The Owl Girl
Written by Monica Raymond
Presented by Interplay Jewish Theatre and Cleveland Public Theatre
March 10, 2013
2:00pm, James Levin Theatre
FREE
Two families in an unnamed Middle Eastern country both have keys to the same house. What happens when they try to live in it together? The fathers play historical chess; the mothers cook together, even though one uses mint and the other dill; the lovers dare to imagine a future; and war mad children play doctor and murder. But when one girl's dreams of flight are (literally) shot down, the betrayals and realignments which follow make us question our very definition of peace.
Admission is free, although donations are gratefully accepted. Reservations are suggested at interplayjewishtheatre@gmail.com, or by leaving a message at (216) 210-3150.
Monica Raymond is a poet and playwright based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A 2013 winner of the Massacusetts Cultural Council’s Fellowship in Dramatic Writing, she has also been a Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center (Minneapolis) and a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and has received support from the Boston Athenaeum, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Massachusettts Foundation for the Humanities. Her work has been produced or developed by the Huntington Theatre (Boston), Actors Shakespeare Company (Boston), Portland Stage (Maine), Vital Theatre (NYC), the Inkwell, Stage Left (Chicago), Golden Thread Theater (San Francisco), the Montreal and NYC Infringement Festivals and many others, and published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith and Kraus. A 2013 grant from the Cambridge Arts Council will support production of her new mini-opera, PAPER OR PLASTIC. She holds degrees from the University of Chicago, Columbia University and Smith College, and has taught writing and interdisciplinary arts at Harvard, CUNY and the Boston Museum School.
The Owl Girl, winner of the Clauder Gold medal, the Peacewriting Prize and Castillo Theater’s political play prize, has had eight readings around the country. The playwright will be on hand for the Interplay/Cleveland Public Theatre reading and post-show discussion.
Interplay’s founding artistic director, Faye Sholiton, chose the script for its passion and its poetry. “There has been much written about the Middle East stalemate,” she says. “In The Owl Girl, which resonates on a practical level as well as a mythical one, we throw a spotlight on the toll it has taken on the human spirit. As Israeli author Amos Oz has noted, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is ‘a clash between right and right…and often it is a clash between wrong and wrong.’ On the eve of President Obama’s peace initiative, the time feels right to explore how – and if – we can live side by side.”
Featuring Terry Burgler*, Tess Burgler, Holly Holsinger, Matt O’Shea, Laure Perrota*, Kyle Primous*, Lisandra Stebner, Ryan Vincent, Jimmy Woody
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association