Leading Ladies
Starting March 3, the UMBC theatre department will show off its GRRL PARTS with a trio of short plays written to give young actresses strong lead roles.
The inspiration for the production came from a source of frustration in the theatre department: though most theatre majors are women, the majority of strong roles are written for men. “Guys get to be everyone, every character you can imagine, but there are a limited number of roles that people think a 20-year-old girl wants,” explained Susan McCully, adjunct assistant professor of theatre and women’s studies, and the artistic director of GRRL PARTS.
Tired of the available female roles, McCully started the IN10 Playwriting Competition in 2006. That competition solicits 10-minute plays with strong female leads, and the winning play—as well as commissioned plays written by established playwrights—is performed on campus. This year, the production has been renamed GRRL PARTS.
GRRL PARTS is an opportunity for student actresses to play parts that are different than what they have encountered before. “Usually in a play there are maybe one or two really strong women’s roles, and you’re watching the men take all the action,” said Samantha Nelson, ’10, theatre. She relishes the opportunity to both star as a compelling character and work with actresses who are also playing strong roles.
“The students really have the right energy and the skills for their roles, while also being very challenged by them,” added Colette Searls, associate professor of theatre, who is directing two of the plays.
This year, GRRL PARTS features the world premieres of three original plays. Weathertician by Gregory Farber is the winner of the playwriting competition. In a futuristic world where humans control the weather, two women are locked into a perpetual debate over what each day’s forecast will be.
The two commissioned plays are written by playwrights Naomi Iizuka and Phyllis Nagy. Iizuka’s play, This Girl I Used to Know, is a retelling of the Arachne myth in a college setting. Nagy’s play, The One, the Other, is about a break up and is directed by Wendy Salkind, associate professor of theatre. The action jumps through time and space to show the arc of the women’s relationship.
“The plays are about love, politics and power. All three have strong women who are fighting and stretching for something that they really want,” said Kiirstn Pagan ’11, theatre, the stage manager for GRRL PARTS.
Though the plays’ themes are very different, GRRL PART’s organizers are unifying them by focusing on the art of playwriting; the staging is minimal, and the audience will be encouraged to consider the scripts as well as the performances. A talk back after the performances will help the audience understand the plays. “We have a journey that we’re taking the audience on,” explained Searls.
GRRL PARTS runs March 3-7. The performance schedule and ticket information are available online at www.umbc.edu/theatre.
(3/1/10)
