ODYSSEY STORYTELLING PHOTOS and BIOS
MAY 14, 2009 - "The Body"
Alison Davison has crammed much into her stay on the planet. She grew up back east where she was a child during the idealized 50's and 60's. She developed an early fascination with life on the edge, discovering "Beatnik" literature and R & B while a young teen. She was advised to pursue an alternative sort of education at some place like Antioch where she should study art. Of course, Alison (known as Gordon in those days), would never follow the directions of experts. In 1968, after some serious drama involving police in Chicago and later visits from the FBI, she moved to the Pacific NW. Alison's issues with her body were/are considerable. She was born with a body that did not correspond well with her sense of self. She openly and proudly acknowledges she is a transsexual woman. She has altered her body to better fit her core identity. She is now more at home in her body than she ever was. She currently works at Wingspan where she is the Coordinator (or Crone) of the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA).
Tony Hinkens left Tucson for Los Angeles on April Fool's Day in 2007 to pursue his dream of producing films and writing screenplays. He enjoys returning often to Tucson to visit old friends and to feel the peaceful glow of the desert. He is always searching for great stories that could be made into films.
Cynthia Meier is the Managing and Associate Artistic Director for The Rogue Theatre for which she has directed and acted in many of its plays. Cynthia recently received the 2008 Arizona Daily Star's Mac Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Drama. She has also performed and/or directed for Chamber Music Plus Southwest, Arizona Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Borderlands Theatre, Michigan Repertory Theatre, among others. She is a co-founder of Bloodhut Productions--a women's touring theatre and improvisation company. Her autobiographical writing has been published in The Last Sex (St. Martin's), The Meaning of Being Human (University of Indianapolis), Fat!So? (Ten Speed) and 222 Comedy Monologues (Krauss & Smith). Cynthia is a Faculty member in Speech at Pima Community College and holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of Arizona. In 2000, Cynthia was awarded the Tucson YWCA Woman on the Move Award.
Susan Kovitz grew up in the heart of the Midwest where conversation and story-telling ideas were synonymous. As a child, she excelled in creative non-fiction (i.e., "lying"). By high school, her main interests were in art and acting. Teenage drama became her forte and she was soon expelled from school. Eventually, Susan gained admittance to a small liberal arts college where she spent 6 years, gaining near worthless degrees in fine arts and theatre, with a Master's in hyperbole. "You could always teach," became her parents' hopeful mantra. Attempts as a professional cook, banker and store manager ended with Susan becoming…a teacher. She now works in the fitness industry and spends her spare time cooking, traveling and exaggerating.
Stephanie Baldwin is a local Tucson artist who loves to paint portraits and stories. she is deeply into music and plays a weird variety of instruments no one has ever heard of. she writes songs and once in awhile overcomes fear to sing in public. rumor has it that Stephanie tells some unique and interesting stories . sometimes she believes this to be true.
Alberto Ramirez was born in East L.A. He has been writing short fiction and poetry since 1987. He studied English Literature at UCLA, where he began writing one act plays. In 1997 he moved to Tucson, Arizona and began working as an adult educator, teaching English as a Second Language. He currently works as a curriculum specialist for Child-Parent Centers, Inc. He recently completed his first short novel.
