Renegade Theatre Experiment Presents the Premiere of WAITING TO DANCE by Erica Hemenway

Fulfilling its vision to "listen for new voices, and help them to be heard," Renegade Theatre Experiment (RTE) rounds out its 2005 -2006 season with a world premiere: Erica Hemenway's WAITING TO DANCE. Directed by RTE founding member Whitney Stebbins, WAITING TO DANCE presents a chorus of female voices in a setting redolent of Pirandello.

Five women are brought to a room and reluctantly begin to share their tales in the hopes of answering the question of why they are there. As the women reveal more about themselves, what once seemed fairly clear suddenly becomes very complicated. Northern Californian playwright Erica Hemenway developed the play over the last seven years, a period which saw its creation and gestation. Her efforts have culminated in a collaboration with RTE to present the play's first full-fledged production.

Stebbins is thrilled to expose this unknown quantity and engage audiences in the play's reflections: "Each of the women embarks on a very personal journey, and I have the somewhat daunting job of guiding the audience through this complex maze of emotion – denial, sexuality, guilt, and irrevocable truth. The humanity of each of these women spoke to me, and I have no doubt that our audiences will enjoy accompanying them on their journey."

Ironically, it is just this brand of personal identification that spawned the play in the first place. A provocative school assignment required Hemenway "to live as a character--any character--for one day on the streets of New York. I chose a character from one of my many short stories: a character named Janis. The exercise was so phenomenal, I decided to revisit other female characters from short stories I had written. I began to wonder what would happen if these characters met each other, how they would interact, what bonds they would form and what tensions would arise."

Audiences can discover for themselves this winter at RTE, in another of the company's thrilling world premieres. WAITING TO DANCE previews on February 2, and runs February 3-5, 9-12, and 16-18, closing on February 18. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 8:00pm, and Sunday matinees at 2pm at the historic Hoover Theatre in San José.

Tickets for WAITING TO DANCE are $18.00 General Admission (Thursdays and Sundays) and $20.00 General Admission (Fridays and Saturdays). Students and teachers, seniors, and Theatre Bay Area members qualify for discount tickets ($13/$15) with valid ID.

The Renegade Theatre Experiment (RTE) was founded in 2001 to bring edgy and entertaining new shows to the San José theatre community.

www.renegadetheatre.com