| July 11, 2005 |
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Press Contact: Allison Queen, (310) 621-7266 ADILAH BARNES DIRECTS ROZ
BROWNE’S SOLO SHOW Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, July 11, 2005 – Award-winning stage, film and television actor Adilah Barnes is coming to Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts to direct the East Coast premiere of playwright, Roz Browne’s one-woman hit play FRIED CLAMS WITH BELLIES. A limited engagement, FRIED CLAMS WITH BELLIES is premiering two nights only at The Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring Street, Vineyard Haven, Saturday and Sunday, July 30th and July 31st at 8:00 p.m. Adilah Barnes brings the right sensitivity to this piece of theatre which is poignantly based on Browne’s life as a good girl who wanted to be bad, growing up in a middle class family in the predominately white neighborhood of Dorchester, Boston. “As a young girl, I didn’t want to eat them,” states Browne. “But, one taste and I changed my mind. I figured out that sometimes you have to see beyond the way something looks.” Directed previously by Adilah Barnes, FRIED CLAMS WITH BELLIES made its well-received debut in September 2003 in Hollywood, California. “It is such a pleasure to again direct Roz Browne’s solo show but it’s especially heartfelt this time because it’s being staged in Massachusetts, the backdrop of her piece. I am personally invested in this project because Roz is also a former student of mine. I love her writing, her personal story of growing up in Boston and Roz is a hard-working and versatile artist who not only accepts direction but uses it extremely well,” Barnes states. Barnes is an award-winning stage, television and film actor best known for her film roles in ERIN BROCKOVICH and HBO’s IRON JAWED ANGELS, as well as MURDER BY NUMBERS and the CBS Hallmark made-for-tv movie LITTLE JOHN. Her television credits include a recent role on COLD CASE, recurring roles on both ROSEANNE (for five seasons), FOR THE PEOPLE, GILMORE GIRLS and numerous spots in television commercials. Barnes is also the Co-Founder of the highly acclaimed Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, now in its 12th year (www.lawtf.com). For the past 15 years,
Barnes has nationally toured her own one-woman play, I AM THAT I AM: WOMAN,
BLACK, in nearly forty states and internationally in Europe and the
Caribbean. I AM THAT I AM: WOMAN
BLACK is a historical journey into the lives of seven renowned women
(Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Neale Hurston,
Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis and Maya Angelou).
It has also been on the touring rosters of the California Arts
Council, Nevada Arts Council and the Utah Arts Council.
Barnes autobiography, “On My
Own Terms: One Actor’s Journey” is slated to be released in 2006.
Another project of hers includes a one-woman show on the life of her
mother, Just Call Her a Woman of the
Soil. Listed among the who’s who in “The Actor’s Guide To Qualified Acting Coaches” by Larry Silverberg, Barnes has coached some of Hollywood’s hottest stars. Her roster of celebrities include singer Toni Braxton (for KEVIN HILL, PLAY’D and KINGDOM COME), Jada Pinkett-Smith (for SET IT OFF), Benjamin Bratt, (of LAW AND ORDER) Lauren Lane (of THE NANNY), comedian Don “DC” Curry (for GRACE UNDER FIRE), and many others. According to previous student, Kym Whitley (DELIVER US FROM EVA) “Adilah is intense, she’s not easy, but she never gives up on you and pulls out your best.” A teacher of classes, as well as private coaching, she will offer another Character Development Workshop acting class in September and will teach, “From Thought to Pen,” a solo writing class for the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival beginning July 20th. Due to its limited engagement, advance reservations are suggested for both performances of FRIED CLAMS WITH BELLIES. Admission is $20.00 -- Parking is free. Senior and group discounts are also available. Tickets can be charged by phone at (800) 595-4tix or purchased at C’est La Vie and Island Music on Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs. For additional information contact The Katharine Cornell Theatre at (508) 693-3896 or (508) 693-6996. Theatre Background: Katharine Cornell was born on February 16, 1893 in Berlin, Germany. She died on June 9, 1974 in Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard. She is known for her major Broadway roles in serious dramas, often directed by her husband Guthrie McClintic. Her most famous role was Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the 1931 Broadway production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street. Cornell was one of the most celebrated American stage actresses from the 1920s to the 1950s. # # # Editor’s Note: For interviews with Adilah Barnes please email your request to aqpublic@sbcglobal.net or call 310-621-7266. Thank you. |