FemFest 2012 to wrap up this weekend!

We could not be more thrilled with the incredible amount of support and encouragement we have received this week as part of FemFest 2012! There are only two days left of the festival but there are still tons of incredible performances to see!

Friday, September 21:

7pm – Empty: Created with the assistance of the Winnipeg Arts Council WithArts Program, Empty tells the true and poignant stories of people at a local food bank and explores the human side of poverty.

8:15pm – The Possible Lives of Dolores Garcia Rodriguez: a reading by playwright Jordan Hall, Co-created with ACTvist Theatre Collective’s Zoe Green, Possible Lives explores the 2006 repeal of therapeutic abortion rights in Nicaragua and their effects on the lives of three different women. When do we decide to create change, and when do we decide to ignore the issues?

9pm – My Pregnant Brother: a one-woman show by Montreal playwright and actor Johanna Nutter, this stranger than fiction story is based off of the true events that took place when one day on a park bench, Johanna’s brother revealed that he was pregnant! Absolutely heart wrenching and mesmerizing!

My Pregnant Brother; photo by Pam Price

Saturday, September 22:

2pm – Empty

7pm – Immigration Stories: SOLD OUT!: Created in partnership with the Immigrant Women’s Association of Manitoba, Immigration Stories tells the true stories of senior immigrant women and their experiences coming to and navigating through their new lives in Winnipeg. Experience the trials, tribulations and triumphs of these amazing, head strong women. Although tickets are sold out audiences are welcome to take a risk and come just before the show in case there are no-shows.

9pm – Closing Cabaret: Hosted by Virgin Radio’s Chrissy Troy, the closing cabaret is a celebrating of female talent from across disciplines! Including: Gear Shifting Performance Work, MAWA artists Cindy Dyson and Nora Kobrinsky, slam poetry by Ali Tataryn, Prairie Caravan Tribal Bellydance, a short film by Leslie Supnet and musical guest Flo!

Tickets can be purchased online at www.femfest.ca or you can try your luck by purchasing at the door! (We recommend buying ahead of time – shows are filling up quickly! Tickets bought ahead of time will be available at the box office)

FemFest Cabarets Deliver the Goods!

FemFest annually produces the best and brightest in female talent each year in Winnipeg. Although the festival’s mandate is to produce plays by women, we realized a few years ago that many women theatre artists were also working in other mediums. In order to showcase cross-discipline work we started including cabaret evenings as book ends to the festival. The ideas was so succesful that we expanded to invite even more women working in a broader range of mediums. Now our popular cabarets feature a unique smorgasbord of musicians, dancers, visual arts and everything in between and outside of the ordinary! We are thrilled to once again feature an array of local favourites for our 10th anniversary festival.

And now, presenting the FemFest 2012: Staging Identity Cabaret Line-up’s!

Opening Night – Saturday, September 15 – hosted by Susan Tymofichuk

• a new clown performance piece by Lynn Langdon
• visual art by MAWA members Willow Rector and Indra Skuja-Grislis
• a short film by Rhayne Vermette
• two dance pieced by Young Lungs members Sasha Amaya and Zorya Baskier-Pasternak
• music from local favourites the Mad Young Darlings
• plus sneak peeks of festival shows and a FemFest retrospective!

Mad Young Darlings

Closing Night – Saturday, September 22 – hosted by Chrissy Troy

• a new dance piece by Jolene Bailie’s Gear Shifting Performance Work
• a short film by Leslie Supnet
• visual art by MAWA members Nora Kobrinsky and Cindy Dyson
• dance by last year’s cabaret favourites Prairie Caravan Tribal Bellydance
• slam poetry by Ali Tataryn
• and musical guest Flo

Prairie Caravan Tribal Bellydance

Both evenings will be followed by a reception with great food and a chance to meet the artists. For more information on getting your tickets for these amazing nights of exquisite talent, check out www.femfest.ca!