THE 2012 ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL Begins 9/14

THE 2012 ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL featuring 10 solo plays and musicals written and performed by 10 extraordinary artists, begins Friday, September 14th at The Cherry Lane Theatre/Mainstage, 38 Commerce Street, NYC, and continues through September 30th. This second AFO Theater Festival features the World Premieres of Alice Eve Cohen’s “WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW” based on her bestselling memoir, and “THE PURPOSE PROJECT” by Elizabeth Van Meter; and the NY Premiere of Emmy-winner and theatre favorite Leslie Jordan’s new solo piece “FRUIT FLY.” AFO Festival directors include Lynne Taylor-Corbett, BD Wong and Colman Domingo. The Festival offers two performances of each of the 10 plays plus 8 solo workshops with Advisory Board members Nilaja Sun, Gretchen Cryer, Matt Hoverman, Deb Margolin and Lynne Taylor-Corbett among others; a special master class with Leslie Jordan, AFO Advisor and 2012 AFO performer; and panels covering topics such as entering festivals, marketing, producing, and contracting for solo shows. The AFO Theater Festival will also present. works in development and talk-back audience sessions after every performance. Nilaja Sun will lead a special Mentoring Program for high school students.

The 2012 AFO Theater Festival performance schedule September 14 through 30 is: Wednesday-Sundays at 7 PM; Saturdays & Sundays at 2 PM and 4:30 PM. All performances, panels and workshops in the 2012 AFO Theater Festival will be at The Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street, NYC.

Michael Wolk, Executive Producer said: “The All For One Theater Festival is a nonprofit organization presenting outstanding solo shows that inform and inspire, along with workshops and panels to promote excellence in solo theater.
“This year, we have Lily Tomlin, Sir Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, John Leguizamo, Carrie Fisher and many other solo legends standing with us on our Advisory Board, and their message is clear: solo performance matters.”

The 10 solo plays and musicals written and performed by the authors in the 2012 ALL FOR ONE THEATER FESTIVAL are:

APPEARANCE OF LIFE by Jennifer S. Jones (formerly called Letters to Clio) A riveting thriller set in Buenos Aires in 1976 about an upper class woman who becomes radicalized when her daughter is ‘disappeared’ by the Argentine junta. Directed by Jessica Lefkow
Saturday, Sept. 15 @ 7pm & Sunday, Sept. 23 @ 4:30pm

ASKING FOR IT by Joanna Rush If you had a strict Catholic upbringing, ran off to pursue a dancing career in NYC, and were sexually assaulted by a helpful stranger you meet at Port Authority Bus Terminal…were you just ‘asking for it’? Directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Friday, September 14 @ 7pm & Saturday, September 22 @ 2pm

DIRTY PAKI LINGERIE by Aizzah Fatima Sex, politics and religion collide as six Pakistani-American women air their dirty lingerie.
Directed by Erica Gould
Saturday, Sept. 22 @ 4:30pm & Thursday, Sept. 27 @ 7pm

FRUIT FLY by Leslie Jordan Emmy-winner and theatre favorite Leslie Jordan asks, “Do gay men become their mothers?”
Directed by David Galligan NEW YORK PREMIERE
Thursday, Sept. 20 @ 7pm & Saturday, Sept. 22 @ 7pm

NO PAROLE by Carlo D’Amore From Peru to the streets of NY, the struggle between a con-artist Mother and her trusting son who tries to save her from her self-destructive habits of lying and stealing.
Directed by Colman Domingo
Sunday, Sept. 16 @ 7pm & Saturday, Sept. 29 @ 4:30pm

THE PURPOSE PROJECT: THAO’S LIBRARY by Elizabeth Van Meter Video and live performance combine to tell the story of a woman who, dealing with a family tragedy, finds meaning building a library in rural Vietnam. The Purpose Project: Thao’s Library was developed as part of the 2011 All For One Festival/New Works Series.
Directed by Joe Ricci WORLD PREMIERE
Sunday, Sept. 23 @ 2pm & Saturday, Sept. 29 @ 7pm

SPEAK UP CONNIE by Cindy Cheung A finding-your-voice extravaganza! Featuring original songs accompanied by the ukulele, "nice Chinese girl" Cindy (not Connie) Cheung learns to speak up - as an Asian American, an actor and a daughter. Directed by BD Wong
Saturday, Sept. 15 @ 2pm & Sunday, Sept. 23 @ 7pm

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW by Alice Eve Cohen Alice has an emergency CAT scan for an abdominal tumor, but is stunned to learn the bulge in her belly is not a tumor at all - she is 6 months pregnant! Adapted from her award-winning memoir. Directed by Elizabeth Margid
WORLD PREMIERE
Saturday, Sept. 15 @ 4:30pm & Friday, Sept. 28 @ 7pm

A WOMB WITH A VIEW Award-winning composer Debra Barsha’s rollicking musical about a Lesbian couple’s quest for a baby
Directed by Frank Ventura
Sunday, September 16 @ 2pm & Friday, September 21 @ 7pm

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?! by Mary Lou Shriber An original musical about an actress who never intended to be a nurse. Directed by Joe Ricci
Wednesday, Sept. 19 @ 7pm & Saturday, Sept. 29 @ 2pm

The AFO Workshops, with a fee of $85 each, are:
Jump Starting Your Personal Narrative Instructor: Jennifer S. Jones
Wednesday, September 19 2:30-5:45pm

Tell Your Story: The Art of the Autobiographical Solo Show
Instructor: Matt Hoverman Thursday, Sept 20 11am-2:15pm

Using Music in Your Solo Piece Instructor: Debra Barsha
Thursday, September 20 2:30-5:45pm

Tapping the Source: Creative Writing for Any Reason at All
Instructor: Deb Margolin Friday, September 21 11am-2:15pm

The Director/Performer Collaboration ($35.)
Instructor: Leslie Jordan & David Galligan
Friday, September 21 2:30-5:45pm

Creating Characters From Your Life Stories
Instructor: Alice Eve Cohen Thursday, September 27 11am-2:15pm

Writing for Solo Performance Instructor: Gretchen Cryer
Thursday, September 27 2:30-5:45pm

Making It Move: Using Movement in Your Solo Piece
Instructor: Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Joanna Rush
Friday, September 28 11am-2:15pm

Moment by Moment: Perfecting Your Solo Show Instructor: Nilaja Sun
Saturday, Sept. 15 11:30-1pm & Sunday, Sept. 16 11:30-1pm
(Both sessions are included in the price of this workshop.)

The AFO Panels and leaders are:
Behind The Scenes of a Solo Show Sat., Sept. 22 @ 12 noon
Shannon Romines (Documentary Director – SOLO)
Matt Hoverman (AFO Advisory Board Member)
Cindy Cheung (2012 AFO Performer – SPEAK UP CONNIE)

Marketing your Solo Show Sun., Sept. 23 @ 12 noon
Gioia De Cari (2011 AFO Performer – Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp Through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze)
Matt Hoverman (AFO Advisory Board Member)
Rock Wilk (AFO 2012 Festival Salon Performer)

Festivals and You Saturday, September 29 @ 12 noon
Elena Holy (Producing Artistic Director, FringeNYC)
Paul Adams (Founder/Artistic Director, E.A.T.’s One Woman Standing/One Man Talking Festival)
Jennifer Conley Darling (Producing Artistic Director, soloNOVA Festival)
Cheryl King (Owner/Artistic/Managing director of Stage Left Studio; Left Out Festival; Women at Work; Sola Voce at Estrogenius)

Producing and Contracting for your Solo show
Sunday, September 30, 2012 at 12 noon
Peter Breger (AFO’s Legal Counsel)
Peter Ligeti (Ligeti Artists, LLC; Theshowstore.com)
Jenni Wolfson (2011 AFO Performer – RASH)

All AFO panels are $5 suggested donation at the door.

On Wednesday, September 26th (7 to 8:30 PM) the AFO Festival Salon will present an evening of 10 minute excerpts from 8 new works by up-and-coming solo performers. This evening is open to the public with a suggested $10 donation at the door.

Michael Wolk is Executive Producer of the AFO Theatre Festival with Associate Producer Megan Kolb, and Town Square Productions as General Managers. The Advisory Board of the All for One Theater Festival includes: Daniel Beaty, Gretchen Cryer, Mike Daisey, Tovah Feldshuh, Carrie Fisher, Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Hoffman, Matt Hoverman, Leslie Jordan, John Leguizamo, Deb Margolin, Jackie Mason, Dael Orlandersmith, Eva Price, Mark Rylance, Patrick Stewart, Nilaja Sun, Lily Tomlin and BD Wong.

AFO Theater Festival is a non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of solo performance. Its mission is to provide career sustaining performing and teaching opportunities for these extraordinary solo artists. The AFO’s new collaboration with The ShowStore, which offers touring and booking support for plays from the Festival’s first and up-coming seasons, is an expansion of this mission. http://theshowstore.com/artists/view/1045

All performances, panel and workshops in the 2012 AFO Theater Festival will be at The Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street, NYC (west of 7th Avenue South, 3 blocks south of Christopher Street), and accessible via the A, B, C, D, F and M trains to West 4th Street or the #1 to Christopher Street.

Regular Seats: $25, Student Rush: $15, Senior Citizen: $20, Group Discount (10+): $15, Festival Pass (1 ticket to a performance of each show): $200

Buy tickets online at www.afofest.org/tickets or call Ovation Tix at (212) 352-3101. Tickets for all performances will also available for purchase at The Cherry Lane Box Office, 38 Commerce Street, one hour prior to performance.

For more information visit www.afofest.org. Follow us on Twitter at @AFOfestival and on Facebook at facebook.com/afofestival.