Christine Stoddard's MI ABUELA, QUEEN OF NIGHTMARES Movement Excerpt At Chashama Festival

An excerpt of the movement from Christine Stoddard's play "Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares," as devised by movement director Fiamma Piacentini for the Gene Frankel Theatre run directed by the playwright, will be presented at the 2022 Chashama Fest in Pine Plains, New York on October 1st.

The performers will include Christine Stoddard ("Ancestor"), Amanda Andrews ("Jaguar"), Nicole Pascaretta ("Owl"), and Fiamma Piacentini ("Cactus"). Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Maya, a young Salvadoran-American woman, navigates trauma and family mythology through magic and folklore as she comes of age in Phoenix, Arizona. Her story explores mother-daughter relationships, mixed race identity, being the first-generation child of an immigrant, growing up without a father, and fantasy as a coping mechanism, while featuring movement and dance. And there are owls, jaguars, and cacti-oh, my!

Christine Stoddard ("Ancestor"): ​Christine Stoddard is a Salvadoran-American writer, actor, director, and artist creating books, films, plays, paintings, etc. She wrote/directed the play Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares and the arthouse film Sirena's Gallery, and authored the books Heaven is a Photograph, Desert Fox by the Sea, and Water for the Cactus Woman, among others. She regularly writes, directs, performs, and produces shows at the Broadway Comedy Club and the Greenwich Village Comedy Club. As an undergrad, she created Quail Bell Magazine and founded Quail Bell Press & Productions, which she runs today.

Fiamma Piacentini ("Cactus") is a New York City based Actor, Movement Artist, Director, and Photographer from Mexico City, Mexico. Her most recent theater project was Christine Stoddard's My Abuela Queen of Nightmares at the Gene Frankel Theater, where she played the role of "Abuela" and also served as movement director. She also directed, produced, and performed in las:sitas: a movement exploration of the divine feminine at the Fringe NYC Festival. Other NYC theater credits include The House of Bernarda Alba, By Wing, Hoof or Foot, Macbeth, Miss Witherspoon, Through the Looking Glass, Andromache, and The Insanity of Mary Girard. She has also worked on various independent film projects.

Amanda Andrews ("Jaguar") is an actress, singer, and writer who especially delights in bringing new works to life. In the past year, Amanda has had the great joy of acting in 5 of Christine Stoddard's original plays including Cyber Cinderella, Forget Fairytales, Hashtag Mountain Girl, Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares, and My Favorite Sex Toy. In addition to acting in a variety of plays, films, musicals, cabarets, and workshops, Amanda has also performed in 3 pieces that she wrote and produced: 2 rock & roll plays about mental health: "Brilliant, But Off..," and "Everything's Fine!", and a short film: "...But A Dream". In addition to creative endeavors, Amanda loves to fill her days with yoga, dogs, long walks, good friends, and adventures. More at www.AmandaAndrews.net @amandrews31

Nicole Pascaretta ("Owl") is an NYC-based actor/singer/dancer/musical improvisor/comedian originally from Detroit, MI. Her most recent choreography credits include The Detroit Musical and Greece - A Musical Parody. Nicole and her comedy partner, Julia Schroeder, will be headlining the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival with their original two-woman show, The Parent Trap: Lord of the Twins Trilogy, a theatrical reimagining of The Parent Trap (1998 version) with a Lord of the Rings twist. Follow @parenttraptrilogy on Instagram for NYC showings. When she's not in the Shire, she can be found performing musical comedy and sketches with her duo, Bring Your Own Bob. She would like to thank the cast and crew of Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares for this opportunity and her first dance teacher, Sherry Lisjak, for sparking her passion for dance and changing her life.

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