Acute Exposure at Plays & Players

PHILADELPHIA, PA: The Lemonade Stand is bringing the first show of their season to the

Philadelphia Fringe Festival with Acute Exposure by August Hakvaag (PlayPenn Foundry

Member Class of 2026; Superconductor; As I Was, Not As I Am; But Not Uncle Vanya) at Plays

and Players’ Skinner Studio (1714 Delancey Street, Philadelphia) from September 24th-

28th. An EMOS Ecodrama Award-winning script, August Hakvaag’s first world premiere is the

first performance of The Lemonade Stand’s 25/26 Season.

Acute Exposure is a striking story of two young people solving the problems left to them by the

older generations, namely the toxic waste at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Loving, New Mexico.

Hakvaag expertly weaves nuclear toxicity, high school English assignments, and awkward first

kisses into a story of queer coming-of-age and environmental protection.

Performed by Abby-Jeanne and Isabel Lucio Penn, Acute Exposure examines the

interconnected impact that we leave on the environment and each other, asking audiences to

consider how our personal relationships ripple out to the environment and the world around us.

Helmed by Director MK Prophett and Associate and Intimacy Direction by Sara Mascelli (The

Dirty Shirley Show), questions the status quo and invites audiences to reconnect with both the

earth and the people around them.