On Inauguration Night, Dragon Theatre Raises Funds for Planned Parenthood

On Friday, January 20, Dragon Productions Theatre Company will be producing a staged reading of�"The Taming"�with some help from some Bay Area artists.�The event will be pay what you will at the door and all proceeds raised this evening�will go to Planned Parenthood in Redwood City.

Bay Area playwright, Lauren Gunderson, one of the most produced playwrights in 2015-2016, has invited artists to stage a reading of her play�"The Taming"�on Inauguration Day 2017 for free as a fundraiser.

"In 2013 I wrote�'The Taming,' an all-female political farce for Crowded Fire Theatre to unpack the deep frustration of a divided and obstructionist patriarchy, to laugh with the painful truth about extremism on both sides, to toy with our country's history and wrestle with its foundational imperfections, and to make manifest a dream of reason and understanding prevailing in America," said Gunderson.
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Tweetering, pandashrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison -- what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female "power-play" inspired by Shakespeare's�"Taming of the Shrew," contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions.

All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator's aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here's lookin' at you, America!
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The reading features�Betsy Kruse Craig (Patricia), Damaris Divito (Bianca), Katie O'Byron Champlin (Katherine), Robyn Braverman (Stage Directions),�Jacquelyn Montellato (Additional Voices/Assistant Director), Jeanie Smith (Director).�

Gunderson is a playwright, screenwriter and short story author from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BA in English/Creative Writing at Emory University, and her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch, where she was also a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the intersection of science and theatre and Arts Activism, and teaches playwriting in San Francisco.

Says Managing Director Kimberly Wadycki, "Dragon has always been a female run company that has employed lots of bold women and supportive men, so when Ms. Gunderson's offer to use her work as a fundraiser, it seemed like a natural fit for Dragon. When Jeanie Smith approached us the same day about directing it, it became clear that this would be a great way for us to fulfill our mission of using theater as a tool to engage the community, to inspire empathy, and to show support for the women in our community. 'The Taming' pokes fun at people on both sides of the aisle and above all, reminds us that we're all in this messy, weird, heartbreaking, hilarious place called America together."

The event raises funds for Planned Parenthood of Redwood City. The health center provides comprehensive reproductive health and family planning services, including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) as well as STD-screening and treatment, pregnancy testing and options counseling, medication abortion and family medicine, including pediatrics. The center also operates a behavioral health program that includes counseling for parents and teens as well as healthy-family workshops that will begin this spring.

The reading of "The Taming" will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday, January 20 at Dragon Theatre in downtown Redwood City, 2120 Broadway Street at the intersection of Broadway and Theatre Way.

Reserve a seat for $25, and get a free glass of Nasty Woman punch (if you're 21+). Wear a pantsuit, wear a Nasty Woman/Bad Hombre T-shirt, or other fabulous inaugural apparel! Buy raffle tickets for the American Rebellion gift basket. The night of the event, it's pay what you will in cash at the door for any seats that are available. All proceeds raised this evening will go to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's office in Redwood City.