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For Immediate Release
It’s Anything But Raw!
July 26, 2010
What would it be like to fall in love with convicted murderer Scott Peterson and be waiting to see him with other admirers at San Quentin?
Playwright and screenwriter Michelle Lein, whose writing name is Zazu, tackles just that thought in the premiere of her one-act play Ladies in Waiting as part of the 2010 RAW (Ross Alternative Works) Summer Festival set from Thursday, Aug. 19 to Sunday, Aug. 22 at the Ross Valley Players Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. Shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.
“The purpose of RAW is to give playwrights a forum for trying out their new works and to encourage theater-goers to participate in getting new works on their feet,” explained RAW producer Tinka Ross of San Rafael. “This is our first time to group plays into a festival format.”
Zazu, 58, has had 15 plays produced internationally and received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and Marin Arts Council. She also received the Drama Rama award from the San Francisco Playwright’s Center. The San Rafael resident has had five staged readings as part of the RAW program. She is excited to see Ladies in Waiting produced for the first time. She got the idea for the play while reading an article about women who fell in love with inmates such as Richard Ramirez (the Night Stalker) and the concept intrigued her.
The story of Scott Peterson, although it gained national notoriety, was very much located in the Bay Area. Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn child in 2005 and was sentenced to death. He now lives on Death Row at San Quentin Prison. He was on Death Row less than an hour before receiving his first marriage proposal and the warden claims Peterson receives hundreds of letters a week from interested women. A Free Scott Peterson Death Row Pen Pal organization has since formed, working for his release.
According to Zazu, the cast was thrilled with the personal story of each character that fell in love with Peterson. Her characters include a born-again, lesbian and a prostitute, as well as a prison guard, who all meet together as a family of sorts in the waiting room at the prison. “I got away from judging the characters and let the characters speak to me,” Zazu said.
Many women who are attracted to men in prison and on death row project romantic illusions on their life with the prisoner, Zazu added.
“They like the power over the inmate because his life revolves around her and little else and the feeling of being special. It is a fascinating topic and I wrote a scene with the women talking about it.”
Cris Cassell (of San Francisco), who has directed three of Zazu’s plays, directs Ladies in Waiting. The cast includes Alma Deleon of Novato, Shirley Nielsen Hall of Rohnert Park, Melissa Claire of Point Reyes Station and Linda Livingston of Antioch.
Other plays being presented includes: Arousal, a comedy and drama about relationships lost and found, by George Pfirrmann of San Francisco, directed by Alex Kuskulis of San Rafael, featuring Ariana Hooper and Romolo Wilkinson (both of San Francisco) and Turning the Tables by Kathleen Bradley of Tiburon. The farce where things go awry at the opening of a new restaurant is directed by Dale Camden of Larkspur, with Burl Lampert of San Rafael, Ruth Rosen of San Rafael, Jeffrey Orth of Larkspur, Pennel Chapin of Corte Madera, David Crane of San Rafael, and Joana Gray of San Francisco.
The Ross Valley Players has a long history of supporting original theatrical work. In the 1930s, members submitted scripts for competition with the winners being presented at the annual membership meetings. The 1950s saw staged readings and in the 1980s RAT (Ross Alternative Theatre) presented both readings and full productions of plays by local playwrights. In 2000, the idea of reading new scripts was revived and in 2004, RAW (Ross Alternative Works) was formed.
A special feedback session with the individual playwrights will follow the Sunday matinee.
Tickets for the RAW Summer Festival are $10 with four tickets for $30. Reservations can be made by 415-456-9555, Ext. 3. Go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com/raw to find out more.
Calendar Item:
2010 RAW (Ross Alternative Works) Summer Festival
Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 19 to 22
8 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. with a feedback session with the playwrights
Ross Valley Players Barn Theater, Marin Art & Garden Center,
30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross
Tickets: $10
Festival Pass, Four tickets for $30/ RVP members with card $7.50
Reservations: 415-456-9555
Information: www.rossvalleyplayers.com/raw
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