Melanie Marnich News

'Censored on Final Approach' is the story of four WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilots), a group of roughly one thousand women hired by the United States Air Force during WWII to fly military aircrafts and tow targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, thereby freeing male pilots for combat missions. The women in Ms. Ravel's play are willing to accept any mission for their chance to serve their country, gain the respect of their male counterparts, and experience the thrill of flying. As one of the characters in the play puts it, 'The difference between the men here and us? You have to be here, we want to be here.' In the face of prejudice from male pilots who respond with constant sabotaging of their planes, these women go to extremes to prove their worth. 'Look at us,' says one. 'We are no longer normal. We take any mission, no matter how dangerous, we are scared to smile, scared to act like ourselves. Scared that we will lose the chance to fly.' When a fellow female pilot crashes, however, the surviving WASPs begin to question their roles and their readiness to risk everything to prove themselves in the cockpit.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE) Chicago's only Equity theatre devoted to the work of women theatre artists, and Artistic Director Tara Mallen are proud to announce the extension of the Chicago premiere of Courtney Baron's Eat Your Heart Out, directed by Hallie Gordon, through July 12 at Rivendell's performance venue, 5779 N. Ridge Ave. The performance schedule is Today - Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. Please note: there are no performances Friday, July 4 or Saturday, July 5. The running time is approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets for the extension go on sale Tuesday, June 24 at 10 a.m. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.RivendellTheatre.org or by phone, 773.334.7728.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE) Chicago's only Equity theatre devoted to the work of women theatre artists, and Artistic Director Tara Mallen are proud to announce the extension of the Chicago premiere of Courtney Baron's Eat Your Heart Out, directed by Hallie Gordon, through July 12 at Rivendell's performance venue, 5779 N. Ridge Ave. The performance schedule is Wednesday - Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. Please note: there are no performances Friday, July 4 or Saturday, July 5. The running time is approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. Tickets for the extension go on sale Tuesday, June 24 at 10 a.m. Tickets are $30 and may be purchased online at www.RivendellTheatre.org or by phone, 773.334.7728.

Duke City Repertory Theatre opens Melanie Marnich's beautiful and riveting biopic "These Shining Lives" tonight at The Cell Theatre.

Duke City Repertory Theatre presents These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich, directed by John Hardy. The show will run today, May 15-25, 2014.

Renowned playwright Lee Blessing talks about 'A View of the Mountains' which will be staged at New Jersey Repertory in Long Branch through May 25th.

Duke City Repertory Theatre presents These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich, directed by John Hardy. The show will run May 15-25, 2014.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces the fifth selection of its 40th Anniversary Season: John Patrick Shanley's new romantic comedy Outside Mullingar. The play by the Pulitzer, Oscar and Tony Award-winning writer of Moonstruck and Doubt, will be directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park launches the third world premiere of its 2013-14 season, Anna Ziegler's humorous and heartbreaking memory play, A DELICATE SHIP, March 22 through April 20 in the Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, announces the first four selections of its 40th Anniversary Season. The celebratory season kicks-off with the current Off-Broadway hit The Commons of Pensacola, which is expected to be the first regional production. The season continues with Agatha Christie's mystery The Mousetrap, which is the world's longest-running play. Playwright Bruce Graham (Stella & Lou, The Outgoing Tide) returns to Northlight for the World Premiere of White Guy on the Bus. Shining Lives: A Musical, based on Melanie Marnich's play, commissioned by Northlight and written by Jessica Thebus (book & lyrics), Andre Pluess and Amanda Dehnert (music) will make its World Premiere in the Spring. An additional title is yet to be announced.

After conducting a thorough national search, the Alliance Theatre has announced that Mike Schleifer has been chosen as the new General Manager of the Alliance Theatre, beginning March 3, 2014. Schleifer steps into the position left vacant by Max Leventhal, who served the Alliance for 10 seasons before transitioning to the role of Owners' Representative to the Woodruff Arts Center in September, 2013. Schleifer brings to his new role 19 years of theatre management experience in a variety of company leadership and stage management positions.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre devoted to the work of women theatre artists, announces the world premiere of Joel Drake Johnson's Rasheeda Speaking, directed by Sandy Shinner. Rasheeda Speaking features RTE Artistic Director Tara Mallen and Steppenwolf Ensemble member Ora Jones and runs today, January 9 - February 15, 2014 at Rivendell's performance venue, 5779 N. Ridge.

Sonoma State University's Dept. of Theatre Arts & Dance presents a special performance for the sight-impaired during its production of 'Blur.'

Sonoma State University Dept. of Theatre Arts & Dance presents 'Blur' by Melanie Marnich and directed by Jennifer King. The show runs Oct. 17 to Oct. 26, 2013 at Studio 76, Ives Hall at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013 (Post-Show Discussion), 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013 (Faculty / Staff Night / Pre-Show Discussion / Audio Describer Translation).

The Department of Theatre Arts & Dance has announced its 2013-2014 performance season, which showcases emerging talents of Sonoma State University students studying dance, theater and music with productions including the beloved Broadway musical 'Fiddler on the Roof.'

Wide Eyed Productions' 'Winks' reading series continues with Tallgrass Gothic by Melanie Marnich. The reading will take place tonight, June 11.

id Theater returns to McCall, Idaho for the 13th Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, tonight, June 10- 22, sponsored by the Alpine Playhouse. Playwrights, actors and directors from across the country will travel to McCall and, working with local artists and students, develop eleven new plays that will be presented to the public free of charge. Since 2001, the Conference has developed more than 100 new plays by some of the most exciting voices in American Theater.

THESE SHINING LIVES tells the important story of a 1928 groundbreaking case which established legal precedents for labor safety standards still in effect decades later. Five factory workers, dubbed the 'Radium Girls,' sued their employer after contracting life-threatening radium poisoning while painting watch dials with the glow-in-the-dark substance. Playwright Melanie Marnich focuses on four of the thousands of women who entered the work force for the first time in the 1920s, rejoicing in the opportunity to make money before finding their lives forever changed by unanticipated camaraderie and unforeseen deleterious effects.

Wide Eyed Productions' 'Winks' reading series continues with Tallgrass Gothic by Melanie Marnich. The reading will take place on June 11. Doors open at 6:30pm. Wide Eyed Improv Troupe - 7:00pm. Tallgrass Gothic - 7:30pm.

In the 1920s and early 1930s, female factory workers, later known as radium girls, contracted radium poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium Factory in Ottawa, Illinois. The women, who had been told the paint was harmless, ingested deadly amounts of radium by licking their paintbrushes to give them a fine point. Five of the workers challenged their employer in a landmark case that travelled to the US Supreme Court and established the right of individuals who contracted 'occupational diseases' to sue their employers.