Sophia Series

The Sophia Series 2012 - 2013

The Circle Women's Centre presents
the Jeanne Adamson Memorial Event of The Sophia Series

Featuring Canadian Author Susan Swan and
the all-woman opera noir quartet, The Billie Hollies

Thursday 2 May 2013, 8:00 p.m.
Meet & Greet Reception with the Artists to follow the performance
Brescia Auditorium, Brescia University College, London - Free Parking

Tickets: $20.00; $15.00 for Circle members
Tickets available at the door OR
Purchase Tickets ONLINE through our secure site: http://www.brescia.uwo.ca/thecircle/events/the_sophia_series.html

"A profound, hilarious and subverting evening of prose and song from among the best"
- Dave Bidini, Guitarist & Lead Vocalist, Rheostatics & BidiniBand

In Heroines of the Sexual Gothic, critically acclaimed author Susan Swan explores her relationship to some of her most intriguing characters — the giantess Anna Swan, the fiercely independent Asked For Adams and the romantically idealistic Mary "Mouse" Bradford. Woven throughout Swan's explorations is original music composed by Donna Linklater and performed by The Billie Hollies, Toronto's popular opera noir quartet. The soulful sound of The Billie Hollies singing passages from Swan's novels bring these characters to life, allowing the audience to powerfully connect to their own hopes, humour and struggles.

Heroines of the Sexual Gothic is a theatrical performance that illuminates the body as an ongoing cultural dilemma for women and for men, while exploring how overcoming limiting perceptions of one’s self can lead to brave and daring triumphs. Employing both poignancy and hilarity, Heroines asks these questions: Is this transformation of dark into light a universal quest? Is there room in Western culture for a treatment of the female body that isn’t diminishing, exploitative or threatening? And what does the creation of Swan’s characters tell us about the current cultural situation for women–a time when many young women are reclaiming feminism (yes, they are!) and re-launching, re-visioning and re-inventing initiatives to continue the work started by their mothers’ generation of feminists, only now within their own social context.

Swan’s Heroines struggle with these issues using live music and a backdrop of projections based on the performance by Swan, the author. Drawing from the characters in her bestselling books, along with a study of the culture of being female, the author becomes actor, lecturer, student, and character. This performance has been artfully shaped and directed by London legend Louise Fagan, whose expertise as a creative development producer brings this performance to its fullest expression. Join us for this unique evening of performance - Susan Swan, Louise Fagan and The Billie Hollies have created an evening of talk and music you'll never forget!

Assistant producer and director: Mariel Marshall

To learn more visit: www.heroinesofthesexualgothic.com


Susan Swan	The Billie Hollies

Directed and Produced by Louise Fagan
Assistant producer and director: Mariel Marshall

Tickets Sales: www.thecircle.ca or circle@uwo.ca
or 519-432-8353 ext. 28288

The Sophia Series seeks to:

Present speakers with expertise in: leadership, the environment, activism, the arts, politics and spirituality.
Present you with women who boldly engage in our current cultural experience and bring positive transformation to our rapidly changing world.
Honour women’s historical and ongoing contribution to our local and national landscape.

Why “Sophia”?

The series derives its name from layers of meaning that align with Brescia’s mission and vision.

Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom.
Sophia is the personification of Wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Sophia is often symbolized by a dove, which is also imaged in Brescia’s logo (a tree is another of her symbols).
The feminine personification of wisdom is a cross-cultural phenomenon that can be found within other world religions and spiritualities.

Sophia Alumnae

Since 2005, The Sophia Series has provided Brescia students and the London community the opportunity to hear the wisdom of these extraordinary women

(from left to right):

Top Row: The Honourable Flora MacDonald, Dr. Margaret Wheatley, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Jane Urquhart, Maude Barlow, Michele Landsberg, Katherine Ashenburg, Christina Baldwin, Ann Linnea, Monia Mazigh, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Stephanie Nolen.

Second Row: Louise Fagan, Sami Jo Small, Adria Vasil, Emma Donoghue, Bal Arneson, Ami McKay

(Please click on picture for more information)