MARCH
26-29, 2015
“SOLO, BUT NOT ALONE”
The
Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) marks 22 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 26-29, 2015 to the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Avenue, Venice,
CA 90291.
The
Champagne Gala and Awards Ceremony on March 26, 2015 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.)
The
theme of the program on March 26 is “IN
TRIBUTE TO PHENOMENAL WOMEN.”The evening will be hosted by Hattie Winston (Becker) and Ted Lange (The Love Boat). Entertainment for the
evening of Thursday, March 26, 2015 will include:
Ingrid Graham: “Pearls.” An excerpted solo dance accompanied by live music.
This piece explores themes of truth, vulnerability and strength in
relationships. Original music performed by Melissa Sharee.
Jovelyn Richards: “Sweet Baby.” 1865. The end of the Civil War, in the aftermath
of its devastation, and Maw Maw comes upon a door lying in a field that offers
an answer to her question after a life of enslavement, “Free. What dat mean to me now?”
Clarinda
Ross: “From My Grandmother’s Grandmother
Unto Me.” This excerpted storytelling piece chronicles the joys and
sorrows of five generations of Appalachian women.
Friday, March 27, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “RISING ABOVE”
Megan Dolan: “SNACK!” A humorous and sobering look at being a child of
divorce that results in emotional eating, and the challenges of parenting your
kids and yourself---simultaneously.
Cheryl
Rae : “RIDE:A Life With Tobacco." This is a non-linear poetic storytelling about Tobacco- the
relief, the happiness and the hold.
Sharrell
D. Luckett: “Young, Gifted and Fat.” Once 100 pounds heavier, Sharrell serves
up interesting insights about her emotional struggle to adjust to life after
her major weight loss.
Saturday, March 28,
2015 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: “MOTHERS
AND DAUGHTERS”
Karen
A. Clark: “The Women.” In
this encore excerpt, through music, poetry and storytelling, Karen A. reflects
on the women in her family, particularly her mother, who provided a “wow”
factor.
Rachae
Thomas: “Pieces of Cara.” Through music and
spoken word, a young biracial woman takes an amusing look at her unorthodox
single parent mother in this storytelling piece.
Anu
Yadav: “Meena’s Dream.”
This one-woman play excerpt takes an empowering look at a young girl who
wrestles with her deepest fears, while still dreaming of a world where
everyone, including her mother, can have enough.
Saturday,
March 28, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “GLOBALLY
SPEAKING”
Davina
Cole: “All the Colours.” One woman’s turbulent journey from
Africa to the U.K. explores family, civil war and upheaval.
Stacie
Chaiken: “What She Left.” A young Jewish
woman in wartime Warsaw with a fierce will to survive did what she had to do.
Ingrid
Griffith: “Demerara Gold.” From the voice of a seven-year-old in
Guyana, this young girl is left in the clutches of her grandmothers when her
parents suddenly get visas to America and leave their children behind.
Juliette
Jeffers: “Pan Gyul.” A
Trinidadian girl in the 1950s who loves to play the steel pan drums deals with
the fact that playing the drums was only meant exclusively for men at that
time.
Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: “MOVEMENTS, MATCHMAKERS AND MERMAIDS”
Aizzah Fatima: “Dirty Paki Lingerie.”
Sex, religion and politics collide when Pakistani-American Muslim women
air their dirty laundry.
Kyla
Garcia: “The Mermaid Who Learned How to
Fly..” Part personal story and part fairy tale,
this storytelling piece is a deep exploration of what happens when we allow
romantic love to be the ground we stand on, rather than exploring our dreams
instead.
Maria
G. Martinez: “For My Cause Your Spirit
Will Speak.” A middle-aged Latina/Chicana/Mexicana
woman reflects on her journey through the Chicana Movement of the 60s that
includes her commitment to the struggle, sexism, and the honorable activism of
raising a child.
Katie
Wong (dancer), Raissa Simpson (choreographer): “Study on a Butterfly.” A
metaphoric solo dance piece questions how we relate to the internal struggles
of living with pain and depression, when our outward appearance projects
contradictory images of health and well-being.
Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. Theme: “DEFINING MOMENTS”
Deborah
Dutilh: “Into the Panther’s Cage.” This
story chronicles how one woman’s dream state envisions what comes to pass.
Stephanie
Ann Johnson: “Every 21 Days: Cancer, Yoga
and Me.” At once funny and poignant, a woman’s
victorious health bout ultimately changes her life through personal
remembrance, spirituality and yoga.
Marsha
Etell: “Big Butt Girls and Other
Fantasies/The Remix.” Through music, dance
and a sense of humor as healing elements, this woman gets through the
unexpected by not taking herself and life so seriously.
* * * * * *
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.
Los
Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is a non-profit organization. This year’s
annual organizational supporters include the Los Angeles County Arts
Commission, City National Bank, Department of Cultural Affairs City of Los
Angeles, City of Culver City, and Adilah Barnes Productions.
Admission
to the Gala is $50 or two tickets for $90 (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.
