CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Two plays will be performed in Charlottetown this evening as part of a one-night event presented by The River Clyde Pageant.
Michael Geither and Amy Schwabauer, award-winning playwrights and solo performers from Cleveland, Ohio, are on the Island this month to lead workshops for the 2019 River Clyde Pageant, which runs July 27-Aug. 4.
Both artists will share new solo works with audiences as part of “A Night of New Plays” this evening at The Vessel in Charlottetown.
“A Night of New Plays” will give audiences the chance to experience two new works before they premiere and tour.
Geither will perform “Heirloom”, an autobiographical solo show that takes a personal look at how incest and violence shaped four generations of a Cleveland family. Beginning with the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and moving into the present day, the play traces a history of sexual abuse and violence between brothers, fathers and sisters and between Indigenous people and the national governments of the U.S. and Canada.
The play deals with mature subject matter, referencing violence, rape and sexual abuse.
While it’s set in the United States, Geither is aware of the timeliness of this work in light of the recently released final report of the national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Schwabauer’s play, “This Job is Killing Me”, takes a darkly comedic look at a warrior trapped in the underworld after defying the gods. As punishment, she now must suffer through the worst job in eternity.
Geither and Schwabauer performed their toy theatre show “The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut” last June in Charlottetown and are delighted to be returning to P.E.I. with these latest works in progress.
Admission for “A Night of New Plays” is by donation (cash only).
The Vessel is located at 171 Great George St.
For more information about this event and The River Clyde Pageant performances, visit riverclydepageant.com. Tickets for the pageant go on sale in early July.
