3 Plays About Women's Rights Opens Next Week At Brooklyn's On Women Festival

Irondale, Brooklyn's leading theatrical and artistically ambitious think-tank theater ensemble, with three esteemed curators, announced the lineup of the fifth annual On Women Festival, July 11-31, celebrating the lives and experiences of female identifying artists. Committed to producing the works of emerging, progressive, and dynamic playwrights, this year's festival will be headlined by three mainstage productions; Mt. Rushmore, July 14-17, encompassing themes of female grief and the power of reinvention in a one-woman play, The Great Lesbian Love of Eve Adams, July 21-24, navigating the experiences of discrimination and inequality of a queer immigrant and disruptor, and the world premiere of an opera created and performed by an all women team, Letters That You Will Not Get: Women's Voices from the Great War, July 29-31. Throughout the festival, audiences will also enjoy an online library of new digital works submitted from International Artists, all presented to bolster the voices of multi-disciplinary artists and the female perspective.

Kicking off the 3-week festival, Mt. Rushmore takes the stage, July 14-17 with an autobiographical account of the untimely death of playwright Monica Hunken's father due to environmental toxins in his workplace. With her mother in the throes of grief and embroiled in a trial against his employer, Hunken takes audiences on a punk rock voyage that lands them in the center of the rebellious Reagan era, where they help the performer on her quest to save her mother from a lifetime of grief and political Conservatism. A wild and queer quest packed to the brim with espionage, unexpected friendships, and even a chance for redemption, this one-woman show is performed by Hunken with the help of musical accompaniment, live original songs, punk, karaoke and classic 80's hits.

Paige Esterly, a local playwright, producer, teacher, and arts advocate moves into the space, July 21-24 with a cast of five in The Great Lesbian Love of Eve Adams. A historical and biographical account of Eve Adams, a Jewish immigrant, anarchist and gender non-confirming lesbian, the piece uncovers the truths of discrimination she faced in New York City in the 1920's. As Eve was an influential publisher, speakeasy proprietor, and self-proclaimed "Queen of the Third Sex," audiences are reminded of the strides made in the 100-year fight for queer equality, and the actions that need to be taken to continue to strive for a more just and equal world.

During the final week of the season, the festival will welcome its first opera production, Letters That You Will Not Get: Women's Voices from the Great War, July 29-31, by American Opera Project. Brought to life through authentic source material that includes letters, poetry, journal entries, memoires and recalled oral sentiments by real women who experienced the global impacts of WW1, Letters that You Will Not Get: Women's Voices from the Great War is composed by Kirsten Volness in collaboration with librettists Kate Holland and Susan Werbe to explore and empower the female experience in a historical context. With a cast of 6 women, audiences are introduced through song, to the perspectives of female American, British, European, Asian, African, and Caribbean archetypes who lived, and died, during The Great War-mothers and wives, daughters, friends and lovers, nurses and factory workers, caretakers, and civilians. Themes of love, loss, resignation, guilt, horror, and humor personify both sides of the conflict, while amplifying the quiet voices of the women whose experiences were an integral part the war but left out of history's larger narrative.

"As Irondale works to present theater that speaks to the issues of our times, this festival is an opportunity to look at the social, political and historical experiences of women through an authentic lens," explains Emilio Maxwell Cerci and Renata Soares, Irondale's co-producers of the festival. "To amplify these voices and provide an artistic platform to use art as activism, education and the inspiration to dream of a more unified tomorrow, we applaud these artists for their artistic courage and look forward to seeing them shine on stage later this summer."

The mainstage line up has been selected by curators Melissa Moschitto, T Mitsock and Shannon Corenthin.Throughout the Festival, each curator will also host an interactive Artist Exchange panel discussion, free to attend.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

July 11-30, New Media Storytelling, streamed anytime with audience voting and cash awards

July 14-17, Mt. Rushmore

July 21-24, The Great Lesbian Love of Eve Adams

July 29-31, Letters That You Will Not Get: Women's Voices from the Great War

July 31, closing party featuring a performance by The Opera Cowgirls following the performance

Dates and times of the Artist Exchange panel discussions to be announced.

All performances will be held at 7:30 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, and Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

A Festival Pass, $75, includes full access to all three Mainstage productions and the digital New Media Storytelling performances. Each Mainstage performance can be viewed separately for $30, $15 for students, seniors and working artists. A ticket to any two Mainstage productions is $50, and access to the New Media online portal is $10.

Group tickets and financial assistance for those in need are available.

All tickets are available at https://irondale.org/on-women-festival/

VENUE INFORMATION

The Space at Irondale is located at 85 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn, New York. The theater is accessible by Subway: C to Lafayette; B, D, M, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street; and G to Fulton Street.

Proof of vaccination is required for all who are eligible to enter the building. Masks must be worn at all times, regardless of vaccination status.

ABOUT IRONDALE

Irondale is a theater located in the heart of the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District. It is a theatre ensemble, a performance think-tank and a laboratory for collaborative theatre- making. Irondale's unique and transformational theatre space has gained much attention as a place for both established and emerging artists to premiere major projects and showcase developing work. The Irondale Ensemble Project was founded in 1983 by Jim Niesen, Terry Greiss, and Barbara Mackenzie-Wood and is one of the longest established permanent ensemble theaters in the country. The ensemble has created over 60 Off-Broadway productions ranging from intimate chamber productions of Shakespeare to original, epic, company-devised works. Irondale's learning programs for students and community provide high quality, cutting-edge workshops and residencies designed to encourage and develop the artist in each individual and to make the skills derived from participating in making theatre a valuable contribution to successful, daily living.

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