Talking With by Jane Martin, Austin High School Red Dragons, January 8 - 16

Talking With is a collection of eleven monologues by women characters, first staged in 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky. It played off-Broadway in 1982 to great success. The identity of playwright Jane Martin remains a mystery. All of her considerable work has first been staged at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky, by that group's artistic director John Jory.

This is a collection of sharp, bittersweet portraits of women, many of whom have reacted to disappointments by melting into private worlds. An actress; a housewife who lives much of the day in the dream world of Oz; a baton twirler and a rodeo rider; an aspiring actress; a woman about to give birth to a child who may be deformed; a devotee of the plastic world of McDonald's; and more.

Martin's pieces offer actresses a moment on the high wire -- an almost bare stage, a character, and an audience to convince. Monologues run about ten minutes. They have a rhythm. Establishment; elaboration; vivid word pictures;a moment of absence; a jolt or a moment of defiance as the woman leads us, willing, to lean over her Pensieve.

Six actresses associated with the North by Northwest Theatre company did Talking With last October at the City Theatre. The Red Dragon Players at Austin High School have just done a version featuring no fewer than 27 actresses, trading out roles over the five-day run of the production.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Talking With by Jane Martin, Austin HS Red Dragon Players, January 7 - 16

Found on-line:

Talking With
by Jane Martin

This full-length comedy is composed of eleven full-length monologues. Idiosyncratic characters amuse, move and frighten, always speaking from the depths of their soul. They include a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake-handler, an ex-rodeo rider and an actress willing to go to any length to get a job. 1982 winner of the American Theatre Critics Association Award for Best Regional Play.

We've triple-cast the roles, allowing us to showcase thirty-three of our actresses!

January 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16
All shows begin at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets $7 (No credit cards accepted -- cash or checks made payable to "AHS Theatre")
Austin High School, 1715 W. Cesar Chavez

Talking With by Jane Martin, North by Northwest Theatre Company at the City Theatre, October 9 - 18

The solo monologue is one of the purest demonstrations of the art. These six women come individually to you in the intimacy and immediacy of the City Theatre's small house. In each scene the actress takes that text with your complicity and, before your eyes, becomes the character.

"Jane Martin" is probably a pseudonym for Jon Jory, who has directed all of her ten plays. The mysterious Jane has never been seen. She twice won the American Theatre Critics' award for a new play and was nominated for a Pulitzer prize. Jory simply declines to discuss the matter -- perhaps a ploy, perhaps an artist's staking out the liberty to explore his feminine side.

Because each of these characters is vividly, irrevocably female. Michelle Cheney as the actress finishing her makeup as "fifteen minutes!" to curtain time is called; Renee Brown as the housewife who escapes daily reality; Wendy Zavaleta as a daughter grieving the death of her otherwise indomitable mother; Jennifer Coy as a brash auditioner perfectly willing to use blackmail; B.J. Machalicek as a dreamer at McDonald's; and Marsha Sray as a girl explaining the meaning of baton twirling.

That's just the first act.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Talking With, North by Northwest Theatre Company at City Theatre, October 9 - 18

Click for ALT review, October 13

From NxNW Theatre Company:

Talking With

by Jane Martin
directed by Joni McClain
October 9 - 18

A young woman tests her faith by handling poisonous snakes. A destitute woman longs to live in McDonald’s where the sick are cured by Big Macs. A housewife makes a daily escape to the magical land of Oz. Pulitzer nominated playwright Jane Martin gives us the provocative and heartfelt stories of these and other women who are ostracized by the American dream. Talking With is a powerful show, both funny and sad, that examines courage, awaking from complacency and the value of eccentricity. Starring Renee Brown, Michelle Cheney, Jennifer Coy, BJ Machalicek, Marsha Sray and Wendy Zavaleta.

October 9 - 18
Eight Performances Only!
Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat at 8:00, Sun at 2:00
Tickets $20, $18 students/seniors
The City Theatre, 3823 Airport Blvd