Valerie Hager's NAKED IN ALASKA Set for Chicago Fringe, Now thru 9/2

Legendary Hearts Productions presents Valerie Hager's critically acclaimed autobiographical Fringe Festival hit "Naked In Alaska," directed by Scott Wesley Slavin, at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., tonight, Aug. 30 - Sept. 2 as part of the Chicago Fringe Festival. For tickets or more information visit chicagofringe.org.

Written by and starring actress and movement artist Valerie Hager, "Naked in Alaska" follows Hager through her 10-year career as an exotic dancer in strip clubs from Mexico to Alaska to California as she strives to redeem the outcast and addict she became during childhood and adolescence.

At 21, newly sober and recently evicted, Valerie is invited by her best friend Raven to work at a strip club in Tijuana, Mexico. An evening that begins in innocence and excitement over making some easy cash seduces her into a 10-year career that tests the limits of friendship and her will to survive. In this solo work, Hager portrays more than a dozen characters that danced in and frequented the clubs.

"'Naked in Alaska' is a fearless look at the objects we make of ourselves to fit in and the buried truths we must face to have a chance of coming home," says Hager. She began working on "Naked In Alaska" in 2005 in a series of developmental workshops. "I was at a place in my life where the traditional ways of getting work as an actor weren't working for me. So I began to explore the experiences I had as a meth-addicted teenager and exotic dancer. As I began to open up and share my story, I saw how it impacted and connected with people. I realized I had to develop this part of my life into a longer narrative because I believed it could inspire and empower others who have felt different or on the fringe."

In 2009 Valerie began workshopping her material in Matt Hoverman's, Create Your Own Solo Show class. And, eventually in 2011 and with the guidance of Matt's teachings Naked in Alaska was originally developed. In early 2012, with the support of Stage Left's Cheryl King, Hager performed "Naked In Alaska" at New York's Stage Left Studio. In mid-2012, Scott Wesley Slavin came on board as "Naked In Alaska's" director and dramaturge. Slavin continues to work with Hager on both "Naked in Alaska" and other original pieces for The Room's Salon Series (which Hager and Slavin co-founded), as well as other celebrated venues.

To date, "Naked in Alaska" has been accepted into seven festivals and series including New York's Emerging Artists Theatre Festival, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, Women at Work Festival, EstroGenius Festival, Dixon Place Performance Series, the New York International Fringe Festival and the Chicago Fringe Festival. For more information about Valerie Hager and "Naked in Alaska" visit valeriehager.com.

Legendary Hearts Productions presents Valerie Hager's "Naked In Alaska," as part of the Chicago Fringe Festival at The Gift Theatre, 4802 N. Milwaukee Ave., Friday, Aug. 30 at 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. For tickets or more information visit chicagofringe.org.

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