ABOUT
Synopsis
Jane doesn’t know what to do with the literary character who has taken up residence in her bathtub. She doesn’t want Ophelia interrupting the obsessive order of her life with obnoxious songs about death and valentines. She doesn’t want Ophelia disrupting her relationship with Edmund, the oddly charming actor who might show up for dinner in a suit…of armor. And she most definitely doesn’t want Ophelia stirring up memories of a brother she would rather forget. But Ophelia doesn’t care about what Jane wants so much as what she needs. As Jane’s past intrudes dangerously on her present, it becomes clear that Ophelia is not simply a character from Hamlet, but a long-forgotten messenger with a question from Jane’s own troubled mind: How do you move on when reconciliation is not an option?
How Did We Get Here?
Victoria Rae Sook, Founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Atria held a playwriting contest back in 2013. As soon as she picked up Rachel Luann Strayer's Drowning Ophelia she became so engrossed that she "missed her station by three train stops". Being the generous, bold artist she is, Victoria brought the play to the attention of Annie R. Such, a freelance producer and Artistic Director of EagerRisk Theater. Annie was hooked and fell in love with the play. Now, the two women, along with the brilliant playwright, are embarking on a journey to bring this play to audiences all over the country, and hopefully, the world. The 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival is our first stop!
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
A note from Producer Annie R. Such:
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Victoria brought Drowning Ophelia to me a little less than a year ago. She had exclusive rights to the play under her company Ensemble Atria, and was
looking for a partner to help shepherd the production; more than that, she was looking for someone who would love the piece as much as she did.
After reading the play, I was instantly hooked. It’s simple and beautiful. It has a theme grounded in human experience while maintaining hints of magic.
Most importantly, it told a story I had not heard before, that of a tortured soul who happened to be our “antagonist”.
We live in a time where boundaries are being redefined: what constitutes rape? Who bears the responsibility of suicide? What is and is not okay to joke about?
And in the course of these discussions and drawing of boundary lines, we often see everything in black and white, bad and good, evil and pure. We forget that even those we villainize are human. We, as a society enveloped in technology, have found a way to dehumanize those we find unworthy based on their actions. No matter how much we believe we have progressed as a species, we still find ways to carry on behavior we thought we eradicated hundreds of years ago; we’ve just done it from a longer distance, through a computer screen.
This play has found a way to empathize with someone we thought we could never empathize with. Rachel Strayer has blurred our defined boundaries, and
mixed the black with the white. In a time where we think everything is clear cut, Ms. Strayer makes us re-think judgment, and re-evaluate our standing as humans.
So, why this show? Why now?
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Never has there been a more important time to break down the technological armor that allows us to cyber bully, judge from a distance, say things we would never say in person, and more importantly, shield us from empathy. When one is faced with empathizing with someone thought to be “pure evil” based on their actions, we are completely uprooted, and have the opportunity to look at others we may have judged.
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Help Ensemble Atria and EagerRisk Theater bring this play to the Philadelphia Fringe this September 2016 before its intended Off-Broadway Run in 2017.
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You can help this story be told.