Our Next Meeting

Satuday, 26 April 2008
11am - 3pm

San Francisco State University
Humanities Building, Room 587
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132 (map)

It's said Jane Austen might have had it in for mothers. In Mansfield Park, Fanny's mother, Mrs. Price, was lazy and detached. Mrs. Woodhouse, Emma's mother, married a hypochondriac and died. Lady Elliot took the same path with the narcissistic Sir Walter, and even the estimable Mrs. Moreland from Northanger Abbey seemed a bit too ruthlessly practical. Finally, there was Mrs. Bennett. Need we say more?

But get ready to meet the mother of all mothers in the Jane Austen canon -- Lady Susan Vernon. She cannot be beat. A widow who steps over her daughter to leave a trail of broken hearts and bad debts, she's the wickedest of all.

Christine U'Ren of San Francisco's Bella Union Theatre Company is adapting Jane Austen's early novella, Lady Susan, for the stage. Most likely written in the late eighteenth century, Lady Susan is different from Austen's later works in its bold exploration--and ambiguous treatment--of deceit and immorality. A reading of the script will be performed by a full cast, live, for our membership. Meet the playwright and actors, and offer your comments on the piece. The reading will be followed by a talk on the process of adapting this epistolary, or "letter-based", novel for theatrical performance.

There's no registration or fee for this event -- your membership dollars at work again. However, donations to our tea-inspired potluck buffet are very welcome. If you'd like to bring goodies, please e-mail webmasterjasnanorcal.org so we can coordinate the menu and ensure there's plenty for all.

Parking at SFSU costs $5 per day, but is only serviced by payment machines. The machines can accept quarters and small bills ($1 & $5) -- and sometimes they can be finicky about those. SFSU maintains excellent web pages specifically on parking in the Lot 20 Garage, and on other transit options to the campus. If you'd like to carpool, either as a driver or a passenger, please e-mail our Coachman's Bell at newsletterjasnanorcal.org