MORPHOLOGY to Make New England Premiere at Boston Playwrights Theatre
AEA actors Alexander J. Stuart, Blythe de Oliveira Foster, and Shauna Bloom star in the family drama.
52 Hertz Productions has announced the New England premiere of Morphology from award-winning MA-based writer Jillian Blevins. Selected for Boston Playwrights Theatre's inaugural New Play Incubator Program, Morphology is a family drama spotlighting Autism and caregiving that draws us into a fantastical world. Written in a mix of verse and prose, the play explores the power and inadequacy of language, what it means to know one another, and what we can learn from deep sea biology The play will run from July 23-26th and will feature AEA actors Alexander J. Stuart, Blythe de Oliveira Foster, and Shauna Bloom.
Morphology is the story of Nico, a nonverbal Autistic teenager who loves creatures of the deep sea and longs to be understood by his mother Claudia, a former academic who longs most for him to speak. When Claudia's own mother Arlene intervenes and tries to convince Claudia to place Nico in a group home, their attempts to reach each other grow more desperate, Nico cries out to one being he thinks might understand him, and their carefully balanced world starts coming undone.
The mother of an Autistic child, playwright Blevins hopes that the mother and son in the play evoke "all people who love each other but struggle to communicate." In Morphology, Nico speaks in poetic soliloquies only the audience can hear. Autistic actor Alexander Stuart, who plays Nico, says that the play's use of heightened language "helps him stand out among the Autistic characters I've played in the past, in that it gives the audience an opportunity to connect to one non-verbal child's rich, complex internal life."
Blevins wrote the play after conversations with fellow playwright and Autism advocate Dave Osmudsen, about how communication between Autistic children and their parents can be a microcosm of the communication gap between all people who love each other but don't "speak the same language".
"I wrote Morphology to explore the ways learning to communicate differently for my child has cracked me open and made me better." shares Blevins.
The "war on Autism" waged by RFK's "Make America Healthy Again" initiative has made the play increasingly relevant, as misinformation about neurodivergence and institutionalized ableism have resurged. Morphology is, in part, about Autism acceptance. Now more than ever, it's important to protect the autonomy of neurodivergent children and recognize both the challenges and gifts that they can possess.
Boston Playwrights Theatre, located at 949 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215, will host 6 performances between Thursday July 23rd through Sunday July 26th. Advance tickets are $25 (student discount $15).
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