Two plays will be performed in Charlottetown this Friday, as part of a one-night event presented by The River Clyde Pageant. Michael Geither and Amy Schwabauer, award-winning playwrights and solo performers from Cleveland, Ohio, are on PEI to lead workshops for the 2019 River Clyde Pageant. Both artists will share new solo works with audiences as part of “A Night of New Plays” at 7:00pm on Friday June 14, at The Vessel in Charlottetown.
“A Night of New Plays” will give audiences the chance to experience two new works before they premiere and tour. Michael will be performing Heirloom, an autobiographical solo show that takes a personal look at how incest and violence shaped four generations of a Cleveland family. Beginning with the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and moving into the present day, the play traces a history of sexual abuse and violence between brothers, fathers and sisters and between Indigenous people and the national governments of the US and Canada.
Audiences are advised that Heirloom deals with mature subject matter, referencing violence, rape and sexual abuse. While the play is set in the United States, Michael is aware of the timeliness of this work in light of the recently released Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. “I'm eager to share the story of my mother's family with a Canadian audience because it deals with two topics that cut across borders - incest and the First Nations genocide,” he says. “With this play, I’m seeking to understand how the lives we live today are shaped by the trauma of past generations.”
Amy’s play, This Job is Killing Me, takes a darkly comedic look at a warrior trapped in the underworld after defying the gods. As punishment, she now must suffer through the worst job in eternity. Amy and Michael performed their toy theatre show The Events of the Warren County Fair as Observed by a Young Astronaut last June in Charlottetown, and are delighted to be returning to PEI with these latest works in progress.
Admission for “A Night of New Plays” is by donation (cash only). The Vessel is located at 171 Great George Street. Doors open at 6:30pm, show begins at 7:00pm.