Honest Accomplice Theatre's 'ReconFIGUREd' to Explore How Bodies Enable, Constrain and Define Us

Honest Accomplice Theatre presents ReconFIGUREd, co-created and directed by Maggie Keenan-Bolger and Rachel Sullivan, presented at University Settlement (184 Eldridge Street, New York NY) August 9, 10, 11, 12 at 8pm. For more information and tickets, go to honestaccomplice.org.

The humor, the pain, the awesomeness, and the awkwardness of bodies.

We live in our bodies. They enable us, constrain us, and sometimes define us. As women and trans people our bodies are the objects of much attention, discussion, politics and more. Through the journeys of 7 people, ReconFIGUREd examines "the body" with a fresh eye, and unveils the realities of what it means to live in and with female and trans bodies.

After sold out runs of ReconFIGUREd at The Tank in January 2017, Honest Accomplice Theatre (HAT) returns to the stage with a revised and updated version of this popular show. ReconFIGUREd began development in 2015 when HAT distributed a survey taken by 1,200 people and learned "the body" ranked as the number one topic people would like to see explored on stage. In 2016 HAT hosted over 20 free community brainstorming workshops to hear what topics and issues are important to highlight in their show. The Honest Accomplice ensemble has been generating original material and rehearsing the piece for over one year to create a show that explores the body from multiple perspectives and backgrounds.

Featuring: Amy Ackerman, Ashleigh Awusie, Simona Berman, Maybe Burke, Jenne Carey, Meggan Dodd, Catherine Fisher, Lindsay June Griffin, Jordan Ho, Julia Osen Averill, Morgan Russell.

Assistant directors/stage managers Shira Gitlin and Kayla Iorio, original songs by EllaRose Chary (lyrics) and Teresa Lotz (music), set design by Michelle Tse, costume design by Amanda Roberge and Megan Rutherford, sound design by Nathan Gregory, lighting design by Maybe Burke, props by Lauren Graneto.

Honest Accomplice Theatre's (HAT) mission is to drive individual acceptance among, and incite community dialogue about, women and trans people. They do this by exploring topics that are often silenced, seen as shameful, or portrayed as one-dimensional. HAT energizes that community, and those around them, by engaging professionals and members of the community to devise new work that surfaces the nuanced and personal experiences of women and trans people. This approach empowers the community itself with opportunities to construct and own their narratives, as well as engage audiences, allowing them to relate experiences played on stage to those in their own lives. HAT creates work in New York City and then tours to community centers, universities, high schools, and senior centers, allowing their art to stimulate dialogue with an ever growing number of people. Visit Honestaccomplice.org.

Photo by Marielle Solan