Story Chicks present True Stories for the Stage July 27

Story Chicks, the storytelling duo of C.E. Jordan and Terri MartinLujan, are coming to The Coffee Gallery Backstage for one day only on Sunday, July 27 at 3pm. The prized Western and Folk music venue located at 2029 N. Lake Ave. Altadena, Calif. 91001, provides an ideal environment for their rollicking show, “A Tale of Two Cowgirls: Texas to California.”
This writing and performing team takes its audience on a nostalgic journey through rural, 1950s childhood. Terri (from East Houston, Texas) and C.E. (from Ojai, Calif.) weave their individual kid stories into shared tales about snakes and lizards, winning and losing at marbles, and seriously bad weather, to name only a few – while also inviting folks to recall their own crazy and touching adventures.
C.E. (Christine) Jordan Bio-C.E. Jordan has performed and created unique dance/theatre work all her life. Her signature dance opus, ‘LA Breakdown’, a 6-part dance/theatre work, premiered in sections from 1984 to 1987 at Cal State LA, and came together in a complete showing at Fringe Festival LA in Fall 1987, entertaining folks for two weekends at the Mac Arthur Park Bandshell. She was bitten by the poetry bug in 1982, and has subsequently had her work published in Armchair/Shotgun, Blue Satellite, Rivertalk and other journals over the years.
She began staging her poetry and stories in 1996, performing with The Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre in 1996-97. Most notably, her signature theatre opus, ‘Notes on a Country Childhood’, an evening solo outing full of touching and entertaining stories and poems about her rural childhood in Ojai, CA, has been performed in various theatrical and no- traditional performing spaces since 2009.
She edits, combines, and happily riffs on this material as part of the texts for many Story Chicks pieces, the two gal theatre company she began with Terri MartinLujan in 2013.
‘A Tale of Two Cowgirls; Texas to California’ is the first of many shows based on their rural, 1950’s childhood experiences. This company is yet another example of getting ‘bitten’ by a good idea!
C.E. has her BA in dance from UCLA and MA in Theatre from CSULA. She has studied ballet and tap extensively, performed in summer stock with The Santa Barbara Youth Theatre, and danced professionally with The Moving Co. a Pasadena-based modern dance company, part of the NEA Dance Touring program, from 1973-78. She has been honored to work with Eugene Loring, Bella Lewitsky and Miriam Nelson on stage and in television, and with Debra DeLiso in acting and staging memoir. Her own career teaching creative dance and theatre to children spans 25 years. She continues to learn and create by the seat of her pants!
Terri MartinLujan Bio-Terri’s performance career began early, singing and performing in high school musicals in Texas. She continued to add to her talents by studying dance at CSULA where she joined the company, Kinetic Junction under the directorship of Jan E. Day. Her extensive training in dance improvisation, modern lyrical and jazz techniques led her to choreograph her first work, “Straysod” in 1980 for her mentor, Jan E. Day. Terri continued with the company from 1978-1986 where she had the privilege to work under the directorship of Agnes De Mille, Kathryn Dunham, Steven Peck, Elle Johnson, Lulu Washington and Bella Lewitsky during her time with the company.
After taking an English/Theater position for Duarte High School, Terri met Mike Bauer, a Broadway trained “hoofer” and founder of MB Productions. Along with Bauer, Terri has directed and co-produced several musicals for the city of Duarte, including an original work, “Heroes Tribute, 2007” dedicated to American servicemen and women. Other productions were “Little Shop of Horrors (2005), “Fiddler (2006), and “Pippin” (2008).
Terri has served as a board member and consultant for Celebration Entertainment Academy, an ROP program for performing arts in East San Gabriel Valley and in 2012, acted as managing director for Serving Artists In Process, a non-profit organization under Pasadena Arts Council, Emerge Projects.
Terri has worked with masterful authors promoting stories and writing. She has been involved with children and adult literacy through a the California Reading Council and International Reading Council, serving as President of the Secondary division and working as Entertainment chair for the annual conference planning committees. Retired from teaching, Terri has opportunity to write, perform and create her original works. Her essays have been published in the online journal, East Jasmine Review, www.eastjasminereview.com and her first children’s picture book, The Velveteen Dress, will be available in late 2014. When Terri began to take acting and writing classes with USC acting coach, Debra DeLiso, she was inspired to create her first one woman show titled “Some Say”. Now Terri can’t stop writing and has joined C.E. Jordan to form Story Chicks, a theatrical new experience for her and for audiences. Terri is an eclectic artist who retains a creative spirit.

The Story Chicks’ engaging and imaginative writing style translates like a charm to the stage, as these gals have a knack for physical humor while always tugging at the heartstrings. Story Chicks is real life, and as Terri and C.E. say: “We make memories, so we can tell stories.” Reservations 10am-10pm (626) 798-6236/$15 coffeegallery.com

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