First Stage Presents THE GIRL WHO SWALLOWED A CACTUS (In Your Home)

The second installment of First Stage's 20/21 Virtual Season of Plays brings THE GIRL WHO SWALLOWED A CACTUS (In Your Home), a new online, one-actor play, to family audiences. This new play, adapted for online audiences by Playwright Eric Coble, is an imaginative tour de force for Milwaukee actress Karen Estrada, last seen at First Stage as Scissors in THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, and who made her First Stage directorial debut with ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA during the 2019/20 season.

In this play, the singular actor shares the story of a group of friends who go on a wild adventure in the American Southwest after a well-dressed talking coyote steals an orange traffic cone from their junkyard summer fortress. THE GIRL WHO SWALLOWED A CACTUS is a funny and innovative play, rehearsed, performed and recorded virtually from Ms. Estrada's own home. Sponsored by Children's Wisconsin, with additional support from the United Performing Arts Fund.

THE GIRL WHO SWALLOWED A CACTUS streams November 2 - 22, 2020. Single Tickets are available for $15, $25 or $40. Patrons are encouraged to choose the price point that best fits their family and budget. Ticket buyers will receive an access code to stream this performance through the streaming service Broadway On Demand. Single tickets can be purchased online at www.firststage.org/cactus or by phone at (414) 267-2961. Suggested for families with young people ages 7 - 15+.

New this year: Family All-Access Pass Membership includes streaming access to this and all other virtual productions this season and starts at $200 per household. More information is available at www.firststage.org/membership.

"We remain committed to sharing the joy and spirit of community that comes uniquely from the shared experience of live theater, while also embracing the emerging digital platforms that so many of us have relied upon to continue engaging young people and families," said Jeff Frank, First Stage artistic director, and director of the production. "Earlier this spring, we saw a delightful opportunity to pilot this one-person, online-only play, made available to us by popular playwright Eric Coble." He also added, "It has been a blast working with Karen. She is always so inventive and engaging. I couldn't have asked for a better actor to work with on this new adventure of rehearsing and ultimately recording virtually. We hope this play will provide a fun, engaging and unique experience for families from the comfort of their homes - and look for a guest appearance from Karen's cat!"

For more information about any of the offerings for Through Our Lens - A First Stage Virtual Performance Series or about buying a Family All-Access Pass, please visit www.firststage.org or call (414) 267-2961. To see the schedule the 2020/21 Virtual Season of Plays, please visit: firststage.org/virtualseries2021.