Yearly Archives: 2017

ZELDA AND HADLEY: TOGETHER AT LAST at the 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival

CFF_Zelda and Haldey_1x1A radio show revenge dramedy inspired by infidelity

E Cubed Productions makes their Cincinnati Fringe Festival debut with ZELDA AND HADLEY: TOGETHER AT LAST performing at the Arts Academy Commons, 1212 Jackson St.

The entirely fictional absolutely true story of what happens when F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway’s wives have had enough of their husbands’ philandering ways and get even with a radio drama. To begin, the audience decides which literary masterpiece to tackle. The ladies then improve that story by playing all the characters, creating all the sound effects, and reminding the audience that “hell hath no fury…” Also, there’s gin.
Rated: PG 13.

E Cubed Productions is the brainchild of Eileen Elizabeth Earnest. This is, of course, how she ended up with a production company called E Cubed. She is an Executive Member of OTRimprov, Co-Manager of ComedySportz Cincinnati, and 50% of the Sketchy Dames Comedy Troupe. She has performed with Know Theatre, Falcon Theater, Hugo West Theatricals, Carnegie, Human Race Theatre Co, and Landmark Productions.

The inspiration for ZELDA AND HADLEY: TOGETHER AT LAST came from the desire to see strong, women-led shows. Realizing that she didn’t need to wait for someone else to write a show for talented, funny, brassy women-because she freaking is one-she wrote it her own damn self. While this is Eileen’s first Fringe production as writer and director, she has performed with OTRimprov and was featured in last year’s Fringe offering, Furlesque. Eileen thanks her talented cast for their time and dedication and you for supporting live theatre. This much and more.

CAST

Elizabeth Chinn Molloy as Hadley Richardson
Elizabeth is making her Fringe debut! A native of Cincinnati, Elizabeth has performed with various theatres throughout the Greater Cincinnati area, including Concert: Nova, New Edgecliff Theatre, and Falcon Theater. Most recently, Elizabeth had the opportunity to travel the country as a touring actor with MadCap Puppets. Elizabeth is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. As always, she would like to thank her friends and family for their continued support and encouragement, especially Eileen, in all her Upper Echelon glory!

Why I signed on for this particular Fringe Show: Eileen said she was writing a Fringe show, and she asked if I would be interested in being in it. I said yes.

Alison Rampa as Zelda Fitzgerald
Alison is delighted to be making her scripted Fringe debut in this new and original work. Alison is a cast member of OTRimprov and ComedySportz Cincinnati where she gets to regularly flex her improv chops at the Know Theater, Below Zero Lounge, Memorial Hall and beyond. She is also part of Sketchy Dames a two woman sketch and improv group whose mission is to change the world through pretty dresses and funny make em ups. Her day job is teaching 8th grade Reading and English at Wilson Middle School in Hamilton. She’d like to thank Eileen for this opportunity, her husband Justyn for letting
her out of the house several nights in a row and her three year old Ozzy for being the best little monster a mom could ask for. Rawr.

Why I signed on for this particular Fringe Show: This show allows me the great honor of playing a strong vibrant woman, while working with equally strong vibrant women in an interesting genre.

CREW

Scott Miller- Stage Manager
This is Scott’s first foray in stage management for Fringe and he is doing an amazing job. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that he is the best stage manager ever. This stage is so well managed that it has conformed to his every whim, has always been on time, and has never talked back even once. Scott hopes to participate in future Fringe shows and is  available for parties. He accepts payment in donuts—sweet, delicious, cuddly donuts. He’d like to thank the little people, but he doesn’t know who any of them are. Most especially, Scott looks forward to continuing to speak about himself in the third person, much to the dismay of his doting wife.

Why I signed on for this particular Fringe show: My wife made me do it, that, and the donuts.

PERFORMANCES:
Art Academy Commons-1212 Jackson St. 45202

  • Mon 6/5-6:30pm
  • Wed 6/7-8:30pm
  • Thu 6/8-7:45pm
  • Sat 6/10-3:30pm

1 Comment

Filed under Press Releases

SPY IN THE HOUSE OF MEN Makes Cincinnati Debut

CFF_Spy in the House of Men_1x1

CINCINNATI (May 11, 2017) — Transgender storyteller Penny Sterling brings her one-woman show SPY IN THE HOUSE OF MEN: A One-Woman Show with Balls to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival for five performances, beginning June 1, at the Coffee Emporium, 110 E. Central Parkway, in Cincinnati.

In SPY IN THE HOUSE OF MEN, Penny tells the story of how she lived the first 54 years of her life as Brian; growing up with her parents and brother, navigating relationships with women, raising kids, and attempting to be as much of a “man’s man” as she could figure out how to be– mostly by watching how guys behaved and looked. Hers is a story of pain and shame, but also of discovery and ultimately, joy.

Told with lots of humor by an actor, writer, and standup comedian who was voted the Funniest Man in Rochester (NY) in 1992 (and no, we’re not making that up), SPY IN THE HOUSE OF MEN premiered to rave reviews and sold-out performances at the 2016 Rochester Fringe Festival, and was voted Audience Favorite this year at Ithaca Fringe, where reviewers called it “a hilarious, suspenseful, heart-stopping story” and “a compact evening’s entertainment that’s as funny as it is enlightening.”

“This show started out as a series of Facebook posts where I tried to explain to my friends who I was, what I had been through, and what it means—and maybe more importantly, what it doesn’t mean—to be transgender,” says Penny. “People responded positively, asked me questions, and told me stories of friends and relatives who were also struggling with issues of gender identity.

They told me what I wrote helped them better understand the issue. ‘You should write a book,’ they’d say,” recalls Penny. “‘I don’t wanna write a book,’ I’d reply. But I could make a show about it.”

Penny received her BA in Theatre from Ithaca College, but made her living behind the camera as an Emmy Award-nominated photographer, editor, producer and director. In the 1990’s, she tried her hand at standup comedy, but gave it up in order to raise a family. Coming out as transgender when her youngest child was a senior in high school, Penny thought about going back into standup. “I made it to the semifinals of the 2016 ‘Funniest Person’ competition, but my heart wasn’t in it,” she says. “I realized I was sacrificing truth for jokes, and that’s not what I wanted.”

Penny makes her home in Rochester, NY, and is available for pre-festival interviews via phone, email, Facetime, or Skype, and during the festival by appointment. Stills and Video are available upon request. For more information on Penny and her upcoming performance schedule, visit penny-sterling.com.

Tickets and showtimes are available through the Cincy Fringe website: cincyfringe.com.

1 Comment

Filed under Press Releases

The Brink Theatre Company Announces World Premiere Production of SA’IDAH

CFF_Sa'idah_1x1A SYRIAN CHILD REFUGEE IS ADOPTED
BY WHITE A-LIST CELEBRITY COUPLE

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER HOYT-TIDWELL
DIRECTED BY CARA E. HINH

Play to Premiere at Cincinnati Fringe Festival in June 2017

Cincinnati, OH – The Brink Theatre Company presents the world premiere of SA’IDAH, an observation of America’s celebrity obsessed culture, the paparazzi uprising and the growing distorted approach to modern philanthropy at the 14th annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Directed by The Brink Theatre’s Artistic Associate CARA E. HINH and written by JENNIFER HOYT-TIDWELL, the play will feature Maya Farhat as Sa’idah, Mary O’Connell as Kirsten, Richard Buchanan as Taylor, Greg Mallios as David and Ashley Dunn as Nina.

SA’IDAH – in Arabic meaning happy, lucky or fortunate – is named after an orphaned Syrian civil war refugee who is adopted by a well-meaning Hollywood A-List couple.  The characters teeter along the intersectional space between racial injustice and the inequity of privilege. SA’IDAH is an introspective and visceral exploration into the self-disfigurement that often follows war, fame and now through the topography of social media.

Hinh – a queer, plus sized, biracial Asian American theatre director and a daughter of a Vietnamese refugee considers SA’IDAH, “not a commentary on the refugee experience, but a mirror to our apathy and our privilege as Americans,” noting, “our philanthropy is as fleeting as the posts we share and scroll past on social media.”
“Children are paying the price of war with their innocence, the conflict continues, but the news cycle has moved on,” says playwright Jennifer Hoyt-Tidwell, “as news sources become increasingly sensationalized and less reliable, it is impossible to develop a social conscience as we are being whiplashed from one tragedy and disaster to the next.”

SA’IDAH will run for five performances at OTR Community Church (1310 Race Street, Cincinnati).

PERFORMANCE DATES AND TIMES

  • Opens Thursday, 6/1 at 8:30 PM
  • Saturday, 6/3 at 6:30 PM
  • Sunday, 6/4 at 4:45 PM
  • Friday, 6/9 at 7:00 PM
  • Closes Saturday, 6/10 at 8:30 PM

Tickets are available now at Cincyfringe.com.

For more information about SA’IDAH visit:

JENNIFER HOYT-TIDWELL (Playwright)
Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell is a theatre and performance artist with a home base in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Most recently she was commissioned by Victory Hall Opera to write and direct her new play Drugsong for their 2017 season. Her new play SA’IDAH is also receiving its premiere production by The Brink Theatre Co. in 2017.

Jennifer was the 2016 Public Artist at the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative where she adapted and produced her play NO WAKE into an open-air silent multimedia performance. She is an active member of devised theater company PEP (Performers Exchange Project) which she co-founded in 2005 with four other women artists. With PEP she performed in original plays Zelda & Lucia’s Loony Bin Tragedy, Dido Versus the Squid Monster, and Our American Ann Sisters, a touring production that premiered at Live Arts in 2009. She was Artistic Director and emcee of the collaborative arts carnival Shentai, for which she wrote the play Dido vs. The Squid Monster. She also wrote the text of Our American Ann Sisters and contributed texts for PEP’s latest play The Convolution of Pip & Twig.

Jennifer recently received her MFA in Playwriting at Hollins University. As an undergraduate she studied theatre and English at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), the Neighborhood Playhouse (NYC), and the University of Virginia. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

CARA E. HINH (Director) is a Cincinnati-based director, actor and theatre artist. A founding member and Artistic Associate of the Brink Theatre Company, her mission as a queer, plus sized, and biracial Asian American is to steward and safeguard the stories of women, people of color, LGBTQ and the marginalized whose voices are perpetually misrepresented and dismissed. Directing credits include: N at the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest, Oedipus at Miami University and If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet with The Brink. Her assistant directing includes: Disgraced at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, A Raisin in the Sun at Miami University and This is Our Youth with The Brink Theatre Company. Cara is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio with a BA in Theatre and Classical Humanities and currently serves as the Education Coordinator at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

THE BRINK THEATRE COMPANY established in November 2015 is the creative child of Miami University Professor Saffron Henke and University of Pittsburgh PhD student Emma Squire. Dedicated to producing new works by women and underrepresented playwrights with a focus on empowering diverse voices and perspectives using visionary creative staging and locations. Facebook.com/TheBrinkTheatre.

SA’IDAH at CincyFringe
Written by Jennifer Hoyt-Tidwell | Directed by Cara E. Hinh
A Brink Theatre Co. Production

OTR Community Church

  • June 1 at 8:30 PM
  • June 3 at 6:30 PM
  • June 4 at 4:45 PM
  • June 9 at 7:00 PM
  • June 10 at 8:30 PM

Tickets available at CincyFringe.com.

1 Comment

Filed under Press Releases

THE PINK HULK: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within @ 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival

CFF_The Pink Hulk_1x1

Award-winning PINK HULK One-Woman Show Written and
Performed by Valerie David “Hulking It” to the Cincy Fringe

Actor and playwright Valerie David performs her inspiring, comical one-woman show about becoming a two-time cancer survivor. What’s the first thing Valerie does when she’s diagnosed with cancer for a second time in her life? She tries to get laid. Having beaten lymphoma earlier in life, she is now diagnosed with breast cancer. And…does she succeed? Come see the show to find out! This sexy and adventurous solo show follows the triumphant journey of one woman as she finds her own “hulk-like” strength to find her superhero within! A true and inspiring story!

THE PINK HULK: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within, written and starring professional actor and playwright Valerie David will be performed in the Cincy Fringe.

David, who has been cancer-free since 2015, wrote the autobiographical comedic drama The Pink Hulk to express the empowerment she felt being able to find humor and superhero inner strength going through two bouts of cancer—first Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and then breast cancer 15 years later. She raises money through The Pink Hulk performances for domestic and international cancer organizations.

“My show is not just about fighting cancer; it has a universal message of fighting back from any adversity in life with its inspirational message of hope and empowerment. I want to help and inspire others through my performances, and The Pink Hulk also has plenty of humor and comedy—guaranteed!” David exclaims. “I’m super excited to bring this show to the amazing Cincy Fringe, and this marks my first time taking the show to Ohio!”

“I have been honored and humbled with the impact this show has had on its audiences, whether or not they have any affiliation with cancer,” she adds. “It has been so special when people have approached me after a performance to say how much they related to The Pink Hulk.” A cancer survivor said, ‘Your show nailed exactly everything I felt when I was going through my own treatment.’ And one gentleman commented, ‘I have never known anyone to have had cancer…either friends or family, but your story had such an impact on me because it was about living life on your own terms. And that really resonated with me and made me feel empowered to do the same.’”

At its world premiere in the Planet Connections Festivity Theatre Festival in New York City this past summer, The Pink Hulk was nominated for Best Performance of a Solo Show, Best Overall Production of a Solo Show, and won Best Director of a Solo Show. It was also awarded a Congeniality Award and Planet Activist Award, raising funds and awareness for Mary’s Place by the Sea, a nonprofit cancer organization in Ocean Grove, NJ. Valerie also received the following award for The Pink Hulk by the 2017 SaraSolo Festival in Sarasota, Florida: Queen’s Medal for Valour, presented to an exceptional performer who brings bravery, grace and humor to extraordinary circumstances. And she also received The Best Survivor Award in the Pittsburgh Fringe 2017.

BIOS:

VALERIE DAVID (Writer and Performer of The Pink Hulk) is an actor and playwright. A graduate of James Madison University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, her credits include the Off-Broadway production of A Stoop on Orchard Street, Cookie in Rumors and Claudia Shear’s Blown Sideways Through Life. Films: How I Became that Jewish Guy, which premiered at a November 2015 NYC Film Festival, and Bridges and Tunnels. She has been touring with THE PINK HULK performing in festivals, for cancer benefits and colleges, and having talk-backs after performances with cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones. Memberships include the League of Professional Theatre Women, AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Valerie also performs improv throughout New York City with improv groups Faceplant, Cronuts and Cherub. Valerie played the role of Maxine in Abraham’s Daughters by Emma Goldman-Sherman and directed by Lorca Peress in the Lady Liberty Festival on 9/11. She wrote and starred in the one-woman musical Bring On a Man!; and both cowrote and starred in the two-person show Wanted: A Few Good Men and Two-mur Humor: He’s Malignant; She’s Benign.

PADRAIC LILLIS (Director) is the founding Artistic Director of The Farm Theater. He was awarded Best Direction of a Solo Show for Valerie’s THE PINK HULK solo show at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Padraic has also been awarded the NY IT Award for Outstanding Director for Lindsay Joy’s Rise and Fall of a Teenage Cyberqueen, Overall Excellence Award from NY International Fringe Festival for Lee Kaplan’s Bully, Best Overall Production of a Solo Show and Planet Advocate Award for his solo show addressing suicide awareness Hope You Get To Eleven or What are we going to do about Sally?, and is a member of the Indie Theater Hall of Fame. He is a published playwright with Dramatist Play Services and Indie Theater Now. His film Hand Over Hand, which he wrote and directed, was awarded Best Short Film at the Milan International Film Festival. He is a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company and a lifelong Yankee fan.

Artwork courtesy of Rebecca Kalant.

CINCY FRINGE PRESENTS
THE PINK HULK: ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY TO FIND THE SUPERHERO WITHIN
Written and Performed by Valerie David; Directed by Padraic Lillis

TICKET LINK: 60-minute solo show with Mature Content
Memorial Hall Ballroom
1225 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Tickets $15
https://knowtheatre.vbotickets.com/event/The_Pink_Hulk_One_Womans_Journey_to_Find_the_Superhero_Within_from_Valerie_David_New_York_NY/20127

SHOW SCHEDULE

Friday, June 2, 7:00 PM
Sunday, June 4, 2:45 PM
Monday, June 5, 6:30 PM
Wednesday, June 7, 7:00 PM
Thursday, June 8, 6:30 PM
For more info and to book The Pink Hulk, visit http://pinkhulkplay.com/

Last summer marked Valerie David’s official Pink Hulk U.S. tour, performing in New York City, the Providence Fringe, Baltimore’s Charm City Fringe Festival, Sarasota’s SaraSolo Festival, Indianapolis’ DivaFest, the Pittsburgh Fringe, back to Providence, the Orlando Fringe; and after the Cincy Fringe, Valerie heads to the IndyFringe in Indianapolis. Plans are in the works for more cities, including an international tour.

1 Comment

Filed under Press Releases

Auditions Announced for WAKE THE DEAD at Milford Theatre Guilde

MTG_logo_newOriginally announced for Winter 2017 – WAKE THE DEAD has been rescheduled and moved into a Summer Performance slot!

The Milford Theatre Guilde Presents:

WAKE THE DEAD
(AN INTERACTIVE DINNER MURDER MYSTERY)
– Written by Eileen Moushey
– Directed by Terri Wilson
– Produced by Linda Roll
– In collaboration with BITE Restaurant: From Farm to Table

The family of the poor, darlin’, dearly, departed Patrick Joseph Patrick gathers to mourn him. But, like most Irish wakes, this one winds up in a real “donnybrook.” When one of them “joins” Patrick during the wake, the investigation begins! Please note there are adult references. Join us as we “wake the dead” with this lively production!

AUDITIONS:
ONE AUDITION ONLY – WEDNESDAY, MAY 24th
7:30pm – 9:00pm
Day Heights Fireman’s Memorial Building – Map
Will be reading from script. It also may involve some improv exercises.

PERFORMANCES:
There will be 5 performances, including a Sunday matinee.
July 14, 15, 16 (Matinee July 16) and July 21, 22 – 2017

CAST INFO: [4 Males, 3 Females, 1 can be cast either way]

SEAMUS RIORDAN PATRICK (M) – The eldest of the Patrick boys, and a bit of a rogue. Forties. A smuggler by trade, Seamus also likes to “tip a little”.

DANIEL MICHAEL PATRICK (M) – “Danny boy” is an overgrown kid – mentally and emotionally. Twin to DONALD. Revered by thousands as a musician and singer, Danny’s number one fan remains his mother. His public image as the romantic troubadour is the direct opposite of his real nature. Thirties. Same actor may play both Daniel & Donald*. Can you play an instrument?

DONALD FRANCIS PATRICK (M) – Danny’s identical twin and alter ego. Where Danny is slow and cruel, Donald is smart and shy. His one act of rebellion was to marry Maggie – an “American” he met when she vacationed in Ireland. Same actor may play both Donald & Daniel*.

* Daniel & Donald Patrick, the twins are typically played by the same actor.

MAUREEN ROSE PATRICK (F) – Danny’s long-suffering wife and sometime singing partner. A stereo-typical Irish spitfire, Maureen realized almost immediately what a big mistake she’d made in marrying Daniel..

MAGGIE PATRICK (F) – Donald’s American wife and incurable flirt. Maggie appears to take nothing seriously – including her marriage.

MARTIN THOMAS PATRICK (M) – The “baby”, Martin has just been accepted in the seminary as a result of Biddy’s lobbying. Martin is a young man (late teens / twenties)

SCOTT WYSZINSKI (M) – The Security Guard. Any age. A regular guy.

HOST/HOSTESS (M/F)- the American cousin the Patricks have come to visit.

Of Special note: The role of BRIDGET ROSE PATRICK (The matriarch) has been cast.

Any questions, please feel free to contact the director at terriwilson09@yahoo.com

www.MilfordTheatreGuilde.org

Leave a comment

Filed under Auditions