Celebrates International Women's Day

With

She Speaks

An annual celebration of women’s voices in theatre. Funded in the first and second year by

The International Centre for Women Playwrights, the donations at the door are divided between the funding organization and a local organization dedicated to the betterment of women. The evening entails staged-readings of new women’s work, followed by a talk-back session where the audience is encouraged to give the playwrights’ feedback on their work.

She Speaks 2008 here

SHE SPEAKS 2007

Thursday, March 8 2007 8pm * The Registry Theatre * 122 Frederick St. Kitchener, On.

Staged readings of short plays and excerpts from longer plays by women

Presented by Flush Ink Productions

Muse’ © Virgil Burnett

Featuring the writing of…

Shirley Barrie

BRIANNA’S QUEST (Act 1, Scenes I & II)

Lea Daniel

COLOUR ME FUCHSIA

Francine Dick

DOWN MEMORY LANE

Paddy Gillard-Bentley

OPAQUE ( Act: I Scene: I)

Grace Kary

THE SUN IS A NEON SIGN

(Act: I Scene: III)

Tamara Knezic

THE DEATH OF SUZIE LAU

Jenni Mundy

ON THE EDGE

Featuring the talent of…

David Antscherl

Shirley Barrie

Kristopher Bowman

Nicholas Cumming

Paddy Gillard-Bentley

Brian Kelly

Tracey Kenyon

Gary Kirkham

Carol Lewis

Jamie Metzger

Carolina Miranda

Jascha Narveson

Shelah Ranalli

Lindsay Stewart

Arlene Thomas

Bruce Wolff

PICTURES OF THE ‘SHE SPEAKS’

PLAYWRIGHTS ~ ACTORS ~ ARTIST BIOS

This event was funded by ICWP - International Centre for Women playwrights.

The money raised was divided between The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP)

and Anselma House; providing emergency shelters and services for abused women and their children.

We presented seven pieces in various stages of production. They were all written by women. Some were short plays,complete. Some, were pieces that will grow into maybe a one-act, or a full length play, but are yet to be written. Others were scenes or fragments from full length plays. All rough. All new. All unproduced. We had fourteen actors involved, some reading several roles. It was wonderful, as always, to see the actors push themselves, but wonderful also, to see theplaywrights direct. I challenged the playwrights to stage their reading the way they wanted. The only thing I asked was the scripts remained in hands. I told the actors, even if you learn your lines, hold the script. Without the script, expectations become too high for this kind of event. So there were props and costumes and some blocking.

After the plays, there was a talk-back session with five of the playwrights present, and the other two, having someone sit for them. Although the audience didn't ask a lot of questions, I may have scared them with my 'rules', the playwrights were thrust into a lively discussion about process, and what the reading did for them.

The audience were very enthusiastic. There were some quintessential local theatre people in the audience.so good for playwrights and actors. And the comment I think I heard most was..when are you going to do this again? Seems, like me, the audience likes all stages of the process. The talkback was good, but I might have frightened some people out of asking anything with my 'guidelines', so it turned more into a playwright's discussion, which was very interesting.

It was a blast working with Jenni, by the way, the most gracious trip I've ever witnessed, and the entire thing was loads of fun. Theatre people who attended where handing out business cards to actors, and I was approached by a director to see the remainder of my play, so the net-working was great.

Here was the line-up of the show.

SHE SPEAKS

Brianna's Quest (Act 1, Scenes I & II)

by Shirley Barrie

performed by

Arlene Thomas, Kristopher Bowman

Nicholas Cumming and Tracey Kenyon

Are women the gentler sex? The spirit of a Viking warrior is trapped in the body

of a struggling actress who gets a job impersonating a futuristic computer game heroine.

Down Memory Lane

by Francine Dick

performed by Shirley Barrie & Carol Lewis

An innocent gift and a women confronts a dark secret from her past.

The Death of Suzie Lau

by Tamara Knezic

performed by

Lindsay Stewart & Bruce Wolff

Two ordinary guys struggling with everyday sacrifices.

The Sun is a Neon Sign (Act: I Scene: III)

by Grace Kary

directed by Jascha Narveson

performed by

Gary Kirkham & Paddy Gillard-Bentley

A great poet, Federico Garcia Lorca, and a great city, New York, share a breakdown on their first date.

INTERMISSION

Opaque ( Act: I Scene: I)

by Paddy Gillard-Bentley

performed by

Arlene Thomas, David Antscherl & Carol Lewis

Coping with life badly.

On the Edge

by Jenni Mundy

performed by

Carolina Miranda & Kristopher Bowman

How well do two people really know each other?

Color Me Fuchsia (fragments)

by Lea Daniel

performed by

Shelah Ranalli & Paddy Gillard-Bentley

To stay or to go - images of obsession.

THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A TALK BACK SESSION WITH THE PLAYWRIGHTS.