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story begins with a woman named Ann Filmer who ran
a small off, off-Loop Chicago theatre company called
The Aardvark. This artistic collective burrowed
deep underground for unusual plays. Fueled by Filmer's
aggressive nature, these plays tended to be manly
affairs. So when female company members met her
with a challenge, she took them on... and then some!
Determined to find a play (devoid of crying or male
bashing) to feature collective members Heather Graff
and Laurie Larson, she finally found three…short
ones. Originally entitling the program ALLWOMEN:
MAD, BAD AND TOTALLY RAD, that title was soon nixed
by marketing goddess Ms. Larson, who blurted out,
"There has to be some better title for this,
this…estrogen fest!" And so the name
and the concept were born, the show ran at Angel
Island in 2000, the girls got (almost) naked and
all had a great time. <More> |
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| 3
short plays that reveal a little something about
women…The first Estrogen Fest
was produced by The Aardvark (Ann Filmer, Artistic
Director) at Angel Island Theatre. It consisted
of The Mamet Women by Frederick Stroppel,
No Problem by Catherine Butterfield, The
Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine George
and featured Amy Dunlap, Heather Graff (Jeff Nomination
for Actress in a Leading Role), Candis Hacker, Laurie
Larson and Linh Thanh Pham. Highly Recommended
in the Chicago Reader, Jenn Goddu wrote, "Estrogen
Fest will entertain everyone…Director
Ann Filmer’s choices reveal a side of women
not often portrayed this fairly…The Aardvark
company’s talented cast and Filmer’s
directorial wit make The Most Massive Woman
Wins a darkly comic, disturbing finale." |
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| No
crying and no male bashing! Co-curators
Ann Filmer and Joanie Schultz gathered together
the coolest, funniest, dangerous and most complex
Chicago female artists to create 100 minutes of
fascinating females. Estrogen Fest 2001 featured
two programs: Light Days
and Heavy Flow in rotating
repertory. 31 women (plus 6 men) aged 22 –
65 contributed to this four night only festival
presented by The Aardvark at The Performance Loft.
“An eclectic festival of theater, dance, music
and performance art honoring the many sides of womanhood.”
Lucia Mauro Chicago Tribune |
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| Female
Identity: It’s not just about the hair…Our
triple-threat, third bi-annual Festival of Females
featured three completely different, diverse and
unprecedented programs of live music, theatre, dance,
visual art, poetry and performance art all about
female identity: who we are, who we’re told
to be and who we dream of becoming. Once again led
by Ann Filmer and Joanie Schultz, we changed our
style every two weeks: Program 1 Extra
Body, Program 2 Flexible
Hold and Program 3 Sheer
Strength – but stayed shiny
and sassy all the way. Presented at The Storefront
Theater in conjunction with Prop Thtr, Estrogen
Fest was touted as “a delight! If the
first part of this year’s Estrogen Fest
is any indication, the women (and men) behind this
joyous celebration of the feminine psyche and body
is a no-holds-barred winner. Its dozen or so pieces
artfully sparked thought, pathos, universality,
and a big measure of giggles and guffaws. All in
all, Estrogen Fest, could change the mind
of even the most hard-hearted misogynist. You gotta
love these women!” Rick Reed, Windy City
Times |
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| Changing
the Rules! Back downtown at The Storefront
Theater! An irreverent festival featuring 100 Chicago
artists in two dynamically different repertory programs
of live music, theater, dance, poetry, visual and
performance art, looking at how women have broken
out of the molds of the historic and mythical past
and how they are still smashing them up today. Program
A: History, Fantasy & Myth,
deconstructs fairy tales, Norse mythology and Baby
Boomers, as well as delivering break-through messages
from the past, from women ranging from the Bronte
sisters to Amelia Earhart. And Program B:
We’re Still Here! takes on the
battle to break free today—from social conformity
to racial identity to who decides what is right.
Curated and directed by Ann Filmer and Kimberly
Senior. |
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