Women's History Month: "On Women Festival" ready to once again showcase some of the best talent around
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In celebration of Women's History Month, a theater company in Brooklyn is presenting a monthlong festival with a wide variety of work by, for and about women.
In a converted church, the Irondale Theater Company is not letting the coronavirus pandemic stand in the way of its fourth annual On Women Festival.
For this Women's History Month, in this most challenging year, Irondale will be showcasing two fully-staged productions that have been recorded and will be streamed, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported.
The company is offering a global showcase of women-focused video submissions in a "New Media" category, and there will also be two live but virtual cabaret nights.
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Maya Carter is a co-curator of the festival.
"I think that all of the pieces that are in this festival are gorgeous in a variety of different ways and talk about, you know, women's issues in a variety of different ways. I think that there's a lot of different points of entry to the conversation around womanhood," Carter said.
Broadway vet Jessica Hendy is the star and creator of a one-woman show, "Walking With Bubbles," a true story of a harrowing divorce and the scary realities of mental illness. However, she said, right now, it's actually being on stage again that's striking an emotional chord.
"Being in a theater, I mean, it makes me cry. Like, I will never take for granted, being on stage again. Ever. This is what I was born to do," Hendy said.
Another actor, Liz Neitge is starring in "If There Is Breakage, You Will Find Chips." She said Women's History Month is the perfect time for a deep dive into the far reaches of women-focused programming.
"It shows a really, a different kind of way that we can think about Women's History Month and how anyone from these, these genders, that are marginalized. It's really diverse and it doesn't just mean one thing. It means a lot of things," Neitge said.
Last year, the On Women Festival was forced to pause in the middle as the city went into lockdown. This year, in the true spirit of the show must go, as it celebrates the true resilience of women, organizers have found a bright spot in presenting a theater festival, even in a pandemic.
"This has made our festivals so much more accessible. Anyone from anywhere in the world can watch it. We've created so many opportunities for people who are struggling financially to see this, these shows," co-producer Emilio Cerci said.
"We just want eyes on it. We want as many people as possible, and I think this year more people than ever are going to be able to see it because of the way we're doing it," he added.
Tickets for the On Women Festival range from $5 to view a single show, to $40 for a full pass to all of the programming and events. For more information, please click here.