Clutch's Annual EmpowHER Reading Series Returns Next Month

Clutch Productions has announced the show will go on, despite the pandemic, of their annual empowHER Reading Series, featuring one-act plays and short screenplays by emerging female (and female-identifying) writers.

The readings are planned to be LIVE Zoomed on three Saturdays October 3, 10, 17, 2020 at 7:00 pm (with encore Sunday airings at 3pm). The readings will be streamed through the Clutch website at www.clutchproductions.org/empowher and the Clutch Facebook page.

The scripts are written by Kate Bell, Jessica Charles, Cayenne Douglass, Loren Escandon, Allison Fradkin, Emma Goldman-Sherman, Deborah Peña, Robin Rice, Nandita Shenoy, and Jane Willis. Directors and dramaturgs working on the project include the following women Vanessa Morosco, Aleesha Nash, Lee Douglass, Raquel Almazan, Iyvon Edebiri and Mêlisa Annis.

The 2020 empowHER Reading Series will have three installments dedicated to the specific themes listed below:

• October 3, 2020 at 7:00 pm: Sharing my voice does not equal vanity

Playwrights: Kate Bell, Allison Fradkin, Emma Goldman-Sherman, Deborah Peña, Jane Willis Encore stream: October 4, 2020 at 3pm

• October 10, 2020 at 7:00 pm: What white privilege means to me. *from the perspective of artists of color*

Playwrights: Jessica Charles, Loren Escandon, Nandita Shenoy, Jane Willis Encore stream: October 11, 2020 at 3pm

• October 17, 2020 at 7:00 pm: Women, awake! Your country needs you...still. Marking 100 years since suffrage.

Playwrights: Kate Bell, Cayenne Douglass, Robin Rice, Jane Willis Encore stream: October 18, 2020 at 3pm
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Tickets are FREE but reservations are recommended. Running Time: 90-100 minutes no intermission. Website: www.clutchproductions.org/empowher.

CLUTCH PRODUCTIONS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to creating opportunities for female artists in theatre and film. By commissioning and producing original works, Clutch provides vital creative space for female writers, directors, actors, and designers to collaborate.

All commissioned narratives are driven from a woman's point of view, and at least 50% of the roles are for actors identifying as women. Past productions include: Every Good Girl Deserves Fun by Heidi Armbruster, Bullet Catchers by the Women in Combat Theatre Project, The Worth of Water by Tira Palmquist, and the annual empowHER Reading Series. www.clutchproductions.org

The empowHER Reading Series is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by LMCC. It is also made possible in part with funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation and administered by LMCC.

LMCC serves, connects, and makes space for artists and community. UMEZ enhances the economic vitality of all communities in Upper Manhattan through job creation, corporate alliances, strategic investments, and small business assistance.