An unexpected journey: "Ghosts: A Festival of Original One-Act Plays"
For Immediate Release: October 31, 2021
Ghosts: A Festival of Original One-Act Plays
The ghosts in our lives are seen and unseen; known and unknown; visible and invisible, to ourselves and others.
Over the course of two thrilling evenings, Friday, December 10 and Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 7pm each night, The Shattered Glass Project invites audiences to explore the many forms 'ghosts' can take in our lives.
Five original one-act plays, written and directed for this festival by members of the TSGP 2021 Playwright and Director Incubator/Mentor cohort, will take you on an unexpected journey: from the specters of past relationships, to mythological omens; from communing with ancestral wisdom, to dinosaur spirits invoked in a paleontologist's lecture; to a haunting by one's own future self! What better way to stay warm on a dark winter evening than to experience the world premieres of these unique ghostly tales?
The plays will premiere on YouTube beginning at 7pm each night, directly followed by a live talkback on zoom with the playwrights and directors featured in that evening's program.
The program on Friday, December 10th features “When I Began Dying” by Sarah Miri Daniels, and “Machismo” by Spencer J. Vigil.
The program on Saturday, December 11th features “Queenfisher” by Natalie Schmidt, “Perseus and Anemone” by Monique Aldred, and “Gallery of Perspective and Light” by Darby Sherwood.
Tickets for the festival are Pay-What-You-Will; festival passes and individual night tickets are available. Separate links to the post-show talkbacks are available with ticket orders. Details and tickets available at www.shatteredglassproject.org/ghosts-2021-one-act-festival
PLAY DETAILS
December 10, 2021
"When I Began Dying" written by Sarah Miri Daniels and directed by Sophe Friedman.
Cast Members: Nicole Lockett as Linn; Kelsey Boulton as Dead Linn; Monika Elmont as Black Cat/Brown Bear; and Andrea Lowry as Blue Girl/Maitre D’.
A flashback, a memory, a painting, a dream: as the protagonist Linn gets closer to her final moments the world she has known gets farther away from any familiar reality. “When I Began Dying” is a story of journey, death, and rebirth; together, Linn and her expired self, Dead Linn, must conquer their fears, come to terms with their past, and find their way through the inevitable ending. Playwright Sarah Miri Daniels carries the audience into a world of whimsy and liminality, flowing between our choices in life and what comes after. Directed by Sophe Friedman, “When I Began Dying” dances with us on the border of a poignant and important idea - that even at our lowest we have the power and strength to save ourselves.
"Machismo" written by Spencer J. Vigil and directed by Alanah Pascual.
Cast Members: Troy Piscioneri as Max; Trystan Allys Miranda as Loli; Aurelio Valdez as Ector; and Sofia Ayala as Nani.
Max is going to their Quinceanera, but not in that dress. No one in their family seems to understand, except maybe cousin Loli, until one day everything changes. "Machismo" is a story about finding your place within your family. Playwright Spencer J. Vigil, searches for an answer to a complicated question: What happens when you outgrow the culture you love so dearly and what parts of our culture grow with us? Directed by Alanah Pascual. "Machismo" is a magical, yet realistic, search for truth and understanding within the love a family holds for each other for generations past, present, and future.
December 11, 2021
"Queenfisher" written by Natalie Schmidt and directed by Helen T. Mariam.
Cast Members: Anubhuti Sood as Iris; Jennifer Faulkner as Alcyone; Rachael Uyeno as Ceyx; and Vahishta Vafadari as Morpheus.
In this queer reimagining of the myth of Ceyx and Alcyone, everything's coming up Iris--she has power over the winds, a plum messenger gig, and a devoted best friend, Alcyone. That is, until an ill omen ruins Alcyone's honeymoon, sending her new wife Ceyx in pursuit of an oracle and leaving Iris to help Alcyone contend with sea-drenched ghosts and unsettling dreams. Written by Natalie Schmidt and directed by Helen T. Mariam, “Queenfisher” examines the meaning of friendship and the cost of power as all three women struggle to shape their futures.
"Perseus and Anemone" written by Monique Aldred and guest directed by Sadiqua Iman.
Cast Members: Chloe Iman Monroe as Perseus; Bobbi Kindred as Anemone; Cara Thomas as Oceanica; and Merri Ann Osborne as Salacia.
Can tradition cause rifts that may never be healed? Is finding out who you are and how you came to be the only path to healing? Perseus and Anemone are married Black mermaids who have shunned the tradition to live underwater, creating a rift between Anemone and her traditionalist mother, Oceanica. A return visit for reconciliation uncovers the secrets everyone carries. Playwright Monique C. Aldred takes the audience on a journey to discover the truths about Black families, love, and trust that lie just below the surface of the ocean. Guest-directed by Sadiqua Iman, “Perseus and Anemone” is not a tail of your average Disney mermaids.
"Gallery of Perspective and Light" written by Darby Sherwood and directed by Alison Kozar.
Cast Members: Dana Winter as Troo/Edgar/Colette; Sydney Kaser as Rio/Housewife/Betsy/Willow; Josh Rodriguez as Milkman/Marsh; and Maycee McQuin as Carl/Maggie/Nora/Sabrina.
Soldiers and housewives and milkmen, oh my! And dinosaurs, and painters, and paleo archeologists and asteroids! Inspired by an eclectic assortment of paintings and photographs, “Gallery of Perspective and Light” is a pastiche examining the nature of change and progress through the lens of our most private moments. Playwright Darby Sherwood explores the way that context shapes our human experience, since we only ever live in one time and only ever see through two eyes. Directed by Alison Kozar, “Gallery” asks the deep questions of life: “Is there something I could have said or done that would have kept us together, or was fate set in stone? Are social expectations a judgy ghost forever haunting our decisions? Is making no decision the same as being buried alive? Is all milk the same?”
PROGRAM DETAILS
The Shattered Glass Project is a theatre company with the mission to amplify the voices of women, nonbinary, and transfeminine+transmasculine theatre artists by offering unique opportunities to create and to grow professionally.
The 8-month long Incubator/Mentor program seeks to make the theatre world more equitable by empowering theatre artists who have been marginalized on the basis of their gender to move into professional playwright or director roles by creating a lasting peer network of artistic and personal support. The 2021 cohort of 5 playwrights and 4 directors participate in regular workshops with outside teaching artists to refine their creative and professional skills, receive individualized mentorship in their discipline area, and meet collectively to share their writing and directing expertise with one another in a non-hierarchical co-mentoring framework; all with the goal of building relationships to carry throughout their careers.
For any questions please contact Rebecca O’Neil at theshatteredglassproject@gmail.com
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