PRIMARY Will Be Presented at Weathervane

New Hampshire's award-winning Weathervane Theatre will present its first commissioned play, Primary. Written by Kelly Strandemo, Primary is a comedy about New Hampshire politics and community.

The inspiration for Primary is Strandemo's time in New Hampshire during the 2020 election. While there were false claims of voter fraud investigated during and prior to that election, there were a few questionable cases in the North Country. One of those claims involved one of New Hampshire's most publicized midnight voting towns.

While inspired by politics, Primary is not about the actual primary, but about how the demographics of the North Country are changing. Strandemo spent over a year developing the piece through research, interviews and surveys to incorporate as many of those experiences while maintaining the theme of what does it actually look like to live in community with people who disagree with you in today's society.

"I think we're losing the ability to live in a cohesive harmony space with people we disagree with," said Strandemo. "And that, to me, leads to heads on pikes. That is not a good place to be going. How do you talk about that?"

It's an election year in the Granite State. The dwindling number of residents of a small town are thrilled when a new family moves in, thus ensuring the national attention they receive from their traditional Primary can continue. But when the new residents are anything but "traditional," assumptions of each person's primary desires are uncovered as they navigate how to pursue life, liberty and happiness as a community.

Primary marks the second time Strandemo's work has appeared on the Weathervane stage. In 2020 Weathervane presented Strandemo's political comedy The Congresswomen. Well received by North Country audiences, Weathervane Producing Artistic Director Ethan Paulini knew he wanted to bring Strandemo's work back to the stage.

"I think this is a play I could absolutely program as a production," said Weathervane Producing Artistic Director Ethan Paulini. "It would fit our company. It would fit the mission of our company and the interests of our audiences. It touches on a lot of themes we've been trying to expand to our audiences and it is funny."

Kelly Strandemo previously appeared at Weathervane in The Congresswomen, for which she also served as playwright/adapter. Kelly has appeared on stage off-Broadway, regionally, and in London, and can be seen in the upcoming films Cardiff and B&B With Me. Kelly holds a Master's Degree in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

The cast for Primary features Avery Elledge, Robert H. Fowler, Carrie Greenberg, Ira Kramer, Alex Lanning, Deborah Osborne, Rien Schlecht, and Lew Whitener. Stage directions will be read by Jordan Applewhite, candidate for New Hampshire House of Representatives. It is directed by Ethan Paulini. Primary plays virtually and in person on Friday, September 9th at 2 PM.

Also performing at the Weathervane this weekend is the new work Secretos by Alex Carerra which is a co-production by Out of the Box Theatrics and Jennifer Campos Productions. In person and livestream tickets for both productions are currently on sale at https://www.weathervanenh.org/ootbresidency. Livestream tickets are valid for 48 hours of viewing. Tickets and residency passes range $10 - $20. Tickets can also be ordered via phone at 603-837-9322. Please check the website for current in person COVID-19 seating policies. For pay what you can options please contact ethan@weathervanenh.org

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