Follower at Theatre Row

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2. Follower

Written and performed by Katheryn McGaffigan and co-directed by Maria Luisa Gambale, Follower is a gripping exploration of the methodical mind of a female stalker. A former runaway with a troubled past gets a second chance at life from the most unlikely project: following and meticulously researching her high-achieving college classmate, whose life is in stark contrast to her own. On a desperate quest for direction and identity, her innocent admiration for him quickly becomes obsession. If she studies his life closely enough, can she use it as a guide for her own transformation? As her fixation intensifies and her feelings for him grow more complex, this thought-provoking performance reveals the extremes we may go to find ourselves. An unparalleled examination of stalking, obsessiveness, limerence, self-identity, and resilience.

“I wanted to explore the concept of following; we live in a society of following, driven by our number of followers and steered by the algorithms that follow us,” said McGaffigan. “Following gone-too-far is stalking, but where is the line? The only voices that are viral about the topic of stalking today are male, as seen in shows like Netflix’s Baby Reindeer and You. A strong, insightful female voice is long overdue in this compelling and controversial conversation. We haven’t even begun to unpack the distorted, sensationalistic views of following and stalking that permeate our culture – and we’re all participating in it to some degree at this point.”

The runtime is 45 minutes with no intermission.

Excerpts of Follower were performed as part of the live storytelling event, The Tell, hosted and curated by Michael Leviton.