August 29, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mary Ellen Michna, Publicity Chair
708/479-9010

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
FOR COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONALS
TO BE FOCUS OF IWPA SEPTEMBER EVENT

A panel featuring:

• Julianne Hill, freelance writer/producer, who has helped create a number of award-winning documentaries for Kurtis Productions Ltd.
• Cheryl J. Lewin of Cheryl J. Lewin Associates, a firm specializing in entertainment and 'leisure time' public relations, advertising, marketing and promotions
• Jackie Taylor, founding executive director of the Black Ensemble Theatre Company,
  writer, producer, actress and teacher

· Sponsored by the Illinois Woman's Press Association
· Saturday, September 29, 2001
· Registration and networking begin at 11 a.m.; lunch at noon; panel from 12:45 to 2 p.m.
· The Courtyard Marriott, Hubbard & State, Chicago
· Nonmembers are welcome. Nonmember fee is $30; members and students $25 (check or cash at the door)
· Reservations with the IWPA Hotline at 312.458-9151
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If you have ever felt a magnetic pull towards the entertainment industry, dreamed of a job as a publicist, promoter, producer or a playwright, but felt confined by longitude and latitude, think again! Come join the Illinois Woman's Press Association on September 29, 2001, and learn how our panel of professionals made their dreams a reality right here in Chicago.

Julianne Hill, Cheryl J. Lewin and Jackie Taylor are women of vision and talent, who created their own opportunities.

HILL says she learned a lot from Bill Kurtis, newsman and documentarian, when she began work with the KP Peabody Award-winning series, "The New Explorers," in 1993, "I learned to tell a story, to make it personal, to get to know the people involved and to make the viewer care." Currently Hill's work focuses on "Investigative Reports," hosted by executive producer Kurtis on A & E. Her work is featured on TV, radio, and in print and her honors and awards are numerous. Her documentary subject matter is diverse, from a showcase of a national park to a look at troubled hydraulic systems on the Boeing 737. Hill maintains her ties to print journalism and is a contributing editor and columnist for Writer's Digest.

For LEWIN, it began in 1987 when she formed her own company, Cheryl J. Lewin Associates. Today, Lewin is in the middle of the entertainment scene-whether it's a theatre production in the heart of Chicago's commercial theatre, a concert at the United Center, or a television syndicated program. Lewin's client list includes an impressive line-up of performers, including Lou Rawls, Placido Domingo, Lisa Minelli, Eartha Kitt , TV's Judge Greg Mathis, and the late Frank Sinatra. Lewin's company is now an affiliate of John Iltis Associates.

For TAYLOR, founding the Black Ensemble Theatre Company 24 years ago was a way to preserve African-American history and showcase the greatness of the African-American people. The company's mission is to produce plays that are positive, uplifting and educational. Taylor has written 35 of the more than 100 plays she has produced and directed. An accomplished actress in her own right with theatre, film and television credits, she brings her talents to the community of Chicago, teaching in its public schools, several colleges and serving on arts councils. In recognition of her cultural contributions to the city of Chicago, there is a street named in her honor.