A couple of brief snippets from our local theaters this morning.
The Hamner Theater announced that later this month they’ll put on a show in celebration of V-Day, a national series of events that raise consciousness of violence against women that runs from February through April. The day was founded by playwright Eve Ensler, and usually means you can find a production of the Vagina Monologues around town (at UVA from February 25-27, as it turns out).
The Hamner will present another work that Ensler edited, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer: Writings To Stop Violence Against Women and Girls, which sounds like the kind of work that, like the Vagina Monologues, is by turn a laughter- and tear-fest. According to the release, included is "Maya Angelou on women’s work, Michael Cunningham on self-mutilation, Edward Albee on S&M, Susan Miller on raising a son as a single mother, Patricia Bosworth on her own physically abusive relationship and many more."
Boomie Pedersen directs an impressive local cast. The performances—which benefit SHE and SARA—are at the Hamner (February 18-20) and the Jefferson (February 23). Read more here.
Eve Ensler’s TED Talk. More below.
In other news, Live Arts Executive Director Matt Joslyn e-mailed that the theater will no longer present Clybourne Park, a continuation of the Raisin in the Sun story, in its 2010-2011 season. "Losing performance rights is always a risk when dealing with new theatrical work," he writes, "and, due to its recent success and widening number of productions around the world, the playwright has withdrawn the rights from Live Arts this season."
Regular readers may recall that former Producing Artistic Director Satch Huizenga, who resigned in December, had courted and was slated to direct the play. When his resignation was announced, the play remained on the schedule with Betsy Tucker’s name on the director’s chair. Tucker will now direct Six Degrees of Separation in its place.
Open auditions will be held Sunday, February 20 and Monday, February 21, from 7-10pm at Live Arts; performances begin in late May.
