Audio By Carbonatix
The seed for René Marie’s new one-woman play, Slut Energy Theory, was planted during a long-ago conversation with a friend about how women often focus more on their relationships than on their own creative selves. “We use up all this energy, physical and emotional, and my friend called it ‘slut energy.’ I thought to myself, ‘That’s a great phrase. I’m going to use that one day,’” recalls Marie, a vocalist, actress and sometimes very controversial figure in Denver. Long story short, that day has arrived – eight years later.
Rereading some journaling she was doing back when her friend mentioned “slut energy,” Marie began visualizing a play about four descending generations of women – with each woman, in her own way, falling into the demeaning trap of a draining, abusive relationship. “But the more I wrote in their voices,” she says, “the more I realized that the women had so much to say that each one needed her own show.”
Marie will premiere the first installment tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Crossroads Theater, 2590 Washington Street. Directed by donnie l. betts, Slut Energy Theory tells the story of U’dean, a matriarchal figure and incest victim born in the early 1900s — and a character of whom Marie is undeniably proud. “I’m surprised at how direct I was able to make her,” she says. “She has a graceless way of speaking, but I love the honesty behind this character and her sense of humor.”
Performances of Theory continue through October 10 (the October 7 performance is a benefit for Crossroads Theatre), and tickets are $15; call 303-832-0929 or go to www.denvercrossroads.com for specific dates and reservations. Because this run coincides with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Marie plans to address domestic-violence issues during facilitated talkback sessions; she’s also working with the Clothesline Project, a program that raises awareness of violence against women with displays of T-shirts created by victims as a way to tell their stories.
Wednesdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: Oct. 1. Continues through Oct. 10, 2009
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