womanifesting

D.I.V.A., INCORPORATED TO PRESENT STAGED READING OF AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT KATORI HALL'S SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY MORNING DURING

28TH ANNUAL ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Directed and Performed by Howard University Alumni/Broadway Veterans

Lynda Gravatt, Harriett D. Foy and Gavin Lawrence, with

Special Guest -- Playwright Katori Hall -- to Host Post-Reading Q&A

Friday, March 4th, 7:30pm, Riverside Church, SW, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. (January 24, 2011)─The Ladies of D.I.V.A., Incorporated, The Society for Women in the Arts, is pleased to announce that it will present a staged reading of award-winning playwright-performer Katori Hall's Saturday Night/Sunday Morning on Friday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. at Riverside Church, 680 I Street, SW, Washington, D.C. Playwright Katori Hall, whose new work, The Mountaintop, will premiere on Broadway in 2011 with Halle Berry and Sam Jackson, will host a post-performance audience Q&A. The reading will be directed and performed by Broadway veteran, Lynda Gravatt (Cat on A Hot Tin Roof), and stars fellow Broadway veteran, Harriett D. Foy (Mamma Mia), and Gavin Lawrence (a recent AUDELCO award-winner for his performance in Off-Broadway's Pure Confidence).

Tickets are $10 General Admission/$5.00 for students/seniors. Tickets may be reserved by sending full name and number of tickets requested to ladiesofdivainc@aol.com before Thursday, March 3rd at 5 p.m. (recommended). Tickets will be held at will-call and payment collected at that time. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. All tickets are payable by cash only. For more information on ticket purchases, patrons may call Lynneisha Ray at 212.569.4618.

Set in a Memphis beauty shop/boarding house during the final days of WWII, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning tells the story of a group of African-American women struggling with the heartbreak of losing their men to the war and with the uncertainty of what the future may hold when, and if, their soldiers return. Rich with humor and history, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning is a story about friendship and finding love in unexpected places.

Serving as a fundraiser for The Howard University Department of Theatre Arts where D.I.V.A., Incorporated was founded in 1983, the production will feature performances by Lynda Gravatt* (Miss Mary), Harriett D. Foy* (Dot), Gavin Lawrence* (Buzz), Araba Brown (Gladys), Candace Hale (Taffy), Jabari A.K. Holder (Bobby), Lydia John (Mabel), Jamil Jude (Radio Announcer/Stage Directions), Chantal Nchako (Leanne), Carla Faye Pardo (Jackie), Zurin Villanueva* (Curlin' Curlin').

About Katori Hall:

Katori Hall is a playwright-performer hailing from Memphis, Tennessee. Her plays include Hoodoo Love, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and The Mountaintop, which was recently produced to great acclaim at London's Theatre 503 and transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in London's West End. It is a recipient of the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2010. Other plays include Remembrance, Hurt Village, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, WHADDABLOODCLOT!?!? and The Hope Well. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Her awards include the 2009-10 Lark Play Development Playwrights of New York (PONY) Fellowship, Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship, two Lecompte du Nouy Prizes from Lincoln Center, Fellowship of Southern Writers Bryan Family Award in Drama, NYFA Fellowship, Van Lier Fellowship from the Public Theatre and the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award. More about Katori can be found at www.katorihall.com.

About D.I.V.A., Incorporated

On March 2, 1983 at Howard University in the College of Fine Arts, Department of Drama, six women saw a need for an organization for all female fine Art students. Thus, they decided to form the organization D.I.V.A., Incorporated, Divine, Intelligent, Versatile Artists - The Society for Women in the Arts. D.I.V.A., Incorporated is dedicated to the enrichment, encouragement and fulfillment of women of color who have chosen the arts as their career. D.I.V.A., Incorporated boasts more than 100 members who live throughout the United States and abroad. Members have achieved successful careers as performance artists, filmmakers, entertainment attorneys, editors, playwrights, vocalists, publicists, dancers, graphic artists, costume designers, arts educators, directors, journalists and mothers. D.I.V.A., Incorporated members continually strive for excellence in all areas of life and serve as a lifelong network for young women considering a career in the arts. Each year, the women of D.I.V.A., Incorporated reunite in March, in a chosen city for a three-day weekend of activities including productions, workshops, and an annual meeting.