Podcasts about vibrator play

Dawn's Mom (Lana) and two big sisters (Anne & Lisa) recently came for a visit to Los Angeles and were lured with whiskey to sit down and HILF the surprising history of The Vibrator. It is today a well-known sexual device, however, when it was first invented it was used medically to loosen tight muscles... around the vagina. Its primary application was to cure women of the ancient malady of Hysteria. Maybe not the most sound medical idea, but it sure beat a lobotomy.Play along as Dawn quizzes her family on the historic applications and misunderstandings of The Vibrator throughout history. Hear them puzzle out what 'pegging' is and learn in what US State The Vibrator is still banned.  --- SOURCES & LINKS--- The Technology of Orgasm  by Rachel Maines provides the bulk of the modern understanding of the History of The Vibrator. It is a great read, and so often citied by the creators of fiction - that it has been challenged by several subsequent researchers.  The play, In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl is a great show and regularly performed around the world.  The Movie, Hysteria (2011) starring  Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy tells the story of Dr. Granville and his spectacular hammer...   --- You heard a promotions for:Bev's Video Kingdom --- NEXT EPISODE - April 12th - Tennis with guest, comedian, Jeff Zenisek. HILF is now part of The DEN - Deluxe Edition Network. Go there to find your NEXT favorite podcast! WANNA TALK? Find us on Instagram or email us hilfpodcast@gmail.comTheme song: Composed and performed by Kat Perkins.

Josh, Spencer and Sue discuss Spencers' role on stage in the play In The Next Room..The Vibrator Play, where he removes his clothing! They also discuss covid precautions, the war in Ukraine and going out to see concerts. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/front-room/support

An award-winning American playwright, author, essayist, poet and professor at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Her plays include The Oldest Boy, Dear Elizabeth, Stage Kiss, In the Next Room, (or The Vibrator Play) (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2010); The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2005; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2004); Passion Play (Pen American Award, Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center); Dead Man's Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play); Demeter in the City (nine NAACP Image Award nominations); Melancholy Play; Scenes From Court Life; How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday; Eurydice; Orlando and Late: A Cowboy Song. On this episode Sarah explains why it isn't very cozy for a person to sit and read a play, she introduces the concept of Title Diagnosis to find the core of a story and she shares insights about her book “Smile: The Story of a Face”.  

Sarah Ruhl is an Award-winning playwright, author, essayist and professor. She is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, MacArthur Fellowship Recipient, Helen Hayes Award winner, and Tony Award nominee. Among her most popular plays are Eurydice, The Clean House, and In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play).    In this episode, Sarah shares the stories behind her new book Smile: The Story of a Face. Smile chronicles her experience with Bell's palsy, a condition that came on suddenly after the birth of her twins. She talks with us about radical self acceptance, motherhood, and her love of soup.   Sarah Ruhl Surreal Life       

Sarah Ruhl is an Award-winning playwright, author, essayist and professor. She is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, MacArthur Fellowship Recipient, Helen Hayes Award winner, and Tony Award nominee. Among her most popular plays are Eurydice, The Clean House, and In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play).    In this episode, Sarah shares the stories behind her new book Smile: The Story of a Face. Smile chronicles her experience with Bell's palsy, a condition that came on suddenly after the birth of her twins. She talks with us about radical self acceptance, motherhood, and her love of soup.   Sarah Ruhl Surreal Life       

Martin and Terry discuss "Detained" at the Fountain, "Endgame" at City Garage, "The Play You Want" at the Road Theatre Company, "Little Parts" in Echo Theater's Alone Together new play series, "In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play" at Open Fist," and SLM discussed "The Hall of Final Ruin" at Ophelia's Jump

Do you know the history of the vibrator? Today we find out more with Sarah Hamilton the director of the play In The Next Room.IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play is a provocative, funny, touching, and entertaining story about a young doctor and his wife. Dr. Givings is obsessed with the marvels of technology and what they can do for his patients. His wife, Catherine, is only a bystander in her husband's world - listening at the door from the next room as he treats his female patients. Dr. Givings is not sure exactly how the vibrators help the women he treats - but they do keep coming back. The only woman whose problem is not helped by the doctor is his own wife who longs to connect with him - but not electrically.In this episode:01:00 - Who is Sarah Hamilton? Why did she decide to do theater?03:00 - The history of the vibrator08:00 - Why did Sarah start In The Next Room?15:00 - What is River & Rail?19:00 - Why did they set up tickets to pay what you wish?21:00 - A program to help women entrepreneurs improve their public speaking skills22:30 - How has directing the play affected Sarah? What was its impact on her?24:00 - Tips for a successful marriage in this time of pandemicSupport them and get your tickets at https://riverandrailtheatre.com/Support the show

This week on Not Your Demographic, Erin is carrying around a kettlebell in her tummy, and Stella is wearing her high school lacrosse uniform in public! They break down what they've been reading, rant about this dumb countries attack on women's rights, rave about the return of Jon Moxley, and answer the age-old question "zombie apocalypse or robot apocalypse?" Timestamps: Whatcha reading? (0:11:50)Rants & Raves (0:52:30)Big stack o' questions (1:33:30) Books discussed: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner/ This is Just My Face Try Not to Stare by Gabourey Sidibe/ Townie by Neel Patel/Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So/ In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People by Alison Espach/ The Rover by Drew Magary/ The Maintenance Race by Stewart Brand/ Village of Islands by Jim Shepard/ The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed/ In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl/ Competence by Gail Carriger/ A Farewell to Charms by Molly Harper/ Uzumaki by Junji Ito/ The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age by Francesca Coppa/ Follow #NotYourDemoPod!Patreon/ Twitter/ Instagram 

This week on Not Your Demographic, Erin is carrying around a kettlebell in her tummy, and Stella is wearing her high school lacrosse uniform in public! They break down what they've been reading, rant about this dumb countries attack on women's rights, rave about the return of Jon Moxley, and answer the age-old question "zombie apocalypse or robot apocalypse?" Timestamps: Whatcha reading? (0:11:50)Rants & Raves (0:52:30)Big stack o' questions (1:33:30) Books discussed: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner This is Just My Face Try Not to Stare by Gabourey Sidibe Townie by Neel Patel Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People by Alison Espach The Rover by Drew Magary The Maintenance Race by Stewart Brand Village of Islands by Jim Shepard The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl Competence by Gail Carriger A Farewell to Charms by Molly Harper Uzumaki by Junji Ito The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age by Francesca Coppa Follow #NotYourDemoPod!Patreon Twitter Instagram 

In this episode of Just the Right Book with Roxanne Coady, Sarah Ruhl joins Roxanne Coady to discuss her new book, Smile: The Story of a Face, out now from Simon & Schuster. Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts! ________________________________ Sarah Ruhl is a playwright and writer of other things. Her fifteen plays include In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), The Clean House, and Eurydice. She has been a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Tony Award nominee, and the recipient of the MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. Her plays have been produced on- and off-Broadway, around the country, internationally, and have been translated into many languages. Her book 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write was a New York Times Notable Book. Her other books include Letters from Max, with Max Ritvo, and 44 Poems for You. She has received the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Samuel French Award, Feminist Press Under 40 Award, the National Theater Conference Person of the Year Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a Whiting Award, a Lily Award, and a PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for mid-career playwrights. She teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and she lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tony Charuvastra, who is a child psychiatrist, and her three children. You can read more about her work at SarahRuhlPlaywright.com. Roxanne Coady is owner of R.J. Julia, one of the leading independent booksellers in the United States, which—since 1990—has been a community resource not only for books, but for the exchange of ideas. In 1998, Coady founded Read To Grow, which provides books for newborns and children and encourages parents to read to their children from birth. RTG has distributed over 1.5 million books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the first NYD of 2022! Erin & Stella decide to mix it up and talk about the state of women's wrestling. Everybody loves a throw back. Plus, they share their first reads of the year and have a good laugh at the expense of The CW.  --- Books Mentioned: --- Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales  --- In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl --- Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar --- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead --- Mox by Jon Moxley --- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman --- Black Futures by Kimberly Drew & Jenna Wortham --- Supernatural: The Official Cookbook by Julie Tremaine --- Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson --- Lord of the Flies by William Golding --- Hold Me Closer, Toni Danzig by Laura Henry   --- Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @NYDProductions and interact with us using the tag #NotYourDemoPod Support the show and join our Discord at Patreon.com/NYDProductions

It's the first NYD of 2022! Erin & Stella decide to mix it up and talk about the state of women's wrestling. Everybody loves a throw back. Plus, they share their first reads of the year and have a good laugh at the expense of The CW.  --- Books Mentioned: --- Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales  --- In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl --- Pilgrim Bell by Kaveh Akbar --- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead --- Mox by Jon Moxley --- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman --- Black Futures by Kimberly Drew & Jenna Wortham --- Supernatural: The Official Cookbook by Julie Tremaine --- Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson --- Lord of the Flies by William Golding --- Hold Me Closer, Toni Danzig by Laura Henry   --- Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @NYDProductions and interact with us using the tag #NotYourDemoPod Support the show and join our Discord at Patreon.com/NYDProductions

Let us slip into something a little more...history. From impotence trials and cheating on virginity tests, to a history of self-satisfying sex toys, today we're tempting and teasing you with some sexy history. I mean, come on, it's episode 69. Depiction of impotence trial The Life and Adventures of Miss Fanny Hill Still from 'Hysteria' film In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl ~6000 year old bronze dildo Ancient Greek bread dildo Steam-powered 'manipulator' (1869...nice) Hand-cranked vibrator (1880s-1900s) Electric vibrator for your...neck (1920s) Goat eyelid and lash cock ring SOURCES: Impotence Trials & Virginity Tests: The Smart Set, Buzzfeed, Ancient-Origins, Medievalists, The Whores of Yore Sex Toys: Thrillist, allthatsinteresting.com, Complex, Gourmandize SOCIALS: Follow Shared History at @SharedPod on Twitter & Instagram SUPPORT: Support us on Patreon or Buy us a "coffee" and fuel our next episode. MERCH: Snag some Shared History merch and get stylin'! CREDITS: Original Theme: Garreth SpinnOriginal Art: Sarah CruzAnimations: The Banditry Co. About this podcast: Shared History, is a comedy podcast and history podcast in one. Hosted by Chicago comedians, each episode focuses on obscure, overlooked and underrepresented historical events and people. SPONSORS: This season of Shared History is sponsored by RAYGUN, Herbiery Brewing & The Banditry Co.

Sarah Ruhl is an award-winning writer whose play Eurydice has been turned into an opera at Lincoln Center.  Ruhl is also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award nominee for her play In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play). After Ruhl gave birth to twins, a hospital worker noticed that Ruhl's left eye was droopy. That turned out to be a 10-year battle with a paralyzed face. We talk about the sadness of not being able to smile and the joy of working in the theater again. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Annika Hoiem and Alex Wolfe. Audio production is by Nick CIavatta. Photo credit is Greg Constanzo.

Tony Award-winner and five-time Tony Award nominee LAURA BENANTI is a highly celebrated stage and screen actress. This May, Benanti stars in the film Here Today opposite Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish and as a guest star on the Showtime series Cinema Toast. This Fall on Netflix, Benanti will be seen in Sara Colangelo’s WORTH starring opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Amy Ryan which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, Benanti will be seen in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tick, Tick...Boom! for Netflix and is currently in production on HBO Max’s much awaited “Gossip Girl” reboot.In 2020, Benanti created and executive produced the HBO Max special, HOMESCHOOL MUSICAL: CLASS OF 2020, an unscripted musical special featuring students from across the U.S. Additionally, Benanti released a self-titled studio album for Sony Music Masterworks.In 2019, Benanti made a triumphant return to Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Since making her Broadway debut at the young age of 18 as Maria in The Sound of Music, Benanti has wowed audiences in numerous musicals and plays. Other Broadway roles include: ‘Amalia Balash’ in She Loves Me, for which she was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for which she was nominated for a Tony Award, and won both the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards; In The Next Room, or the Vibrator Play; The Wedding Singer; Nine; her Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated performance of ‘Cinderella’ in Into the Woods; and her Tony® nominated turn in Swing! Benanti earned the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for her revelatory portrayal of 'Louise' in the Broadway revival of Gypsy opposite Patti LuPone. Weekly Round-Up:Read the Lit Hub article, “Eula Biss on How Motherhood Radicalized Adrienne Rich.”Read Ayad Akhtar’s New York Times piece from 2017, “An Antidote to Digital Dehumanization? Live Theater.”Listen to Simon Sinek’s A Bit of Optimism podcast episode, “The One with Brené Brown.”Read Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism which Laura recommends in the episode.Watch Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020 on HBOMax inspired by Laura’s online movement, #SunshineSongs, for which she also served as Executive Producer.Buy the digital album Laura produced for Ghostlight Records, Singing You Home: Children’s Songs for Family Reunification, with proceeds benefiting RAICES and ASTEP.

In celebration of the 10th episode, Leanna and "sidekick", Jared, talk sex updates, kissing advice, vibrator recommendations, how to get over relationship anxiety and how to avoid creeps on dating apps. They also discuss how to protect yourself in this current hookup culture, what to do if your partner doesn't want to workout with you and one thing they're glad they will never do again! To top it off, they end the episode with their worst date story ever, which includes a lot of tears. You won't want to miss this! Make sure to follow me on instagram @helloandgoodbyepodcast and @_leannajoan, find me on twitter @hello_bye_pod and join the hive in the  Facebook group, H&G Hive. Stay healthy, keep social distancing and enjoy!  Podcast and music produced by:  dustinlaumusic@gmail.com

In this Repisode we talk with Sarah Ruhl, the playwright of BECKY NURSE OF SALEM, about what has changed in her thinking about the play as it has moved from development to the stage, and how current world events have permeated the play. Becky Nurse of Salem marks Sarah’s sixth production at Berkeley Rep; previous productions at Berkeley Rep include For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday, the West Coast premiere of Eurydice, the world premiere of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and the West Coast premiere of Dear Elizabeth. In the Next Room went on to Broadway, playing at Lyceum Theatre. Sarah’s other plays include The Oldest Boy, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, Orlando, Late: a cowboy song, and Stage Kiss. Her plays have been seen off Broadway at Women’s Project Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage Theatre, and Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Her select regional credits include Yale Repertory Theatre and the Goodman Theatre. Sarah received the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Whiting Award, the Lilly Award, a PEN Award, and the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award. She has been a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and a Tony Award nominee. Her book of essays, 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write, was a New York Times notable book of the year. She teaches at Yale school of drama and lives in Brooklyn with her family. BECKY NURSE OF SALEM runs December 12 – January 26 and tickets are available at berkeleyrep.org. Follow Berkeley Rep on SoundCloud to keep up with the whole series. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Music credit to Peter Yonka.

Ellen Humphreys is a New Mexico-based actress, originally born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she got her first on-set SAG film experience fresh out of high school as a stand-in, driving double, background casting associate and more. After receiving her BFA in Theatre Arts, she moved to Los Angeles and discovered Lesly Kahn’s Comedy Intensive. With a year of audition practice and practical job skills beneath her belt, she moved to New Mexico to find her place in its blossoming film & television business. Her love of acting was founded upon, and will forever be fueled by her absolute adoration of the spoken word. Some of her past productions include In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl, Home with a View of the Monster, and the films Outlaws Don’t Get Funerals, and Running with The Devil.In this conversation, we talk about her path to becoming the actor she is today, language and a fascination with people being her starting point of her career, the importance of community and her personal process of preparing for a role, the conversational nature of acting, and we have a great discussion on whether being an actor is more of an art or a craft.~SHOW NOTES:-Ellen’s website and IMDb -Ellen’s instagram, @themaverickess-Lesly Kahn & Co.-More about the film Ellen did lead casting for: The Daily Life of Mistress Red directed by Peshawn Bread-Interrogation (new series coming this year through CBS All Access)-In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)~THANK YOU FOR LISTENINGSubscribe & leave a review on iTunesHave any questions, comments or guest recommendations? Email me hereLET’S CONNECT:Follow the Process Piece instagramRuby’s instagramSubscribe to the newsletter

Tony Award-winner LAURA BENANTI can now be seen in the Samantha Bee and Jason Jones TBS comedy, The Detour. Additional TV credits include Supergirl, Nashville, guest-starring as songbird Sadie Stone; The Good Wife; and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. Most recently, Laura co-starred along side Amy Schumer and Keegan Michael Key in Steve Martin’s hit Broadway play, Meteor Shower. In 2016, Laura completed her Tony nominated role (and 5th nomination) as Amalia Balash in the hit Broadway Musical, She Loves Me. Laura also received Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk Award nominations for this role. In addition to television work and her critically acclaimed performance as Elsa Schrader in NBC’s The Sound of Music LIVE, Ms. Benanti is a highly celebrated, stage actress who took Broadway by storm at the age of 18. She received a Drama Desk award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award Nomination for her starring role in the Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown for Lincoln Center where she also starred in the Broadway production of Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play. Ms. Benanti earned the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for her revelatory portrayal of Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy opposite Patti LuPone and directed by Arthur Laurents. Her other Broadway roles include The Wedding Singer, Nine, starring Antonio Banderas, her Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated performance of Cinderella in Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and her sultry Tony nominated turn in Swing! Ms. Benanti made her Broadway debut as Maria in The Sound of Music opposite Richard Chamberlain. Other distinguished theater performances include the Public Theater’s production of Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them, Perdita in The Winter’s Tale at the Williamstown Theatre Festival opposite Kate Burton, Anne in A Little Night Music at the L.A. Opera opposite Victor Garber, Eileen in Wonderful Town opposite Donna Murphy and most recently her portrayal of Rosabella in the Most Happy Fella, both for City Center Encores! Ms. Benanti completed a week-long engagement at the popular New York cabaret club, 54 Below, for which The New York Times hailed her as a “supremely confident” performer whose “bright, full soprano, with its semioperatic heft, can go almost anywhere.” In September 2013, she released her debut album, “In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention: Live at 54 Below” on Broadway Records to ecstatic reviews. Laura currently performs her concerts in venues around the country and even recently performed for the President and First Lady of the United States at both the Fords Gala and the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC. In 2014, she joined the cast of ABC’s hit series “Nashville” guest-starring as songbird Sadie Stone. Laura also appeared in recurring roles on CBS’s “The Good Wife” and HBO’s “Nurse Jackie.” Laura’s past television credits include a starring role in the NBC series “The Playboy Club” and “Go On” opposite Matthew Perry. She also starred in the F/X original series “Starved”. Ms. Benanti recurred on  “Law and Order: SVU,” “Royal Pains,” and “Eli Stone.” and had appearances on “The Big C” and “Elementary”. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband Patrick and daughter Ella.

In the Season One finale of DT2S, I talk with Cleveland actor David Vegh about how he grew up as Kevin Bacon in Footloose, the one book I would like to have on a deserted island & why, working with Tom Hanks and that guy from Cheers on Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, and how he nearly Wile E. Coyoted himself out of appearing in House. David has been on stage with Ensemble Theatre a few times here in Cleveland and now teaches at Case Western University. He's directing the upcoming production of Sarah Ruhl's In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play for Case opening November 10th. @tylerwhidden

Tony Award-winner LAURA BENANTI is playing all over the country so catch her singing live. You may recognize her from her impression of Melania Trump which went viral. She was also a smash hit in the 2016 Tony nominated role of Amalia Balash in the hit Broadway Musical, She Loves Me. Benanti became a broadway baby when she was a little older than a baby, at the tender age of 18. She also received a Drama Desk award, Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award Nomination for her starring role in the Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and, in our interview we spoke about her turn in the Broadway production of Sarah Ruhl'sIn the Next Room or The Vibrator Play. I had the joy of seeing Benanti in Gypsy, which earned her the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award. Her other Broadway roles include The Wedding Singer, Nine, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, Swing! and more. We also spoke about her TV roles in...

We talk with the Reduxion Theatre's Executive Director Tyler Woods and new Artistic Director Tonia Sina. We talk about the newest show "In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play" which runs through June 25th. We also talk about Classic for Kids at Metropolitan Libraries the final full week in June, the upcoming season 9 of Reduxion and stage combat classes. We also talk about a subject very near and dear to Tonia about the treatment of actors on stage through a movement called "Not in My House" which is starting to take off in Chicago and needs to be started here in Oklahoma. Support this podcast

It is better, they say, to give than to receive. That must be why so many groups gather so often to give so many awards to so many people for their efforts in so many different art forms connected to so many different award-worthy fields of endeavor. Though most people in show business are buzzing about the upcoming Emmy awards, about 75 people gathered together on Monday, July 13, to watch the offbeat, quirky annual distribution of certificates known to local theater people as The Sonoma County Stage One Theatre Arts Awards, otherwise known as The SOTAs. Now in its seventh year, the stated purpose of the SOTAs is to honor theater artists and theater productions taking place in Sonoma County. The SOTAs have earned a fair share of criticism over the years for awarding the lion’s share of their honors to shows that, how do I say this delicately, are sometimes conspicuously less deserving of the word “excellence” than shows that were either minimally mentioned or not nominated at all - Main Stage West’s exceptionally strong "Other Desert Cities" is one example from this year’s list of howlingly embarrassing omissions. To the organization’s credit, under the direction of president Lito Briano, clear efforts have been made to make the distribution of awards more balanced and fair, and to do that more in the future, companies who feel they deserve more attention will have to step forward and work harder to get their own fans and followers to join as voting members. With the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle having stepped up in the last few years to finally notice the work being done by some (but not enough) Sonoma County theaters, the SOTAs will have to step up their game even more to retain any semblance of relevance and credibility in the future. I say this with all hope that the SOTAs will do just that, because many of the smaller community theater companies and student productions honored by the SOTA’s certainly deserve some recognition, so vital are they as an engine of training and community good will throughout the theater scene. With all of that said, allow me to offer my congratulations for the twelve awards taken home by Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse, which donated it’s G.K. Hardt theater for the awards ceremony. Amongst those 6th Street artists honored were Best Director Bronwen Shears for her work on "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," actors Lennie Dean and Danielle Innocenti Beem for their performances in ‘Beauty Queen’ (that would be Lennie) and "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (that would be Beem), actor Mike Pavone for "Clybourne Park," and actor Dallas Munger for "The Glass Menagerie," that last one also winning awards for best scenic and sound design, and tying for Best Overall Production with "Phantom of the Opera," performed by Santa Rosa Junior College. ‘Phantom’ was the second-biggest winner of the night, also taking awards for Best Vocal Performance for a Male and Female - that would be Ezra Hernandez and Megan Fleishman - and other awards, including best costume and best makeup design. Mary Gannon Graham won the Best Actress award for her amazing work in Main Stage West’s "Mother Jones in Heaven," coincidentally now playing again in an encore run of the show featuring music by Si Kahn. And Raven Players won for best stage props for the prop-dependent drama "In the Next Room: or, the Vibrator Play," and yes, you may feel free to make jokes about the props needed for a play of that name. Congratulations to all the winners, and even those who did not walk off with a certificate, because the truth is, when there is this much good theater going on in a community of this size, everyone is a winner, especially the audience. I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB.

In Victorian England, the unhappy wife of a repressed doctor yearns to feel alive - and finally takes matters into her own hands. In an imaginary steam-punk version of Victorian England, a band of brave, opera-singing women similarly yearn to be happy, free - and a little bit naughty - and they make it happen through the power of song. In East Berlin, Germany, a mysterious woman with a powerful secret survives against impossible odds, ultimately becoming an inspiration to a young American journalist. She survives through the power of her own belief in herself. In three productions either currently running or about to open in the North Bay, the concept of “gender” is just the tip of the iceberg in stories that challenge us, the audience, to look beneath the surface of some amazing human beings - some real, some fictional - all with something to show us we might not be expecting. Let’s start with "Heroines," opening tomorrow night at Sonoma State University. This one is a brand new original musical review featuring classic operetta tunes from the likes of Bertolt Brecht, Franz Lehar, Gilbert & Sullivan and others. It was created by musical director Lynn Morrow and stage director Jane Irwin Hammett, who appropriately titled their piece, "Heroines." Set during a time of radical change in England, when women were demanding the vote and a whole lot more, the piece pulls famous females from out of other stories and throws them all together. Due to a magical twist of time, these women from various centuries join forces to express their feelings through indelible songs borrowed from shows like "The Threepenny Opera," "The Merry Widow," and other musical masterpieces, and number from the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. In a fantasy version of London, these iconic characters come together in a city blending visuals from Dickens with ideas from Jules Verne, joining their hearts and voices in a revolutionary effort to break the shackles of tradition and inequality. Sounds fun, huh? New shows deserve our support, and SSU, in recent years, has made a strong effort to present at least one original show a year. And with voices recruited from SSU’s Departments of Music and Theater Arts & Dance, this is a production that probably will sound like a blast of pure operatic dynamite - and then some. Meanwhile, At Cinnabar Theater, Doug Wright’s Pulitzer-winning one-actor drama "I Am My Own Wife" introduces audiences to a different kind of heroine: the real-life Charlotte von Mahlsdorff, a transgender woman whose courage - and possibly a bit of treasonous duplicity - allowed her to escape Hitler’s concentration camps, and survive, in her own way, operating a small museum under the noses of her enemies, all during the communist party’s decades-long reign of suspicion and terror. I’ll be reviewing it in full next week. And finally, there’s Sarah Ruhl’s eye-opening drama, "In the Next Room," subtitled, "The Vibrator Play." This is a daring move for the usually fairly reserved Raven Players. The play looks at the marriage of a late Victorian woman and her husband, a doctor specializing in the treatment of hysterical women. He has been using a new treatment, made possible through the power of electricity, which seems to leave his patience extremely happy, and eager for their next appointment. It only his wife could become the focus of his attentions, she - and maybe even he - could find what is missing in their lives. Gorgeously written by Ruhl, it’s a love story with a jolt of raw truth, another story of what happens when strong women are given the power they need to take control of their own destinies, their own happiness, their own world. "I Am My Own Wife" runs February 6-22 at Cinnabar Theater, cinnabartheater.org. "Heroines" runs February 5-15 in the Evert B. Person Theater at Sonoma State University, Sonoma.edu. "In the Next Room" (or "The Vibrator Play") runs through February 14 at Raven Theater, Raventheater.org

With Kirsty Lang. The artist Peter Blake's new exhibition Under Milk Wood is the culmination of a 25-year project, in which he's created a series of illustrations, portraits, watercolours, and photographs based on Dylan Thomas's 'play for voices'. Peter Blake looks back over his ambitious project and discusses his fascination for Thomas's celebrated work. A new film documentary, Leviathan, provides an insight into the harsh world of North Atlantic commercial fishing. With no narration, little dialogue, and long lingering shots of life aboard a fishing vessel, the film has divided audiences. Documentary film maker Molly Dineen gives her response. Iain Sinclair and Professor Jeffrey Richards tell the story of the chequered history of Gaslight, Thorold Dickinson's adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's play, which was suppressed by a Hollywood studio when it bought up the rights. Legend has it that the film only survives now because the director smuggled out a copy under the cloak of darkness. Sarah Ruhl's play In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) was nominated for three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize after its initial Broadway run in 2009. Opening tonight at the St James Theatre in London, the play shows how 19th Century medicine used the female orgasm as a cure for hysteria, and how the invention of electricity transformed the treatment. Sarah Ruhl discusses the inspiration for the play and reflects on why it has been a hit in some surprising locations. Producer: Stephen Hughes.

On this episode, Gerry Kowarsky and guest host Mark Bretz review 1) WAITING FOR GODOT, by Samuel Beckett, at St. Louis Actors' Studio, (2) THREE SISTERS, by Anton Chekhov, at Saint Louis Univ., (3) MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, by Colin Escott & Floyd Mutrux, at the Fox Theatre, (4) LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL, by Laurence O'Keefe, Nell Benjamin, & Heather Hach, at Webster Univ. Conservatory, (5) SMASH/HIT!, by Steve Broadnax and Michael Bordner, at The Black Rep, (6) IN THE NEXT ROOM (Or the Vibrator Play), by Sarah Ruhl, at Washington Univ., (7) FOOL FOR LOVE, by Sam Shepard, at Tesseract Theatre, and (8) TROUBLE IN TAHITI, by Leonard Bernstein, at Union Avenue Opera.

In the Victorian era, just after the birth of the electric lightbulb, a novel remedy was developed for women diagnosed with a mysterious ailment called "hysteria." In 2010, Sarah Ruhl wrote In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) about a doctor who specialized in these treatments. Director Henry Schvey, professor of drama and comparative literature, talks about the power of attraction and the lure of technology within this comic play, which opens April 19 at Washington University's Edison Theatre.

Laura Benanti stars as Lauren, a type-A, by-the-book support group leader in NBC's new comedy series "Go On." When recent widower Ryan King (Matthew Perry) joins the group, Lauren struggles to keep her cool as he works to shake things up. Benanti has brought her unique abilities to comedies, dramas and musicals since she took Broadway by storm at the age of 18. She received a Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for her starring role in the Broadway production of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" for Lincoln Center, where she also starred in Sarah Ruhl's "In the Next Room" (or "The Vibrator Play"). Please like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NBCGo_On and follow us on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/NBCGo_On

Broadway and television star Michael Cerveris, currently on the boards in In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play joins Robin Milling on Let's Do Lunch! for Chinese and pre-Christmas chat at John's Shanghai. Due to subject matter, this show may contain sexual content not suitable for young ears! No calls please as this is a pre-recorded show, but feel free to join the chat.