THE THEATRE: Performances, Comedy & Storytelling Schedule

11:00am-12:00pm
LOS ANGELES WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL
Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) performances celebrate women as artists and cherish the dignity of women in their roles as daughters, mothers, and shapers of the community. LAWTF presents six solor performers whose diverse works will engage and expose viewers to different voices of women. The performers include:
Cynthia Lee, “Fish Hook Tongue”
In this dance piece, Taiwan’s history of linguistic colonization reveals itself through poetry storytelling, garbled soundscapes, and movement of evocative gestures.
Stacie Chaiken, “The Dig: Death, Genesis and the Double Helix”
In this theatre excerpt, an American archaeologist is summoned to a dig in the ancient Arab-Hebrew town of Jaffa, Israel. They find something they think might change everything.
The Lindz, “WASP”
This poet contributes relationship-related, socially conscious, goofy, insightful, sardonic, and riotous performance poetry.
Ada Luz Pla, “Tracing My Lineage–A Story of a Puerto Rican Spitfire”
A proud Puerto Rican woman shares the colorful array of Latin women in her life in this excerpted storytelling piece.
Katherin Saltzberg, “Los Angelyne”
A storytelling piece that explores what happens when a sleazy pop icon invades the life of a budding L.A. actress and wreaks havoc on her family.
Yazmin Monet Watkins, “This is What a Feminist Looks Like”
Written after this recent Dickinson College graduate took Black Feminist Thought and Feminist Theories. This is her spoken word/ poetic interpretation of feminism and equality.

12:00pm-12:15pm
GOGOL PROJECT
Presented by Rogue Artists Ensemble
The father of modern Russian realism and satire, Nikolai Gogol, was a master of the comedy of the absurd. The Rogues will present and excerpt from three of his most enduring tales—“Diary of a Madman,” “The Overcoat,” and “The Nose”—using puppetry, masks and music, presenting Gogol’s grotesque world as only the Rogues could imagine. Gogol Project plays at Bootleg Theatre September 25-November 1, 2009.

12:20pm-12:50pm
KHARMFUL CHARMS OF DANI KHARMS
Performed by the American Russian Theatre Ensemble Laboratory (ARTEL)
ARTEL presents episodes from the upcoming World Premiere of “Kharmful Charms of Dani Kharms”, an original Russian-themed Surrealist Absurdist Comedy at its most decadent and illogical, violent and erotic. Based on the writings of early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet Daniil Kharms (1905-1942), “Kharmful Charms” is full of not-so-innocent pranks and antics, vignettes and dreamlike incidents set to a rousing musical score. It will appear in its entirety at Artworks Theatre in Hollywood, February 12-March 6, 2010.

12:55pm-1:40pm
WICKED LITERATURE: “PIGEONS FROM HELL”
Presented by The Nom de Guerre Theatre Guild
A classic tale of terror, written By Robert E. Howard who is best known for creating Conan the Barbarian. This adaptation tells the story of two ill-fated young men who spend the night in what they believe is an abandoned mansion in the deep south of Louisiana. They quickly come to realize that they are not alone. Something unnatural and deadly is still residing in the house, and they could soon become victims of a centuries old curse.

1:45pm-2:15pm
READINGS FROM THE HOMEBOYS
Featuring the fabulous poets of the Homeboys Industries community and the Homeboy Literary Press and Journal. Homeboy Industries -Jobs Not Jails- assists at-risk and formerly gang-involved youth to become positive and contributing members of society through job placement, training and education, as well as through the creation and dissemination of art and poetry.

2:20pm-3:30pm
THE MINI MINI THEATRE FEST!
Local Los Angeles theatre companies grace the WH Book Fair with 10 minute shows–previews of what’s coming up in the LA Theatre Scene!

Featuring:

“Persons of Interest” (Theatre of Note)
Sam meets an attractive woman on a bus stop bench. Will his brutal honesty charm her or send her flagging down the next bus? Written by Nova Jacobs, a graduate of USC’s film school and a recipient of the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting.

“No Word in Guyanese for Me” (Off Chance Productions)
Poetic and lyrical, the play is a beautiful exploration of religious and sexual identity, clashing cultures, loyalty, hopes and dreams, parental bonds and attendant feelings of safety or threat.

“The Only Gift” – A Living Room Series selection (Blank Theatre)
A different new play is presented every Monday night as part of the “Living Room Series” at The Blank’s 2nd Stage Theatre. Here, they’ll be presenting one of their fall pieces.

“Oooogy Green & Other Fables” (Celebration Theatre)
This colorful tale takes the caterpillar Ooooogy Green on an imaginative journey. Ooooogy Green is afraid to be different, but with the help of puppets, music and timeless fables, his friends teach him that the differences in all of us are what makes the world exciting.

“Here Lies Dorothy Parker” (Niki Lee)
Singer/Songwriter Niki Lee sets the poetry of Dorothy Parker to music in this one-woman theater piece exposing the more vulnerable side of the famed author.

3:30pm-4:15pm
DEAD AUTHOR PANEL
Presented by 826LA
Dead authors come back from the grave for a one-time-only panel discussion about current issues in literature. The audience will have opportunities to ask the authors questions…and we hear that some of these authors don’t get along so well! 826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

4:30pm-5:15pm
OUT ON THE EDGE: AMERICA’S REBEL COMICS
Readings by five of the comedian contributors to “Gay Mafia” founder Mike Player’s new book. “Out on the Edge: America’s Rebel Comics,” is a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the experiences of gay comedians.
Featuring:
Jason Stuart
Scott Silverman
Nancy Kissam
Mike Player
Diana Yanez