The Why Collective Adds Performance For Bryce McClendon's THE SMALLEST SOUND, IN THE SMALLEST SPACE

The Why Collective will add a performance of The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space by Bryce McClendon on Saturday March 4 at 2pm, after sold out performances on Friday, March 3 at 7pm, Saturday, March 4 at 7pm EDT, and Sunday, March 5 at 3pm EDT at Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre (Artistic Director, Kira Simring).

The play follows four graduate-level voice students of Professor Kent Randall, an operatic tenor of international acclaim currently under University investigation for sexual misconduct. Each student has agreed to provide an anonymous statement. As a representative from the University Office of Institutional Compliance interviews the four, their lessons overlay their conversations, combining reality, memory, and imagination as illustrations of Kent's influence over their memories and testimonies.

Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The Why Collective, Sydney Anderson says The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space represents a vision she has for the company's inaugural season. "So often artists, and in particular classical vocalists, are expected to stand a certain way, sound a certain way, dress a certain way, and not have anything dissenting to say about it," Anderson says. "When I first read this play, it was like reading my own inner monologue on paper. This is exactly the story that needs to be shared, and my deepest hope is that this Collective serves as a platform and a safe space for artists to express their truths without fear of retaliation."

"The most obvious precursor is Master Class by Terrence McNally," says playwright Bryce McClendon. "The crucial difference is in the titles: Master Class takes place in public before an audience, Smallest Sound in the private voice studio. In dialogue, I think the two plays index the different ways toxic notions of genius morph into common practices and work their way into the culture to cause harm and perpetuate it through a collective denial of its legitimacy."

Directed by Katy Early (La Traviata, MassOpera), this Workshop Premiere of The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space will feature a cast of emerging and established actors and musical artists, including Shah Motia, Shelly Lynn Walsh, Alexander J. Rodriguez, Rachel Policar, Ai Chaim Ra, Heather Jones, Morgan Mastrangelo, Nathaniel LaNasa, Savannah Bergli, Mary-Angela Granberry, Roberto Colon, Sophie Delphis, and Sebastian Armendariz.