*Savage Arts Marsh, 1062 Valencia, upstairs studio; 826-5750, 1-800-838-3006, www.themarsh.org. $15-35, sliding scale. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through Feb 16. Love. Lust. Murder. Art. Lies. Xenophobia. An apron and a chair. These are the themes and sole props in Sharon Eberhardt’s original play, in which an out-of-love housewife and her dying husband become entangled in the brutal intrigue surrounding the unsolved murder of a new neighbor. Brilliantly written and earnestly acted, Savage Arts brings to life a true-crime drama with real newspaper quotes, stories, and characters based on key players in the infamous 1930 trial of Lila Jimerson, or “Red Lila,” the woman accused of murdering the wife of a French artist in Buffalo, NY. The story is told from the point of view of Margaret, an emotionally volatile witness, who goes from loyal, doting wife to fierce, revitalized adulteress to insecure, self-deprecating room pacer in a matter of 80 minutes. It is quite a sight to behold. An earlier form of this one-woman tour de force was initially developed and staged at the Marsh’s Festival of New Voices, and now Eberhardt is back where it all started. Directed by artist in residence David Ford at the intimate Upstairs Studio Theater, this production is not for audiences who are afraid of direct eye contact or strange women unbuttoning their blouses in public. The audience sees everything, including a whole handful of characters, through Margaret’s eyes, and she is not as puritanical as she first seems. (Amy Glasenapp)
You Can Radiate at Actors Theatre of Louisville
You Can Radiate, a ten-minute play originally written for Playground, San Francisco, is being performed as part of the Apprentice Ten-Minute Play Festival at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville January 13, 2008. Directed by Kathy B. Ellis, is has a cast of excited actors, and designers who have worked long and hard to make a young woman “glow.”Let me know if you see the show!
one act in Chicago
My short one-act play, Last Days of Communism, ran in The Artistic Home’s Cut to the Chase series. Woo Hoo! http://www.theartistichome.org/stage/cut_to_the_chase.html
Becca & Heidi in New York
Becca & Heidi, a comic inversion of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in which a woman wonders if having an alter ego can have its benefits, is having its New York premiere, featuring Lindsay Anderson, who created the role in San Francisco. Directed by Blake Lawrence, presented by Collective P.A.S.T. at chashama (217 E 42nd St, ny,ny) August 12-22, 2007, Sundays through Wednedays, 8 pm. Tickets available online at: http://www.ticketweb.com
Becca & Heidi was originally produced by The Shee Theatre Company at The Exit Theatre, San Francisco, July 2004, directed by Virginia Reed. It was also produced by The Alleyway Theater/ Pandora’s Box, Buffalo, NY.
Critics said:
“A witty, modern-day take on the Jekyll-and-Hyde theme.”
(Anna Mantzaris, SF Gate)
“A delightful twist on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale, but instead of a battle of good and evil, Becca finds herself in a much more captivating battle with her twin. It is an astonishing work of imagination.” (Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times)
“What Eberhadt has done is effectively molded a woman whose mental state of disarray can be read as a metaphor for everyone’s occasional bouts with delirium. We have been there; that’s why Becca’s temporary insanity is so funny, so real.”
(Ben Siegel, Buffalo News)
Savage Arts in Canada, July-August 2007
A naive housewife enters a world of art, passion, and Iroquois tribal lore when a French artist moves next door. His paintings of local Seneca Indians lead to a brutal crime. Based on the true story of the 1930 “Indian Witchcraft Trial” in Buffalo, NY.Savage Arts was originally developed at The Marsh, a breeding ground for new performance, as part of the Performance Initiative, directed by David Ford. It was presented at Emerging Artists One Woman Standing Festival, April, 2007. Audience reviews from the 2007 London, Ontario Fringe Festival
Performances:London, Ontario Fringe Festival July 27-August 6, 2007 (www.londonfringe.ca).Showtimes: Sat July 28, 7:00 pm, Sun July 29, 2:00 pm, Tue July 31, 8:00 pm, Thurs Aug 2, 6:15 pm, Sat Aug 4, 3:45 pm, Sun Aug 5, 7:30 pm.Venue 4, Fanshawe College Theatre Galleria, King and Clarence St.; S.E. corner.Regina, Saskatchewan Fringe Festival July 10-16, 2007 (www.reginafringe.com) Showtimes: Tuesday, July 10, 8:30 pm, Wednesday, July 11 2:45 pm, Thursday, July 12, 5 pm, Friday, July 13, 6:45 pm, Saturday, July 14, 8:30 pm, Sunday, July 15, 2:45 pm.Venue: Westminster United Church 13th Ave & Cameron St.
for more info on this and other plays by Sharon Eberhardt email me: sharoneberhardt”at”yahoo.com
Becca & Heidi in NYC
Becca & Heidi, a dark comedy that asks whether there’s a good side to an having alternate personality?, will have its third production this summer at Chashama New York City! Lindsay Anderson reprises her role as Becca, Blake Lawrence Directs
performances August 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20. details to follow…
Emerging Artist Performance
In New York City in April 2007 I will be performing my new
one-woman play, Savage Arts, as part of Emerging Artists Theatre
One Woman Standing series.
It’s based on an amazing true story, of an Indian Witchcraft Trial in
Buffalo, NY in 1930. A housewife enters a world of art, passion, and Native
American witchcraft when a French artist moves next door, painting local
Seneca Indians. A violent crime reveals strange ties between the artist and
the Indians, and the neighbor’s world is overturned.
Savage Arts
Tuesday, April 3rd 7 pm
Emerging Artists Theatre
Theatre of 5
311 West 43rd St, 5th floor
tickets $10
Reservations at: 212-247-2429 or EAtheatre@aol.com
Sharon Eberhardt 