Women In Theatre Conference Coming To Howard Community College

Rep Stage is pleased to announce that the third annual conference dedicated to women working in the theatre will be held in the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard Community College on August 25 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. This year's theme of "Empowerment and Connection" pairs the original mission of providing opportunity for women in theatre to network with the urgent need for women to develop strategies to further the cause of gender equality.

The keynote speaker will be DC-based actor and activist Erika Rose, whose recent credits include "Queen's Girl in Africa" at Mosaic Theatre and "An Octoroon" at Woolly Mammoth. Rose is a member of Not in Our House DC, an ongoing initiative to develop a standard of safety and address sexual harassment and other abuse in the DC region theatre community. This initiative expands upon the work of Not in Our House in Chicago.

This year's conference features two new initiatives: a portfolio expo, which provides an opportunity to share work with other theatre artists, and an afternoon of readings of new short plays or scenes from full length pieces. According to Rep Stage Business Manager Zheyan Damavandi, "We are very pleased to host this event that brings together a diverse group of theatre professionals from across the region, and this year offers them the chance to share their work."

Registration for the conference will be open on June 1. To register, contact the Horowitz Center Box Office at 443-518-1500 or visit www.repstage.org/womenintheatre.