Malibu Library speakers honor women in March

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A diverse group of women will tell stories from their own lives, portray lives of famous women and give a little mystery through the 9th annual Speaker Series at the Malibu Public Library.

By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times

Portrayals of Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein’s secretary, themes of respect and a group called “Sisters in Crime” are all part of this month’s Speaker Series to be presented by the Malibu Public Library in honor of National Women’s History Month.

The library, located in the Civic Center complex, has offered this public series for the past eight years, in a celebration of American women’s contribution to the arts and public life.

The series offers actresses and playwrights of national recognition, reading or performing self-scripted works with humor, sorrow, anger or nobility.

Barbara Clark, who opens the series this Saturday, is no stranger to libraries, having served as librarian to an entire region of L.A. County libraries. Such proximity to a host of eminent story sources led her to professional storytelling and she has performed nationally, including with Ann Buxie’s “Tales by the Sea” here in Malibu.

“The theme of my stories this week will be ‘respect,'” Clark said. “All of my stories come from my own life events. I am black, I grew up in Washington D.C. and experienced the era of segregation. There’s a lot of family heritage.”

Roberta Randall is an actress who has played several of theater’s Grande Dame roles, such as Lady Macbeth and Electra. On March 10, she reanimates former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in a one-act play she penned.

“I write all my own stuff,” Randall said. “In fact, I got biographies from this library as part of my research.”

Her performance repertoire includes larger-than-life show-biz characters like Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich.

“But I really dig through biographies to find the stuff that most people don’t know about,” Randall said. “It’s the small details of someone’s life that tell so much. For example, did you know that Eleanor had this high little voice?”

Randall immediately pitched her voice an octave higher and took on her best Ivy-League society accent.

Scheduled for March 17, theater, film and television actress Kres Mersky will perform her first full-length play, “The Life and Times of A. Einstein,” an off-beat comedy about a day in the life of the illustrious scientist as described by his longtime secretary.

The final installment of the Speaker Series on March 24 will offer a panel of women mystery writers from “Sisters in Crime,” a national alliance of women mystery authors.

“Some people call us the Mister Sisters,” Ashley Baker, one of the panelists, said.

Baker noted that their performance will mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of “Sisters in Crime.”

“For years, there were no women writers in the mystery genre outside of a few famous names like Agatha Christie,” Baker said. “It’s a sad fact, but, demographically, men have tended to read only other men, particularly in this genre.”

“Sisters in Crime,” which inclusively welcomes male writers as well, was formed 20 years ago to combat the men-only stereotype and now, women crime writers no longer are forced to obscure their gender by writing under pseudonyms or using initials for their first name, such as author J.K. Rowling felt she had to do with the publishing phenomenon of the Harry Potter series.

“Mystery and crime novels are the most popular genre behind romance novels,” Baker said. Mystery writers often rely on notable series characters to build a brand for their authorship, much as Agatha Christie did with her profligate crime solving geniuses, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

“One of our speakers, Sue Ann Jaffarian, has a series featuring Odelia Grey, a middle-aged, plus-size paralegal who is a humorous amateur sleuth,” Baker said.

For people who grew up on dog-eared copies of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, the “Sisters in Crime” panel will feature “all big names in the crime novel category,” Baker said.

The panel is comprised of mystery writers Pamela Samuels-Young, Sue Ann Jaffarian, Denise Hamilton and Harley Jane Kozak.

“We welcome new writers to the discussion and invite them to ask questions,” Baker said. “This is a great opportunity for people who are interested in crime and mystery novels and want to learn more about the business.”

Kathy Sullivan, library coordinator for adult programs, said, “There are not a lot of public events for grown ups in Malibu … certainly not of this caliber and certainly not for free!”

Organizer Sullivan hopes to attract Malibu residents who might not be aware of all the public library has to offer.

“This free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Malibu Library and the Las Virgenes Bookmobile,” she said. “It is such a pleasure to have this much talent available to us here at our own library.”

The Speaker Series events take place every Saturday this month at 3 p.m. at the Malibu Public Library, 23519 Civic Center Way. More information can be obtained by calling 310.456.6438.