Premiere of DEAR DIARY, BYE Set for 4th Annual SoLow Festival, June 20-21

On Thursday June 20th and Friday June 21st at 8pm, the world premier of Dear Diary, Bye. will be performed at the Chapterhouse Café as part of the 4th annual SoLow Festival.

4th Annual SoLow Festival is dedicated to new, experimental work focusing on solo performance with low-maintenance and low-stress. SoLow Festival was created by Philadelphia performance artists Thomas Choinacky and Amanda Grove. Seeking a way to present their own solo work, with minimal expense, they developed the idea to get other people involved. Now in its fourth year SoLow is excited to experiment with the theme of Loners and Rebels and continue its use of non-traditional locations and venues inspiring artists and audiences alike to challenge the norm of theatre and making and seeing art that may otherwise never be created.

Ellie Brown adapted her 4th grade diary from 1984 to be performed by Harry Watermeier. Seth Reichgott is directing the piece. The diary was written for a period of six months by nine-year old Ellie to express her opinions and feelings about trying to understand an adult world, discovering boys and puberty, schoolyard scrapping and family troubles. The reading is both a comedic and touching piece. The landscape of the diary is deeply imbedded in 1984 and is sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

The male voice reading the diary is a proxy for nine-year old Ellie, and adds a layer of complexity and humor to the already humorous piece.

Ellie Brown

Ellie Brown is a native of Boston, MA. She received her B.F.A. in photography in 1997 and her M.F.A in 2002. Ellie has received numerous awards including: a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, Leeway Foundation grant, and funded artist residencies internationally and nationally. Ellie has been photographing girls' issues since 1996 and making altered bookwork since 2002. She has two published books. In 2008 she taught as a visiting professor at the College of Design at the University of Ulsan, in South Korea. She is the founder of POP!sicle Artist Marketing. The current BAG project was funded by United States Artists and has been exhibited extensively in 2010-2012. In 2012 Ellie served as the playwright for Dear Diary, Bye. which is a performance based on her 4th grade diary. http://www.elliebrown.com

Seth Reichgott

Seth Reichgott is a Philadelphia-based actor, director, and writer. Credits include Wintertime and Rock 'n' Roll (Wilma Theater), Wittenberg (Baltimore Shakespeare Festival and Rep Stage), A House with No Walls (Interact Theatre), The Government Inspector and The Foocy (Lantern Theatre), Tuesday (Amaryllis Theatre), The Ballad of John Wesley Reed (Theatre Catalyst), The Big Bang and Stones in His Pockets (Cape May Stage), Interview (Belligerent Muse), The Baker's Wife (Arden Theatre), and Equus (Mum Puppettheatre). He has twice been a co-recipient of the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play and was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actor for his performance in Wittenberg at Rep Stage.

Harry Watermeier

Harry has performed with the Simpatico Theater Project in 2013 in their production of The Lysistrata Project, the Eager Risk Theater Company, The Arden Theater Company, Philly Improv Theater, Shawnee Summer Theater and at Indiana University where he received his B.A. in Theater.

The Chapterhouse Café The Café is located at 620 S. 9th St. (at Bainbridge St.), Philadelphia, PA 215-238-2626 The performance will be located in the basement. The entry fee is $5.00.

Contact Please contact Ellie Brown with questions. ellie@elliebrown.com 267-997-2601

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