Staged Reading - Five Women Wearing The Same Dress

By Alan Ball

A staged Reading

Directed by Zara Benner

Tuesday - January 13th, 2015 8 p.m.

ONE NIGHT ONLY

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS - During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tennessee, estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below.

They are Frances, a painfully sweet but sheltered fundamentalist; Mindy, the cheerful, wise-cracking lesbian sister of the groom; Georgeanne, whose heartbreak over her own failed marriage triggers outrageous behavior; Meredith, the bride's younger sister whose precocious rebelliousness masks a dark secret; and Trisha, a jaded beauty whose die-hard cynicism about men is called into question when she meets Tripp, a charming bad-boy usher to whom there is more than meets the eye. As the afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this wickedly funny, irreverent and touching celebration of the women's spirit.

Cast

Frances---------------- Danielle Diaz

Meredith ------------------ Lora Oliver

Trisha ----------------- Laura Domingo

Georgeanne ---------------- Lisa Wang

Mindy ---------------- Kelly Fitzgerald

Tripp ---------------- Andrew MacIver

Zara Benner (Director) is an actor, playwright, and newly minted director. She was last seen at AEB as Jane Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. She is also in her first year as a playwright member of PlayGround. She loves her wonderful cast for making her first venture into directing so much fun!

Danielle Diaz (Frances) studied theater at and is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley. She loves acting and hopes to pursue it for the rest of her life.

Laura Domingo’s (Trisha) previous roles include Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (Actors Ensemble), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (Curtain Theatre), Meg in Crimes of the Heart (Altarena Playhouse), and Maria in Lend Me a Tenor (Ross Valley Players, SFBATCC Award). A bridesmaid tonight, Laura will be taking a turn as bride this October when she marries her partner-in-crime, Ryan.

Kelly Fitzgerald (Mindy) is so happy to be joining the Actors Ensemble for this project!  Past credits include staged versions of Strangers with Candy (Tammi) and Firefly (River) in San Francisco; Crime and Punishment (Sonia/Alyona/Lizaveta), Forbidden Broadway (Idina Menzel/Liza Minelli/Ethel Merman) and Mauritius (Mary) in Honolulu, and a bunch of cool experimental and puppet-related stuff in Chicago.  Thank you for coming, and enjoy the show!

Lora Oliver (Meredith) is excited to be working with such a talented group for Five Women Wearing the Same Dress. In her personal time, she is a thrift store aficionado, avid bibliophile, and gypsy. Lora loves feedback, so please direct all compliments to her directly. Criticism and hate mail is handled by her feline agent, Lotus Chief.

Lisa Wang (Georgeanne) has been honored to be part of past AEofB productions, including Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Tom Stoppard's Rock-n-Roll, and Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play.  Lisa also performs improvised theater with her group The Five Deadly Improvisers. More info at fivedeadly.com