Los Angeles Womens Theatre Festival Set for 3/21-24

The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival (LAWTF) will present its star-studded Emerald Anniversary, "A Perfect 20!" marking 20 years producing close to 500 extraordinary multicultural and multi-disciplined solo performers from around the globe.

The longest running annual solo festival for women in Los Angeles, LAWTF will be held March 21-24, 2013 at the beautiful Renberg Theatre located at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, 1125 McCadden Place, Hollywood, CA 90038.

Hosted by Danny Glover and Hattie Winston, the Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony on March 21, 2013, themed A Toast To...will honor exceptional women who have made laudable contributions in theatre. Following the reception at 7:00 p.m., the festivities continue at 8:00 p.m. with the presentation of the Integrity, Eternity, Rainbow, and Maverick Awards to distinguished women. (The Honorees will be announced in a separate release.)
Entertainment for the evening of Thursday, March 21, 2013, will include :
Freda Payne: "Freda Sings Lena and Ella." Award-winning iconic R&B and jazz recording artist Freda Payne will sing from her solo shows that celebrate treasured vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne.

Friday, March 22, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Of Culture, Of Self."
Michele Carlo: "Fish Out of Agua." This New York actor explores family, identity and what it takes to be an artist when you're "just" another Puerto Rican from a top floor tenement walk-up in the Bronx.
Yvette Heyliger: "Bridge to Baraka." Emboldened by the 1960s Black Arts Movement, New York playwright/actor Yvette Heyliger stakes her claim as a female dramatist coming of age during the ongoing fight for parity in the American Theatre.

Raissa Simpson/Push Dance Company: "Judgments in Milliseconds." A multimedia solo dance piece by this San Francisco dancer is inspired by African American women in today's simulated hair culture.
Cynthia Sophiea: "Everyone Has Tears." Accompanied by Arabic music, an Arab-American woman faces the challenges of living in the divide and gives voices to those rarely heard.
Charlayne Woodard: "Pretty Fire" From her first play, "Pretty Fire,"
award-winning actor Charlayne Woodard deals with the loss of innocence.

Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: "Not For Children Only."
Cleo Anderson: "Confessions of a Brunette Sidekick." This cutting edge poetry gives voice to the world of a young bisexual woman.
Cristal Gonzalez: "La Sombra." This theatre piece explores a young couple caught in domestic violence and addresses the cycle behind this cross-cultural theme that remains in The Shadows.
Lula Washington Dance Theatre: "Dance!" Lula Washington Dance Theatre youth speak through the universal language of dance.
Joy Nash: "My Mobster." A coming-of-age personal story of a young girl who travels to France and meets an unlikely suitor.
Red Summer: "11 Y.O." This Atlanta-based poet focuses on the voices of youth including what it's like to be 11-years-old and female around the world.

Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Encore!"
Ingrid Graham: "Mercy." This dance piece explores the struggles and reconciliation that accompany the loss of a loved one.
Wendy Hammers: "RIPE" Part stand-up confessional, part booty-shakin' biography, "RIPE" is a juicy dance with words, a celebration of the fleeting nature of life itself.
Juliette Jeffers: "Batman and Robin in the Boogie Down." This Drama Desk nominated piece from New York weaves a biographical tale of two very close imaginative siblings shattered by sudden loss.
Florence LaRue: "Just As I Am." Ms. La Rue, a founding member of the legendary pop vocal group The 5th Dimension, gives a glimpse into the life of the woman, not just the celebrity.
Shyamala Moorty: "Potty Talk." This theatre and dance piece humorously takes on cultural differences between India and the U.S., including caste, the environment, and the toilet.