Michael Urie, Mallory Portnoy & More Join Fault Line Theatre's IRONS IN THE FIRE

Fault Line Theatre will continue the 2022 Season of Irons in the Fire, the organization's reading series of new plays in development, with God Save the Queer by Zackary Grady, directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia Krieger and featuring a cast that includes Michael Urie (George), Mallory Portnoy (Charlotte), Keshav Moodliar (Tariq), Seth Clayton (Louis), and Mary McCann (Kate).

In God Save the Queer, the year is 2046, Prince George is now in his thirties, married to a man, and next in line for the British throne. But when he and his husband share news with his sister Princess Charlotte and his brother Prince Louis, a sibling fight breaks out that could destroy not only their family, but one of the last surviving monarchies in the world.

In addition to God Save the Queer, the 2022 Irons in the Fire season, initially slated for 2020 but derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, features ten new works, including Democra by Heloise Wilson, directed by Kathleen Capdesuñer; End of the Lineby Bleu Beckford-Burrell, directed by Chika Ike; the beautiful land i seek by Matthew Barbot, directed by Jose Zayas;backstroke boys by Xavier Clark, directed by Ryan Dobrin; The Regulars by Eliza Bent, directed by Knud Adams; Shooter! by Krista Knight, directed by Aaron Rossini and Beautiful Blessed Child by Daria Miyeko Marinelli, directed by Zi Alikhan.

Two plays as part of the series have already been read: The Department Party by Sam Marks, directed by Morgan Green (presented December 10, 2021) and Bloodlines e??e?? devised, developed, and created by Sim Yan Ying & Cinthia Chen (presented January 7 & 8, 2022).

More information and free tickets for God Save the Queer and other upcoming readings are available at: faultlinetheatre.org

Irons in the Fire is a year-round program that presents public presentations of works in progress, typically hosted in an environment that appropriately celebrates that particular new script. These reading events are the culmination of a few hours, a few weeks, or even a few months of rehearsal, depending on what each project requires. This format for both process and presentation is intentionally malleable, as every play and every playwright requires something a little different. It is an invitation for the audience to join in the process of creating new work.

Applications for the 2023 season will open on March 15, 2022.

Fault Line Theatre creates and produces socially relevant, character-driven plays for today's audiences. By employing the best members of our artistic community, Fault Line Theatre strives both to challenge veteran theatergoers and welcome those new to the art form. Fault Line Theatre is small but mighty, and we will stay active, curious, and loud. We will create safe and inclusive spaces for our entire community of artists to work, grow, and experiment. We will listen, learn, and do our part to dismantle the ruling class, put an end to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, white supremacy, and all forms of oppression.

ABOUT THE SHOWS AND THE CREATIVE TEAMS

God Save the Queer | Friday, March 11 at 4:00 PM

By Zackary Grady | Directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia/">Portia Krieger

In the year 2046, Prince George is now in his thirties, married to a man, and next in line for the British throne. But when he and his husband share news with his sister Princess Charlotte and his brother Prince Louis, a sibling fight breaks out that could destroy not only their family, but one of the last surviving monarchies in the world.

Zackary Grady [he/him] As a playwright, Zackary's work has been produced in NYC, regionally, and internationally. His play Toe Pick, in which he starred as Tonya Harding, began at Ars Nova and later ran at Dixon Place. He created the immersive production Travis, which had multiple runs at Ars Nova and transferred to the American Repertory Theater in Boston. His site-specific Dead Letter Office was produced inside the James Farley Post Office in Manhattan. He also helped bring a Mandarin-language production of Peter Pan to Beijing, China. As an actor, Zackary has worked off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company, regionally with the Williamstown Theater Festival and McCarter Theater, and he graduated from NYU. Later this year, his short film Island Queen, starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Rachel Dratch, will be released.

Portia-Krieger/">Portia/">Portia Krieger [she/her] is a New York-based theater director who mostly works on new plays and musicals. Favorite productions include Olivia Dufault's The Tomb of King Tot (Clubbed Thumb - New York Times Critic's Pick!), Susan Bernfield's Tania in the Getaway Van (The Pool), Deborah Zoe Laufer's Be Here Now (Cincinnati Playhouse), Sofia Alvarez's Friend Art (2ST Uptown), Sarah Einspanier's The Convent of Pleasure (Cherry Lane Mentor Project), Caroline V. McGraw's The Bachelors (Lesser America), Clare Barron's Baby Screams Miracle (Clubbed Thumb), and Eager to Lose, a burlesque farce Portia/">Portia co-created with writer Matthew-Lee Erlbach, director Wes Grantom, and burlesque starlet Tansy (Ars Nova). Portia/">Portia has workshopped new plays and musicals with the O'Neill/National Playwrights Conference, Playwrights Horizons, 2ST, Roundabout Underground, New York Stage & Film, Rattlestick, Page 73, Ars Nova, the Lark, the Juilliard School, NYMF, and many others. She has been an inaugural O'Neill/NNPN National Director's Fellow, a member of The Civilians R&D group, a New Georges Audrey Resident, a member of the Drama League Directors Project and the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and an Ars Nova Director-in Residence. She was the Associate Director of Fun Home on Broadway. She is a Clubbed Thumb Affiliated Artist and a co-founder of the New Georges Jam. Education: BA in Theater, Smith College

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End of the Line | Wednesday, March 23 at 4:30 PM

By Bleu Beckford-Burrell | Directed by Chika Ike

End Of The Line is a play in three parts and a journey through modern time. It honors the people of a community, whose bond of land and space can be felt over time and ultimately questions what is ownership of space and who gets to claim it.

Bleu Beckford-Burrell [she/her] is a first-generation Jamaican-American actor/playwright. Born and raised in New York City, she works for non-profit organizations where she teaches acting to teens, as well as writing and directing plays. She is the 2021 Playwriting Fellow at Page 73, 2018 Yale Drama Series Award Runner Up, The Playwrights Realm 2018-19 Fellow, a 2020 Page73 Fellowship Finalist. Her plays include P.S.365 -2019 O'Neill Finalist, showcased in EST workshop series and The National Black Theatre -Keep the Soul Alive reading series. Lyons Pride --Ink'd Festival of New Plays, EST Bloodwork Reading Series, Finalist for: 2018 PWC New Voices Fellowship, 2018 BAPF, 2018 Princess Grace Award; 2020 Arnold Weissberger Award Nominee, 2019 Honorable Mention for The Kilroys, and longlisted 2018 Theatre503 Award. M.F.A. Rutgers University. BleuBeckford.com

Chika V. Ike [she/her] is a New York and Chicago based theatre director drawn to epic stories that explore identity and human connection (or disconnection). Recent work includes Kentucky, A Swell in the Ground (The Gift Theatre), Franklinland (Jackalope Theatre Company), Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea (First Floor theatre), No Child (Red Tape Theatre). She has also worked with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Playmakers Repertory Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, About Face Theatre Company, Chicago Inclusion Initiative, and Chicago Dramatists. As an Assistant Director, she has worked with Daniel Sullivan on Macbeth starring Frances McDormand, Liesl Tommy on the remounting of Eclipsed at the Curran, and Lisa Peterson on the world premiere of It Can't Happen Here. Most recently she assisted Rachel Chavkin on the the world premiere of Dave' Malloy's musical reckoning Moby Dick at ART. She is a proud ensemble member of The Gift Theatre Company, and Artistic Producer of the 4802 new play development residency. New York Drama League Directing Fellowship, the 2016 SDCF Gielgud Directing Fellowship, the 2017 Bret C. Harte Directing Fellowship, SDCF Observership Class of 2017, and was part of the 2015 Victory Gardens Directors Initiative.

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Democra | Friday, April 15 at 3:00 PM

By Heloise Wilson | Directed by Kathleen Capdesuñer

Democra is inspired by the first hand interviews of humanitarian workers, legislators, and bureaucrats taking a new look at the ancient Greek myth of "Iphigenia". The play interrogates modern idealism and women's sacrifice, both personal and professional, in times of peace and crisis. At an anonymous intergovernmental agency, five unpaid interns navigate harassment, virtue signaling, and the day to day details of legislation-making. When an unidentified journalist publishes a blog, à la "Gossip Girl", the agency secretly places microphones everywhere to catch the whistleblower. The interns are now in charge of video surveillance maintenance too. Meanwhile at a modern day refugee camp, the echoes of Iphigenia still reverberate. While the agency is concerned with the preservation of ancient culture, other sacred sites, and most importantly their image, Amrah, a 6 year old Syrian girl, traces her latest lesson in the dirt: her name in Greek. Amrah and her sisters are the modern Trojan women; erased from our current history, but still very much alive. As the interns learn of the agency's dark inner workings, they are forced to reckon with the underbelly of their idealism. Who do we choose today in our societies to sacrifice in order to achieve "peace" or responsible morality? What if Iphigenia was alive today? What would she say? And what would make her angry?

Heloise Wilson [she/her] is an actor, writer and filmmaker. While working for the stage she tends to focus on documentary, myth-inspired theatre and projects that are multilingual and multimedia. She has performed, curated and produced at various downtown venues such as JACK, Dixon Place, The Bushwick Starr, The Fringe, The Flea Theater, the Black Lady Theatre and many more. She is the other half of the award-winning production company called Little y, a not-for-profit multi-award winning film and theatre company committed to exploring the power and complexity of marginalized women by starting with the question... y? Her writing often explores family dynamics, sexuality, first times, and how social and political circumstances shape our identity and the environment we live in. Heloise's work is influenced by her interest in empirical sciences, and her background in philosophy/poetry. She trained at the Stella Adler Evening Conservatory and received her MFA in Playwriting at Brooklyn College under the supervision of Mac Wellman, Erin Courtney & Anne Washburn. She is the recipient for the Literary Truman Capote Prize in playwriting ( 2013 ) and a double recipient for the Himan Brown award in creative writing ( 2014 and 2015 ). Heloise is also an affiliated New Georges Artist. Heloise is represented by ImaCrew and Séquence Sud.

Kathleen Capdesuñer [she/her] is a Florida grown, immigrant raised, Cuban-American director and generative artist. Led by joy and integrity, Kathleen loves to direct, produce, and create work that is written by living artists, invites playful abandon, and is the right mix of weird and heartful. Kathleen is a fiercely generous collaborator who leads democratized modes of creation to decolonize the current artistic canon. Kathleen is a Roundabout Directing Fellow, The Civilians R&D Group Director in Residence, Teatro LATEA Reading Series Artistic Producer, Manhattan Theatre Club John Alper Directing Fellow, Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee Member, The COOP Youth Advisory Board Member, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals alumna, and McCarter Theatre Center Directing Apprenticeship alumna. She's developed and directed work with: Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theatre Company, Yale University, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Noor Theatre, Columbia University, Teatro LATEA, Moxie Arts New York, McCarter Theatre Center, PlayxPlay, and internationally in the Fringe Festival circuit. www.kcapdesuner.com

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the beautiful land i seek | Thursday, May 26 at 5:00 PM

By Matthew Barbot | Directed by Jose Zayas

In 1951, two would-be assassins on a train from New York to Washington, DC discuss their plan to strike in the name of Puerto Rican independence. The lock to their compartment is busted, however, and each time the door swings open they find themselves interrupted by figures out of art and history, reflections of what their country means to them and has meant to the United States. As the borders of their reality begin to shift and their train chugs along, the two must finalize their plan and decide how they want their sacrifice to be remembered.

Matthew Barbot [he/him] is a writer from Brooklyn, NY. His play El Coquí Espectaculare and the Bottle of Doom (Kennedy Center Darrel Ayers Award, Kennedy Center Latinidad Award) received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January of 2018. Infallibility (2018 Sheen Center Playwriting Fellowship) was selected as one of Indie Theater Now's "Best of FringeNYC 2013." Princess Clara of Loisaida (2018 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series) and Saints Go Marching were selected to feature on Steppenwolf's The Mix list. The Venetians was a winner of Roundabout Theatre Company's 2019 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series. Recently, his short play A List of Some Shit I've Killed was published as part of the Red Bull Theater's anthology Red Bull Shorts Volume III. Matt's first play for young audiences, Stoo's Famous Martian American Gumbo, was commissioned by Peppercorn Theatre and was produced in Summer 2019. Matt received his MFA from Columbia University, and was recently a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow and a member of The Civilians' R&D Group.

José Zayas [he/him] is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe's Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran. a??Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab, SoHo Rep's Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

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backstroke boys | Thursday, June 30 at 3:00 PM

By Xavier Clark | Directed by Ryan Dobrin

On his first day of swim practice at a brand new high school, and country, Quentin befriends Zia, the captain of the swim team, and through their growing relationship they open up a whole can of worms. A coming of age story that grapples with the question of how can you hold on to your faith when your faith is showing grace and acceptance towards everything else but your own self?

Xavier Clark [he/him] is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, born and raised in Turkey. As a playwright, his full-length plays include: Where Angels Fear to Tread (Workshop: Echo Theatre Company, Los Angeles), supper (Workshop: National Black Theatre, Semi-Finalist: 2021 IATI Theatre Cimientos), retrofit(s) (Semi-Finalist: 2020 O'Neill Center NPC, 2020 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Finalist: 2019 Mitten Lab, The Lark 2019 Playwrights' Week) and backstroke boys (Finalist: New Harmony Project 2020 Spring Conference, 2019 Theatre Viscera Queer Playwriting Contest). He was a semi-finalist for The Civilians' 2020-21 R&D Group, a finalist for the National Black Theatre's 2020-21 I AM SOUL Playwright Residency and was a member of Echo Theatre's 2020 National Young Playwrights Residency. He has worked at many theaters across the country in various capacities including: Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Civilians and more. He earned his B.F.A. from NYU Tisch and his M.F.A. from UC San Diego.

Ryan Dobrin [he/him] is a queer, biracial New York-based director and producer interested in the exploration of emotional growth, spectacle, otherness, human connection, and morality. He is one of the Producing Artistic Leaders of The Movement Theatre Company, a 2021-2022 New York fellow at The Drama League, a member of the 2020-2022 Roundabout Directors Group, an Associate Director of Diana: The Musical on Broadway, and the director of Those Guilty Creatures. Previous fellowships include Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Ars Nova, as well as the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals and NAMT directing cohorts. Recent directing includes productions and development with Fordham University, Atlantic Acting School, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, NYU's Experimental Theatre Wing, Shakespeare Academy at Stratford, A4, Playdate Theatre, Ars Nova, and Waterwell. Upcoming projects include: A Number by Caryl Churchill at The Drama League and his short film The Homiesexuals: a social media tragedy by Gage Tarlton. Ryan graduated from Wesleyan University, where he received the Rachel Henderson Theater Prize and the Outreach & Community Service Prize in Theater. Ryandobrin.com

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The Regulars | Thursday, July 14 at 3:00 PM

By Eliza Bent | Directed by Knud Adams

The Regulars is set inside "Illusions," a magic shop in Boston's Faneuil Hall in 2002, and unfolds over a summer following the lives of Gemma, Gerry, Mike and Monika. The play uses amateur and professional magic, whoopie cushions, corny songs from the 70s and 80s, and Steven Tyler holograms to examine moments of ennui and grace in everyday life. The play also looks at the stories we tell ourselves-and the more complicated realities-about what it has meant to be an "average American" throughout our nation's history, from its founding through to today.

Eliza Bent [she/her] is a playwright and performer. Bent's plays are indeed, "bent": "different from normal; strongly inclined; changed from an originally straight condition" and often feature misfits who toil in the recent past. These bentertainments include soloish works (Toilet Fire and Aloha, Aloha, or When I Was Queen), plays (Indeed, friend!, On a Clear Day I Can See to Elba, The Hotel Colors), adaptations (The Beyonce, She of the Voice), and hybrid affairs (Real Talk / Kip Talk, Pen Pals Meet). Bent's shows have been developed, workshopped, and produced at the Abrons Arts Center, JACK, the New Ohio, the Atlantic Theatre, the Bushwick Starr, New York Theatre Workshop's Next Door Series and the Exponential Festival. Residencies with SPACE on Ryder Farm, New Georges, Target Margin Institute Fellow, MacDowell Colony Fellow, Casa Zia Lina, Pilot Balloon and Berkeley Repertory's Ground Floor. As an actor Bent has performed in pint-sized New York theatres, regionally in Omaha and Louisville, and toured internationally. Bent has a BA in philosophy and an MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College. Bent is currently a full-time lecturer at Northwestern in the Radio Television and Film department.

Knud Adams [he/him] is an alumnus of the Drama League Next Stage Residency and Fall Directing Fellowship, the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, the Playwrights Horizons Directing Residency, and Kenyon College. He trained by assisting some of the nation's foremost theater artists, including Sarah Benson, Rachel Chavkin, Richard Foreman, Sam Gold, André Gregory, and Elizabeth LeCompte. Before moving to the U.S. at age fifteen, he grew up in France, England, and Scotland with his family of eight.

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Shooter! | Thursday, August 11 at 3:00 PM

By Krista Knight | Directed by Aaron Rossini

Professor Leia is befuddled by the task of ushering undergrads into the dramatic principles of playwriting and life lessons simultaneously. When a student brings in a violent play, she suspects him of being a possible school shooter. As Leia's home life becomes more dangerous, she doubles down on her fear of the potential shooter. A dark comedy about the danger of the dislocation of fear-both to the object of that fear and its agent.

Krista Knight [she/her] is a Juilliard School Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program Fellow (2016-2018), Page 73 Playwriting Fellow (2007), MacDowell Fellow (2008), Shank Playwriting Fellow at the Vineyard Theatre (2011-2012), Vanderbilt Writer-in-Residence (2018-2020), the Chance Theater Resident Playwright (2020), winner of the Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville (2016), and winner of The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival (2020). Her work includes Crush (NY Times Recommended, Time Out New York Best Theater to Stream Online, Nashville Scene Critic's Pick, featured in American Theatre Magazine), Lipstick Lobotomy (Kilroys List 2019 & 2020, Trap Door Theatre), Don't Stop Me (musical with Dave Malloy), Kirk at the San Francisco Airport Hyatt (NYTW's Summer Residency, Vineyard Theatre reading series, Playwrights Foundation Rough Reading, Martha's Vineyard Playhouse/ MacDowell Benefit), Primal Play (New Georges, Playwrights Center of MN), Hissifit (Cradle Theatre, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, McCoy Theatre at Rhodes College, seven Ostrander Awards), Salamander Leviathan (Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, Ars Nova Ant Fest, Fingerlakes Musical Theatre Festival, Inkwell, KCACTF Musical Theatre Award from the Kennedy Center for best book), Doomsurfing (Parkside Lounge, UCSD), Selkie (Williamstown Workshop, Dutch Kills), and 17 plays and musicals for young audiences. Commissions include the script for a ride at Tokyo Disney, The Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, The Assembly, Live Girls!, Crystal Springs Uplands School, The Steinmetz Lab, and an EST/Sloan Commission (2020). Krista has been in residence at La Napoule Art Foundation, Tofte Lake, The Orchard Project, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Page 73's Summer Residency at Yale, Santa Fe Art Institute, UCROSS, Yaddo, and MacDowell. BA: Brown University. MA: Performance Studies from NYU. MFA Playwriting: UC San Diego. Alum of EST's Youngblood, TerraNova Groundbreakers, Page 73's Interstate 73, Civilians R&D Lab, New Georges JAM and Fresh Ground Pepper Playgroup, and The Orchard Project Professional Lab collaborating with singer/songwriter Jill Sobule.

Aaron Rossini [he/him] is a founder and Artistic Director at Fault Line Theatre. He is a director, producer, actor and teacher. He received his B.F.A. from Miami University of Ohio and completed his M.F.A. at the Brown University/Trinity Rep Graduate Program. Fault Line Theatre: Hindsight, Round Table, The Oregon Trail, The Wedge Horse, At the Table, Breathing Time, The Faire, From White Plains, From the Same Cloth, Frogs, Doctor Faustus, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Irons in the Fire. New York: Shakespeare at the Manor, Guerrilla Shakespeare Project, Funny Sheesh Productions, Sanguine Theater Company, Target Margin Theatre, Fringe NYC, Planet Connections, Emerging Artists Theater, Young Playwrights, Inc. Regional: Trinity Rep, New Jersey Shakespeare, Kitchen Theatre Company, White Heron Theatre Co., The Gamm Theatre, Purple Rose Theatre Company, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, The Boar's Head Theatre, The Mosh Pit Theatre.

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Beautiful Blessed Child | Friday, December 2 at 3:00 PM

By Daria Miyeko Marinelli | Directed by Zi Alikhan

I thought you checked your car-fluids / I did ?
Professionally ? / No.
Mm.

Aimiko has never taken a road trip with t/her Mom. Sharon has never seen nor heard of any sort of mother-daughter child road trip.

And so, our brave pioneers take to the road, driving West, 10 miles per hour above the speed limit, with tales of cannibals (The Donner Party), crane wives (The Decemberists), and samurai children (the mythic family lore) buzzing over the airwaves, offering avenues of survival, all of which are only moderately helpful when Aimiko's car radiator suddenly goes dead.

This is their story.

Daria Miyeko Marinelli [she/they] is a Japanese-Italian playwright who writes about outcasts and underdogs trying to rewrite the cultural mythology they have inherited while honoring the wildness of their hearts. Their plays include Ravenous, A Departure, Beautiful Blessed Child, and This is Not What I Expected When I Imagined a Republic. Daria's work has been performed at Victory Gardens, Ensemble Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse's WOW Festival, The Flea, and HERE Arts Center, among others. Mx. Marinelli has developed work with SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Playwright's Realm, NNPN's MFA Playwrights Workshop and TYA/USA's New Visions New Voices at The Kennedy Center, and The New Harmony Project. Accolades include being a Finalist for The O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, a Princess Grace and Bay Area Playwrights Semi-Finalist, and a showcased writer at the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists. Daria graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magnum Cum Laude, and with Honors from Brown University and received their MFA in Playwriting as a Michener Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin. While forever a New Yorker at heart, Daria is currently based in Los Angeles.

Zi Alikhan [he/him] Director: (Selected): Manik Choksi's The Ramayan (currently in development at Ars Nova), Ragtime (Playmakers Repertory Company), The Flick and Red Speedo (Juilliard), House of Joy (New York Stage and Film), Shabash! (LCT3), Blood Special (Playwrights Horizons Guest Curator Series), Tilda Swinton Betrayed Us (Keen Company), Lippa's Wild Party (Yale University Theatre), Les Misérables (Pace University), WHERE HAVE YOU GONE. and The Maids (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill (Soho Rep Lab), and SUMMER&SMOKE (ACCESS). Resident Director: Hamilton: An American Musical. Associate/Assistant: The Band's Visit (First National Tour) with David Cromer, Six Degrees of Separation (Broadway) and The Rose Tattoo (Williamstown and Broadway) with Trip Cullman, Ripcord (Manhattan Theatre Club) and It Shoulda Been You! (Broadway) with David Hyde Pierce, Pete the Cat with Dan Knechtges, The Boy who Danced on Air with Tony Speciale at The Abingdon, and Uncle Vanya with Hal Brooks at The Pearl. Proud alum: Drama League Directors Project, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab (Year 18), Drama League Artist Residency Program, Manhattan Theatre Club Jonathan Alper Directing Fellowship, Williamstown Directing Corps, and Drama League Rough Draft. Faculty: Pace University, BFA Musical Theatre Program. Graduate: NYU/Tisch.