Pearl invites audiences to spend an evening roving the Pell Chafee Performance Center with six women on their way to something big—they just aren’t exactly sure what... Dana is looking for a glorious experience of self. Trace wants Case but Case is with Elyse, who is working on her passion through methodical research. Case can’t stop watching surprise military homecoming videos on YouTube. Meanwhile, Lee has fallen for the Pizza Guy who is obsessed with getting onto America’s Best Dance Crew, and Niko is intent on wrangling the whole group into a series of questionably therapeutic scenarios. All this in the service of figuring out: is there anything in your life that care enough to die for? Audiences are invited to eat snacks, chat with friends, have a deep conversation, and be part of a play. All at the same time.
Speaking of her new production, Pearl said:
“As an artist, I am committed to creating imaginative, curious, and playful theatre to be both catalyst and home for conversation, connection, and creative exchange. I believe that if I am to really make a difference as a theater artist, if I want to move an audience, I must begin with welcoming that audience into a conversation. You Are The Circus is designed for audiences to experience both sitting in seats observing as a play or moving through the space. Audience members are free to engage as much or as little as they wish, engaging with the characters in individual conversation or just sitting and enjoying the show. I hope to create a show that is hospitable, casual, and exemplifies a permeable, generous performance that allows audiences to bring their whole selves to an experience without requiring that they ‘sit still, shut up, and watch.’ ”
You Are The Circus is part of Writing Is Live, a festival that celebrates the diversity and strength of new theatrical voices while simultaneously exploring the meaning of text in performance. The festival emphasizes the idea of what it means for writing to be Live. It also provides space for the development and evolution of new work, putting writers in conversation with directors, actors, designers, and audiences. In February this year, Writing Is Live presented a new workshop piece by Rick Burkhardt ’16 MFA working with co-writer, Jermaine Golden, as well as readings of new writing from Diane Exavier ’17 MFA, Carlos Sirah ’17 MFA, and Sophie Netanel ’15 MFA.
Writing Is Live showcases the work of Brown University’s M.F.A Playwriting graduate students. A central site in New England for the formation of new playwrights, Brown’s graduate playwriting. program grants its students broad inventive license while offering close mentorship and profound resources in the department, the university, and the greater local to international communities. Run by playwright and department Chair, Erik Ehn, the program cultivates writers dedicated to the development of their craft, the deep interrogation of the forms and purposes of their art (and of the place of art in the larger world), and a leaning into authentic transformation of society through theatrical action. Alumni of the program include Pulitzer Prize winner, Quiara Alegría Hudes ’04 MFA (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful); MacArthur Genius Grantee, Nilo Cruz ’94 MFA (Anna in the Tropics); and Pulitzer Prize nominee, Sarah Ruhl ’01 MFA (The Clean House, In the Next Room). The festival (formerly the New Plays Festival) is made possible through support from an endowed fund for the Adele Kellenberg Seaver ’49 Professorship in Literary Arts.
You Are The Circus runs May 14 - 17 at Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence, RI 02903. Performances at 7:30pm May 14 - 16 and 2pm on May 16 and 17. Tickets for all performances are free but booking is advised. Tickets are available online at www.brown.edu/tickets or from the Brown Theatre Box Office. Call (401) 863-2838, or visit the Box Office in the Leeds Theatre Lobby (83 Waterman St, Providence), Tuesday - Friday from 12pm - 4pm, or email boxoffice@brown.edu.
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If you have any questions or to schedule an interview with any of the production team, including writer and director Katie Pearl '15 MFA, please contact:
Paul Margrave, Marketing Coordinator
(401) 863-2730 / paul_margrave@brown.edu / brown.edu/tickets