Opening night of Thebes!

Hurray! Tonight is the opening night of Thebes, by Kristina Sutherland.

Kristina has been working on this play for over a year, maybe even two. But the director, Alexis Holzer, and the phenomenal cast have pulled this show together in less than two months. Through the holiday season, rehearsing in various rooms next to the Space Needle, and unseasonable snow fall (that shut the city down!), the cast and crew of Thebes has created a fabulous production.

On my part, I did the research dramaturgy. I have been working on this project since July of 2011, which seemed long to me but certainly not as long as Kristina. When I started working on this play in its current incarnation, there was not even a complete script. My focus has been to look into the wide array of information on small town politics and female soldiers. I found a way to hone in on the Midwest United States, where the play takes place. Coming from that part of the country, I felt akin to the sensibilities that Kristina has evoked in her play. A need to depart from home and explore the world, coupled with a simultaneous pull to return home and finding home turned upside-down. The main character’s home life is disrupted, as are her internal emotions as a result of combat overseas.

I am so excited to have had the privilege to work with Macha Monkey Theatre [ed: now Macha Theatre Works] and the ladies who make fearless, funny, female theatre. They have worked so hard to energize the cast and crew to produce a play that will take the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotions while staying grounded in harsh reality.

Thebes by Kristina Sutherland and directed Alexis Holzer will run from January 20 through February 11, 2012 at Theatre Off Jackson in the International District.

Categorized in: Live Performance