2023-24 Season
Enter the Woollyverse and explore the universes of: a larger-than-life mother from Kyiv, a gay Bengali-American documentarian, a kick-ass HBCU dance troupe, a queer academic and his Muslim mother, a Mohegan Shakespeare scholar, and a fabulous floral genderqueer chanteuse.
“The theatre on our stage will always invite you to look at the world a little differently,” shares Maria Manuela Goyanes, Artistic Director. “This season speaks to the current moment with immediacy and urgency. The record number of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced in this country this past year compelled us to spotlight deeply personal yet highly theatrical queer stories, like the work of Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Adil Mansoor, John Jarboe, and Justin Weaks. These plays are meant to refract off each other, spark even deeper conversation, and be out and proud in our nation’s capital.”
Available Now! Golden Tickets are the Woolly way to see the 2023-24 Season. Golden Ticket holders can see any project in the Enter the Woollyverse Season — with the exception of WHERE WE BELONG — on any date, in any seat, for as many times as desired (subject to availability). Golden Ticket holders will also get a special offer WHERE WE BELONG at the Folger Theatre, to be announced.
MY MAMA AND THE FULL-SCALE INVASION
BY SASHA DENISOVA
TRANSLATED BY MISHA KACHMAN | ADAPTED BY KELLIE MECLEARY
DIRECTED BY YURY URNOV
A CO-PRODUCTION WITH THE WILMA THEATER
WORLD PREMIERE
SEPTEMBER 11 – OCTOBER 8, 2023
THE RESISTANCE OF ONE OCTOGENARIAN
Sasha’s 82-year-old mother, Olga, is on the frontlines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, having lived in Kyiv her whole life. Olga is thrust into increasingly fantastical situations: she strategizes with President Zelenskyy, strikes Russian drones with jars of pickles, and even debates with God. Inspired by online chats with her mother, playwright Sasha Denisova brings us this new play about a family’s connection and legacy amidst the present-day war and global crisis.
SOHO REP AND NAATCO NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP PROJECT PRODUCTION
PUBLIC OBSCENITIES
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY SHAYOK MISHA CHOWDHURY
CO-PRESENTED WITH THEATRE FOR A NEW AUDIENCE
NOVEMBER 13 – DECEMBER 23, 2023
SNAPSHOT: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT DEVELOPS
When Choton returns to Kolkata on a research trip with his Black American boyfriend Raheem, his grandfather’s photograph stares down at him from the walls of his family home. Choton loves being the translator, toggling nimbly between Bangla and English, interviewing queer locals, showing Raheem his world. But through the lens of Choton’s grandfather’s old camera, Raheem begins to notice things Choton can’t. Peer into this bilingual play from visionary writer-director Shayok Misha Chowdhury about the things we see, the things we miss, and the things that turn us on.
THE SENSATIONAL SEA MINK-ETTES
BY VIVIAN J.O. BARNES
DIRECTED BY TAYLOR REYNOLDS
WORLD PREMIERE
FEBRUARY 4 – MARCH 3, 2024
STADIUM LIGHTS. ✨ SCREAMING FANS. 🤩 ONE SHOT AT EXCELLENCE. 💣
The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes are days away from their Homecoming half-time dance performance and the pressure is on. The student body, the administration, the alumni, their families — everyone is expecting perfection. As the big day creeps closer, the women must contend with flaring tempers, bodies pushed to their limits, and what it means to be a team in Vivian J.O. Barnes’ funny and surprising world premiere play.
Developmental support provided through the Weissberg Commissions funded by the Weissberg Foundation. Vivian J.O. Barnes is a recipient of a Venturous Playwright Fellowship supported by Venturous Theater Fund. The Fellowship was created with the Lark Theatre and is now in partnership with the Playwrights’ Center.
AMM(I)GONE
CREATED AND PERFORMED BY ADIL MANSOOR
CO-DIRECTED BY LYAM B. GABEL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER
APRIL 20 – MAY 12, 2024
FROM SOPHOCLES TO A MOTHER/CHILD APOLOGY
Creator and performer Adil Mansoor invites his Pakistani mother to translate Antigone into Urdu as means of exploring the tensions between family and faith. Should he keep his queerness buried from his devout Muslim mother? Through Greek tragedy, teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his mother, Mansoor creates this theatrical blend of lecture and personal story about locating love across faith.
Media Co-designers: Joseph Amodei & Davine Byon; Sound Designer: Aaron Landgraf; Set and Lighting Designer: Xotchil Musser
Amm(i)gone is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in partnership with The Theater Offensive and NPN. Amm(i)gone was developed as a Hatch Arts Collective project.
ROSE: YOU ARE WHO YOU EAT
CONCEIVED, WRITTEN, AND PERFORMED BY JOHN JARBOE
DIRECTED BY MK TUOMANEN
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CULTURALDC AND THE BEARDED LADIES CABARET
ROLLING WORLD PREMIERE WITH FRINGEARTS AND LA MAMA ETC
FROM A COMMISSION BY WORKS & PROCESS AT THE GUGGENHEIM
JUNE 3–23, 2024
A TRUE STORY OF GENDER FEASTING, SET TO MUSIC
Once upon a vine, John Jarboe’s aunt revealed that John not only had a twin sister in the womb, but that John consumed her: “You ate her. That’s why you are the way you are.” This was a lot for John to swallow! In this musical shrine to the consumed twin, named Rose, John welcomes you into a feast of gender through song, storytelling, and a full plate of wordplay.
Rose was commissioned by Works & Process and developed in collaboration with The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. The work was created during the pandemic in Works & Process bubble residencies at Mount Tremper Arts and Bethany Arts Community, with the support of the Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation. Early iterations of Rose were presented by Works & Process in the Guggenheim Rotunda (2021) Guggenheim Theater (2022), and CulturalDC (2022).
AT FOLGER THEATRE:
WHERE WE BELONG
BY MADELINE SAYET
DIRECTED BY MEI ANN TEO
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FOLGER THEATRE
FEBRUARY 15 – MARCH 17, 2024
AN INDIGENOUS THEATRE-MAKER’S JOURNEY
Returning to D.C. after a national tour! In 2015, a Mohegan theatre-maker moves to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave, as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, Achokayis finds comfort in the journeys of their Native ancestors who had to cross the ocean in the 1700s to help their people. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece directed by Mei Ann Teo, Sayet asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.
WORKSHOP PRESENTATION:
A FINE MADNESS
BY JUSTIN WEAKS
A SPACE TO HEAL WHILE LIVING WITH A VIRUS
Helen Hayes award-winning actor Justin Weaks shares his personal experience as a Black gay man receiving a positive HIV diagnosis. In this workshop performance, Justin’s beautiful virtuosity as a performer is displayed through a variety of characters, exploration of movement, and a non-linear fragmented story with a kaleidoscope of poetry, affirmations, scientific findings, and narration. Audience and performer together share a healing experience and space for discovery.
Developmental support provided through the Weissberg Commissions funded by the Weissberg Foundation.
** All shows, dates, artists, and prices are subject to change.
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