FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2009

Medical Mystery Uncovered on New York Stage
Stone Soup Theatre Arts premieres Ben Trawick-Smith's What Happens to Women Here

Stone Soup Theatre Arts presents the World Prermiere of What Happens to Woman Here, a new play about childbirth and pregnancy in 19th Century Europe. The play will have a limited engagement at the Richmond Shepard Theatre at 309 East 26th Street (Between First and Second Aves), in New York City. Performances will run from Sunday, April 19 through Sunday, May 3rd.

The play follows the story of two tragic lives in Vienna during the industrial revolution. Ignaz Semmelweis, an obstetrician, discovers germs years before Pasteur and Lister, only to be undone by his own madness before the world can learn of his breakthrough. Theresa, a young girl from the streets of Vienna, copes with an unplanned pregnancy and a society that silences her cries for help. Exploring the conflicts surrounding class, sex and identity, the play dissects the political forces that fail human health.

What Happens to Women Here is the debut play from Trawick-Smith, founding member of Stone Soup Theatre Arts and an actor who has worked with such companies and venues as Aisling Arts, The Brick Theatre, Nosedive Productions, Manhattan Rep and Emerging Artists. The play is directed by Amy Kaissar (Epiphany Theater, Abingdon Theatre, Funny Woman Festival, producer of off-Broadway's recent Telephone at the Lucille Lortel).

Stone Soup Theatre Arts has produced both new work and revivals of rarely seen contemporary plays on contemporary social issues. The company has mounted plays by such writers as Edward Bond, Don DeLillo, Vaclav Havel, Howard Korder, and Elie Wiesel. In addition, they have created numerous original works, dealing with topics as diverse as native American rights, gay marriage, and the Great Depression.

Production Team: Jonathan Cottle, Set Design; Evan Purcell, Lighting Design; Jessica Lustig, Costume Design; William Neall, Sound Design

Cast: Jenn Boehm, Ellen DiStasi, DR Mann Hanson, Daryl Lathon, Morgan Nichols, Kirsta Peterson, Eric Rice, Erika Robel, and Maria Schirmer.

Performance Schedule:
Sunday, April 19 at 3pm
Tuesdsay, April 21 at 7pm
Friday, April 24 at 8pm
Sunday, April 26 at 3pm
Tuesday, April 28 at 7pm
Wednesday, April 29 at 7pm
Friday, May 1 at 8pm
Sunday, May 3 at 3pm

What Happens to Women Here runs in repertory with The Living by Anthony Clarvoe. For details and tickets visit stonesoupkitchen.org.

Press may reserve tickets, request interviews and production photos by contacting Leigh Goldenberg, 917-698-0844 or leigh@stonesoupkitchen.org.

About Stone Soup
Stone Soup Theatre Arts was founded in 2001 in order to produce socially conscious, ensemble-based work. Each season, the company examines a new contemporary social issue, presenting a published work by an established playwright and an original piece, written collaboratively after months of research. The company's productions, created to initiate change both outside and inside the theater through its balance of activism and art, have been featured in USA Today, The Village Voice, and The Jewish Week. NYTheatre.com commended Stone Soup's ability to "see the human journey through the eyes of many races, homelands, and periods in time [and using] the theatre as a means to educate." Stone Soup has produced thirteen full productions in New York City, as well as a number of readings, artistic development workshops and a variety of creative fundraisers from bingo parties to dog beauty pageants.

About Season Eight: Diagnosing the Present
From the dark days of the bubonic plague to America's current medical care crisis, history has proven time and again that one's health is much more than a personal matter. Politicized, bureaucratized and monetarily valued, the condition of our physique is the most intimate,yet most socially wide-reaching measure of our species. In the context of the current war raging over universal health coverage, how much is a society responsible for the well-being of its members? For Stone Soup's eighth season, the company plans to tackle one of America's most heated debates - the care of human body.