THE GRANDMOTHERS GRIMM To Play 2023 National Women's Theatre Festival Beginning This Month

Little Blue Cap Productions will present The Grandmothers Grimm written by Emily Ingram and directed by Katie Fitz, Molly Revenson, ELi Sibley, Emma Szuba, & KJ Wilkerson. The production will be presented as part of the 2023 National Women's Theatre Festival through the WTFRINGE Directing Lab at the North Carolina State University's Frank Thompson Hall (2241 Dunn Ave, Raleigh, NC 27606) with performances on Saturday, June 24 at 4:30pm and Sunday, June 25 at 8:30pm. It will also be available for streaming on Saturday, July 1 at 2:00pm, and for 48 hours after. Tickets ($15) are available for advance purchase at nationalwtf.com/grimm. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes.

The Grandmothers Grimm is set over the course of one night, and explores women's role in the creation of The Brothers Grimm's famous anthology. Marie Hassenpflug has crept out of her family home without a chaperone, determined to hear new stories and to tell the fairy tales from her unusual childhood to Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who are collecting tales together for their book. As the evening progresses, Marie shares more and more and the three young people - with help from the Brother's mistreated housekeeper - begin to act out the dark, original versions of classic fairy tales. Arguments, ego and politics threaten the anthology and the Grimms' and Marie's friendship at every turn.

The critically acclaimed The Grandmothers Grimm to the National Women's Theatre Festival will be making its North American Premiere at the festival, following a highly successful production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022 with Some Kind of Theatre.
The cast will feature Aubree Chanel Dixon as Marie Hassenpflug, Bryson David Hoff as Jacob Grimm, Nick Popio as Wilhelm Grimm, and Deb B Vu as The Chorus. The creative team will include Dramaturgy by Shinji Elspeth Oh, Costume Design by Molly Revenson, Set Design by Emma Szuba, and Lighting Design by KJ Wilkerson.   

Emily Ingram (Playwright) A former magician's assistant, Emily Ingram is a writer, director and performer based in Scotland. Previous credits include work for The National Theatre of Scotland, BBC and BBC Scotland, and the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. She is a regular guest lecturer in object theatre and theatrical design for educational institutes including NYU London. Her play The Grandmothers Grimm has toured throughout the UK, receiving critical acclaim. Ingram's unique, pacey directorial and writing style fuses traditional theatre and storytelling techniques with imaginative object theatre techniques.

Katie Fitz (Director) (she/her) recently graduated with her B.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her most recent directing credits include Collective Rage (Assistant Director, Richmond Triangle Players), MacBeth3 (Assistant Director, VCUTheatre), and The Legend of Georgia McBride (Associate Director, Shafer Alliance Laboratory Theatre). Katie is passionate about works that focus on queer identities, the feminine experience, and disability inclusion/advocacy. She loves both reimagining classical works through these lenses and developing new works that focus on these identities. 

Molly Revenson (Director) Molly is thrilled to be directing with the amazing Blue Group! She graduated from NYU Tisch via the Stella Adler Studio and Stonestreet Studio in 2017. She has also trained at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts and the Upright Citizen's Brigade, and worked at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Although a native New Yorker, she's glad to go back to North Carolina after playing Celia in a regional production of As You Like It in 2019.

Eli Sibley (Director) An actor and theatre professional for over 20 years, Eli's credits include direction, production, playwriting, choreography, and movement coaching. She acted in Shakespeare in California, taught devising in Central Europe, puppeteered in Shanghai, trained in fight choreography in London. She's been a singer, a dancer, an extra, and a Blue Dinosaur. Along with her MFA in Acting and AmSat Alexander Technique certification, she is also a certified Laban Movement Analyst. Eli works across the country and globe helping bring the Alexander Technique and movement to Performance curriculum but also with local Twin Cities theater companies and acting studios. elisibley.com

Emma Szuba (Director) (she/her) is a Triangle-based actor and director and the founder of Scrap Paper Shakespeare, with whom she most recently directed As You Like It and Julius Caesar. She holds a degree in theatre and English from Wake Forest University. 

KJ Wilkerson (Director) is a part of the Producing/Directing track with WTF's Fringe Lab Cohort. She is a new director with previous Children's Theatre directing experience, and is in her final year of her BFA Acting program. 

Brought together through the WTFringe Directing Lab, Little Blue Cap Productions shares a passion for new, diverse, & women-led theatre. Coming from a range of locations and backgrounds, Little Blue Cap Productions has quickly bonded to become one incredible unit. Members have used their backgrounds in design, movement, classical theatre, and more to bring together an amazing new production for the North American Premiere of Emily Ingram's The Grandmothers Grimm.

The mission of the National Women's Theatre Festival is to create, produce, and promote extraordinary theatre by women and artists of all underrepresented genders with the ultimate goal of 100% parity in the US theatre industry. They gather artists from North Carolina and across the nation at their annual events, helping to create a pipeline of extraordinary talent that will revolutionize theatre as we know it. Since its founding in 2016, the National Women's Theatre Festival (WTF) has produced 23 mainstage theatrical productions, 64 Fringe-style shows, and over 125 staged readings, and hosted over 250 workshops and panels. Their signature event is an annual summer festival of plays, workshops, and all things theatre. In 2023-2024 National WTF will mount its first mainstage season in three years, featuring 3 fully staged plays, performed in Raleigh, NC. WTF creates opportunities for underrepresented gender theatre makers to develop and practice skills in a supportive and creative environment, and to have their talents recognized. www.womenstheatrefestival.com

 

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