The Dragon Theater to Raise Funds for Planned Parenthood on Inauguration Night with THE TAMING

Bay Area playwright, Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in 2015-2016, has invited artists to stage a reading of her play The Taming on Inauguration Day 2017 for free as a fundraiser.

Of the script, Ms. Gunderson says, "In 2013 I wrote The Taming, an all-female political farce for Crowded Fire Theatre to unpack the deep frustration of a divided and obstructionist patriarchy, to laugh with the painful truth about extremism on both sides, to toy with our country's history and wrestle with its foundational imperfections, and to make manifest a dream of reason and understanding prevailing in America."

On Friday, January 20th Dragon Productions Theatre Company will be producing a staged reading of The Taming with some help from some Bay Area artists. The event will be pay what you will at the door and all proceeds raised this evening will go to Planned Parenthood in Redwood City. If you'd rather, you can reserve a seat for $25 and it comes with a glass of Nasty Woman punch (if you're age 21+).

Says Managing Director Kimberly Wadycki, "Dragon has always been a female run company that has employed lots of bold women and supportive men, so when Ms. Gunderson's offer to use her work as a fundraiser, it seemed like a natural fit for Dragon. When Jeanie Smith approached us the same day about directing it, it became clear that this would be a great way for us to fulfill our mission of using theatre as a tool to engage the community, to inspire empathy, and to show support for the women in our community. The Taming pokes fun at people on both sides of the aisle and above all, reminds us that we're all in this messy, weird, heartbreaking, hilarious place called America together."

PLAY SYNOPSIS: Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female "power-play" inspired by Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here's lookin' at you, America!

FEATURING: Betsy Kruse Craig (Patricia), Damaris Divito (Bianca), Katie O'Byron Champlin (Katherine), Robyn Braverman (Stage Directions), Jacquelyn Montellato (Additional Voices/Assistant Director), Jeanie Smith (Director)

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Lauren Gunderson is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BA in English/Creative Writing at Emory University, and her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch, where she was also a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.

She was awarded the prestigious Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for her play I and You (also a Susan Smith Blackburn finalist and featured in American Theatre magazine, July 2014), which was an National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Her play Silent Sky (Jane Chambers Award finalist) premiered at South Coast Repertory in 2011 and was further developed and rewritten for TheatreWorks, which opened to raves calling it "sheer magic." Her 2011 three-city rolling world premiere of Exit, Pursued By a Bear was featured in American Theatre magazine and The Week, and has reached 20 communities across the US, winning "Best Comedy" accolades.

Her first musical, The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog!, was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and opened to rave reviews and continues its life in a state-wide tour in Florida. Dr. Wonderful is becoming a series of children's books published by Amazon. She is the co-book-writer for The Happy Elf, the Christmas musical with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr.

She has spoken nationally and internationally on the intersection of science and theatre and Arts Activism, and teaches playwriting in San Francisco. She is a Playwright in Resident at the Playwrights Foundation, a Dramatists Guild member, and was a member of Just Theater's New Play Lab. She occasionally writes for The Huffington Post, tweets @LalaTellsAStory, and curates HowToPlaywright.com.

ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD in REDWOOD CITY: The health center provides comprehensive reproductive health and family planning services, including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) as well as STD-screening and treatment, pregnancy testing and options counseling, medication abortion and family medicine, including pediatrics. The center also operates a behavioral health program that includes counseling for parents and teens as well as healthy-family workshops that will begin this spring. See more at here.

IF YOU GO:

THE TAMING

WHEN: Friday, January 20, 2017 at 8p. Doors open at 7:30p.

WHERE: Dragon Theatre in downtown Redwood City at 2120 Broadway Street at the intersection of Broadway and Theatre Way

TICKET PRICES: Reserve a seat for $25 (which comes with a glass of Nasty Woman punch if you're age 21+). Wear a pantsuit, wear a Nasty Woman/Bad Hombre t-shirt, or other fabulous inaugural apparel! Buy raffle tickets for the American Rebellion gift basket. The night of the event, it's pay what you will in cash at the door for any seats that are available. All proceeds raised this evening will go to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's office in Redwood City.

CONTACT THE BOX OFFICE: Leave a voicemail at 650-493-2006 x 2 and your call will be returned within 2 business days. If you'd rather email, contact Josiah at tickets@dragonproductions.net. The Dragon Box Office is not staffed 7 days a week so there might be a delay in response. Buying tickets online at www.dragonproductions.net is the very best way to reserve a ticket in advance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For tickets and more information on the event, go to www.dragonproductions.net/activities/taming.html.