Women’s Theatre of Cincinnati Publishes Original Plays Online for All to Share

Cincinnati, OH, October 16, 2012 --(PR.com)-- In order to preserve and archive the original plays by Women’s Theatre of Cincinnati (WTC), a new website has been launched. The plays were written and performed between 1978 and 1992. The site was developed by E. Sue Huff, former member of the theatre company, with the assistance of Ellen Cecil and Marina Conover, all of Naples, Florida.

“After all of the hard work and effort that was put into the creation of these plays, no one wanted to see them remain on the shelf unused,” said Myra Griffin of Cincinnati, one of the original WTC members.

Anyone --women's theatre groups, school theatre companies, and colleges … anyone who wishes to use the scripts may do so without a fee. Members of the WTC want the work to be shared. The only favor they ask in return is that Women's Theatre of Cincinnati be notified when a script will be used.

Women's Theatre of Cincinnati wrote, produced, and performed original plays focusing on issues from a woman's perspective. WTC used an improvisational brainstorming method to write their plays which created works that explored topics such as the plight of the homeless women, women and success, the effects of media and society on women's body images, and issues between mothers and daughters. They cooperatively created works that used both comedy and drama to ask "big questions" and to uncover the universal human experience.

"If you say something very honest, you push somebody else's button. It brings people to depths of honesty within themselves." A quote from the late Marcia Weiland, former director of WTC.

One of the first plays written was All Bagged Up and No Place to Go. It was well received at the 1982 Cincinnati Theatre Festival and was praised as one of the best performances of the festival. It was described as a brief but harrowing piece about the homeless women commonly known as bag ladies. Critics said it was frightening how quickly and completely the actresses transformed themselves into hunched, grimy women strung out on hunger and lack of sleep and fear. The original cast for this production was Carol Platt, Myra Griffin, Gladys Dood, Soozie Huff, Lynn Bliss, and Chris Keith.

In 1984, WTC used their improvisational brainstorming method to write a play about women's bodies. They engaged women in the community to discuss body image and the pressures of society and media. The play, No Body's Perfect, toured ten high schools in the area, was performed at several colleges in Ohio and Kentucky, and was booked by the Cincinnati Mental Health Association, the Cincinnati Dietitians Society and Ambermoon in Lexington, Kentucky. This play was performed more than any other piece written by the WTC. There have been over 60 performances, and the play is still talked about and is still relevant today. Cast members for this play were: Wendy Ball, Cheryl M. Couch, Maya Contenta, Gladys Dood, Beth Franks, Claire Griffin, Myra Griffin, Soozie Huff, and Debbie Carle.

The website includes six original plays with a description of each in a printable format. Photos of each production are also included and notes from the director to help future performers understand the original content. Plays include: All Bagged Up, No Body's Perfect, Successfully Ever After, Momentos, My Bomb's Bigger, and Wild Cincinnati Women Don’t Get the Blues.

Theatre is designed to stimulate enjoyment, thought and feeling. WTC members hope that the website will encourage others to perform the original plays and to discover their own understanding of the issues addressed.

The website address to access all of Women’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s original plays is womenstheatre@gmail.com. Contact with WTC may be made through the website or by emailing esuehuff@yahoo.com.