Laura Anthony's EFFIGY Will Be Performed as Part of NY Summerfest in August

NY Summerfest presents Laura Anthony's Effigy from 08/24/2021 in the Hudson Guild Theater.

Effigy, directed by L.A. Mars, provides an unflinching look through the lenses of race, revolution, and queerness at three eras of unrest in the United States: the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Playwright Laura Anthony's natural, overlapping dialogue shifts seamlessly through the stories of a forgotten revolutionary, a wounded Union soldier, and a university classroom overshadowed by the American legacy of racism. With an ensemble of seven actors, Anthony offers audiences an intimate window into these three indelibly linked moments in time.

"When we first set out to adapt Laurens' story for the stage, we were worried about the play becoming this pretty, glowing memoir piece," says Mars, director of the piece and long-time creative partner to the playwright. "The antebellum period informed and expanded the story, but it didn't fully ground it. A modern narrative, with modern voices, really pulled it together into this larger tale of warping legacies and the failure of generations upon generations to not just forfeit racism, but embrace antiracism to a meaningful degree. Effigy doesn't allow for excuses of moral relativity or ignorance to be made for our contemporaries, but it also acknowledges that we ourselves are still struggling--and, at times, failing--to do better in the society that we have inherited."

Effigy has an approximate run time of 90 minutes. Please be advised, this play contains scenes of violence, explicit language, sexual situations, and use of racial slurs. The production contains strobe lighting effects and gunshots. Learn more at www.effigytheplay.com.