Blood Knot at A.C. T. Aging is Amazing..a Cabaret Circus Fanelli is in Pacifica this Saturday!!!
lynnruth@pacbell.net
BLOOD KNOT AT A.C.T.
by
Lynn Ruth Miller
Athol Fugard wrote Blood Knot in 1961 at a time when South Africa’s apartheid policy was at its height. Fugard was 29 when he and Zakes Mokae, a black jazz saxophonist made theatrical history for a single Sunday-night performance of a play about two brothers, one black, the other white, struggling to honor their family bond. The performance took place in an abandoned button factory in Johannesburg’s Dorkay House because the South African government banned multi-racial events. “I am astonished that it’s still so relevant and still so painful almost 50 years after it was written,” said director Charles Randolph-Wright. “Blood Knot makes me feel things I don’t want to feel and forces me to deal with issues I think we all wish we could have overcome.”
But we have not become color blind in our society or any other. We still harbor biases that prevent human beings from realizing their full potential because of artificial barriers we ourselves have erected. Blood Knot is the story of Morris (Jack Willis) and Zachariah (Steven Anthony Jones) who are brothers, yet one is white and the other black. It becomes apparent that Morris is the better educated, more worldly member of the family because of the color of his skin. Zach cannot read and is a menial laborer with no rights and no aspirations. Morris has tried to live in a white world and but he does not fit into the pattern despite the color of his skin. He wants to create a life with his black brother that has some security and comfort by saving the money Zach earns so they can buy a plot of land somewhere to live free from oppression and the social chains that imprison them.
“Part of Blood Knot’s power is that it brings together such a mixture of elements, said Randolph-Wright. ”The hope of this play is that it invites audiences to discuss things we don’t often discuss. It is imperative that we see stories different from our own, that we explore other worlds. And if these worlds scare us, that that’s fantastic.”
And watching this play, seeing these brothers try to find some meaning in the prejudices that have warped their thinking as well as that of the society they are in is eye-opening to say the least. Everyone is the sum total of their heritage and in a society that says it welcomes and encourages diversity, that is a wonderful thing.
This issue in this play is that saying and believing are two different things and it is every one of us who pays the price by limiting the potential of people because of our own pre-conceived notions. “There is a blood knot that ties every human being to another human being,“ said Fugard in discussing this very real, very human work. “It’s a knot we each share that cannot be untied. “
Theater is truth you do not find on television or in headlines, and very often it is truth we all must see and understand before we can change not just the world, but ourselves. See this play. There is not one false note in this production. The story will move you and it will make you wonder just exactly who you really are.
If you go: Blood Knot runs through March 9 at
Where: The Geary Theater 4i5 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA
Tickets are $17.00-$82.00 www.act-sf.org or 415 749 2228 LYNN RUTH MILLER
www.lynnruthmiller.com
February, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…
AGING IS AMAZING…A CABARET: Queenie the senile stripper takes to the San Francisco stage with a collection of outrageous parodies guaranteed to put your underwear at risk. Enjoy comedy at its naked best in this 50 minute travesty of song and dance featuring Lynn Ruth Miller the show stealer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the past three years. This is musical comedy at its worst proving that even though your body parts drop to your ankles, they still can raise an eyebrow if nothing else.
Lynn Ruth Miller had been remodeling facts since she emerged, 74 years ago. Once she presented her prevarications to an audience larger than her three dogs, she met with amazing success. She hit the headlines in Edinburgh, Scotland in August 2005 when she jumped out of a cake (almost) and removed her clothes (not quite) on every stage that would have her. Her fame spread when she threw her underwear at the audience at the Off Market Theater and Mill Valley’s 142 Throckmorton, not to mention a spot appearance with blinking headlights at San Francisco’s famous Punchline Comedy Club in 2008. She is fast becoming a legend, a show stealer and a scene blocker with enough teeth left to smile while she wraps fans in spandex and covers bald pates with wigs to hide the shine. This off-key cabaret glorifies old age and revels in the disasters it brings to the human form even as it destroys feminine mystique. You will sing-a-long and laugh-a-long as you watch this feisty senior citizen who won’t let anything she remembers stop her.
Indulge your funny bone with songs that make you want to grow old with a bouncy, outrageous and delectable Stripping Granny at the Octavia Lounge, 1772 Market StSan Francisco, CA 94102, Friday, February 22 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: The Octavia Lounge
1772 Market Street, San Francisco
(415) 863-3516
WHEN: Friday, February 22, 2008
7:00 p.m.
TICKETS: $20.00 AT THE DOOR
A PORTION OF ALL PROCEEDS DONATED TO THE LYON MARTIN HEALTH SERVICES
Where they don’t just treat you; they treat you with respect
Lyon Martin Women's Health Services provides personalized healthcare and support services to women and transgender people who lack access to quality care because of their sexual or gender identity, regardless of their ability to pay. We continue to be committed to identifying and addressing the emerging health needs of women and transgender community.
MORE INFORMATION: pattielockard@yahoo.com
“Lynn Ruth Miller is a true original, a unique and vivacious artist - writer, raconteur, singer, burlesque performer, satirist and comic. She appeared several times at the late-night cabaret, the Midnight Carousel, and never failed to bring the house down. She is inspiration to younger and less energetic artists like me.”
Mark Mc Innes
Edinburgh 2006
“Lynn Ruth Miller doesn't hold back. If you've ever looked ahead and wondered what's it going to be like, you're about to get all your questions answered. Lynn Ruth will have you bent in half with her brutally honest observations. Fresh, revealing, and with brilliant comedic timing, Lynn Ruth Miller will entertain you in a well rounded show.”
Ty McKenzie
Producer of Chick Wit lynnruth@pacbell.net
CIRCUS FANELLI COMES TO PACIFICA
By
Lynn Ruth Miller
All star comedy, magic and music filled with laughter and surprises add sparkle to a Saturday night on the coast, featuring Circus Fanelli, Fred Anderson, Nick Leonard and Pacifica’s own Ruth Gordon at the Chit Chat Café in Pacifica. Saturday night,
February 23rd.
The comedy headliner of the evening will be Circus Fanelli San Francisco's all-woman clown troupe entertaining you with their slapstick comic cabaret, drawing on the European clowning tradition. Your Ringmaster for the evening will be Madame Vinaigrette, a bombshell juggler with some dangerous plans. Assisting and assaulting her on the accordion is Luz, the one-woman musical wonder. The Dazzling Carmelita will treat you to a samba-dancing spectacle. . Circus Finelli has brought laughter and circus thrills to audiences in the United States and Europe, showcasing live music, dance, juggling, acrobatics, and clowning antics. Don’t miss this fabulous combination of live music, dance, juggling, acrobatics, and clowning antics.
Fred Anderson returns to this monthly comedy show with his combination of comedy, juggling and tomfoolery. He is a consummate entertainer who never fails to thrill his audiences. He has performed the world over for major international festivals including two World's Fairs, The New York Comedy Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 2000 and the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. His television appearances include several spots on A & E's "An Evening At The Improv" and "Comedy Express" on FOX. In addition he has opened for Dennis Miller, Dana Carvey, Tanya Tucker, John Mellencamp and The Beach Boys.
Kathy Holly, the woman who taught the children at Good Shepherd how to sing will grace us with a few of her cabaret numbers that she sings throughout the bay area and the world. Kathy Holly is a native born San Franciscan who sings, acts, directs and even has her own band. The children at Pacifica’s Good Shepherd adore her and why not? She has opened up the world of music to all fortunate enough to hear her with her lovely voice and unique interpretations of The American Songbook.
To round out the program, Nick Leonard, a cartoonist, a storyteller and a stand up comedian unequalled for dry wit, Improv and clever repartee will host the show. Nick runs the Q-Comedy show in San Francisco and stars in all the major clubs in the city.
Lynn Ruth Miller, the senior stand–up finishes the line-up and proves that senility can be great fun, even if you can’t remember it. Tickets are $10.00 at the door and there will be a special on wine margaritas plus door prizes to brighten the evening. Ten per cent of all proceeds go to help Pacifica Schools.
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: The Chit Chat Café in Pacifica has established a monthly comedy show featuring world famous comedians from throughout the bay area in a stellar line-up of comedy, magic and music, the last Saturday of each month.
WHEN: Saturday night, February 23, @ 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Chit Chat Café; 5 Manor Drive; Pacifica, CA
TICKETS: $10.00 at the door
MORE INFORMATION: 650 738 2380