IT WILL BE NOW is Two Evocative Solo Performances By Meghan Dolbey And Meme García

This November, Wyrd Sisters Productions and 18th and Union will stage It Will Be Now, a pair of evocative and powerful solo plays written and performed by Seattle-based theatre artists Meghan Dolbey and Meme García. It Will Be Now will feature Unsex Me Here by Dolbey, which explores the journey of power and the sacrifices women have to make in order to achieve it and House of Sueños by García, a story of the construction and deconstruction of a house of dreams. Both pieces are inspired by the plays of William Shakespeare and grapple with his text in a modern context. Directed by Wiley Basho Gorn, performances begin on November 22 and run through November 26 at 18th and Union (1406 18th Avenue). Tickets range $15-$25 and will go on sale Monday, October 30 at www.18thandunion.org.

"These plays reshape and reconsider the way Shakespeare is commonly produced and performed," said García, a Fulbright Scholar who recently returned to Seattle after completing an MA in Classical Acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. "We take his words, make them ours, and fling them back out into the world."

It's a dark night and Meme and Meghan are setting off on a journey through heartbreak, love, and loss. Blood is shed, doors are opened, and Shakespeare is transformed. Macbeth and Hamlet are used to facilitate these women's stories as they delve into the deep humanity of the texts and parallel them with their own artistic vulnerability.

Dolbey and García's pieces have both been previously produced; Dolbey wrote and performed Unsex Me Here when a student at Cornish College of the Arts and García wrote and performed House of Sueños at Seattle University for her Honors in Theatre summary project. Both artists have continued to expand and develop their pieces over the past two years and will perform evocative, reimagined tellings with full lighting, scenic, and sound designs.

About the Writers and Performers

Meghan Dolbey is a Portland native, Seattle-based actor, artist, and activist. Past productions include Comedy of Errors (Greenstage), Not All Fairytales Have Happy Endings (Young Playwrights, ACT), Hamlet (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Marvelous (Live Girls), and The Children's Hour (Intiman). Meghan holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Cornish College of the Arts, performs as her fierce Neo-Burlesque alter ego The Feline Frenzy, and works alongside Rafael Molina in their performance group The Partners. Meghan hopes to continue to share Shakespeare to communities, and pursue her passion for evocative, challenging theatre.

Meme García is a recent graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she received an MA in Classical Acting. She is a Fulbright Scholar and holds degrees in theatre and women and gender studies from Seattle University. Originally from El Salvador, she is committed to reshaping the way society understands and interprets classical texts and stories, as well as creating theatre which subverts cultural norms while raising major questions about gender, race, and class inequality. To her, Shakespeare is not about giving power to the white patriarchy, but rather about uttering words which simultaneously connect us to the human experience and have stood the test of time. She is currently working on a bi-lingual musical adaptation of Troilus and Cressida. She has previously worked with Wooden O, Seattle Repertory Theatre, eSe Teatro, Strawberry Workshop Theatre, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Intiman, Seattle Shakespeare Company, upstart crow collective, The Merc Theatre, the Actor's Shakespeare Project in Boston and Freehold Theatre.

About the Director

Wiley Basho Gorn is a director, musician, sometimes actor, text coach, and avid swing dancer. He moved to Seattle in 2015 as the inaugural recipient of ACT Theatre's Kenan Directing Fellowship. Recent directing credits include Twelfth Night: A Workshop with Music (Solo Bar), As You Like It (ACT Theatre) and The Tempest (Taksu Theatre Co - Brooklyn, NY). Assistant director credits include: Bring Down The House Pt. 1&2 at Seattle Shakespeare Company, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, A Christmas Carol, and Assassins at ACT Theatre. Wiley is thrilled to work with Meghan, Meme, and this incredible team on such exciting new work with a strong classical backbone. He received his BFA from the School of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

About the Creative Team

The creative team includes Becs Richards (scenic design), Lily McLeod (lighting design), Meghan Roche (sound design and production management), Madison Kylie Spillman (stage management) and Karina Garcia (dramaturgy). García's House of Sueños will feature original compositions by Rafael Molina.

About Wyrd Sisters Productions

Wyrd Sisters Productions is a new company founded by a collective of young artists working collaboratively to reimagine and reshape how classical texts are told. Wyrd Sisters Productions is dedicated to producing classical texts which explore and reflect the current political climate as well as giving a voice to people from disenfranchised communities whose stories would otherwise be silenced. These plays do not belong to the white patriarchy, and Wyrd Sisters Productions seeks to reclaim them by speaking words which connect us to the human experience and have stood the test of time.

For tickets ranging $15-$25, which go on sale Monday, October 30, please visit www.18thandunion.org.

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