The Scoop: Ellen Snortland's One-Woman Show

“With a name like Snortland, she better be good”.  Hey…that wasn’t something I made up—she did!  Ellen Snortland is many things:  playwright, performer, writing coach, author, columnist, self-defense advocate, lawyer, radio and TV personality and list continues.  A weekly columnist for the Pasadena Weekly (“Consider This…”), frequent contributor to Ms. Magazine and a freelance columnist, she is an advocate for human rights and women and girls self-defense.  According to the Huffington Post, “She is a true Renaissance Woman”.  Well, this Renaissance Woman is bringing her Pulitzer Prize nominated one-woman show Now That She’s Gone to Altadena’s Coffee Gallery for 5 shows only, a precursor to her big debut in August at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. 

Now That She’s Gone is “a human rights love-letter to my mother”, says Snortland.  Written and performed by Snortland, Now That She’s Gone is a play that explores Snortland's often hilarious, irreverent and sometimes torturous relationship with her Norwegian-American mother Barbro Snortland.  In addition to analyzing the disconnected and often strained relationship between her and her mother, Now That She’s Gone examines Ellen Snortland’s dynamic personal history as an attorney, a journalist, a recovering cocaine addict, and a stage performer. 

Set against the backdrop of the American feminist movement of the 1970s and ‘80s, she interweaves the 30 articles of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), of which she credits her mother for instilling an appreciation.  “My mother shared the 30 articles of the UDHR with me when I was 10.  I thought everyone knew what they are, but I was mistaken.  People say ‘human rights’ and don’t know about the UDHR.  So I set out to educate audiences while entertaining them,” Snortland explains. 

The play has been described as “a Lily Tomlin/Garrison Keillor hybrid; passionate, poignant and funny in turns.  A memoir piece with Eleanor Roosevelt, sex, drugs, and lutefisk, the play and performance has received rave reviews and standing ovations in California, New York, and Washington, D.C.  Not just for women, there's even a chase scene!” 

You can catch this compelling play at The Coffee Gallery Backstage (2029 N. Lake Avenue in Altadena) on the following dates:

Saturday, July 16, 1:00 p.m. (preview)

Saturday, July 16, 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, July 21, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 23, 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 24, 5:30 p.m.

Prices are between $7.50 and $15.00; minimum age is 13

To purchase tickets through BrownPaperTickets, go to http://tiny.cc/Snortland

Tickets can also be purchased at the door, subject to availability.

According to one past attendee, Judi, “I've seen this play several times, and each time I laugh, cry and rejoice with Ellen as she tells her story…[she is] a woman who tells a tale that will touch your heart and bring you closer to all your family and friends.  Thank you Ellen for sharing your life and your soul.” 

To learn more about Ellen Snortland (her Fringe Festival debut, her writings, her writing workshops and more), visit her website www.snortland.com and to contact her, email her at ellensnortland@mac.com.