HEDY! THE LIFE & INVENTIONS OF HEDY LAMARR to Play Charm City Fringe

Charm City Fringe 2017 presents the Maryland Debut of the Hit NYC Solo Show: HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr - A True Story of Hollywood Glamour and Scientific Genius - written and performed by Heather Massie.

Hedy Lamarr, glamorous siren of the silver screen, was more than the most beautiful woman in the world. She invented frequency hopping and spread spectrum technology that make the world of wireless communication tick. From Austria to Hollywood, WWII, torpedoes, ecstasy, and intrigue to the very cell phone in your pocket, she was there!

Performances:

Thurs, Nov 9 @8:45PM

Fri, Nov 10 @6:30PM

Sat, Nov 11 @5:00PM

Sun, Nov 12 @12:30PM

2017 Charm City Fringe

At Downtown Cultural Arts Center, 401 N Howard St, Baltimore, MD

Tickets $10: www.charmcityfringe.ticketleap.com/hedy

For more, visit www.CharmCityFringe.com or go to www.HeatherMassie.com/hedy.

HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr explores the life, inventions and person of Hedy Lamarr, Viennese-born Hollywood film star of the 1930s-1950s. Known as The Most Beautiful Woman in the World, Hedy Lamarr stored away knowledge of munitions while married to Austrian arms dealer, Fritz Mandl. She employed this knowledge to support the US Navy's war effort during WWII by inventing The Secret Communication System with composer George Antheil, to make torpedoes more accurate. Also referred to as Frequency Hopping or Spread Spectrum Technology, her invention is used today in cell phones, WiFi, CDMA, GPS, Bluetooth and a myriad of other wireless systems.

Having studied Astrophysics with dreams of becoming an astronaut, Heather Massie marries her loves of art and science in the person of Hedy Lamarr. She brings Hedy to life while interacting with the audience, and unearths the truth behind how such a glamorous actress could create an invention which is ubiquitous today.

Heather Massie will star as Hedy Lamarr. Director & Artistic Consultation - Blake Walton, Artistic Consultation - Leslie Kincaid Burby, Projections - Jim Marlowe & Charley Marlowe, Sound Design - Jacob Subotnick, Dialects - Page Clements, Technical Assistance - Dan Leary, Photography - Al Foote III, Charley Marlowe & Monica Callan.

Find out more on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hedytheplay.

Heather Massie was honored as the Outstanding Actress in a Staged Reading at the 2016 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in New York City for HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. The World Premiere was presented on Hedy Lamarr's 102nd birthday in the United Solo Festival in New York City, and was named a 2016 Festival Bestseller. Ms. Massie was awarded with the Best Actress Award in the 2017 SaraSolo Festival in Sarasota, Florida; with the Audience Choice Award for the 2017 Shenandoah Fringe in Staunton, Virginia; with the Outstanding Performance in a Solo Show Award for the 2017 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in New York City; with the Best Actress Award in the 2017 Galway Fringe in Galway, Ireland; and with the Audience Choice and Sold Out Awards in the 2017 IndyFringe Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was developed in the Artist-in-Residence program in 2016 at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Waterbury Center, VT, and performed there in March 2017. It was also presented in DivaFest 2017 in Indianapolis in March 2017; at Gamut Classic Theatre in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 2017; in a special NYC performance for Hedy Lamarr's family and biographers in April, 2017; and in a special invited performance at The Stag's Head in Dublin, Ireland in July, 2017.

Ms. Massie performed the show in the 2017 Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, facilitated by the US Embassy, Zimbabwe. Ms. Massie served as a Cultural Envoy to the 2008 Intwasa Arts Festival as assistant to Tony-Nominated Playwrighting Instructor Mr. Leslie Lee. She returned to Intwasa to present HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr in her Leslie Lee Memorial Tour, and continued the tour at the Alexander Bar, Cafe & Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.

It is slated for performance at the Whitaker Center for Science & Art in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2017/2018; in the 2018 SaraSolo Festival in Sarasota, Florida in Jan/Feb; and in Inspirefest 2018 in Dublin, Ireland, June, 2018. Plans are underway for further production in international festivals, regional theatres, universities, museums, libraries, schools, and scientific and cultural organizations. This project is recommended, and supported in part, by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

Heather Massie (Writer / Solo Performer) is a NYC Actor and Writer. Originally from Virginia, Ms. Massie has always been fascinated by the sciences, especially Astronomy. She studied Astrophysics at the University of Virginia, and Theatre Arts at The Virginia Tech School of the Arts, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Ms. Massie has performed extensively regionally and nationally with: Mill Mountain Theatre, Allenberry Playhouse, Flat Rock Playhouse, Phoenix Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Nearly Naked Theatre, Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, Southwest Shakespeare, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, and Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival. In NYC she has performed at Signature Theatre in readings of the plays Legends and Apples & Oranges by playwright Leslie Lee. She is a member of WorkShop Theater, Manhattan Theatre Works, NyLon Fusion Theatre, Firebone Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, and the Negro Ensemble Company. She has also performed on Theatre Row, at LaMaMa, Metropolitan Playhouse, The Lamb's Theatre, 45th St. Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Dramatists Guild, New Dramatists, The Actors Studio, and more. She received the Jean Dalrymple Award for Best Supporting Actor and received three AriZoni Award Nominations. She served as a Cultural Envoy to Zimbabwe for the 2008 Intwasa Arts Festival, and worked in Ecuador and St. Petersburg, Russia. Ms. Massie collaborated for many years with the late Tony-Nominated playwright Mr. Leslie Lee, another scientist turned artist. She performed at LaMaMa in his plays The Book of Lambert, and Mina, about the life of painter-poet, Mina Loy; and in Mr. Lee's musicAl Martin: A New American Musical with music and lyrics by Charles Strouse, with the Negro Ensemble Company. Upon Mr. Lee's passing in 2014, Ms. Massie founded the Leslie Lee Legacy Foundation to foster the continued production of Mr. Lee's writings. In an effort to join her love of science with her passion for theatre, Ms. Massie wrote and performs her solo show HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. She has been awarded as the Outstanding Actress in a Staged Reading - 2016 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, NYC; Festival Bestseller - 2016 United Solo Festival, NYC; Best Actress - 2017 SaraSolo Festival, Sarasota, FL; Official Selection - 2017 DivaFest, Indianapolis, IN; Inaugural Artist-In-Residence - Grange Hall Cultural Center, Waterbury Center, VT; Audience Choice Award - Shenandoah Fringe 2017, Staunton, VA; Best Actress, 2017 Galway Fringe, Ireland; Audience Choice - 2017 IndyFringe, Indianapolis, IN; and Outstanding Performance in a Solo Show - 2017 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, NYC. She performs the show in memory of her dear friend, playwright Leslie Lee, in her Leslie Lee Memorial Tour. She was sponsored by the US Embassy, Zimbabwe for the 2017 Intwasa Arts Festival in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and went on to perform in Cape Town, South Africa. Upcoming performances of the show are in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Dublin, Ireland. Further info at www.heathermassie.com/hedy.

Photo by Monica Callan

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