Prostate Cancer Survivor Shares Tale of Testosterone, April 18-May 10 | Playbill

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News Prostate Cancer Survivor Shares Tale of Testosterone, April 18-May 10 Actor-playwright Hal Ackerman takes a frank look at his own mortality in his poignant, humor-laced, autobiographical play, Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made a Man of Me, April 18-May 10 at The Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica, CA.

Randy Oglesby and Lisa Robins also appear in the Michael Arabian-directed "manologue."

Ackerman — co-chair of the screenwriting program at the U.C.L.A. School of Theater, Film and Television — completed his treatment for prostrate cancer in 2001.

"I underwent a non-traditional hormone treatment that turned me into a chemical eunuch," he laughs. "The play is about how we define masculinity when the very thing that defines manhood is taken away. I look at all the relationships that define maleness: father, son, husband, friend and lover. It opens with what I jokingly call a 'manologue.'"

Director Arabian stated, "There are very few subjects that are taboo for men, and this is one of them. Hal works at a pretty high level in the entertainment industry; his willingness to put himself out there with this piece is really courageous."

* Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made a Man of Me was originally written as a long prose piece that was published in AARP magazine. After adapting it into a play, Ackerman has presented it at numerous prostate cancer conventions around the country including, most recently, the IMPAcT convention sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Michael Milken Foundation.

Ackerman's playwriting career began in New York in the late 1960s, when many of his plays were performed Off-Off Broadway. He has had numerous short stories published in literary journals, several of them winning awards in annual fiction contests.

Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made a Man of Me is presented by Lollywood Productions in association with The Powerhouse Theatre Company. Set design is by John Iacovelli; lighting design is by Frank McKown; sound design is by Bob Blackburn. Isabel Storey is the producer.

Storey is vice chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. The Powerhouse Theatre Company, which makes its home at the Powerhouse, a historical building originally erected in 1910 to house the Southern California Edison Electrical Plant for the city of Santa Monica, "is committed to nurturing innovative new work."

Testosterone will run Fridays at 8 PM; Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 4 PM. General admission is $20. Tickets for students, seniors and cancer survivors are $15.

The Powerhouse Theatre is located at 3116 2nd Street in south Santa Monica, just off Main Street between Rose and Marine.

For more information call (310) 396-3680 or visit www.powerhousetheatre.com.

 
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