Theatre in the Woods
605 1st Street
P.O. Box 156
Shell Lake, WI 54871
715-468-4387
www.titw.org
CONTACT: Carolyn Burnett
354-3803
shiitake@chibardun.net
For Immediate Release: One Woman, Seven Stories
Theater in the Woods is proud to present "Clarisse & Friends", a critically acclaimed original show featuring professional actress, Jan Lee for one weekend only on February 5-7th. First premiered at the Big Top Chautauqua in 1990, "Clarisse" is being brought back to the stage for its 20th anniversary. The show is comprised of original stories written by Northern Wisconsin writer, Dew Harding and adapted for the stage by Lee, founder and former artistic director of StageNorth in Washburn. It is a night of intelligent, humorous, and poignant theater bringing to life seven vastly different characters. Through the use of acting, dance, and song, we see a woman reminiscing about her Catholic School upbringing and First Love; another character who is trying to quit smoking, another one with a shoe fetish, a housewife debating what her life is for, and yet another with a message to the future. There is also a woman sharing her unusual relationship with her mother, and finally, a woman in search of happiness in an unusual twist on the fairy tale ending.
Lee and Harding created the script over a period of one year between 1989 and 1990. "It came about over a cup of coffee one morning when we were chatting in Dew's kitchen." says Lee. "We were debating whether it's possible to tell the truth on stage, and if so, what might that look like? Dew's writing is so honest and fun that we thought it would be a cool challenge to develop all the stories into monologues and differentiate them using only one actor." "One of the main concepts at work in this show", says writer Dew Harding, "is that words are magic. Especially to a child and even as we grow into our adult selves. We organize our world views and struggles around words in an attempt to either disguise or tell the truth about our lives. And it’s that process in between the words and reality that we're trying to expose."
Joining Lee, the supporting cast features Barb Anich, Mary Methven, and Mary DuShane. Anich and Methven have been seen in many productions in theaters in Northern Wisconsin and Mary Dushane is a prominent fiddler in the Twin Cities music scene, having been an original member of A Prairie Home Companion's Powder Milk Biscuit Band. She has performed on the Quam stage as a member of the award-winning Cajun Swing band, The Buffalo Gals. Lee has performed on the Quam stage in “Talking Heads”, as a solo performer and with David Oliver in “Broadway Music”, as well as on many stages in the Twin Cities and around the US. Lee also serves as a mentor for Theatre in the Woods actors and directors, leading workshops and doing consulting.
Showtimes are 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday February 5th and 6th and 2:00 pm on Sunday February 7th at the Erika Quam Memorial Theatre, 605 1st. Street, Shell Lake. Tickets are $10 with a Sunday Senior special for $8.00 and may be reserved by calling Theater in the Woods at 715 468-4387 or go online to titw.org.
