Watch out, women are going to seize the stage. Crossroads 2006 is a week packed with performances, workshops, forums, a talk and an exhibition. This exciting festival is brought to you by Magdalena (Singapore), a society born out of the desire to promote interaction among—whom else—women in the creative arts scene.

Among the long list of performances to look out for are Palette of Desires (Jul 13-14) and The Red Room (Jul 11-12). Local talents Elizabeth de Roza, Koh Leng Leng and Low Yuen Wei work together for the first time to bring you Palette of Desires. The tale revolves around three unwanted machines in a warehouse. Hoping to be useful, they desperately search for batteries and freedom, and in the process confront their past.

In The Red Room, Kerensa Dewantoro paints a portrait of a lady who is accused of adultery and infanticide. Guilty of murdering a newborn but innocent of infidelity, she implores the audience to help her escape imprisonment. This poignant solo show explores the concept of justice, and features the works of renowned scribes such as T.S. Eliot, The Righteous Brothers and Emily Dickinson.

Other performances out to woo you are No Doctor for The Dead, Umbral, The Path and Seven Graces.

Several workshops cater to theater practitioners eager to pick up tips from experts. Performing Space, conducted by Jadranka Andelic and Antonella Diana, investigates the relations among space, performers and the director. It is specially tailored to offer participants an insight into the working process in contemporary theater.

Jill Greenhalgh will share her thoughts on stage presence in The Presence of the Performer. The workshop will see her discussing ways of exuding charisma on stage and getting the audience’s attention.

Other classes included in Crossroads 2006 are Performing Words, The Articulate Body, The Language of Memory, Kecak, Feldenkrias Workshop and Every Woman’s War: Rehearsal. Two forums, a talk, and a photo exhibition of women in Indonesia’s theater scene are lined up as well.

Even though Crossroads 2006 is particularly aimed at fostering a healthy theater environment for the women, the festival caters to everybody. “Whether you are a theater practitioner keen to learn from the visiting artists or a theater goer keen to experience new works, we are confident that you will find it at Crossroads 2006. There are a slew of workshops exploring various performance techniques which male and female performers alike will find useful,” says Verena Tay, president of Magdalena (Singapore).

Mark your calendars. Here’s a dynamic festival that’s about to shake the theater scene for both men and women.

Crossroads 2006 is on Jul 9-15. Log on to http://www.magdalenasingapore.org for more information.