The Red Letter Society to Present THE ABORTION CHRONICLES as Part of Minnesota Fringe

The Red Letter Society, a new collective comprised of Fringe vets and frequent collaborators Ariel Leaf, Ruth Virkus and Ben Layne, presents The Abortion Chronicles, a new work of personal stories from Minnesotans of all walks of life, sharing their experience with abortion in their lives.

We know that to keep our right to a safe and legal abortion, we need to dismantle taboos. So, we decided to start by asking you for your own stories and experiences. You are funny. You are sad. You are angry. You are honest. You are everywhere- next to us on the bus, at work, in bed. You had good reasons. You had no other option. You have something important to tell us. Red Letter Society presents The Abortion Chronicles, true stories of women, men, and reality.

Freshwater Theatre Co-Artistic Director Ruth Virkus served as dramaturg, helping curate the piece. Ruth wrote Table 12: A Play at a Wedding, a sleeper hit at the 2011 Fringe Festival. An accomplished writer, she has previously written Going Down on the Queen of Minneapolis, and Turn Signals, for Freshwater Theatre at the Minnesota Fringe, and recently had a reading of her latest work, Disorderly Houses, as part of History Theatre's Raw Stages new play series. Ruth is also co-producing Good Friday with Dillinger, with LookBack productions, running at the Rarig Xperimental during the 2016 Fringe.

Freshwater company member Ariel Leaf was part of the initial inception of concept (along with cast member Katie Starks), also helping to curate the piece. Ariel has recently been seen onstage with Chameleon Theatre in Macbeth this summer, and recently directed An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein with Freshwater. Ariel is also a member of Wonderlust Productions, whose next new work, The Adoption Play Project, will run this December at Mixed Blood Theatre. Ariel is also directing Grand Theft Autobiography with Fortune's Fool Productions, of which she is Co-Artistic Director along with her father, Daniel Pinkerton, whose stories of his wild youth comprise the titular Autobiography, running at Strike Theatre during the 2016 Fringe.

The cast includes: Linda Sue Anderson, Alexis Clarksean, Jesse Corder, Heidi Garrido, Ariel Leaf, John Leaf, Opal McCarthy, Scot Moore, Nissa Nordland, Mame Pelletier, Katie Starks, Dana Lee Thompson and Tonya Wershow. Stage managed by Alyssa Thompson.

The Abortion Chronicles will be directed by Ben Layne, Freshwater Theatre Co-Artistic Director. Ben recently directed Freshwater Theatre's critically acclaimed production of the world premiere musical Pioneer Suite, and is also directing Scot Moore's new one-man show, Break Your Heart, premiering at Intermedia Arts during the 2016 Minnesota Fringe. Next, Ben will direct Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Wait Until Dark as part of Chameleon Theatre's 18th season.

The Abortion Chronicles
Friday, August 5 7:00pm
Saturday August 6 10:00pm
Tuesday, August 9 10:00pm
Friday, August 12 8:30pm
Sunday, August 14 1:00pm

All performances at Theatre in the Round - 245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, MN

Reservations & info available at http://www.fringefestival.org/show/?id=20160730

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