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(DAYTON, Ohio) In honor of the hundredth anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment,
The Human Race Theatre Company’s season-long theme is “Women of Influence: Their
Power, Passion, and Pitfalls.” In that spirit, they’ve partnered with The Neon for a companion film series, “Women of Influence in the Movies.” Each of The Human Race’s five mainstage productions will be paired with a thematically-related film, shown at The Neon on a Monday evening during the production’s run.

To accompany Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, The Neon presents a pair of short films featuring performances by Billie Holiday herself. During the run of The Cake, The Neon will screen Saving Face, a story of a Chinese-American family that echoes The Cake’s themes of LGBTQ issues and intergenerational tensions. Presented alongside Gloria: A Life will be 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, a brand-new documentary by Dayton’s own Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar about the convergence of women’s and labor rights in the 1970s. Accompanying The Revolutionists is the story of a different kind of female French revolutionary: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is a tribute to the pioneering director and studio executive who helped shape the craft of cinema in its infancy. Finally, paired with Looped, The Neon will show Die! Die! My Darling, the film Tallulah Bankhead stars in (and struggles with) during the events of
Looped.

This collaboration was curated by Jonathan McNeal and Susan Strong, and is sponsored by PNC.

Mr. McNeal said of the project, “Curating a film series is one of my favorite things, so I jumped at the opportunity to assemble a line-up to collaborate with The Human Race. With old films, one of the most challenging aspects is determining who owns the copyrights. There are only five films in the line-up, but it took more than a hundred phone calls and emails to secure the rights. I’m very pleased with the final list, and I think each film comments on its corresponding show in an interesting way.”

Individual tickets to the films are $8, or a series pass is available for $30. Tickets and passes are available at neonmovies.com. Read more about The Human Race Theatre Company’s season at humanracetheatre.org.

EVENT INFORMATION
Monday, September 23, 2019 at 7:30 pm: New Orleans and Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life. With guest speaker David Greer.

Monday, November 4, 2019 at 7:30 pm: Saving Face. With guest speaker Dr. Nicole Richter.

Monday, March 2, 2020 at 7:30 pm: 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement. Guest speaker TBA.

Monday, April 20, 2020 at 7:30 pm: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché. Guest speaker TBA.

Monday, June 22, 2020 at 7:30 pm: Die! Die! My Darling. Guest Speaker TBA.

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2019-2020 marks the 33rd season for The Human Race Theatre Company, “Dayton’s Official Professional Theatre Company.” Founded in 1986, The Human Race moved into the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence in its current home, the 212- seat Loft Theatre. In addition to the Eichelberger Loft Season, The Human Race produces new works development and special event programming. Under the direction of Executive Director Kappy Kilburn and Kevin Moore, Artistic Director, the company also maintains outreach programs, as well as artist residencies in area schools and a summer youth program. Human Race organizational support is provided by the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, Culture Works, the Shubert Foundation, the Erma R. Catterton Trust Fund, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, which helped fund this organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The 2019-2020 Sustainability Sponsors are the ELM Foundation, Anne F. Johnson, Steve and Lou Mason, Morris Home, the Schueler Group, and the Jesse & Caryl Philips Foundation. 

The 2019-2020 Loft season sponsor is the Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation of the Dayton Foundation. The Women of Influence season sponsor is the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts.