2020-2021 Productions
Second Stage
Woodhull
Directed by Cameron Sheppard
NOV 4, 2020
Virtual
WOODHULL is based on the inspiring true story of Victoria Woodhull. An outspoken advocate of free love, the spirituality movement, and women’s rights, Woodhull was a persistent political activist. Due to this, she was the first woman in United States History to be given a presidential nomination, given to her by the Equal Rights Party for the election of 1872; her running mate was the esteemed author and leader of the abolitionist movement, Frederick Douglass.
WOODHULL follows Victoria Woodhull’s campaign for president and her ongoing journey to expose injustice and raise the status of women in America. Taking the form of a workshop over a number of weeks, WOODHULL explores the central question of “What it means to be a woman” both in Victoria Woodhull’s time and today.
Additionally, the final presentation of WOODHULL will include 2 songs that have already been written that will be developed in the workshop.
Original Journals
Directed by Gina Saglimbeni
NOV 7, 2020
Virtual
Original Journals is a space for lead Gina Saglimbeni to share her slam poetry in a theatrical setting while bringing forward the potential impact slam poetry can have to a larger audience. Having been immersed in the work herself, Gina will lead a team of actors in creating one cohesive show and final performance based on her original work which grapples with the loss of innocence, mental health, and heartbreak.
Just Anne: Historical Accuracy Onstage
Directed by Lily Cate Gunther-Canada
Virtual
NOV 14, 2020
JUST ANNE: HISTORICAL ACCURACY ONSTAGE is an original play by lead Lily Cate Gunther-Canada about the misconceived relationship between Queen Anne of England, and Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Taken directly from their written correspondence, JUST ANNE tells the true story of two powerful women and their tumultuous relationship grappling with love, legacy, and loyalty. As a process-based research project with a series of readings, concluding with a final open performance and talk back, JUST ANNE seeks to address the limits and effectiveness of historical accuracy onstage.
Operation Pedro Pan
Directed by Mariana Gonzalez
NOV 21, 2020
Virtual
OPERATION PEDRO PAN, led by Mariana Gonzalez, is the true story of how in the early 1960s over 14,000 unaccompanied minors immigrated from Cuba to Miami with the help of the Catholic Church in order to escape the persecution of Fidel Castro’s regime. Inspired by the common lack of understanding of these events and how they affected the individuals involved and their families, Mariana beautifully tells her own family’s experience of these events. PEDRO PAN centers on themes of the importance of family, love, and sacrifice. PEDRO PAN seeks to educate people about such an important event in American History and cultivate empathy and understanding for the many people who suffered from it, and continue to do so.
Morbid Curiosity
NOV 21, 2020
Virtual
Inspired by obsession with true crime, this project is a spacefor collaborators to explore their own fears through the creation of theirown psychological thriller. Focusing on the writing process and inspiredby shows like The Twilight Zone, collaborators will write and performpieces exploring true-to-life fear, pop culture, and crime.
50 Stolen Plays
Directed by Grey Smith
DEC 5, 2020
Virtual
50 Stolen Plays, led by Grey Smith, is a devised piece in which a small ensemble will create 50 single-page found-text plays that explore themes of perception, reality, and an artist’s role between them. After compiling works, collaborators will select50, choose their order, and present them to an audience in a final performance in order to explore the question of if an objective reality exists; and how their perception affects their own reality
Queering Shakespeare
Directed by Kalliope Bessler
Spring 2021
Virtual
"Queering Shakespeare" consists of four sessions of coaching, discussion, and performance surrounding the playing of roles that are not explicitly written as LGBTQ, or LGBTQ+. The first session would feature two presenters: Kalliope and a transgender or nonbinary actor (possibly a Loyola graduate), each doing a short presentation on how they connect their roles with themselves when the character they are playing is not written explicitly as LGBTQ+. The next two sessions are coaching sessions with an LGBTQ+ Loyola acting coach in which participants will bring a Shakespearean monologue or sonnet that they’d like to work on. The final session will be a showcase of the pieces by each participant for the other participants in the workshop.
Tumbleweed
Written by Levi Welch
FEB 3, 2021
Virtual
Tumbleweed centers around a gay 17-year-old, Will, in a small town who begins a relationship with a married 26-year-old man named Brian during his senior year of high school. The script is heavily rooted in realism and follows an episodic plot structure. The core goals are to flesh out the supporting characters and setting, narrow in on and explore the core questions the play is asking, collaborate with actors and a faculty mentor, and learn how to develop a piece from the point of view of a playwright. It really is a love letter to queer people in small, conservative towns as well as an exploration into why some queer people are able to live lives as themselves and why others choose to live life in the closet. The questions that stem from this story, such as the ethical line(s) being crossed in this relationship and how religious upbringings affect our self-view, have the potential to resonate with both our department and the broader Loyola community
Shit, It's Wednesday
Written by Cameron Sheppard
JAN 31, 2021
Virtual Podcast
"Shit, It's Wednesday" by Cameron Sheppard, audio editing by Luca Calabro, is an absurdist, science-fiction podcast that will explore a world in which humans begin remembering their past lives.
Obstinate Headstrong Girl
Written by Téa Johnson
FEB 20, 2021
Virtual
Obstinate Headstrong Girl is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice disguised as a dating and lifestyle podcast. Hosted by Lizzie (played by Téa) and Jane, the pod explores romance in a modern age as well as feminism and issues of consent, and follows the plot through podcast interviews, social media posts, and recounting of events by Lizzie and Jane. Lifestyle podcasts are an incredibly popular medium nowadays, and Téa firmly believes Elizabeth Bennet would probably run one if she was real and alive today. There are plenty of narrative scripted podcasts that tell stories in a way reminiscent of an audiobook, but Téa wants to see if the cast can use the traditional podcast format to unravel a famously beloved narrative. This project is also exploring marketing a project in the form of in-character social media. The main cast would make some form of social media for their characters (the platform would likely be Twitter or maybe Instagram, but that would ultimately be a decision that the cast makes together) to have in-character interactions and drum up attention and hype for forthcoming episodes.
It's All Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus
Written by Maegan Pate
March 26, 2021
Virtual
"It's All Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus" is an original play by Maegan Pate examining five notable women who were executed during the Salem Witch Trials and the similarities in these women’s executions to our contemporary society and its treatment of women, specifically in the United States. This project seeks actors to give voice to the roles and contribute feedback during the writing process.
A Zoomin' and A Cruisin'
Produced by Lexi James and Olivia Schierbeck-Jones
APR 10, 2021
Virtual
We want to explore theatre through an interactive lens, as the department has yet to do something like this in our four years at Loyola. Our original plan was to collaborate with student designers & faculty and discuss the possibility of using the basement of Mundelein to create an immersive space. Now that we are faced with a new reality, we have become inspired to explore blending the interactive experience into the Zoom experience. Ideally, in this platform, audiences will be guided through a choose-your-own-adventure experience where they would travel to different rooms and interact directly with the world we have created. Participants would be responsible for devising the world and each room that exists within it. In rehearsals, they will collaborate, offer each other feedback, and create revisions leading to a complete interactive immersive product. This project is meant to explore the fun and creative side of interactive theatre by reaching through our Zoom reality and letting the audience join our performance. We hope to follow the structure of some of the most iconic immersive theatre companies in the world such as PunchDrunk to give audiences the intimate feeling of in-person theatre, over Zoom.