Press Release: Diamond Girls, Menagerie Productions By Maureen Ulrich Asper Centre, U of W , 400 Colony Street July-13 8:15 PM July-15 2:45 PM July-17 6:15 PM July-18 9:45 PM July-21 8:30 PM July-23 1:45 PM July-24 12:00 PM Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own (1992) is a movie favourite for many, and certainly one for playwright Maureen Ulrich. Her one-act, one-woman show Diamond Girls portrays the twelve-year saga of Philip K. Wrigley’s celebrated All- American Girls Professional Baseball League, as seen through the eyes of three Saskatchewan players. Mary “Bonnie” Baker, Arleene Johnson Noga, and Daisy Junor all boarded the Sioux Line for Chicago to play with the South Bend Blue Sox or Muskegon Lassies. One of the League’s most publicized players, Baker played ten years, making the All- Star team in ’43 and ’46 and becoming its first and only female manager. Last summer Ulrich saw a Leader Post article about the commemoration for Baker at Regina’s Central Park and got the notion to turn the topic into a play. Within a few months, the project became part of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame’s 2016 50th anniversary celebration. Malia Becker, 27, of Regina plays all three women, as well as their families, Wrigley, some teammates and reporters, a chaperone, a manager, and a charm school instructor –twenty-one characters in total. Although Becker has little experience with softball or baseball, she played wide receiver with the Regina Riot in the “Lingerie” League. “I get the whole looks vs. skill thing,” Becker commented. “It never seems to go away in women’s sports.” Director Kenn McLeod observed that Becker’s dance and voice training have come in handy. “She knows how to move on a stage, and she’s got loads of stamina, two things essential for delivering this show.” Ulrich has written a number of plays and also published a girls’ hockey trilogy with Coteau Books. “I’m not an athlete,” Ulrich said, “but I’ve spent the last thirty-five years at baseball diamonds and hockey rinks. I wrote press releases for my husband’s ball team while they won six provincial titles. Diamond Girls has brought me back to a place in my writing that feels a lot like home.” The tour schedule has been fleshed out with appearances in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario – including two shows in Toronto and a special presentation at the International Sports Heritage Association’s conference in Calgary in September. By the time October 1st rolls around, Becker will have performed the show 40 times. “Much of this tour that parallels the League itself,” Ulrich commented. “Mary got the notion she wanted to play after seeing a picture of the uniform in the Leader. I got inspired when I saw Mary’s picture in her uniform. We’ve already seen the attention Malia gets because of her looks – just like the players did -- but it’s her skill as an actress that sends audiences home buzzing with excitement. Just like those long bus rides around lake Michigan, we’re packing the show into the back of my truck and traveling to four Fringes in four provinces. Although we’ve got some night games, thank goodness there’ll be no double-headers on Sundays.” Diamond Girls is suitable for all audiences -- for softball or baseball fans young and old and for those looking for a theatrical experience. For tour information, visit www.menageriepro.weebly.com. Contacts: Maureen Ulrich 1-306-487-7512 [email protected] Malia Becker 1-306-737-1292 [email protected] .