Queenfisher

One of Five in
Ghosts: A Festival of Original One-Act Plays

Written by Natalie Schmidt
Directed by Helen T. Mariam

Original Premiere:
December 11, 2021

Now Available to Stream On-Demand

When the Winds Blow

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.

Creative Contributions

Original Music - Guinevere Saenger

Fiber Arts Consultant - Rebecca Slingwine

Fight Choreography (& Swords) - Ian Bond

Intimacy Choreography - Kate Drummond

Cast Members

Alcyone - Jennifer Faulkner

Iris - Anubhuti Sood

Ceyx - Rachael Uyeno

Morpheus - Vahishta Vafadari


 

Rehearsal & Performance Photos

Creative Team

  • Helen T. Mariam (she/her)

    Director

    Helen T. Mariam is a director, screenwriter, and independent film producer. She is the writer and director of the short films Insufficient and Relationship Demons (Finalist, Best Filmmaker, Easter Seals Disability Film Challenge). The Noise Made By People, a short film she wrote and produced, screened at the Port Orchard Film Festival, the Burien Film Festival, and the Local Sightings Film Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award.

  • Natalie Schmidt (she/her)

    Playwright

    Natalie Schmidt is a Seattle-based actor and writer. Originally from Arizona, she holds a B.A. in Theatre from Arizona State University. Natalie’s short play Grid Unlocked premiered at Dacha ’Round the Clock. The Necklace, a short film she co-wrote, screened at the Seattle 48-Hour Film Project. She has acted on the stages of Hello Earth, Thalia’s Umbrella, Dacha, Burien Actors Theatre, Seattle Jewish Theater Company, and Arouet, as well as in several independent films.

Cast

  • Rachael Uyeno (she/her)

    Ceyx

    Rachael Uyeno was last seen on a Seattle stage as Emilie in Dacha’s the Moors. She recently spent a summer with Original Practice Shakespeare Festival in Portland playing a variety of roles including Ophelia in Hamlet, Isabella in Measure for Measure, and Touchstone in As You Like It. She received her MFA in Western Performance at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

  • Vahishta Vafadari (she/her)

    Morpheus

    Vahishta is so happy to be working with great people at The Shattered Glass Project. Credits include Ghost Party (Dacha Theatre) in Seattle, and in Chicago her Jeff Nominated performance as Anne Lister in I Know My Own Heart (Pride Films and Plays), Top Girls (Remy Bumppo), and Cyrano (BoHo Theatre). Vahishta is also a teaching artist, dialect coach, and received her MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She's represented by The Actors Group vahishtavafadari.com

  • Anubhuti Sood (she/her)

    Iris

    Anubhuti Sood is thrilled to be part of The Shattered Glass project! Her debut role as Girl in Valentin Krasnogorov’s Let’s Have Sex! introduced her to the world of theatre and remains her favorite onstage credit. When not in rehearsals, Anubhuti is an avid reader and painter. She is grateful to her friends and family for their continued love and support as she dabbles in all that she is most passionate about.

  • Jennifer Faulkner (she/her)

    Alcyone

    Jennifer Faulkner is grateful for the opportunity to work with writer Natalie Schmidt and director Helen T. Mariam on their seminal production of “Queenfisher”. The generous actors in the cast have made the process full of serious fun and Jennifer wishes to thank every one of them. In February, Jennifer will be performing at 18th and Union in Radial Theater’s North American debut of “Meet Me At Dawn”.