exit, a banquet piece, penn state abington, abington, Pa (2022)
Director
“I was mesmerized.” —The Abington Sun
An immersive performance and community meal inspired by William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy, The Winter’s Tale (1611), and adrienne maree brown’s social justice toolkit, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds (2017). Created by students in the Emergent Strategy course, co-taught by Marissa Nicosia, Department of English. Original libretto created in collaboration with guest artist and Pew Fellow Emily Bate.
See “‘Emergent Strategy’: Abolitionist Pedagogy in Pandemic Time” in the Journal of American Drama and Theatre (2023).
Featured in the Penn State Abington news.
Madison Branch (foreground) performs as Time as George Ye (background) performs an original score on the xylophone while Kyleigh Byers leads audience members in a hand-washing ritual.
Production Manager Lisa Suzanne Turner (far left) and Stage Manager Jaleel Hunter (bottom right) share a moment of silence with the audience. All photo credits: Mendal Diana Polish.
(Above) Audience members share stories of suspended time with one another during the pandemic. (Below) George Ye, Trim Walker, Aman Zabian, Jonathan Bercovici, and Madison Branch perform monologues and original songs.
