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EXIT Theatre, San Francisco's downtown home for new and alternative
indie performance, announces its 2011 DIVAfest, featuring the work of established
and emerging women writers, directors, and performers. The 10th Annual DIVAfest
runs Thursdays through Saturdays, May 5 through May 28, 2011 with select
Sunday matinees on May 15 and May 22.
Featured at this year's DIVAfest are two plays, A Most Notorious
Woman and Eleanor, about strong, commanding women
whose stories are less known than they might be, if history hadn't been
written for so long a time by men. In addition, the festival presents Lucky
Girl, the true story of a woman piecing together the shards of a
life shattered by rape. San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima
and Singer/Songwriters Carrie Baum Love and Melissa
Lyn complete the festival.
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HERE FOR PRESS PHOTO GALLERY
Publicist Gary Carr at carrpool@pacbell.net |
Christina Augello as Grace O'Malley
PHOTO: Laurie Gallant |
Grace "Grania" O'Malley, the hussy
who hath indeed impudently stepped o'er the bounds of womanhood", is
the center character in playwright Maggie Cronin's story of the Irish pirate
queen. Set against a backdrop of an Ireland soon to be lost forever, an
Ireland on the cusp of history, this solo piece performed by Christina Augello,
follows Grace from a young defiant girl to her historic meeting with England's
Queen Elizabeth in 1593 at the age of 63. Driven by a fervent love of the
sea and a fierce loyalty to the Gaelic way of life, Grace became a "cut
throat, cut purse sailor woman", a symbol of national defiance, "a
nursemaid to every rebellion in Connaught". Hard-nosed businesswoman…barbarian…woman
in love…romantic heroine…all are revealed in this "absorbing
and multi-layered portrait of a most bewitching and infuriating historical
figure." This will be the third historical solo show for Ms. Augello
who has created the roles of Baroness Elsa, the "Mama of Dada"
and Boxcar Bertha, a 1920's labor heroine, in her two previous shows. Augello
has toured both of these plays on the international Fringe Festival circuit
and plans to take "Grania" on tour in 2012.
A Most Notorious Woman by Maggie Cronin previews May 6,
8:00 pm, Preview Tickets $10. Opens Saturday, May 7 at 7 PM . Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat
May 12-28 8PM (Matinee SUN May 22 3pm)- Tickets $15 (I Need a Discount Ticket)
$20 (General Admission Ticket) $25 (I Support the Arts Ticket). Tickets
at BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006) EXIT Stage Left, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco
Directed by Jayne Wenger, Stage Manager Allison Jones, Set Design Johnny
Mayne, Costume Design Laura Hazlett, Light Design Amanda Ortmayer, Sound
Design Ted Crimy
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TICKETS TO ELEANOR |
Eleanor a new play by Margery Fairchild
Previews May 5-6 at 8pm. Tickets $10 Opens Saturday, May 7 at 9 PM Runs
Thurs-Fri-Sat, 12-28 8pm (matinees 3pm Sundays May 15 & May 22)
Tickets $15 (I Need a Discount Ticket) $20 (General Admission Ticket)
$25 (I Support the Arts Ticket). Tickets at BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006) EXIT Theatre
Eleanor is a new dramatization of the exploits of the French queen Eleanor
of Aquitaine. A strong female sovereign alongside both of her husbands,
as well as in her own right, Eleanor established the notion of courtship
and romantic love in a way that forever transformed the role of women in
the west. As a central figure in the chivalric code of courtly love, Eleanor,
a true "lioness in winter", showed that women were more than a
piece of property sold by a marriage contract and expected to turn into
well-behaved bearers of male children. With her influence a woman's attention
became something to fight for and earn. For centuries Eleanor has been condemned
by writers and only now is her true contribution coming to light. Fairchild's
Eleanor imaginatively furthers this new insight into a true diva
of history.
Written, Directed, and Choreographed by Margery Fairchild, Featuring:
Alice Moore*, Nathan Tucker, Mikka Bonel, Christopher P. Kelly, Scott Ragle,
Brandon Wiley, Matthew Von MeeZee, Martin Schwartz, Sarah Moss, Jenni Gebhardt,
Natalie Koski-Karell, Meg Hurtado, and Ryan Beebe.
Songs and Music by Margery Fairchild and Ryan Beebe, Musical Direction by
Ryan Beebe, Dramaturgy and Script Development by Martin Schwartz, Concept
Developed by Fairchild, Schwartz, and Beebe, Lighting Design by Curtis Overacre,
Set and Prop Design by Jonathan Horton and Able & Baker Studio, Costume
Design by Sarah Moss, Stage Managed by Meghann Dubie
*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. An Equity approved project.
Co-produced with Dark Porch Theatre, in residence at the EXIT. |
Cheryl Smith
PHOTO: Laurie Gallant
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Lucky Girl by Frances Driscoll and
Tom Juarez previews May 5 at 8:00, tickets $10. Opens Saturday, May
7 at 5:00 PM and runs Thur-Fri-Sat, 8:00 PM May 12- 28 (Matinee SUN MAY
15 3pm) . Tickets $15 (I Need a Discount Ticket) $20 (General Admission
Ticket) $25 (I Support the Arts Ticket) BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006) EXIT Studio. SPECIAL READING BY FRANCES
DRISCOLL from her book The Rape Poems at 6pm Saturday May 21 before the
show.
Lucky Girl is the true story of a woman piecing together the shards
of a life shattered by rape. This collection of poems from Frances Driscoll's
book, The Rape Poems, embraces the denial, the acceptance, the suicidal
thoughts and the humor experienced in the aftermath of a rape. It's about
the messiness of our reactions to the events that happen to us, responses
that are often contradictory. It's about learning to live with and accept
that messiness as part of life. Ms. Driscoll's text distills a universe
of emotion. In this new solo show performed by Cheryl Smith, we can see
and hear the universe behind her words. Often painful, Lucky Girl,
is also beautiful, heartbreaking, quirky and funny.
The Rape Poems has become a primary source for understanding the
experience of rape and living with post-traumatic stress disorder. The book
has been used in training programs by police departments, the US Air Force,
medical schools, college athletic departments and at rape crisis centers
around the world. The Rape Poems is used as a text in college classes
ranging from creative writing and literature to medical ethics.
Driscoll's poetry has appeared in the journals Go, International Quarterly,
The Massachusetts Review, Pudding, Sojourner, 13th Moon, Volt and Willow
Springs. Poems from The Rape Poems were included in the anthologies the
why and later, edited by Carly Sachs, and The Pushcart Prize XIX: Best of
the Small Presses.
Praise for The Rape Poems from prominent poets includes:
Nikki Giovanni: "Powerful. Sad. Touching. Inspiring. What a gift
she has."
Ralph Angel: "… tender and private and hugely humane, these
unsettling poems arrive like dispatches from the very source of our wounds."
Cheryl Smith recently appeared in A Perfect Ganesh at New Conservatory
Theatre Center and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune at the
EXIT. Cheryl performed in Ambit Theatre Company's adaptation of The Rape
Poems at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe and received the Dean Goodman Choice
award for her performance in Kilt at NCTC. Directed by Kathryn Wood, Stage
Manager Theresa Hernandez, Light Design Tyler Null |
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TICKETS TO DIANE di PRIMA |
Diane di Prima, "What's New?"
Poetry reading by Beat icon and current San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane
di Prima. In her 7th annual solo appearance for EXIT Theatre's DIVAfest,
she will read several of her poems, unpublished and "slightly published,"
over the past five years. Saturday, May 7 at 3:00 pm. Admission: $5 donation
suggested at the door. Advance Tickets $5 at BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006). EXIT Theatre |
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TICKETS TO CARRIE BAUM LOVE |
You Can't Play Guitar When You're Dead
- An Ironic Optimist's Guide to the Universe! by Carrie Baum Love,
Singer Songwriter, Saturday May 21st. @ 10 PM Tickets $10 at BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006)
Carrie Baum Love, is back at the EXIT after her award winning 2008 Fringe
show, Exit Sign: A Rock Opera. While Exit Sign was a musical
exploration of grief and loss, Ms. Love's latest musings on mortality take
the form of a new song cycle entitled You Can't Play Guitar When You're
Dead - An Ironic Optimist's Guide to the Universe! This work focuses
on the unlikely and often unnoticed (let alone sung about) experiences that
make life worth living. You can expect to be entertained in the intimate
setting of the Exit Theater Cafe where Carrie will take you on a tour of
our universe that you aren't likely to forget! |
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BUY TICKETS TO MELISSA LYN |
Melissa Lyn, Singer Songwriter,
Saturday May 14th @ 10PM Tickets $10 at BrownPaperTickets.com
(1-800-838-3006)
Melissa Lyn, born and raised in the Twin Cities, classifies her music
as "alternative folk." Her set list includes "Good to You,"
an inspirational song written for her younger brother, "Next Time,"
a would-be love song, and "Time Spent Trying," an ode to a worry-wart.
Melissa now calls the Bay Area her home and is a member of the band, The
Bandishere. She is working on her first solo album. |
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