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Curtain Calls XTRA

Ferndale playwright brings original work about women to Matrix Theatre

DETROIT – "American Women – The Writing's on the Uterine Wall" is a compelling story of the glory, wonder and pain our fertility right brings to the modern woman's world.
Shannyn Cook Caldwell, a Detroit-area actress, playwright and radio personality on WMGC-FM, has crafted a down-to-earth tale about the veiled female sexual soul. It started when Caldwell was pregnant with her second child, full of emotions.
"What I first did was talk to my friends and my doctor and then some more friends," Caldwell said. "That got me making a list of all these other situations that I or my friends have been in, that are really universal."
The result is Caldwell's fourth play.
"American Women" presents some 30 women from all walks of life, sharing their reproductive war stories. Each woman's frame of mind is brought to life through honest words spoken by real women. In all their raw brilliance, these women give you a look into the reality of a woman's biological clock. From one pregnant woman's fantasy about hot sex with the Detroit Red Wings (some of whom have promised to attend the show) to a midwife's heart-wrenching story of an unavoidable stillbirth, this play will make audiences laugh, cry and sit in silent understanding.
A noteworthy cast of local actors embody the work: Sandra Love Aldrich, Ruby Harris and Michelle Held.
Caldwell directed the show and has a part opposite her daughter, Alexandra Biedenbach, age 8. Biedenbach, daughter of John Biedenbach, has performed on Meadow Brook Theatre's stage, most recently in "A Christmas Carol."
Local poets Susan Sunshine and Kim Kirkpatrick open the show with their original "erotic/neurotic" poetry.
"American Women – The Writing's on the Uterine Wall" opens for two staged readings Fri., March 19 and Sat., March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Matrix Theatre Company, 2730 Bagley in Detroit's Mexicantown.
Admission is $8. Seating is limited.
For advance tickets call Shannyn Caldwell at 248-808-0739.

Theatre poster designs by Gilbert Lesser to be exhibited at The Whiting

FLINT – The Flint Institute of Arts is pleased to collaborate with The Whiting to present an exhibition featuring eleven significant theatre poster designs.
The exhibition is from March 12 – May 16, 2005 and is titled "Theatre Poster Designs by Gilbert Lesser from the Collection of the Flint Institute of Arts." The Whiting is located at 1241 E. Kearsley Street in Flint.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Gilbert Lesser (1935 – 1992) graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art and from John Hopkins University. He then moved to New York City to begin a career which, over his life, encompassed practically every aspect of design; from the design of magazines, advertising and company logos, to stage sets and costumes, to interiors and major events.
Lesser designed costume and stage sets for such professional productions as Giraudoux's "Duel of Angels," Albee's "Zoo Story" and "The American Dream," Brecht/Weill's "The Threepenny Opera" and many others. His first Broadway theatre posters, for Peter Shaffer's "Equus," started him on a career which led to his creating more posters than anyone else in the history of the American theatre.
Lesser's designs fastidiously employ abstract shapes and brilliant color to create an austere yet elegant effect. His technique of incorporating torn edges adds to the boldness of his designs by presenting the automatic instinct of the artist with the precision of the draughtsman's instruments. The final result is at the same time emotional and impeccable.
For more information, contact Valarie Shook at [email protected] or 810-234-1695.

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