The 2nd Annual “She L.A. Summer Theater Festival” at the Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood opens Tuesday, July 30, 2019, with five original full-length works by women-identifying writers.
Produced by She NYC Arts, She L.A. “was borne out of the desire of artists in the LA area to bring the She NYC Summer Theater Festival to the west coast”, which “supports the creation and production of meaningful, powerful, and commercially viable works by women writers, composers, directors, and actors.” As a non-profit, SheNYC Arts, Inc. receives a generous grant from The Puffin Foundation, which, along with donations from theatre patrons, enables them to provide a free program for high-school girls interested in producing and writing for the theatre through their CreateHer program.
Rehearsal of “She’s Not There” for the 2nd Annual She LA Summer Theater Festival 2019, at the Zephyr Theatre, Hollywood. Photo courtesy of She L.A./ SheNYC.
Here is an overview of the fives shows featured in this year’s festival:
“To Each His Own” by Nakisa Aschtiani – A few months after 9/11, Sharzahd Jensen, a caregiver, arrives for her newest assignment: as a live-in aid to an elderly, blind Iranian man. New to the town, she befriends a kind lawyer. A few days in, Sharzahd notices harassing letters and graffiti targeted towards her new patient, but who is the real victim and who can she trust?
Aschtiani returns to the Festival as a part of SheLA, where her previous play, “Children of Camelot,” was a part of SheNYC in 2017. In addition to playwriting, Aschtiani has been an active member of the theatre world for over twenty years as an actor and producer. Her third play, “Bismillah,” is also playing this summer in the Fresh Fruit Festival in NYC.
The show, scheduled on Sunday, August 4th at 12 p.m., is an enhanced performance for blind and visually impaired patrons.
Rehearsal of “Charlie Boyd” for the 2nd Annual She LA Summer Theater Festival 2019, at the Zephyr Theatre, Hollywood. Photo courtesy of She L.A./ SheNYC.
Multi-award winning playwright Ali MacLean’s “She’s Not There” focuses on how a third-party threatens the relationship of a contented couple. That third-party: a shadowy form that seeps into the walls to attempt to kill one of them. “The play anthropomorphizes depression and explores how it can devastate a person and the lives of those around them.”
MacLean’s work has been performed and workshopped at the HBO Workspace, Comedy Central Stage, A Noise Within, Antaeus Theatre, and The Ensemble Studio Theatre. “She’s Not There” has been performed in the Screencraft Stage Play Competition, The Garry Marshall Theatre New Works, The Dennis and Victoria Ross Foundation Project, and won the John Gassner Playwriting Award.
The show scheduled on Friday, August 2nd, will have a talkback with the creative team and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services following the 8:30 p.m. performance.
“Do Us Part” by Karen Lukesh is a comedy about a bitter couple who accidentally reunite in their home the day before their divorce is finalized. “A quagmire of egos, misplaced feelings, and stubborn pride” follow, but the future of their relationship is anyone’s guess.
Rehearsal of “Between the Colored Lines & Other Black Girl Tales” for the 2nd Annual She LA Summer Theater Festival 2019, at the Zephyr Theatre, Hollywood. Photo courtesy of She L.A./ SheNYC.
Playwright and director Lukesh’s “Do Us Part” won the Special Marquee Award in the 2017 American Movie Awards stage play division, and her feature scripts, TV pilots, shorts, and stage plays have garnered numerous writing awards in contests such as Gimme Credit, BlueCat, Page International, Final Draft Big Break, and the Nicholls Fellowship. A seasoned playwright and screenwriter, she provides script consultation on her site KarenLukesh.com.
“Charlie Boyd” by Allie Wittner is a comedy about a college student home from Winter break, whose friend, Charlie Boyd, “re-enters her life abruptly after a shared secret compelled him to disappear. Set amidst a Hanukkah rivalry, this madcap romance brings you love, betrayal, drugs, crossword puzzles, mysterious visitors, and many, many menorahs.”
Originally from Salem, Massachusetts, Wittner makes her playwriting debut with “Charlie Boyd.” Formerly a member of the sketch comedy troupe Chocolate Cake City in Boston, Wittner’s previous performance credits include “The Donkey Show” at the American Repertory Theatre and “We Are Pussy Riot.”
“Between the Colored Lines & Other Black Girl Tales” is a poetic stage play by Tiffani Dean that features a married couple at a turning point, where a wager determines who holds the proverbial remote control during Monday Night football. This innovative stage play with dance, music, and poetry chronicles the next few weeks of their relationship, as the dramas that play out on TV shed light into the real-life relationship that has been happening on their couch all along.
Dean, from Philadelphia, is an author, playwright, poet, executive director, executive producer, co-founder of Family Poetry Collective, co-founder The Collective Mic, LLC, The Collective Mic Productions, The Collective Mic School Of The Arts, and The Collective Mic Art Gallery & Arts Café.
The 2nd Annual “She L.A. Summer Theater Festival” at the Zephyr Theatre:
“To Each His Own” by Nakisa Aschtiani
Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, August 4, 2019, 12:00 p.m.*
*Sunday, August 4th at 12 p.m. is an enhanced performance for blind and visually impaired patrons.
“She’s Not There” by Ali MacLean
Friday, August 2, 2019, at 8:30 p.m.*
*Friday, August 2, 2019, will have a talkback with the creative team and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services following the 8:30 p.m. performance.
“Do Us Part” by Karen Lukesh
Wednesday, July 31, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 3, 2019, at 5:00 p.m.
“Charlie Boyd” by Allie Wittner
Thursday, August 1, 2019, at 7:30, 2019, p.m.
Saturday, August 3, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.
“Between the Colored Lines and Other Black Girl Tales” by Tiffani Dean
Saturday, August 3, 2019, at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 4, 2019, at 5:30 p.m.
The Zephyr Theatre is at 7456 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets are $20 are available at SheLAArts.org.
SheNYC Arts, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, made possible in part by a generous grant from The Puffin Foundation and from theatre patron donations.
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