Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony  

Thursday March 21, 2013, at 7:00 p.m.  Theme: “A Toast To Greatness”

Hosts: Danny Glover and Hattie Winston

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.       

Entertainment for the evening 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.

Lee Meriwether: “The Women of Spoon River”  Lee Meriweather performs an excerpt from her highly-acclaimed solo show.

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Friday, March 22, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Of Culture, Of Self"

Renberg Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Hosts: Starletta DuPois (The Notebook) and Jude Narita (Coming Into Passion / Song For A Sansei)

Michelle 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.

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Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: "Not For Children Only"

Renberg Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Host: Courtney R. Jones (FOX Sports West) and Miriam Reed (LAWTF Co-Founder/Margaret Sanger: Radiant Rebel)

Cleo Anderson: "Confessions of a Brunette Sidekick" This cutting edge poetry gives voice to the world of a young bisexual woman.

Crystal Chavis: "Crystal Sings!" 17 year old Crystal Chavis shares her youthful voice through song.

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.

Ferre Hodges: plays “Evgeni’s Waltz”, “My One and Only Love“ and “Arabesque”.  

Lula Washington Dance Theatre: ("The Little Rock Nine - 2008") In these choreographed excerpts by Lula Washington, her vibrant company dancers pay tribute to the nine African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

Joy Nash: "My Mobster" A coming-of-age personal story of a young girl who travels to France and meets an unlikely suitor.

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Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: "Encore!"

Renberg Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Host: Karen A. Clark (The Karen A. Clark Project) and Malathi Iyengar_(Rangoli Dance Company)

Sandy Brown: Experience excerpts from Sandy Brown's NAACP Award-Winning Show "Oh, Yes She Did! (From Slave-ship to Spaceship Black Women Pioneers of America), as she breathes-to-life powerful legacies of legendary black women whose triumphs over challenges changed the course of American History, forever.

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 piece from New York weaves a biographical tale of two very close imaginative siblings shattered by sudden loss.

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.

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Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Theme: "Speaking Of Men"

Renberg Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Hosts: Ted Lange (Love Boat) and Tanya Kersey (Hollywood Black Film Festival)

Emily Bayard Blake: "Simone de Beauvoir: On Sex, Art and Feminism" This solo piece from Paris, France traces this great feminist's development through her writing, inner life and relationship with artist Jean Paul Sartre.

Jessica Lynn Johnson: "Ze" This theatre piece addresses the struggles within the LGBTQ community that include a 30-year-old virgin in turmoil with her conflicting religion.

Ciera Payton: "Michael's Daughter" One woman's paper trail relationship with her incarcerated father.

Gyasi (Ja-C) Ross: "Acoustic Hip-Hop for the Soul" This young Bay Area singer/songwriter shares his provocative and socially-conscious music.

Roger Guenveur Smith: "FREDERICK DOUGLASS NOW" Acclaimed solo artist Roger Guenveur Smith will present excerpts from his contemporary take on the iconic abolitionist and pioneering feminist.

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Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. Theme: "Keeping It Real!"

Renberg Theatre at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Host: Joyce Guy (Days of Our Lives) and Dawn Didawick (Hart of Dixie)_

Rebecca Bryant: "Revealed/Concealed." Relying heavily on irony, this dance/theatre piece from Indiana explores issues around the relationship between audience and performer.

Debra Castellano: "The Further Adventures of Swamp Girl." Despite the glue of first-date bonding (Jalapenos! Vitamin D!), a New York City woman pulls out all the stops to try and save her floundering relationship in her post-breast cancer adventures.

Kim Coles: "Oh, But There's More!" This zany and, at times, irreverent solo show chronicles the ebb and flow of Kim's show biz career ("Living Single," "In Living Color," "The Soul Man") with titillating inside Hollywood anecdotes and personal stories from her world.

Cheryl Francis Harrington: "I Met Someone!" One woman's self-searching journey from Harlem to L.A., and her relationships along the way,

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. Theme: “BRAVA!”

The Ivy Substation (Home of The Actors’ Gang)

Hosts: John Fleck (Mad Women) and R. Sky Palkowitz (Calling America: Don't Hang Up!)

Karen A. Clark: "The Women"  Through music, poetry and storytelling, reflects on the women in her family, and particularly her mother, who provided a "wow" factor.

Juliette Jeffers: "Chocolate Match.com" This piece chronicles a woman's self-conscious journey into the unchartered world on online dating.

Juliette Marshall (Shift Happens) A newly single mom joins the Brentwood Divorce Club. She looks for love in all the wrong places, while trying to be a good role mother for her daughter.

Tia Matza: (My M.O) Through poetry, a trapeze artist is freed from some of life's challenges.

Mzuri Moyo: "The Fannie Lou Hamer Story" This excerpted piece chronicles Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in her struggle for the African American vote in Mississippi.

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The Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival was founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed. The Festival is an annual event unique among American cultural institutions and should not be missed.

Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival is a non-profit organization.  Admission to the Gala is $45, or two tickets for $80 (includes light fare and Champagne). For the other programs, ticket prices this year include general admission single show tickets at $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. Students, seniors, and groups of ten or more, $18. Children 12 and under, $10.