Aria Creative Productions Presents Staged Reading of Heart-Land, a Lesbian Drama
San Antonio, TX (July 18, 2022) – Aria Creative Productions will present a staged reading of Heart-Land by Leslie Powell. The reading will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 21, 2022 at Alamo City Studios. Jade Esteban Estrada will direct. Alamo City Studios is located at 1113 Houston Street in San Antonio, Texas. Seating is limited. Face masks are recommended. General admission tickets are $10. Tickets are available at the door or online at ShowTix4u (in-person) and on Brown Paper Tickets (virtual via Zoom).
The reading was originally slated for June 23 in observance of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, but was postponed due to a Covid case that was reported among the staff.
This is the fifth installment of the New Play Development Series. The purpose of the program is to give playwrights an opportunity to further develop new works.
Each official selection of the series will receive two rehearsals before the staged reading and an audience feedback session.
Heart-Land is the psychological story of Jackie, a young professional who falls in love with Celeste, a woman running from her past and an abusive relationship. When Jackie receives a call from her former fiance, the exchange puts the couple’s relationship in the balance.
When asked what she hoped audiences would take away from her play, Powell stated: “Firstly, I would wish that the audience experience the play viscerally rather than analytically. I hope the play provokes questions, rather than providing answers,” she said. “What is ‘reality’? Where does our reality exist? Do we make it all up as we go along? What is the nature of the ‘feminine?’ Do we have any idea? Or has the centuries of oppression toward women from the patriarchy rendered her nature unknowable, as John Stuart Mill stated in the 19th century. After all, once again we live in a country where women have lost sovereignty over their own bodies.
“Also, I see the play with aspects of a ‘fem noir’: dark, moody, sexual, dangerous, operating in a kind of a mythic world where things are fluid, and nothing is quite what it seems to be,” she continued.
“That being said the play also explores the power dynamics of same-sex relationship that may include emotional and/or physical abuse. Not to make this an ‘issue’ play, but a vehicle to open doors to conversations that too often remain hidden. We cannot heal from what is unacknowledged. Other possible takeaways: Know thyself and know the effects we have on others, such awareness matters. Acting on our awareness may avoid tragedy and offer hope instead.”
The cast includes Amy Abrigo, Val Martinez, Kristen Chen, Karen Ross Garrett, and former San Antonio City Councilwoman Delicia Herrera.
Leslie Powell’s plays have been read and produced throughout the United States and in Toronto, Canada as a part of the InspiraTO Festival. Take That Thing Off was a recent Zoom Play Winner from the Actors Lab of Santa New Mexico. Before moving to Tucson, Arizona, Ms. Powell was a long-time resident of Newburyport, Massachusetts where she co-founded with Hailey Klein Writers & Actor, Ink, a development workshop for playwrights and Random Acts, an annual play-in-a day festival. She also co-founded with Marc Clopton and Ron Pullins, North Shore Readers Theatre Collaborative, which happily is still thriving and promoting new plays.
This is Aria Creative Productions’ second staged reading with its new artistic director, Jade Esteban Estrada, who joined the company on May 9.
“For a playwright, a staged reading is an important preparatory step in the creative process,” said Estrada. “Our last reading of Backstage Fairytale by Michael John McGoldrick was an artistically rewarding experience. I am equally thrilled about this month’s selection.”
The New Play Development Series is an on-going initiative.
“The purpose of this program is to bring more fully developed plays to our stages,” said Estrada. “When a great, meaningful play has an opening night, it is likely that the play had a table reading, a staged reading, and one or more workshop development performances. In my own experience as a playwright, I get a better picture of what my play is about after I present it in front of a live audience.”
“The structure, content and complexity of the characters embodied in Heart-Land make for a challenging play, so I am especially indebted to the brave souls at Aria Creative Productions for choosing this play for development,” said Powell. “Theatre is collaborative. Without a director and actors willing to bring plays to life and an audience to experience it, playwrights may suffer from an echo of their voice and a murky vision of the play’s arc. How can they possibly know where their play ‘lands’ without feedback from an audience? Tricky questions for this play: Does the musicality of the play hold up? Are the repetitions off-putting or enhancing? Does a ‘character’ who is the consciousness of another character serve the play? I’m deeply grateful to Jade Esteban Estrada for his belief in this play and for casting a light on the troubled, audacious, dangerous women characters who inhabit Heart-Land.”
To request high-resolution photos of the Heart-Land cast or creative team, or to request an interview with Artistic Director Jade Esteban Estrada, please email your request to jade@ariacreativeproductions.com.
General information:
Heart-Land is the psychological story of Jackie, a young professional who falls in love with Celeste, a woman running from her past and an abusive relationship. When Jackie receives a call from her former fiance, the exchange puts the couple’s relationship in the balance.
Performance Dates:
July 21, 2022
Thursday at 7 p.m.
Presented at:
Alamo City Studios
1113 Houston Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205
ariacreativeproductions.com | info@ariacreativeproductions.com
Tickets are $10.00 general admission
Tickets are available at the door or online at ShowTix4u (in-person) and on Brown Paper Tickets (virtual via Zoom). No refunds. Exchange only for another show date. Limited seating. Masks are strongly encouraged. An elevator is not available so please keep this in mind when purchasing tickets.
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