TRAUMA PLAY to Have Workshop at IAMA Theatre Company
Performances will run from May 22 to June 2.
IAMA Theatre Company will close its 17th season with a workshop production of the hilarious and raw new comedy Trauma Play by Abigail Miller. This new work will be directed by Co-Artistic Director of Ammunition Theatre Company Diana Wyenn, director, co-divisor, and dramaturg of the critically acclaimed solo show Kristina Wong for Public Office. In Trauma Play, Britt Benson is flying high as her buzzy, autobiographical new play gets national news coverage before it even premieres. But once the cameras start rolling, the play is no longer centerstage, and she finds the sexual assault she experienced suddenly publicized and scrutinized. Determined to make it to opening night, Britt tackles the meta-upon-meta whirlwind head-on with a cast of characters who each believe their own version of the truth. The cast for Trauma Play features Tessa Hope Slovis, Parvesh Cheena*, Alaska Jackson*, Sharon Lawrence*, Jorge-Luis Pallo, Sonal Shah* and Keliher Walsh*. Trauma Play will be performed May 22 - June 2, 2025 at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles. Tickets ($35, fees included) are available at iamatheatre.com. (* denotes IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member)
Following a successful staged reading at IAMA’s 2023 New Works Festival, Trauma Play will be presented as a full workshop production, giving audiences the opportunity to be an integral part of the playmaking process, providing valuable and essential feedback with their reactions each night for the creative team to bring back into rehearsal the next day with the actors. With its 17th season, IAMA continues its commitment to developing works in process. Featuring a world premiere and two workshop productions, the season highlights the theatrical development process in an intentional move to incorporate audiences as a theatre-making tool. Trauma Play follows the wildly successful workshop production of Douglas Lyons’ Don’t Touch My Hair, which enjoyed a sold-out run at the Atwater Village Theatre this February.
“To help shepherd a play through our development pipeline from a New Works Festival reading to a workshop production is so rewarding. At IAMA, we created this new model to allow artists to experiment and explore, and the team of Abby and Diana couldn't be a better pair to tackle challenging material that also allows us to laugh and cope,” said IAMA Artistic Director Stefanie Black. “It's also such a gift to be able to have five IAMA Ensemble Members in the cast with this incredible creative family, which marks a fantastic way to close out our 17th season.”
The cast for Trauma Play features Tessa Hope Slovis as Britt Benson and an ensemble including Parvesh Cheena*, Alaska Jackson*, Sharon Lawrence*, Jorge-Luis Pallo, Sonal Shah* and Keliher Walsh*. (* denotes IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member)
The Production Team bringing Trauma Play to life on stage includes Diana Wyenn (Director and Dramaturg), Erica Ammerman (Lighting Designer), Carly DW Bones (Associate Director/Intimacy Director), Jordan Bass (Casting Director), Darian Dauchan (Sound Designer), Kimberly Sanchez Garrido (Production Stage Manager), Zachary Phaneuf (Technical Director), Jason H. Thompson (Projection Designer), Randy Wong-Westbrooke (Set Designer). Actors Blake Kevin Dwyer and Kathleen Littlefield are the standbys for this production.
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