Ted Lange (The Love Boat). The event will honor women of exceptional achievement and contribution to the world of theatre. The honorees will be announced in a forthcoming press release. There will be live performances in addition to the awards presentation. Theme: BRAVA!.  Performers include:

Karen A Clark in A Tribute to Women.   This spoken word and musical excerpt will pay homage to women.

Shelley Cooper in 'La Divina'
photo by Cameron Jordan

Shelley Cooper in an excerpt from La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas. Opera singer Maria Callas will be honored in this vocal piece. A different excerpt will be presented on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Juli Kim in Joy. A dance that celebrates the joy of youth as it tells the story of vibrant women of Hwang Hae Island who, in efforts to dominate and mesmerize the audience, wore bells on their wrists or feet while clad in lovely, colorful costumes.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Friday, March 25 at 8 p.m. Theme: The Other.

Lynne Jassem in Tapping My Way to the Nuthouse. One child dancer's story of mental pain and ultimately mental health is told through the lenses of multi-media, tap dance, mime, music, and humor.

Manca Ogorevc in The Child Behind the Eyes. On the eve of her son’s first day of school, the character Maya reflects on her child who has Down’s Syndrome.

Kathryn Smith in A Mile in My Shoes. Esther, an omniscient “Shoe Whisperer,” walks us through her life on Skid Row.

Saturday, March 26, at 3 p.m. Theme: Around the World and Back.

Roxanne Beckford in Walk Good: A Jamerican Journey. How the littlest Head Girl at St. Andrews Preparatory in Kingston, Jamaica became a driver in a presidential motorcade for the leader of the free world...after pit stops as a beauty queen, a mother of four, and a female actor.. 

Shelley Cooper in another excerpt from La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas. Callas explores her complicated relationship with the mogul,  Aristotle Onassis.

Azo Safo in I Heart Maroc. Journey into the lives of rural Moroccans through the eyes of Azo, a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer who goes to Morocco to find her life’s purpose.

Tanya Thomas in Naturally Tan. Told through the bold perspective of a vivacious drag queen named Tanvi, this piece follows Tanya Thomas’ desperation to fit in as a minority in Singapore and her search for acceptance in America.

Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m. Theme: Identity.

Barbara Brownell in Finding My Light. It’s not the cards you are dealt but the attitude that makes all the difference. This excerpt follows one woman’s search for her biological father.

Kira Powell in Caught in the Mix. A journey through the life of a mixed Black and Latina woman who grew up being taught she was white and ultimately embraces her true identity.

Bethany Vee in I Have Too Many Feelings. Bethany’s feelings may have dominated her existence from the beginning of time, but now she’s actually facing them.

Sunday, March 27 at 3 p.m. Theme: In Relation to…..

Kirsten Laurel Caplan in Lady LiberTEASE. Kirsten is thrilled to have discovered the long-forgotten American goddess Columbia- an inspiring symbol of female empowerment but, after making a commitment to anti-racism, uncovers truths about her family’s history that connects her to Columbia’s own problematic past.

Dee Freeman in The Poison Gun. Dee, a naïve 6-year-old Black girl from rural Louisiana becomes a key witness in a murder investigation as she fights to keep a secret from a racist cop who has his own agenda for finding out the truth.

Victoria Montalbano in The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of Her Dreams. In 1997, Victoria Montalbano was introduced to her perfect man, Han Solo, and she’s been looking for him ever since.

Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Theme: Resilience.

Sandra Booker in She Can Be Evil- A Survivor’s Story. This excerpt takes a look at the life of a Black jazz singer and pole dancer who was sexually assaulted by the man she loved, all the while finding solace in her world of music.

Amanda Broomell in Mandy Picks a Husband. This romantic odyssey of a nearly 40-year-old singleton and her aged cat channels the trials and tribulations of courting in the modern age, to ask: How can you create intimacy with someone if you can’t love yourself?

Alma Collins in Strong Like Honey. The story of a little girl growing up in Venice, CA who experiences the generational relationship between grandmother, mother, and daughter, and how understanding and forgiveness allowed her to find healing in the dynamics of this African-American family.

Jessica Lynn Johnson will return this year with her FREE workshop for writer-performers, The Art of Creating the One-Person Play, to be held virtually on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed., the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is an Annual Event unique among Los Angeles cultural institutions, not to be missed.

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is a non-profit arts organization supported in part by the California Arts Council, LA County Arts and Culture, Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles, City of Culver City, City National Bank, KPFK 90.7, Lendistry, Women in Media and Adilah Barnes Productions.

Early Bird single show tickets are $15 until March 1 or $20 thereafter. Early Bird GALA tickets are $20 until March 1 or $25 thereafter. A VIP all-access pass for the entire Festival is available for $80. Reservations will be available at (818) 760-0408 or go to http://www.lawtf.org To join and follow LAWTF on Facebook and Twitter, click on their links at http://www.lawtf.org