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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE Art Gallery welcomes female dramatists to celebrate SWAN Day March 27th

"Mainely Monologues," a succession of eclectic female voices, will be heard on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 2:00  to 4:30 p.m., in conjunction with the third annual SWAN Day, at the University of New England's Art Gallery on the Portland Campus. 

SWAN (Support Women Artists Now) Day is an international holiday that celebrates woman artists, taking place on the last Saturday of Women's History Month (March).  Events are scheduled all over the world featuring women artists. 

The program at the UNE Art Gallery is free to the public with donations accepted to benefit the Gallery.  Light refreshments will be provided during intermission.

The show opens with a performance by Portland actress Jackie Oliveri of excerpts from "Still Alice," a novel by Lisa Genova. The book has been called the "best portrayal of the Alzheimer's journey that I have ever read" by Mark Warner, reviewer from the Alzheimer's Daily News. Oliveri also performs the only play on the bill that was written by a playwright who is not from Maine. "7 Margaritas," which depicts one overworked bartender's unhinged fantasy, comes from the pen of Lindsay Harris Friel of Philadelphia.

In keeping with Women's History Month, the program closes with Linda Britt's new play about Senator Margaret Chase Smith. "Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington" is a one-woman show that just premiered to sold-out crowds in Lewiston. Sally Jones played the title role in Out of the Box Theater's production, and she will perform a segment of the play on SWAN Day. Writer and director Linda Britt expects that UNE will be only the first stop on the play's road trip.

Other Maine playwrights whose work will be presented are Carolyn Gage (The Paramachene Belle), Danie Connolly (Mrs. White's Little Girls Get Dirty), Wendy Wincote Schweikert (Mother's Day) , Marsha Coller (The Absence of Lucy Teal), Linda Griffith (Oh Well), and Laura Emack (A Talking Scale).  Joining the team as performers are Portland actress Karen Ball and Kennebunk's Deb Snyder. There is ample parking on Saturday afternoons, and directional signs will be in place. The audience is encouraged to view the Gallery's ever-changing exhibits before the performance and during intermission.

The long-term goal of SWAN Day is to inspire communities around the world to find new ways to recognize and support women artists as a basic element of civic planning. SWAN Day is a grassroots effort being coordinated by The Fund for Women Artists through its website at www.WomenArts.Org. 

For more information about "Mainely Monologues," contact Laura Emack at LKECPA@prexar.com or (207) 567-3437. For venue-related questions, contact Anne Zill who can be reached at (207) 221-4499 or AZill@une.edu.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.