Joy Pace to portray Rosa Hart, Margaret Dixon in one-woman plays
The Itinerant Theatre will be hosting its season-opening performance Saturday, Sept. 8, with a dinner theatre performance co-hosted by the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church.
<p class="indent">Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. at the church’s fellowship hall, 4020 Hodges St., where guests will be treated to a three-course meal prepared under the direction of Chef Kevin Hodges. The meal will accompany two one-woman plays from Carolyn Woosley that will tell the stories of local groundbreaking women Margaret Dixon and Rosa Lucille Hart.
<p class="indent">Actress Joy Pace will be portraying both women Saturday night, first acting out the story of Dixon, who became the first female editor of a major periodical when she worked at the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate beginning in 1938.
<p class="indent">During intermission, Pace will transform herself into Hart and begin performing for the audience while telling Hart’s story of becoming “tricked” into the nation’s very first woman cheerleader as she cheered for Tulane University teams during World War II.
<p class="indent">Hart became known locally for co-founding and directing the Lake Charles Little Theatre for more 30 years.
<p class="indent">Pace said she finds it an honor to be able to portray both women, whom she called “pioneers for women’s equality” during their time.
<p class="indent">“I found myself inspired just by telling their stories. I’m honored just to get to be them for one night,” Pace said.
<p class="indent">The performance kicks off Itinerant Theatre’s “New Play Series,” an open call for playwrights to submit their own short plays to the theatre group for a selection process that will run through the end of October.
<p class="indent">Pace said the group is looking for 10-minute plays and one-hour performances to produce that will keep with this year’s theme of “Women Leading.”
<p class="indent">“This does not have to be limited to historical figures or celebrities. We want to hear about the women who are leading in every day lives; mothers, teachers, ministers, scientists, union leaders, there really is no limit to the stories,” Pace said.
<p class="indent">Out of the entries, Pace said the theatre will select its favorites to turn into public productions this spring. Last year, Pace said the theatre received nearly 100 submissions from around the U.S. and even one from Ireland. Of those, she said the theatre selected 30 to produce.
<p class="indent">The writers whose plays are selected will receive a $25 honorarium per play.
<p class="indent">The deadline to submit entries is Oct. 31, and submission details can be found on the theatre’s website,<span class="text_link link_wrap type_url" data-link-type="URL" data-link-target="http://www.itinerantthreatre.com">www.itinerantthreatre.com</span>.
<p class="indent">A full list of performance dates from those submissions will be released on the theatre’s social media pages and its website. Audiences interested in catching a performance may also visit the website to add their physical address or email to a list to receive future performance announcements.