Victory Gardens Theater To Present HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 45th season with the Co-World Premiere of How to Defend Yourself by liliana padilla and directed by Marti Lyons. A Co-World Premiere with Actors Theatre of Louisville, How to Defend Yourself runs January 24 - February 23, 2020, with press performance on Friday, January 31, 2020 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

How to Defend Yourself circles around seven college students who gather for a DIY self-defense workshop after a sorority sister is raped. They learn how to "not be a victim", how to use their bodies as weapons, how to fend off attackers. The form of self-defense becomes a channel for their rage, trauma, confusion, anxiety, and desire-lots of desire. Challenged to determine what they want and how to ask for it, the students must ultimately face the insidious ways rape culture steals one's body and sense of belonging. Developed as part of Victory Gardens 2018 IGNITION Festival of New Plays and the winner of the 2019 Yale Drama Series Prize, How to Defend Yourself is funny, raw and brutally honest - a triumph from playwright liliana padilla. The production will be directed by Marti Lyons (Cambodian Rock Band, Native Gardens).

The cast of How to Defend Yourself includes Isa Arciniegas (Diana), Anna Crivelli (Brandi), Jayson Lee (Eggo), Ariana Mahallati (Mojdeh), Ryan McBride (Andy), Andrea San Miguel (Nikki), and Netta Walker (Kara)

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. 773.871.3000; www.victorygardens.org.