What some of our former participants have to say:
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This is the second year I've participated in the Mae West Fest. The
Fest has been crucial in my development as a solo performer, providing
me with a venue and the freedom to experiment with a wholly original show,
free from judgment, and with a generous time allotment including technical
support for rehearsals. Founder Heidi Heimarck and the Mae West Fest staff
continue to prove themselves to be inspiring, supportive, and genuine.
The Mae West Fest V will always stand out fondly in my memory as well.
After performing in several venues around town, the Mae West Fest V performance
has been the first performance in which I was paid, the first time I've
been acknowledged as a "performer" in accounting terms. Thank you so kindly
for this. The Mae West Festival allows a comfortable, nurturing place for people
to do solo and new work. It allows for women artists to meet each other
and see each other's work, which allows for future collaborations. It
also gives the city of Seattle a chance to see the many talented women
in theatre doing their strongest work, something that "mainstream" theatre
is not always able to do. This festival is exciting and NECESSARY! Thank
you, I have been involved with the MWF for several years as a solo performer,
as a writer, and as an observer. The growing number of participants and
audiences shows what an essential event it is. It is the only opportunity
that exists for women to work with other women exclusively, and therefore
allow audiences to immerse themselves in theatre by women, and discover
the depths and particularities which are unique to women's theatre. The
MWF has been and continues to be essential to the development of my work,
and to me personally as a female artist in this world. The event was extremely beneficial for me in many ways as an artist.
1. Most significantly this is the first time that I have had an outside
director come in, and really allowed myself distance from the project
in all areas except as the playwright. This allowed me to focus on rewriting
a few lines after observing rehearsals, i.e. to really FOCUS ON BEING
THE WRITER! This was really new and exciting for me. It taught me the
value of true collaboration, and I think the result was a better final
product than I've had in the past. 2. Having 'Road Trip'in' produced and
being so happy with the result has also really inspired me to keep writing!
I have some ideas for some more short plays that would be thematically
related to this one, and I have now started to work on them. 3. I love
that there is a festival for local women writers and directors and really
enjoyed meeting many of my peers and seeing some of their projects. Unlike
other festivals I've been a part of that are less friendly and more competitive,
my favorite thing about Mae West is the feeling of comraderie! It was
wonderful and made me feel extremely welcome as a first time participant.
A big thank you from me! I had a tremendous experience performing my one-woman show, "FEAR",
as part of the 2001 Mae West Festival. As a performer, I felt very well
taken care of. Your technical crew was very knowledgeable and efficient,
making the tech process smooth and productive. The audiences were very
responsive and supportive, and a sense of comraderie prevailed throughout
the Festival, making me feel welcome and appreciated. It was also very
inspirational to watch so many wonderful pieces put together by women.
I would encourage you to reach out to more women's groups, young and old,
to bring them to witness this unique event. Mae West Fest was great! The staff was able to handle even last-minute
concerns. They were well-organized technically as well as informationally.
I greatly appreciated being able to see the work of so many other women
artists in a convenient location, on a convenient schedule. The opportunities
for networking were outstanding as well. The Mae West Fest people were great - very friendly, completely accommodating
and very well organized. No unexpected problems. I'd do this fest again
in a heartbeat. I saw a lot of shows and was happily surprised by the
consistent level of strong work. |