[NEohioPAL]Wild Plum returns to Cleveland Public Theatre with Touched: Bodies of Work

[Tim Marshall]

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maura Haas, w: (216) 651-5428, mhaas at lgcsc.org; or Tim =
Marshall,=20
c: (216) 288-5682, tmarshall at lgcsc.org. Promotional photos available =
upon
request.

Wild Plum returns to Cleveland Public Theatre with Touched: Bodies of =
Work

Touched: Bodies of Work, a festival of works with an LGBT twist.
Featuring Dan Kilbane, Denise Astorino, Elizabeth R. Wood, Brad Speck,
Katherine Harvey, Shelby Scanlon and Ken Roderick Nicholson. With works =
by
Linda Eisenstein, Katherine Harvey, Miriam Axel-Lute and Maura Haas
Directed by Maura Haas
November 18-28 2004 at Cleveland Public Theatre's James Levin Theatre

(Cleveland, Ohio) - Who or what touches you? This question of sexuality,
sensuality and spirituality will be explored at Touched: Bodies of Work,
Wild Plum Productions' festival of works with a lesbian, gay, bisexual =
and
transgender twist at Cleveland Public Theatre.
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Wild Plum last graced CPT in 2003 with Hers, His, Ours and Mine, a =
sold-out
festival of relationship-oriented one act plays. In a sense, Touched =
picks
up where that performance left off as it looks at love, lust and the =
trials
that come with both.
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Touched combines movement, poetry and one-acts to present a slice of =
life of
LGBT people looking for love, in all the right and wrong places. The
performance begins with a queer spin on Romeo and Juliet (whole cast) =
and
segues into original works by local writers, including noted playwright
Linda Eisenstein, Oberlin College alumna Miriam Axel-Lute and director =
Maura
Haas.
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Eisenstein's Marla's Devotion (Astorino and Wood) is an off-beat comedy
about relationships -- and the exquisite difficulty of making changes =
that
actually change anything. Her second one-act featured in the show, A =
Rustle
of Wings (featuring Kilbane, Speck, Nicholson, Scanlon), details the
heart-pounding attraction between an average bar-goer and a mysterious,
leather-clad noir angel.
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Axel-Lute's 100% Queer (performed by Wood) is a poem about the trials of
being an out bisexual person in a world that's far too black and white =
for
someone who loves all. Haas's Beating Flame (performed by Astorino) =
deals
with taking hold of your life when love takes over you.=20
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Songs by Katherine Harvey of the transgender musical revue, The Sissy =
Show
(www.sissyshow.com) are featured throughout the performance.
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An opening night reception on Friday, November 19 begins after the show =
at
CPT's Detroit-Shoreway neighbor, the Lesbian/Gay Community Center (6600
Detroit Ave.). Press and community partners are invited to the Thursday,
November 18 preview night of Touched.
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Touched runs Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and
Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $10 - $15, and can be
purchased by phone by calling (216) 631-2727.

An accompanying art show which explores themes from Touched, opens at =
the
Center's Wild Plum Galleries with a special reception on Friday, =
November 26
at 7 p.m. Featured artists include Kris Barnes (fiber arts & =
bookmaking),
Liz Bowman (multimedia), Judy Pezdir (painting), Toni Federrio =
(painting)
and Shahin Afnan (digital media). The exhibit runs through February 25.

For more information on Wild Plum Productions, call (216) 651-5428 or =
visit
www.lgcsc.org/wildplum.html.

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Wild Plum Productions
Wild Plum Productions is a cultural arts organization dedicated to =
promoting
and producing queer art, theatre, musical performances and more. Since =
2003,
the organization has produced a sold-out festival of one-act plays at
Cleveland Public Theatre, the Center/Wild Plum Gallery Series and a =
series
of Open Mic Night poetry and spoken word events. Wild Plum's new works
festival, "Touched: Bodies of Work," will be held at CPT's James Levin
Theatre November 18-28. Wild Plum Productions is a programming partner =
of
the Lesbian/Gay Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

Wild Plum Productions Fact Sheet
Production: Touched: Bodies of Work
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Artistic Staff
Works by Linda Eisenstein, Katherine Harvey, Maura Haas and Miriam
Axel-Lute. Directed by Maura Haas.
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Cast
Dan Kilbane, Denise Astorino, Katherine Harvey, Brad Speck, Ken =
Nicholson,
Shelby Scanlon and Elizabeth R. Wood.
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Performance Dates and Times
Preview Night: Thursday, November 18, 7:30 p.m.
Opening: Friday, November 19, 8 p.m.
Closing: Sunday, November 28, 3 p.m.
Run: November 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28
Times: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
       Fridays at 8 p.m.
       Saturdays at 8 p.m.
       Sundays at 3 p.m.
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Ticket Prices
Friday and Saturdays $15
Sunday: $12
Thursdays $10

Reservations and information: (216) 631-2727

Location: CPT's James Levin Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue
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Wild Plum Web site: http://www.lgcsc.org/wildplum.html
CPT Web Site: http://www.cptonline.org


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