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RASH proceeds donated to Kenbe La Foundation

As we all know, there was a terrible earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 where around 220,000 people were killed and there are still 1.5 million people homeless. These numbers are hard to comprehend. On a personal note, what was so hard for me to comprehend was the loss of my friend Emmanuel Rejouis and his two young girls Kofie-Jade (5) and Zenzie (3). His wife Emily and their daughter Alyahna (2) survived. Emmanuel and I worked together with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Rwanda. Emily has since created Kenbe La Foundation "to realise Emmanuel’s aspiration of providing inspirational educational opportunities for disadvantaged children of his birth-country Haiti, with an emphasis on sports, music, leadership and entrepreneurship".

RASH is largely based on the 3 years I lived and worked in Rwanda and so it seems fitting to donate all proceeds from the NY Fringe performances to the Foundation in memory of Emmanuel and his girls. Here is a beautiful obituary of Emmanuel that describes him so poignantly. As a writer, I confess I still find it hard to put words to paper on this one. And recently, Emily spoke out about the tragedy and the Foundation for the first time on New Zealand television. She is very inspirational and I think of her and Alyahna so often.

Preparing for RASH

Tick tock, tick tock. The New York Fringe Festival is fast approaching. As usual, I always underestimate how much work it is to get the play up and running again. The rare moments when I have the apartment to myself, it quickly gets rearranged into my performance space and I trip over lego and train tracks as I speed through rehearsing. I only have a few rehearsals with Jen Nails, the RASH director before she goes off on vacation so we're using that time wisely. Ashley, the play manager is amazing helping to organize all the details from marketing, press to tech. Huge thanks to Zach and Mari who have been helping us design the marketing materials and the blog. And we're thrilled that Taylor has joined our team as our stage manager/board operator. I'm still trying to find our lighting designer as well as a new costume. Fortunately I have some time off work this week to prepare. Last week we visited the HERE Arts Center with all the other productions performing in that space. It looks great and is an ideal intimate venue for RASH. Forthcoming we have venue prep (hours and hours of setting up the theatre for all the shows) and then our tech rehearsal. But there's still time, thank goodness. Although I can feel it ticking ...

RASH at the HERE Arts Center in August

We recently learned that RASH will be performed at the HERE Arts Center - Dorothy B. Williams in Soho. We visited the space this week and we're thrilled that it's our venue. It's a great intimate space that is perfect for a play like RASH. The New York Times has called HERE “one of the most unusual arts spaces in New York and possibly the model for the cutting-edge arts spaces of tomorrow.” It's also where the Vagina Monologues was developed by Eve Ensler. We also got confirmation of the dates of the performances. There will be six performances between 13th & 28th August. Check out the Fringe Festival Website for details. Tickets go on sale on July 23rd and we're expecting to sell out! And it's $15 if you buy a ticket in advance and $18 at the door. There will also be a short talkback with the audience after the Friday August 27th show if you want to hear more about the story behind RASH.

RASH accepted into the New York International Fringe Festival

I'm going to be performing RASH at the New York International Fringe Festival this August. I'm so happy. I think! When I told my mum, she said "you're a glutton for punishment". She knows that going on stage for me is much scarier than being locked in a prison cell with 500 detainees accused of genocide (yes, that's another story). She knows that I have a full-time job as Managing Director at WITNESS and that I'm a sleep deprived mum. But she also knows that we human rights activists and humanitarians have an adrenalin seeking streak to us. I'll let you know as soon as I do what the dates and exact location will be for the performances. In the meantime, become a fan of our Facebook page and get regular updates. And I will feel great to have so many friends and supporters!

Itchy again

After a long absence, it seems the RASH is returning! Where did it go? Well after I performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2007, I returned to NY to discover that I was to become the Acting Executive Director at WITNESS. It was an exciting opportunity, it was all consuming and it lasted 9 months. The same time it took me to grow a beautiful wee baby! I actually did perform RASH in June 2008 when I was over 5 months pregnant at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. What an amazing space. I performed RASH as part of the PUSH Conference in a very original format suggested by its Founder and Director Cecily Sommers. Each day of the conference, I performed a segment of the play which was weaved into the conference program. It worked and I was so moved to get a standing ovation from a full house. This year I also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Strathclyde for both my human rights and arts work, but the seed was planted when someone from the University saw RASH at the Edinburgh Fringe. That's it in a nutshell. Now Ashley Patterson (RASH manager), Jen Nails (RASH director) and myself are getting RASH back up on its feet for 2010 so stay tuned for details, and do join our mailing list. And if you have any ideas for some interesting venues for RASH, let us know.

Week Two at the Fringe

Seven more shows to go! It’s been a great week. RASH was shortlisted for the Amnesty International and the Big Issue Freedom of Expression Award alongside four other companies. The award ceremony is on August 23rd. I got another two great 4 star reviews from Three Weeks and the Fringe Review. I was featured in the Scotsman in Brief Encounters where Leslie Lewis Sword and I chatted about our one woman solo shows set in Rwanda. Ewan Spence interviewed me for the Edinburgh Fringe Show of The Podcast Network so check that out if you want to hear about the show. And I spoke about RASH on a panel at the Edinburgh Synagogue Open Day with Linda Marlowe and Iris Bahr who are both performing one woman shows too,. The best show I saw this week was Nina Conti doing a fantastic ventriloquist and character show – she is funny and talented. And I can’t thank Gordon, Deborah and Jessica enough for helping me flyer this week for the show. It’s hard work but rewarding. We meet some nice people along the way, and some of them do come to see the show as a result. Onto Week 3.