EXIT Theatre Announces 2010 DIVAfest 4/8-5/1

Women writers, directors, performers featured in 9th annual festival, April 8-May 1; World Premiere of The Wind and Rain by Claytie Mason; plus a new staging of A Most Notorious Woman by Maggie Cronin featuring Christina Augello; readings by poet Diane di Prima - and Lady of the ‘Loin returns
San Francisco. February 11, 2010. EXIT Theatre, San Francisco's downtown indie home for new and alternative performance, announces its 2010 DIVAfest, featuring the work of established and emerging women writers, directors, and performers. The 9th Annual DIVAfest runs at the EXIT Theatreplex, 156 Eddy Street, in downtown San Francisco, Thursdays through Saturdays, April 8 through May 1.

Featured at this year's DIVAfest are two plays rooted deeply in Irish myth and history. The Wind and Rain is the latest play from Seattle's Nebunele Theatre. Based on a timeless Irish ballad, it is written and directed by Claytie Mason. A Most Notorious Woman, by Irish actress Maggie Cronin, is a one-woman romp through the exploits of notorious pirate queen Grace O'Malley. The pirate queen is played by the equally swashbuckling Christina Augello.

Also at DIVAfest - readings of new work by playwright Lee Kiszonas and subversive travel writer Erika Atkinson. And Sophie Kadow's drawings of "shoddy, disreputable people."

The DIVAfest Multi-Show Pass

Also featured at this year's DIVAfest is the new "DIVAfest Multi-Show Pass," which allows DIVA-goers to enjoy more shows for less. Passes allow admission to two shows for $25 or three shows for $30. Passes are sold in advance and all seats must be reserved by calling (415) 673-3847.

The Wind and Rain
by Claytie Mason

"There were two sisters of County Claire, Oh the wind and rain. One was dark and the other was fair. Oh the dreadful wind and rain..."

Two sisters in a small mill town on the brink of extinction, a mysterious stranger with a fiddle made of bones, a river that runs dangerously high. Based on the classic Irish ballad of the same name, The Wind and Rain is an age-old tale about sisters, love, jealousy, revenge and the consequence of change.

The play was created through a collaboration with physical performers Brynna Jourdan (Hammer Heads, Cussing at the Moon) and Jenna Bean Veatch (The Tumbleweed Bandits), live music and original compositions from concert violinist Rebecca Jackson (Völs String Quartet, San Francisco Opera), visual delights from illustrator, painter and whimsical engineer Molly Millar (Phantom Galleries L.A.'s Emergence Enchanted, 2009 TED Conference), and award-winning playwright Claytie Mason (2006 SF Fringe Festival Best Play - The Secret Ruths of Island House). This tragic tale comes to life with humor, whimsy, magic, and terror. The Wind and Rain is performed by Rebecca Jackson, Brynna Jourdan and Jenna Bean Veatch and is produced by EXIT Theatre.

The Wind and Rain previews Thursday and Friday, April 8 & 9. Preview tickets are $10. Show opens Saturday, April 10. Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat, April 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, April 29-May 1 - tickets $15-25. All shows at 8:30 pm. at the EXIT mainstage, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco.

A Most Notorious Woman
by Maggie Cronin

This one-woman show by Maggie Cronin is based on the exploits of the 16th century Gaelic pirate queen Grace "Grania" O'Malley and features Christina Augello as the woman who defied tradition to become a feminist icon. Ms. Augello has created the roles of Boxcar Bertha and, more recently, Baroness Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven in Kerry Reid's Last of the Red Hot Dadas. Augello has toured both of these plays on the international Fringe Festival circuit.

Christina Augello is pirate queen Grace O'Malley in A Most Notorious Woman at DIVAfest, April 8-May 1, EXIT Theatre, SF.

Grace "Grania" O'Malley has been all things to all people: "cut-throat pirate...hard-nosed businesswoman...barbarian...symbol of national defiance...woman in love...romantic heroine..." all are revealed in this "absorbing and multi-layered portrait of a most bewitching and infuriating historical figure." Grania's fervent love of the sea and her passion for adventure drove most to say she had indeed "impudently stepped o'er her bounds of womanhood." As tribal chieftain, her fierce loyalty to an Ireland soon to be lost forever caused the English to fear her and Elizabeth I to confront her. Well into her 70's she continued to courageously lead and aid the Irish rebellions again the English invaders. "Entertaining and thought-provoking", Ms. Cronin's solo script captures the very texture of the woman, the time and the country.

A Most Notorious Woman previews Thursday and Friday, April 8 & 9. Preview tickets are $10. Show opens Saturday, April 10. Runs Thurs-Fri-Sat, April 8-10, 15-17, 22-24, April 29-May 1 - tickets $15-25. All shows at 7:00 pm. EXIT Stage Left, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco.

Lady of the ‘Loin

A cabaret tale in story and song

Back by popular demand, the hit of last year's DIVAfest reunites songwriting team Don Seaver and Sean Owens with cabaret star Shannon Day for Lady of the ‘Loin, a sizzling tribute to San Francisco's raciest, raunchiest, most unrepentant neighborhood: the Tenderloin.

This year's edition adds new songs and stories and a dozen original compositions seared to a juicy sizzle by chanteuse Shannon Day's incomparable sexy style. Experience VIP treatment from impresario Sean Owens whose beat era bon-mots and machine gun wit will both delight and dazzle. Composer Don Seaver sets the ivories on fire with his musical genius. Marvelous, mischievous and murderous, this cabaret tale of the high times and the low-lifes of the Tenderloin, brings to life a menagerie of exotic hungry beasts with a funny, fierce and fearless look at a neighborhood that has room for everything but shame.

The joint is jumping for 4 nights only at the EXIT's Stage Left Club - where shabby meets chic, shady meets steamy, and the riff-raff meet the upper half. Book early for the full cabaret experience, and be sure to reserve one of the limited number of premium front row tables for 2 which include tickets and a complimentary champagne cocktail.

Lady of the ‘Loin. Written by Sean Owens & Composed by Don Seaver. Featuring Shannon Day. Four Saturdays only at 10:00 pm. April 10, 17, 24 & May 1
Tickets $15-$25. Premium Tables $50. EXIT's Stage Left Club, 156 Eddy Street, San Francisco.

Other DIVAfest events

Poet Diane di Prima reads from her work April 10 at DIVAfest.

"Buddhist Ruminations: Poetry and Spirit."

Poetry Reading by Beat icon and current San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima. di Prima has been a practicing Buddhist since 1962, first in the Zen tradition, and later in the Tibetan Vajrayana system. As a younger woman she also studied Hinduism, and has been a practitioner of Western magick throughout her life. Many of her finest poems reflect these studies and practices. In her 6th annual solo appearance for DivaFest, she will read poems inspired by these traditions, and talk about the place of spiritual practice in her life as a poet.

Saturday, April 10 at 3:00 pm. EXIT Theatre. Admission: $5 donation suggested.
"A Tapestry of Travel Tales"
A reading by Erika Atkinson from her travel journals, or as Erika says...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your armrests and turn on your headlights. Permit me to take you on a few unplanned adventures to places far away and exotic, and on a few unexpected trips to places more familiar. It is my hope these stories will incite your own alliances between savories in the air or sounds in the barrio, from ancient worlds to the more modern. It is my feeling the episodes will speak to various equations of the Diva in each of us."

Saturday, April 17 at 3:00 pm. EXIT Theatre. Admission: $5 donation suggested.

"Grace"
A reading by Lee Kiszonas of her latest play, all in keeping with the Celtic theme of this year's DIVAfest...

Kiszonas' take on Grace O'Malley is a swashbuckling tale of the Irish pirate queen who battles through Spanish galleons, political intrigue, and personal betrayal to save her golden boy from the clutches of the indomitable queen of England. Playwright Kiszonas is the author of last year's DIVAfest hit, An Affair of Honor.

Students of plays and piracy are invited to see both O'Malley plays, then submit an essay comparing and contrasting them. Winner gets a noggin o' Guinness.

Saturday, April 24 at 3:00 pm. EXIT Theatre. Admission: $5 donation suggested.

Sophie Kadow - DIVAfest Visual Artist

Kadow's work will appear in the EXIT Café throughout DIVAfest.
Sophie Kadow is an artist and writer living in New York. She works with a myriad of mediums, ranging from vibrant watercolors to 99¢ black ballpoint pens. An observer by nature, she often finds herself in a café or in the subway, sketching strangers in their most run-down form. More often than not, the doodles turn into something substantial; as she is most commonly known for her line drawings of shoddy, disreputable people.

When she's not drawing derelicts, Sophie is taking point-and-shoot candid photos or writing casual essays; both of which can be found on her website, BullshitTimes.com.

DIVAfest Opening Day - April 8th Activities at EXIT Theatre

3:00 p.m. - San Francisco Poet Laureate Diane di Prima reading from her selected works.
5:30 p.m. - Reception for featured DIVAfest artist Sophie Kadow
7:00 p.m. - Opening performance of A Most Notorious Woman by Maggie Cronin
8:30 p.m. - Opening performance of The Wind and Rain by Claytie Mason
10:00 p.m. - Diva Cabaret - Lady of the ‘Loin with Shannon Day, Sean Owens, Don Seaver

COMING UP LATER THIS YEAR AT THE EXIT

September 8-19. 19th Annual San Francisco Fringe Festival. Over 250 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.

October 1-2. The Best of the Fringe

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 2010 season's shows, go to www.theexit.org.

About EXIT Theatre
EXIT Theatre celebrates its 27th 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). 2010 will mark the 19th 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.

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