V-DAY NEW YORK CITY 2011 JOINS GLOBAL EFFORT
TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
V-Day NYC 2011 presents a benefit production of
Eve Ensler's
The Vagina Monologues
FEBRUARY 18-19, 2011
Directed by Rose Ginsberg with Justine Lambert
Looking Glass Theatre is also collecting NEW items - toiletries, children's clothing and shoes, books, diapers and much more - for our beneficiary. CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE LIST.
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V-Day New York City 2011 and Looking Glass Theatre’s artistic community are proud to again join the global effort to raise funds and awareness for local organizations that work to stop violence against women and girls by presenting a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues. Performances will be Friday, February 18 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, February 19 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Looking Glass Theatre, 422 West 57th Street in New York, NY, (9th/10th Ave).
Tickets for all performances are $20. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.
Last year more than 5,400 V-Day benefits were held around the world raising over $4 million and increasing awareness towards ending violence against women. For a second consecutive year, proceeds from this V-Day NYC 2011 event will benefit Women In Need, Inc. (WIN), which provides housing, help and hope to New York City women and their families who are homeless and disadvantaged. In addition to benefiting this local group, ten percent of proceeds will go to this year’s V-Day international spotlight theme, THE WOMEN AND GIRLS OF HAITI.
Hailed by The New York Times as "funny" and "poignant" and by the Daily News as "intelligent" and "courageous," The Vagina Monologues, which was first performed off-Broadway by Ms. Ensler, dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement buried in women’s experiences. Ms. Ensler has performed the play to great acclaim throughout the world - from Zagreb to Santa Barbara, from London to Seattle, from Jerusalem to Oklahoma City. Villard Books/Random House first published The Vagina Monologues, which includes a foreword by Gloria Steinem, in February 1998. A special edition was released in hard cover and paperback in February 2008 in honor of V-Day’s ten year anniversary.
A diverse cast of performers from the Looking Glass community – past, present, future, staff, interns, directors and more - will perform the monologues, as directed by veteran director Rose Ginsberg with Looking Glass Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director Justine Lambert.
Featuring: Shannon Altner, Lauren Kelly Benson, Jenn Boehm, Meaghan Connaire, Kate Dickinson,
Ariel Francoeur, Christine Grenier, Missy Hernandez, Alexandra Hiotakis, Amanda Marino,
Madeline Reed, JessAnn Smith, Lucy Spain, Ashley Spivak, Jadelynn Stahl, Melissa Sussman*,
Hannah Vaughn, Mary Beth Walsh and Jenn Womack.
* Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
Looking Glass Theatre’s mission is to theatrically and truthfully reflect a female vision on the stage while creating a community of artistic freedom. For up-to-date performance information visit Looking Glass Theatre or V-Day.
Looking Glass Theatre will also be collecting NEW items - toiletries, children's clothing and shoes, books, diapers and much more - for our beneficiary. CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE LIST.
Join us and change the story of women!
V-Day NYC 2011: The Vagina Monologues
Presented by Looking Glass Theatre
February 18-19, 2011
SCHEDULE: Friday, February 18 @ 8pm; Saturday, February 19 @ 3pm and 8pm
TICKET PRICE: $18 in advance, $20 at the door
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street (btwn 9th//10th Aves)
PHONE: (212) 307-9467
This show is now closed.
SHANNON ALTNER is thrilled to be working with Looking Glass Theatre again! She recently was seen in The Plane Ride in the Winter 2010 Forum and was an intern during the fall semester. A graduate from the University of Florida with a minor in theater, she has been pursuing her dreams and enjoying this wonderful city for the past year. She would like to thank her friends, family, and all the ladies of Looking Glass for their continued support. To Life!
LAUREN KELLY BENSON - This is Lauren's second production with Looking Glass Theatre (Ready, Set, Story!) and she is so excited to be returning to the stage for such a great cause! Having recently graduated from Hunter College with a degree in Theatre and Sociology, this production couldn't be closer to her heart. Tanks to Rose for giving her the chance to work on it; Looking Glass for putting it on; and all her friends and family for their constant support and love.
JENN BOEHM, originally from North Dakota, is delighted to be a part of her fourth V-Day with Rose Ginsberg (third at Looking Glass Theatre), raising awareness and support for the global campaign to end violence against women and girls. She is the Co-Artistic Director / Managing Director of Looking Glass Theatre. An award-winning performer, Jenn was last seen on the Looking Glass stage in Brecht's Baal. Love to Greg. Upcoming: Just A Reading, opening April 28 at Looking Glass.
MEAGHAN CONNAIRE is thrilled to be involved in her second V-Day production with Looking Glass Theatre and Rose, and her fourth production overall. She’s beyond ecstatic that she is performing her favorite monologue with the wonderful Lucy and Hannah. As for other stage experience, she has Irish stepdanced on many a floor, sang in one middle school production and was the top recorder player in her elementary school class. Should you ever need an Irish stepdancer who can sort of sing and play the recorder, let her know.
KATE DICKINSON is happy to return to Looking Glass Theatre, and it is her first time in The Vagina Monologues. She was last in the Off-Off Broadway production of Are You There, Zeus? It's Me, Electra at the Bleecker Street Theater. This past fall, she also produced her own adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark at The Manhattan Repertory Theatre. She is currently writing her own web-series and learning how to sew the costumes. She would also like to thank her family and friends for all their support!
ARIEL FRANCOEUR is an actor and director who is thrilled to be on stage at the Looking Glass! She directed two award-winning productions, Turtle Beach and Leap Year, as part of the Looking Glass Writer/Director Forums. Recent credits include directing The Grand Guignol: Tales of Horror and Fear at The Secret Theater, and appearing as Melanie in A Festival of Fools' January production of Rough Magic.
CHRISTINE GRENIER is Founding Artistic Director and President of The Grenier Educational Theater Group, Inc. After earning her BA in physics from Boston University, Christine worked as a research specialist in aeronomy. Currently a math teacher/learning specialist and a performing member of GET Group, which is featured in the 2010/2011 fall edition of the New York Department of Education Arts and Cultural Services Guide, she has performed in various venues throughout the city, working regularly with theater companies like The 52nd Street Project and Falconworks Artists Group. Christine earned the 2006 Looking Glass Forum Award for Best Actress.
MISSY HERNANDEZ refuses to stop playing make-believe... and dress up. This actress, writer, and singer graduated from Columbia University where she studied Screenwriting and Film Studies. Missy studied acting with William Esper at William Esper Studios and Shakespeare with Revolucion Latina’s Ian Hersey of the Public Theater. She has performed in numerous NYU and Columbia Graduate films, Off-Off Broadway plays, and workshops. Most recently she starred as “Gwen” in Ethan's People at Manhattan Theatre Source directed by Rose Ginsberg. She would like to thank Mom, Angie, the Mothership, her Sisters from other Misters, and her Grandmother.
ALEXANDRA HIOTAKIS is a former Looking Glass intern and is honored to be a part of the Looking Glass and V-Day family. Being cast in The Vagina Monologues is an absolute dream come true. Alexandra has spent more than ten years traveling and performing in theaters from NYC to Cali. Some of her credits include leading roles in Women Behind Bars, Echos, A Streetcar Named Desire. Her TV credits include "SNL," local commercials and more. A gigantic thank you goes to Mom, Dad, Sam and Jillian for their absolute love and support! Peace and love.
AMANDA MARINO - Theatre credits include: Smiles to Saturn (Amanda) Space Age (Allie), Layla and Harley… (Mad Maggie), Rhinoceros (Café Boss), Business Lunch… (Melissa Stearn), The Actors Nightmare (Dame Ellen Terry), Zachary Zwillenger Eats People (Sugar Plum Fairy - at Looking Glass!), Blood Wedding ( Bride), The Doctor in Spite of Himself (Jacqueline), Time Flies (May). Amanda was also seen in various films, and music videos. She is also an assistant at CnC Studios. MDBDTB
MADELINE REED was most recently seen as Betty in the Zephyer Rep production of Much Ado about Everything and as Rachel in The Unfortunate Honeymoon of Tony and Steve at the Wings Theater. She also appeared as an unhinged grade school teacher in the film The Video Guys and as Detective Powell in the film Fog Warning. Training includes The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and T. Schreiber Studio in New York. Other past roles include L’il Bit in How I Learned to Drive, Mistress Page in Merry Wives of Windsor and Sandra in The Exonerated. Madeline is a former acting intern and intern supervisor at Looking Glass!
JESSANN SMITH grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been singing, acting and dancing most of her life. She moved to NYC after graduating from the University of Montana and has since performed all over Manhattan (and the world!) in film, television and mostly onstage. JessAnn loves traveling, reading and cooking, and studies improv at the PIT and the Magnet Theater. She is so honored to be giving voice to Vaginas everywhere.
LUCY SPAIN would like to thank her family and friends for their endless support, her vagina for being amazing, and the wonderful ensemble responsible for making this event a reality. Please visit her web site for news and hilarious clips from the upcoming pilot “I'm Still Sally” with former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael.
ASHLEY SPIVAK is an actor, mover, and director. She is very excited to once again be working with so many passionate women and hopes to work with WIN again sometime in the near future. She is also a soon-to-be certified Holistic Health and Wellness coach. Please check out her blog: figandgruyere.blogspot.com for further inspiration!
JADELYNN STAHL is tremendously grateful to be taking the stage after a three-year hiatus to benefit WIN, such a necessary organization. Her performance is in celebration and awe of the courage it has taken any abused woman to defend her value and extricate herself from a destructive relationship. The words of this piece are a Vagina battle cry. Here’s to a world full of hot, happy, not-taking-shit Vaginas! (If my Vagina could drink, it would now be doing a shot of Jameson’s.)
MELISSA SUSSMAN* is so excited to be back at Looking Glass Theatre performing with such talented ladies for what is an amazing cause! She was last seen at Looking Glass this past spring in Ready, Set, Story! where she played Katie directed by the wonderful Rose Ginsberg. Melissa holds a BFA in Theatre from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Theatre Row, & Playwrights Horizons. She was recently in an Old Navy commercial as well as a commercial for mybillregistry.com. Proud AEA member. Thanks and love to Mom, Dad, Adam, Gene, Sam, Richard, Lincoln and June!
HANNAH VAUGHN is excited to be back at Looking Glass Theatre! She was a Winter 2010 Acting Intern and appeared in [insert mop here]. Hannah is a graduate of Christopher Newport University with a BA in Acting. While there, she appeared in Stop Kiss, The Blue Room, The Adding Machine and others. In New York, she has appeared in Alcestis (Apoloniad Productions) and A Christmas Carol (Mt. Carmel Theatre Co). She is thrilled to be working with such wonderful women on this piece and she is grateful for the constant support of her friends and family.
MARY BETH WALSH is thrilled to be returning to Looking Glass Theatre for such an amazing cause. A graduate of JMU, she made the move to the Big Apple after two years of touring with Theatre IV in Richmond, VA. Thank you to friends and family for their constant support and love. PUSSY POSSE UNITE!
JENN WOMACK is thrilled to be working with such a wonderful group of women for an amazing cause. She is inspired everyday by the strength, love and beauty of women. Jenn works in NYC as a director and entertainment lawyer.
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ROSE GINSBERG (Director) is thrilled to direct her fourth production for V-Day (The Vagina Monologues, 2007; A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, 2009 and 2010). A graduate of Barnard College and lifelong feminist, Rose has been directing plays and musical theater in NYC since 2005. She is an Artistic Associate and scene study instructor at Looking Glass. Recently, she directed and co-starred in Hourglass, by Richard Gaw, which was a finalist in the Variations Theatre Group’s Harvest One-Act Play Festival. Her work has also been seen at Shakespeare & Company, the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, Brother Jimmy’s, ArtHouse, the Flea Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Dixon Place, and the Brooklyn Heights public library. She dedicates this show to all of the incredible women in her life who amaze, inspire, and motivate her. Sisters in the Feminist Mafia, this is for you.
JUSTINE LAMBERT (Director) is the Founding Artistic Director of Looking Glass Theatre. A recipient of The Lucille Lortel Award for her work with Looking Glass she has been working in theater in NYC for over 25 years; directing, writing, acting in and producing dozens of shows, ranging from classical to contemporary, traditional to experimental. In 2003, she was named one of the top 100 New Yorkers by NY Resident magazine. Her direction of Three Sisters at Looking Glass earned an Off Off Broadway Review Award for Best Production and her Direction of M at Turnip Theatre earned her Honorable Mention as Best Director.
RYAN METZLER (Light Design) is the former Light Designer in Residence for Planet Connections Theatre Festivity and Looking Glass Theatre. Select New York credits include: Stone Cold Dead Serious (Clurman Theater at Theatre Row); North of Providence (Altered Stages); Eden (chashama); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (The Richmond Shepard Theatre); La Boheme (Inwood Shakespeare Festival). He has been active in charity work, designing for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit One Night Only (Loews Theater, Jersey City, NJ), the musical Hear Our Song (Riverspace Arts Center, Nyack, NY) for the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, and Songs for a New World (Beckett Theatre at Theater Row) for the PM3 Foundation.
* Diapers – all sizes!
* Baby and toddler clothing
* Baby and toddler shoes
* Baby and toddler accessory items (bibs, pacifiers, bottles, toys, etc.)
* Children’s clothing
* Children’s shoes
* Coats – all sizes and genders!
* Hats, gloves, scarves
* Toiletries of all kinds: soaps, shampoos, sanitary napkins, deodorant,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, razors, hair care products,
children’s bath products, etc.
