My Dear Miss Chancellor

Written by Caitlin Gilman, directed by Elizabeth Hershly
October 23 – November 14, Thurs – Sat at 7:30 pm
PWYC Preview: October 22
PWYC Industry Night: November 2
Opening Night: October 23

First loves, vindictive exes, lavish balls, all the latest fashions-and secret fencing clubs! Janet Chancellor comes to London, giddily anticipating a season of dancing and parlor visits. But once she meets Hazel McGovern, she discovers a world of women living just under the covers of polite society…women who drink, duel, and call each other sweetheart.

“It’s an absolute delight. A witty charmer with very clever dialogue, it brazenly takes on a rather corny, typical romance novel plot of forbidden love, revenge and retribution but does so with great intelligence and an attention to detail…. It’s also aided by astutely confident direction from Elizabeth Hershly who must juggle 13 actors and a lot of set changes on the Annex’s not very large stage, and the usual clever design work from the Annex team including a big effort from the Costume Department for a show with a huge cast and numerous period costume changes. Kudos to Samantha Armitage and her crew. The strong cast brings the story to life and is led with excellent work from leads Sophia Franzella as the new girl in town, the titular Miss Chancellor, who’s come to London to find a husband but instead discovers her Sapphic instincts and is romanced by the proudly fierce renegade Hazel McGovern, superbly played by Tracy Leigh.” – Seattle Gay Scene

“The script is really quite brilliant. There is not a line of unnecessary dialogue and never a moment when we feel like the playwright is working to make the speech sound authentic to the period and the people involved. The action is fast moving and the relationships both touching and believable. Much of that credit should also go to the fine cast and the excellent direction by Elizabeth Hershly. Perhaps what I liked most about this script is that it never felt didactic, but always deeply human. That would only be possible if the performances were equally human.” – Seattle Actor

“…a fantastic production…. This show is recommended for anyone who is ready or eager to see what female liberation can mean…. Samantha Armitage’s costumes are the aesthetic high point of the show. Fancy gowns fall away to high-bosomed corsets and pantaloons when the ladies fight or make love, giving the already scandalous action a peculiar sense of voyeurism.” – Drama In The Hood

Cast:
Alice Bridgforth
Stacey Bush
Alysha Curry
Sophia Franzella
Mike Gilson
Jasmine Joshua
Tracy Leigh
Matthew Middleton
Kendra Pierce
Hannah Schnabel
Steven Sterne
Laurie Utterback
Sarah Winsor

The Tale of Jemima Canard

Written by Brandon J. Simmons
Directed by Carys Kresny

Fri-Sat at 8 pm, April 22-May 21
$15 general / $10 TPS, senior, military / $5 student
PWYC Industry Night: Monday, May 9

There’s something odd about Kilkin Farm. The ducks parade about in skirts and bonnets and carry on forbidden love affairs with the hounds. Badgers and foxes negotiate their bloody deals behind the henhouse, bartering for flesh by day, and stealing it by night. And Miss Potter, the farm’s indomitable mistress, is driven nearly to madness.

Only Potter can unlock the mysteries of this world. As she examines the hidden corners of her own past, layers of passion and regret weave themselves into a tale that blurs the lines between love and violence, food and sex, and ultimately, the artist and the art she creates.

Love! Whimsy! Terror!

The underbelly of Beatrix Potter comes to life in The Tale of Jemima Canard. A young innocent, capricious but willful, falls under the romantic sway of a predatory cad—but the characters are not Edwardian ladies and gentlemen; they are ducks, hounds, badgers, and foxes. As the author is interrogated by one of her own characters, layers of love, envy, jealousy, and much worse become revealed as the play delves into the deceptively whimsical lives of Jemima, her hard-as-nails sister Rebecca, the rugged but earnest St. Hubert brothers, the degenerate Tommy Brock, Miss Potter herself, and the elegant and alarming Tawny Whiskered Gentleman. Seattle actor Brandon J. Simmons makes his playwriting debut with this anthropomorphic dream-play, using Potterʼs The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck as a springboard to explore the nature of fate and time, blurring the lines between animal/human, love/violence, food/sex, and the artist and the art she creates. Directed by Carys Kresny, who previously dug her directorial fingers into dark and roiling emotions in The Changeling and Penetralia at Annex.

CAST
Mary Murfin Bayley Potter
Truman Buffett TWG
Danielle Daggerty Rebecca
James James Leroy/Brock
Martyn G. Krouse Roland
Jillian Vashro Jemima
CREW
Production Director Meaghan Darling
Stage Manager Katie Driscoll
Set Design Emily Reitman
Light Design Tess Malone
Costume Design Hannah Schnabel
Mask Maker/Props Design Cole Hornaday
Sound Design Erin Paige
Fight Choreographer Ryan Spickard
Dialect Coach Pamala Mijatov
Dramaturg Bret Fetzer
Technical Director Ian Johnston