Here’s what Martin Brady had to say in the NASHVILLE SCENE this week about the Naked Stages production of I AM MY OWN WIFE:

“Mark Cabus’ one-man performance in Doug Wright’s Pulitzer-winning I AM MY OWN WIFE both opened and closed last week with four performances at Belmont’s Black Box Theater. Those who availed themselves of this rare solo piece witnessed one of Nashville’s most accomplished thespians successfully enacting dozens of roles, utilizing sharply differentiated vocal styles and a keen sense of movement to keep the many dramatis personae remarkably discrete while also sensitively relating the unique story of the German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (1928-2002).

Under the direction of Kate Al-Shamma, Cabus enunciated his English dialogue with a thick yet credibly effective German accent, intimately re-creating von Mahlsdorf’s world and using every corner of the theater to interact directly with his audience, often engaging with them individually as if they were sympathetic friends. With key scenes enhanced by Rudi Aldridge’s moody lighting, Cabus balanced warmth with the appropriate eccentricity in etching out the show’s main role, while also seamlessly working his way through the many ancillary characters.”

The article can be found here.

Tonight’s the night! William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night opens at Belmont’s new Black Box Theatre tonight, May 8, at 7:30p.

And for you, our Naked Stages patrons, we’re offering a special discount. Click on the TicketsNashville icon to the right and, when prompted, write into the discount blank “GRP12″ and receive $10 off our box office ticket price.

That’s right! For $15, you can see quality theatre performed by some of Nashville’s finest: Denice Hicks, Brian Webb Russell, Claire Syler, John Mauldin and Mark Cabus; directed by Tee Quillin.

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, in collaboration with Naked Stages, announces auditions for the 2008 Shakespeare in the Park production of CORIOLANUS, directed by Mark Cabus.

Equity auditions will be held Thursday and Friday, April 24th - 25th, 9am - 5pm, at Nashville Public Television, and non-Equity auditions will be held Saturday, April 26th, 10am-6pm, at the Centennial Park Bandshell.

Appointments are required so please email thebard@nashvilleshakes.org, or call (615)255-2273. Include in your message: your Name, your Phone Number, your Email Address, and the Date you wish to audition. Include a first and second choice of audition time as well.

Please prepare one Shakespearean monologue, preferably dramatic. Bring one headshot and resume. Callbacks for CORIOLANUS will be Sunday, April 27.

(Note to out-of-town actors: There is no actor housing.)

Get your mind out of the gutter. That line comes from Shakespeare himself:

“Be not afraid of greatness:
Some are born great, some achieve greatness,
And some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”

– TWELFTH NIGHT; Act II, Scene 5

NAKED STAGES and the VALHALLA SHAKESPEARE PROJECT will bring their own modern twist to one of the Bard’s greatest comedies this May with an all-star cast of Nashville favorites joined by promising newcomers.

Founding Artistic Director Mark Cabus plays Orsino and Feste with Nashville Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Denice Hicks playing Olivia and the Captain. Ensemble Members Claire Syler (Viola/Caesario), Brian Webb Russell (Malvolio/Antonio) and John Mauldin (Sir Toby/Valentine) round out the stellar veteran actors in TWELFTH NIGHT’s cast.

Those veterans are complemented by MTSU student Patrick Benneyworth as Sebastian and Fabian, Belmont student Breanne Angarole playing Maria and the Priest and MTSU student Dustin Napier as Sir Andrew and Curio.

The co-production, directed by Ensemble member Tee Quillin, will start its run in Nashville at Belmont University’s Black Box Theatre (Troutt Theatre Complex, 2100 Belmont Boulevard) May 8-17. Its final performances are at Valhalla Farms in Woodbury (3081 Jimtown Road) on May 31 and June 1.

Jealously, mistaken identity, and cross-dressing all combine in the riotously romantic TWELFTH NIGHT, an audience favorite for the past four hundred years. Don’t miss it!

For NAKED STAGES:
WHEN: May 8-17
WHERE: Belmont University’s Black Box Theatre
TIME: 7:30 PM
TICKETS: $20 in advance at website (www.greenroomprojects.org)
or $25 at door (cash only)

For the VALHALLA SHAKESPEARE PROJECT:
WHEN: Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1
WHERE: Valhalla Farms; 3081 Jimtown Road, Woodbury
TIME: 2 PM
TICKETS: Absolutely FREE!
Bring blankets, chairs, food and drink (alcohol permitted)!

It’s official. We have new dates for I AM MY OWN WIFE: June 5 through 15, 7:30 PM, at the Troutt Theatre on Belmont University campus (2100 Belmont Boulevard). Our Wednesday preview, June 4, and Wednesday performance, June 11, are still Pay-What-You-Can nights. There is no June 8 Sunday matinee, but rather a Sunday matinee on June 15 at 4 PM instead.

If you have pre-purchased tickets for I AM MY OWN WIFE’s previously scheduled March dates, we will not only recognize your tickets but double them as an added bonus. So if you bought two tickets in March, we’ll give you four in June. Just for being a supporter of Green Room and Naked Stages, thank you very much. We’re grateful to you for your loyalty so you deserve it.

And a big thanks to Paul Gatrell and Kate Al-Shamma of the Belmont Theatre Department for their gargantuan efforts to make this rescheduling possible. We love you guys!

Please note that the venue for this play has changed; we are not in the Black Box Theatre for this event but in the Troutt instead. We’re movin’ on up!

Thanks again for your patience and understanding. We’ll see you in June for I AM MY OWN WIFE.

Unforeseeable circumstances have forced us to postpone our upcoming performances of I AM MY OWN WIFE until later this spring. We apologize to our Naked Stages patrons and to the community for any inconvenience this incurs. I AM MY OWN WIFE has stirred an enormous amount of interest in Nashville, and we look forward to presenting this Tony and Pulitzer winner in all its glory very soon.

Please look for our new performance dates to be announced shortly. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Mark Cabus, Artistic Director

Founding Artistic Director Mark Cabus stars in Doug Wright’s critically acclaimed I AM MY OWN WIFE March 19-29 at Belmont University’s Black Box Theatre (2100 Belmont Boulevard). Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, this Tony and Pulitzer Award-winning one-man show tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime. Belmont University’s Kate Al-Shamma (Actors Bridge BLUE/ORANGE) directs this challenging solo performance.

But then who is Charlotte von Mahlsdorf?

Born Lothar Berfelde, Charlotte survived the Nazi and Communist regimes while living in East Berlin as a transvestite. According to her autobiography of the same name, as a child she was already interested in girls’ clothes and “old stuff”. Although she was physically male, from childhood Lothar felt more like a girl.

Max Berfelde, Lothar’s father, was a leader of the Nazi Party. He and Lothar often quarreled, but when Max demanded Lothar choose between her parents and threatened her with a gun, Lothar struck her father dead with a rolling pin while he slept. After several weeks in a psychiatric institution, Lothar was sentenced by a court in Berlin to four years detention.

With the fall of the Third Reich, Lothar was released. She worked as a second-hand goods dealer, dressed as a woman, and became known as Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. She collected items from area cabarets and nightclubs, thus saving these historical items from the Weimar Republic. Her collection evolved into the Grunderzeit Museum, a key feature of Berlin’s gay scene.

In 1992, one year after the Wall fell, she received the German Medal of Honor for her work in historic preservation. However, with the opening of the Stasi’s classified files, it was revealed that Charlotte was a longtime informant for the secret police and that several people, including her lover, were imprisoned due to her information against them. Though she protested that the claims were erroneous, many Germans demanded she return her medal.

But where does the play’s title come from?

“Ich bin meine eigene Frau” is Charlotte’s answer to her mother’s question: “Don’t you think it’s time to get married?” Her answer: “No, my dear Mutti, I am my own wife.”

All performances of I AM MY OWN WIFE start at 7:30 PM. Performances are March 20-29 and the doors open at 7 PM. Wednesday, March 19 (a preview performance) and 26 are “Pay What You Can” donation nights. There will be a talk-back session after the Thursday, March 27 performance.

Pre-sold tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students and are purchased online at www.greenroomprojects.org by clicking on the TicketsNashville.com icon at the top of the home page. Tickets are $25 at the door (cash only).

Though our first NAKED PLAYS: A New Play Reading Festival for the 2008-2009 season is history, its impact is just beginning to be felt.

This past weekend, we presented three spankin’ new plays for you, written by three gifted writers. But now its your turn as we throw the cue to you. Check out the sidebar to the right of this homepage, and vote on the one play you’d most like to see Naked Stages develop for the future. The play you choose will be presented next season in conjunction with our second NAKED PLAYS FESTIVAL in a workshop production.

Which will it be? Is it DEPENDENCE DAY, Anne Nelson’s moving drama about a Midwestern family’s coming to terms with Life’s difficult choices? Or Lauren Gunderson’s playfully absurdist coming-of-age comedy, THE HALF-LIFE OF JOY, that dares to compare human relationships with nuclear fission? Or the true story of LETTERS FOR SALA, Arlene Hutton’s poignant recounting of the Holocaust through a family’s correspondence?

The decision is yours to make … so make it a good one. We’re waiting to hear what you have to say.

NAKED STAGES is proud to present NAKED PLAYS, our inaugural new play festival at Bongo After Hours Theater, February 21, 22, and 23. We’ve chosen three fantastic plays for you, written by three fantastic females: Anne Nelson, Lauren Gunderson, and Arlene Hutton. These ladies have impressive credentials, and we are so honored that they are sharing their work with us in Nashville.

Anne Nelson is the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter of THE GUYS, one of the first major dramas to address the September 11th attacks. Her latest play, DEPENDENCE DAY, is about four generations of spirited women — and the quiet man who connects them to each other — as they work through the challenges of parenting, marriage, divorce, and sweet life itself. Anne is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a 2005-06 Guggenheim Fellowship and a New Harmony Dramatists Fellowship.

Lauren Gunderson is a New York City-by-way-of-Atlanta playwright, screenwriter, short story author, and actor. In her new play, THE HALF-LIFE OF JOY, the modern themes of science, body image, teendom, well-matched love and the fate of mankind come together in a sarcastic, playfully absurdist coming of age story. Lauren’s work has received national praise and awards including the Berrilla Kerr Award for American Theatre, Young Playwright’s Award, Eric Bentley New Play Award, Essential Theatre Prize, Virtual Theatre Prizes and many others.

Arlene Hutton is the current Tennessee Williams Fellow at Sewanee University. Based on a true story, Arlene’s play is a Holocaust tale about sixteen-year-old Sala Garncarz, who volunteered to go to a Nazi labor camp in her sister’s place. In the coming years, she saved over 350 pieces of mail sent to her by friends and family on the outside or fellow prisoners, and LETTERS FOR SALA is that inspiring story. A four-time Heideman Award finalist and a three-time Samuel French Short Play Festival winner, Arlene’s three play cycle, THE NIBROC TRILOGY (LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC, SEE ROCK CITY, and GULF POINT VIEW), premiered in New York at the 78th Street Theatre Lab this past spring to rave reviews.

“Cabus delivers a tour de force, acting out all the parts in Charles Dickens’ Holiday classic and making it seem as if that’s the only way it should be done … This CHRISTMAS CAROL is one of the smallest yet most sensational shows of the year. Don’t miss it. ” THE TENNESSEAN

“Destined to be a cult classic.” NASHVILLE SCENE

Mark Cabus brings his critically acclaimed one-man performance of Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL back to Nashville this holiday season for the first time since 2002. He’ll give three performances of the piece as a benefit for Naked Stages, the professional theater wing of Green Room Projects, Dec. 20-22 at Belmont’s Black Box Theater (2100 Belmont Boulevard). Cabus’ interpretation avoids sugary sentimentality as he portrays all 34 characters from Ebenezer Scrooge to Tiny Tim. The fundraiser also features live music and food which will make this the newest of Nashville’s family Yuletide traditions.

Former TENNESSEAN critic Kevin Nance was effusive in his praise of Cabus’ work on this holiday classic:

“The specificity and calm commitment Cabus brings to the characters – in particular Ebenezer Scrooge, a misanthrope who rediscovers his humanity after a series of ghostly visitors – makes him utterly convincing. Grounding everything is Cabus’ command of his rich and versatile voice, which alternately booms, whispers, commands, pleads, coos, cackles, belly-laughs and wheedles in a variety of accents as the characters require, often within the same scene.

“And his manipulation of Dickens’ delicious text exploits its sonic properties in ways and perhaps not even its author could have conceived. Releasing him from this promise of marriage, the middle-aged Scrooge’s bride-to-be pronounces the word ‘contract’ in a sort of crushingly conscience way that brings out its levels of meaning with shocking precision.

“But if Cabus’ vocal powers are awesome, his physical control is even more impressive. His contorted, foot-dragging entrance as the anguished Marley is more ghastly, more spectral and more evocative than anything you’ll ever see on a stage full of expensive special effects. When Marley settles on an invisible chair, you’ll swear its really there.”

“I’m excited about bringing CHRISTMAS CAROL back to Nashville,” Cabus, the company’s artistic director, said. “I’m curious to see how the intervening years have changed my approach to these characters. Hopefully audiences will be just as inquisitive.”

Tickets are $40 in advance through the TicketNashville link at www.greenroomprojects.org or $50 at the door (cash or check only). Because this is a fundraiser, 50% of your ticket/donation is tax deductible.

All performances start at 6:30 PM.