Lisa Ramirez's One Woman Show Exposes the Myth of Motherhood

On Sunday, March 25, actor and playwright Lisa Ramirez will present her acclaimed one-woman show, EXIT CUCKOO, a brilliant glimpse into the lives of mothers and nannies that guarantees you will never look at “that woman” with the stroller the same way again.

The show will be performed for one night only at the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley, a benefit for Ramirez’s mother, legendary Berkeley child-development teacher Jacqueline Hardiman.

Inspired by Ramirez’s work as a nanny in Manhattan, EXIT CUCKOO takes its title from the cuckoo bird, which leaves its eggs in the nest of another bird to be born and raised. In EXIT CUCKOO, Ramirez transports us into the homes of and sits us on park benches with nannies, mothers and the children they both leave and take care of.

Said playwright/performer/activist Eve Ensler: “Lisa Ramirez gives us an inside look into the complicated, disturbing, often overlooked world of mothers, nannies and children ... Both brave and funny, EXIT CUCKOO deserves our attention.”

EXIT CUCKOO is directed by Bay Area director and playwright Leigh Fondakowski, author of The People’s Temple, recently performed at Berkeley Rep; head writer of The Laramie Project; and member of Tectonic Theatre Project since 1995.

The performance is presented by the parents of Rockridge Little School — a preschool on College Avenue in Oakland — as a benefit for beloved teacher Hardiman, who is recovering from serious medical problems and has been unable to work since late November. Emcee Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle will raffle off: Police (band) reunion tickets; a Claremont Spa Package; four Giants tickets and four A’s tickets (best seats in the house+VIP parking); a 1-week stay for 12 in a Lake Tahoe vacation home; and two floor seat tickets to Josh Groban at HP Pavilion.

WHAT: EXIT CUCKOO, written and performed by Lisa Ramirez, directed by Leigh Fondakowski (benefit for Jacqueline Hardiman)

WHEN: Sunday, March 25, 7 p.m (catered cocktails, 6 p.m.)

WHERE: Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley; four blocks north of Ashby Avenue at Derby Street; http://www.juliamorgan.org

TICKETS: $32 (ticket only)/$52 (VIP seating + reception catered by White Star Events); Call CBON Ticket Line (925) 798-1300 (box office open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., M-Sat.; 12-5 pm Sun.)

CONTACT: Michelle Blakeley, (510) 594-1748, anqua@pacbell.net

ABOUT LISA RAMIREZ: San Francisco-born and currently based in New York City, Ramirez was Playwright in Residence with New York Theatre Workshop at Dartmouth College last August. EXIT CUCKOO has had readings at The New York Theatre Workshop, The Six Figures Artists of Tomorrow Festival and at Makor/92nd St. Y. Ramirez has performed at many Bay Area Theatres including The Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Actor’s Theatre of San Francisco, and Intersection for the Arts. She received Best Actress Awards from The Bay Area Critics Circle for her work as Shelly in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child, Sarah in George Walker’s Love and Anger and Janice in John Patrick Shanley’s Italian-American Reconciliation. Lisa also received a Dramalogue Award for her portrayal of Maggie in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall. She was a founding member of The Actor’s Theatre of San Francisco and the Literary Director for Brava! For Women in the Arts.

ABOUT LEIGH FONDAKOWSKI: Head writer for the original stage production of The Laramie Project, Fondakowski was nominated for an Emmy as co-screenwriter for its HBO adaptation. Her original play, I Think I Like Girls, played to sold-out audiences in San Francisco and at La Jolla Playhouse, was nominated for a Bay Area Critics Circle Award for best original script and was voted one of the top 10 plays of 2002 by The Advocate. Directing credits include: I Think I Like Girls (La Jolla Playhouse, Encore Theatre), La Voix Humaine by Jean Cocteau (Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh), Agatha by Marguerite Duras (French Alliance, NYC), Gwen John adapted from the novel by Jane Warrick (HERE, NYC) and workshops of new plays by Stephen Belber, Julia Jordan and Anne Marie Cummings. She is the first recipient of the Emerging Writer/Director Project, a grant to fund the development of new and original work for the stage.

ABOUT JACQUELINE HARDIMAN: A child-development teacher for 10 years and expert in the Reggio-Emilia approach to early childhood education, Hardiman was Head Teacher at Heart’s Leap School in Berkeley before she joined the Rockridge Little School staff. Previously Hardiman worked at Step One Nursery School in Berkeley as head teacher in several different classrooms with various age groups and served on the Board of Directors. She is committed to creating a diverse learning environment where every child feels special. Hardiman loves teaching Spanish to young children, and incorporates her other interests – poetry, writing children’s books, ballet, theatre and piano – into the classroom. In a December proclamation in her honor, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates wrote: “Jacqueline Hardiman has set the standard in developing preschool curriculum designed to foster creativity, a sense of empowerment and an appreciation for the wonder of early childhood.”