Archived Press Info

Something fabulous is happening on stage
with Phoenix Theatre DC!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2005
CONTACT: Kimberley Kissoyan
(202) 441-9738

WASHINGTON, DC -- You have been waiting to meet Lulu, you just don't know it yet. This plucky heroine, the titular character in Phoenix Theatre DC's world premiere of Lulu Fabulous by local playwright Callie Kimball, is on a quest for the one thing she's always lacked: connection. On her way, she wins the hearts and tickles the funny bones of everyone in her path as she turns each challenge on its head with her signature wit and charm.

Lulu Fabulous is an imaginative romp through two years in the life of Lulu, who runs away to a tiny town in Maine where her great-great-grandmother grew up. This quirky comedy is much more than your standard single-gal-in-the-city story; Lulu is a woman of smarts and substance who is striving to make her self-proclaimed “accidental life” count for something. Lulu's struggle culminates in a pivotal decision whether to continue her generational legacy or to transform it into a new life story of her own. Helping Lulu find her way, and keeping the audience guessing as they laugh with her foibles, are 54 characters played by four talented young actors, including her best friend, her grandmother's doting cousins, her two pet fighting fish, and the Zen friends she meets at a yoga retreat in the Berkshires.

"This play is about hope and perseverance," says director Bridget O’Leary. "I think of Lulu as a latter-day Everywoman, struggling to make order out of her chaotic life and have it all add up to something. Lulu’s experiences are laugh-out-loud funny and achingly authentic all at once. I think what I love about Lulu the most is how she meets every experience head-on, with open arms.”

Artistic Director of Phoenix Theatre DC since 2003, O’Leary has directed Independence, Unwrapped, an evening of women’s voices and Parallel Lives: The Kathy & Mo Show for Phoenix Theatre DC. She has also worked with Cherry Red Productions, Theater Alliance, Charter Theatre, Studio Theatre Second Stage, and was Production Manager for the world premiere of Rick Fiori’s My Presidential Journal. O’Leary previously directed playwright Callie Kimball’s monologue, “Nice Rack,” featured in Unwrapped.

Kimball’s two other plays, Take Me Out Tonight and its sequel, Bedtime Story, premiered at the Washington Theatre Festival. Take Me Out Tonight is currently in pre-production as a short film. Besides being a playwright, Kimball is an actor, director, and theatre educator. An entrepreneur, Kimball founded LuckySpinster.com in 2002 as an outlet for her writing, which primarily focuses on celebrating the single life beyond the Three Ds—Dating, Dieting, & Drinking. Her online readership averages over 10,000 hits monthly.

Phoenix Theatre DC emerged in April 2002 as a vibrant company dedicated to producing intimate theatre that explores women's issues and gender dynamics, speaking to a diverse, contemporary audience at an affordable price. It has received particular accolades for its productions which, like Lulu Fabulous, lend an irreverent and humorous twist to the very nature of the women's issues it investigates.

Lulu Fabulous opens at the 1409 Playbill Café on May 6, 2005 and runs through May 28, 2005; performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. 1409 Playbill Café is located at 1409 14th Street, NW (just south of P Street). Admission is $15 and group, senior and student discounts are available. There will be two pay-what-you-can previews, Wednesday, May 4 and Thursday, May 5 at 8:00 pm. No advance sales for previews. Tickets are available at the door, or reserved in advance at (202) 441-9738.

Two women. Thirty-six characters. A lot of sweat!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, June 28, 2004
Contact: Kimberley Kissoyan
(202) 441-9738
phoenixtheatredc@hotmail.com

WASHINGTON, DC -- Phoenix Theatre DC is celebrating the summer heat by lighting a fire under two of its favorite actresses in Parallel Lives: The Kathy and Mo Show, opening July 10, 2004. Co-written by comediennes Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney, this sketch comedy tour-de-force offers a collection of funny, and often touching, vignettes that grab the audience and won't let go.

Phoenix Theatre DC company member Kimberley Cooper Kissoyan is joined by Misty Demory, who was last seen with Phoenix in her award-winning performance as Patsy in Linda Escalera Baggs's Silent Heroes (co-production with Source Theatre), and the two take on Kathy and Mo and thirty-four other memorable and eccentric characters, from college students on a date to a pair of Italian-American teenage girls to middle-aged bar flies in the deep south, among many others. The joy of this production is the energy and genuine affection that these two actresses are able to capture and convey, making this romp all the more fun because it is clearly an exercise in precision timing, comedic skill, and sheer performance.

As intelligent as it is funny, Parallel Lives provides a fresh take on the oldest battle of the human race, not to mention the constantly changing battle of the sexes. Its broad appeal is clear from the cult status it attained during its long off-Broadway run; its humor is inclusive enough to elicit genuine laughter from gentlemen in bow ties and their pearl-necklaced wives, sitting between flat-topped lesbians and fashion mavens from New Jersey. "What I love about this show is the opportunity to have a sense of humor about our struggles and our stereotypes. This show is an equal-opportunity elevator and offender," said Director Bridget O'Leary, who has recently worked with The Theater Alliance, Charter Theater, Studio Theatre Secondstage and Cherry Red Productions, and directed the critically acclaimed Phoenix Theatre DC production of Unwrapped: An Evening of Women's Voices.

Phoenix Theatre DC keeps rising in its mission to explore women's issues and gender dynamics -- and what better, more fun way to do so than through the voices of two very funny and very political activists? Variety called Parallel Lives "a romp with a feminist sensibility; it's a humor for a post-Lily Tomlin generation … Above all, Parallel Lives is a smart, provocative show." And Phoenix's production honors the original, while finding a new voice for a newer generation.

Parallel Lives opens at the 1409 Playbill Café on July 10, 2004 and runs through August 7, 2004; performances are Thursday-Saturday evenings at 7:30 and Sunday afternoons at 3:00. 1409 Playbill Café is located at 1409 14th Street, in NW Washington, DC (just south of P Street). Admission is $20; discounts for group sales starting with four or more people. There will be two pay-what-you-can previews, Thursday, July 8 and Friday July 9, 2004 at 7:30 pm. No advance sales for previews. Tickets are available at the door, or reserved in advance on the hotline (202-441-9738) or by emailing phoenixtheatredc@hotmail.com at least three hours before curtain.

Women's Stories Find a Voice
with Phoenix Theatre DC's Unwrapped

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 8, 2004
Contact: Bridget O'Leary
(703) 861-2278
phoenixtheatredc@hotmail.com

WASHINGTON, DC - Women's History Month is as much about amazing historical accomplishments as it is about everyday survival - a fact celebrated by Phoenix Theatre DC's Unwrapped: An Evening of Women's Voices, opening March 20, 2004.

In the first announced performance in honor of Women's History Month among D.C. regional theaters, Phoenix Theatre DC announces its production of Unwrapped, an evening of women's voices, stories and experiences. The performance features two One-Act plays, The Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine George and Eating Out by Marcia Dixcy, and seven original monologues written by women from around the country, commissioned for this event.

"It is as important to recognize what women have accomplished as it is to show where they have come from and what they go through. We honor women not just through their memories, but by bringing ordinary stories into extraordinary light," said Director Bridget O'Leary, who has recently worked with local companies such as Theater Alliance, Charter Theater, Studio Theatre Secondstage and Cherry Red Productions, and directed the critically acclaimed Phoenix Theatre DC production of Lee Blessing's Independence.

"Unwrapped is about our relationships with our bodies, our environments and our selves. It's for everyone, men & women, young & old, big & small, who has ever struggled with sense of self."

The Most Massive Woman Wins, by Madeleine George, uncovers women's dynamics and struggles with their lovers, mothers, society and selves. From eating disorders to self-mutilation, four women discuss, through real-time and flashback sequences, the events that made them who they are and what brought them to the lobby of a liposuction clinic. First performed in 1994 at the New York Young Playwright's Festival, The Most Massive Woman Wins is now recognized as a ground-breaking play on the subject of women's bodies in society.

What does an eating disorder look like? In Marcia Dixcy's Eating Out, three actresses convey the rationality behind the irrational behavior of eating disorders and demonstrate that no one person, body size or gender holds ownership over body issues. Written in 1990, Dixcy's characters are as identifiable in today's society as they were 14 years ago.

The One-Act performances are supplemented with seven monologues staged throughout the evening. Out of numerous monologues commissioned by Phoenix Theatre DC, these seven bring art to life and life to art as real women's stories take stage with topics ranging from childbirth, death and rape to hiking in a skirt and having perfect feet.

Phoenix Theatre DC emerged in April 2002 as a vibrant company dedicated to producing intimate theatre that explores women's issues and gender dynamics, speaking to a diverse, contemporary audience at an affordable price.

Unwrapped opens at the 1409 Playbill Café on March 20, 2004 and runs through April 17, 2004; performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.. 1409 Playbill Café is located at 1409 14th Street, NW (just South of P Street). Admission is $20. Discounts for group sales, starting with four or more people. There will be two pay-what-you-can previews, Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. (No advance sales for previews.). Tickets are available at the door, or reserved in advance on the hotline: 301-587-8226.

Get an unorthodox education in speeding, stop signs,
sex and scandal!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, September 16, 2002
Contact: Allison Stockman
(202) 422- 8249
phoenixtheatredc@hotmail.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Fasten your seatbelts: Traffic School, a one-hour original comedy by Ginna Carter, is a crazy ride. Five women from wildly diverse backgrounds find themselves enrolled in a Saturday morning traffic school class, exposed to much more than just the rules of the road. On the edge of a mid-life crisis, the Teacher makes an ethically questionable deal with her students, exchanging DMV certificates and vodka for manual labor, moral support, confessions and camaraderie. Soon everyone has joined the fray, sharing secrets and throwing accusations. An action-packed adventure, Traffic School raises us up out of our everyday lives to praise the potential for personal revelation that exchanges among strangers can inspire.

The recipient of the "Outstanding Production" award at Source Theatre Company's annual Washington Theatre Festival this summer, Traffic School is re-mounted for a limited-engagement run as a co-production of Source Theatre Company and Phoenix Theatre DC. A staged reading of Traffic School was also featured at the Kennedy Center as part of its 2002 Journey From Page to Stage Labor Day Festival. After a workshop production at Pacific Resident Theatre in L.A., Traffic School is charming the East Coast with its humor, wit and vibrant energy; it's a perfect start to an evening out on the town.

Playwright Ginna Carter is an emerging playwright and award-winning actress in L.A, where her play A Girl Thing won the Orange County Playwrights Alliance 2000 Page to Stage Competition. She has forged a valuable collaboration with director Allison Arkell Stockman, who most recently directed The Blue Room by David Hare for Phoenix Theatre DC. A Drama League of NY Director with an MFA from Carnegie Mellon, Stockman invites Washington DC audiences, "to discover just how much laughter and levity can be created when you're willing to escape the system. Instead of u-turns and DUI, Traffic School is about forming relationships that shouldn't be speeded by."

Last April, Phoenix Theatre DC emerged as a vivacious new theatre company dedicated to producing intimate theatre that explores women's issues and gender dynamics, speaking to a diverse, contemporary audience at an affordable price. Joining Source Theatre Company in this co-production, Phoenix Theatre DC presents Traffic School as a testament to how wicked and wonderful women's relationships can be.

Traffic School will open at Source Theatre on September 23, 2002 and run through October 8, 2002; showtimes are Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 5 pm. Source Theatre is located at 1835 14th Street, NW (just south of T St.). Admission is $15 (discounts for group sales). There will be a pay-what-you-can preview on Sunday, September 22 at 8 pm. For more information visit www.phoenixtheatredc.org or www.sourcetheatre.org. Tickets are general admission and are available at the door.

Can you ever leave home? Can you ever return?
Must you sacrifice family for freedom?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Contact: Melissa Schwartz
(301) 588-8028

WASHINGTON, DC -- Mother, daughter, virgin, whore, prisoner, rebel, savior, sister, caretaker, fighter. In Independence, playwright Lee Blessing embodies every female archetype in his story of a family of four women struggling to survive. The fight for independence has never been more humorous, cruel, or passionate than in the Independence, Iowa home of Evelyn and her three daughters. Produced by a new theatre company devoted to plays that focus on women's issues and the exploration of gender dynamics, Independence reveals the innermost fears and desires of four unique women, each on a quest for her own identity.

Award-winning American playwright Lee Blessing has written many scripts for screen and stage, including the Tony-nominated A Walk in the Woods produced on Broadway in 1988. Washington DC audiences may be familiar with his play Chesapeake, which recently had a successful run at Source Theatre Company, and can look forward to upcoming Thief River at this summer's Contemporary American Theater Festival. Blessing is the recipient of the American Theater Critics Award, several Drama-Logue Awards and the 1997 L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Eleemosynary.

Independence debuted at the Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the Humana Festival in 1984 and continues to resonate strongly with diverse audiences as they identify with the challenges of family dynamics, the sacrifices so often required of women, and the dream of personal liberation. With this play, Phoenix Theatre DC gives audiences a chance to see what Time Out - New York esteems as "a brilliantly astute portrait of the pain that family members can inflict on each other in the tussle to become individual identities."

Director Bridget O'Leary, who has worked with several regional theaters including Charter Theatre, Cherry Red Productions, and Studio Theatre, calls the show "a compelling story about four women who are so different yet want the same thing. They are all searching for independent identities, and what makes their story so interesting is watching these characters as they constantly change their 'masks' to portray every aspect of what being a woman is."

Company members Kimberley Cooper and Melissa Schwartz join Sara Barker and Lisa Lias on stage; all four actresses previously appeared in Phoenix Theatre DC's premier production of The Blue Room by David Hare, directed by artistic partner Allison Arkell Stockman.

Independence opens at the District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC) on July 12, 2002 and runs through August 3, 2002; performances run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 7 and July14, 2002 at 3:00 p.m.. DCAC is located at 2438 18th St., NW, south of Columbia Rd., NW. Admission is $15 and group rates are available. There will be pay-what-you-can previews on Friday, July 5 and Sunday, July 7 as well as $10 previews on Saturday, July 6 and Thursday, July 11. (No advance sales for PWYCs.) For more information, visit our website at www.phoenixtheatredc.org. Tickets are available at the door, or reserved in advance at: 202-462-7833.

Lust, love and longing!

Sex, seduction and searching!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 15, 2002
Contact: Melissa Schwartz
(301) 588-8028
contact us

New Theatre Company Emerges "Out of the Ashes;"
Brings Unique Mission to D.C. Theatre Culture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 25, 2002
Contact: Melissa Schwartz
(301) 588-8028
contact us

Washington DC's rich culture has nurtured a multitude of small theatre companies, yet there is a gap in the Washington theatre scene in the depictions, opportunities and subject matter of, for, and dealing specifically with women. Phoenix Theatre DC has emerged as a new and vibrant theatre group, dedicated to producing intimate theatre that explores women's issues and gender dynamics, speaking to a diverse, contemporary audience at an affordable price.

Formed by a team of female directors (Bridget O'Leary and Allison Stockman) and actors (Kimberley Cooper and Melissa Schwartz), Phoenix Theatre DC has planned a season sure to place them on the map. For more information on the artistic partners, see http://www.phoenixtheatredc.org/about.html

Phoenix Theatre DC will produce three full productions in its 2002 season, in addition to three staged readings. The first production will be the Washington DC premiere of David Hare's The Blue Room, directed by artistic partner Allison Stockman. David Hare's adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's classic, La Ronde, weaves a scandalous daisy chain as 10 diverse individuals meet tête-à-tête for romantic affairs. These unique sexual adventures reveal the way we transform ourselves for others and the universal human desires for pleasure and power, intimacy and illusion. The production runs April 5th-May 11th, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at 1409 Playbill Café, 1409 14th Street NW.

The second production, directed by artistic partner Bridget O'Leary, will be Independence by Lee Blessing. Evelyn and her three daughters struggle to come to terms with questions of their own individual identities in the appropriately named city of Independence, Iowa. Kess, the oldest daughter and a lesbian, has returned home to help pregnant sister Jo escape from her co-dependent relationship with their Mother while youngest daughter Sherry is packing her bags to jump town the minute she gets her high school diploma. The story uncovers the way these four women find out what it means to be a sister, mother, lover, friend and still maintain one's independence. The production will run July 5th-August 3rd, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m. on July 7th and 14th. Independence will open at the District of Columbia Arts Center, 2438 18th Street NW.

With a third production to announce and an exciting season ahead of them, Phoenix Theatre DC looks forward to rediscovering the themes of women's issues and gender dynamics formerly lost in the Washington theatre community. For information on press nights and reviews, please check the website at http://www.phoenixtheatredc.org/press.html or contact Melissa Schwartz at the information above.