EXIT Theatre Announces 10th Annual DIVAfest 4/29-5/28

EXIT Theatre, San Francisco's downtown home for new and alternative indie performance, announces its 2011 DIVAfest, featuring the work of established and emerging women writers, directors, and performers. The 10th Annual DIVAfest runs at the EXIT Theatreplex, 156 Eddy Street, in downtown San Francisco, Thursdays through Saturdays, April 29 through May 28, 2011.

Featured at this year's DIVAfest are two plays about strong, commanding women whose stories are less known than they might be, if history hadn't been written for so long a time by men. In addition, the festival presents Lucky Girl, the true story of a woman piecing together the shards of a life shattered by rape.

A Most Notorious Woman, written by Maggie Cronin, is a one-woman romp through the exploits of the notorious pirate queen Grace O'Malley. As a seafaring power in her own right, O'Malley gave Elizabeth I and her British navy more than they could handle. The pirate queen is played by the equally swashbuckling Christina Augello. Directed by Jayne Wenger.

Eleanor, by Margery Fairchild, is a new dramatization of the exploits of French queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the woman who established the notion of courtship and romantic love in a way that forever transformed the role of women in the west. Eleanor is a production of Dark Porch Theatre, the latest Theatre-in-Residence at EXIT Theatre.

Lucky Girl, by Frances Driscoll and Tom Juarez. Poet Frances Driscoll was raped in Atlantic Beach, Florida in 1987. Ten years later, The Rape Poems appeared, a collection of 43 poems Driscoll wrote in the aftermath. Lucky Girl is based upon these poems and is performed by Cheryl Smith, directed by Kathryn Wood.

A Most Notorious Woman
by Maggie Cronin

Grace "Grania" O'Malley, the hussy who hath indeed impudently stepped o'er the bounds of womanhood", is the center character in playwright Maggie Cronin's story of the Irish pirate queen. Set against a backdrop of an Ireland soon to be lost forever, an Ireland on the cusp of history, this solo piece performed by Christina Augello, follows Grace from a young defiant girl to her historic meeting with England's Queen Elizabeth in 1593 at the age of 63. Driven by a fervent love of the sea and a fierce loyalty to the Gaelic way of life, Grace became a "cut throat, cut purse sailor woman", a symbol of national defiance, "a nursemaid to every rebellion in Connaught". Hard-nosed businesswoman...barbarian...woman in love...romantic heroine...all are revealed in this "absorbing and multi-layered portrait of a most bewitching and infuriating historical figure." This will be the third historical solo show for Ms. Augello who has created the
roles of Baroness Elsa, the "Mama of Dada" and Boxcar Bertha, a 1920's labor heroine, in her two previous shows. Augello has toured both of these plays on the international Fringe Festival circuit and plans to take "Grania" on tour in 2012.

Christina Augello is pirate queen Grace "Grania" O'Malley in A Most Notorious Woman at DIVAfest, April 30-May 28 EXIT Theatre, SF. Photo: Laurie Gallant

Lighting design by Amanda Ortmayer, sound design by Ted Crimy, set design by Johnny Mayne, costumes by Laura Hazlett.

A Most Notorious Woman previews April 30 and May 6, 8:00 pm, Tickets $10. Opens Saturday, May 7 at 7 PM. Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat May 12-28 8PM - tickets $15-25. EXIT Stage Left, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org

Eleanor

by Margery Fairchild

Eleanor is a new dramatization of the exploits of the French queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. A strong female sovereign alongside both of her husbands, as well as in her own right, Eleanor established the notion of courtship and romantic love in a way that forever transformed the role of women in the west. As a central figure in the chivalric code of courtly love, Eleanor, a true "lioness in winter", showed that women were more than a piece of property sold by a marriage contract and expected to turn into well-behaved bearers of male children. With her influence a woman's attention became something to fight for and earn. For centuries Eleanor has been condemned by writers and only now is her true contribution coming to light. Fairchild's Eleanor imaginatively furthers this new insight into a true diva of history.

Eleanor of Aquitaine,
ca 1150 C.E.

Eleanor a new play by Margery Fairchild ... Previews May 5-6 at 8pm. Tickets $10 Opens Saturday, May 7 at 9 PM Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat, 12-28 8PM - Tickets $15-25. EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org

Dark Porch Theatre, the latest Theatre-in-Residence at EXIT Theatre, is dedicated to
creating original, genre-blending theatre, founded in the spirit of collaboration, and exploiting the dramatic possibilities of dance and movement. Founded in 2002 by Margery Fairchild in Portland, Oregon, Dark Porch Theatre has presented numerous works since moving to San Francisco, among them Hen! (NohSpace, 2005), Under the Bed: A Fairy Tale Set in Purgatory (The Garage Theatre, 2007). With Martin Schwartz as co-artistic director, DPT has produced world-premiere productions of The In Betweens (EXIT Stage Left, 2009); Cockroach (2009 San Francisco Fringe Festival Best New Play Award), and Comedy Ballet (The Garage and EXIT Stage Left, 2010).

Lucky Girl

by Frances Driscoll and Tom Juarez

Lucky Girl is the true story of a woman piecing together the shards of a life shattered by rape. In 1987 Frances Driscoll was raped in Atlantic Beach, Florida. In 1995 her poem, "Island of the Raped Women" won the Pushcart Prize after appearing in Volt. In 1997 The Rape Poems, a collection of 43 poems about the rape and the aftermath was published. This new adaptation is inspired by the phrase, "you are so lucky", one of the first things everyone says to rape survivors. "Some Lucky Girls", one of Driscoll's poems is included in this solo show performed by Cheryl Smith. The Rape Poems was dedicated to ten women in three generations of Ms. Driscoll's family. Two of the four of the youngest generation have been raped since the book was published. Often painful, Lucky Girl, is also beautiful, heartbreaking, quirky and funny.

The Rape Poems has become a primary source for understanding the experience of rape and living with post-traumatic stress disorder. The book has been used in training programs by police departments, the US Air Force, medical schools, college athletic departments and at rape crisis centers around the world. The Rape Poems is used as a text in college classes ranging from creative writing and literature to medical ethics.

Driscoll's poetry has appeared in the journals Go, International Quarterly, The Massachusetts Review, Pudding, Sojourner, 13th Moon, Volt and Willow Springs. Poems from The Rape Poems were included in the anthologies the why and later, edited by Carly Sachs, and The Pushcart Prize XIX: Best of the Small Presses.

Praise for The Rape Poems from prominent poets includes:

Nikki Giovanni: "Powerful. Sad. Touching. Inspiring. What a gift she has."

Ralph Angel: "... tender and private and hugely humane, these unsettling poems arrive like dispatches from the very source of our wounds."

Cheryl Smith recently appeared in A Perfect Ganesh at New Conservatory Theatre Center and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune at the EXIT. Cheryl performed in Ambit Theatre Company's adaptation of The Rape Poems at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe and received the Dean Goodman Choice award for her performance in Kilt at NCTC.

Lucky Girl previews April 29 and May 5 at 8:00, tickets $10. Opens Saturday, May 7 at 5:00 PM and runs Thur-Fri-Sat, 8:00 PM May 12- 28. Tickets are $15-25, available at 415-673-3847 or online at www.theexit.org All shows are in the EXIT Studio, 156 Eddy St, San Francisco.

Other DIVAfest Events

DIVAfest Opening Day - Saturday, May 7th Activities at EXIT Theatre

3:00 p.m. - San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima. In "What's New?" di Prima reads from her unpublished or "slightly published" work of the last five years - political poems, alchemical/magical poems, and surrealist fragments.
5:00 p.m. - Opening Performance of Lucky Girl by Frances Driscoll and Tom Juarez
7:00 p.m. - Opening performance of A Most Notorious Woman by Maggie Cronin
9:00 p.m. - Opening performance of Dark Porch Theatre's Eleanor by Margery
Fairchild

Singers/Songwriters - May 14 & 21, 10 PM at the EXIT Café

Melissa Lyn, born and raised in the Twin Cities, classifies her music as "alternative folk." Her set list includes "Good to You," an inspirational song written for her younger brother, "Next Time," a would-be love song, and "Time Spent Trying," an ode to a worry-wart. Melissa now calls the Bay Area her home and is a member of the band, The Bandishere. She is working on her first solo album.

Melissa Lyn

Saturday May 14th @ 10PM Tickets $10 at the EXIT Café available at 415-673-3847 or online at www.theexit.org

Carrie Baum Love, is back at the EXIT after her award winning 2008 Fringe show, Exit Sign: A Rock Opera. While Exit Sign was a musical exploration of grief and loss, Ms. Love's latest musings on mortality take the form of a new song cycle, focusing on the unlikely and often unnoticed (let alone sung about) experiences that make life worth living. In this new work, Carrie will take you on a tour of our universe that you aren't likely to forget.

Carrie Baum Love

Saturday May 21st. @ 10 PM Tickets $10 at the EXIT Café available at 415-673-3847 or online at www.theexit.org

COMING UP LATER THIS YEAR AT THE EXIT

September 7-18. 20th Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival. Over 200 performances of 40+ shows in 12 days. Features international, U.S., and Bay Area theater companies and performers in new, cutting edge, and often experimental works.

Selected Thursdays, All Year Long. Mark Romyn's Thursday Night Combo. Theatre artists, musicians, and other performers try out new material at the EXIT Café.

For details on the 2011 season's shows, go to www.theexit.org.

About EXIT Theatre
EXIT Theatre celebrates its 28th anniversary this year. It produces the San Francisco Fringe Festival, the second oldest Fringe Festival in the United States and is a member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF). 2011 will mark the 20th annual San Francisco Fringe Festival.

Each year, EXIT Theatre presents over 500 performances of some 100 productions by more than 75 companies and is one of San Francisco's most successful and enduring centers of alternative performance. EXIT continues to commission, develop and produce new work and present independent artists. In addition to the San Francisco Fringe Festival, EXIT produces the annual DIVAfest, dedicated to developing new work by women writers. The EXIT Theatreplex includes EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, the new EXIT Studio, and EXIT Café at 156 Eddy Street, and EXIT on Taylor, around the corner at 277 Taylor Street, all in Downtown San Francisco. Visit the EXIT Theatre web site at www.theexit.org.

DIVAFEST FOR CALENDAR EDITORS

Theater

10th Annual DIVAfest, plays and performances by women artists, April 29 - May 28, EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. Call for times, ticket prices, (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org

Eleanor a new play by Margery Fairchild previews Thurs & Fri May 5 & 6 at 8 PM Tickets $10. Opens Saturday, May 7 at 9 PM Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat, May 12-28 8 PM Tickets $15-25. EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org

A Most Notorious Woman by Maggie Cronin. One-woman show about the adventures of the 16th Century Irish pirate queen, Grace "Grania" O'Malley. Features Christina Augello. Directed by Jayne Wenger. Previews April 30 and May 6, 8:00 pm, $10. Opens Saturday, May 7 at 7 PM Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat, May 12-28 - tickets $15-25 8 PM,
EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org

Lucky Girl by Frances Driscoll and Tom Juarez. World premiere staging of Driscoll's The Rape Poems, performed by Cheryl Smith and directed by Kathryn Wood. Previews April 29 and May 5 at 8:00, opens Saturday, May 7 at 5 PM Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat May 12-28 tickets $15-25 8:00 PM. EXIT Studio, 156 Eddy St, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org.

Readings

Diane di Prima, "What's New?" Poetry reading by Beat icon and current San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima. In her 7th annual solo appearance for EXIT Theatre's DIVAfest, she will read several of her poems, unpublished and "slightly published," over the past five years. Saturday, May 7 at 3:00 pm. Admission: $5 donation suggested. EXIT Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco. (415) 673-3847, www.theexit.org.

 

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