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Misconceptions is a new play opening this May in NY, presented by physical theatre company Blessed Unrest, written by the Emmy-nominated playwright Steve Wangh, and directed by Jessica Burr. Described as “A very serious – and very funny – play about abortion”, the production discusses the social and political landscape in the USA about women’s health.
Blessed Unrest, an award-winning physical theatre company, enters its 23rd season with a world premiere of Misconceptions. Developed over 30 years of research and featuring material from interviews with women personally facing abortion, the piece took over a decade to write.
Performed by a cast of seven actors (six of whom are playing multiple characters, both real and imaginary) and arriving soon after the demise of Roe vs. Wade, Misconceptions takes a careful look at the divisive subject of abortion and approaches it with intimacy and humor as a means to push beyond banal talking points.
Misconceptions is a very serious—and very funny—play about a mother who questions motherhood: The story of a woman who dares to search for answers… wherever they take her. It is also a dramatic inquiry into the performance of fact and fiction, an exploration of how verbatim theater, performance art, and magical realism frame reality. Presented with Blessed Unrest’s award-winning imagination, humor, and artistic risk-taking, Misconceptions illuminates the personal stories which underlie the political posturing of post-Roe America.
Director Jessica Burr says:
“Each testimony included in this play is real, and each is moving in unique ways. You won’t hear these stories anywhere else, and you certainly won’t hear such a varied array of experiences.
This play is not attempting to convince anyone of anything. It is simply presenting the intimate details of the authentic female experience. You make up your own mind.”
Playwright Steve Wangh adds:
“Abortion is always a very visceral and a very personal decision. In America today, it can also be a difficult and dangerous political act. With Misconceptions, Blessed Unrest makes very visceral, very personal, and dangerously difficult political theater.”
The show is performed by Rich Brown, Hilary Dennis, Ethelyn Friend*, Sean Mana*, Shah Motia, Julie Becker, and Celli L. Pitt*. Misconceptions features set design by Calypso Michelet, costume design by Sera Bourgeau, sound design by Ryan Gamblin, and lighting design by Jay Ryan.
* Appearing courtesy of the Actor’s Equity Association.
Jessica Burr (Director) is the founding Artistic Director of Blessed Unrest and a recipient of numerous awards, including the 2019 Kennedy Center ACTF Commendation for Distinguished Leadership, First Prize at the 2016 Secondo Festival (Switzerland), the 2011 LPTW Lucille Lortel Award, and multiple NY Innovative Theatre Awards. Burr was recently named Artist in Residence at Sacred Heart University (CT) in recognition of her work on The Untitled Othello Project.
She has directed and choreographed over twenty productions and workshops for Blessed Unrest, including Body: Anatomies of Being (New Ohio), The Snow Queen (2019 Independent Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production of a Play), This Is Modern Art (New York Theatre Workshop Next Door), Refuge (with Kosovo’s Teatri ODA, Baruch Performing Arts Center), and Battle of Angels (commissioned by the 2021 Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival). Burr has taught workshops and directed at The Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival, Texas Tech University, Stephens College (MO), Eastern New Mexico University, Centenary College (NJ), and Prishtina University (Kosovo). She has degrees in theatre and dance from Bard College.
Steve Wangh (Playwright) is a director, acting teacher, and the author of fifteen plays. He was Associate Writer for The Laramie Project (Emmy nomination 2002), and writer, with Leigh Fondakowski, of The People’s Temple (Glickman Award: Best Play in the Bay Area 2005). He was the dramaturg of Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency. In 2020 his live-zoom play The Waiting Room was produced by the Silverthorne Theater Company in Greenfield, MA.
He is the author of two books about teaching acting: An Acrobat of the Heart, 2000, and The Heart of Teaching, 2012. In 1967, Steve studied with Polish director Jerzy Grotowski and has taught acting at Emerson College, at Naropa University, and at New York University, where he is now Arts Professor Emeritus. During the past ten years, Steve has trained actors in Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, and at the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Palestine.
Blessed Unrest is a subversive physical theater ensemble that transforms new and classic plays into channels for unexpected alchemy, energetic discomfort, and complex articulation. Through a dedicated and diverse ensemble, international collaborations, and a rigorous training and devising process, they are fueled by the innate human desire to collaborate, the thrill of the impossible challenge, and the instinctual need to rebel. Now in its 23rd season of generating original theatre in NYC and touring worldwide, the group received many accolades, including four New York Theatre Awards (twelve nominations), the Cino Fellowship for Sustained Excellence, the LPTW Lucille Lortel Award, and first prize at the 2016 Secondo Theatre Festival (Switzerland). The company’s work has been praised for “magnetism and electricity” (TimeOut NY) and “physical ingenuity and visual artistry”
Misconceptions runs from 11th May – 3rd June 2023
Previews: 11 – 12 May at 7:30 pm
Opening Night: Sat, 13 May at 7:30 pm
Performances run Mon, Thu – Sat and Sun, from 14th May at 7:30 pm, and following Sundays at 5:00 pm
The play will start previews at the 122CC Theater (150 1st Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10009) on Thursday, 11th May, with opening night on Saturday, 13th May, and a limited run (Thu-Sun) through to 3rd June.
Tickets are on sale ($25 previews; $30 rest of the run) and can be purchased now.
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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