UW Drama Presents FEFU AND HER FRIENDS By María Irene Fornés

Professor Valerie Curtis-Newton directs an all-female cast in María Irene Fornés' Fefu and Her Friends. Fornés, who passed away October 31st at the age of 88, was the winner of nine Obie Awards, including the award for sustained achievement. She has been called "the most important American playwright you've never heard of," and "influential beyond measure." This iconoclast, beloved teacher and mentor to some of contemporary theatre's most exciting writers, is the subject of the new documentary The Rest I Make Up. She is considered by many to be the mother of U.S. Latinx Theatre. This year marks a national celebration of her work, Celebrando Fornés/Celebrating Fornés.

Fefu and Her Friends, Fornés' most celebrated work, turns the "ladies who lunch" trope on its head, bringing together an extraordinary-and regular-group of women who, over the course of a weekend in the country, peel away at each other's layers, uncovering both the horrors and felicities of contemporary womanhood. Fefu premiered May 5th, 1977 at the Relativity Media Lab in New York City under the direction of Fornés herself. While the earliest version of the script was a non-realistic response to a gun joke, the final product is known as one of her most realistic and feminist works. Fornés said that its realism evolved from the fact that she could feel the characters standing around her, that "one can feel the characters breathe."

The show is directed by UW Drama faculty and Head of the Professional Director Training Program Valerie Curtis-Newton.

The production is the master's thesis for scenic designer Wenzheng Zhang who previously designed Monstrosity for the UW Drama mainstage. Lighting design is by second-year MFA design student Chun Yen Huang and costume design by undergraduate Drama major Luna McMeen. The cast is comprised of second- and third-year members of the Professional Actor Training Program (MFA Acting) Allyson Brown, Tricia Castañeda-Gonzales, Alana Cheshire, Alyssa Franks, Hailey Henderson, Jessica Thorne, and undergraduate Drama majors Anaïs Gralpois and Annie Willis.

PERFORMANCES

Sun, Nov 25, 2018 - 7:30pm (PREVIEW)

Tue, Nov 27, 2018 - 7:30pm (Preview)

Wed, Nov 28, 2018 - 7:30pm (Opening Night)

Thu, Nov 29, 2018 - 7:30pm

Fri, Nov 30, 2018 - 7:30pm

Sat, Dec 1, 2018 - 7:30pm

Sun, Dec 2, 2018 - 2:00pm (Post-Show Panel Discussion)
Wed, Dec 5, 2018 - 7:30pm (Pay-What-You-Can, day of show only)

Thu, Dec 6, 2018 - 7:30pm

Fri, Dec 7, 2018 - 7:30pm

Sat, Dec 8, 2018 - 7:30pm

Sun, Dec 9, 2018 - 2:00pm

DATES TO NOTE:

Opening Night: Wednesday, November 28th at 7:30 PM

Pay-What-You-Can: Wednesday, December 5th at 7:30pm (PWYC tickets available day-of-show only, $1 minimum)
Post-show panel discussion on the life and legacy of María Irene Fornés: Sunday, December 2nd following the 2:00 PM matinee performance

TICKETS
$20 Regular
$14 UW employee or retiree, senior (62+), UWAA member
$10 Student
$5 TeenTix
Pay-What-You-Can, day of show only, Wednesday, December 5th at 7:30pm
Available at drama.uw.edu or by calling the ArtsUW ticket office at 206.543.4880

LOCATION

Meany Studio Theatre

University of Washington, Red Square

4040 George Washington Lane Northeast

Seattle, WA 98105

Near Central Plaza Garage, (at 15th Ave. NE & NE 41st St), park on Level C1

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/RRs2zDz7WS82

ARTISTS

PLAYWRIGHT: María Irene Fornés

Director: Valerie Curtis-Newton

CAST (PATP = Professional Actor Training Program-MFA, Acting):
Cecilia: Annie Willis (Undergraduate Drama major)
Christine: Tricia Castañeda-Gonzales (3rd year PATP)
Cindy: Jessica Thorne (2nd year PATP)
Emma: Alana Cheshire (3rd year PATP)
Fefu: Alyssa Franks (2nd year PATP)
Julia: Allyson Brown (3rd year PATP)
Paula: Hailey Henderson (2nd year PATP)
Sue: Anaïs Gralpois (Undergraduate Drama major)