RAT FW: Women Director's Panel Discussion

["Adam" <kafclown@well.com>]

Hello all --
This is a very exciting event coming up this Sunday -- Hope some of you
will be able to make it -- Feel free to forward the info to other
interested folk you may know, and help us spread the word!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / LISTING, PLEASE! (12/4/00)
Press Contact:  Joanne Zipay, 212-592-1885
For information and reservations:  212-592-1885


JUDITH SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
in collaboration with
THE STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS FOUNDATION
presents
"Expanding the Presence of Women Directors"
A PANEL DISCUSSION


The award-winning Judith Shakespeare Company, in collaboration with the
Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation presents a
panel discussion, "Expanding the Presence of Women Directors,"
to be presented on Sunday, December 10 at 7:00 PM at the Shiva Theatre at
The Public, 425 Lafayette Street.  A $10 donation is suggested, payable at
the door.  Seating is limited.  For reservations call 212-592-1885.  A
reception will follow the discussion.  This event is made possible with
the generous support of Mr. Charles Bockwith and the New York State
Council on the Arts.

Scheduled panelists include:  Karin Coonrod, Artistic Director of the
Arden Party Theatre Company; Kim Durban, freelance director and head of
the Melbourne Australia National Theatre School;  Leslie Jacobson,
Artistic Director of Horizons Theatre and head of the Theater Department
at George Washington University, Washington DC;  Kaia Calhoun, freelance
director, NYC; Joanne Zipay, founder and Artistic Director of Judith
Shakespeare Company.

The panel will be moderated/curated by dramaturg Maxine Kern.  The evening
will open with introductory remarks by Susan Jonas of the New York State
Council on the Arts, and will also feature short videotapes of work by the
participating directors. The panel will focus on the current nature of the
field of directing for women and the obstacles and strengths that exist
given the present climate in the arts and an expanding women's presence.

Earlier this year, Judith Shakespeare Company (with assistance from the
New York State Council on the Arts) presented the panel discussion,
"Expanding the Presence of Women in Shakespeare Performance," which
brought together a distinguished panel of actors, directors, dramaturgs,
casting directors, and scholars to discuss the reality of women's presence
and representation in Shakespeare performance, and to explore ways to
expand that reality to create a full, diverse, and rich presence of women
on the modern Shakespearean
stage.  The transcript of this May 2000 is currently posted on JSC's website
(www.judithshakespeare.org).

Judith Shakespeare Company is dedicated to discovering what lies at the
heart of a great play through the exploration of its language, and to
re-examining the roles for women in classical theatre. This season they
will present The Tempest Project, an experiment in non-traditional casting
(March 2001), to be followed by a full production of The Tempest in
May.  The JSC company recently celebrated tis 5th anniversary with
Festival 2000, featuring full productions of Julius Caesar and Comedy of
Errors performed in repertory, along with other special events.  The
company has also presented full productions of Macbeth (OOBR Award), All's
Well That Ends Well, and the world premiere of Tabula Rasa  by Texas
playwright Molly Louise Shepard.  In addition, JSC continues their
unique  "Shakespeare Unplugged"
Concert Reading Series, which has included Troilus and Cressida, King
John, Pericles, Henry VIII, and Titus Andronicus.  The company has
received multi-year funding from the New York State Council on the Arts
and a prestigious Annenberg/NYCPAE grant to implement Shakespeare
residencies in the New York City Public Schools.

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation is the only national
organization dedicated exclusively to supporting and developing the
professional director and choreographer.  Although based in New York City,
and serving as a center for NYC directors and choreographers, SDCF offers
services to artists throughout the country.  For thirty-five years, SDCF
has provided information, training, employment opportunities, and
exposure-all with a healthy mixture of art and business-that will
encourage and educate the emerging artist,
support and motivate the mid-career artist, and sustain and refresh the
established artist.