DIRECTOR’S NOTE

When I first read Seahorse about a year ago, I was drawn to its poetry, its blurring of the constraints of time, space, and bodies. Beyond what Reuben says explicitly, JC’s stage directions offered a glimpse into his inner world. As a reader, I was sometimes observing the lone character, at times in his head, at times inside his body. There was an intimacy to them that I wanted to explore further and give the audience access to. This experimental performance style with live audio description integrated into the play, is my attempt to do just that. I (with a bit of help from Malcolm) adapted the original stage directions into lines to be spoken by an ensemble surrounding Reuben. Inspired by disability aesthetics, we’ve asked: How can an accessibility tool like audio description function beyond accommodation to be a central part of the storytelling? What additional layers of meaning can it add when the audio description becomes a character (or three) in and of itself? How can this approach offer an intimate form of performance and deeper exploration of queer-trans embodiment and narrative?

The actors have taken scripts with lines converted from stage directions and found characters within them, each with a unique personality, perspective, and relationship to Reuben. They are part Greek chorus, part group of friends, part physical manifestation of Reuben’s emotions. They are all in his head, and they are very real. We hope that they will help you engage more deeply in Reuben’s story in all its layers, contradictions, pain, grief, camp, and radical hope, just as they have for us. Thank you for joining us.

–Nicolas Shannon Savard, director

Live performances: April 7 and 8, 2023, 7:00pm

Maelstrom Collaborative Arts

Recorded performance for digital streaming: Available May 10-31, 2023

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SCENES

First Try. Juliet. (Reuben’s bedroom)

Interlude. Francis. (a glimpse of the past)

Second Try. Zeus. (Reuben’s bedroom)

Interlude. Francis. (a glimpse of the past)

Third Try. St. Francis of Assisi.

Interlude. Francis. (a memory)

Fourth Try. Parachute. (Reuben’s bedroom and the sky)

Fifth Try. Small light. (the bottom of the sea)

CAST

Emmett Podgorski, REUBEN

Justin Miller, FRANCIS and AUDIO DESCRIBER

Samantha Cocco, AUDIO DESCRIBER

Minor Stokes, AUDIO DESCRIBER

Kassie Rice, STAGE MANAGER VOICE OVER (digital production)

PRODUCTION TEAM

J.C. Pankratz, playwright

Nicolas Shannon Savard, director

Kassie Rice, technical director/stage manager/poster design

Justin Miller, sound designer

James Egbert, assistant sound designer/board operator

Cassie Harner (aka Dusty Bucket), lead             costume/set/props designer

Kara Nottingham, assistant set/prop designer/video recording

Malcolm Miller, marketing/accessibility/audio description assistance

Liz Thomson, audio description consultant

This production of Seahorse is presented in conjunction with the 2023 Cleveland Humanities Festival and co-sponsored by the Baker Nord Center for the Humanities, the Humanities in Leadership Learning Series, and Synecdoche Works. Additional thanks to all those who helped get all of these wonderful artists in the same room together to tell this complex, poetic, messy queer story—facilitating connections between CWRU staff, students, and local artists: Jeremy Paul and Jasmine Golphin at Maelstrom Collaborative Arts, Cassandra Veney with HILLS, Maggie Kaminski at the Baker Nord Center, Samantha Cocco at the Social Justice Institute, Erin Benay, Dr. Lady J, Josie Jones, Kate Smith. And, of course, thank you to Jennifer Mosier at Synecdoche Works for introducing me to J.C. and to this story.

For your information…

As a trans theatremaker and educator, I feel it’s important to acknowledge that we don’t tell this story in a vacuum. Trans art and trans stories are always political. Even more so in the state of Ohio in 2023. If you enjoyed the show and want to continue hearing complex trans stories told in exciting new ways, we need you to support the trans community—help us stay here and build futures.

There are so many organizations doing great work both in the Cleveland area and statewide—check them out to learn how you can support trans lives here in Ohio!

TransOhio—legal support, education, advocacy

Equality OH—LGBTQ advocacy in state and local politics; community organizing

LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland

The Buckeye Flame—Ohio’s LGBTQ online newspaper

Camp Lilac—NE-OH camp for trans and gender diverse youth

Colors+ Youth Center

Qu Theatre—LGBTQ+ affirming arts programming

Margie’s Hope/Margie’s Closet—trans community organization and       gender affirming clothing swap program

PFLAG Cleveland—educational resources for families and allies  looking to support LGBTQ individuals