The Mermaid Workshop
Fall 2009
Written By Jessica Fleitman
Directed By Chloe Demrovsky
Be Careful What You Fish For
We will be presenting an Invited Reading of The Average-Sized Mermaid at The Dramatists’ Guild on November 20, 2009 and a preview scene at the FAR Showcase at Dixon Place on December 14, 2009. More information coming soon.
Our process begins with a three-month workshop process, in which Company Member, Chloe Demrovsky, will direct a full cast of actors, including Company Member Michelle Concha and newcomers Chris Beier, Seth Andrew Bridges, Leslie Boles and Starr Kirkland. Jessica will work with NYU-trained dramaturg, Pip Ngo, and producer Rebecca Jones to help the play reach its fullest potential. We have already received our first big contribution to the production: we were awarded an Emerging Artists Residency Grant by The Field. This exciting grant allows us use of a state of the art rehearsal studio in Manhattan for our development process.
THE AVERAGE-SIZED MERMAID is an outrageous parable that will have you laughing your tail off. In the classic fairytale, a mermaid gave up her fins to follow a prince, only to lose him to another woman. Miriam, an elementary school teacher, transforms into a mermaid to get back at her unfaithful fiance. What she doesn’t see coming is that she must now take responsibility for a national feminist movement, and her own feelings are a little more complicated than she had foreseen. Toss an unconventional prince charming into the mix, and Miriam may be in over her head.
Jessica Fleitman is an award-winning playwright and graduate of UC Santa Barbara. Notable credits include Word of the Day (Magic Theatre in San Francisco, Sloan Foundation commission recipient) The Average-Sized Mermaid (UCSB’s New Plays Festival, Corwin Award: Best One-Act Play), and Deuteranomaly (finalist in the Strawberry One-Act Festival 2009). While some said New York simply wasn’t ready for a writer from a middle-class Jewish background, Jessica knew this unique life experience would add a fresh perspective to the city’s theatrical and literary scene, and she bravely moved to Brooklyn. She is a proud member of the Playwrights Group and the Dramatists Guild of America.
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