MarshStream International Solo Fest Extends Viewing Through November 1, Announces Winners

Celebrating the conclusion of its event which attracted thousands of viewers tuning in from all over the world, The Marsh has announced the winning productions from its first-ever digital global festival, MarshStream International Solo Fest, and has extended viewing access through November 1, 2020.

The event, which featured 53 performers from seven countries, attracted more than 3,000 viewers who tuned in to the four-day online marathon from across the US and around the world, including Kuwait, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, and Russia. Viewers who missed any of the productions can now purchase a Festival Pass ($25) and access all archived festival shows through November 1.

Says Marsh Founder/Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, "While we are all sheltering in place and craving live performance, how spectacular that we could reach out to an international community of performers, and present their stunning, funny, enlightening, and entertaining works to enthusiastic audience members around the globe. This is indeed, a testament to how very well solo performance works in this digital medium, and we are thrilled to continue creating these exciting opportunities."

Viewers can access all archived festival shows on demand ($25 for a Festival Pass) through November1 at TheMarsh.org/MarshStream.

The Marsh, which pre-COVID operated theaters in San Francisco and Berkeley with some 600 performances per year on four stages, pivoted last April to create a digital platform, MarshStream, which continues to offer live nightly performances. The MarshStream International Solo Fest was made possible by a generous donation from the Zitrin Foundation. Zoom provided additional support by providing two webinar rooms viewable by up to 1,000 individuals each.

Winners of the 2020 International Solo Fest Awards, announced at an online ceremony by Stephanie Weisman, include:

Best Full-Length Performance:

Winners

Lynne Kaufman's Who Killed Sylvia Plath starring Lorri Holt

Marga Gomez's Not Getting Any Younger

Honorable Mentions

Laura Jane Bailey's The Paris Effect

Skyler Cooper's A One Man Show

Jessica Litwak's 50,000 Mice, The Selena Solomons Story

Antonia Kasper's 45 Coffee Dates

Kathryn Keats's Hummingbird

David Kleinberg's He Wants to Run

Rhonda Musak's Rhonda Badonda: The Adventures of a Girl with a Pain In Her Brain

Joanna Rush's Sex & Power

Nelsie Spencer's Day of the Dead Daddy

Helen Stoltzfus's Dispatches from the Great Burning: What My Mennonite Ancestors and the Gobi Bear Taught Me About Surviving the Climate Emergency

Best Solo Performance Musical:

Kathryn Keats's Hummingbird

Evan Kent's Shards

Best Short Performance:

Ananda Bena Weber's Fancifool

Best Shorts Program:

Igor Meerson's Your Favorite Russian

G.K. Jayaram's Love Needs Internal Vigilance

Pearl Ong's She's No Lady

Best Zoom Adaptation:

Marga Gomez's Not Getting Any Younger

Most Watched Full-Length Performance (Live Views):

Steve Budd's What They Said About Sex

Most Watched Shorts Program (Live Views):

Anne Bach's My New Mom

Kiki's I Am Not My Hair

Amy Segal's Clothing Optional

Koorosh Ostowari's Grandma's Million Dollar Scheme

Fan Fest Favorites (From Viewers Poll):

Samuel Simon's The Actual Dance

Kiki's I Am Not My Hair

Helene Lara's Adventures Beyond My Living Room

Best Costume:

Sha Sha Higby's Clouds of Fish

Tipping Point:

Skyler Cooper's A One Man Show

Best Commentary of the Times:

Maureen Langan's Don't Make Me Hate You

Don Reed's 8 Years, 4 Months, 11 Days: A Black Life Mattering