Actor-Playwright Sherry Jo Ward Performs Award-Winning Solo Show One Weekend Only

For one weekend only, Austin Scottish Rite Theater and Penfold Theatre Company present STIFF, a fast-paced story about moving slow, April 19th and 20th.

Award-winning Dallas actress Sherry Jo Ward chronicles her struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incredibly rare disease which impairs her mobility and causes her unexplained pain. Part stand-up comedy, part PowerPoint presentation, STIFF is a "must-see" theatrical event - a unique and engaging first person account of what it means to re-assess one's own goals and ambition when confronted with a life-altering diagnosis.

STIFF was the unanimous standout at the 2017 Festival of Independent Theatres (FIT) in Dallas. It won recognition for Best Actress and Best New Play from the Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum and now receives its Austin premiere.

The Dallas Morning News called STIFF, "a funny, profane, wrenching confessional from someone who never expected to find herself on the 'short bus,'" while TheaterJones.com names it, "one of the most honest, funny, compelling and unforgettable pieces of theater you might see in your lifetime."

Austin audiences have been treated to Ms. Ward's work before. In 2011, Penfold Theatre Company presented her semi-autobiographical tale GOING WITH JENNY as part of the Frontera Festival. "Besides being an utter delight throughout the process," says Producing Artistic Director Ryan Crowder, "Sherry impressed us with her ability to touch the deepest, most guarded parts of her audiences' hearts by sharing the deepest parts of hers. STIFF operates much in the same way: the result of her courageous and vulnerable sharing is a funny, emotional and altogether engaging night of theatre."

STIFF will be the third collaboration between Austin Scottish Rite Theater and Penfold Theatre Company, following AN ILIAD and WOMAN IN BLACK in 2017. Parking is free in the theater's surface lot or by meter on the street. Tickets may be purchased online and at the door.

FAST FACTS
STIFF
Written and performed by Sherry Jo Ward
Austin Scottish Rite Theater, 207 W 18th St, Austin, TX 78701
April 19-20, 2018
Tickets $10-$15
Showtimes, tickets and information available at www.scottishritetheater.org and www.penfoldtheatre.org.

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Austin Scottish Rite Theater is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to share and preserve the historic Masonic facility, serving the greater community through high quality performing arts, educational programs, and events. Enjoy the historic Austin Scottish Rite Theater, built in 1871 with its newly restored comfy seats and a gorgeously restored starry ceiling!

Penfold Theatre Company cultivates a love for live theatre in northern Travis and Williamson Counties by offering first-class, professional theatre performances and education programs. 2017-18 is the company's tenth anniversary season: Woman in Black (October 2017), A Miracle on 24th Street Classic Radiocast (December 2017) and Much Ado About Nothing (June 2018).