The Violet Sisters
by Gina Femia
SETTING
Place: A kitchen in a house in Red Hook, Brooklyn
Time: October 2012, about a week after Hurricane Sandy
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
CAST
Lauren Briggeman (Sam) is a professional actor and director, and the Founding Artistic Director of Summit Performance Indianapolis. She is a proud company member of Indianapolis Shakespeare Company and a member of Actors' Equity Association. Most recently, she could have been seen onstage in Phoenix Theatre's production of "The Agitators" by Mat Smart. She would like to express her sincere gratitude to Gina for allowing Summit and The New Harmony Project to workshop her beautiful play this week.
Maria Argentina Souza (Pam) is thrilled to be a part of this workshop and to have a chance to work with these amazing humans! Off-Broadway: Miranda (The Tempest), Mel (Does This Woman Have a Name), Margaret (The Mistress of Wholesome), Woman (HAK). Regional: Lily Booker (Current Economic Conditions: A Comedy), Lucinda (The History of Cardenio), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Antigone (The Theban Plays), Eliza Doolittle (Pygmalion), Liz (ReEntry), Adriana (The Comedy of Errors), Ophelia (Hamlet), and Libby (Blue Window). Maria received her MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School. What a piece of work is man.
Creative Team
Gina Femia (Playwright) Gina's work has been seen/developed at MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, EST, The Flea, Page 73, Playwrights’ Center, CTG, Theater of NOTE, among others. Plays include ALLOND(R)A (2019 Kilroys List, Winner: Leah Ryan Prize, Runner-up, Yale Drama Prize), THIS HAPPENED ONCE AT THE ROMANCE DEPOT OFF THE I-87 IN WESTCHESTER (2019 Kilroys List Honorable Mention), We Are a Masterpiece (Winner: The Doric Wilson Award, Stage Rights publishing), The Mermaids' Parade (Finalist, American Blue Ink Award, Semifinalist, The Relentless Award, Finalist, Princess Grace Award). Gina is the 2020 Otis Guernsey New Voices award winner, a Core Writer with the Playwrights Center, and am alum of EST Youngblood, Page73's Interstate 73, Pipeline Theatre’s PlayLab, New Georges' Audrey Residency, Ingram New Plays Lab & Parsnip Ship's Radio Roots writer's group. Gina has received residencies with Page73, Powerhouse, NTI at the O’Neill, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and Fresh Ground Pepper. MFA, Sarah Lawrence College (Lipkin Prize in Playwriting).
Lori Wolter Hudson (Director) is Artistic Director of The New Harmony Project. In Indianapolis she has directed Gail Payne in Grounded, Silent Sky for Summit Performance Indianapolis, Stuart Little at Indiana Repertory Theatre, and a workshop of Q2: a 21st Century Musical which had a benefit concert at The Cabaret in June of 2019 supporting Trinity Haven. It was a gift to collaborate with Summit on this project and workshop this play with such an incredible team of artists. More info at www.newharmonyproject.org and www.loriwhudson.com.
Heather Helinsky (Dramaturg) is a freelance dramaturg based in Philadelphia and the current Literary Manager for Playwrights Foundation/Bay Area Playwrights Festival, as well as the 10th Annual Jewish Plays Project. Fifteen years of experience as a professional dramaturg, specifically in the area of new play development and focused on advocating for underrepresented voices. She is an independent dramaturg providing research and analysis, consultation, and workshops to playwrights, directors, theater companies, and college-level education programs. Select theatres: Accessible Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Apothetae, Borderlands, Denver Center, Great Plains, PA Shakespeare Festival, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical, Pittsburgh Public, Seven Devils, TheatreSquared, Woolly Mammoth, Venus Theatre and 6NewPlays in San Francisco, amongst others. Heather has a huge heart for mentoring the next generation of dramaturgs and playwrights, and since 2012, has been a guest artist in various capacities for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, including the Kennedy Center’s Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop and the VSA’s Discovery Series for emerging writers with disabilities. Training/Awards: M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from the A.R.T./Moscow Art/Harvard (’07) and the O’Neill National Critics Institute (’16). Current board member for LMDA as VP of Freelance.
Natasha Schlaffer (Directing Intern/Stage Directions) she/her, earned her BFA in Acting from Penn State in 2020. Theatre credits include #25 in The Wolves, Abigail in The Crucible, and Claire in Jen Silverman’s new play Bonnets. She’d like to thank Lori for the opportunity and Gina for sharing this beautiful play. Instagram: @natashaschlaffer