By Lindsay Joelle, Directed by Olivia Facini
(October 2024)
Our Site-Specific Workshop Presentation
When I first read Dalloway, I instantly knew that we had to stage it in a garden. The East Village community gardens were the perfect setting, with their magical features (a treehouse! a gazebo!) and hidden nooks that seem made for sneaking a cigarette, whispering a heartfelt confession, and maybe even telling a naughty joke.
My goal is staging Dalloway in the East Village community gardens was to bring people together to experience nature and Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece like never before: audience members sat on benches and cushions throughout the garden as our actors talked and weaved around them, immersing them in the story, connecting them to the gardens and the city, and giving them an intimate experience rarely found at conventional theaters.
A Wonderful Team
I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the wise, gifted Lindsay Joelle, whose plays have been produced by the Geffen Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Audible, and many others.
To help us bring Dalloway to life, we had an amazing group of actors, who are as kind as they are talented: Lucas Iverson, Sarah Lasko, Haley Schwartz, Omar Shafiuzzaman, and Chloé Lexia Worthington.
And many heartfelt thanks to our wonderful stage manager, Guadalupe Chavezmalagon.
More About the Play
Dalloway, a new four-person play by Lindsay Joelle, is a feminist, queer-positive, pop-period prequel to Virginia Woolf’s celebrated Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissa, a bookish Victorian young woman, auditions a slew of suitors to save her family from financial ruin, while an unexpected romance with a socialite suffragette dares her heart to forge a brave new path (like Downton Abbey meets The Bachelorette). Through humorous, quippy banter and heartfelt confessions, the play touches on many pressing contemporary issues, including bodily autonomy, mental health visibility, multicultural equity and inclusion, and LGBTQ+ acceptance and legal protection.
Run time: 90 minutes
Credit for all photos on this page: the amazing Travis Emery Hackett
