Fundraiser for ICAN, Baltimore, Maryland

Date: December 5th 2009

Time: 10 AM; Panel discussion to follow

Doors open @ 9:15 AM for coffee and a showcase of area birth and baby related businesses

Where: RC Hollywood Cinema 4, 5509 Oregon Avenue, Arbutus, Maryland 21227

Cost: $20 general admission, $8 students

For more information: http://www.icanofbaltimore.org and click on "meetings"

Coudesport, Pennsylvania

From Jane Metzger, Donna Batterson and Freda Fultz, a report on the International Women's Day screening in Coudesport, Pennsylvania: "Thank you for a most enjoyable afternoon. It was a cold and rainy Sunday. We screened the movie by using a projector hooked up to a dvd player. Age of participants ranged from 20s to 80s. There were several current and former OB nurses in attendance."

"Caitlin Hicks was awesome in the portrayal of three very different women. From the unbridled joy to the deep heartbreak and the strong affirmation of womanhood, she portrayed the depth of emotion with great emotion. Wow!"

"It was a difficult story to watch, at times almost too intense. It was the end of the movie before I realized that it was the same actor who portrayed the three women. She was simply incredible."

"I’m still processing the movie but I thought it was very well done and the Meg/Sara/Nicole actress was superb. I enjoyed meeting some new folks and reconnecting with women I already knew."

"I thought there were some good points in the movie but I was troubled by the way the medical profession was vilified. Overall men were not portrayed in a positive way except at the very beginning where the fathers were gamboling with their children."



Thank you for your comments about our film, Singing the Bones

As the playwright, I worked hard to portray the medical profession as accurately and respectfully as possible. In fact, Dr. Sara was compassionate and intelligent throughout the film - and for me, she represented the medical profession. She ultimately became the heroine of the story with her realization at the end.

In terms of the statement that men were not portrayed in a positive way, I have to say that in creating this story, I did not set out to make a balanced picture of all men and women in all situations. On television, (where most often women are admitted in a state of panic and fear about their labor), there are a lot of stories which leave the impression that both men and the medical profession are, by and large, competent and compassionate. I felt my story about one woman in particular, needed to be told - from a woman's point of view. In our years of touring this story internationally, I have met many women who have corroborated these stories with stories of their own.

Coudesport, Pennsylvania, March 8, 2009

A celebration of International Women’s Day is planned on Sunday, March 8 at the Coudersport Public Library, highlighted by a screening of “Singing The Bones,” a full-length movie that tells the story of three generations of women brought together by a single birth.

The celebration is the brainchild of longtime childbirth educator Donna Batterson, who is the coordinator of the Healthy Beginnings Plus program for Charles Cole Memorial Hospital. She brought the idea to Freda Fultz of A Way Out and Jane Metzger, a Coudersport Library trustee, who enthusiastically agreed to collaborate on this special celebration.

“We wanted to offer a time for women of all generations to join in celebration of this special day,” says Batterson. “We envision it as a time for mothers, daughters and grandmothers to spend time together celebrating our womanhood.”

The movie will be screened at 2:00 p.m. but the doors to the library will open at 1:00 p.m. to allow participants time to view the displays and spend time together. Refreshments will be provided.

International Women’s Day on March 8 is a yearly observance marked by women’s groups around the world, commemorated at the United Nations and designated in many counties as a national holiday.

When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggles for equality, justice, peace and development.

Inspired by true stories, “Singing The Bones” enlivens debate surrounding a women’s right to control her own destiny and see the birth of a child as a personal, rather than an institutional event. “Singing the Bones” brings Canadian writer-performer Caitlin Hicks’ acclaimed one-woman stage play to film. Hicks plays three characters: Meg, a spirited midwife, Nicole, a feisty young mother pregnant with twins, and Sara, an aging obstetrician. “The interlocking tales of the three women become a single narrative that is not just a woman’s story, but an unforgettable window into the human experience,” says a reviewer from the Mill Valley Film Festival.

The celebration is provided free of charge, Donations are accepted with proceeds going to program costs, A Way Out and the Coudersport Public Library. Reservations are appreciated. Please call the library at 274-9382.