Off the Aisle Presents A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD, Previews 9/23

Off the Aisle Productions in association with Invisible Theatre proudly presents A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head starring Susan Claassen and written by Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen, opening with previews September 23 - September 30 with the Costume Designers Guild Gala Press Opening on Friday, October 1 at the historic El Portal Forum Theatre in North Hollywood, California. A special performance benefitting the MPTF's Pet Care Program will be September 30.

"My best friends are animals - always have been." -Edith Head
MPTF's Pet Care Program was created to help seniors living on low and fixed incomes keep their companion pets by offering assistance with the purchase of pet food, pet supplies, veterinary care, grooming, and with boarding if the pet owner experiences a temporary medical condition requiring hospitalization. The Pet Care Program helps to alleviate the stress and worry experienced by many seniors who wonder, "How can I continue to pay for my pet's needs?" Or, even the more dire choices like "Do I buy medication for myself, or do I buy food for my Best Friend?" Companion pets provide a sense of well-being, motivation, companionship and joy to seniors. MPTF helps them stay together!

On October 1, the Costume Designer's Guild will host a CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION after the performance to honor Ms. Claassen for keeping this iconic Costume Designer in the public eye.

The COSTUME DESIGNERS Guild (CDG) is Local 892 of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.). The Guild represents COSTUME DESIGNERS, ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNERS and COSTUME at the highest levels of skill and expertise in motion pictures, television and commercials. The CDG promotes and protects the economic status of its members while improving working conditions and raising standards for the craft.

Actress Susan Claassen was inspired to write and star in A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head while watching a TV biography of Ms. Head. Susan Claassen said: "Not only do I bear a striking resemblance to Edith, but we share the same love for clothes and fashion. She stitched Dorothy Lamour into her sarong; put Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in kilts in "The Road to Bali"; created Bette Davis' glamorous Margo Channing; made teenage girls swoon over ElizaBeth Taylor's white ball gown in "A Place in the Sun"; dressed Ingrid Bergman in "Notorious", Grace Kelly in "To Catch A Thief", Kim Novak in "Vertigo", Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard" and Sean Connery in "The Man Who Would Be King". There are many myths about her but she was a discreet, tenacious personality. She knew whose hips needed clever disguising and made sure those legendary stars always looked the part. Our show gives the inside scoop on Edith and the Golden Age of Hollywood.

A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head premiered in Tucson, Arizona in 2002 and was subsequently presented in Chicago, Key West, at the American Film Institute in Silver Spring, MD, Hartford, San Francisco, Nantucket, San Diego, Houston, Austin, and Scottsdale, as well as in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia , London's West End and a ‘sold out' engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Co-author Paddy Calistro is one of the leading authorities on the life and work of Edith Head and is the coauthor of Edith Head's posthumous autobiography, Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD. She was selected as Ms. Head's official biographer based on her experience as a fashion journalist. A former fashion and beauty writer for the Los Angeles Times, Paddy wrote the weekly "Looks" column in the LA Times Magazine for four years. She was the West Coast reporter for Allure and has written for Glamour, Mademoiselle, House Beautiful, Elle, Four Seasons Magazine, Fitness and Los Angeles Magazine. For more than a decade Paddy was the lead interior design writer for LA Magazine, and was also the editor of American Style, a bilingual fashion magazine sold in Mexico and South America. The co-founder of Angel City Press, an independent book publishing company based in Santa Monica, she currently serves as its Publisher and Editor-in-chief. The 25th anniversary edition of Edith Head'S HOLLYWOOD has recently been reissued and will be available for purchase at all performances of A CONVERSATION WITH Edith Head.
El Portal Theatre is a historic landmark in the San Fernando Valley located in the heart of Ho Arts District. The theatre, originally built as a vaudeville house in 1926, sits across Lankershim Blvd from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Art Institute of California-Hollywood.

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