WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Williamstheatre announces the US and International artists participating in the 2007 Dialogue One Solo Theatre Festival. The Festival is designed to include professional artists as well as all students. “Dialogue One is an occasion to share diverse perspectives that span cultural, perceptional, linguistic, professional or personal similarities and differences between people,” says Professor Omar Sangare of the Williams College Theatre Department.

Williamstheatre students perform Madame Tussaud, LIVE; a compilation of four solo performances. Ilya Khodosh ’08 plays Meyer Lansky, a character modeled on the gangster of the same name. Andres Lopez ‘09 playsBud, a character modeled onMarlon Brando. Amanda O’Connor ’10 plays Maréchal Lannes, a character modeled on a friend of Napoleon Bonaparte, in a piece titled The Last Battle of Lannes; and Terence Tamm ’08 plays a character modeled on the writer Jack Kerouac, in a piece titled On the Rocks.

Professional offerings include The Story of My Dovecote, based on a short story from Stories from Odessa by the Jewish author Isaac Babel. This solo performance, performed in 4 languages (English, Russian, German, Polish), reproduces the unique atmosphere of Jewish life and culture in former East Europe. Directed by Johannes-Talmon-Gros, Herbert Kaluza plays Arye-Leib, a man who tells the story of how his father gave him a pigeonry as a gift when he was a child. Going to the marketplace in Odessa to buy some pigeons, he had his first experience with a pogrom. The Story of My Dovecote has won numerous international awards including Best Actor given by the International Network of One-Man-Show-Festivals.

Vamping is a dynamic, multi-media solo work created and performed by Kali Quinn and GUTWorks. Through a series of virtuoso transformations, master performer Kali Quinn introduces the audience to a group of five unforgettable characters, all connected to a 91-year old woman who is struggling with senile dementia. Through movement and the creative use of a wheelchair, along with her ability to voice young and old, male and female, angry and kind, Quinn creates a unique and riveting theatrical experience. The additional element of director Jonathan Maloney‘s unique video montage sequences allows the audience to go back in time and into the aging mind. “Quinn, Burmester, and Maloney have brought to life a powerful new piece that deserves a longer run and as much attention as it can grab,” says Josh Sherman of nytheatre.com.

Oblivious To Everyone, conceived by Playwright/Performer Jessica Lynn Johnson, explores the media’s portrayal of and influence on the style and psyche of the modern woman. This 75 minute serio-comedycenters around the character of Carrie, a self-proclaimed smut-aholic and avid talk show watcher, who is seeking psychiatric evaluation after repeated complaints from friends and family about her alleged multiple ‘personalities’. Rapidly flipping identities like TV stations, the audience will discover just how oblivious this Paris Hilton wannabe really is. Ms. Johnson portrays ten characters of different age, sex, and race as a means to examine the influential stereotypes, prejudices, and pressures American Media inflicts on our society. “The show is hilarious! But the theme, it’s quite serious,” adds Fox 5 News/Toni Senecal.

What does it truly means to love one’s country? Jonathan Pereira weaves personal stories of love, loss, and youthful expectations of romance and juxtaposes them with similar romantic images of America. American Cake is solo work that encourages the exploration of controversial, socially sensitive, or otherwise difficult topics through humor and satire.

Dialogue One marks Omar Sangare’s second year of innovative projects at Williams College. Professor Sangare received his PhD from Theater Academy in Warsaw where he studied with the Oscar winning director, Andrzej Wajda. Dr. Sangare holds many film, television, and radio credits. For his one-man drama True Theater Critic, he was voted The Best in Acting by The New York International Fringe Festival. Recently, the New York press acclaimed his lead part in the Arena Players Repertory Theater production of Othello. Barbara Delatiner wrote for The New York Times, “Omar Sangare was born to play Othello!” His published literary work includes two books of poetry Landscape of the Soul and Postscriptum; collections of bestselling short stories titled Tales for Old Horse, Tales for Black Sheep, Tales for Decent Man; as well as many essays and articles for various magazines and newspapers. Accompanied by great American writers such as Robert Pinsky, and Susan Sontag, he promoted his Polish literature in the United States. In 2003, he released his first solo album, “ON.” Professor Sangare defines the goal of Dialogue One by the motto: “There are no monologues. You are involved in dialogue at least with the Universe itself.”

Tickets: $3 Festival Pass for any event; seating on a first-come-first serve basis.

Box Office: Tuesday to Saturday, 1:00 to 5 PM, 413-597-2425