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“So who is that? He sure is cute and nice,” said my mom. “He’s my new boyfriend, mom.” “Oh…really?” she said. I just looked out the window and smelled that fresh air. Yes, this is what love feels like and I’m in it…so in it. Continue reading
A Delightful Evening of Social Romance
I’ve always wanted to produce an evening of holiday themed plays and finally I’ve done it. Here’s a link to our press release on Broadway World.com
It’s a mini production, a night of readings, which has turned out to be a lot of fun, and it’s cheaper and easier than putting up a full production. These days, I really need to try to make my life a little easier…
To make up for the lack of production, we are only requesting a $10 donation. That’s a fair trade, right? The whole thing is a benefit for Manhattan Theatre Source, a theatre that needs way more than your $10 donation to stay afloat, but that’s another story.
Why you should go:
Do you like funny one-act plays, goofy songs, already miss the show Mad Men and often pretend that you are Don Draper? Do you miss the days when Santa filled your stocking? Did you enjoy the book Memoirs of a Geisha, then consider how you might become a Geisha? Have you ever met someone online? Did you like the movie The Social Network? Basically if you are a human and you live in New York City, you’ll enjoy this show. The only thing missing is alcohol, which you can get at the bar next door, North Square, which serves the best “Blood Orange Martini” I’ve ever had.
The new comedic one-act plays include: “Geisha School” and “How Don Draper Saved Christmas” both written by Laura Rohrman (moi) and directed by Li Murillo and Michelle Pace. Sara Adler will perform 2 songs and there will be one other play “Cyberia” written by Aurin Squire.
The Benefit is one night only. Wednesday, November 10th at 8PM at
Manhattan Theatre Source which is located at 177 MacDougal Street/cross is at 8th
Posted in Humor, New York City, Plays, playwriting, Television, Theater, West Village, Writing
Tagged Don Draper, Face Book, Geishas, Mad Men, Memoirs of a Geisha, Santa Claus, The Social Network
This fall has had so many amazing happenings. It feels as though I have been at the helm of many projects: my daughter’s first birthday, my husband’s 40th birthday party, getting back in shape, running a race and my part-time marketing business. I also have two full-length plays in development, many articles due and then there is this crazy rouge project that you must go to!
Back in March when I thought I wasn’t going to work for awhile, but be a stay at home mommy, I was in search of the perfect volunteer project. I was looking for something that was outside of me, but still me. So I signed up to be the producer of what was then called Voices of Africa, part of The Estrogenius Festival at Manhattan Theatre Source. By June I had gotten really busy, taking on private clients that I never expected and the Voices project seemed dead in the water. We had no script coming from Africa this year. I was about to call it a day and forget about it. Then things shifted and Jen Thatcher, this year’s Estrogenius producer put me in touch with Jessica Morris, who is the executive producer of a kick-ass group of young women performers called Project Girl Collective that is all about empowering young women through performance. Jessica also happens to be one of the most courageous, driven and inspiring people who I have ever met.
Welcome to Voices Without Borders: Project Girl Congo. I am one of what feels like 50 producers who helped shape this piece. Led by hip hop artist Toni Blackman, the Project Girl girls’ have developed monologues, poetry, song and dance numbers inspired by stories told by the Man Up delegates working in the Congo, who in this case, are men who are working tirelessly to stop violence against women in the Congo every single day. These men have lost wives, mothers and sisters to violence, lack of education and health care. Many women die giving birth since there is little to no access to maternal health care. These men are standing up for women, as are the young women/performers of Project Girl who are taking time away from school and their social lives to stand up for women in the Congo. What are they giving? Their time, their hearts, their energies. What are we asking of you? To give the same. Be aware of what’s going on in other parts of the world. Watch our show, which is a fundraiser. Every penny of the proceeds goes back to the Congo to stop violence against women and girls. If you cannot come to the show, please log onto, http://www.s317461102.initial-website.com/donate/, to support this worthy cause.
“Just about every kid in America is told that they can make a difference in this world,” says Project Girl performer Alexa Winston, age 17. “Now I have a real opportunity with Project Girl: Congo. For the first time, I have heard first-hand accounts about what life is like for girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These stories are the bedrock of our show. I know exactly where our donations are going and am proud to support the courageous young leaders who are “manning up” in the DRC.”
This ground-breaking show will be a staged reading performed at Manhattan Theatre Source as part of the Estrogenius Festival on Oct 29th and 30th in New York City. The show tells the stories of young girls in The Congo and helps us all realize that we can do something right here, right now by just being aware.
I never knew, for example, that the fear of being raped is a fact of life for women in the Congo and that being permanently damaged (or “ruined”) from a rape is a common occurrence there. However, what trumps all of this violence is the fear of being killed as a result of living in a war-zone where child soldiers are shown with precision how to abuse women as part of their military training.
Through education and enlightenment, it is our hope as producers that we are encouraging awareness about what is going on for women in the Congo and for women right here in our community who are affected by gender-based violence. The statistic is 1:3 women and girls around the world are victims of violence. Clearly, this is a universal travesty that our youth-led theater company, Project Girl Performance Collective and Man Up, a youth led movement to stop violence against women and girls are working to change.
Voices Without Borders with be performed in connection with Congo Week, which is October 17-23, 2010, and Voices Without Borders will be co-produced by Congolese human rights organizers, Ally Malumba and Jean de Dieu Tshileu and Lewis Kasindi.
Proceeds from this year’s Voices Without Borders ticket sales and donations will benefit Man Up Campaign’s global anti-violence work in the Congo.
For more information and ticket sales, please visit Estrogenius Festival (www.estrogenius.org), ManUp Campaign (www.manupcampaign.org), Project Girl Performance Collective (www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org).
Posted in Plays, playwriting, Poetry, Politics, Theater, Uncategorized, West Village, Women, Writing
Tagged Africa, Congo, Man Up Campaign, Project Girl
Having just spent six weeks at my mom’s, the house where I was born and raised – this blog “Crap At My Parents’ House” really got to me. I haven’t added anything yet, but I think it’s pretty funny. My mom’s house has so much shit in it — seriously. I look around and wonder where the hell she got all this weird furniture. And all of the odd chairs that look like they are from different eras, are indeed hand-me-downs from dead relatives. But my mom’s house is great and it’s a slow work-in-progress. At a turtle’s pace, we have re-done the entire house — and even replaced the 40-year-old carpets! She now has her dream kitchen. But she does seem to collect and keep a lot of stuff. When I was there this summer, I noticed big boxes on the side of the bed in my old bedroom, which is now her’s and the only inhabitable bedroom in the 4-bedroom house — yes, seriously. So I decided to go through this box myself because I was sure it was going to be full of silly stuff of my mom’s — like old check books from the seventies or something like that. I was all set to call her a hoarder, when suddenly I realized that these two boxes belonged to me. My Everything from high school to my first years working in San Francisco when I had just graduated from college were in these boxes. I spent two hours going down memory lane — and yes, I saved stupid emails from a co-worker from that first job in San Francisco. I saved passed notes from high school, programs from shows I’d been in, poorly written papers from college….Oy, I’m a loser. And what’s worse. I couldn’t bare to throw any of it away.
In the end, it was my mom who was calling me a hoarder and begging me to get rid of my stuff. I found more me upstairs…..boxes of old “reject” photos, costumes, books — so much, in fact, that I shut the door and turned off the light and wished it to go away. There’s something to be said for moving often.
Oh how I love you. I love you so much that I almost named my daughter Sonoma! Yes, I did. My Russian husband totally nixed the idea, so it didn’t happen –but yes, Sonoma you are a beautiful county. Now why did I move to New York? Oh yeah, I wanted the excitement and I imagined myself running around wearing a writer’s cap and sitting in cafes — writing plays. Or maybe I imagined myself in plays or maybe I just loved the idea of New York. Carrie Bradshaw kind of took me with her on that journey. And hey, I love New York — everyone knows that. If you’re curious about my love of New York City, just read my other blog – I’m the Greenwich Village Examiner for goodness sake.
So I’m in the town of Sonoma today, sitting in the Sunflower Caffe on the square. I spent the early part of the day doing a pilates session with my good friend Susan Aslin, who is an amazing pilates teacher. Whoa — so much better than anything I’ve ever gotten in New York. But I haven’t done pilates in nearly two years and my abs are, um — a mess. So much about having a baby that no one tells you.
Anyway, Sonoma county is full of my good friends doing great things. My family is here and it’s beautiful.It smells like grapes even when you see cows.
I didn’t see everyone in the world on this trip, but I did enough. I shared my baby Maya with my mom and dad. We took her swimming, watched her stand for the first time and taught her to suck from a straw.
She loves it here, just like her mom.
My baby is 71/2 months old. I’m realizing quickly enough that I am on permanent duty. This beautiful thing that I created is growing and changing constantly. Now I understand why my mom used to stare at me all the time. As parents we are in awe — we can’t believe this little thing is learning to crawl, walk, swim, talk and a million other things right before our very eyes.
Should I talk about trying to hire a nanny and being mostly underwhelmed by the talent? Or trying to “work” just so I have my own cash because I can’t stand to be dependent?
Or…what? I think I’m so quiet because I’m listening. I hear her heart beat against mine and it has calmed me.
Posted in Uncategorized
I keep thinking about writing, but then I am so overwhelmed, I wouldn’t know how to describe it, but aren’t I a writer? Shouldn’t I try? I’m a new mommy, so my whole world is different. On October 6th at 3:55PM I gave birth (yah, through my vagina) to Maya Starr Paperny who is the most beautiful, perfect baby. I would talk about the labor, but why scare you. And besides, though long — 25 hours, it really wasn’t so bad (yes, it was!) -I pushed for three hours! Anyway, let’s not talk about labor or how much pain you’re in post labor (a lot). After it was all over, I asked one of my friend’s to get me a Coke. Yeah, I deserved a Coke didn’t I? The baby latched on and began nursing immediately, and I drank my Coke — then choked on it.
The first few weeks were a no sleep blur. My husband actually called her an “evil log” – we’d wrap her in a tight swaddle with only her head sticking out – and she’d cry for hours, so, she really did look like an evil crying log. Then, one day I looked down and my baby had grown and so had I; she didn’t cry so much, or maybe I understood her better. My friend Marisol who came to a doctor’s appointment with us a few weeks ago wondered how we do it. It doesn’t seem so hard when it’s your baby. My heart hurts from love, I think. So getting up with her, worrying about her comes much more naturally than I thought.
Now she coos, sings, dances, grabs things, smiles at me when I show up in the morning. And she’s almost grown out of her three-month old clothes. This precious time is flying by, as does life when you think about it.
Posted in Uncategorized
