| Rattlestick Presents Benefit Concert of SOLDIERGIRLS w/ Jenn Colella, Lilli Cooper, Chilina Kennedy, Ezra Menas, More on August 31 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 01:15 pm EDT 08/17/20 | |
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| RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER PRESENTS BENEFIT CONCERT OF NEW MUSICAL SOLDIERGIRLS All-Star Cast Includes Jenn Colella, Lilli Cooper, Chilina Kennedy, Ezra Menas, Melanie Field, Jessie Shelton, Anna Crivelli, Danielle Chaves, Hannah Van Sciver, and Madeleine Barker Rattlestick Playwrights Theater is proud to present a benefit concert of SOLDIERGIRLS, a new two-person musical with book and lyrics by Em Weinstein and music by Emily Johnson-Erday. SOLDIERGIRLS uses real letters and a collage of found and original text to look at love, liberation, and lesbianism in the Women's Army Corps in World War II. This free online benefit will raise money for SPART*A (Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All) and will take place on Monday, August 31st at 7pm ET. The evening features an all-star cast including Tony Award-winner Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Tony Award-nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie, SpongeBob SquarePants), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Ezra Menas (Jagged Little Pill, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story), Melanie Field (Paramount Network's Heathers, Pop TV's Florida Girls), Jessie Shelton (Hadestown), Anna Crivelli, Danielle Chaves, Hannah Van Sciver, and Madeleine Barker. The hour-long presentation will feature a mix of scenes, songs, and duets with multiple actors voicing each of the two parts. These performances will be interspersed with behind-the-scenes conversations about the show with its creators. The evening will also include a presentation of research and original artwork by costume designer Sophia Choi, set designer Stephanie Cohen, and dramaturg Rebecca Adelsheim. SOLDIERGIRLS was previously workshopped with New York Theater Workshop and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and was made possible by a commission from En Garde Arts. PBS covered the piece in a recent episode, which you can watch here, Online reservations are encouraged. Please visit www.soldiergirls.org for more information. About the Artists Em Weinstein (they/them) is a writer and director for stage and screen. Weinstein's award-winning short film CANDACE played at festivals worldwide including Mill Valley Film Festival, Outfest, Montclair Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival and the American Pavilion Emerging LGBTQ Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won Best Film. While getting their MFA at Yale School of Drama, Em directed numerous plays such as the first workshop production of SLAVE PLAY by Jeremy O. Harris. Em has written, directed and developed work with companies such as New York Theater Workshop, Rattlestick Theater, Shakespeare & Company, Two River Theater, Working Theater, New Georges and the Museum of Ice Cream. Em was the 2019-2020 Artistic Fellow at Rattlestick Theater and is part of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women Class of 2021. Visit www.emweinstein.com for more information. Emily Johnson-Erday (she/her) is a composer, lyricist and multi-instrumentalist who hails from the North Carolina mountains. While her musical roots are in American folk and old-time music, Johnson-Erday's style shifts and grows with each story she tells. Her original folk songs were selected in 2017, 2018, and 2019 as part of the New Song Showcase at the annual Walnut Valley Festival, where she has also performed alongside her songwriting mentor, John McCutcheon. Johnson-Erday holds a BFA in drama from UNC Greensboro and is a 2020 Wildacres Writers Retreat resident artist. She plays rhythm guitar for the award-winning Renaissance-Faire band, The Crimson Pirates, and has played music onstage in shows with New Victory Labworks, Everyday Inferno, The Wandering Theatre Company, and Rebel Playhouse. About SPART*A SPART*A is a group of transgender people who currently serve or have served in the military. Membership is open to transgender (to include non-binary and gender-nonconforming) individuals currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. They also offer smaller groups for families of transgender service members, veterans, and allies. SPART*A's mission is to advocate for our actively serving transgender military members, veterans, and their families. SPART*A provides members with a peer support network, assistance in navigating military transgender policy and health care, and educational resources for their professional development. SPART*A actively coordinates and collaborates with other LGBT advocacy organizations to promote an inclusive military environment that values the contributions of all Americans with the desire to serve. Visit www.spartapride.org for more information. About Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Founded in 1994, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater consistently produces new voices and works that are provocative and immediate in both form and substance. Rattlestick has a deep commitment to producing fierce works that challenge and stimulate audiences to confront the complexities of our culture. Notable productions include: Diana Oh's {mylingerieplay}, Dael Orlandersmith's Until the Flood, Samuel D. Hunter's The Few and Lewiston/Clarkston, Jesse Eisenberg's The Revisionist, Jonathan Tolins' Buyer and Cellar, Lucy Thurber's The Hilltown Plays, Adam Rapp's The Hallway Trilogy, and Martyna Majok's Ironbound. Rattlestick produces mainstage productions; develops work by Middle Voice (Rattlestick's apprentice company); creates artistic development opportunities for artists to hone their craft; and provides opportunities for students to engage with innovative work through residencies, fellowships, and special performances. Visit rattlestick.org for more information. |
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| Link | http://www.soldiergirls.org |
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