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If you liked the Vagina Monologues, you will LOVE Heroines!
“Heroines discussions about women conforming to the smallness that society expects, for me, hearkens back to the conversations we were having when The Vagina Monologues were presented for the first time in London 10 – 15 years ago. How do we fit? What if we don’t want to? Women have big feelings and big plans yet rather than being encouraged to stretch it is reinforced that small and contained is what is acceptable. Susan’s questions in Heroines are hilarious and touching as her characters beautifully reveal the triumph of the women’s spirit.” – Director/Producer Louise Fagan

The Circle Women’s Centre presents

the Jeanne Adamson Memorial Event of The Sophia Series

http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/thecircle/events/the_sophia_series.html

In Heroines of the Sexual Gothic, critically acclaimed author Susan Swan explores her relationship to some of her most intriguing characters — the giantess Anna Swan, the fiercely independent Asked For Adams and the romantically idealistic Mary “Mouse” Bradford. Woven throughout Swan’s explorations is original music composed by Donna Linklater and performed by The Billie Hollies, Toronto’s popular opera noir quartet. The soulful sound of The Billie Hollies singing passages from Swan’s novels bring these characters to life, allowing the audience to powerfully connect to their own hopes, humour and struggles.

 Heroines of the Sexual Gothic is a theatrical performance that illuminates the body as an ongoing cultural dilemma for women and for men, while exploring how overcoming limiting perceptions of one’s self can lead to brave and daring triumphs. Employing both poignancy and hilarity, Heroines asks these questions: Is this transformation of dark into light a universal quest? Is there room in Western culture for a treatment of the female body that isn’t diminishing, exploitative or threatening? And what does the creation of Swan’s characters tell us about the current cultural situation for women–a time when many young women are reclaiming feminism (yes, they are!) and re-launching, re-visioning and re-inventing initiatives to continue the work started by their mothers’ generation of feminists, only now within their own social context.

Swan’s Heroines struggle with these issues using live music and a backdrop of projections based on the performance by Swan, the author. Drawing from the characters in her bestselling books, along with a study of the culture of being female, the author becomes actor, lecturer, student, and character. This performance has been artfully shaped and directed by London legend Louise Fagan, whose expertise as a creative development producer brings this performance to its fullest creative expression. Join us for this unique evening of performance – Susan Swan, Louise Fagan and The Billie Hollies have created an evening of talk and music you’ll never forget!

Directed/Produced by Louise Fagan; Co-Produced/ Assistant Directed by Mariel Marshall

Thursday 2 May 2013, 8:00 p.m.

A meet & greet reception with the artists will follow the performance.
Brescia Auditorium, BresciaUniversityCollege, London – Free Parking 

Tickets: $20.00; $15.00 for Circle members

Purchase Tickets ONLINE through our secure site: http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/thecircle/events/the_sophia_series.html

To learn more about this multidisciplinary performance visit:

http://www.heroinesofthesexualgothic.com/

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Circle poster

“a hilarious, profound and subverting evening of prose and song from among the best!” – Dave Bidini, Bidiniband, the Rheostatics, Author of 11 Books, National Post columnist, and all around great guy!

A catchy title isn’t it? It can conjure various emotions, heavily influenced by our personal experiences. Some of us will focus on ‘heroines’, and others of us the ‘sexual’ – putting ‘sexual gothic’ together is certainly provocative. What we are really exploring is how the female and the idea of the feminine is framed by social context, physical attributes that we are born with or grow into, with an author’s eye to the personal exploration of herself in relation to her characters. Add the phenomenal original scoring of the Billie Hollies and we have a presentation that is rich in discovery, drama, humour and celebration.

In Heroines of the Sexual Gothic, critically acclaimed author Susan Swan explores her relationship to some of her most intriguing characters – the giantess Anna Swan, the fiercely independent Asked For Adams and the romantically idealistic Mary “Mouse” Bradford. In traditional Gothic, the setting is a ruined castle. In Sexual Gothic, the body is the ruined castle, as each of these characters contends with physical challenges or oddities that prevent them from accepting themselves as women. Woven throughout Swan’s explorations is original music composed and performed by The Billie Hollies, Toronto’s popular woman opera noir quartet. The soulful sound of The Billie Hollies singing passages from Swan’s novels bring these characters to life, allowing the audience to powerfully connect to their own hopes and struggles. We had a debut of the idea with a 20 minute sketch at a fundraiser for the Toronto Women’s Bookstore  last June. After a winter of development kindly supported by the Canada Council, we are ready for our first presentation in London, Ontario. Thank you to The Circle, Women’s Centre, Brescia University College, UWO. Join us for this unique evening of performance – Susan Swan and The Billie Hollies have created an evening of talk and music you’ll never forget.

Directed and Produced by Louise Fagan
Assistant producer and director: Mariel Marshall

The Jeanne Adamson Memorial Event of The Sophia Series presented by The Circle Women’s Centre, Brescia University College, University of Western Ontario, London Ontario Canada

Heroines of the Sexual Gothic
Featuring Canadian Author Susan Swan and
the all-woman opera noir quartet, The Billie Hollies

Thursday 2 May 2013, 8:00 p.m.
Meet & Greet Reception with the Artists to follow the performance
Brescia Auditorium, Brescia University College, London
Tickets: $20.00; $15.00 for Circle members
Free Parking

Info & Tickets: www.thecircle.ca or circle@uwo.ca
or 519-432-8353 ext. 28288

Visit our website at http://www.heroinesofthesexualgothic.com for more info about the entire team!