Happy, busy autumn wishes to you all!
October is full of productions I can’t wait to share with you!
The summer was full of revisions, group discussions, and staging preparations for BEAST OF EDEN, a new play by Will Saxe. As the Mentor for The Players’ Ring’s Ring-Works New Play Lab, I’ve been working with Will since May, and now we’re in the home stretch!
I was attracted to this script because it continually surprised me, while remaining truly funny and adorably warm-hearted. Please join us for this staged reading on October 28 at 6:30 pm, and stay for the talkback to meet the artists and share your impressions with the playwright. What’s the show about?
When Adam and Eve are “fired” from Eden, four animals are suddenly promoted to take their place: Dog, Cat, Sheep, and Snake. As they wrestle with their new “human” roles, Eden begins to look suspiciously like a toxic workplace. A satirical twist on biblical myth and corporate culture, Beast of Eden asks: what does it really mean to be human?
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I am also kind of stunned but excited to report that I was pulled into the cast of THE MAN WHO LAUGHS, the next play up at The Players Ring, running October 17 – November 2!
This show is mostly wordless, employing physical theatre to channel the aesthetics of silent film. We also have an incredible design team, weaving together original soundscapes and striking visuals to create this spooky world!
Set during the shadowy reign of Queen Anne, this gothic horror-romance follows Gwynplaine, the most famous clown in England. His acrobatic talents and broad, omnipresent grin delight peasants and noblemen alike. But this clown can never remove his makeup. His crowd-pleasing grin is a curse, carved into his face when he was a child at the behest of a cruel, vindictive king. When a beautiful duchess attends his show, a secret from Gwynplaine’s past is revealed, a secret that threatens to destroy everything he has built, and everyone he holds dear.
Adapted and devised by the Ensemble from The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo, with inspiration from the 1928 movie The Man Who Laughs, directed by Paul Leni.