Los Angeles Womens Theatre Festival Set for 3/21-24

The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival (LAWTF) will present its star-studded Emerald Anniversary, "A Perfect 20!" marking 20 years producing close to 500 extraordinary multicultural and multi-disciplined solo performers from around the globe.

The longest running annual solo festival for women in Los Angeles, LAWTF will be held March 21-24, 2013 at the beautiful Renberg Theatre located at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, 1125 McCadden Place, Hollywood, CA 90038.

Hosted by Danny Glover and Hattie Winston, the Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony on March 21, 2013, themed A Toast To...will honor exceptional women who have made laudable contributions in theatre. Following the reception at 7:00 p.m., the festivities continue at 8:00 p.m. with the presentation of the Integrity, Eternity, Rainbow, and Maverick Awards to distinguished women. (The Honorees will be announced in a separate release.)
Entertainment for the evening of Thursday, March 21, 2013, will include :
Freda Payne: "Freda Sings Lena and Ella." Award-winning iconic R&B and jazz recording artist Freda Payne will sing from her solo shows that celebrate treasured vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne.

Friday, March 22, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Of Culture, Of Self."
Michele Carlo: "Fish Out of Agua." This New York actor explores family, identity and what it takes to be an artist when you're "just" another Puerto Rican from a top floor tenement walk-up in the Bronx.
Yvette Heyliger: "Bridge to Baraka." Emboldened by the 1960s Black Arts Movement, New York playwright/actor Yvette Heyliger stakes her claim as a female dramatist coming of age during the ongoing fight for parity in the American Theatre.

Raissa Simpson/Push Dance Company: "Judgments in Milliseconds." A multimedia solo dance piece by this San Francisco dancer is inspired by African American women in today's simulated hair culture.
Cynthia Sophiea: "Everyone Has Tears." Accompanied by Arabic music, an Arab-American woman faces the challenges of living in the divide and gives voices to those rarely heard.
Charlayne Woodard: "Pretty Fire" From her first play, "Pretty Fire,"
award-winning actor Charlayne Woodard deals with the loss of innocence.

Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: "Not For Children Only."
Cleo Anderson: "Confessions of a Brunette Sidekick." This cutting edge poetry gives voice to the world of a young bisexual woman.
Cristal Gonzalez: "La Sombra." This theatre piece explores a young couple caught in domestic violence and addresses the cycle behind this cross-cultural theme that remains in The Shadows.
Lula Washington Dance Theatre: "Dance!" Lula Washington Dance Theatre youth speak through the universal language of dance.
Joy Nash: "My Mobster." A coming-of-age personal story of a young girl who travels to France and meets an unlikely suitor.
Red Summer: "11 Y.O." This Atlanta-based poet focuses on the voices of youth including what it's like to be 11-years-old and female around the world.

Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Encore!"
Ingrid Graham: "Mercy." This dance piece explores the struggles and reconciliation that accompany the loss of a loved one.
Wendy Hammers: "RIPE" Part stand-up confessional, part booty-shakin' biography, "RIPE" is a juicy dance with words, a celebration of the fleeting nature of life itself.
Juliette Jeffers: "Batman and Robin in the Boogie Down." This Drama Desk nominated piece from New York weaves a biographical tale of two very close imaginative siblings shattered by sudden loss.
Florence LaRue: "Just As I Am." Ms. La Rue, a founding member of the legendary pop vocal group The 5th Dimension, gives a glimpse into the life of the woman, not just the celebrity.
Shyamala Moorty: "Potty Talk." This theatre and dance piece humorously takes on cultural differences between India and the U.S., including caste, the environment, and the toilet.

Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: "Speaking Of Men"
Emily Bayard Blake: "Simone de Beauvoir: On Sex, Art and Feminism." This solo piece from Paris, France traces this great feminist's development through her writing, inner life and relationship with artist Jean Paul Sartre.
Jessica Lynn Johnson: "Ze." This theatre piece addresses the struggles within the LGBTQ community that include a 30-year-old virgin in turmoil with her conflicting religion.
Ciera Payton: "Michael's Daughter." One woman's paper trail relationship with her incarcerated father.
Gyasi Ross: "Gyasi." This young Bay Area singer/songwriter shares his provocative and socially-conscious music.
Roger Guenveur Smith: "Frederick Douglass NOW." Acclaimed solo artist Roger Guenveur Smith will present excerpts from his contemporary take on the iconic abolitionist and pioneering feminist.

Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. Theme: "Keeping It Real!"
Rebecca Bryant: "Revealed/Concealed." Relying heavily on irony, this dance/theatre piece from Indiana explores issues around the relationship between audience and performer.
Debra Castellano: "The Further Adventures of Swamp Girl." Despite the glue of first-date bonding (Jalapenos! Vitamin D!), a New York City woman pulls out all the stops to try and save her floundering relationship in her post-breast cancer adventures.
Kim Coles: "Oh, But There's More!" This zany and, at times, irreverent solo show chronicles the ebb and flow of Kim's show biz career ("Living Single," "In Living Color," "The Soul Man") with titillating inside Hollywood anecdotes and personal stories from her world.
Cheryl Francis Harrington: "I Met Someone!" One woman's self-searching journey from Harlem to L.A., and her relationships along the way,

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The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival was founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed. The Festival is an annual event unique among American cultural institutions and should not be missed.
Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival is a non-profit organization. Admission to the Gala is $45, or two tickets for $80 (includes light fare and Champagne). For the other programs, ticket prices this year include general admission single show tickets at $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. Students, seniors, and groups of ten or more, $18. Children 12 and under, $10.
Reservations: (818) 760-0408. Online reservations will be available at http://www.lawtf.com. To join and follow LAWTF on Facebook and Twitter, click on their links at http://www.lawtf.com

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