Plays Presented Recently at the EXIT

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Over 600 performances are presented each year at the EXIT's four venues: EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, EXIT Cafe, and EXIT on Taylor.
The following is a list performances during and before 2001.

2001
THE WHISTLEAIRES BIG CHRISTMAS SPECIAL by Whistlin' Phil and Toots Romyn.
Chistmas stars "The Whistleaires" shower you with all the gifts of the Holiday Variety Show Season in their Fourth Annual, Big Christmas Special - featuring Santa, happy elves, dancing reindeer and puppets, plus Special Guests, music, magic and more! So pull up a chair, grab a cup of cheer, put a little elf on your knee… The Whistleaires' Big Christmas Show is Here!! Still more fun than a Fruitcake! Christmas never tasted so good! THE AUDIENCE IS IN FOR SOME SERIOUS FUN.- Oakland Tribune. Directed by Meredith Eldred; With Libby Cox, Thessaly Lerner, Dave Malloy, Eric Nelson, Mark Romyn, Nari Tomassetti and Phil Worman. MEDIA. EXIT Theatre - 8PM THU-SAT, NOV 30 - DEC 15, PREVIEW: THU, NOV 29. $12-$18 sliding scale, Preview Tix (NOV 29), $10. Reservations: 415.673.3847; Tickets available at Tix Bay Area at Union Square or, TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE CLICK HERE.

HOTEL BETHLEHEM by Tom W. Kelly and Timothy Bryant. Sick & tired of Tiny Tim? Wanna crack The Nutcracker where it counts? Isis Arts Collective prescribes a perfectly hilarious, one-night vacation remedy for the Holiday Blues... Check into the HOTEL BETHLEHEM! The full-length Bible farce, that is! For 2,000 years you've heard about a certain stable in Bethlehem. But... what on earth was going on in that overcrowded hotel that turned away the Holy Family? And, given all that "Divine Retribution" in the Bible... could the inhospitable inn escape unsmited? Will anyone survive the heavenly wrath, or do they all spiral to their ultimate destruction? Co-written by IAC Resident Playwright Tom W. Kelly and Timothy Bryant, HOTEL BETHLEHEM is a high-energy romp through that not-so-silent night! Directed by IAC Founding Artistic Director and Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab Alumnus Mike Ward (Counting the Ways, Love! Labour! Loss!, and Three Tall Women). MEDIA. EXIT On Taylor - 8PM THU-SAT, NOV 29 - DEC 15. $20, $15 for seniors, students and Theatre Bay Area members with I.D, $5-$20 sliding scale for the Preview on Thursday, November 29. TICKETS ONLINE: www.ticketweb.com. Reservations: 415.863.7707

ARE YA WORKING? THE RANTS OF A POST-INDUSTRIAL HYBRID Written and Performed by Steven Karwoski. This Polish/Irish American distills twenty years of schlepping in the trenches of the working world into one hilarious hour of stories, poems and rants. Come see the Uber Schlepper turned poet, prophet and performer. And all for only tener! MEDIA. EXIT Cafe - 8:30PM THU-SAT, NOV 29 - DEC 15. $10. Reservations: 415.673.3847 TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE CLICK HERE.

NINE ONE ONE, by Crowded Fire, Unconditional Theatre, Rebecca Salzer Dance Theater, Forced Perspective, The She, Poor Monk, and EXIT Theatre. A group of San Francisco artists responds to the attacks of September 11 in an effort to enrich the public dialogue surrounding terrorism and the U.S. response. The project is a collaboration of more than thirty San Francisco writers, directors, choreographers, dancers, puppeteers, actors, and visual artists, presenting a diverse range of personal and political perspectives on the current terrorist crisis. This group believes that artists can serve the community during a time of national crisis by offering work that expands individual thinking and enriches community dialogue. All artists involved are donating their time, and many arts groups are donating space or other resources to the project. The evening will be composed of many short, linked segments of dance, puppetry, theatrical scenes and images, video, and still projections. There will also be an opportunity for audience members to provide their own personal, creative response to the crisis. Admission to the performance is free; donations will be accepted on behalf of local charities that are addressing the crisis in innovative and constructive ways. One weekend only, THU/FRI/SAT DEC 13-15, 8 PM. EXIT Stage Left, Free or by donation. Reservations 415-437-5527)

OLD MAN McGINTY PRESENTS "DAVID MAMET'S AMERICAN CHRISTMAS AFFAIR (OF AMERICAN CHRISTMASES)." There's no place like home for the holidays -- especially for home-wreckers like Old Man McGinty! Traveling from as far away as New York, Chicago, and Noe Valley to bring their SF fans some yuletide cheer, OM2G unwraps its most bizarre, sharp and savvy show ever on the glorious EXIT Stage Left! Santa and JFK race through time to prevent the assassination of Lincoln, with an unexpected detour in the mind of Chicago's hottest playwright, David Mamet! Will they be in time, or too late, or both? Why are December holidays worldwide being replaced by American Christmases? And what would a holiday show be without Professor Deebles? The cross-country comedy team of OM2G weaves a whacked-out narrative through this all-new, uproarious amalgam of sketches, songs and surprises, celebrating the great holiday traditions -- State Fairs, fights over fat, and the Nine Questions of Yoko Ono. Starring Meridith & Christopher Crosley-Kuckenbaker, Ryan Gowland, Sean Owens, Heather Peroni and Michelle Talgarow. EXIT Stage Left - 8PM THUR, DEC 6; 8PM & 10PM FRI/SAT, DEC 7-8. Tickets $12-20 sliding scale. Info/Reserv-o-matic: 415.255.2066 TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE CLICK HERE.

The EXIT and Black Box Theatre Present The Playwright's Performance Lab Showcase III (in 3D). 8 short pieces in one evening Staged readings of new work by new playwrights. PLAYWRIGHTS: Trevor Allen, Alicia Dattner, Jay Levin, Chris Mc Neil, Nick Sholley, Ken Slattery, Jim Strope, Donna Trousdale DIRECTORS: Trevor Allen, Lisa Giglio, Carl Thelin, Matthew Quinn, Tom Parker, Christopher Jenkins, Jonathan Luskin, Dawson Moore DEC 10 @ 8pm. EXIT Theatre $5-10 (sliding scale) at the door. 415.753.8709, or visit www.blackboxtheatre.com

SHOCKTOBERFEST!! 2001: CARNIVAL OF HALLUCINATIONS by Thrillpeddlers. Grand Guignol returns to San Francisco in Thrillpeddlers' third annual pageant of terror and titillation, SHOCKTOBERFEST!! This year's edition features Three-Super-Shock-Shows-In-One, including the U.S. premiere of two horror plays from the original Theatre du Grand Guignol repertoire. SEE: Slave maidens at the mercy of hideous beasts in "Maker of Monsters." SEE: What the S.F. Opera doesn't dare to show you. "The Torture of Cavaradossi." SEE: Deranged spirits from beyond the grave in "Kiss of Blood." -- WE CAN'T ADVERTISE what happens when the lights go out. but, OH MY GOODNESS. something you never dreamed you'd see! -- PLUS: The return of the Barefoot Beauties (Twenty Toes. twenty reasons to sit in the front row). The S.F. Weekly called last year's Shocktoberfest!! "The best Halloween experience this year" and "uproariously twisted." DON'T MISS OUT! Seating is extremely limited. SISSIES STAY HOME! EXIT Theatre - 8PM THU/FRI/SAT OCT 4 - NOV 10 (Tickets: $18. 415-820-1400 or www.thrillpeddlers.com)

FORTY NINE MILES by Trevor Allen. The Forty-Nine Mile Scenic Drive spirals through the mosaic of different neighborhoods that make up San Francisco, connecting the mansions of Seacliff with the homeless encampments of United Nations Plaza with the ruins of Sutro Baths. Allen's script explores the intersections and boundaries of cultures, races, and classes via this imaginary forty-nine mile path that runs through the city and ultimately celebrates the optimism (or madness) needed to live life along a fault line. Please join us for this world premiere. EXIT On Taylor - 8PM FRI/SAT OCT 5-NOV 10. (Box Office 415-675-5995 or www.crowdedfire.org.)

KILLING STALIN by Lee Kiszonas, directed by Jo Lenhart. Set is WWII Lithuania, KILLING STALIN tells the story of a team of telepaths who have been imprisoned in a remote castle and trained to use psychic warfare in a mission to assisinate Stalin. The mission becomes complicated by rape, a multiple personality, murder and mayhem. Mystery, mistrust, intrique and passion erupt as these eight individuals struggle to control their fears and suspicions while maintaining the teams's unity in preparation of their deadly raid. Chameleon Theatre Company. EXIT Stage Left. 8PM FRI/SAT OCT 5 - NOV 10

THE ORIGINAL ACTION PACK Goes for the Gold!! Join OAP, pronounced Whap, not Ope, for a thrilling evening of daring and often ridiculous, improvisational comedy. Award-winning OAP (including a Petaluma Chili-Cook-Off blue-ribbon) has been astounding audiences throughout the Bay Area with for several years with their spontaneous,& clever adventures into the unknown....OAP described by Ice Cream flavor and clown, Wavy Gravy: "A generous dollop and winning wallop of an off-the-top-pop-of-Fun for the whole family!" The Original Action Pack is Cass & Jeff Brown, Kurtis & Kellee Bedford, Thessaly Lerner, Rami Margron, Peter Parish, Jasper Thelin & Willie Fleischman! www.originalactionpack.com EXIT Cafe 8:30PM FRI/SAT NOV 2 - 3 (Tickets $10 Reservations: 415-789-8370)

WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP with playwright/performer Wendy Weiner. This workshop is for people who want to write a play or solo piece and don’t know how to start—or for those who need inspiration to keep writing a piece they’ve already begun. In a supportive atmosphere, you will learn writing exercises to generate new material, create and shape characters, and develop dialogue. Wendy Weiner, whose play "Give Me Shelter" was published in the book "Women Playwrights: Best Plays of 1998," utilizes exercises she has developed from her own writing and performing experience, as well as those learned while studying with award-winning playwrights Maria Irene Fornes, James Lecesne, and Octavio Solis. Writers and performers at all levels welcome. Wendy Weiner’s theater pieces include the plays "Liquid Identity" and "My Gay Neighbor" and solo pieces "Defying Freud," "Searching for the ’60s," and "Give Me Shelter." "Give Me Shelter" was awarded "Best of the Fringe" at both the New York and San Francisco Fringe Festivals, and was published in the book "Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998." Weiner also wrote and performed with Kinda Personal, the sketch comedy group of Obie-winning New Georges theater company, for four years. Her current writing projects include "Great Highway," a full-length play she is cowriting with Octavio Solis. Weiner was the Play Editor of "American Theatre" magazine for four years and is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. SAT OCT 13 1-5PM EXIT Theatre. To register and/or for more information, call (510) 465-7494 or e-mail wendyweiner@hotmail.com.

BEST OF THE 10TH ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE FESTIVAL. Ten performances, representing a sampler of the 10th annual SF Fringe, will be remounted on Friday and Saturday. SEP 28 & 29. For discriptions of the performances CLICK HERE.

10th ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE FESTIVAL. For the 10th consecutive year, the San Francisco Fringe Festival presents over 250 performances by more than fifty different groups during the eleven day festival. The non-curated Fringe Festival accepted applications in February. Local performers were selected through a public lottery, national and international performers were accepted on a "first-come, first-accepted" basis. Performances are at the EXIT venues at Eddy & Taylor Streets and at the Phoenix II upstairs and downstairs theaters on Geary between Jones & Leavenworth (all within walking distance in downtown San Francisco). There will also be "Bring Your Own Venue" productions at The Marsh and New College in the Mission district. No ticket is over $8 and there are no advance ticket sales, ticket goes on sale 30 minutes before show time. Complete descriptions of the shows and schedule will be on the website this summer. EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, EXIT on Taylor, Phoenix II Upstairs, Phoenix II Downstairs. SEP 6 - 16, 2001. Shows all day Saturdays and Sundays, evenings Monday through Friday.

A SIXTH OF STREETCAR, a benefit for the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Six directors, in their individual styles, each present ten minutes inspired by A Streetcar Named Desire. Over the hour you'll see an inspired work like you've never seen before, and this great fun benefits the San Francisco Fringe Festival. @EXIT Theatre, 8PM THU/FRI/SAT AUG 23, 24, 25. (Tickets $20, call 415-673-3847)TICKETS ONLINE .

ALL IN THE TIMING by David Ives This critically acclaimed, award-winning evening of comedies combines wit, intellect, satire and just plain fun. The world according to David Ives is a very odd place, and his plays constitute a virtual stress test of the English language--and of the audience's capacity for disorientation and delight. The writing is not only very funny, it has the density of thought and precision of poetry...David Ives spins hilarity out of words...this is theatre that aerobicizes the brain and tickles the heart. OneHeart Productions is a newly formed non profit production company committed to exploring the truth of the human experience through theater, film, and educational workshops. The cast includes: Gillian Brecker, Mario Callitzin, Vlad Komanovsky, Chaia Milstein, Greg Raffelson, Lisa Ricci and Tina Walsch. REVIEWS @EXIT on Taylor, 8PM FRI/SAT JUL 13 - AUG 18. (Tickets $15, 415-778-4050 for reservations. For more information about the company, visit http://www.oneheartproductions.com.)

PLAYWRIGHTS PERFORMANCE LAB with Trevor Allen & Robert C. Barker. PERFORMANCE OF PLAY LAB WORKS 8PM AUG 17. Tired of writing in a vacuum? Want to see your scenes on their feet? Want to see your work on a stage? Want actors reading your work? The Playwrights Performance Lab, taught by Trevor Allen and Robert C. Barker, is geared toward the developing playwright and solo performer. This weekly scene lab focuses on getting your work on its feet DURING script development-unlike many workshops which focus on the work after it's been written. You'll also get intensive writing exercises designed to generate new work and expand works-in-progress. The lab culminates in a showcase of your work on the EXIT stage by Bay Area theatre professionals. Trevor Allen: MFA Playwriting, SFSU. Awards include "Best of the San Francisco Fringe Festival" and PlayGround's Emerging Playwrights Award. He has been commissioned by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival's educational touring program. His "49 Miles" will be produced by Crowded Fire at EXIT Theatre in October. Robert C. Barker: MFA Playwriting, SFSU. Awards include PlayGround's Emerging Paywrights Awards, and he was a finalist in Actor's Theatre of Louiseville's Ten-Minute Play Competition. His plays have been produced and developed by the Magic Theatre, EXIT Theatre, and Playwrights Horizons in New York City. MONDAYS 7-10PM JUN 4 - AUG 6 EXIT Theatre. $5-$10 sliding scale for playwrights, actors free. For more information, call (415) 753-8709. Or visit www.blackboxtheatre.com PERFORMANCE OF PLAY LAB WORKS 8PM AUG 17

OLD MAN McGINTY'S "THE (FUNNY PLACE FOR A HYPHEN) WEDDING SHOW". McGINTY Bells are ringing for Old Man McGinty's one-night-only performance: The (Funny Place For A Hyphen) Wedding Show! When two become one, do five become four? That's the question on everyone's lips as Old Man McGinty cheapens the sanctity of marriage with this best-ever evening of sketch comedy. On the eve of their nuptuals, mega-comedy super-swingers Christopher Kuckenbaker and Meridith Crosley unite once more with ultra-single, confirmed old yuksters Ryan Gowland, Michelle Talgarow and Sean Owens for an evening of hilarity guaranteed to upset the in-laws! If you've never seen the once-eligible Old Man McGinty, this is your last chance before 40% of them tie the knot! Tomorrow, you'll throw rice-- tonight, bring tomatoes. ONE NIGHT ONLY-- first five patrons sleep with the bride! (Everybody else gets the groom, same as always.) 8PM SAT AUG 18 EXIT THEATRE Suggested Donation $10 - $20. Call 415-255-2066

LONELY PLANET by Steven Dietz, directed by John Warren. This ode to Ionesco's classic The Chairs follows the exploits of two everyday philosophers trapped in a map store. It is an exquisite tale of an unconvential friendship between two men who face the AIDS crisis in deeply personal and disarming ways. Winner of the PEN USA West Literary Award in Drama, Lonely Planet celebrates the lies we tell and the love that lives behind them. "Dietz"s writing dazzles as it swoops from the mundane to the poetic." -- Village Voice. Featuring Michael Patrick Gaffney & Ian McConnel. A co-production by Unconditional Theatre & EXIT Theatre. REVIEWS. @EXIT Theatre, 8PM, Preview THU JUL 12 then FRI/SAT EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST 11 and MON JUL 30. (Tickets $12 - $18 sliding scale, call 415-673-3847) TICKETS ONLINE:

BETTER DAYS by Gillian Chadsey. A theatrical journey through the Great Depression in search
of hope adapted from transcripts collected by the Federal Writer's Project and woven together with traditional folk music and a unique physical score. Told through a series of vignettes and short scenes, Better Days follows the lives of two families: the Tillers, who lose their farm to crop failure; and the Butlers whose lives unravel with the crash of 1929. Their stories are illuminated and amplified through the lives of others: a flapper at a marathon dance contest, a young family travelling the railroads, a carnival barker who sells his wares at an Arkansas pecan farm, the work songs of a chain gang, and a philosophizing apple seller. Seven actors portray some 23 characters encompassing the many walks of life during the Great Depression. Better Days , the debut production of The Train Station's Theatre Lab.
Incorporating physical techniques developed through The Train Station: an actor's gym (Suzuki, Biomechanics, clowning, Viewpoints and others) with the elements of devising new work, Better Days, directed by Kent Nicholson,
embodies this trying time. Where does the hope lie in the face of adversity? This ongoing search for an answer breathes the timeless story of the human experience. Whether it be today or 1930, we struggle amidst loss and forge for a better day...we are living history.Written by Gillian Chadsey and adapted by the ensemble. Directed by Kent
Nicholson with Gillian Chadsey, Meridith Crosley, Patrick McCracken, John Nahigian, Heather Peroni, Michelle Talgarow, and David Tannenbaum; Music director- Clive Worsely, Dramaturge - Danielle Nathinson, Costumes- Valera Coble, Stage Manager - Kanika Kapoor. REVIEWS. @Exit Stage Left 8PM FRI/SAT JUL 13 - AUG 11 and MON JUL 23 & 30. @EXIT Stage Left, 8PM FRI/SAT JUL 13 - AUG 11 and MON JUL 23 & 30. (Tickets $15, call 415-701-1542)

MANIFEST: THE BATTLE OF INTERGALACTIC FARCES written and performed by Serene Zloof, directed by Emily Ehrlich Inget. A one hour mind-bending journey, and was last performed at the New College Theatre in May 2001. Set within a comic tone of spiritual parody and hip-hop lyricism, this play explores the issues of worship and manifestation, with a media twist. Can we become our own gods and create our own rich fables? Or is Free Will just a sham that keeps us under the thumb of Intergalactic Farces? Only time and space will tell. @EXIT Cafe 8:30PM JUL 28 - AUG 11 (Box Office 415-285-5275)

STAGE TIME (For A Buck!) an informal series of stage readings at EXIT Café will continue on through August 2001. Originally scheduled on Wednesday nights in March during EXIT Theatre's Tuesday-Wednesday Absurdist Season, STAGE TIME will move to prime time on Friday nights June 29, July 27 at 8:30 PM. Co-curators Meredith Eldred and Jason Ries open up the toddlin' EXIT Café and let the kids play. From 8:30 to 10:00 the Café stage will get live with selected shorts and new scripts, spoken word and performance work in development. Every night ends with the Pretzel Round, with short open mic presentations. Come join in the fun and perform, present, discuss or just kick back with a little food and drink and watch it all go down - all for just a buck!

BIOMECHANICS INTENSIVE WITH GENNADI BOGDANOV. Master Teacher Gennadi Bogdanov from GITIS , The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow, will return to the Bay Area to teach a two week Theatrical Biomechanics intensive. Bogdanov developed his methods through extensive study with Nikolai Kustov, actor and teacher in Meyerhold's theatre. Mr. Bogdanov regularly teaches in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Israel. He was honored in 1997 at Eugenio Barba's World Theatre Conference in Europe. Biomechanics is a system of rigorous actor training, devised by Vsevolod Meyerhold in revolutionary Russia, strongly influenced by commedia dell’arte, Chinese and Japanese theater, clowning and circus acrobatics. His developments in training and performance helped pave the way for Brecht, Eisenstein, Grotowski and others. Biomechanics is a means of training the actor’s (1) balance and physical control, (2) rhythmic awareness, (3) and responsiveness to ones partners, audience, and external stimuli. recommended for theatre artists, teachers, students, directors and choreographers.JUL 16- JUL 27 MON - FRI 10AM - 5PM EXIT on Taylor. $650 For more information call The Train Station, an actor’s gym at 415.701.1542 or email: theactorsgym@hotmail.com.

ARE YA WORKING? RANTS OF A POST-INDUSTRIAL HYBRID: by Steven Karwoski This Polish/Irish American Post-Industrial Hybrid offers insight from the trenches of the working world with rants and raves about jobs past, present and future. Some he loved, some he hated, all were entertaining, including everything from too many years schlepping in the restaurant industry to his post-graduate truck-driving career. Be warned he's known to throw in a poem or two. EXIT Café Fri & Sat July 13-21 at 8:30pm (Tickets $5, 415-673-3847)

DER ALICE EFFEKT by Clark Morgan Visitations from a neophyte Ghost, her actor-husband's sleazy agents, and Bertolt Brecht himself do not make it any easier for Alice to hold on to her soul in this new comedy from playwright Clark Morgan (TREACHERY - "Best of Fringe 2000"). A damn funny play about love, theater, Mormons in crisis and the people who marry them. EXIT Stage Left FRI/SAT 8:00PM Previews June 1-2 $5-10 sliding scale, Run continues June 8-July 7 $10-15 sliding scale. (Reservations and information: 415.262.0300)

"LADIES & GENTLEMEN, THE OPPOSITE SEX ... ENTERS" a festival of short plays about what the opposite sex does to, well, the opposite sex. Two men stand at the watercooler talking when a woman joins the conversation. Suddenly, everything’s different. Posture. Words. Even the sound of the voice. Ah, the effect of the opposite sex. Six Bay Area Playwrights explore the relationships between men and women in an evening that reveals how we see each other - and ourselves - no matter what our gender. Last year’s show was called “an engaging and worthwhile experiment in new writing” by BackStage West. This year's writers include Cameron Galloway, Kat Koppett, Daniele Nathanson, Michael O’Brien, Eric Schniewind and Malachy Walsh. Presented by the Iron Workers Local 202 Theatre Co. REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre FRI/SAT 8PM JUN 8 - JUL 7, $12-15 sliding scale. (Reservations: 415-648-4335)

2001 STUDENT SHOWCASE: ACTOR'S CENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO. Shelley Mitchell, Artistic Director. Info: www.theactorscenter-sf.com. FRI/SAT 8PM JUL 6-7 EXIT ON TAYLOR. (Tickets 415-389-6429).

GOGOL adapted by Jason Craig and Sean Owens. Novelist Nikolai Gogol had a nose, owned an overcoat and was undoubtedly a madman. Celebrating this is GOGOL, his three famous short stories adapted by awardwinning playwrights Jason Craig and Sean Owens. With rich, rusty music and a labrinth of clowns, kings and ghosts, GOGOL tracks muddy foorprints across the pristine EXIT on Taylor. directed by Merdith Eldred. music by Dave Malloy. REVIEWS EXIT on Taylor. JUN 8 - JUN 30.

UTILITIES by George McKibbens A quiet one-bedroom on a side street in the Mission is for rent at a good price, but can't seem to find any takers. Sometimes it's not enough to have the first and last month and deposit; not enough to have a job, references, good credit. Sometimes the landlord requires something altogether different. Something unusual and unexpected. Disturbing even. You never know what you'll discover behind a strange door. But a person has to live somewhere, and some notions might not be as odd as they seem. How far will a person go to find a place to live?
With language and image as now as the minute, Utilities is an extended riff on the hazards of simply finding oneself a living space. In hilarious phone conversations that spotlight individual characters, the story unfolds in an eerie, sharp and surreal way, focusing on the comic elements in this gothic scenario. Utilities involves a disturbed landlord and the procession of would-be tenants who seek him out--a stand-up comic, a disc jockey, a near-psychotic political activist, a misguided Mexican dot-comer, a blues musician and a lovely law student from Northern England who somehow ended up a professional stripper. Author McKibbens performs all the roles in a driving, 40-minute tour de force. Seating is limited at the intimate Exit Theatre Café. Reservations are highly recommended. EXIT Cafe FRI/SAT 8:30PM June 1-16 (Reservations 415.776.7427)

ANGRY IN PARIS! by Cameron Galloway and THE IDIOT CLIENT by Michael O'Brien. Two comic monologists, one male and one female, present life from their unique perspectives in these quirky works in progress. In Michael O'Brien's "The Idiot Client", one man grapples with the unexplainable, not to mention the incredibly perplexing. Next is Cameron Galloway's "Angry in Paris!" - Take that Michel Foucault! But kiss me first! Some reviews of previous work: "Rich servings of humor, " says SF Examiner. "A gift for honest observation," says SF Bay Guardian. "Sleeper hit of the 2000 Fringe Festival" says SF Weekly. "A hymn to following your individual muse no matter how quirky she may be" says SF Bay Guardian. TWO NIGHTS ONLY! FRI JUN 1 and SAT JUN 2. 8PM. $8. Call 415-387-3163 for reservations.

DIMLY PRECEIVED THREATS TO THE SYSTEM by Jon Klein Directed by Debbie Lynn Carriger. Original music by Ken Kearney. "Here's a play whose point about fractured families goes to the heart, mind--and ears."--The Washington Post. "a...comedy about a family on the verge of a nervous breakdown....Trenchant and
hilarious...." --The Baltimore Sun. "...Jon Klein's very dark, very trenchant and very funny comedy about family
life...[is] a wonderfully quirky and novel look at the American family's disarray and dissolution...Klein's tone...is steeped in dark humor, inviting us to laugh at despair even as we recognize the shards of truth running through it.... What makes THREATS so thoroughly enjoyable are the flights of fancy, desire and fear that...envelop its characters." --The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Produced by Ambit Theatre Company, the cast includes Angela Anderson, Carol
Flanagan, Tom Juarez, John Kovacevich, Bob Lieberman, Riki Lindhome and Sondra Putnam. REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre FRI/SAT APR 20 - MAY 26 8PM Tickets $17 ($12 students, seniors & TBA members) The April 21st performance benefits Hamilton Family Center and all tickets for this performance are $25 (no discounts).(Reservations 415-440-4913) TICKETS ONLINE:

TWO BY SEA: Life Under Water by Richard Greenberg and Finding the Sun by Edward Albee. Two one-act plays about love and loss, family and chaos, both set on idyllic seashores where the sun and the water meet to create spare and lovely dramatic prose against the most elemental of human emotions. Life Under Water by Richard Greenberg directed by Greg Land, is a startlingly funny and quietly stirring play fromn the author of such critically acclaimed works as Eastern Standard and Three Days of Rain. Young Kip half-heartedly attempts to run away from his stifling, somewhat incestuous, and social-climbing mother. He drunkenly retreats down the beach and into the lives of two young women and discovers that no matter how far down the beach he travels, he is inexorably tangled in his familie's social strata and breezy sexual politics. In Finding the Sun, by Edward Albee directed by Susannah Martin, an average day at the beach turns into family drama as Abigail suspects that her husband Benjamin loves Daniel in spite of Daniel's marriage to Cordelia, Daniel's sister by marriage. Ex-lovers? Sister by marriage? Confused yet? Against the undertow of marital discord, Cordelia's mother Gertrude, an Daniel's father Henden, attempt to provide ballast if not comp[ass for their wayward family. A kaleidoscopic view of passion, bitterness, loss, resentment, and dark humor, written by the inimitable author of such masterpieces as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Three Tall Women. Produced by Paducah Mining Company. REVIEWS. EXIT Stage Left. Preview April 20, Gala Opening APR 21, runs FRI/SAT APR 27 - MAY 26. Tickets $15 (Preview "pay-what-you can", Gala APR 21 $25)(Reservations: 415-285-4319).

PLAYWRIGHTS PERFORMANCE LAB SHOWCASE
Monday, May 21 at 8:00pm, Exit Stage Left. Staged readings of new work by various local playwrights. A showcase of works in progress from the Playwrights Performance Lab
Playwrights and pieces: (In alphabetical order): Trevor Allen, "49 miles"; Robert Barker, "Escape Artists"; Donna Trousdale Berry, "Findamate.com"; Mark Cozad, "Hands and Voices"; Jay Levin, "Family History"; Greg Nott, "Tenderfoot and the Gutter Guru"; Jim Strope, "Radius of Trust".
Directors: Trevor Allen, Robert Barker, Jay Levin, Joshua Marchesi, Rob Melrose, Dawson Moore, Carl Thelin
Cost: $5 at the doorpresented by Exit Theatre and Black Box Theatre Company
@ Exit Stage Left MON MAY 21 8PM $5 at the door for more Information Call: (415) 753-8709 or vist http://www.blackboxtheatre.com

IO - PRINCESS OF ARGOS - LIVE AT THE EXIT STAGE LEFT! Art Street Theatre's new musical cabaret by Marci Karr and Mark Jackson. Exiled from Argos by her father, seduced by Zeus, turned into a cow, and with a stinging fly locked in her skull, Io wanders mad across the desert and sings about it all in a hallucinated, cabaret oasis. Art Street Theatre (Messenger #1, Bang!, R&J, "Best Experimental Theatre Company, 2000" - SF Weekly) is proud to present this new cabaret musical, their first show for 2001. Performed by: Beth Wilmurt, with Kevin Clarke, Loren Nordlund* and Janet Roitz; Book, Lyrics, and Direction: Mark Jackson; Music & Lyrics:Marci Karr; Muscial Direction: David Babich; Dance Choreography: Chris Black; Sound Design Jake Rodriguez. Tickets $10-$20 sliding scale. MORE ABOUT ART STREET THEATRE & IO. REVIEWS -- "An Absolute Triumph" EXIT Stage Left. Fri/Sat March 9 to April 14. Added shows Mondays April 2 & 9. All shows 8:00pm. Call (415) 751-5922 for info.

LOVE! LABOUR! LOSS!: COUNTING THE WAYS by Edward Albee, "a clever and touching duet", along with POINTS OF VIEW, "a one-act deconstruction of relationships" by Tom W. Kelly, and DECAF, "a short but bittersweet exploration of love and loss" by Mike Ward. Directed by Mike Ward with Danielle Thys, Leo Lawhorn, Russ Duffy, Micaelee Ellswythe and Zanne Gerrard. Presented by Isis Arts Collective. REVIEWS. Tickets $15 ($10 students, seniors, TBA members, FRI MAR 16 = Pay-What-You-Can-Night,) EXIT Theatre. Previews MAR 9, Opens Mar 10 then FRI/SAT 8PM through APR 14. MON APR 2 Benefit for Theatre Bay Area's Lemonade Fund for critically ill theater works (Benefit Tickets $20) Reservations: 415-626-2665.

STAGE TIME: Wednesday evenings during the Absurdist Season EXIT gives you STAGE TIME (for a Buck!). Co-curators Meredith Eldred and Jason Ries open up the toddlin' EXIT Café and let the kids play. From 7:30 to 9:30, the Café stage will get live with selected shorts of new scripts, spoken words and performance work in development. Come join in the fun and perform, present, discuss or just kick back with a little food and drink and watch it all go down - all for just a buck! Featured playwrights include: March 21: Trevor Allen and Cameron Galloway, March 28: Steven Karwoski and Malachy Walsh, April 4: Jason Craig and Sean Owens, April 11: Gillian Chadsey and Clark Morgan. Tickets: $1.

VINCENZIA'S TALKING MACHINE by Erica Blue. A love story, a tragedy, an unveiling of the human imagination and a magical surreal encounter with the super natural. Using text excerpts from Italo Calvino, images from the Decameron, classic Italian erotica, and inspiration from Felini, Erica Blue unfolds a tale of solitude, depicting a young imprisoned woman. Having disgraced her family she is cloistered away, to live alone in a room, for what seems an eternity. Her hope for escape has left her. As she moves even more inward she begins to reveal a world far more compelling than the bland reality of captivity. When she receives the talking machine, things happen. Occasional visitations and magical occurrences manifest themselves, as it becomes clear to her that she carries something quite miraculous within her. This new work, half in Italian half English, depicts aspects of early Italian American's struggle with scandal, the power of Mal Occio (The Evil Eye), Catholic mysticism. Part of EXIT Theatre's DISCOVER Series and Absurdist Season 2001. Tickets: $12. REVIEWS. EXIT Stage Left. Previews TUE/WED 7PM MAR 20 & 21; runs TUE/WED 7PM MAR 27 - APR 11. Tickets $12 (previews $10) Reservations: 415-673-3847. TICKETS ONLINE:

MARISOL by Jose Rivera. This fierce and funny work from celebrated playwright Jose Rivera (Cloud Tectonics, References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot) asks the question: What if our guardian angels waged a war in Heaven against a senile old God who is "dying and taking the rest of us with him?" Marisol tackles spiritual crisis, social issues, American angst at the turn of the Millennium and new visions of a hopeful future. Incorporating a bold and daring "magical realism" style, this play contains some of the most powerful and original writing in modern America theater. Directed by Jonathan Gonzalez with Cat Thompson, Kathleen Antonia, Jan Rogge, Anna Maria Luera, & Francis McGuire. Part of Absurdist Season 2001. Tickets: $12. REVIEWS. EXIT Theatre. Previews TUE/WED 7PM MAR 20 & 21; runs TUE/WED 7PM MAR 27 - APR 11. Tickets $12 (previews $10) Reservations: 415-673-3847. TICKETS ONLINE:

JUMP by Nena St. Louis -- an autobiographical work-in-progress dealing with mental illness which began in childhood with depression and auditory hallucinations. After five years of childhood depression, when Nena was eight, she began hearing a voice in the back of her head which took up permanent residence. JUMP is an opportunity for Nena to entertain the general public and repay all of those whose lives were ruined by bad psychotropic drugs while the good ones were being invented. There's no mythologizing of mental illness in JUMP -- the mythology which has hurt the mentally ill more than their illnesses have. EXIT Cafe TUE MAR 20 & 27. Tickets $7 (sliding scale for mental health consumers) Shows 7:30PM. Reservations: 415-864-4669.

GIRLESQUE: An Eight-and-a-Half Woman, One-Man Show. "An audacious act of transcendence --- a demonstration of the various, mysterious aspects of love, and an illumination of the power of performance." -- SF Examiner. "One of the best solo performances I've seen to date." -- SF Gate.
With all the pageantry of the Vaudeville stage, Girlesque charts the birth of a new breed of drag queen, through an unforgettable series of monologues and songs. Playwright/performer Sean Owens introduces eight ("and a half") of his most formative female role models, against a glittering music-hall setting. Graced by a score from prominent local composer Don Seaver, Girlesque is a musical kaleidoscope, equal parts confession and critique of what drag aspires to be, and the real-life women that give it depth. From a nightmarish nine-foot nun to Broadway legend Carol Channing, Owens depicts a dizzy and dizzying array of womanly influences with unsentimental irreverence and candor. Following The Big Drag (Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle Award for Best Original Script) and his original musical, Don't Get Up, Girlesque is Owens' fifteenth play, and his first venture into the world of solo performance. He has also been recognized in Playground's Emerging Playwrights Festival, both in 1999 and 2000. Owens and Seaver first met on the set of The Big Drag, under the direction of Meredith Eldred. Together they have also penned the as-yet unproduced cabaret, Bitter Fruit. Funny, caustic, intelligent and outlandish, Girlesque exhibits all the trademark qualities of their collaboration. Libby Cox(director), herself a gifted solo performer, and a frequent conspirator on Owens' past projects, has her directing debut with this loving and laughably 'unladylike' one-man musical. REVIEWS For more info http://www.seanowens.com EXIT Theatre 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, February 9 through March 3, Tickets $15, Reservations: (415) 255-2066 TICKETS ONLINE:

CAFÉ DEPRESSO: Where Prozac, Caffeine and Black Leather Converge by Tom Vegh Directed by Dawson Moore. Toto, we're not in Starbucks anymore! A spitfire real-estate broker, a gay travel agent, a 30-something lesbian with AIDS and a Hungarian engineer are some of your evening's company. This dark comedy follows four San Franciscans in group therapy for depression as they encounter an onslaught of change and surprises.
"...sharp, inventive, intense and very funny...consistently fascinating and energizing..." - KPBS, Public Radio, San Diego "...wickedly funny." - Espresso, San Diego
"...big lightening bolts of humor, fantasy and docudrama." - Union/Tribune, San Diego
Presented by TANTA Productions. REVIEWS. EXIT Stage Left. 8PM FRI/SAT 8PM JAN 26 - MAR 3, and MON FEB 26. Tickets: $15. Reservations: 415-776-7427. Discounts: $5 off with a leather garment or proof of anti-depressant medication through February 10. Students and Seniors receive $3 off at all performances. One discount per ticket. Discounts not available for online ticket orders. TICKETS ONLINE:

NIHILIST LOVE the musical directed by Emily Lou Wilbur. They Met, they fell in love and they screwed it up...Sound familiar? Now add some song and dance numbers and we got ourselves a musical!Marie and Peter are thrown together through fate...or...maybe Cupid Julie Ross is Marie: A charming lass with all the
complexities of a small town beauty contest choregrapher. She's been hurt...who hasn't, right?Brandon Connor is Peter: A sweet writer with a flair for thrifty picnic dates. And, well...he's scared to death. Michelle Bellaver is Cupid: The romantically obsessed love goddess. She'll try anything to get these two to stop screwing up...even big broadway dance numbers.So what do you get when you throw two neurotic humans in a relationship and expect them to stay in love? One hard wokinglittle matchmaker.Come and enjoy Nihilist Love: the musical! But be careful, you just might end up joining in. Feline Productions. EXIT Cafe FRI/SAT 8:30PM FEB 9 - 17.

TRIPTYCH by Michael Mace. Mr. Jo Jo Dorado held up a gunstore at knifepoint. Years later, nine women come together in this black comedy trilogy. Directed by Laura Ellen Smith; with Jean Mullis, Gry Frid-Nielsen, Heather Barberie; Lighting and Sets Jason Ries; Original Musical Triptych by Matt McCleskey & Jason Gonzales. Triptych, in collaboration with Pass the Hat Presents ..., is part of DISCOVER, an EXIT Theatre series of premieres by local writers and performers. MEDIA For more info on Pass The Hats Presents and Triptych: http://www.pass-the-hat.com Preview: THUR JAN 25, runs FRI/SAT JAN 26-FEB 3 all shows 8PM. Tickets $12-$18 sliding scale ($12 preview). EXIT Theatre. Reservations: 415-673-3847.

IT'S THE GODDESS PERLMAN. "I'm a bad mamma jamma, I'm a brick house, I'm a honky tonk woman and I'm letting it all hang out." Goddess Perlman comes all the way from the streets of NYC to the streets of San Francisco. With a voice that won't quit, Perlman is a cross between Bette Midler and Frank Zappa with a touch of Sonny & Cher. Last year, the Goddess released her debut CD, Beating Around the Bush, a mix of funk, jazz and the funny. Her first single "Ode to Ally McBeal" has been featured on over 150+ stations in the US and Canada, including Live 105 and KFOG. Timeout NY calls her "funny and funky", Rockrgrl Magazine raves about the Goddess and Shout Magazine tours it as "the icing on the cake." It's cabaret on the edge. It's performance art gone Broadway. It's Comedy, It's Music, It's Original, It's one funky badass mama. MEDIA FRI/SAT 8:30 PM JAN 26 - FEB 3. EXIT Cafe. Tickets $15. (Reservations: 415-267-5988)

FAIR GAME by John Warren A political consulting firm in the midst of local elections. Backroom deals, illegal break-ins and the Biotic Baking Brigade -- all part of a typical campaign. In this exploration of the world of political consutants, allegiances are fickle and surprises are many. In collaboration with Unconditional Theatre, John Warren will be developing and workshopping his new play with a company of actors at EXIT Theatre throughout January, culminating in a by-invitation-only reading. Featuring: Andrew Hurteau, Paul Lancour, Lawrence Motta, Laura Hope Owen, Tom Parker, and Gene Thompson. Part of DISCOVER, an EXIT Theatre series of premieres by local writers and performers.

SHADOWS written & performed by Marc Scruggs. "Shadows can be scary until you face the fear, the tears and the anger. Can you see your shadow?" Directed by Pat Armstrong. Program featuring performances by Lodi, Candy From Strangers, Karina & Friends, Catie Murphy. EXIT Cafe SAT JAN 20 8PM.

THREE SISTERS by Anton Chekov. Celebrate Chekov's birthday with a 100th anniversary reading. Presented by Limelight Bookstore and EXIT Theatre. EXIT Theatre. SAT JAN 13. Info: 415-551-1229.

ONE-DAY WORKSHOP IN WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE with playwright/performer Wendy Weiner. If you want to write a play or solo piece and don’t know how to start – or if you need inspiration for a piece you’ve already begun – this workshop is for you. In a small workshop setting, we will do a series of exercises that will help you unearth and develop story, character, and dialogue. The second part of the workshop will focus on concrete steps for moving your piece toward production. Writers and performers at all levels welcome. This workshop is limited to 12 people. Wendy Weiner is a New York–based playwright/performer. Her solo piece Give Me Shelter was chosen “Best of the Fringe” at both the San Francisco and New York Fringe Festivals and published in Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 1998. Weiner, the former Play Editor of American Theatre magazine, has recently cowritten a new full-length play with playwright Octavio Solis. SAT JAN 6, 10AM - 4PM, EXIT Stage Left, $50. (415-541-5008 for info)

2000

THE WHISTLEAIRE'S BIG CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Exit Theater proudly presents a cozy evening of Christmastyme Variety Show Magic, as "Best of the Fringe" alumni, The Whistleaires host a very special, Big Christmas Special! Bedecking the show with the most dazzling ornaments of music, laughter and dance are the Whistleaires and their Special Guests; including Santa, tiny elves, puppets and General Erno--the talking ape. More Fun than a Fruitcake: "The Whistleaire's Big Christmas Special" REVIEWS EXIT Stage Left previews Thurs November 30 and runs Fri-Sat December 1-16, All shows 8:00, Tickets $14, (reservations: 415-673-3847) online tickets:
NEW WORKS STAGED READING A double feature of two very fresh new plays: The Dark Night of Fatty Corpuscle: the Little Death of a Good and Evil Man Is it a Medieval Mystery Play? Is it a modern jazz poem? Is it a rerun of Fat Albert? Does Fatty Corpuscle represent all of mankind? This new play by Minneapolis playwright Gregory Sagar will keep you guessing. LD50 (Lethal Dose Fifty Percent) This play could be described as the perfect marriage between Samuel Beckett and Dr. Suess. It is also a brutally honest examination of love, sex, and death. This script springs from the mind of Armen Evrensel, a New York playwright and filmmaker. Readings Directed by: Robin Fontaine Featuring: Zack Jaffee, Shelley Mitchell, Martha Stookey, Jeff Elam, Watson, Gry Frid-Neilson, Norm Hansen, Fred Salvallon and Ivan Hopkinson. EXIT Theatre Sat., Dec. 16th, 8pm $5 admission for info: call (510) 604-3931
ARRIVALS/ DEPARTURES by Daniele Nathanson and Tania Katan are currently developing the script for the final show of Shotguns 2000 season. The play takes a comedic look at what happens when a woman named Felix, who has been estranged from her family, is reunited with them and attempts to live up to their expectations as well as her own. Directed by Katie Bales with Lindsey Anderson, Amanda Duarte, Ryan Gowland, Doug Nolan, Jennifer Taggart and Gene Thompson. SHOTGUN PLAYERS REVIEWS EXIT Theatre playing 8PM Nov 3 - Dec 9 (Thanksgiving Weekend performances at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts 2640 College Avenue in Berkeley) 510-655-0813.

A MURDER OF CROWS by Mac Wellman. The Bush ads playing all over the Midwest proclaim that the nation has a values deficit. Hip, radical New York language trickster Mac Wellman finds himself in reluctant agreement with the Republicans on this topic. In his hilarious, dark satire A Murder of Crows he puts the American heartland on trial and sentences it to death. In San Francisco, where everyone is from somewhere else, the twisted characters in this play, fleeing from a toxic past they can't quite succeed in hiding, should seem eerily familiar. A stalwart of the American avant-garde theater, Mac Wellman's fantastic language collage and sharp social satire have brought him a recent surge of popularity including a four-month Wellman festival in New York and three Wellman productions in San Francisco in the last year. Mac Wellman is a recipient of Guggenheim and NEA fellowships and a two-time Obie award winner. A Murder of Crows is a triumph of the hilarious poetry he's been honing for the last ten years. Directed by Kevin E. Humbert with Jessica Jackson, Noah Kelly, John Polak, Mason Waller, Wendy Wilcox, Kathryn Wood, Frances Ward White, Rebecca Salzer and Janet Weeks.EXIT Stage Left Fri/Sat 8PM Oct 13 - Nov 18 (415-675-5995) [REVIEWS]

SHOCKTOBERFEST!!! 2000 by the Thrillpeddlers. . Not 3-D... but real FLESH ad BLOOD!!
Thrillpeddlers_ annual pageant of TERROR and TITILLATION is back! Drawing from the classic plays of the Grand Guignol, Thrillpeddlers have put together an evening so SHOCKING, no one else would dare produce it. SEE: a hair-eating maniac; a depraved sex orgy; a helpless victim burned alive; barefoot beauties run amok; and other acts so BIZARRE we can_t describe them here. SISSIES STAY HOME!
On the program:
BRUSH WITH DEATH - Adapted by Daniel Zilber from L'HOMME DE LA NUIT (1921) by Andre de Lorde. This bizarre mystery from the father of French horror theatre has it all: A stormy night; a remote cemetery; a disturbed butler; a mysterious detective. and ghastly foul play. When the culprit finally confesses, you won't believe the motive! Directed by Jonathan Gonzales with Russell Blackwood, Perry Smith, Emily Jordan, Eric Johnson and Richard Steenson.
SLUMBER PARTY PANIC - The 'Barefoot Beauties' (Thrillpeddlers' lovely, leggy, foot-fixated playmates) perform a spirited coming-of-age romp through the world of smashing, popping, and crushing. Twenty toes. twenty reasons to sit in the front row! Concieved and Directed by Russell Blackwood and Daniel Zibler with Anna Laveria May and Paula Arciniega.
WEDDING OF THE MEMBER - Adapted by Robert Keefe from GAI, GAI, PENDONS-NOUS! (1930) by Jacques Jouvin. A farce in the classic Grand Guignol style. A wine-making family and a bottle-making family have fallen on hard times. An arranged marriage seems to be the answer to everyone's problems. until the bride discovers her husband-to-be is 'well-hung.' Directed by Russell Blackwood with Perry Smith, Chloe Bronzan, Stephen Pawley, Eric Johnson, Jennifer Reynolds and Emily Jordan.
RELENTLESS BEATING - Our 'Barefoot Beauties' are at it again. More toe-cuffed, tickling, boot-licking excitement than has ever been presented on the American stage!Concieved and Directed by Russell Blackwood and Daniel Zibler with Anna Laveria May and Paula Arciniega.
ORGY IN THE LIGHTHOUSE - Adapted by Daniel Zilber from ORGIE DANS LA PHARE (1956) by Alfred Machard. The most popular piece of the Grand Guignol's post-war repertoire. Prostitutes and sailors make for a combustible combination in the cramped living quarters of a lighthouse off the coast of France. but it's after the orgy that things really start to heat up! Directed by Russell Blackwood with Stephen Pawley, Daniel Loeser, Lasse Christiansen, Jennifer Reynolds and Chloe Bronzan.
Last year's SHOCKTOBERFEST!! was nearly SOLD-OUT. Reserve your tickets now... before it's too late!
This performance contains graphic violence, nudity, and sexual situations. Children under 18 will not be admitted.
12 performances only. Admission: $15 at the door EXIT Theatre Thu/Fri/Sat 8PM Oct 5- Oct 28.(Reservations: 415-820-1627) www.thrillpeddlers.com [REVIEWS]

CANNIBALS ALONE a one act play by Stephanie Deferie. In a consevative survivalistic near future, AIDS has become a pandemic. As those stricken with HIV are brutalized in concentration camps, 2 courageous
women run the underground railroad to canada that will save them... they think. In this exciting new work Ms. Deferie combines trust, mercy, and murder. Directed by RW Hessler with J.Tiffany Holland, Lee Kiszonas, Suzanne Lee and Mary Lahti. EXIT Cafe FRI/SAT 8PM Oct 6-21 (Reservations: 415-641-0197) Tickets $12.00, $10.00 for TBA members and students.

DEAR MAMA, LOVE EMILY a reading by Emily Shihadeh. The story of Emily Shihadeh, a Palestinian woman who at the age of seventeen immigrates to the United States of America to join her husband in San Francisco. 'A friend, told me as I shared with him my life in America, "You came to a country populated by your mother." How true that statement was! So many were so busy, they ignored me and were unable to express any feelings of warmth to me. That was just like my mother! I wanted to tell the people of this country about my people and their beauty and struggle. The devastation that happened in Palestine is known to very few. Through my personal stories I open a glimpse into life in Palestine.'
Through a series of short letters addressed to her mother, the audience will share some of the challenges Emily faced coming to a new country trying to understand the people and their rules. Born in Jerusalem and living in the Bay Area for the past forty-two years, Emily Shihadeh has been presenting her one woman show "Grapes & Figs are in Season, A Palestinian Woman's Story" for ten years now all over the San Francisco Bay Area, the United States and in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. www.emilyshi.com Presented by Golden Thread Productions, a dynamic San Francisco Bay Area ensemble dedicated to the production of theatrical works that explore the Middle Eastern culture and identity as represented throughout the globe. www.goldenthread.org A fiscally sponsored project of the INTERSECTION and DARVAG. Tuesday, October 10, 2000. 7:30PM EXIT Cafe. Admission Free, Space Limited, Reservations Recommended (510-986-9194)

PEOPLE OF EARTH! is San Francisco's most up and coming long-form improvisational theatre company. The ensemble is comprised of five improvisers: four actors and a musical improviser. Every show is completely improvised. People of Earth! pushes beyond the limits of conventional theatre and delves deep into the lives of unique and hilarious characters that are created right before your eyes! Beginning witha a series of monologues based on audience suggestions, People of Earth! sets the stage with intermingling tales of love, deciet, money, power and revenge. No scripts, no directors, no looking back! Admission: $8 at the door EXIT Stage Left Fri/Sat 8pm Oct. 6 & 7 (Reservations: 510-276-5608) www.people-of-earth.com

BEST OF THE FRINGE. A sampler of six Best of the Fringe 2000 brought back for one weekend: Chain Reaction, Imbecillus, It Came From Beneath the Kilt, Number 2, That Dorothy Parker, and Treachery (complete schedule and tickets available Wednesday 9/20). (415.673.3847) EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, September 29, 30.

SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE FESTIVAL 2000 an Independant Theatre Festival of Self Produced Work.
The 9th Annual Fringe, presenting over 250 performances by over 50 local, national, and international groups. Applications to perform for Fringe 2001 will be available January 24, 2001 and will be accepted from 9am February 1 thru 5pm February 23, 2001. Local performers will be selected at a public lottery on March 1, 2001. National and International performers will be selected on a "first received, first accepted" basis. [FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE] Tickets $8 or less per performance.(415.673.3847) EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left, EXIT Cafe & other locations,

DEEP SPACE by Alex Johnston. The American Premiere of Deep Space by Irish Actor/Playwright Alex Johnston. Deep Space was first presented at the 1998 Adelaide Fringe Festival, and subsequently ran at the Project, Dublin and the Bush, London. Johnston's play features two characters, Keith -an unemployed post-grad- and Jaco -an underemployed electrician- who share a grotty apartment in Dublin. Their reasonably content co-existence is disturbed when Jaco meets and seduces a college friend of Keith's. Themes of Lust and Jealousy are explored within the 3-way relationship as the friendships turn sour and eventually lead to betrayal and violence. With an economy of words and actions, Johnston ultimately exposes Jaco's and Keith's respective facades of laddishness and intellectualism and the insecurities and loneliness that they mask. With this auspicious debut, Johnston has established himself as a playwright with almost a unique insight into the minds of the "20-30 something's". His considerable talent marks him as an artist we will be hearing a lot from in the future. Aggro Theatre is delighted to be involved in his first US production.
"startlingly well-written.… a highly entertaining, seriously thought-provoking and ultimately tragic vignette of modern living." - Emer O'Kelly, Irish Independent
"scathing yet sensitive… a dramatist of terrific promise" - Benedict Nightingale, Times (London)
"a quietly disturbing play by the promising Alex Johnston" - Kate Bassett, Daily Telegraph (London)
Aggro Theatre Exit Café, FRI/SAT 8pm August 4-26, TICKETS: $15 Information/ Reservations 415 970 9434

RE ORIENT, A FESTIVAL OF SHORT PLAYS. Back by popular demand, Golden Thread Productions presents a new collection of short plays written by playwrights from, or with themes concerning, the Middle East. From fantastick to poignantly real, steeped in music and drama, this year's festival is sure to "ReOrient" your senses. The 2 hour program includes four short plays: The Myth of Creation written by Sadegn Hedayat. Did somebody say Iranian Angels in America? A cartoonish parody of the Adam & Eve tale written by one of Iran's most respected writers and socal critics of the early 20th century. Min El Alb Lilalb (From my heart to yours) written by Tom Coash. A delicious encounter between an American woman and an Egyptian man on top of - where else - the pyramids! Voices by Ghazi Rabihavi. An answering machine awaits. In this laconic study of loneliness, the color of exile is rendered red. The Muse by Drew Khalouf. A poet's search for inspiration leads us through ;this dreamlike piece where we're invited to ponder the nature of art and creativity. Tickets $15 (students, seniors and Theatre Bay Area members $12. Group discount 6 or more, paid together, $10) Reservations: 510-986-9194. EXIT Theatre 8pm Thu - Sat; Jul 13 - Aug 19.

WALKING THE DEAD by Keith Curran. Veronica/Homer is dead. Maya her/his partner has brought us together to share our memories of this woman/man that shared their lives and through her/his transformation taught them all something about love, relationships, gender, and stereotypes. A lesbian performance artist, a bitter aging gay man and his giving youthful companion, the mother, a psychiatrist, and a filmmaker provide a funny and touching search for art, family, love and understanding. Directed by RW HESSLER with FRED CROUNSE, BRIAN MICHAEL ERLICH, J. TIFFANY HOLLAND, LEE KISZONAS, MARY LAHTI, DOMINICK MARRONE, RANDY WENDELIN. CHAMELEON THEATRE FRI/SAT 8 PM JULY 14TH – AUGUST 19TH. EXIT STAGE LEFT TICKETS: $18.00 STUDENTS & TBA MEMBERS $15.00SPECIAL PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PERFORMANCE FRIDAY JULY 28TH AT 8:00 PM. FOR RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION CALL: 415-401-7421

JOHNNY KATS presents BEACH BLANKET HAIRBALL!!! "With each edgy, engrossing, potty-mouthed performance, Johnny Kats come closer to dusting the other improv group with genuine funk." -San Francisco Metropolitan. Johnny Kats returns to the stage for the first time since February. Featuring Ron Hebshie, Dawn Corine, Guy Silvestro, Kelli Callis, Matthew Morin and Bill Borelli. Tickets: $10 in advance or $15 at the door. Seating is limited and we strongly advise purchasing tickets in advance. Note also the earlier start time of 8:15 pm each evening. TICKETS ONLINE: http://www.acteva.com/go/johnnykats EXIT Cafe, 8:15pm FRI/SAT July 7 - 22. (Reservations: 415-704-3261or email to johnnykats@yahoo.com)

ORSON'S SHADOW by Austin Pendelton A reading of Austin Pendelton's new play which premiered in Chicago as part of Steppenwolf Garage's 1999-2000 season. It is 1960 and renowned theater critic Kenneth Tynan has a brilliant idea. After tracking down the reclusive Orson Wells in London, Tynan convinces him to direct Laurence Olivier and Olivier's new love Joan Plowright in a revival of Ionesco's play Rhinoceros. This production and its now-legendary rehearsal process is brought to splendidly impossible life in Orson's Shadow, the new play by Steppenwolf ensemble member Austin Pendleton. Come join Orson, Larry, Joan and Ken as they wrestle the muse, each other and
Vivian Leigh in this delightful study of the drama of ego and the art of personality.
"...Astute, often moving, deliciously dishy…", Chicago Reader
"Pendleton has been ingenious in pulling together a living history of his
characters.", Chicago Tribune
"Critics Choice", Chicago Sun Times
Performed by Shawn Burke, Elizabeth Fox, Tommy Morahan, Derek Mutch, Sean Owens and Nick Sholley Directed by Meredith Eldred Monday July 17, 2000 at 7:00 in EXIT Stage Left Admission is FREE, please call to RSVP (415) 673-3847 EXIT Stage Left

SNAKE IN THE BASEMENT: THE PROSECUTION OF REV. BILL PRUITT by Lunatique Fantastique, a puppet play. Using newsprint, napkins, cardboard, and a candle, Liebe Wetzel and ensemble
animate the life of Rev. Bill Pruitt and his journey from popular Presbyterian pastor to alleged felon. Based on a true story. Funny... Irreverent... Disturbing... Directed by Jeff Raz. Performed by Liebe Wetzel, Wendy Lucas, Lana Shively, Vivian Appler, and Cha Cha Sykes. Lighting design by Madison Cario.
***PLEASE NOTE: This show includes mature content not suitable for children***
"Don't miss this exceptional, intelligent, singular work." -- SF BAY GUARDIAN
"Each year almost 10,000 people in the United States are bitten by poisonous snakes."—Oakland Tribune
"There has never been a hint of impropriety about [Pruitt] in the 26 years that I have known him."—Rev. Clayton Bell, as quoted in the Dallas Morning News
"It’s a funny piece about a pedophile. I don’t know what else to say."—Liebe Wetzel
At the Exit Theater FRI/SAT 8PM June 30 - July 8. MEDIA
Reservations: 510-508-1615 TICKETS ONLINE:

FRINGE VOLUNTEER/PERFORMER POTLUCK. San Francisco Fringe Festival looking for staff and volunteers for the 9th annual performing arts extravaganza. If you are interested join us for a potluck/party/meeting EXIT Theatre Thursday 7PM July 6

THE RAPE POEMS by Frances Driscoll. Through the common, familiar and evocative language of poet Frances Driscoll, this world premier explores the circuitous paths of memory and the beauty, terror and triumph of real life. Directed by Eloise Chitmon, with original soundscape by Ken Kearney, the cast includes Angela Anderson, Carol Flanagan, Tom Juarez, Nicole Lungerhausen, Marilee Talkington, and Donna Trousdale.(Frances Driscoll's books may be purchased there and online at www.pbstudio.com). Ambit Theatre Company (415.440-4913) $15 ($10 students, seniors, TBA members). The Monday, June 12th performance will be a benefit for San Francisco Women Against Rape and the ticket price for that performance only will be $20.00 (no discounts). REVIEW EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays June 2 - July 8, and Mondays June 12 & 26.

THE LOST PLAYS OF JACQUES DU BON TEMPS. Jacques du Bon Temps has been all but erased from the pages of theatrical history. Only twelve documents prove the man even existed! Two of those documents are plays which foreshadowed the post-WWII movement we call Theater of the Absurd. Jacques was a compatriot of Antonin Artaud’s and inspired the likes of Beckett, Ionesco, and Camus. In their highly theatrical examination of our inability to communicate in life as well as art, THE LOST PLAYS OF JACQUES DU BON TEMPS are as potent, surreal, and hilarious today as they must have been in Paris over sixty years ago. They will receive their American premiere, directed by Mark Jackson (Artistic Director, Art Street Theatre). (415.673.3847) $10:$8 students, seniors, TBA. REVIEWS. EXIT Stage Left, 7PM Tuesdays And Wednesdays June 6 - June 28. TICKETS ONLINE:

ODDS & ENDS by Beckett & Ionesco. A collection of rarely produced shorts by two masters of the absurd on EXIT Theatre's new cabaret stage --- the lyrical pessimism of Samuel Beckett alongside the manic satire of Eugene Ionesco including: BREATH and ACT WITHOUT WORDS I by Beckett and an adaptation of Ionesco's children's stories by award winning local playwright Sean Owens. Directed by Meredith Eldred. EXIT Cafe, 7PM Tuesdays And Wednesdays June 6 - June 28. TICKETS ONLINE:

LADIES & GENTLEMEN ... THE OPPOSITE SEX. Men writing for women. Women writing for men. Ah, whatever happened to the old dictum: Write what you know. Find out as six Bay Area Playwrights turn this cliché on its head by writing for the opposite sex. Writers include Kurt Bodden (founding member of Scratch Theatre), Cameron Galloway (the SF Bay Guardian called her “a compelling performer... [with] a gift for honest observation...” ), Kat Koppett (produced in 1999 PlayGround's Emerging Playwrights Festival), Eric Schniewind (of TV’s, "Quick Witz" and "Fogtown Network"), Jonna Tamases (currently writing for LA's acclaimed ACME Comedy Company ) and Malachy Walsh (recently produced by both Troika Productions and the San Dominican College Players). Iron Workers Local 202 Theatre Co MEDIA .EXIT Theatre 8 pm, Fridays & Saturdays in June (2-24) Reservations: (415) 951-4812 TICKETS: $10 TICKETS ONLINE:

GET ME RODD KEITH! by Joshua Pollock A brand-new hallucinoid, fever-dream musical concerning unsung true-life genius Rodd Keith and the “send-us-lyrics-(and lots of money)-and-we’ll-send-you-back-a-hit-song” industry of the early 1970’s. As a reluctant “Song-Poem” composer, Keith produced one of the most bizarre, wonderful and unheard bodies of work in the history of pop music while working a scam he abhored. A cast of 13 actors, dancers and local rock musicians explores a desperate world of has-beens, never-wases, and the twisted, horrible, beautiful, and hysterical “hit songs” they cranked out for a buck. These songs must be heard to be believed! Audience members who bring their own lyrics will get $4 off and the chance to have their song written and performed by the cast on the spot! A brand new song every night!! Directed by Meredith Eldred with Gary Barth, Dan Bruno, Libby Cox, Elizabeth Fox, Ryan Kahvari, Dave Malloy, Sean Owens,Heather Peroni, Tynan Peterson, Mark Romyn & Phil Worman. Presented by Misery/Loves Company. Call for details.(415.566.2578). MEDIA EXIT Theatre, 8pm Fri-Sat Apr 21 - May 27. TICKETS ONLINE:

SPEED-THE-PLOW by David Mamet. Directed by David Acevedo. Following last
summer's hit production of Glengarry Glen Ross,http://www.vintageapps.com/teatroshalom Teatro Shalom presents Mamet's hysterically funny and viciously biting satire of Hollywood movie producers. "A brilliant black comedy, a dazzling dissection of Hollywood cupidity and another tone poem by our foremost master of the language of
moral epilepsy"-Newsweek. Teatro Shalom. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM April 21-May 27 Low-Price Previews April 21 & 22. Call for details (415) 602-4387. Tickets Online:

Dan Carbone’s SALVADOR DALI TALKS TO THE ANIMALS In the HEAVEN on TOP of HEAVEN. The Bay Guardian Goldie Award winner, and creator of last year’s Best of the Fringe piece, "Up from the Ground," returns to the EXIT in an all-new production. Dan Carbone, whom the Guardian called, "…a cross between Jonathan Winters and Cocteau," continues his mind-bending mythical, mystical journey into the space-time continuum by conjuring the persona of non-other than the late, lamented, Salvador Dali! And who better than to conduct this 20th Century kook’s tour, than the Divine Dali! See the notorious painter as he returns from the "Heaven on top of Heaven" to dig up the forgotten fragments of his life, (and many other lives as well), and shoves them back in your face! Though dead, he refuses to let go! Directed by John Sowle (Kaliyuga Arts) with Erica Blue, Vince Camillo, Dan Carbone, Paul Gerrior, Marin Van Young, Russell Pachman, Dawn Walters. Masks by Nina Barlow.
"Dan Carbone is not of this earth ... He is a true transplant from the real netherlands ... not from the land of tulips and windmills, but from a region between retardation and genius ..." George Kuchar, Film Director
"Brilliantly demented ... Carbone isn't just in touch with his inner child: he's locked in a furious battle on the playground of his mind ..." Brad Rosenstein, SF Bay Guardian.
$10: $8 students, seniors, TBA.(415.673.3847) EXIT Stage Left 7pm Tue/Wed Apr 25 - May 24. TICKETS ONLINE:

THE BEARD by Michael McClure. THE BEARD is primal, dirty and amusing exposing the human being as its true form: a creature with throbbing genitalia that is aroused by the slightest knee-jerk reaction. Billy the Kid and Jean Harlow scratch and purr in a swirling blue velvet eternity locked in a climactic destiny. As Norman Mailer states in the foreword that the play on its "surface seems simple, repetitive and obscene, there is an action working which is dramatic an comic at once Š speaking to us of the nature of seduction, the nature of attraction, and particularly, the nature of perverse temper between a man and a woman." THE BEARD was first performed in 1965 at the Actor's Workshop in San Francisco. Direct police intervention occurred after the fourth performance, charging the actors with "obscenity," "conspiracy to commit an felony," and "lewd and dissolute conduct in a public place."$10: $8 students, seniors, TBA.(415.673.3847) EXIT Cafe 7pm Tue/Wed Apr 25 - May 24. TICKETS ONLINE:

HURRY UP AND DIE the new play by Robert C. Barker. Eighteen years, a divorce, and one dead dog later, Jo's big sister is coming home. A Frank Theatre production (415.831.4025) $12-$15. EXIT Theatre, 8pm Fridays & Saturdays Mar 10 - Apr 15.

2000 STUDENT SHOWCASE by The Actors Center of San Francisco. Stanislavsky/Strasberg inspired acting training for film and theater dedicated to personal transformation and social change taught by Shelley Mitchell presents this years student showcase. EXIT Stage Left 8pm Friday and Saturday April 14 & 15. Tickets $20. Reservations 415.389.6429. www.shelleymitchell.org.

PRESTO PRONTO short plays by Prestininzi. READING IN BED: one woman and two men become overtaken by their desire for power without pain. Gratification is sought in a common bed and a coveted book ("superb absurdist short" -- SF Weekly); THE BATH: a washerwoman, the male body, and a good scrub combine to create a drastic case of stage fright and male bravado; BEGIN. OR?: an old man in theatrical denial outlasts the demands and heartbreak of the dying stage; NORA'S EXIT: a second look at Ibsen's infamous feminist door slam invites a new avante-garde reaction and celebration. [MEDIA ... 8 Day's A Week Pick !!!] (415.673.3847) $10:$8 students, seniors, TBA EXIT Stage Left, 7pm Tues/Wed Mar 14 - Apr 12.

CAT'S - PAW - A Meditation on the Don Juan Theme by Mac Wellman, directed by Christine Young. Four real women are highlighted against the amazing background of New York’s skyscrapers, as they discuss their lives, loves and losses. The play is set in what is “optimistically referred to as Late Capitalism” and chronicles the experiences of 3 generations as they struggle to live their lives and not succumb to the forces that threaten to overwhelm the individual in modern society. Wellman combines familiar relationships (mother-daughter, best friends) with his unique brand of weird and humorous language to reveal the true yet unspeakable things that happen beneath the surface of an ordinary conversation, things that point to the mysterious depths of human experience and human isolation. Mac Wellman is a contemporary American writer whose work has been widely produced on the alternative theater circuit. Wellman’s hallmark as a writer is his unique use of language - he invents words, creates strange and hysterical juxtapositions, and messes with grammar - which challenges the audiences perceptions of reality and our ways of making meaning. Director Christine Young returned to the Bay Area in June, after completing an MFA in Directing at the University of Iowa. Recent directing credits include: Cat’s-Paw in a 1998 Iowa City production, Marisol by José Rivera, Twelfth Night and many new plays. Christine works as the Literary and Education Assistant at the Magic Theatre and teaches drama to youth in a variety of environments. She is the co-founder of Forced Perspective, a theatrical ensemble. [MEDIA ... 8 Day A Week Pick !!!] (415.673.3847) $10: $8 students, seniors, TBA. EXIT Theatre, 7pm Tues/Wed Mar 14 - Apr 12.

MESSENGER #1 The New Ancient Greek Tragedy written by Mark Jackson.
"It's dark, damning, graceful, and funny as hell." -- SF WEEKLY.
From the producers of R&J, BRAVE, and BANG! comes a new ancient Greek tragedy! MESSENGER #1 follows the infamously bloody plot of The House of Atreus, this time from the Messenger's point of view. In the city of Argos, love between Messengers is outlawed. Wives and dependents up the insurance rates, you see. Fresh from the Trojan War, Messenger #1 is eager to return to a normal, civilian way of life, and wouldn't mind keeping his unlawful love a secret. But, during his ten-year absence, his girl back home has grown up, discovered anarchy, and now threatens to blow the roof off the House of Atreus as murder after royal murder goes unpunished while hard working Messengers are killed for blowing so much as a kiss. MESSENGER #1 is funny and theatrical, an original love story tangled up in political turmoil at the dawn of justice! Don't miss Art Street Theatre's first production for the new millennium, MESSENGER #1! Performed by David Babich, Gillian Chadsey, Kevin Clarke, Karl Ramsey, Michelle Talgarow, and Beth Wilmurt. Written & Directed by Mark Jackson. Sound Design - Jake Rodriguez. Costumes - Elizabeth Spreen. Lights - Jason Ries. Scenery - Ana Hashimoto. Stage Management - Kathryn Clark. And ... Just published by Art Street Theatre: THEATRE WORK -- Art Street Theatre and the American Fringe. *Supported in part by CASH, a grant program of Theatre Bay Area created by artists for artists.Art Street Theatre [MEDIA ... Bay Guardian Critic's Pick !!!] (415.751.5922) $10-$15 sliding scale. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays & Saturdays Mar 10 - Apr 8 and 8PM Mondays Mar 27 & Apr 3.

THE CARETAKER by Harold Pinter. TWO brothers... ONE stranger... what could POSSIBLY be wrong? On the 40th anniversary of its original production, this Pinter classic will remind you that it is, after all, just another new year. Still, those of you already missing the "good old days" of Millennium hype should find plenty of angst-against-hope dynamic in this kickoff of Absurdist Season 2000 to fill the emptiness. Staged by Jason Ries (director of last season's Albert's Bridge) for your doomsday enjoyment. CAST, CREW & DIRECTOR'S NOTES $14; $10 students, seniors, TBA
(resv: 415.673.3847) EXIT Theatre 8PM Fri & Sat Jan 28 - Mar 4.

GIVE ME SHELTER by Wendy Weiner, a one person-play about a woman's desperate search for a livable New York apartment—and the even more desperate people she meets along the way. Written and performed by Wendy Weiner, developed with and directed by Julie Kramer. "Best of the 1998 San Francisco Fringe Festival" To be published in Women Playwrights: Best Plays of 1998 (February 2000). "Full of authority and cunning" --The Village Voice. "As pointed as it is funny." --The Villager. "Funny and acutely observed." --SF Bay Guardian. $14; $12 student/senior/TBA discount (415) 541-5008. [REVIEWS AND MEDIA] EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fri and Sat Jan 28-Mar 4, Previews 8PM Wed/Thur Jan 26/27

FIRST SEEN FIRST LEAP BENEFIT BASH. A benefit for First Seen's Spring 2000 season staring P.A. Cooley, featuring Doug Holsclaw, John Baumann and Jen Gwirtz, David Hirata, Cathy Roy. $20 suggested donation. (415) 643-6667. EXIT Theatre 5:30PM Tuesday February 29.

FRINGE 2000 LOTTERY PARTY. The 30 local performers at SF Fringe 2000 will be selected at a lottery drawing at EXIT Theatre March 1. Open to all, come and see who will perform at the 9th annual SF Fringe (September 7 - 17, 2000). No admittance charge. EXIT Theatre 7PM Wed Mar 1.

1999

TURN OF THE SCREW by Jeffrey Hatcher from the story by Henry James. A classic victorian ghost story. The details: A letter, a locket, a riddle, a name. The words are her own. This is the story she tells. It is a story of terror...of horror...of death. It made my very heart -- stop. Hatcher's brilliant adaptation of James' classic tale told in a powerful and moving way by three actresses on a bare stage with only a chair and a candle. Chameleon Theatre Company MEDIA (415.260.4121) $10-$12 EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays December 3-18.

THE ALCHEMIST by Ben Jonson. The con is on at The Exit! A house borrowed for the summer becomes the scene of an elaborate scam in Jonson's hilarious, satirical comedy of extremes. A parade of swindlers, cheats, lords, ladies and gentlemen are lured into this den in search of the ultimate "quick fix" and are hoodwinked, gulled and robbed in their turn. But Doll, Face and Subtle will have to make the deal of their lives if they're going to get away with it. Because we're living in an immaterial world, Fringe veterans Trevor Allen, Andrew Palmer and Kristine McIntyre (Tea with the Executioner, Character!, Working for the Mouse) round out Everyman's second year with this new adaptation of Jonson's meditation on the quest for fame, sex and money-for-nothing. (415.821.6203) $10 - $12. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays Dec 3 - 18 and 8PM Mon Dec 13. Preview 8PM Thurs Dec 2, $8.

STEALIN' HOME by Fred Newman. The Bay Area Committee for Independent Culture, an independent, multi-cultural and developmental community theatre project, presents its premier production. Stealin' Home is a provocative piece of political theatre, loosely based on the life of baseball legend, Jackie Robinson. CLICK FOR REVIEWS. For tickets and volunteer opportunities call BACIC (415.436.0985). $15 in advance, $18 at the door. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays November 5 - 20.

SHOCKTOBERFEST!! San Francisco's favorite deviants, the Thrillpeddlers, are back with three classic plays of horror, madness, and spanking. The Celibate (Frederick Witney, 1945) When uncontrollable urges lead to an unnatural obsession, there is only one logical solution. This play was originally banned in England for its sexual themes and shocking violence. A Visit to Mrs. Birch and the Young Ladies of the Academy (Anonymous, 1888) An all-female cast will perform this 19th century homage to the time-honored tradition of corporal punishment in the schools. Knickers will be dropped. A Crime In A Madhouse (Andre de Lorde, Alfred Binet, 1925) As the Sisters say their prayers, aged lunatics take revenge on the young and innocent. A classic from the repertoire of Le Theatre du Grand Guignol, this play has horrified audiences for decades. MEDIA WARNING: This program contains graphic, abusive violence and nudity. No one under 18 will be admitted. http://www.thrillpeddlers.com (415.820.1432) $15. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thu-Fri-Sat Oct 21-30 and 8PM Wed Oct 27.

DROWNED by Mark Nishimura. A murder mystery/morality play of sorts, Drowned mixes the style of David Lynch with the spirit of Thomas Merton. Fragmented into twenty-five short vignettes, the play centers on Judd, an unemployed man making a deal with his former boss and an unidentified friend, to kill an immigrant. Yet the murder sets off a series of events that effect the world around him. This play concludes Theater Rhubarb's third successful season. REVIEW (415.751.0439) $8. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fri - Sat Oct 8-30 and Mon Oct 25.

ANOTHER COG IN THE WHEEL by Brian Bonham. It's like Kafka's The Trial meets Monty Python. Set in a surrealistic, post-Holocaust world, Another Cog in the Machine explores themes of guilt and personal responsibility, as a man is accused of a crime he has no recollection of committing but no one will let him forget. Entrophy Theatre (415.454.9971) SHOW CANCELLED.

JOHNNY KATS' WICKED SPOOKY HALLOWEEN SHOW '99 An evening of hilarious improv, sketch and musical comedy by San Francisco's most irreverent, politically incorrect comedy ensemble, who introduced audiences to new consumer goods like "Drag Queen B-Gone" and "Buckets O'Blood, " a revolutionary femine hygiene project. (415.704.3261 or email johnnykats@yahoo.com) $12. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Fri-Sat Oct 8-16.

THE BEST OF THE '99 FRINGE EXIT Theatre & EXIT Stage Left, 7PM, 8:30PM and 10PM Thu/Fri/Sat Sept 30 - Oct 2

THE 8TH ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE FESTIVAL A Marathon of Theater!! 250 performances over 11 days by fifty-one theater companies from around the globe. EXIT Theatre, EXIT Stage Left and other venues, September 9 - 19.

Six Plays-en Short Exploring lives inside- and after -the Middle East
Publicly Resting by Torange Yeghiasarian. A light comedy about love and death taking place in a public men’s room of an airport. Rimm, the Gazelle by Fatima Gallain (new English translation). Rimm is the story of a middle aged Algerian woman who is preparing to return home after years of living in France. The Gangrene, developed by Laura Box. An original piece based on selected testimonies of those affected by the Algerian war of independence. Grapes and Figs are in Season by Emily Shihadeh. A Palestinian-American woman shares memories of her own life intertwined with the Palestinian-Israel conflict and asks the question: Is Peace Possible? Recent Golden Thread productions include BEHIND GLASS WINDOWS at the Adeline Street Theatre and OPERATION TO PENETRATION, Lysistrata 97! at The Next Stage. www.goldenthread.com. EXIT Stage Left, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday August 4 - August 28. REVIEW

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Edward Albee. More fireworks than the Fourth of July... raw emotions unwind on the posh campus of New Carthage. AvidFan Productions present Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Experience the visceral thrill of original theater, housed in an intimate setting: AvidFan's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? promises to be one of the most vivid live performances of the year. Carolyn Bates (Cowboy Mouth, Zoo Story, & True West) teams up again with director Aida Jones in Albee's explosive true-to-life play. AvidFan Productions http://www.avidfan.com (415.982.6422) $10. EXIT Theatre, 8PM August 6-28. REVIEW

A TASTE OF THE FRINGE our annual Wine Brats wine tasting, benefit for the Fringe Festival features the pouring of several of the more adventurous of the California Wineries, the comedy team The Whistleaires and wandering masks. EXIT Theatre Wednesday August 18 at 7pm. Tickets $15. Reservations 415-673-3847

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS by David Mamet. Mamet's scalding comedy is about small-time, cutthroat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their fair share of the American dream. This is Mamet at his very best, writing with brutal power about the tough life of tough characters who cajole, connive, wheedle, and wheel and deal for a piece of the action - where closing a sale can mean a brand new Cadillac but losing one can mean losing it all. Contains Adult Language and Themes. MEDIA Tickets: $14; $8 for the July 1 preview show.Teatro Shalom (Box Office: 415.602.4387 or www.ticketweb.com). EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays July 1 - 31 and Monday July 12.

FIRST DRAFT Presents a glimpse into the oddities of relationships, a turbulent Muni ride, an encounter with one tough mother, power failures, privacy and the journey of Little Red Riding Hood all in one evening of original work by seven Bay Area writers/performers. UNTITLED: BLACK INK ON PAPER by Carla Hatley. Directed by William Hall. Performed by Carla Hatley and Bob Lieberman.
SHADES - scenes and monologues inspired by colors written and performed by Susan Allen, Kat Koppett, Kerry Radcliffe, Eve Smith, Darlene Sorenson and Molly Viebrock. Directed by Barbara Malinowski, Richard Dupell, Dana Kelly and Rebecca Stockley. First Draft (415.282.0258) $10 general, $8 Students/Seniors/TBA Members. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Thursdays July 8-29.

WILHELM REICH IN HELL by Robert Anton Wilson. This apocalyptic portrait of Wilhelm Reich, a doctor of psychology who was imprisoned in 1956 by the U.S. government because of his writings, presents his descent into the underworld where figures like the Marquis de Sade, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, and Leopold Bloom, judge his search for the Truth. Robert Anton Wilson, a leading Sci-Fi and conspiracy writer, has written an absurdist work that not only challenges the limits of the Stage but also questions our post-modern perception of what is reality, what is illusion, what is right, and what is wrong. Directed by Jed Low. Theater Rhubarb (415.751.0439) $10. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays & Saturdays July 9-31 and 7PM Monday July 12.

LA TURISTA by Sam Shepard. Written by a 23 year old Shepard in 1967, this absurdist allegory follows Kent and Salem through hotel rooms in both the U.S. and Mexico. When Kent succumbs to "la turista," a doctor comes to exorcise the disease. As treatment turns from witchcraft and decapitated roosters to platitudes and useless advice, Kent can no more cope with his predicament when cure becomes irrelevant. Directed by Val Hendrickson, whose adaption of Shepard's Suicide in Bb was the big hit in San Francisco nightclubs last season. MEDIA... INFO ON CAST & CREW, DIRECTOR'S NOTES (415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Theatre, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays July 6-28.

ALBERT'S BRIDGE by Tom Stoppard. If you build it... will they get to the other side? With a little word play from his early cannon, Stoppard takes a look at what goes down when a man is left alone to his own thoughts. Written as a radio play and winner of the Prix Italia in '68, this incarnation of Albert's Bridge will be staged by Jason Ries, director of last season's Mister, Mister. INFO ON CAST & CREW (415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Stage Left, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays July 6-28.

PRIDE (The Sin of the Angels) by Myles Weber. Neil is having a slow, internal nervous breakdown. The relationship he thought would last forever ("We exchanged apartment keys!") barely lasted six months, he's being hit on by his ex-boyfriend's new boyfriend, he's stuck in a Foreign Service job he hates, and to top it all off, he's got the mother of a drowning victim on the phone from Fresno, a potential new boyfriend from Spain (with a goatee!) in the front room, and a pot of pasta boiling over in the kitchen. Coming for Gay Pride Month, the world premiere of a scathing new comedy by Washington, D.C. playwright Myles Weber about feeling "too old at 34" and longing for some kind of permanence in "an age where you're fortunate not to have any close friends." MEDIA Presented by Kaliyuga Arts http://www.kaliyuga.com (415.431.8423) $12. EXIT Stage Left, Opening 8PM Monday June 7, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays June 10 - July 3.

PROBLEM CHILD by George F. Walker. Meet R.J., a charming ex-con more horrified by exploitative, daytime talk shows than his own life, and his wife Denise, a reformed yet still strung-out addict, as they await a patronizing social worker who will evaluate their fitness as parents. A funny and frightening story of a couple forced to extremes. Directed by John Warren, the award-winning Artistic Director of Unconditional Theatre. MEDIA (415.673.3847) $14. EXIT Theatre, 8PM, Fridays and Saturdays June 4 - June 26 & Mondays June 7 and June 21.

THE DEMON POPE by Barry J. Weir. Late in the 10th century, a young monk makes a deal with Lucifer (Diana Brown). 30 years and 30 days later - in the first year of the First Millennium - the young monk is now an old pope... and Lucifer returns to collect. A serious comedy about the beginning of time and the end of the world. Based on actural historic events. Directed by John Ferreira. Everybody say "Hell-alujah!" Lunar Holding Company (415.564.1196) $12 Thursdays, $15 Fridays & Saturdays. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays May 6-29, (Half-Price Previews May 6, 7). http://www.come.to/demonpope

FEMALE TRANSPORT by Stephen Gooch traces the voyage of five female convicts from the slums of London to the penal colonies in Sydney Australia in the early 1800s. These amazing women and the men who guard them show coarseness, courage, brutality and bravery during this draining and sometimes deadly journey into the unknown. Chameleon Theatre Company (415.648.4121) $12 general, $10 TBA Members/Students. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays May 6-29.

MURDER CAKE & LIKE by Diane di Prima. Di Prima’s work spans fifty years, including over thirty books and thousands of poems. The dream plays Murder Cake and Like place di Prima's brillance as a beat poet on stage. By layering the plays voluptuous language with the inadvertant humor and inherent slapstick of every day life director Meredith Eldred brings together the ordinary and the fantastic. Murder Cake was first presented in 1960 by the Living Theatre. This will be the first full production of Like which was given a staged reading in 1964 by the New York Poets Theatre. Directed by Meredith Eldred who directed last year's Waiting for Godot. CLICK FOR REVIEWS (415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Theatre, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays May 4-26.

TO THE DOGS and THE DOVE by Djuna Barnes. EXIT Theatre presents two early short plays by the high priestess of high modernism, Djuna Barnes (1892-1982). Best known for her classic 1936 novel Nightwood, inspired by her doomed relationship with fellow expatriate artist Thelma Wood in 1920s Paris, Barnes' early writing career began in Greenwich Village's World War I-era bohemia, where several of her short plays enjoyed
productions with the Provincetown Players. Her Provincetown contemporaries included Edna St. Vincent Millay and Eugene O'Neill.

In TO THE DOGS, (which appeared in the 1919-20 Provincetown season), a self-sufficient woman, Helena Hucksteppe, finds her home and solitude besieged by Gheid Storm, a local man tantalized by legends of Helena's mistreatment of (and disdain for) the male sex. A battle of epigrammatic wits ends with Helena alone once more, and Gheid's ideas of himself as a romantic figure shattered by Helena's strangely implacable nature.

THE DOVE, which was first presented at Smith College in 1926, wittily references Hedda Gabler in its portrait of two spinster sisters, Amelia and Vera Burgson, who live in a state of intense sexual and imaginative frustration, and in a house chock-a-block with weaponry. With typical Barnesian irony, "The Dove," the passive young girl adopted off the streets by the Burgsons, becomes the catalyst for violent action ... though decidedly not of the sort envisioned by Ibsen.

Notes Barnes scholar Ann Larabee of her early dramatic work, "Barnes purposely
presented 'repulsive' women who resisted cultural indoctrination into heterosexual
relationship and projected a dark wave of sensual violence. She thus disrupted the
domestic drama, replacing the rebellious Noras with Theda Bara-like vampires --
theatrical tricksters whose style was rebellion and self-parody. ... These
characters mimic and mime romantic convention, proving that socially defined roles
have no real power over them." CLICK FOR REVIEWS (415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Stage Left, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays May 4-26.

UNCONDITIONAL THEATRE's SPRING FLING WITH A ZING. Winter is finally over, so forget the rain, the fog, and the cold. Remember the feeling of sun and flirt with Unconditional Theatre at their fundraiser to benefit the West Coast premiere of Greensboro by Emily Mann. Featuring The Whistleaires, Scatch Theatre, Sonic Tackle Box, a performance of Side Four by Trevor Allen, and a lot more - saucy, effervescent, and fun... this is the fling you've been waiting for. (415.437.5527) $10-$15, Sliding Scale. EXIT Theatre, 7-10PM Monday May 24.

PLAYING JULIET/CASTING OTHELLO by Caleen Sinette Jennings premiered in 1998 at Washington D.C.'s Source Theatre. It tells a comic and touching story of a small multi-cultural theatre company struggling to present two of Shakespeare's most famous plays. In the first act, an African-American actress cast as Juliette confronts the covert racism of the company's director and her own self-doubts. In the second act, the company struggles to find a new actor to play Othello after their star has resigned to take a television job. The only actor available is a janitor with an acting bug; again, the company looks at its own attitudes about theatre and race. Lloyd Rose of the Washington Post said, "there's something touching, funny and finally brave about the way (Jennings') play wears its political heart on its sleeve." REVIEWS Teatro Shalom (650.553.9285) $14 general, $10 TBA Members/Students/Seniors. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays April 8 - May 1.

THE SNEEZE plays and stories by Anton Chekhov. "We're all about giving Chekov back to the People," claims a spokesperson for the People's Republic of Chekov. This production of The Sneeze: Plays and Stories by Anton Chekov, translated and adapted by Michael Frayn, brims with the insight into the human condition commonly associated with Chekov. These rarely seen comic shorts are both finely nuanced and wildly funny. "This is serious comedy." REVIEWS The People's Republic of Chekov (415.339.7819) $12. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays April 8 - May 1.

TRAITOR TO THE CAUSE by Terri Kasch. Kieran March has constructed his own reality. But when he tries to ignore the death of his naive sister, his carefully buried past descends upon him with a fury. From the author of last year's hit Verbatim, which received the 1998 San Francisco Weekly Black Box Award for Best Play comes an eerie drama about truth, belief and lies, and the consequences that result from toying with all three. Grindstone Theater Company REVIEWS (415.421.8346) $12. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays March 5 - April 3 and Monday March 15.

JOHNNY KATS IN SPACE! San Francisco's favorite blend of clay-based improvisational and sketch comedy, returns to the stage with an all-new show. Join us in our thinly-veiled attempt to cash in on the current sci-fi and fantasy craze as America holds its collective breath awaiting the release of the new Star Wars film. Who needs to stand in a long line with a bunch of bad Jedi imitators when you can see the tacky costumes, cheesy special effects and killer jokes that have become a Johnny Kats trademark?
Johnny Kats in Space! features Joaquin Hebshie, Dawn Corine, Mai Ling, Bryan Reinero and the debut of the newest Kat: Mike Gregory. In addition to their politically incorrect and decidedly adult improvised vignettes, we'll also introduce the first (to our knowledge) Australian super-hero, an homage to those nuts who worship Star Trek, and pop psychology from Jedi Master Yoda. We're also launching another chapter in the genre we invented: whitesploitation. Yes, it's a brand new Foxy White caper: Foxy White's Fantastic, Orgasmic, Intergalactic Adventure. (415) 704-3261. $12 Performances benefit the San Francisco AIDS Foundation via California AIDS Ride 6, EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Friday April 2nd and Saturday April 3rd.

HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett. Join Winnie & Willie, Beckett's eternal couple, for an unforgettable experience, a virtual picnic in the grass. What is that wonderful expression? "A jug of wine, a mound of dirt, and thou..." It's no wonder that Winnie exclaims, "Oh this is going to be another happy day!" Featuring Verona Seiter who received awards for her performances in Beckett's Footfalls in Absurdist Season 1997 and Beckett's All That Fall in Absurdist Season 1998. Directed by Ugo Baldassari who staged the Bay Area premiere of this play in the early seventies.(415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Stage Left, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays March 9-31.

THE KILLING GAME by Eugene Ionesco. What would you do if a plague visited our city, killing everyone in sight? Ionesco holds a mirror up to our society and creates a rich and deadly satire to answer this question with equal doses of insight and comic flair. The 19th Ionesco production by EXIT Theatre will be directed by Michelle Draeger. (415.673.3847) $10. EXIT Theatre, 7PM Tuesdays and Wednesdays March 9-31.

BANG! written and directed by Mark Jackson. Another original production from the creators of R&J and BRAVE. With their characteristic quirky style and theatricality, Art Street Theatre explores the friction between doubt and commitment. When a member of the audience is mistakenly inspired by a strange play over which the cast and crew are at odds, words and fists begin to fly. Before the evening is over, several commitments have been splintered and a good many revelations have exploded. BANG! is a funny and provocative slice of backstage life, certain to entertain and surprise. Art Street Theatre's past productions have been described by local critics with such adjectives as "hypnotic" and "inspired" and even "brilliant!" Do not miss BANG! REVIEWS (415.751.5922) $10 - $15. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays & Saturdays March 5 - 27, Special Performances 8PM Mondays March 15 & 22.

HAMLET by Shakespeare adapted by Charles Marowitz. Shakespeare and absurdism join forces as Marowitz explores the classic play in an 80 minute collage format bringing Hamlet up to date for the 90's by experimenting with speed, fragmentation, and discontinuity. Charles Marowitz's Hamlet challenges the audience to look at the play through fresh eyes. This is not your high school class' Hamlet! Directed by Jonathan Gonzalez who directed the hit Line in last year's absurdist season. Director Jonathan Gonzalez with Christina Augello, Jeffrey Beck, William Boynton, David Groen, Val Hendrickson, Kurt Kroesche, Frank McGuire, Roberto Robinson, Cat Schaulis-Thompson, and Phil Worman; assistant director Jacqueline Blackman; costume designer Cindy Rae; set designer Jason Ries; sound designer Andrew Kelsey. REVIEWS (415.673.3847) $14. EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays January 29 - February 27 and Mondays Feb. 8 & 22.

SUBJECT TO FITS a musical response to Dostoevsky's The Idiot by Robert Montgomery. After years of isolation, a guileless young epileptic is thrust disastrously into the heart of a society obsessed with money, power and sexual conquest. This "play with music" is a brillantly theatrical desconstruction of the classic tale of scandal, murder, madness, and innocence destroyed. Developed by the creative team of John Sowle and Steven Patterson (of Kaliyuga Arts) who directed last year's Gertrude Stein absurdist pieces. Directed by John Sowle with Dan Carbone, Vincent Camillo, Beth Donohue, Paul Gerrior, Lawrence Motta, Russell Pachman, Kathryn Pallakoff, Larry Spenler, and Kathryn Trask; stage managers Joseph Graham & Bill Parker; dramaturg Steven Patterson. REVIEWS (415.673.3847) $14. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Fridays and Saturdays January 29 - February 27 and Mondays Feb. 8 & 22.

1998

EAST by Steven Berkoff. Aggro Theatre presents the loud, energetic and irreverent testament to Berkoff's youth in London's East End. Through it's celebration of seduction, lust, combat and motorcycles and by it's admissions of loneliness and hopelessness, East is both a scream of joy and a scream of pain. REVIEW (415.970.9434) $10 (Free Preview Wed. Dec. 2). EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays December 3 -19.

UP FROM THE GROUND... Startling Tales From the Bottom of the Cabbage Patch To The Outer Reaches of the Horsehead Nebula by Dan Carbone. The SOLD OUT Sleeper HIT from the Best of the 1998 Fringe is BACK. Startling tales from the Bottom of the Cabbage patch to the Outer Reaches of the Horsehead Nebula.
"BRILLIANTLY DEMENTED... One of the strangest, funniest, and most oddly touching performances at this year's Fringe." - Brad Rosenstein SF BAY GUARDIAN
"...A UNIQUE GENIUS REMINISCENT OF JONATHAN WINTERS." - Gene Price SF BAY TIMES
"DAN CARBONE IS NOT OF THIS EARTH... He is a true transplant from the real nether-lands... not from the land of tulips and windmills, but from a region between retardation and genius..." - George Kuchar, Cult Film Director
"UP FROM THE GROUND is a one-man collection of irreal characters, including a monkey astronaut, a dead Elvis waiting on the Highway of Eternity in a limousine, and Jesus, paired with a hallucinatory, evil monkey named Jungle Belle. The title piece is about a vivid Southern Family entranced and terrified by some holy flower-like thing growing in their cornfield. It's HILARIOUS and ELEGANT and REALLY, REALLY WEIRD.
"Dan Carbone has rare gifts as an actor and writer; even his oddest
noises, chants and stories seem logical, which is exactly the sort the
weirdness you hope to see at a Fringe Festival." -Michael Scott Moore SF WEEKLY More Media(415.673.3847) $12 General, $8 Students. EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays December 3-19.

ALICE UNDER WATER by Kish Song Bear. ADULT CONTENT & LANGUAGE. Alice finds Lewis Carroll at the bottom of a pool of tears and asks "Who Am I?" Combining movement and dance with characters and language from Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" and Daria Fo's "Alice in Wonderless Land", ALICE UNDER WATER is a comic look at a tragic love story. ALICE stars Bricine Mitchell, seen in Art Street Theatre's "Salome" and "Brave", and features Michael Blue, Julie Van Devere, Robert Espinoza, Patricia Phecan, Jake Rodriguez and Juliet Tanner; directed by the playwright with set design by Ivan Berry. (415.339.8751) $12 General, $8 Students/Seniors. EXIT Stage Left, 8:30PM Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays November 5 - 21, "pay what you can" 8:30PM Monday November 16, SPECIAL TIME, 7:30PM Friday November 20. REVIEWS

ORGASMO ADULTO ESCAPES FROM THE ZOO by Dario Fo & Franca Rame. Shelley Mitchell returns to the EXIT Theater after sold out performances at the San Francisco Fringe Festival with three brilliant excerpts from Dario Fo and Franca Rame's acclaimed one woman comedy adapted by Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons and directed by Cris Cassell.
ORGASMO ADULTO ... is an ironic and insightful take on the condition of women in modern society filtered through the creative genius of Dario Fo, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for literature, and his wife and artistic collaborator Franca Rame. Among the excerpts presented by Shelley Mitchell, A WOMAN ALONE focuses on sexual politics through the eyes of an Italian housewife trying to juggle husband, lover , baby, housework, neighbors, church, obscene phone calls, and relatives. In DIALOGUE FOR A SINGLE VOICE we get a glimpse of a young woman showing her lover a few new positions..., while THE FREAK MOMMY portrays an over- protective mama following her son into the mysterious world of political activists and the counter-culture. When Dario Fo won the 1997 Nobel Prize the Vatican immediately issued a statement denouncing the honor. Come and find out why! (415.389.6429) $12. EXIT Theatre, 8:30PM Fridays and Saturdays November 6 - 21. REVIEWS Contact Shelley Mitchell at http://home.earthlink.net/~shellmit

DANGEROUS CORNER by J.B. Priestly. What happens when the complete truth finally comes out? A harmless dinner party becomes a sometimes farcical, sometimes horrifying revelation of the deeds done between a group of longtime friends. By the author of An Inspector Calls, Dangerous Corner looks at the hidden lives we lead, and asks whether we're better off keeping them to ourselves. Teatro Shalom (650.553.9285) $15 General, $10 Students/Seniors. [Reviews] EXIT Theatre, 8PM Thursday, Friday, Saturday October 8 - 30, Opening Night 10/8 Benefit for Continuum $20, Monday 10/26 Industry Performance 1/2 price TBA & Union Members, Thursdays 10/15 & 10/22 "Pay What You Can".

BABY WITH THE BATHWATER by Christopher Durang. An absurdist, comic look at bringing up children and a parent's impact on their child. Chameleon Theatre Company (415.260.4161) $12 General, $7 Students/TBA. [Reviews] EXIT Stage Left, 8PM Thursday, Friday, Saturday October 8-30 and Monday October 26.

BEST OF THE FRINGE Thursday, Friday and Saturday Six shows that rocked the `98 SF Fringe Festival return for a three night extravaganza. The Fringe presents everything from comedy, drama and solo performance to dance, puppetry and experimental works that defy categorization. EXIT Theatre & EXIT Stage Left October 1 - October 3