Gloria on ACT's Mainstage

I am so excited to be working on my first ACT mainstage show with my fellow Fight Director, Danielle O'Dea. This show presents many challenges - one of which being the use of firearms. Many of my colleague's across the nation talk about how prominent firearms are on their local stages, but I have found the opposite in my career. Perhaps it's because I live in blue California, but I have found many director's shying away from guns and preferring the use of swords. I think this stems from many things: the immediate threat that firearms present to our modern audiences and the logistical headache that using firearms in the theatre can cause. In this case - firearms are integral to the show. I won't say more, but come check out this piece.

GLORIA

by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Eric Ting

Feb 13–Apr 12, 2020 A.C.T.’s Strand Theater

Gloria runs 2 hours and 5 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, this scalpel-sharp dark comedy explores how we cope with trauma and the tales we tell each other to escape. In the dog-eat-dog office of a New York magazine, twenty-somethings Ani, Dean, and Kendra compete for a book deal to kick-start their careers. But after tragedy strikes, which one of them will write the story? MacArthur “Genius” winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, Everybody) reunites with Cal Shakes Artistic Director Eric Ting, who directed the playwright’s An Octoroon (2017) at Berkeley Rep. Shocking, satirical, and viciously funny, Gloria is a thought-provoking work from a powerhouse playwright.

This production contains strong language, loud noises, gun shots on and off stage, violence, and mature themes.