Contacts: Jana Nogowski (215) 219-0915 or jtnogowski@aol.com and Ruchama Bilenky (267) 679-4098 or ruchama@comcast.net

V-Day Philadelphia 2014 Presents a Benefit Production of

A MEMORY, A MONOLOGUE, A RANT, AND A PRAYER

DIRECTED BY Ruchama Bilenky

WITH

Cynthia Black, Kate Black-Regan, Beverly Brooks, John, D’Alonzo,
Kathleen Harmer, Kimya Jackson, Ahyana King, Jane Moore, *
Mike Romano, Amanda Spitfire, and Rosetta Williams

*With special permission from Actors Equity Association

V-Day Philadelphia (MMRP) 2014 Produces A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, Joins V-Day Campaign to Raise Funds for Women in Transition.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: On March 16, 2014, at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM, V‑Day West Philadelphia will present a two benefit performances of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer at The Rotunda, located at 4014 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.  Tickets are $10 at the door and proceeds from these performances will benefit Women in Transition. These shows are proudly produced by DysFUNctional Theater (www.dysfunctionaltheater.com).  Seats may be reserved by calling
(267) 679-4098.

Organized by Jana Nogowski and Ruchama Bilenky, V-Day Philadelphia (MMRP) is one group among many college and community groups participating in V-Day’s worldwide effort to raise awareness and to prevent violence against women and girls with performances of The Vagina Monologues, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer, and other selected scripts by Eve Ensler. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.

In addition to global awareness, these productions raise funds for local organizations working to address violence against women, namely Women in Transition.  Directed by Ruchama Bilenky, the production of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer will feature more than ten local actors, actresses and activists in the Philadelphia area.  Unlike productions of The Vagina Monologues, which only allows female-identified performers, and is written by Eve Ensler, the production of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer, includes male performers and the script includes submissions by both male and female authors.

The cast of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer consists of several local activists and performance artists in the Philadelphia area.  Beverly Brooks, Kathleen Harmer, Kimya Jackson, Jane Moore, and Rosetta Williams all performed in last year’s production of The Vagina Monologues. Kate Black-Regan has appeared in productions by the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium (IRC) and Puppet Tyranny.  Her mother, Cynthia Black, will also be performing in this show.  Beverly Brooks leads C.O.R.E. Divas, a women’s empowerment group.  John D’Alonzo has also been involved with several theatre companies in the area, including IRC, Plays and Players, DysFUNctional Theater, among them.  Kathleen Harmer, a local film and theatre actress, has previously performed with DysFUNctional Theater’s Resistance is Fertile: Seeds of Spring. Kimya Jackson is a dancer who has performed with Mediums Theatre Company, your name here performance collective, Urban Bush Women Leadership Institute, Eng & Friends Dance Company, Philadanco, Temple University, Freedom Theatre, and Total Dance/Dancical Productions. Ahyana King is a clinical counselor who has previously worked with WOAR as a counselor and victim advocate.  Jane Moore is an Barrymore-nominated actress who has performed with McCarter Theatre, the New Jersey and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Lantern Theatre, and ActII Playhouse.  She is also was the host of the award-winning program, Jane Moore &….  Mike Romano is a local musician known as “Dulcimer Mike” and performs around the area and with Sylvia Platypus.  He is also an activist who has worked with Occupy Philly.  Amanda Spitfire, also an activist, has organized with Occupy Philly, spear-headed Take Back the Night Philly, is a performance poet, a counselor and a volunteer with Project SAFE.  Rosetta Williams is a poet and spoken word artist who also previously performed with DysFUNctional Theater’s Resistance Is Fertile.

Director and co-organizer Ruchama Bilenky founded DysFUNctional Theatre when she was just 18 years old, with the mission of bringing obscure, female-oriented works to the Philadelphia stage.  She is a certified yoga therapist and instructor, the bass player for the band Sylvia Platypus, and is also a trained domestic violence and rape crisis counselor.  Co-organizer Jana Nogowski is a local actress, poet, and singer-songwriter who is also strongly committed to raising awareness about violence prevention and mental health issues.  She states, “V-Day’s campaigns, are still needed to raise awareness about the violence that is still happening against women and girls all over the world and in our neighborhoods, even after sixteen years since the campaigns started with the first V-Day performance The Vagina Monologues in New York.”

Both Ruchama and Jana organized V-Day West Philadelphia 2013’s sold out production of The Vagina Monologues, and raised funds for both Project SAFE and Morris Home last year.  Along with Kate Black-Regan, they organized Resistance Is Fertile: Seeds of Spring, a fundraiser complete with poetry, performance pieces, and music.  The beneficiary of V-Day Philadelphia’s A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer is Women in Transition.

Founded in 1971, Women in Transition (http://www.helpwomen.org/) strives to empower women to build lives for themselves and their children that are free from intimate partner violence, substance abuse and poverty, and to educate and empower the community to undertake initiatives to end substance abuse and violence against women and children.  Women in Transition offers phone counseling through its LifeLine at 215-751-1111, individual counseling, LifeLine support groups, and educational programs on domestic violence, its effects on children, teen dating violence, and concurring substance abuse.

To learn more about V-Day Philadelphia (MMRP) 2014, visit DysFUNctional Theater’s website at www.dysfunctionaltheater.com, call Ruchama Bilenky, V-Day Philadelphia 2014 Director, at (267) 679-4098 or e-mail her at ruchama@comcast.net, or call Jana Nogowski, V-Day Philadelphia 2014 Organizer, at (215) 219-0915 or e-mail her at jtnogowski@aol.com.  Also, find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/711889645496378/.  To learn more about V‑Day and its campaigns visit www.VDay.org.

Seats may be reserved by calling (267) 679-4098.