TWTP's 2010 Women's Work Festival Kicks-Off, 5/7

 

Tennessee Women's Theater Project returns to the Nashville's Z. Alexander Looby Theater on Friday, May 7, with its fourth annual Women's Work showcase of performing and visual arts created by women. Running through Sunday, May 23, the festival cuts across typical borders of style, medium and genre, offering 11 completely different programs: poetry and essays; one-woman shows; staged readings of new plays; dance, and even a clown performance combining the Pochinko and Commedia dell' Arte Bouffon styles.

The initial idea for a performing arts festival was born of painful necessity, according to Maryanna Clarke, the company's founder and artistic director: "In 2007 I was sidelined for ten weeks with a back injury, and couldn't direct the play we had planned to present. With the theater already booked, we put out a call to women artists, offering our stage for their work. The response was amazing - we knew right away that Women's Work should be an annual event, and we're proud to present compelling, engaging women and their creations for the fourth year in a row."

This year's festival includes a new play by JeanMarie Simpson, author of A Single Woman - which marked the 2005 Tennessee Women's Theater Project debut. Simpson's new work - Coming In Hot - is based on writings by women who served in the military in conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Simpson comes in from Colorado to perform Coming in Hot on Saturday, May 22.

"We are especially excited to feature Coming in Hot," Clarke says. "Jeanmarie's play really brings home the service - and the sacrifice - that women in the armed forces have made, and the difficult transition back to civilian life."

Chicago-based clown artist Noel Williams will open the festival with her award-winning performance piece Party of One, which has played to acclaim at the Minnesota, Orlando, Indianapolis and San Francisco Fringe Festivals; the Rogue Theatre Festival in Fresno, California; and the Chicago Cultural Center's Studio Theatre.

Other theater offerings include E. Patricia Leonard's Wearing High Heels in a Flip Flop World; Sex With Your Ex and Bug Rescuing, one-woman shows by Judy Klass; staged readings of Invalid Code and Dangers of Smoking by playwright Christine Mather; An Optimistic Woman by Nashville novelist Ramona Richards and featuring First Night Award winning actress Melissa Bedinger Hade; and short plays by Valri Bromfield (A Change of Taste) and Emily Steele (Whose Number Is It Anyway?).

Dance presentations include a third return appearance by the Nashville Chinese Culture Club, Labyrinth, a belly dance group led by Reischa Feuerbacher and solo works by Kelly Grider, Megan Harrold and Kate Clarke.

For the fourth year in a row, poets and spoken word artists take the stage on Mother's Day - Sunday, May 9 - with return appearances by Raziya and Amy E. Hall, along with first-time presenters Stormie Steele, Lisa Dordal, Shaunda Bradley, Leitha Carter, Lindsay Lee Hall and Jan Bossing. Every mother attending will receive a rose, compliments of TWTP and Granny's Flower Shop.

The annual display of visual art will feature quilt work by Beverly Threadgill, photography and digital works by Alicia Booker, wool fiber pieces by Sara Figal and sculpture by Wendy Kusmaul-Keeling.

Single tickets to Woman's Work are $5 each; a $30 Festival Pass is good for unlimited admissions - eleven shows for the price of six.

Women's Work opens Friday, May 7, at the Looby Theatre, adjacent to the Looby Branch Library at 2301 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard in north Nashville. The showcase continues for eleven performances through Sunday, May 23. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 5:30 p.m. Sundays. For a complete schedule of performers, show dates and times, reservations and information, call (615) 681-7220 or visit www.twtp.org.

Schedule of events for Women's Work 2010

- May 7, 7:30 p.m.: Party of One, a performance in clown style by Noel Williams

- May 8, 7:30 p.m.: Wearing High Heels in a Flip Flop World, by E. Patricia Leonard

- May 9, 5:30 p.m.: Fourth Annual Mother's Day Poetry Show featuring Amy E. Hall, Raziya, Stormie Steele, Lisa Dordal, Shaunda Bradley, Leitha Carter, Lindsay Lee Hall and Jan Bossing

- May 13, 7:30 p.m.: Program details TBA

- May 14, 7:30 p.m.: Dance, featuring Nashville Chinese Culture Club and belly dancing with Labyrinth; Kelly Grider, Kate Clarke and Megan Harrold

- May 15, 7:30 p.m.: Plays and staged readings: Sex With Your Ex, by Judy Klass; Whose Number Is It Anyway?, by Emily Steele; A Change of Taste, by Valri Bromfield

- May 16, 5:30 p.m.: Program details TBA

- May 20, 7:30 p.m: Program details TBA

- May 21, 7:30 p.m.: Staged readings: Invalid Code and Dangers of Smoking by Christine Mather; Bug Rescuing, by Judy Klass; An Optimistic Woman, by Ramona Richards

- May 22, 7:30 p.m.: Coming in Hot, JeanMarie Simpson's one-woman show based on writings of women in the military - Vietnam to Afghanistan

- May 23, 6:00 p.m: Program details TBA

Photos (from top): JeanMarie Simpson, Noel Williams and Raziya

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.