The Poetry Corner at the Planet Connections Gets To Know Dickenson, Parker 6/13

Examine The Women Behind The Words at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity with
DICKINSON THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND, Telling the Stories of Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker and Anne Sexton Beginning June 13th
See all three shows for only $15.00 each!

Poets Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974) were wordsmiths extraordinaire, each making lasting impressions upon the literary world while battling personal demons that threatened to consume them. Unrequited love, family secrets, and the "curse" of brilliance (and being ahead of their time) were only some of the issues that both haunted them and spurred them on to artistic greatness. Now, three very unique productions shine a light on the women behind the words: DICKINSON: The Secret Story of Emily Dickinson; THOSE WHISTLING LADS! The Poetry and Short Stories of Dorothy Parker; and HER KIND: The Life & Poetry of Anne Sexton. All three shows make extensive use of the women's actual writings, offering detailed insights into the mystiques of these very complex and unforgettable ladies. DICKINSON, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND make up a sort of "Poetry Corner" at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, at 440 Lafayette Street, running from June 13 to June 28th.

In DICKINSON: The Secret Story of Emily Dickinson, written by William Roetzheim, a 21st-century playwright is trying to construct the definitive play about Emily Dickinson, but is unable to get a handle on who she was, his mountain of research having only uncovered half-truths and suppositions -- such as possibilities of sexual abuse, unhappy romances, a forbidden love, a fascination with death, and chronic agoraphobia. But since Dickinson ordered all of her poetry and correspondence destroyed after her death, and some of it is indeed missing, many theories regarding events in her life are based largely on conjecture. Suddenly, in the depths of deepest despair, and while staying at the poet's old home, the playwright finds himself confronted by Dickinson's ghost who, after she gets over the shock of seeing a strange man in her bedchamber, offers him the chance to learn the answers he has been so desperately seeking. But is Dickinson willing to reveal secrets she has spent a lifetime concealing, or does she prefer to let her poetry speak for itself, leaving her readers to draw their own conclusions from the clues therein? A quest for answers and an examination of possibilities, DICKINSON will run from June 13th to June 20th.

Directed by Al Germani, the play features Gregg Whittman (as The Playwright), Rhianna Basore (as Emily Dickinson), Diana Sparta and Charlie Riendeau.

Show times for Dickinson: The Secret Story of Emily Dickinson are as follows:
Saturday, June 13th at 11Am (this is NOT a misprint)
Sunday, June 14th at 7pm
Monday, June 15th at 8:30pm
Wednesday, June 17th at 4pm
Friday, June 19th at 8:30pm
Saturday, June 20th at 1pm

Hard, cynical, and a force to be reckoned with: all are terms that could easily describe Dorothy Parker. Perhaps best known as a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table and for her stints as a writer at the New Yorker and Vanity Fair, Parker often leavened her work with an acid tone and satirical worldview as she commented on relationships, marriages and break-ups. Indeed many of her pieces often reflected, or contained premonitions of, events in her own turbulent life -- one that included an unhappy marriage, a long-time unrequited love and a battle with the bottle. Yet too many people only know Parker for her litany of famous quotes. In THOSE WHISTLING LADS! The Poetry and Short Stories of Dorothy Parker, as the umpteenth tour group passes by one of Parker's favorite haunts, Parker emerges from the mists of the past to try to set the record straight, taking the audience to a time when she was at the peak of her writing prowess and when the world was hers for the taking - for a while at least. Consisting of five of Parker's short stories and five of her poems, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! offers a the audience a chance to live, love, laugh and cry with Dorothy Parker, a woman whose biting prose and slashing wit gave no quarter and also served as a sort of shield for the lonely woman within.

Taking its name from one of Parker's poems, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! will begin performances on June 16th and run through June 28th. Produced by Third Eye Theatre Company in association with TimeSpace Theater, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! has been adapted for the stage by Maureen Van Trease and will feature Ms. Van Trease* (as Dorothy Parker), Ethan Angelica*, Nicole Greevy*, Justin Herfel*, Annalyse McCoy*, Jed Q. Peterson*, Glenn B. Stoops* Natalie Wilder* and Hannah Wolfe.

(* - denotes a member of Actors' Equity Association)

Show Times for THOSE WHISTLING LADS! are as follows:
Tuesday, June 16th at 4:30pm
Sunday, June 21st at 6:30pm
Wednesday, June 24th at 8:30pm
Friday, June 26th at 9pm
Sunday, June 28th at 11AM (this is NOT a misprint)

One of the most controversial literary figures of the 1960s and 70s, Anne Sexton had her first book of poems published the same year she lost both her parents. She also had a husband who physically and mentally abused her, but whose approval she still craved. She was awarded not one, but two Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. In HER KIND: The Life & Poetry of Anne Sexton, a hit at the New York and San Francisco Fringe Festivals, playwright Hannah Wolfe offers an intimate look at Ms. Sexton, as seen through the eyes of those who moved in her orbit (friends, family, therapists, etc.) Combining dance, video, live action and Ms. Sexton's own words, this play shows how her actions affected all those around her -- for better and for worse. "Anne was a wounded soul from almost the beginning," Wolfe explains. "Trapped in an oppressive environment, writing for her became a literal form of self-defense. Her life, while bleak, also makes for a fascinating story of self-affirmation, which is what I tried to bring out in the play." Co-directed by Wolfe & Shanara Gabrielle, HER KIND runs from June 18th-June 23rd and will feature Debra Kay Anderson, Collin Biddle, Laurel Dugan and Ms. Wolfe (as Anne Sexton). HER KIND is being produced by A Wild Child Productions. As noted by the New York Metro, "Just hearing nine of Sexton's poems by a skilled performer who obviously loves them is worth the price of admission."

Show times for HER KIND: The Life & Poetry of Anne Sexton are as follows:
Thursday, June 18th at 8pm
Saturday, June 20th at 3pm
Tuesday, June 24th at 4:30pm

All shows will be performed at 440 Studios, located at 440 Lafayette Street (between Astor Place and East 4th Street) on the 3rd Floor. Tickets to all shows are $18.00 and can be purchased in advance by calling 212-352-3101 or at www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com.
However, if you purchase tickets to all three shows, you can see all three for only $45.00, or $15.00 a ticket.

William Roetzheim is the author of twenty-two books, over 100 articles, and twenty spoken word audio CDs. He is currently working on FIVE POET PLAYS, a series of loosely integrated full-length plays about five poets (Ezra Pound, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost and Amy Lowell) at the turn of the 20th century who did the most to set the direction of modern poetry through the remainder of that century. His play POUND will be performed at The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row Studios from May 27th to June 19th and at the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival from July 13th to August 2nd. For information on the various plays in this series go to www.roetzheim.org.

Maureen Van Trease has been working on THOSE WHISTLING LADS! for 4 years and is very excited to see it come to life. Her New York acting credits include Remember the Dream, Iphegeneia at Aulis, and Dessert With Durang. London: Company, Closer Than Ever, Blood Brothers. Regional: Stageworks, Tampa, Florida, Kentucky Rep, Fulton Opera House.

Hannah Wolfe recently completed a tour with the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth. She has also toured with the Obie Award-winning children's theatre company The Paper Bag Players and is participating in the world-premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks 365 Days/365 Plays at The Public Theatre. She also directed Three Tables by Alex Geana, which was named New York Magazine's Off-Off-Broadway Pick. Other New York credits include The Laramie Project, RIPfest #7 short film festival, Midnight Hour (part of the Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival, where she was nominated as a Best Actress finalist), A Midsummer Night's Dream, It's Called The Sugar Plum, The Winter's Tale and Harry & The Dirty Dog. She will be performing in Pizza Man by Darlene Craviotto at the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival this July.

Proceeds from DICKINSON, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND will be donated to the charity "Safe Horizon," whose mission is "to provide support, prevent violence and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families and communities." For more info go to www.safehorizon.org. Additionally, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! will also be donating part of their box office to The Actors Fund (www.actorsfund.org) and Suicide Prevention International (www.spiorg.org).
Billed as an Eco-Friendly Theater Festival, Planet Connections is constantly searching for scripts that raise social consciousness. Whether the property in question is a comedy, drama, musical or adaptation, Planet Connections' aim is to foster productions that inspire the artists working on them, and their audiences, to be involved in their communities. One of Planet Connections' primary goals is to help talented playwrights, actors, designers and directors find an audience to appreciate their talent. They also endeavor to bring back the fun to mounting a show. When a cast and crew loves what they are doing, and are having fun doing it, then there is a tremendous trickle down effect from the talent to the audience itself. Planet Connections are committed to producing high quality theater. All of their productions are created in the hopes of inspiring cultural education and human understanding.
Where would we be without words, words that can change the world and alter perceptions? Skilled wordsmiths such as Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker and Anne Sexton produce something very remarkable indeed. DICKINSON, THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND present each of these women at extreme high and low points. With lives fraught with pain and passion, each production offers an intimate insight into these three literary giants. We hope to see you there.