Midwest Premiere of HEDY! THE LIFE & INVENTIONS OF HEDY LAMARR Set for DivaFest 2017

DivaFest 2017 will present the Midwest Premiere of the award-winning solo play, HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, written and performed by Heather Massie.

Presented on Friday, March 17 @ 7:30PM; Saturday, March 18 @ 4:30PM; and Sunday, March 19 @ 6:00PM at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre, 719 E. Saint Clair St. in Indianapolis.

DivaFest 2017 is part of IndyFringe and is presented by Ellen and Richard Shevitz. DivaFest develops and presents female voices, providing a supportive environment where they can hone their craft. The goal of DivaFest is to grow Indiana as a center for female playwrights and to encourage the public to support them.

DivaFest will be presented over two weekends in March, from the 10th to the 19th in the IndyFringe Basile Theatre and the Indy Eleven Theatre. Go to www.indyfringe.org/divafest/2017 for more information.

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!

Heather Massie was honored as the 2016 Outstanding Actress in a Staged Reading at the 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 as Best Actress in the 2017 SaraSolo Festival in Sarasota, FL.

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.

HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr has appeal for all audiences, with special interest for Austrian, Jewish, Film, History, Scientific, Wireless Communication, Military, Theatre, and LGBTQ Communities, as well as Teenagers, Adults, and Retirees. It was developed in the Artist in Residence program at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Waterbury Center, VT, and is slated to perform there March 24-26, 2017. It will be presented in the 2017 Shenandoah Fringe in Staunton, VA on April 9th and 10th; in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in NYC between June 12 and July 3; and at Gamut Classic Theatre in Harrisburg, PA July 7th-9th. Plans are underway for production in International Festivals, Regional Theatres, Universities, Museums, Libraries, Schools, and Cultural Organizations. This project is recommended and supported in part by the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

Heather Massie will star as Hedy Lamarr (Greyhounds and Reflections of a Heart - Theatre Row; Martin: A New American Musical by Leslie Lee & Charles Strouse - Negro Ensemble Company; developmental readings of Legends, and Apples & Oranges by Leslie Lee - Signature Theatre; The Book of Lambert and Mina, both by Leslie Lee - LaMaMa).

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 that is so ubiquitous today.

The production features artistic consultation by Blake Walton and Leslie Burby, costume design by Cat Fisher, projections by Jim Marlowe & Charles Marlowe, sound design by Jacob Subotnick, dialects by Page Clements, and technical assistance by Dan Leary.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $13 for students and seniors, and are available at www.indyfringe.org/divafest/2017.

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, Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival, and Gamut Classic Theater. In NYC she has performed with 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 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.

For more about the festival, go to www.indyfringe.org/divafest/2017, or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IndyFringe and Twitter: @indyfringe. For more about the production, visit www.heathermassie.com/hedy or find HEDY! on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hedytheplay, Twitter: @HeatherMMassie, and Instagram: @HeatherMMassie.

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