Mad Horse Theatre Company Announces Four Productions For Their 2021-22 Season

With Season 36, Mad Horse Theatre Company presents a season of enticing, provocative plays that explore issues that face us in our increasingly chaotic world. These four productions were selected for their ability to examine the enduring aspects of the human experience with humor, intelligence and empathy.

This season's theme is, "Homecoming." More specifically, our season explores the idea of what it means to be home. For some, "Home" is a place where you feel safe and secure; a place where you experience emotional warmth and feel yourself surrounded by love and affection; Yet at the same time, in some cultures a home isn't just where you are, it's who you are.

Each of these four productions investigate an element of being home. Have we not all yearned for the "safe harbor" of home in reflective or nostalgic moments of our lives as Mae does in You Got Older? How do concepts of home influence our expectations in life as it does with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare in Waiting for Alice? How do concepts of home relate to a person's identity as explored in Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties. Finally, how healthy is a sense of home when so many people live in a world increasingly defined by exile, homelessness, or despair as first told by Homer in The Odyssey? Ultimately, this season investigates how different concepts of home reflect different mindsets in an increasingly decentering world.

We also hope to continue our virtual Artist Chit Chat series that was so fun and successful last season.

You Got Older

by Clare Barron

Directed by Reba Askari | October 7-31

Dumped and fired by her boyfriend/boss, Mae assumes her life can't get worse - until her Dad acquires a rare, aggressive form of cancer. You Got Older is a dark comedy about coming of age as your youth falls apart behind you. Sexual desire, fantasy cowboys, high school boyfriends and family are all part of Mae's hilarious, emotional journey. Barron is not afraid to tackle the grittiest details of sex and death and explore the delicate moments that occur in times of passage.

Waiting For Alice

by Allison McCall

Directed by Chris Defillip | February 3-27

Written by Mad Horse Company Member Allison McCall, Waiting for Alice was produced last season as part of our virtual By Local series. We can't wait to give it a full production on our stage!

The play explores the question: what happens at the Mad Tea Party before Alice arrives...or does she ever? The Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse are occasionally joined by The Cheshire Cat while they entertain themselves around their tea table, forever stuck at 6 o'clock.

Originally written for PortFringe 2015, the initial idea was inspired by conversations with young actors during rehearsals for Alice in Wonderland at the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine. Waiting for Alice delves into the urgency behind rituals and investigates Carroll's Wonderland through an absurdist lens inspired by Beckett and Ionesco.

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties

by Jen Silverman

Directed by Hannah Cordes | April 28 - May 22

Originally planned for our 35th season, Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties is a show we just can't get out of our heads. We're pretty sure you'll feel the same.

Betty is rich; Betty is lonely; Betty's busy working on their truck; Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. And Betty keeps using a small hand mirror to stare into parts of themselves they have never examined. Five different characters named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex, and the "Thea-Tah."

Each of the five Betties is trying to figure out who they are in relation to their significant others and to themselves. Each is going through a personal journey and transformation. What do they want from life? The 5 Betties are ostensibly putting on a full-tilt lesbian/bicurious/genderqueer/Shakespearean comedy for everyone, but in the end are dealing with the anger, love, and loneliness of modern living.

Homecoming: An Odyssey

Ongoing, season-long

Homecoming: An Odyssey is a season-long devising project led by a team of designers and artists working collaboratively over a nine-month period. The project aspires to create a totally original production drawing from Homer's The Odyssey but transcending a linear narrative to explore the theme of homecoming. It will challenge and inspire artists and audience members to think about what a production can be.

The project will kick off at the beginning of the season in September and culminate with a final installation event in June 2022. Throughout the season, we will invite you in to experience the designer and artist collective's original and innovative work.

Support the arts in Maine. Consider donating to Mad Horse Theatre Company and our virtual programming by visiting madhorse.com/contribute.

To post a comment, you must register and login.