For our 2023 Residency we are doing something a little different. Utopian Potluck is a devised theater creation: rather than an individual playwright working on their script and then adding actors into their development process, our ensemble of eight multi-disciplinary theater artists is working collaboratively to create a new play from scratch. The theme of our exploration is building a feminist utopian community. We began rehearsal in January with the following questions: what do you crave from your community, and what does your utopia look like? Very quickly the notion of the potluck emerged as a perfect utopian anchor- a come-as-you-are DIY ethos that honors each person’s unique contribution to the whole.

 

We have been experimenting with structures and forms rooted in viewpoints, moment work, clowning, singing, and more as we pursue the dual-nature of this project: in the process of making a theater piece about utopia, we are creating a utopian model of working together- one that feels intentional, matriarchal, and revolutionary. As we explore questions around ritual, interconnectedness, and re-wilding, we aim to invite our audience into a deeply felt sense of community connection and leave them with a nourishing vision for a better world. The first phase of this project’s development will culminate in a works-in-progress informal sharing in June where we’ll receive feedback from a small invited audience. Development will continue into the fall with a more public presentation happening in November.

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The first four months of collaboration have included the following multidisciplinary artists: Sarah Marcus, Rachel F. Hirsch, Tracy Einstein,

Allie Wittner, Katrina Goldsaito, Mary Beth Brooker, Brianna Sloane,

and Trenda Loftin.