New Works Now 9.0

Friday, July 29, at 4 p.m.

Jar of Fat

By Seayoung Yiim

Directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy

In a fantastical fairytale world, two Korean American sisters are deemed too fat to fit in their family grave. Will the sisters’ close bond survive under the pressure of their fretful parents, who will spare no effort to get them tinier? Jar of Fat  is an absurdist comedy that celebrates and explores notions of desire, ugliness, and beauty through the eyes of a family who hides from and in the stuff of fat.

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Saturday, July 30, at 11:00 a.m.

meet you at the Galaxy Diner.

By Gina Fermia

Directed by Rebecca Martinez

Bill is in Alaska and AG is in NY. They’re old High School pals who have nearly forgotten about one another. When they reconnect over AIM after not speaking for 20 years, they find that looking back might help them remember who they are. A quirky comedy about mental health, love and instant messenger.

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Saturday, January 15, 7:30 PM

‘Bov Water

By Celeste Jennings

Directed by Tyler Thomas

After the civil war, a mother and a daughter search for family members who were sold or lost. In 1964, two friends lose touch when one abruptly moves North to avoid trouble. In the mid 70s, another pair of friends struggle to connect when one of them moves away to college and life changes both of them. Today, an artist tries to piece together her family’s stories through the silence. How can you honor your family’s history if you don’t know much about it? A poetic journey, following four generations of Black women wrestling to unearth a family’s past and build resilience for the future.

Celeste Jennings is a playwright and costume designer who is passionate about creating art that challenges social norms and accurately represents minority characters and their stories. Most recently, her choreopoem, Citrus, was produced at Northern Stage. She’s very proud to be working with Northern Stage again! Design credits include: Assistant design credits include Mlima’s Tale (Public Theater) as well as Cardinal (2nd Stage Theatre). Recent design credits include Jonkonnu (Howard University) Twelfth Night (National Black Theatre Festival), It’s Fine, I’m Fine (Dartmouth College), Citrus (Northern Stage), The Ties that Bind (Catholic University).

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New Works Now: Nurturing New Plays for the American Stage

An annual festival of workshops that culminate in free public readings, New Works Now is designed to enrich the theater experience of our audiences and artists who are hungry for daring and impactful stories. Post-show responses are valuable to the play development process and have shown that our unique audiences are willing to engage with new work in a collaborative environment. The festival, held each January, has served as a guiding light for our company and has helped rebrand Northern Stage as a bold and visionary theater.

“How wonderful that Northern Stage is a research and development lab for the next generation of classics!”

– Alex Trow, Actor