Late: a Cowboy Story Panel Discussion Held Tonight At Center on Halsted

Piven Theatre Workshop and the Center on Halsted proudly present From Cow(girls) to the OK-Corral: Gendering in American Popular Culture as part of the Center's actOUT series. The special panel discussion will feature Jessica Thebus, director of Sarah Ruhl's Late: A Cowboy Song; actor Polly Noonan, now starring in Late: A Cowboy Song; and Kathleen Ruhl. The discussion will be led by David Chack, President of the Association for Jewish Theatre. The discussion will take place on Monday, August 9, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theatre, 3656 N Halsted, Chicago.

From Cow(girls) to the OK-Corral is a special panel discussion about the ways gender and identity are depicted in popular culture and how Sarah Ruhl's play Late: A Cowboy Song is about the multiple ways we are male, female and somewhere in-between. And yet images, perceptions, culture, religion and stereotypical biases are the lens through which we see gender. The panel will look at the image of the cowboy in American popular culture and see a short video of those images to spur (no pun intended) discussion. Tickets are $10 and seating is general admission.

About The Center on Halsted
In a safe and nurturing environment, Center on Halsted serves as a catalyst for the LGBT community that links and provides community resources, and enriches life experiences.

Center on Halsted has become an exciting and highly visible symbol for the LGBT community of Chicago, serving diverse social, recreational, cultural, and social service needs of youth and adults in a safe, inviting and nurturing environment. It has office and meeting space for community organizations, drop-in space for youth and for older adults, gallery space, cultural programming and recreational space including basketball and volleyball courts along with parking, ground level retail and a rooftop memorial garden.

The Center offers support networks and programming to meet the cultural, emotional, social, educational and recreational needs of the LGBT community and friends. Current services include support groups for youth and seniors, mental health services, an info line for LGBT individuals and a hotline for HIV and STD concerns, prevention, treatment, and advocacy related to domestic violence, community technology center providing internet access and technology training and a range of life-enrichment programs.

The Center on Halsted also houses a number of organizations serving Chicago's LGBT community. Currently, numerous cultural, recreational and advocacy organizations that serve the LGBT community are Resident Community Partners at the Center, which acts as an incubator providing operational support and room for collaboration to the diverse community of nonprofit organizations that may otherwise find it difficult to interact.

About Late: A Cowboy Song
Late: A Cowboy Story reunites the remarkable team of director Jessica Thebus, actor Polly Noonan, and Piven Theatre alumna, Pulitzer Prize finalist and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Sarah Ruhl. Late: A Cowboy Story is the story of one woman's education and her search to find true love after she meets a female cowboy just outside of Pittsburgh.

The cast of Late: A Cowboy Song features Larry Grimm (Crick), Polly Noonan (Mary) and Kelli Simpkins (Red).

Ticket prices are $15 for preview performances and $25 for regular run performances. Tickets are available at the Box Office, 927 Noyes Street, Evanston; (847) 866-8049 or online at www.piventheatre.org. Student and group rates are available by calling the box office at 847-866-8049 or visiting the website at www.piventheatre.org.

About The Piven Theatre
For over 35 years, the Piven Theatre Workshop has remained a nationally respected acting school and professional Equity theatre. Within recent history, Piven Theatre has received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Sound Design, and an After Dark Award for Outstanding Ensemble. The theatre has also received several Joseph Jefferson Recommendations, a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Adaptation, and Jeff nominations for Best Original Score, and Best Ensemble. Co-Founders Byrne & Joyce Piven have trained countless theatre artists such as John and Joan Cusack, Kate Walsh, Aidan Quinn, Lili Taylor and Jeremy Piven, to name only a few. Stagebill honored the Pivens with the designation "Chicago's first family of acting."

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!