Head Trick Theatre presents GABRIEL, 12/8–17

The title character of George Sand's Gabriel is passionate, athletic, nobly-minded, and the heir to both a principality and a secret: Gabriel is female, raised as a boy since birth. The young prince's discovery of this secret plot to defraud the family's lawful heir forces a choice that strikes at the heart of Gabriel's sense of self: to ignore the voice of conscience and hold on to the rights and privileges of a man, or to live as a woman and sacrifice everything.

Head Trick's production of Sand's feminist parable, performed by a cast of female and gender non-conforming actors, pits Gabriel against criminals and princes, the fantastic and nightmarish world of Carnival, and the pervasive social inequality from which even love and friendship are not safe. The company will hold post-show talkbacks with special guests to discuss the play, its feminist and trans themes, and the development process.

Gabriel opens Head Trick's 2017-18 season, which responds to the political climate not with stories of government tyranny or business corruption, but with plays by, and about, the people marginalized by policies and rhetoric that repress difference. "Women and minorities aren't a modern invention", says Head Trick's artistic director Rebecca Maxfield, whose company focuses on classic plays. "We've always been here, and in planning a season with the political situation at the forefront of our minds, Head Trick is choosing to put those voices and stories out there."

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (1804-1876), who wrote as George Sand, is known for her unconventional lifestyle as much as for her writing. By adopting male dress, Sand shocked fashionable society, but was also able to experience firsthand a level of day-to-day freedom unavailable to most women. Her interest in women's rights influenced her novels and plays about the struggle for freedom and idealistic love against the constraints a fundamentally gender-unequal society places on women.

ABOUT HEAD TRICK THEATRE

Head Trick Theatre is a performing group based in Providence, RI that puts on innovative productions of classic plays with a focus on the importance of liveness. Previous works in residence at AS220 include She Would If She Could, an exploration of human nature and performance in Restoration London, and The Cradle Will Rock, an ensemble-centric production of Marc Blitzstein's legendary, ever-timely agitprop musical. Upcoming: God of Vengeance in March 2018. http://www.headtricktheatre.org

Head Trick Theatre presents GABRIEL

Friday December 8th and Saturday December 9th, 7:00pm

Thursday December 14th, Friday December 15th, and Saturday December 16th, 7:00pm

Sundays December 10th & 17th, 2:00pm

Talkbacks to follow

AS220 BLACK BOX | 95 Empire St | Providence, RI 02903

Tickets $15, Free with Brown/RISD Student ID.

Brown Paper Tickets: http://headtrickgabriel.brownpapertickets.com/

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