Press Releases
Actors Bridge Celebrates V-Day
Actors Bridge Plays its Part in Celebration of the V-Day 10th AnniversaryMEDIA CONTACTS
Urbane Imagery
Aerial Ellis
Monique Smith
615.496.6826
urbaneimagery@gmail.com
Nashville, TN (February 14, 2007) Actors Bridge Ensemble is pleased to present the Nashville Premiere of "A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant AND A Prayer" (MMRP) as part of "V to the 10th" V-Day's 10th Anniversary Celebration, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. A fundraising performance of MMRP will be Friday-Saturday, Feb 22-23 -- 8 PM at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre located on Compton Ave at Belmont Blvd. Tickets are $18.
Commissioned by Eve Ensler, MMRP is a groundbreaking collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights, like Carol Gilligan, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Kathy Najimy and Moises Kaufman. These writings are inspiring, funny, angry, heartfelt, tragic and beautiful. Together they create a true and profound portrait of how violence against women affects all of us.
Directed by Vali Forrister, MMRP features Annie Sellick, Mike Eldred, Thandiwe Shiphrah, OlaOmi Akalatunde, Rebekah Durham, Rachel Agee, CJ Tucker, Kamal Angelo Bolden, David Chattam, Kanya Lai, Alicia Ridley, Jessika Malone and the Rev. Becca Stevens.
Friday night, author Carol Gilligan will read her monologue from the collection.
As the first to bring V-Day's "The Vagina Monologues" to Nashville in 2000, director Vali Forrester says Actors Bridge is honored to celebrate yet another first in bringing MMRP to local audiences. Proceeds from this production will benefit Act Like a GRRRL.
About Actors Bridge
Founded in 1995 as an actor training program and professional non-profit theatre company, Actors Bridge Ensemble has produced the Nashville premieres of 19 plays and the world premieres of 5 original theatrical works. The company has trained over 500 actors in the Meisner Technique. Students have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in television and film, as well as on every stage in Nashville. Actors Bridge is sustained by donations from individuals, corporations and foundations and currently receives funding from the Metro Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
About V-Day
V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of playwright/founder Eve Ensler's award winning play The Vagina Monologues. In 2007, more than 3000 V-Day events took place in the U.S. and around the world. To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $50 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it, crafted international educational, media and PSA campaigns, launched the Karama program in the Middle East, reopened shelters, and funded over 5000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses in Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina. Through V-Day, Actors Bridge has raised more than $50,000 to support local organizations that work to end violence against women and girls. www.vday.org
About Act Like a GRRRL (ALAG)
ALAG is an autobiographical writing and performance program for young women to achieve a public voice while engaging with peers from diverse backgrounds. ALAG introduces girls to strong adult women who make healthy decisions about their own lives and bodies. ALAG gives girls the tools to analyze critically the culture in which they live so that they become active change agents rather than passive recipients of cultural messages. ALAG celebrates girls' strength and girls' voices and promotes girls' leadership. Proceeds from MMRP will provide scholarships to local girls to join the program in the summer of 2008. www.actlikeagrrrl.com
# # #
