Press Contact – Linda Baumgardner 208-720-2911

linda@raggedwing.org To download digital pictures of PERSEPHONE’S ROOTS

Please visit our PRESS PAGE at:

www.raggedwing.org/press FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 1, 2010

Ragged Wing Ensemble presents… The World Premiere of

PERSEPHONE’S ROOTS created by Anna Shneiderman and the ensemble

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

WHAT: Ragged Wing Ensemble presents:

PERSEPHONE’S ROOTS created by Anna Shneiderman

and the ensemble

WHEN: Oct. 27th - 31st, 2010 Weds. – Sun. at 5:30 pm

WHERE: Codornices Park 1201 Euclid Ave.

Berkeley, CA

THIS EVENT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC.

INFO: www.raggedwing.org

Codornices Park is wheelchair accessible.

PERSEPHONE’S ROOTS is an original, site specific, ritual performance event, created by Anna Shneiderman and the Ensemble. The first in a series of outdoor, ritual performance events to be created by Ragged Wing Ensemble, PERSEPHONE'S ROOTS performs for one week only, Oct. 27 – 31, 2010 at 5:30pm in Codornices Park across from the Rose Garden -1201 Euclid Ave. in Berkeley, CA. Gathering place is on the Rose garden side of the tunnel by the tennis courts. This event is FREE to the public. More information on our web site - www.raggedwing.org.

Persephone entered Hades and the world went dark. Winter was born. Follow Persephone's footsteps into the Underworld and join us as we encounter the ancient triple goddess in this All Hallows Eve ritual performance event. An ancient ferryman, a maze of roots, the keeper of the crossroads... However you arrive, the veil grows thin and the spirits will play as we welcome the Darkness of the season. PERSEPHONE¹S ROOTS is a unique Halloween event. Follow the ensemble through a series of performance installations in the tunnels, meadows, streams and forests of the park. Witness or participate in the journey, as you l ike. The event wil l culminate in a ri tual, fire-based performance featuring giant puppetry and spectacle performance. The artists featured in the production are: Performers: Silvia Girardi, Emlyn Guiney, Molly Holcomb, WM Hunter, Lisa Klein, Maria Leigh, David Stein, Addie Ulrey, and Phil Wharton; Music Director: Jenny Holland; Art Director: Amy Sass; Costume Designer: Gray Morris; Puppet and Environment Artists: Djuna Odegard and Mirit Markowitz; Production Manager: Linda Baumgardner; Stage Managers: Natalia Kaminska-Palarczyk and Erin Sterling; Assistant Director: Emlyn Guiney; Director: Anna Shneiderman. Ragged Wing Ensemble is a collective of artists who create innovative work for the theater, drawing our theatrical vocabulary from physical theater, dance, clowning, mask work and puppetry. We seek to redefine classic stories, folktales and myths by creating original interpretations and placing them in new contexts. Our process is collaborative - from the management of the company to the creation of our pieces, from our educational programs to our commitment to low ticket prices and audience involvement.

Company Bios KEITH C. DAVIS has been in the Bay Area since 1997 performing with many theater companies including Traveling Jewish Theatre, Shakespeare at Stinson, foolsFury, Last Planet Theatre, Darvag Theatre, Exit Theatre, CuttingBall Theatre, Shotgun Players, Mettle Theatre, and of course, Ragged Wing Ensemble. Keith currently teaches Drama at Prospect Sierra School. With RWE, Keith performed in The Serpent, Splinters... and Other F-Words, Alice in Wonderland, The History of the Devil, So Many Ways to Kill a Man and Handless. He directed RWE’s The Tempest in 2007.

AMY SASS: Founding member of Ragged Wing Ensemble, Amy grew up in the grassroots theatre scene training in puppetry, mask work, physical theatre, ensemble technique, and all manners of traditional and experimental performance forms. She has directed and choreographed countless productions with actors and artists of all ages. Having taught theater at many bay area institutions, she now runs a thriving drama program at Prospect Sierra School. Company credits include: Handless (writer/director) So Many Ways to Kill a Man (Writer, Clytemnestra, Chrysothemis), Alice in Wonderland (Director), The Tempest (Choreographer, Ariel) and The Serpent (Director).

ANNA SHNEIDERMAN, a Ragged Wing Ensemble founding member, is committed to working at the intersection of theatre, education and social justice. Anna brings her experience with performing, directing, mask-making and puppeteering to Ragged Wing from her work with Bread and Puppet Theatre, the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre, Redmoon, Steppenwolf, and other theaters in Chicago, Washington, DC and Massachusetts. For the past four years, she created, directed and grew the theater program at Envision Academy, a public, charter high school in Oakland. With Ragged Wing, Anna has performed in The Serpent, Splinters and Other F-Words, Alice in Wonderland, So Many Ways to Kill a Man, and Handless, and has produced The Tempest, The History of the Devil and Handless

Directions to Codornices Park: DRIVING - From I-80 East, exit at University Ave. and continue up the hill for 2 miles. Turn left on Shattuck Ave. Turn right on Cedar St. Turn left on Euclid Ave. Street parking. Performance begins on the rose garden side of the tunnel by the tennis courts.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT - Take the Richmond line to Downtown Berkeley. Take the #65 AC Transit bus to Euclid and Eunice. Performance begins on the rose garden side of the tunnel by the tennis courts.