December 2009
Felice Ramadan
Academy Theatre
A Mummers Tale of the Season
Written & Directed by Sandra Hughes
Aaron Gotlieb (Doctor Mummer) is Artistic Director of Dancing Monkey Cabaret and has been performing around Atlanta on stage and behind the scenes since 1998. He makes his living turning on and off lights, hugging people, playing with dolls and not singing in operas.
November 2009
Academy Theatre
The Thirteenth Sector, Pathways on Living Planet, The Prologue
Written & Directed by Sandra Hughes
Hilda Willis (SYDNEY), actress, writer and vocalist, began performing in 1969. Hilda has performed numerous roles throughout her performing career. While a BFA major at North Carolina A&T State University she became known for her outstanding work on stage at the Paul Robeson Theatre. Her most noted performances include: Lorraine Hansberry in Young Gifted and Black and Nell Carter in Ain’t Misbehavin where she was nominated to compete in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Irene Ryan Acting Competition and received high honors as a top 10 finalist.
After college, Hilda re-entered the professional world of theatre and went on to perform and direct on some of the most well known stages in New York and other Regional Theatres. They include: The Apollo, The Cotton Club, The Baby Grand, Sweet Waters, National Black Theatre, The Mint, The Trilogy, Theatre Row, Billie Holiday Theatre, Lime Kiln, Mill Mountain Theatre, 7 Stages, The Mask Theatre, Jomandi Theatre, 14th Street Playhouse and The Great Bay Plaza (Antilles). A few of her favorite professional roles include: Lady Capulet Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Charlotte Falsettos, Amy Stone Wall Country, Ancestor The Legacy, Mother Breath Boom, Clorine Glory Bound and The Heart Of Rumi.
Hilda is currently the Producing Astistic Director for Living Your Art, the Educational Consultant for Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company as well as The Executive Director for Performing Arts Program for Youth, Inc.
Vanessa Manley (Gaia & The Honeyee Deva) is the Artistic Director of Chosen Vessels Dance an Atlanta based performance ensemble ministry dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change and spiritual growth. An accomplished choreographer and performer - Alabama native Vanessa Manley is a long-time advocate of arts and has served in the field for more than 15 years. With diverse experiences in organizational development, artist’s services, community organizing, touring, and arts administration, her professional exposure is very broad. Training and performing at the University of Alabama’s Department of Theatre and Dance, Harvard University, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Martha Graham, and Urban Bush Women prepared her to dedicate her artistic career to working in community based settings.
Clay Spurz (The Bee Man) writes for and performs with Cold Soup Dinner Theatre, The Band of Desperate Men, Old Enough to Know Better, Spurz & Son, and Prophet in the Park.
The Flowers - Dancing Flowers for Peace
LESLY Fredman (Sunflower), I’m the managing and artistic director of Theatre on the Prowl. I’ve been creating theatre in Atlanta for over 30 years and was one of the organizers of two city-wide performance festivals. Most recent theatrical adventures include producing the Cold Soup Dinner Theatre and the Valentine Follies. I have my own creativity coaching practice, Presence, and also teach improvisation.
Before co-founding the Dancing Flowers for Peace, I had only taken tap dancing lessons and a few ballroom classes. Having a spine that is fused from the top of my neck through the middle of my back and a curve in my lower back (I was a Rubella baby, born with scoliosis), I do not bend easily in any direction—but when there’s music I’ll stay out on the dance floor for hours moving whatever parts I can manage to move!
LORI Teague (Orchid), I have been teaching the possibilities of movement exploration and creativity to children and adults since 1986. For me, life is mostly about possibility and authenticity. When I was four, learning to dance on stage, I was costumed as a fluffy duck. Don’t you think that is a good jumping off point? Earning a Masters in choreography, working with extraordinary artists in the field, and performing continues to offer exchange and balance in a world that gets “out of whack” a lot. I desperately need my moving voice to expose my truths and curiosities. In my fifteenth year at Emory, I feel privileged to facilitate movement as a means of knowing from the inside out.
NOËL Marts (Pansy), My performing career started with a pink tutu and twirls around the living room with my best friend Nancy when we were seven years old. After that, it was hula, square dancing, and piano lessons; even though I was positive my future stardom lay in tap, ballet, and baton twirling. When the Vietnam War started grabbing up my friends, I decided to learn about how the world works. From there … protests, communes, study groups, feminism, labor and community organizing, working at a “real” job in corporate America for 21 years, performing (Lesly and I go a long way back), family, dealing with menopause, writing, painting, retirement/consulting, and now back around to protests and performance. The Dancing Flowers for Peace has been a transforming experience for me emotionally, politically, physically, and spiritually; and is helping me to glimpse how living with inner and outer peace might be.
ALISON Mawle (Lily of the Valley) is a British transplant who is now firmly rooted in Atlanta. I discovered improv as a member of the Outrageous Women while living in San Diego, and I was involved in Atlanta’s first improv comedy club – the Next City Comedy Theater. I have been an activist for the environment and for peace all my adult life, starting with Friends of the Earth in London, where we campaigned against nuclear weapons and opened up old bomb sites for people to grow their own food, through Beyond War to the Rainbow Warrior Club. The lily of the valley grew in my grandmother’s garden, and that small persistent flower with its outrageous scent never fails to remind me of her. Dancing with the Flowers opens my heart and takes me back to my roots.
JANET-Nurah Dennis (Morning Glory), a native of Detroit and long term Atlanta resident, I am most at home when amidst the trees or ocean. I have enjoyed dance, movement and music all of my life as a way to self-express and to help create harmony and balance in my body and spirit. I am a mother, grandmother, and literacy educator.
LEILA L'Abate (Rose) is a long-time activist for peace and justice, inspired by Quakers since her early twenties to combine spirituality with social activism. She has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes to make our world better. A poet and Shamanic singer, she has used these gifts to inspire spirit and activism in others. She is a single mother of Alessandra, age 7.
LYNN Hesse (Dandelion) A retired police officer, the dandelion thrives in challenging environments and enjoys creating sacred dance pieces and writing mystery tales. Grounded through yoga, gardening and family, she frequently develops little expeditions for her grandchildren. Her daughter, Rebecca, age 28, and her son, Aaron, age 36, can't come on these "grandchildren adventures." She is married to a fireman, Mr. Dean, and they live in Stone Mountain,Ga.
MAGGIE Turlington (Aerial Orchid), I joined DFFP because I love to dance, and I stay active in it because I like creating new pieces, being with my fellow buds, and the dance workout. In addition to liking many types of dance, I enjoy singing, bird watching, journal writing, fitness, and attending Emory events. I enjoy being an aerial orchid, because I am invited to climb, balance, be graceful, and wind like a vine.
MARIE Carrera (Daisy) I’ve had a passion for dance since I was a child, and I have danced---both physically and mentally---my whole life. Movement brings me great joy. Most importantly, the more I dance the more I feel at peace. Dancing and peace go hand-in-hand for me, and my life is richer and more fun for being able to combine two of my full-time loves through my involvement with the Dancing Flowers for Peace. In addition to dancing and being a proponent for peace, I’m an occasional cook, designer, Bunco player, flower arranger, joke teller, art critic, organizer, contractor, party-planner and all-around family drill sergeant.
RANDY Hyman (Lehua), knew from the day she was born in Long Beach, NY, that she was a Dancing Flower. Just one all-too-short Hawaiian vacation revealed her to be a lehua flower, perfect complement to her secret identify as senior attorney for the Federal Aviation Administration. She's lived in New York, New England, briefly in Michigan and France (never met the Coneheads), and Atlanta (15 years), doing bunches of different things in each place. But fat or thin, always dancing!
SANDRA Hughes (Blue Lotus), I'm a professional performer, director, choreographer and writer as well as the Producing Artistic Director of Gateway Performance Productions www.masktheatre.org and the founder of The Bee Project www.thebeeproject.org. My background includes the creation of productions for an ongoing Peace Process Project in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2000-2006 and focus on planetary healing and sustainability at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland.
My initiation into The Dancing Flowers for Peace began at a workshop that led to an ongoing process of transformation into the Blue Lotus inspired by my friend Michael Birnbaum's flower and bee nature photography and the magic of our Saturday rehearsals. The creation of new performance work with this funny, serious, environmentally conscious, peace loving, group of dancing women over 40 is a treasured and unexpected development in my life.
TAYLOR St. Clair (Coneflower), actress/artist/teacher, has varied interests including French, Qi Gong/Tai Chi, gardening, and mystery novels. Taylor has lived in Atlanta since 1975 and resides in Avondale Estates with George D. Nikas and Shorn, the 3 1/2 year old dog.