Curio Theatre Company Begins 2022-2023 Season With GIDION'S KNOT

Curio Theatre Company begins the season with a play that deals with an incredibly timely issue that is currently in the headlines. Curio begins the season with Gidion's Knot, a play that brings to light the question of who, if anyone, is responsible when a juvenile makes a tragic decision. Written by Johnna Adams, and featuring two renowned members of Curio's Company, Gidion's Knot runs October 26-November 19. Opening Night is Saturday, October 29 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $20 during previews and $30 for the rest of the run. Discounts are available for students and seniors. The show runs Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. with two 3 p.m. matinees on Saturday, November 5 and Saturday, November 19. All performances are in Curio's resident black box theater located inside Calvary Center for Culture and Community at 4740 Baltimore Ave. Tickets and more information are available at www.curiotheatre.org

During a 90 minute parent/teacher conference that takes place in real time, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed elementary school teacher grapple with the tragic suicide of fifth grader Gidion. Who failed Gidion and how? Who, if anyone, is responsible for the failure to recognize such profound distress in Gidion? As the two women use Gidion's own writing to try to get closer to the truth, they come to conclusions both shocking and profound. The Washington Post said Gidion's Knot is "...resonant...[a] particularly eloquent study of people caught between the competing demands of reason, morality and family...harrowing...a narrative that is as elegant as it is chilling."

(Content Warning: This play deals with childhood suicide, as well as descriptive acts of violence and of sexual assault.)

"Discomfort can be a sign that we are doing something right. Bullying, child and teenage suicide, and school violence are here, among us all. These are uncomfortable topics that some choose to ignore or believe that "this couldn't happen in my house"," said the show's director and Curio co-founder Gay Carducci-Kuhn. "As I read this play, and now have moved into rehearsals, I ask myself, how do we support a troubled child? Can we inflict too many of our own beliefs onto them? What should be the roles of parents and teachers in a child's growth and development? Separating you and your child's issues can often be four inches of plaster and wood that can be easily hidden. There is an urgent need for much more mental health care, accessibility, and awareness. How do we get there? This play has loose ends. Like life. This play doesn't answer. It asks."

At the conclusion of select performances Curio will offer talk backs with mental health professionals from Phoenix Center for Experiential Trauma Therapy (www.phoenixtraumacenter.com). These talk backs are designed to deepen the conversations inspired by the play as well as to provide tangible suicide prevention information and education. Talk backs will be offered after the following performances: Thursday, November 3rd at 8pm, Saturday, November 5th at 3pm, Thursday, November 10th at 8pm, Thursday, November 17th at 8pm, and Saturday, November 19th at 3pm.

Curio company member Trice Baldwin-Browns plays the mother, Corryn Fell. Curio company member and Education Director Tessa Kuhn plays teacher Heather Clark. The play is directed by Curio Co-Founder Gay Carducci-Kuhn. Company Co-Founder Paul Kuhn is the Set and Lighting Designer. Company member Aetna Gallagher, Co-founder and Artistic Associate, is the Costume Designer. Damien Figueras is the Sound Designer. Company Member Elizabeth Gallagher is the Set Dresser and the Front of House/Box Officer. Maya Flood is the Stage Manager.

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