THE JOY Rises Again in Phoenix

The Joy, Jeanmarie (Simpson) Bishop's celebrated solo work, rises again in Phoenix on January 19th at the Metropolitan Arts Institute at 7:30 pm.

Produced by Now & Then Creative Company, the one night event is directed by Pamela Sterling and will feature Laurelann Porter as Mary Dyer in the role Bishop created and performed from 2011 to 2017. The play takes place in the last 90 minutes of the life of Mary Dyer, hanged in Boston in 1660 for the crime of being Quaker.

"I want The Joy to have a life of its own," Bishop explained. "The play is Mary Dyer's story, and it's hers to tell, this time, through Laurelann Porter. I feel profoundly grateful to John [Perovich] and Now & Then for choosing The Joy for their Sandbox series, and to Laurelann and Pamela for taking on the material. It's a marvelous opportunity for any playwright, but especially for a solo work that is more difficult to pitch to companies than multi-character pieces."

Porter said she was intrigued by the script for many reasons.

"The character is a woman who has deep purpose and conviction. And I think all too often we as a collective society forget the bloody past of our Puritan history. In light of increasing religious intolerance, both domestically and abroad, I think this play brings up concerns that I find ever more alarming in today's world. How different is the character of Mary from a Muslim woman who is persecuted today? Or a black woman in Brazil practicing her Candomblé religious practices who gets threatened by evangelized gangs? Or a Jewish woman in Nazi Germany who is killed for her ethnic and religious identity? Of course there are differences culturally, but this play reminds me that often the lines between activism and faith are blurred," she said.

"I was also struck in the play about the way the women in this story create community. They find ways, despite a world of barriers, to provide for themselves the connections they need to maintain dignity and balance in their communities. Leaders emerged but did not need the title of leader. The work was simply done because the work needed to be done," she concluded.

Porter received her PhD in Theatre and Performance of the Americas from Arizona State University. As part of her dissertation research she conducted an ethnographic study of women in Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil. One of the most important recurring themes of the research involved the complicated ways local residents and tourists interact. Increased tourism in Itacaré did not bring economic opportunities to local residents but rather increased social inequality and further marginalization of the quilombo communities in the region. This prompted a desire to understand the realities of those who labor to produce the performance of a touristic paradise without reaping the benefits.

Porter is also a playwright and performer. She has performed with Arizona Curriculum Theatre's Poe Fest for the last six years. Original solo performances include "Idle Worship: or the Day I Realized my Dad was Short," an exploration of two friends who grow up Mormon and how they reconcile their friendship when one leaves the church and the other stays; and "Passion Fruit," a blues-based performance centered on a bisexual love triangle. As part of her research Porter performed her solo performance "How not to Make Love to a Woman" ("Como Não Fazer Amor com uma Mulher" in Portuguese) in order to understand how performance can contribute to public dialogue about difficult topics.

An Arizona native, Porter received her BFA in Independent Theatre Studies from Boston University and her MFA in Playwriting from Arizona State University. She has directed and produced several short films, music videos, and two feature length documentary films.

Early Bird tickets are available for $8.24 (includes service fee) until January 5. All seats are subsequently available online for $11.34 or at the door for $10.

Metropolitan Arts Institute is an accessible performance space, 1700 N. 7th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85007. For more information, visit the website: nowandthencc.com.

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