Brava's SHOUT OUT LOUD Presents FOR ALL THE BABIES FATHERS 4/30

Brava! for Women in the Arts continues their ambitious 2008-09 "Shout Out Loud" theatrical season with their second world premiere of a local playwright's work.

On April 30, Brava will be presenting Molly Rhodes' For All The Babies' Fathers, directed by Jessica Heidt. The play follows the story of Henry, a man well passed the fresh bloom of youth who just found out that his ex is expecting a child he doesn't want. He tries all kinds of avenues in his desperate attempt to get his ex to change her mind, ignoring the growing feeling that it's not his ex's ideas about kids that are about to change.

How do fathers - who don't want to be fathers, who are not treated as fathers, and yet have fathered a child - struggle to face and accept what they've become? And how does the world struggle to face and accept them? For All The Babies' Fathers runs April 30 - May 16, 2009 at Brava Theater Center in the heart of San Francisco's Mission district (2781 24th Street, San Francisco). For tickets and more information, please visit the Brava website at www.brava.org or call 415.647.2822.

Like many women and men alike who grew up after Roe v. Wade, many assume the idea that a woman is a master of her own body. The idea that a woman has the right to decide for herself whether she wishes to have a child with or without the consent of the man who has fathered the child. Rhodes, hearing stories of deadbeat dads, of single mothers proudly and lovingly raising their children while their fathers were nowhere to be seen ignited a curious topic for the playwright. She became curious with the underlying assumption that if any man had a different desire than the woman who carries his child - especially if she wanted to have the child and he wanted no part of it - then he must be bad. Rhodes states, "I started thinking, "wait, what is it really like to be this man?". "What is it like to know you have this child, out there in the world, who you will have no connection to and yet feel directly responsible for?"

"Although a play centered around a man might seem an unusual fit for a theatre dedicated to promoting women and women artists," says Artistic Director Raelle Myrick Hodges, "this is one of the main reasons it caught the eye of Brava's artistic team, who have a deeply-rooted history of support for women artists who have challenged and continue to challenge the set ideas around who and how woman are depicted. We want to challenge ourselves as well as support our ideas as women in a culture that is rapidly changing in the 21st century. This play is extremely relevant to what's going on in the world today with women who consider having children. I'm proud to end our 2nd Stage "Shout Out Loud" Series on such a poignant production."

The play also affords Brava an excellent opportunity to forge a new relationship with another local woman artist, Jessica Heidt. Heidt is a high accomplished director who constantly explores the edges of what makes for an engaging theatrical experience through her own work throughout the Bay Area and the country, and now at the arts center she runs, Climate Theater. Her particular focus on movement-based exploration of plays provided the perfect balance to get a play based on ideas up on its feet and transformed into an engaging theatrical world. "Molly's writing uses a fantastic theatrical language that explores deep issues without getting bogged down in them. I'm excited to be working with her on this piece, and honored to be apart of Raelle's first season at Brava."

Molly Rhodes is a playwright currently living in San Francisco. Her play For All the Babies' Fathers had staged readings at Magic Theatre and Playwrights Center of San Francisco and was a semifinalist at The Playwrights' Center PlayLabs 2008. As a member of PlayGround, Molly has had several short plays developed and produced and received the 2007 PlayGround Fellowship to develop her full length The Singularity of We. Her short plays have also been performed at American Conservatory Theatre, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the 6 Women Playwriting Festival. Molly is an artistic associate at Magic Theatre, where she coordinates the literary committee and oversees the development and creation of dramaturgy for Magic's productions. She was also named one of twelve Up & Coming local playwrights by Theatre Bay Area and was part of their inaugural playwrights' showcase. When Molly is not working on plays or in the theatre, she raises money for At The Crossroads, a nonprofit that does counseling-based street outreach to homeless youth in San Francisco. She is also a freelance theatre critic for the San Francisco Weekly.

Jessica Heidt is a San Francisco-based director and artistic director of the multidisciplinary arts center, Climate Theater, where she most recently directed the world premiere of Tim Barsky's 7 Beggars. She served as Associate Artistic Director at Magic Theater for 9 years where she directed world premieres by Betty Shamieh (The Black Eyed, Territories) and Chantal Bilodeau (Pleasure and Pain). She works as a casting director with many Bay Area film and theater companies and also teaches at the SF School of Digital Filmmaking, USF, SJ State and ACT's Summer Training Congress.

Brava! for Women in the Arts is a professional arts organization committed to producing, presenting and cultivating live art celebrating the intersection of feminism and multiculturalism that ignites social changes and empower community. Located in the beautiful Brava Theater Center located in the heart of San Francisco's historic Mission District, we are now entering into our third decade of thought-provoking theater, music and educational programs.

Cast /Crew includes:
Actors
Michael Sommers, Nicole Lungerhausen, Myers Clark, Madeline H.D. Brown, Caleb Alexander

Production Team

Jessica Heidt - Director, Molly Rhodes - Playwright, Cary Cronholm - Assistant Director, Jamie Mulligan - Set Designer, Edna Barron - Sound Designer, Lori Shantzis - Costume Designer, Danielle Thomsen - Stage Manager, Megan Soto - Production Manager

For All the Babies' Fathers (World Premiere)
Written by Molly Rhodes

Directed by Jessica Heidt
April 30-May 16, 2009 at 8pm, Tickets $10-$25

Location:
Brava Theater Center (at York)
2781 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415.641.7657

Box Office Information: Box Office open in person M-F 2pm-5pm; buy tickets online at www.brava.org and go to box office link. Box Office Phone is 415-647-2822

 

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