Meet Mae West: Yvonne Sayers

When director Louis Lopardi was casting for the role of MAE WEST in "Courting Mae West," he was seeking a powerhouse of an actress with sex appeal and industrial strength charisma. He discovered his leading lady portraying Mae West in Sam Shepard's play "Mad Dog Blues."
• • Born on September 25th, actress Yvonne Sayers was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana.
• • Surrounded by a family of fun-lovers who enjoyed entertaining, her passion for performing flowered at a young age.
• • During high school, Yvonne enrolled in a local acting school while immersing herself in ballroom dancing and modeling — — which led to several local gigs, one of which was working on the set of the movie “The Firm” filmed locally in Memphis, TN.
• • It was there that she approached Sydney Pollack for his advice as to whether she should move to New York or LA to be an actress, to which he replied, “If you really want to be an actress, you should move to New York.” Kismet! The decision was made.
• • After graduation, she headed to The Big Apple and enrolled in T. Schreiber Studio and studied under the acclaimed Mary Boyer, who later opened her own studio, MTB Studio, where Yvonne continued her studies under Mary.
• • Still pursuing an acting career, she also directed some off-off Broadway plays.
• • Her passion for cinema and acting in film, as well as the art of filmmaking, led her to film school where she wrote, directed, and produced several films and graduated with special recognition for her work as a Cinematographer. She then began working behind the scenes professionally as a Cinematographer as well as in Production on several independent films and TV serials such as “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Ed.” While working on the set of “Law & Order: CI” she was advised by producer John L. Roman to focus solely on her acting career. He said, “While this is all great experience, you have to stop doing this kind of work and just start performing and acting as much as possible.” And that’s exactly what she did.
• • Currently, the five-foot-five stunner is exclusively focused on an acting career and to being the best actress she can.
• • Yvonne has appeared on TV in: “Chappelle’s Show,” CourtTV’s “Till Death Do Us Part,” “The Maury Show,” and has performed live all over New York at the American Globe Theatre, in the Samuel French Festival, the PIT, Village Playwrights, the Wings Theatre, and in several productions at the 45th Street Theatre as a proud member of the Michael Chekhov Theatre Co.
• • Rehearsals for "Courting Mae West" will begin on June 7th in Manhattan in midtown under the watchful eye of Mr. Lopardi, his stage manager, and the playwright.
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• • "COURTING MAE WEST" opens at 6 o'clock on Saturday night July 19, 2008 at the Algonquin Theatre [East 24th Street and Park Avenue South].
• • "COURTING MAE WEST" — — showtimes
• • July 19th, 2008 — — 6:00 PM
• • July 20th, 2008 — — 2:00 PM matinee
• • July 21st, 2008 — — 6:00 PM
• • July 22nd, 2008 — — 9:00 PM
• • Tickets to "COURTING MAE WEST" are $18 per adult.
• • Theatermania.com sells the tickets — — http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/144297
• • Questions? Phone 212-779-3051.
• • The play is 95 minutes.
• • Get ready to come up and see Mae West, Texas Guinan, and the gang onstage in mid-July 2008.
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Courting Mae West
Mae West
• • Photo: Mae West actress • • Yvonne Sayers • •
NYC
Mae West.