*As the producer of more than 500 multicultural and multidisciplinary solo performers from around the globe, the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) is recognized as the longest-running annual solo festival for women in Los Angeles. This year, the nonprofit organization celebrates their 25 year anniversary as they open the Annual festival with a Champagne Gala at the beautiful the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood on March 29 and continue the event in Venice at The Electric Lodge through April 1st.
The Champagne Gala and Awards Ceremony on March 29, 2018 will be held in honor of exceptional women who have made laudable contributions in theatre. This will be held at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Barnsdall Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90027. There is free parking onsite. Following the reception at 6:30 p.m., the festivities continue at 8:00 p.m. with the recognition of retrospective honorees over the past 25 years.
The 25TH Anniversary Opening Night Gala on March 29 will be directed by Iona Morris (X-Men) and hosted by Hattie Winston (Becker) and Ted Lange (The Love Boat). There will be special live performances in addition to the awards presentations, including entertainment by Juli Kim, who will perform her dance/performance art piece The Journey, described as the journey each of us has to take, seen from a distance, sweet and brief. Like a flower blossoming to embrace the sun, as soon as we learn to love and live, we must fade. Inspired by Michael Kim-Sheng’s original composition, Circus, the dance is minimalistic in style.
The remainder of the Festival on Friday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, March 31 at 3:00 and 8:00; and Sunday, April 1 at 3:00 p.m. will return to the Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Avenue, Venice, CA 90291.
Friday, March 30, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: Love, Sex and #MeToo
Juliette Jeffers. Tio Pablo. Come meet Tio Pablo as he shares life lessons and breaks down the secrets to being a true Latin Lover….Dominican Style!
Mariel Josetta Mickens. Fishing for Love: Coming Out and Tackling It. This show explores acceptance and understanding of one’s self and all the craziness that goes along with finding that. Religion and faith impacted her view about sexuality and the experiences she had while growing up in Texas.
Brittanie Richardson. Art and Abolition. The story of a woman who moves to Kenya via South Africa and uses the arts to bring healing to other young girls who are undergoing different forms of sexual abuse from molestation to child sex slavery and sex trafficking.
Diana Varco. Shattered. After a life-changing event shatters a young woman’s world, she must examine how her past experiences have shaped her views on sex, sexuality and relationships.
Saturday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. Theme: Obsessions
Kate Huffman. I’m Too Fat for This Show. (Performance art) Kate Huffman embodies multiple characters in this excerpt to guide us through two decades of living with an OCD-instilled eating disorder that requires her to live by a strict set of rules and rituals.
Ai Yoshihara. My Own Private River Phoenix. A woman searches for her own River Phoenix and finds him in the man she marries in America.
Ella Turenne. Love, Locs and Liberation. (Storytelling/Theatre) This play weaves together Ella Turenne’s own stories of struggles with identity and beauty. Blending poetry, song and humor, Ella unlocks the history of locs and exposes the hair connection to politics, identity and culture.
Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “My Mother, My Self”
Brooke Baumer. October Baby. What happens when a detailed-obsessed woman tries to time the birth of her daughter to happen in her favorite month of the year? Nine months of chaos – in utero and out! October Baby is a hilarious and poignant look at parenthood and the need to control.
Laurel Maya Burt-Kidwell. Don’t Worry, Momma. (Song/Music) This performer plays the guitar as she sings songs that relate to motherhood.
Jennie Fahn. Under the Jello Mold. Jennie’s mother was a force to be reckoned with — a former dancer never content to merely rehash her past, there was always a story to be embellished, always a name to drop, and always a lesson to teach. Her mother was also hiding a long-held secret.
Bellina Logan. Confessions of a Mulatto Love Child. (Storytelling) This piece chronicles a bi-racial child’s life with her acerbic English actor mother, and the deep bond they forged.
Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. Theme: Angels, Culture and Coming of Age
Tangie Ambrose. Tangie. (Performance art/ Storytelling/ Theatre) The experiences of life ground Tangie. She becomes angry with God. She listens to her angels. She develops and relates to the universe.
Sofie Khan. MexiStani: Growing Up Mexican and Pakistani in America. (Performance poetry; Song/Music; Storytelling) In an excerpt from MexiStani!, Sofie Khan journeys through story bits about everything: her Mexican-Pakistani identity triumphs. Does she favor her Mexican side over her Pakistani side? Does she choose to be Catholic or Muslim? And how do Hip Hop and the LGBTQ community play a role up in this mix?
Nairoby Otero. ‘Til Sunday. About a quinceañera coming of age in New Orleans while trying to understand her role in her community, her country, her Cuban heritage, and where her loyalties lie.
The preceding weekend will feature programs to educate and inspire solo performers: A FREE writing workshop by Jessica Lynn Johnston on Friday, March 23; and Empowerment Day on March 24th, a full day of classes and workshops with nineteen facilitators and panelists. This weekend (March 23-24) will be the subject of a separate release at a later date.
Founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed, the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is an annual event unique among Los Angeles cultural institutions and should not be missed as LAWTF celebrates its 25th Silver Anniversary.
The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is a non-profit organization. The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival organization is made possible this year in part by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles, City National Bank, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, City of Culver City in association with Sony Entertainment, KPFK 90.7 and Adilah Barnes Productions.
Admission to the Gala is $50 or two tickets for $90 (includes light fare and Champagne). For the other programs, ticket prices this year include general admission single show tickets at $25.00 in advance or $30.00 at the door. Reservations: (818) 760-0408. Online reservations will be available at https://www.lawtf.org . To join and follow LAWTF on Facebook and Twitter, click on their links at https://www.lawtf.org
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