WWTNS? To Present Digital Readings At The BorderLight Festival

What Will the Neighbors Say? has announced that two of their pieces currently in development have been curated to be presented as digital readings at the BorderLight Festival in Cleveland, Ohio in July. New plays by WWTNS? Co-Artistic Directors James Clements and Ana Cristina DaSilva will be presented as part of a dynamic selection of digital arts projects, co-produced by fellow Co-Artistic Director Sam Hood Adrain. The plays - Clements' "Beauty Freak" and DaSilva's "The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost," have been developed by the WWTNS? team over the past year, and these readings will be presented with the support of an A.R.T./New York Creative Space Grant and funding from the Indie Theatre Fund's Urgency Grant. The readings will be available online July 21st-24th. Tickets and further information are available at www.borderlightcle.org and by visiting www.wwtns.org.

Clements' "Beauty Freak" is a play about the controversial German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. The play was researched at the Imperial War Museum and BFI archives in London, the Museum für Fotografie and Film University Babelsberg in Berlin and at USC in Los Angeles. It was developed at the Berliner Schule Für Schauspiel, and again at a workshop presentation that was produced by WWTNS? at the Plaxall Gallery in New York 2018 in association with LIC-Artists. Clements will direct this reading, featuring DaSilva, Hood Adrain, Derya Celikkol, Beatriz Miranda, Thalia Romina and Abram Blau. WWTNS? Resident Artist Pablo Caldéron-Santiago will act as Director of Photography on the project. "I am thrilled to be returning to this challenging, prescient and crucial text at this wonderful festival," said Clements.

DaSilva's "The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost" is a weighty puppet drama following the inner life of a woman as personified by her pet bird. After a sexual encounter with a friend, one where the participant's actions are questionable and difficult to judge, the relationship between the pet and the owner quickly morphs, leading to death, crime, and punishment. DaSilva will direct this reading, featuring Clements, Hood Adrain, Malena Pennycook and KC Athol, with further casting to be announced in the coming weeks. Calderón-Santaigo will again act as Director of Photography on DaSilva's project. "I am so excited to be developing this work with such an excellent and committed group of artists," said DaSilva.

Founded in 2015 by Dale Heinen and Jeffrey Pence, BorderLight's mission is to present visionary international theatre and build cross-cultural understanding. BorderLight launched as a biennial summer theatre festival in 2019. In their inaugural year, BorderLight hosted 40 unique productions and special events from artists from 8 countries + across the US, selling over 4.5K tickets and attracting a total of 10K visitors to downtown Cleveland for free public performances and other special events.

What Will the Neighbors Say? is an investigative theatre company that provokes questions through untold stories. Led by a collaborative cohort of International Artists, the Neighbors present overlooked social, cultural and historical narratives that challenge the audience to reflect on the current moment. Through a combination of original plays, arts education workshops and dynamic community gatherings, the troupe incites rowdy and rigorous debate at the theatre and throughout the Neighborhood.

www.wwtns.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.