Inis Nua Theatre Presents American Premiere Of A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW By Tatty Hennessy

Inis Nua Theatre presents the American Premiere of the award-winning play A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW by Tatty Hennessy. A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW is a funny and moving one-person show that tells the story of 15-year-old Rory whose geography teacher father has recently died. Struggling with this sudden loss, she decides to pursue his lifelong dream and journey to the North Pole. Following the route he planned and the advice of the great explorers before her, Rory packs a rucksack and her father's ashes for a journey of love, loss, and endless snow. The production will be directed by three-time Barrymore Award-nominated director and Inis Nua Associate Director and Literary Manager Claire Moyer. Previews begin Wednesday, February 5, with opening night on Friday, February 7. The show runs through February 23, 2020 for a total of 15 performances. All performances will take place at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 South Hicks Street. Tickets are $15 - $35. For reservations, visit inisnuatheatre.org.

Michael Billington of The Guardian called A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW "an extraordinary story of a young girl's determination to scatter her father's ashes at the North Pole" and The Stage called the play "an ice-bound odyssey brimming with humor and humanity." The website ayoungertheatre.com which seeks to encourage younger audiences said, "A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW leaves you inspired to embrace the adventure that is life, take the bad with the good and go with the flow... (but not too much!)"

A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW won the 2017 Heretic Voices Monologue Competition. The play went on to be produced by Heretic Voices at the Arcola Theatre, toured the UK, and transferred to Trafalgar Studios in London where it received four Offie nominations (The Off West Wend Theatre Awards) including Best New Play and Most Promising New Playwright.

Director Claire Moyer says "A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW is about growing up, processing grief, our relationship with our parents, and that deeply held human desire to be part of something greater than ourselves and to leave our mark on the world. It's a play about a teenager but it speaks to audiences of all ages."

As a solo show, the responsibility for Rory's story and the people she encounters lies in the hands of just one actor. This is a daunting task for any artist but the show is in the capable hands of a Philly rising star - Satchel Williams. Even as a student, Williams was praised in the Broad Street Review for her performance in Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine: "her performance deepens and expands over the course of the evening. As Undine's veneer chips off by inches, she continually finds something in the character to discover."

The set will be designed by Chris Haig, whose work was previously seen at Inis Nua on LOVE, LIES AND TAXIDERMY in 2018. It will be a stylized imagining of the dramatic ice formations found in the polar regions and the audience will be seated on three sides.

A HUNDRED WORDS FOR SNOW touches on the ecology of the arctic and how it is dramatically changing in the face of climate change. Inis Nua will be taking donations before each show for Polar Bears International (polarbearsinternational.org) a non-profit dedicated to polar bear conservation and habitat preservation. Anyone who donates gets a complimentary cup of hot chocolate.