LOCAL Theater Company to Present BODY OF WORK with Eve Ensler, 10/11

October 11, 2013 at 7pm at the new eTown Hall: 1535 Spruce St. in Boulder, LOCAL Theater Company presents "Body of Work" an eclectic evening of words, dance and music revering the body, featuring a talk from Eve Ensler ("The Vagina Monologues"). Ensler will also read excerpts from her new book "In the Body of the World;" Jamie Ann Romero and LOCAL Company member Rachel Fowler will perform pieces from Ensler's "The Good Body;" Courtney Thomas of the Off-Broadway production of Ensler's "Emotional Creatures" will perform a piece from Ensler's most recent play; Los Angeles dance pioneer Miss Prissy will introduce Boulder to krump; and throughout the night DJ Savior Breath rides the turntables-- all followed by a complimentary wine and dessert after-party.

Tony winner, bestselling author of the international phenomenon "The Vagina Monologues," and one of Newsweek's 150 Women Who Changed the World, Eve Ensler is one of the earth's foremost activists. She is the founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, which has raised over $100,000,000 for grassroots organizations around the world.

In her new memoir, "In the Body of the World," Ensler confesses how her harrowing battle with uterine cancer forced her to become foremost a body- pricked, punctured, cut, scanned.

Says Ensler, "Having cancer was the moment when I went as far as I could go without being gone, and it was there, dangling on that edge that I was forced to let go of everything that did not matter, to release the past and be burned down to essential matter. It was there I found my second wind. The second wind arrives when we think we are finished, when we can't take another step, breathe another breath. And then we do."

In her devastation, the distance she's fostered to protect herself is erased and she joins with "the body of the world," gathering the strength to keep writing and fighting for women worldwide, particularly in the Congo.

With the women of Congo, V-Day opened and supports City of Joy in Bukavu, Congo, a revolutionary center where survivors of gender violence "turn their pain to power."

LOCAL co-founder and Artistic Director Pesha Rudnick always admired Ensler, and jumped at the chance to work with her as the associate director last fall on Ensler's latest play "Emotional Creature." Adapted from Ensler's book of the same name, the play weaves together original music with direct address stories based on real young women coming of age.

Says Rudnick, "Eve is not a 'formula' writer so we approached each day raw and incorporated current events into the show. I remember vividly the rehearsal (2 days into previews) when Eve received a text that 14 year old Malala Yousefzai had been shot by the Taliban for advocating education for girls. Eve stood up in the middle of the run and said, 'Malala deserves to be in our play.' Our job was stay present and celebrate young women warriors NOW, not in the past, but the woman who are suffering and fighting today, all over the world.

"Eve epitomizes what LOCAL believes is essential for great storytellers--she is passionate, funny and brutally honest."

Joining Ensler on stage in "Body of Work" will be Courtney Thomas of the Off-Broadway production of "Emotional Creature" performing an excerpt from that play; Jamie Ann Romero (well-known to Boulder theater-goers for her 7 seasons at Colorado Shakespeare Festival) and LOCAL Company member Rachel Fowler performing from Ensler's "The Good Body."

Additionally, Miss Prissy, deemed a "krumping celebrity" by LA Weekly and featured in David LaChapelle's documentary "Rize," brings her wild street dance to the eTown Hall stage, while the highly theatrical DJ Savior Breath spins.

"eTown Hall isn't yet known as a venue for theater, but I suspect it will be," says LOCAL Executive Director, Joy Pak. "It's a state-of-the-art venue. Gorgeous. We are thrilled to partner with them."

"Body of Work" benefits LOCAL's upcoming season. Tickets are $75, on sale now a www.etown.org or 303-443-8966. Information about LOCAL with links to the artists is available at www.LOCALTheaterCompany.org. Please note, this event is not appropriate for children.

Brigitte Lacombe