AUGUSTA — The Cultural Events Committee of the University of Maine at Augusta will present a free performances of “An Authentic Mess: Dispatches from the Beauty Battlefield,” at noon Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Michael Klahr Center at the University of Maine at Augusta. The event is free and open to the public.

Another performance will also be held on Thursday, Feb. 20, at the UMA Bangor campus. Although there is no objectionable language, the production does include some mature themes and is not suitable for very young children. Discretion is advised.

Lily Garnett Courtesy photo from Lily Garnett

Written by and starring Orlando-based actress Lily E. Garnett, “An Authentic Mess: Dispatches from the Beauty Battlefield” is a 60-minute comic drama that combines autobiography with storytelling to explore self-image, social conditioning, beauty standards and how society values people, particularly women. Produced by Bored At Midnight Productions of Orlando, Florida, the production is directed by Rebekah Lane and has been staged in fringe festivals in Orlando, Kansas City, Missouri, and also in Portland.

The Orlando Sentinel observed, “While the audience is not always sure about what the enemy is that we’re trained to fight, it ultimately does not matter. The voices surrounding us, including the ones in our heads, are enemy enough, and Garnett, a skilled actor, makes those voices very real.” Mark Shaughnessy of the Portland Fringe Review Team raved, “Lily E. Garnett’s storytelling is skillful, sharp, honest and funny….”

For more information, contact David Greenham, lecturer in drama at the University of Maine at Augusta, at 207-621-3531 or david.greenham@maine.edu. The University of Maine at Augusta is at 46 University Drive.