Broken Nose Theatre Presents BECHDEL FEST 8: REALIGN

Broken Nose Theatre will present BECHDEL FEST 8: REALIGN, the company's annual festival of new short plays featuring an ensemble of femme, female-identifying, non-binary, trans and queer actors talking about things other than men. This year's festival showcases eight stories that center around characters who find themselves at pivotal moments, as new circumstances push each of them to reconsider both their identity and their place in the world. BECHDEL FEST 8 will stream for free from January 29 - March 26, 2021 on BNT's YouTube channel, with a new play released each Friday for an entire week before it's removed and a new play is broadcast.

All the works in BNT's perennial feminist festival are inspired by the famous Bechdel-Wallace Test. Created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the test asks whether a work of entertainment features at least two non-male identifying characters in conversation about something other than a man. Since the fest's first iteration in 2013, Broken Nose has worked with some of the most exciting voices in the Chicago theater landscape on over 50 stories that, by design, do not revolve around men. For additional information, visit brokennosetheatre.com.

Comments BNT Artistic Director Elise Marie Davis: "Many of the immensely talented artists involved in this season's festival have been signed on since last spring, back when we were expecting to host the event in-person during the summer. The fact that they graciously and enthusiastically stayed onboard as this year's lineup was pushed back, and ultimately pivoted to becoming digital, is enormously exciting to the Broken Nose family and myself. This week-by-week release structure is brand-new to us, but we're thrilled to bring the magic of the fest into audiences' homes, virtually and entirely free-of-charge. We look forward to sharing these stories with you!"

BECHDEL FEST 8: REALIGN includes:

Friday, January 29 -Cowabunga

By Jamie Olah, Directed by Lauren Katz

Friday, February 5 - The High

By Brynne Frauenhoffer, Directed by Lexi Saunders

Friday, February 12 - How Strong is Your Tree Pose?

By Asha McAllister, Directed by Brenda Scott Wlazlo*

Friday, February 19 - QUITTER

By Keyanna Khatiblou, Directed by Alison Thvedt

Friday, February 26 - The Ladies Next Door

By Iris Sowlat, Directed by Anna C. Bahow

Friday, March 5 - A Mid-Pandemic Night's Stream"

By Ismail Khalidi, Directed by Benjamin Brownson*

Friday, March 12 - going green

By Lane Anthony Flores, Directed by JD Caudill*

Friday, March 19 - WINDFALL

By Robert Koon*, Directed by Aaron Mays

*Denotes BNT company members