- By Wendy Woods
- Entertainment
Print 
From her beginnings as an Army brat in South Carolina through her wild childhood in the 60's, a less-than-perfect marriage, and life as a struggling actress in New York City, Jill Dalton shares her thirty-year siege in a style filled with wit and profound discovery. Dalton portrays 18 different characters including her father (the Colonel), her mother (the Quaker), her husband (the Charmer), her chain-smoking therapist (the Warden) and other eccentrics whom she encounters through the many obstacles and personal losses in her life. In the end, what she finds is the courage to stand up for herself, heal her addictions, follow her dreams and live an authentic life. Trenches is a story of transformation, growth and the importance of humor to survival.
Playwright/performer Jill Dalton is a veteran of feature films and television, including parts on Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Wall Street, Another World, Saturday Night Live, All My Children and As the World Turns. In 1995, she received the Mary Jo Comedy Show Award for stand-up comedy in New York City, and has performed at Caroline's Toyota Comedy Festival, Stand-up New York and various clubs throughout the northeast. A veteran of Off-Off Broadway, Jill has performed her solo works at Surf Reality, Dixon Place, Womenkind Festival, Solo Arts, Hudson Guild, The Field, New York Fringe Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the International Midtown Festival and the 78th Street Theater Lab. She was an Artist-in-Residence with the Metropolitan Arts Council in South Carolina with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the South Carolina Arts Commission. She is also a member of the Dramatist Guild of America, Inc.
My Life in the Trenches is directed by Jack McCullough, an acting/directing graduate of the Trinity Repertory Conservatory, whose acting appearance credits include Third Watch, The Observer (a short film), Osmosis Jones, Spenser: for Hire, Mr. North and Providence. He was the recipient of a Peter Kaplan Acting Fellowship for Trinity Rep's 1984-85 Season, where he remained a company member for six years.
After its world premiere in New York City in July 2001 at the Third International Midtown Theatre Festival, My Life in the Trenches was selected as one of the "best of the fest": The show was so popular, it was brought back for two more consecutive years. It was also presented by the Ensemble Studio Theatre's Octoberfest as well as The Double Helix Theatre Company's "One" festival of solo plays.
Kitchen Theatre Company's KITCHEN COUNTER CULTURE series brings Central New York the cutting-edge, outside-the-box, bold, uncensored work of writer/performers who are fearless in their convictions and daring in their presentations. The series celebrates new voices and diverse approaches to the act of performance with artists who are breaking rules and breaking new ground. The series opened with LA-based artists Le Van D. Hawkins and Alexander Thomas' Black Stuff. Coming up later on this series is Wonder Woman the musical by lesbian-feminist Elizabeth Whitney, and concludes with two weekends of poet/activist Michelle Courtney Berry's newest work, Labor. Alice Eve Cohen, whose performance pieces for families delight, charm and surprise, returns with The Parrot. Funded by New York State Council on the Arts and sponsored by Foster Custom Kitchens and The Jewelbox.
Performance Dates:
February 16, 2006 Thurs 8:00 pm OPENING
February 17, 2006 Friday at 8:00 pm
February 18, 2006, Saturday at 8:00 pm CLOSING
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