Kathryn Keats Presents THE HUMMINGBIRD as Part of the MarshStream International Solo Fest

Actress, singer and songwriter Kathryn Keats put her professional life on the backburner for 20 years, changing her name and going into hiding from an abusive, former partner who threatened to kill her.

Now, Keats is turning a harrowing experience into a positive message of hope with her new, solo stage musical, "The Hummingbird," premiering on Thursday, October 8 on ZOOM as part of the MarshStream International Solo Fest in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"This show is a high-wire musical ride; a true story of love, loss, music, madness, forgiveness and redemption," Keats said. "It's for any adult person who has struggled with the seemingly insurmountable climb back to life after losing everything they thought they were and ever wanted."

Keats, whose birth name was Ellen Munger, was on track for a career in musical theater when she met and fell in love with a director in New York City in the early 1980s. After moving in together, their relationship plunged into the depths of mental illness and drug addiction, culminating with Munger being held captive in an apartment for 54 days, until she escaped and eventually changed her name to Kathryn Keats.

Now happily married and living in Northern California, Keats has spent recent years performing in the Bay Area, teaching acting and being an advocate for victims of abuse. However, she does not want "The Hummingbird" to be perceived as a show that is exclusively about victimization.

"There is more to every story," she said. "My story is more than violence. It's also about love and understanding and forgiveness."

The MarshStream International Solo Fest runs from October 7-11, 2020. Kathryn Keats will perform "The Hummingbird" on Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m. PDT. Admission is free, but tips are accepted. For viewing information, visit TheMarsh.org.

About David Ford

David Ford has been collaborating on new and unusual theatre for three decades and has been associated with The Marsh for most of that time. The San Francisco press has variously called him the solo performer maven, the monologue maestro, and the dean of solo performance. Recent work includes Echo Brown's long-running "Black Girls Are Not For Hipsters," "Charlie Varon's extraordinary collaboration with cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, "Second Time Around," Geoff Hoyle's "Lear's Shadow and Geezer," and all of Brian Copeland's solo shows, including the longest-running solo show in the Bay Area, "Not A Genuine Black Man."

About Kevin Gerzevitz

Kevin Gerzevitz is a professional musician, composer and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He frequently performs as jazz organist with B3B4 Organ Jazz Quartet and as a pianist and bandleader with The KG Trio.

In his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gerzevitz attended the University of Michigan School of Music, focusing on piano performance, jazz studies, improvisation, and composition, while majoring in Music Theory and German. Upon earning his BMA in 1990, he relocated to the SF Bay Area where he works as a freelance pianist, composer and teacher. He attended Mills College from 2003 to 2005 to innovate his approach to teaching music, earning certifications in Levels I, II, and III as an Orff Schulwerk instructor. Since 2008, he has worked as the Music & Movement Specialist at Pacific Primary Orange Sun School in San Francisco.

Gerzevitz has scored several independent films and has produced music for advertising, web, multimedia and theater. His clients include Google, Apple, LucasArts, Sprint, Macy's, Brøderbund, and Hasbro.

"The Hummingbird"

Written and Performed by Kathryn Keats
David Ford - Director & Development
Kathryn Keats - Music/ Lyrics / Book
Kevin Gerzevitz - Music/ Music Producer
Aram Avagyan - "Just Once" written with Kathryn Keats

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