Freehold Lab Presents A Developmental Workshop Reading Of Selected Scenes From Auntie Val

Enjoy a reading of selected scenes from Daemond Arrindell's new play, and offer vital feedback towards the final development of the piece. Auntie Val is being developed as part of Engaged Theatre, the flagship program of Freehold's Lab. We take the practice out into the world around us as we seek to build authentic relationships through active involvement - bringing productions developed in the Lab to extraordinary audiences: prisons, trauma centers, a youth detention facility, shelters and an active Military base. These audiences demand greater honesty from the actors and the stories resonate with them in unexpected ways.

Set in the 1990's and heavily influenced by hip hop and its roots, Auntie Val is loosely inspired by Bertold Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children. Auntie Val is a woman caught in the grinding gears of the machine that is capitalism. She owns and operates "Pass It Down", a pawn shop that is the only legacy of her family. She operates the shop with her chosen family: B and FK - young adults from the neighborhood she has taken under her wing and under her roof, and Jamal - whose life she literally saved, who has also been scarred by the machine. The four of them live and hustle by a code that helps them make sense of a world seemingly intent on their failure. Auntie Val will wrestle with the mounting pressure and make some tough choices around what truly matters: her legacy, her chosen family, or her code of ethics.

The reading will be held on Monday, February 10th, 2020, 7:30pm at The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave S, Seattle WA 98118 - admission is free. Reservations can be made on Brown Paper Tickets: at https://auntieval-freehold.bpt.me.