McCarthy's thriller theatre follows nonbinary playwright Sloane and their botanist husband Gwyn settling the estate of Sloane's ailing grandmother.
What do you get when A24's golden renaissance of horror is captured through a propulsive and urgent tragicomedy? McCarthy's haunting, yet bitingly funny thriller theatre follows nonbinary playwright Sloane and their botanist husband Gwyn settling the estate of Sloane's ailing grandmother. A sudden spiral of Sloane's obsession with completing their masterpiece in the house forces Gwyn to question the safety of Sloane regurgitating their family trauma into their art. When Gwyn's childhood friend Beckham arrives to help the couple bury the hatchet, they soon discover there may be more to the house, and to Sloane, hidden beneath the foundation. If the basement is the stomach... then what's the basement door? Ivories explores the cycles of generational trauma we inherit, the spectrum of bisexuality and trans identity, and how far we'd go to protect the family we've chosen.
The Brick's Brick Aux space hosts the production from March 24th-26th, before it moves to The Makers Ensemble's Makers Space from March 31st-April 2nd.
Directed by and starring Riley Elton McCarthy as Sloane, they are joined by Raffi Manjikian as Gwyn, and Michael Darby as Beckham for all evening performances of the show. The matinee (2PM) performances will be performed by Júlia Cerqueira as Sloane, Greg Pernicone as Gwyn, and Ryan Pangracs as Beckham. At all performances, the roles of The Neighbors will be performed by Matteá Occhino and Chloe Kramer.
IVORIES is produced and sound designed by Gustavo Blaauw, and assistant directed by Chloe Kramer. IVORIES is lighting designed by Nick Godfrey, and stage managed by Elena Jenson. IVORIES is a Basement Light Productions flagship production, expanding upon the smash-hit workshop run in 2021 as part of The Tank's PrideFest. IVORIES has received developmental support from Elephant Room Productions and Marymount Manhattan College.
McCarthy writes, "IVORIES is a love letter to contemporary horror film and interrogates the tropes that we must leave behind. Evoking a middle ground between Hereditary and Scream, it makes you laugh and it also fills you with absolute dread. However, most importantly, writing queer theatre and telling a nonbinary story through Sloane and positive bisexual representation in all three characters through the lens of horror is a step towards queer liberation and reclamation of stories where we deserve to exist. IVORIES dares to deconstruct toxic masculinity, the anti-hero and the American dream through three proudly, and openly, bisexual characters whose fatal flaw is loving one another a little too much. It is especially an honor to tell this story with a queer production team with a predominantly trans and gender nonconforming cast, and be supported by queer-positive venues as we continue to tell this story. Trans stories told by trans playwright matter."
IVORIES runtime is approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. General seating is $20, premium seats $30-40. There will be a talkback following the March 26th 6PM performance with Riley, the cast, and the producer.
Tickets are available now.
Ticketing Link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ivories-at-brick-aux-tickets-482853948157
Web Links:
https://www.bricktheater.com/event/ivories/2023-03-24/
https://makersensemble.org/now-playing
Brick AUX and The Makers Ensemble will host an intimate production of Riley Elton McCarthy's Ivories from March 24th through April 2nd.
TALKBACK PERFORMANCE: MARCH 26TH at 6PM
IVORIES
March 24-26, 2023
at Brick Aux - 628 Metropolitan Ave
March 31-April 2
$20-40 sliding scale
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