ATHENA to Open at Theatre NOVA

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's resident nonprofit professional theatre specializing in new plays, will present Athena by Gracie Gardner, running July 17-August 9. Athena plunges audiences into the world of competitive girls' Junior Olympic fencing.

Mary Wallace and Athena are brave, and seventeen, and fencers, and training for the Junior Olympics. They practice together, they compete against each other, they spend their lives together. They wish they were friends. Can they overcome their fierce competitiveness? Would they even want to? 

Athena actress Jennifer Pan says: “This cast has some of the most trained stage combatants in the entire southeast Michigan area and I can't wait for audiences to experience how good and story-driven it can look in a live show.”

Athena is fight-directed by Joe Wright and stars Jennifer Pan in the title role. Wright and Pan are the founders of Theatrica Gladiatoria, a Ypsilanti-based company dedicated to advancing the art of dramatic violence through training, choreography, performances, and workshops for stage and screen. The cast features Theatrica Gladiatoria students: Brittany Batell as Mary Wallace, a 1x certified SAFD Actor Combatant in singlesword who has trained with Theatrica Gladiatoria since 2022 and at the Fredericksen Intensive in smallsword, and Amanda Buchalter as Jamie, a 5x certified SAFD Actor Combatant and certified Intermediate Actor Combatant with Fight Directors Canada.

Actress Brittany Batell says: “The thing about stage combat is that each fight is a mini-story in itself, of trading advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, wins and losses.”

Jen adds: “I want people who come see this show to discover how cool fights can be and, perhaps, get interested in trying a fencing, stage combat, or martial arts class…If you loved Princess Bride or Game of Thrones, this play is for you. Come for the swords, stay for the awkward teenage drama.”

Directed by Shelby R. Seeley, a Yale-certified director and Theatre NOVA Producing Artistic Director who recently returned from an international Directing Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the production team includes Theatre NOVA Producing Artistic Director Briana O'Neal (stage manager), Joe Wright (fight choreographer), Kennikki Jones-Jones (sound designer), Amanda Bates (set designer), Jade Guerriero (lighting designer), Michaella Victoria (Costume Designer), Sydney Schropshire (assistant stage manager), Avalon McNew (assistant lighting designer), and Celah Convis (marketing assistant). 

Director Shelby R. Seeley says: “The stories I want to tell are violently tender and ferally-feminine, and Athena encapsulates that. I have pitched this play fifteen times over many years to local professional theatres, and Theatre NOVA is the first theatre brave– or crazy– enough to say yes. I love how this show explores identity, connection, and ambition in a way that is uniquely feminine. The show demands high level spectacle, and I have no doubts that this team will handle it well, but it's also exceptional, intimate storytelling.”

Actress Amanda Buchalter says: “Fencing is obviously a huge part of Athena, but it's not what the show is really about. Fencing is a vehicle for what building friendships can feel like in a world that tells you everything is a competition.”

More on Theatre NOVA

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Athena by Gracie Gardner

7/17 - 8/9/2026

2026 Michigan Playwrights Festival

8/12 - 8/16/2026

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