Author Archives

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Thank You for Your Support

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HERSTORY is happening this weekend, April 29th and 30th, at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven.

We’re very excited about this production, but this event wouldn’t be possible without support from the following individuals and organizations:

The Silk Road Art Gallery for providing the space,

Koffee? for generously donating food and hot drinks for both nights of the festival,

Rainbow Gardens and Cloud 9 Day Spa for donating gift cards,

The New Haven Theater Group for donating chairs,

to the following businesses for sponsoring HERSTORY:

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And to the following individuals and organizations for their support:

Celene Barerra
Sandra Jack
Karen and Ted Osborne
Judy Turziano
Alana Cooper
Chris DeFillip
Liz Corley
Victoria Nation
Mads Thompson
Odd Bins Bottles
Moira Malone
Brittney Garth
Susan Goodell
Lynn R. Lichtig

This Festival wouldn’t be possible without all of you! Thank you!

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An Interview with J. Lois Diamond

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Playwright J. Lois Diamond discusses her play MOUNTAIN DEW, part of the HERSTORY Festival this weekend, April 29th and 30th, 8pm, at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven, CT.

Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year?

A: I believe I first saw it listed on the NYC Playwrights website, but I was initially reticent about participating. Jessica had put a limit on the number of Caucasian women one could write about. I was intimidated about the prospect of writing about a woman of color and felt that not only would I get it wrong, but also that somehow I didn’t have the right to do it. That all changed when I went to a reading of 365 Plays at The Sheen Center last April (2015). I saw a lot of great work but was especially impressed with two plays about African Americans that were written by White women. I came away feeling, if they could do it, I could too. But I didn’t know who to write about.

Q: Why did you choose Hannah Reynolds as one of your historical woman? What drew you to her?

A: The very next day I heard a story on NPR. It was the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Appomattox, which led to Lee’s surrender and the end of The Civil War. There was an interview with a minister who had written a eulogy about Hannah Reynolds, a slave and the only civilian casualty of this battle. I don’t wish to give away what he discovered, but it was extraordinary.  I had been thinking a lot about racism and other forms of bigotry. And all this was a week before Passover, which celebrates social justice and specifically, freedom from slavery.  I was very moved, and knew I had to write about her.

Q: Can you walk me through the process of adapting a persons life for the stage? What were some of the challenges? What parts really clicked together?

A: One of the challenges was capturing the setting.

I haven’t spent much time in the south but my boyfriend and I had planned a road trip to North Carolina with over night stops in Virginia.  While I had done some research and made notes, I didn’t actually start writing the play until I had returned from the trip. I wanted the speech and manner of Southerners to wash over me. I had known a Black woman from Virginia when I was young. As I listened to Southerners, her voice came back into my head, and it helped me to write the part of Hannah.

There is always a danger of preaching when you address moral issues like basic human rights.

I was very fortunate in the fact that there was a little bit of information known about her but also a lot of unanswered questions for me to explore. One of these was why she stayed behind when her master had fled. It was known that she was married. I put myself in her place, and felt in my gut that the only reason she would have stayed would have been to be with her husband.

Q: In the play, the character of Hannah Reynolds returns from beyond the grave in order to speak with a young, contemporary, girl. What made you choose this route? 

A: I decided from the beginning that she would be a ghost. I had her visit Tanya, a teenager who was bored with the history she was being taught in school, because it was fundamentally flawed, and because it didn’t have any relevance to her own life.

As I worked on revisions, it dawned on me that I needed to clarify why Hannah was haunting her. I realized Hannah was disturbed because she felt misunderstood and needed to tell her life’s story the way it really happened. Once she was able to convey her truth to Tanya, Tanya, in turn became empowered. Only then was Hannah free to go in peace.

Q: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 29th and 30th? What are you most nervous about?

A: I’m excited to see my work read for an audience of people who aren’t familiar with my work, but am always nervous when I haven’t had any prior contact with the director or actors.

Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general? 

A: I don’t recall having been consciously influenced by other playwrights while I wrote this specific play, but I adore Tina Howe’s work and had the incredible opportunity to study with her briefly. I have also been inspired by Wendy Wasserstein’s early work, Lanford Wilson, Elaine May and Tennessee Williams.

Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year? 

A: Being part of a community of like- minded theatre artists and making people aware of important women in history. It has really changed the way I approach new subject matter.

Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year for the first time? 

A: Go out and see some plays that are part of this project. Then don’t be afraid to take the plunge and write one yourself. You never know whom you might inspire!

J.Lois Diamond is a playwright, poet and performer. Her full length, one-act, and ten-minute plays have been performed at various off-off Broadway venues, including Theater for the New City, The West Bank Cafe and The Hudson Guild.  Her work has been produced regionally and as part of The InspiraTO Festival in Toronto. She has been a featured poet at The Cornelia St. Cafe. She is a member of Polaris North and The Dramatists Guild. jloisdiamond.com

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An Interview with Allie Costa

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Allie discusses her new play Little Swan, premiering as part of the HERSTORY Festival at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven, CT, April 29th and 30th.

Q: How did you hear about 365 Women a Year?

A: I first crossed paths with Jess Eisenberg on Twitter when the 365 Women a Year project was in its early stages and she was seeking submissions. I immediately asked how I could be involved, and the rest is history.

Q: Why did you choose Anna Pavlova as one of your historical woman? What drew you to her?

A: The idea for Little Swan came to me in March 2013 as I was preparing to write a new play for PlayGround-LA in honor of Women’s History Month. I wanted to write about someone who made an impact on society and history, and as that was all percolating in my brain, I was at an audition studio where I saw a replica of a piece of art I like – the statue Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Degas – and thought, “Perhaps a dancer.” Anna Pavlova came to mind. I researched her life and discovered her last words, and I knew her story was one I had to tell.

Q: Can you walk me through the process of adapting a person’s life for the stage? What were some of the challenges? What parts really clicked together?

A: Little Swan is set backstage before the first performance of The Dying Swan, a ballet choreographed by Mikhail Fokine as a solo piece for Anna Pavlova. Without giving too much away, the encounter she has in this piece is imagined, but some of the lines in this play were spoken by the real Anna Pavlova. I wanted to incorporate real quotes because the statements she made about life and about dancing were so powerful, so telling, and I couldn’t say it better than she said it herself. Those quotes really inspired the story, from start to finish.

Q: You’ve been involved with 365 Women a Year since the original incarnation. Has your experience in the first year influenced your writing the second time around?

A: So far, I have written five pieces for 365 Women a Year:
Little Swan, a Pas de Deux (Anna Pavlova)
The View From Here (Anna Christina Olson, subject of Andrew Wyeth’s painting Christina’s World)
She Walks (Ada Lovelace)
She Was Never Lost (Alice Liddell, inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
A Moment of Silence (Leelah Alcorn)
….and this year, I will be writing about Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn.

The first year, I submitted pieces to the project that I had already written, whereas for the second year and now the third, the project was what motivated me to write the pieces. I enjoy doing research because I’d like to be as accurate as possible and truly honor their lives and accomplishments.

Q: What are you most excited about for the reading on the 29th and 30th?

A: I am so flattered that Little Swan was chosen for this reading! I hope you all enjoy it. It will be the first time my work has been presented in Connecticut, so that is exciting.

Q: Are there any playwrights that inspired you while you were working on this piece, or who inspire you in general?

A: I love a good story. I appreciate good storytellers. I am an actress, a playwright, a screenwriter, a singer, and a director. When I’m not performing someone else’s work, I’m writing my own. I am constantly reading books, scripts, and screenplays, watching TV, films, going to the theatre, listening to music – those are my favorite story streams.

Lin-Manuel Miranda inspires me. I’m going to work with that man someday. I am so glad that Hamilton is getting the recognition is deserves. #yayhamlet

Q: What has been your favorite aspect of working with 365 Women a Year?

A: I enjoy seeing, hearing, and reading all of these stories and learning about women I didn’t know about before as well as learning new things about familiar names. I also like meeting new playwrights, directors, and actors in the process!

Q: Do you have any advice for the playwrights joining 365 Women a Year for the first time?

Pick someone you think is awesome. It doesn’t matter if she is famous, if she’s a household name or not. All that matters is that you think she’s story-worthy – so jump right in and tell her story!

Allie Costa works in film, TV, theatre, and voiceover as a writer, director, actress, and singer. Her original works have been produced internationally, including Femme Noir (Best Script, 2015 One-Act Festival), Safe Distance, Who She Could Have Been (LBDI semi-finalist), A Taste of the Future (Lakeshore Players semi-finalist) and Can You Keep a Secret? Her play Little Swan, a Pas de Deux, inspired by the life of ballerina Anna Pavlova, was named Best of PlayGround-LA 2014 and subsequently published. Tofurkey Day has been staged in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, the UK, and Florida, where it was named Best of the Fest, Audience Choice.

Allie is an accomplished stage and screen actor whose credits include Spring Awakening, Hamlet, 90210, Wake, and You Me & Her. She has lent her voice to video games, appeared in commercials, and narrated audio books. She is a proud member of the Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative, the 365 Women a Year Playwriting Project, PlayGround-LA, and SAG-AFTRA. She always has energy to burn and a song to sing. Occasionally, she sleeps.

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Thank you!

A big thank you to everyone involved in the In Her Name Festival for your bold, courageous, and inspiring work. It was an honor to be a part of this project!

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If you missed this incredible, moving event, you still have the chance to be a part of changing the story on women’s representation in theatre. Go see HERSTORY April 29th and 30th at 8pm, at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven CT. Learn more.

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Another Interview with Shellen Lubin

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NOplays welcomes back Shellen Lubin to talk about the In Her Name Festival. You can see her work this weekend at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre. Click here for tickets.

Q: You have two plays in this festival, White Cotton and After the Thin Man. How have these scripts evolved since the first 365 Women a Year cycle?

A: ​After the Thin Man has had two sets of revisions over two readings of the play, bringing it stronger, tighter, and eliminating some lines which over-stated the intentions. White Cotton has had a reading and a production, but hasn’t seemed to need as much revision. I think it was tighter to start.

​Q: What drew you to each of the women featured in these plays?

A: ​I studied with Stella Adler, but was always haunted by this statement Sylvia Gassell made about Stella when she was in a musical of mine, that Stella had told her not to let them make her a character actress in Hollywood–and when Sylvia had said that was what she wanted to be, Stella had told her then she’d never work. I knew that Stella had come back from Hollywood destroyed in some way, and then went full time into teaching, and so constructed this imaginary encounter between the two of them that also addresses the conflicts she had with Lee Strasberg and the kind of teacher she became.

Fannie Lou Hamer to me is everything 365 W…a…Y… is about–women who did extraordinary things who have essentially been written out of our history. Fannie Lou s was an extremely important civil rights activist and voting rights activist from a family of sharecroppers, and she even testified before congress about the brutal beatings and illegal jailings she received, but because she wasn’t a man, and, maybe even more, because she wasn’t a male preacher, her story is almost forgotten.

Q: Can you walk me through the process of creating both of these plays in the same 365 Women a Year cycle? How did the writing of one play influence the writing of the other?

A: ​These plays influenced and were influenced by other plays I am and was writing, but not so much each other. And I wanted them to be two unique, individual stories. I loved them for their differences, as I love Sylvia and Stella for their differences. ​

Q: You wrote two new pieces for 365 Women a Year in 2015. Has your experience in the first year influenced your writing the second time around? 

A: ​Absolutely! I am feeling even less of a need to tell anyone’s story, and more inspired to just write a play that is about a moment in their lives, a dramatic, pivotal moment in their lives. For example, the piece I wrote about Zilphia Horton is a fight with her father in her early 20s that determined the rest of her life, but you need to then go read about what it was she did with the rest of her life.

Q: In addition to writing this play, you’re also one of the producer for the In Her Name Festival. What are some of the challenges of working as both writer and producer? What are some of the rewards?

​A: The challenge is just the amount of work–I love shifting perspective and letting other people do their jobs for each individual piece. The rewards are so many–the women (and men) I’m working with, the energy and creativity and passion of all involved, and the education! So much history I didn’t know. I love to learn, and 365 Women a Year is a perpetual learning adventure.​

Q: What are you most excited about for the reading this weekend? What are you most nervous about? What are you hoping to accomplish with your play specifically? 

A: ​I’m most excited about the opportunities it is creating for all involved to connect, to be heard, to hopefully have new connections that might lead to productions and other opportunities (including for myself and my work).​

I am most nervous about our coordinating the number of people involved and not neglecting anyone or having anyone feel they were not treated fairly. ​

Q: This is the second In Her Name Festival. Is there anything you want to see in this years festival that wasn’t there last year? What are your hopes for In Her Name 2016? 

​A: This year I hope we are better paced. We had so many plays in one night last year, it was overwhelming. More plays this year, but we’re also more spread out. I’m hopeful that that will allow the whole festival–and all of us involved–to breathe better. Breathing is good.

Shellen Lubin‘s plays and musicals have been performed in productions and staged readings at the Public Theatre, Henry St. Settlement, MCC, AJT, and many other venues. She is currently working on a new play about Sarah Bernhardt, and a musical based on Elsa Rael’s award-winning children’s books with Elsa Rael (book) and Matthew Gandolfo (music). She and her songs have been featured in cabaret (most recently the Metropolitan Room in NYC and Stage 773 in Chicago), on radio (Woody’s Children on WQXR-FM and a one-hour special on WBAI-FM), cable television, and in Milos Forman’s 1st American film, TAKING OFF. Shellen has directed numerous plays, musicals, and cabaret acts in productions, workshops, and readings, most recently DOOR OPENS WALK THRU by Susan Merson at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre; the 28th-31st Annual Bistro Awards for Sherry Eaker; and Lainie Kazan in a concert reading of BELLE BARTH: IF I EMBARRASS YOU, TELL YOUR FRIENDS by Koch/Levinson/Kalt at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, CA. She coaches voice and acting privately and at a number of colleges and professional and private schools. Her philosophical musings on artistry as a means of understanding ourselves and living more deeply, truly, and meaningfully have been read by thousands in six cover pieces for Backstage, the Performing Arts Weekly. She also writes a weekly think piece called the “Monday Morning Quote” (www.mondaymorningquote.com). As an advocate for women in the arts, she is the Co-President of the Women in the Arts & Media Coalition and VP of Programming for the League of Professional Theatre Women, She is a member of most unions and guilds in our industry, and an elected member of the National Theatre Conference.

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In Her Name Festival Line-Up

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The In Her Name Festival is coming up fast and is shaping up to be a spectacular weekend! Here’s the line-up of plays and performances (remember to get your tickets before space runs out! Click here ):

Friday Night, April 15th, 7-9pm

Tales of Pirate Jenny, by Shola Cole
Testimonials from Jenny O’Hara and other 13th Street Rep alumnae
Essie Finkelstein by Leah Friedman
Out of the Closet by June Rachelson Ospa & Mark Barkan
Free Yessiree & Ship of Dreams by June Rachelson Ospa & Daniel Neiden

INTERMISSION

Mel DeLancey’s classic musical theater/contemporary storytelling
Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith
Songs from Between Pretty Places sung by Shellen Lubin, written by by Susan Merson

Saturday Morning, April 16th, 11-12:30pm

K.C. Reporting, written by Natalie Osborne, directed by Lizzy Bryce
Letters from Lotfia, written by Laura Shamas, directed by Lucy Gram
Pre-War, written by Jennifer O’Grady, directed by Lucy Gram
Taro and Capa, written by D. Lee Miller, directed by Julian Thomas
Arrest, written by Glenda Frank, directed by Marcina Zaccaria
Refugees, written by Stephanie Satie, directed by Shellen Lubin
Madame, written by Kendra Augustin, directed by Kristy Chambreli

Saturday Afternoon, April 16th, 2-4:30pm

Making Frankenstein, written by Natalie Osborne, directed by Kimberly Loren Eaton
White Cotton, written by Shellen Lubin, directed by Kimberly Loren Eaton
Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, written by Jenny Lyn Bader,directed by Kimberly Loren Eaton
Celia Buys a Dress, written by Yani Perez, directed by Joan Kane
A Moment of Silence,  written byAllie Costa, directed by Abigail Barr

INTERMISSION

Virginia Louise Conklin, written by Carolyn Mignini, directed by Susan Merson
Undercover: The Mary Shanley Story, written by Rachel McPhee and Robert K. Benson, directed by Steve Kaliski

Saturday Evening, April 16th, 6:30-9pm

After the Thin Man, written by Shellen Lubin
Blood Sisters, written by Robin Rice, directed by Lori Kee
Pillow of Tears, written by Lynda Crawford, directed by Shellen Lubin

INTERMISSION

Peola’s Passing, written by Cynthia G. Robinson, directed by Melody Brooks
Blood Ties, written by Michael Angel Johnson, directed by Mary Hodges
In the Evening, written by Susan Merson, directed by Elizabeth Hess

Sunday Afternoon, April 17th, 2-4:30pm
Morning Workshops Readings
Mama Bett, written by Elsa Rael, directed by Shellen Lubin

INTERMISSION

Scrutable, written by Karen Rousso, directed by Katrin Hilbe
Madame Red, written by T.D. Mitchell, directed by Nina Zoie Lam
Expression of Regret, written by Christine Toy Johnson, directed by Nina Zoie Lam

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An Interview With Susan Merson

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Susan Merson is a playwright, producer, and the Artistic Director of 13th Street Repertory Theatre. Her play In the Evening will be featured at the In Her Name Festival, Saturday, April 16th, at 6:30pm at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre.

Q: This play is based on your relationship with your mother, can you walk me through the process of creating autobiographical/biographical work? What were some of the challenges? What parts really clicked together? 

A: I think that in some ways all work is autobiographical, as we dip into the imprinted experiences that drive us as people and as artists. The personal frame is without value if it does not have a universal appeal. There is a universal understanding of the love between a mother and daughter. My particular life has had its share of drama so rather than play coy, I write based on my own experience and then continue to expand the stories and their resonance to make sure that they are a story that is larger than my personal experience. This play is the story of love and its obstacle. This theme is one I explore often.

There are rhythms that affect me as a writer and in this piece the rhythm of my mothers nightly trek up and down the stairs and round the tri level house to try to find some peace with her illness, drew me in. My challenge in this piece is trying to keep it grounded as I am increasingly aware that we, as humans, exist in a much larger energetic field than our everyday life. So, the balance between now and then, here and there and inner and outer experience is something that I play with, and one that I look forward to exploring with my terrific director, Elizabeth Hess, and my very able actresses and wonderful friends, Julie Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Mignini.

Q: Are there any playwrights who inspired you while you were writing this piece, or who inspire you in general? 

A: There are so many writers that I admire. Leah Kornfeld Friedman has a fierce personal voice that has inspired me as a woman, writer and actress and she has been a big influence in my work.

And the many many plays I have read over the years as I have worked with playwrights as they develop their own work. Nuggets of bravery and truth affect me. Fireworks rarely does. Chekov, Arthur Miller and Shakespeare are my favorites.

Q: In the beginning of the play, there’s a quote from T.S. Eliot, “I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope, for hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, for love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, but the faith and the love are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” Lines from this poem make there way into your script as well. What about this piece, and about T.S. Eliot in general, draws your interest? 

 A: Affliction is a mystery. Why and how folks suffer and to what end is a mystery. And as we observe, participate and engage with “what is” one must have faith that there is some reason for it that we struggle to digest . Solving mysteries is not the reason we are here… but rather to learn faith, trust and being in the present moment. Not so easy. TS Eliot speaks to that eloquently.

Q: In addition to writing this play, you’re also one of the producer for the In Her Name Festival. What are some of the challenges of working as both writer and producer? What are some of the rewards?

A: To survive in the theatre one wears many hats. Each hat trains the wearer for the complementary one, I believe. And part of my job as an artist is to get my work into the world… so it makes sense for me to make sure it happens.

I learned this lesson from my friend Curt Dempster, the founder of EST, who often railed at actors and writers for complaining that no one else was supporting their work,… when they were doing nothing but waiting for someone else to make them famous.

Q: What are you most excited about for the reading in April? What are you most nervous about? What are you hoping to accomplish with your play specifically? 

A: I look forward to mining the material with my talented friends. Carolyn, Julie and Elizabeth are all committed to expanding the world that I have outlined. The excitement is watching a few words on a page grow, expand and find its life.

Q: Do you have any advice for playwrights who might be interested in biographical work such as this? 

A: Biographical work is not the issue. True work is the issue.

Write true, write beautifully and with fierceness and you will find gold.

You can get tickets to see In The Evening and other plays in the In Her Name Festival here.

Susan has a long history of supporting and developing new plays and playwrights as the Founder/Producing Artistic Director of New York Theatre Intensives (NYTI) and through her work at such theatres as New Dramatists, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lion Theatre (which she co founded) and the O’Neill Theatre Center. Her mentoring skills have been polished through significant time on Broadway, in regional theatre and in the Off-Off Broadway developmental world. Appearing as an actress in the Broadway productions of Zefirelli’s SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY and CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD, she also co created and appeared in the original production of VANITIES, Off Broadway, in which she performed over 800 times. Recent television appearances on SCANDAL and in the upcoming Ellen Page/Julianne Moore film, FREEHELD. She is often seen on the stage of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in the Youngblood brunches and ASKING FOR TROUBLE series.Her first play REFLECTIONS OF A CHINA DOLL was produced Off Broadway at the Ensemble Studio Theatre which seeded her ongoing relationship as an active artist and board member of EST on both coasts. In Los Angeles, Susan co-founded and served as moderator for the Los Angeles Writers Bloc with colleague Jane Anderson, which has supported the work of such writers as Donald Margulies,(Pulitzer), Noni White and Bob Tzudiker(Tony for Newsies), Irene Mecchi (Lion King), Janet Fitch (White Oleanders) and countless others since the 1980’s. She has served as Artistic Director of the Streisand Festival for New Plays, Associate Producer at the Fountain and Mark Taper Forum, Resident Playwright for the Jewish Women’s Theatre Project, Literary Manager of the Ensemble Studio Theatre/ LA and has worked as a reader for Fogwood Films, TNT, and Polygram and many others. She is currently Managing Artistic Director of the 13th Street Repertory Theatre in NYC. Her many plays have been seen at theatres across the US and Canada. In the last couple of years:DAMN EVERYTHING BUT THE CIRCUS: 2 short plays About the Circus  at the FOUNTAIN THEATRE in Los Angeles and Ensemble Studio Theatre/NYC in readings and a selection of the Sam French New Play festival 2014. BETWEEN PRETTY PLACES, a play with music written by Shellen Lubin, premiered at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Los Angeles and as part of the HERE ARTS Sublet Series in Manhattan in 2013. NYC has also seen WHITE BIRCHES at the Avant Garde Arts Festival, CARLA TELLS US WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BLUE BEDROOM at Berkshire Playwrights Lab, I BELIEVE IN MARRIAGE at the League of Professional Theatre Women’s One Act Festival and WHEN THEY GO AND YOU DO NOT at both the EstroGenius Festival and EST/6th Floor/NY and the Fountain Theatre in LA. HAIR: A REMINISCENCE a Heideman Award finalist at Louisville; and BOUNTY OF LACE, a 2008 Religion and Theatre Award recipient — will be included in a published collection in 2013. Screenplay nods have gone to SWIMMING UPSTREAM and DEATH IN VIENNA, both developed with Jimola Productions. As a fiction writer, her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies. Her novel DREAMING IN DAYLIGHT and a recent collection of plays and memoir WHEN THEY GO AND YOU DO NOT: Writing on Transition are available on Amazon along with her book on solo performance, YOUR NAME HERE: An Actor Writers Guide to Solo Performance. She currently leads the programs of New York Theatre Intensives in association with the artists of Ensemble Studio Theatre, of which she is a member and the13th Street Repertory Theatre (Managing Artistic Director). She is an active member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, Actors Equity and Screen Actors Guild. Check out the website at www.susanmerson.com

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LADIES FIRST #6, APRIL 2016

LADIES FIRST is a list of new productions, workshops, readings, and publications by female playwrights. Our goal is to create greater gender parity in theatre by highlighting the works of female writers and the organizations that promote and produce their works.

PRODUCTIONS:

In Alabama by J. Lois Diamond.

Produced as part of The Voire Dire Project at Cap 21 and Westbeth.

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In Alabama was inspired by the painting “Puberty” by Avron Soyer and the life of the civil rights activist, Juliette Hampton Morgan.

Show runs April 1-May 8. April 1st has been changed from opening night to an open dress rehearsal. Tickets for April 1st only are FREE but you must make a reservation. The other performances are $25 and there is a party on April 15th. So come to the theatre and forget all about  paying your taxes! Here is the link to buy tickets: http://www.cosmicorchid.com/thevoiredireproject.html.

Raise Your Hand by Allie Costa.

Produced as part of the Act Out Ink Fest 2016 by Hudson Theatre.

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Performances Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th. Starring Roxanna Kaye and Brett Colbeth, directed by Miranda Stewart, produced by 2Cents Theatre Group at INK Fest 2016. INK Fest features 19 plays, all written by female playwrights! Check out the full festival schedule:

https://www.facebook.com/events/488004014728685/

One Exit Part Nowhere, Delaware. Eight plays by Susan Goodell.

Produced by AlphaNYC.

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Performances are 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., April 21-24, at the Times Square Arts Center, 300 W. 43 St., fifth floor, Suite 503, New York, NY.  For tickets contact :Tickets@TheAlphaNYCTix.com.

READINGS:

Breaking Cover, Reliving History, and Looking Foreclosure by Allie Costa.

Produced by Infinite Jest Theatre Company. 

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April 10th at Meta Theatre in Hollywood, directed by Collette Rutherford.  https://www.facebook.com/events/1703590493229020/

In Her Name.

Produced by New York Theatre Intensives and 365 Women a Year: A Playwriting Project in Association with NOplays at 13th Street Repertory Theatre.

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A weekend of women’s stories.

April 15th-April 17th, At 13th Street Repertory Theatre 50 w 13th Street. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-her-name-a-weekend-of-womens-stories-3-day-pass-tickets-24254800762.

HERSTORY.

Produced by NOplays.

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When it comes to documenting his-tory, men have always had the upper hand. Until now! NOplays presents: HERSTORY, two evenings of staged readings by emerging female writers about women who shaped our world.

HERSTORY will take place at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven, CT, April 29th-30th at 8pm. Food provide by Koffee?

To submit to the May issue of LADIES FIRST, email natalie.noplays@gmail.com before the end of the month. Send us your name, the name of your play, the name of the theatre producing your work, a sentence or two about the play, the where and when, and an image. Thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s LADIES FIRST newsletter.

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April Fools!

Remember when we said yesterday was the last day to make a donation and receive a trading card? JUST KIDDING! You still have a week. But ONLY a week! Next friday is the REAL deadline. You have a second chance to get Mary Shelley, Pina Bausch, Elizabeth Bishop, or Stella Adler to enter your home in the form of a fun, collectable trading card. Happy April Fools Day!

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HERSTORY

The official press release for HERSTORY, one of NOplays’ new work festivals coming this April!

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When it comes to documenting his-tory, men have always had the upper hand. Until now!

NOplays presents: HERSTORY, two evenings of staged readings by emerging female writers about women who shaped our world.

About the Project:

HERSTORY is NOplays fourth production. We’ve produced festivals across New England from Bennington College in Vermont to Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY, to right here in New Haven. Our mission is to promote and produce the works of underrepresented voices in the American Theatre, specifically emerging female writers. We want the wild, fun, and unique stories told by these writers to be heard!

The plays featured in HERSTORY are part of 365 Women a Year. This international playwriting coalition involves over 200 women across the world who have signed on to write one or more one-acts about extraordinary women in history. The project’s ambitious yet focused goal is to write women back into the social consciousness as well as empower and promote female playwrights, and plant seeds of herstory around the country.

HERSTORY will take place at the Silk Road Art Gallery in New Haven, CT, April 29th-30th at 8pm. Plays include Mountain Dew written by J.Lois Diamond and directed by Teresa Langston, Little Swan written by Allie Costa and directed by Brooks Appelbaum, and Making Frankenstein written by Natalie Osborne and directed by Moira Malone. Coffee, tea, and dessert from Koffee? will be available free of charge. Doorprizes will be given out to the first audience members to arrive, including gift cards to Rainbow Gardens Restaurant and Cloud 9 Day Spa. There is a $5 suggested donation for entry. Tickets are available at the door, first come first serve. We hope to see you there!

If you would like to support this and other NOplays projects, consider making a donation.