Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made A Man Of Me April 18, 2008

Hal Ackerman takes a frank look at his own mortality in his poignant and often humorous play, joined by supporting cast members Dennis Lee Kelly and Lisa Robins.

Co-chair of the screenwriting program at the U.C.L.A. School of Theater, Film and Television where he has been on the faculty for the past 22 years, Ackerman completed his treatment for prostrate cancer in 2001.

"I underwent a non-traditional hormone treatment that turned me into a chemical eunuch," he laughs. "The play is about how we define masculinity when the very thing that defines manhood is taken away. I look at all the relationships that define maleness: father, son, husband, friend and lover. It opens with what I jokingly call a 'manologue.' "

Michael Arabian was drawn to the work because, he says, "There are very few subjects that are taboo for men, and this is one of them. Hal works at a pretty high level in the entertainment industry; his willingness to put himself out there with this piece is really courageous."

"Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made a Man of Me" was originally written as a long prose piece that was published in AARP magazine. After adapting it into a play, Ackerman has presented it in part and in whole at numerous prostate cancer conventions around the country including, most recently, the IMPAcT convention sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Michael Milken Foundation.

As co-chair of the screenwriting program at U.C.L.A., Hal Ackerman has mentored the work of many hugely successful screenwriters whose films include A Walk on the Moon, Matchstick Men, Terminal, Soul Food and many others. His book "Write Screenplays That Sell…The Ackerman Way" is going into its third printing and is becoming the text of choice in a growing number of screenwriting programs around the country. Mr. Ackerman's playwriting career began in New York in the late 1960s, when many of his plays were performed on the Off-Off Broadway circuit. He has had numerous short stories published in literary journals, several of them winning awards in annual fiction contests. "Alfalfa" was included in the 2006 anthology "I Wanna Be Sedated…30 Writers on Parenting Teenagers"; among the 29 other writers included were Louise Erdrich, Dave Barry, Anna Quindlen, Roz Chast and Barbara Kingsolver. His short story "Sweet Day" is read by Academy Award nominee Robert Forster on HarperCollins Publishers Digital Media Café, and his story "A Walk in the Park" will be read by Tess Harper when WordTheatre celebrates Small Press Month at Canal Club in Venice on March 30.

"Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made a Man of Me" runs Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm, April 18 through May 10. General admission is $20.00. Tickets for students, seniors and cancer survivors are $15. The Powerhouse Theatre is located at 3116 2nd Street in south Santa Monica, just off Main Street between Rose and Marine. The theater can be reached via public transportation using MTA buses 33 & 333- Main St, Santa Monica; Big Blue Bus-various lines; or the Tide shuttle. Guests in wheelchairs should call in advance to make arrangements. To purchase tickets and for information, call (310) 396-3680 or go to www.powerhousetheatre.com.

Official Website: http://www.powerhousetheatre.com