Two fiercely funny Latinx-American women, two compelling solo comedies about female identity. Written, performed and directed by members of Los Angeles' acclaimed IAMA Theatre Company and filmed live at L.A.'s Pico Playhouse, Anyone But Me, written and performed by Sheila Carrasco, directed by Margaux Susi; and The Oxy Complex, written and performed by Anna Lamadrid, directed by Michelle Bossy, will premiere virtually on March 21 at www.iamatheatre.com, where each will continue streaming through April 18.
In Anyone But Me, Carrasco dissects the psyches of women who struggle with self-identity, exploring the personas we create in order to get by. From the local grocery clerk, to your neighbor's teenage daughter, to that lady from the cult - this play is about women who want to be someone they're not. Someone better, easier, stronger... anyone but them.
"There's a little of me in each of the characters," Carrasco says. "I think most women, at some point in our lives, tend to wrap our identities around a single aspect - a relationship, our job or work ethic, our racial or maybe immigrant background, our perceptions of ourselves as artists. This play is an exploration of all my different alter egos and the insecurities I've had in my life, and about accepting the nuance of everything that makes me who I am. We don't have to be just one thing."
Originally from the South Side of Chicago and an alumna of NYU and Harvard, Carrasco's most recent credits include IAMA's Found: A New Musical ("Carrasco stand[s] out especially" - Stage Raw) and the CBS pilot Ghosts, as Flower, a hippy ghost from the '60s. On TV, she's been seen in I Think You Should Leave with
Tim Robinson, The Good Place, Jane the Virgin, Outmatched, The Odd Couple, Life in Pieces, American Housewife and #VanLife for NBC/Universal. She was selected to perform as one of the JFL New Faces of Comedy. Other credits include CBS Showcase (as both a performer and head writer), the Groundlings, UCB, American Repertory Theatre, Moscow Art Theatre, Steppenwolf Garage and Chicago's Court Theatre. Half Chilean/Mapuche, Carrasco is a creator for Más Mejor, Broadway Video's premium comedy studio for Latinx voices. This is Sheila's first solo theater show, and her first time doing one sans wigs and costumes... so basically naked.
Set during the 500th day of quarantine, LaMadrid's The Oxy Complex is a dark comedy exploring love, sex, loneliness, trauma and the hormone that affects it all - Oxytocin, also known as "the cuddle" or "love" hormone.
"I initially set out to examine the ways that technology interrupts our biology," explains LaMadrid. "But now that quarantine has taken away all our distractions and we have all this time on our hands, how do we reckon with ourselves? Viviana is a fictional character and her story is heightened, but the show is rooted in truth, drawn from personal experience and from other women I know."
A Venezuelan born, East Coast-bred actor living in Los Angeles, LaMadrid starred as sardonic, gum-snapping "Jamie" in the critically acclaimed IAMA production of
Bess Wohl's American Hero ("boundlessly funny" - Los Angeles Times). She won a Stage Raw Award for female comedy performance for her take on "Betty 3" in Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Boops at Boston Court. Her TV credits include Vida on Starz (recurring); Love, Victor on Hulu; Bless This Mess and Grey's Anatomy on ABC; and she was selected to participate in the ABC Discovers Showcase. In 2016, she launched Put Me On Self-Tape, a self-tape and audition coaching studio in L.A.
"Strong female voices have always been at the center of IAMA," state co-artistic directors Stefanie Black and
Katie Lowes. "We knew that supporting Sheila and Anna, two undeniably powerful storytellers who are both ensemble members, was a no-brainer from the jump. Each brings her own unique theatrical expression to our virtual stage, begging the audience to stay present and look within."
Anyone But Me and The Oxy Complex are the third and fourth in IAMA Theatre Company's 2020-21 season of new solo work exploring identity, isolation, race and connection. The season opened with Making Friends written and performed by
Tom Detrinis, also shot live at the Pico Playhouse. Hi, Are You Single?, written and performed by IAMA's 2020 Rhimes Unsung Voices Playwriting Commission recipient Ryan J. Haddad, is currently streaming through Feb. 28, presented by Washington D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with IAMA. Hi, Are You Single? was shot live at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
The creative team for Anyone But Me and The Oxy Complex includes scenic and props designer
Justin Huen, lighting designer R. S. Buck, sound designer John Nobori and dialect coach Lauren Lovett-Cohen. Filming and post-production are by TAKE Creative. The stage manager is Camella Cooper and assistant stage manager is Rose Swaddling Krol. Tanny Jiraprapasuke is the COVID compliance officer.
Lexi Sloan produces and
Terry Li associate produces for IAMA Theatre Company.
Tickets are $15 per household for a single performance (Anyone But Me or The Oxy Complex), and $20 for to view both shows when purchased in a single transaction. Patrons who purchase a single show will receive a $5 discount when purchasing the second show in a separate transaction.
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