U of A Theatre Alumni Workshop New Play

Dayton Castleman

ArkansasStaged will present a staged reading of Field Notes from Mother Earth by U of A Department of Theatre alumna Ashley Edwards at  7 p.m. Sunday, July 8 at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville. The play will be performed by Charisma Henderson and Claire Fossey, directed by Jenny Guy and stage managed by Celeste Richard.

Field Notes from Mother Earth is a work in progress, the story of two cultural anthropologists—a teacher and her student—who are sifting through the field notes they've collected over years of research. As the play moves through the memory of their travels, the layers of their relationship are revealed. The play beautifully challenges the traditional notion of motherhood and uses stories from all over the world to explore what women pass down from one generation to the next. An epic piece of magical realism, the play unearths the relationship between mentor and protégé, and traverses the worlds of mythology, ghosts, and natural disasters.

"I've known Ashley as a playwright for over 10 years now," said Jenny Guy, who is directing the reading. "I've always adored the way she writes women and Field Notes is a perfect example. This play is a beautiful exploration of female friendship, with its ebbs and flows and natural evolution over time. It's an ideal play to workshop and I'm really looking forward to time in the rehearsal room exploring this story and these women. "

For this performance, ArkansasStaged will once again rely on a team of U of A alumni from the Department of Theatre. 

Playwright Ashley Edwards and dramaturg Meghan McEnery both hold M.F.A.s in playwriting from the U of A. Edwards is also the head of the theatre department at Northwest Arkansas Community College and co-founder of the LatinX Theatre Project. Celeste Richard, stage manager, has a B.S. in theatre, and director Jenny Guy and Artistic Director Laura Shatkus both hold M.F.A.s in acting from the university's Department of Theatre in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.  

The performance is free, with a suggested donation of $5. Reservations are not necessary.

For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/ArkansasStaged.

ABOUT ARKANSASSTAGED

ArkansasStaged is a collective of theatre artists working to bring staged readings and experimental/experiential theatre to life in the unique spaces of Northwest Arkansas. With an emphasis on women's voices, previous ArkansasStaged performances at the 21c Museum Hotel include Empanada Loca and readings of Natural Shocks, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Dear Elizabeth, Collected Stories, Grounded, The Taming, Craving Gravy, Art and Venus In Fur. Other performances include An Old Woman Speaks and Lazarus Catering (at Stage 18), Gertrude Stein Plays Paris and Picasso At the Lapine Agile (at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art), Veils (at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville) and Love Song (at Fayetteville Underground). The artists in the ArkansasStaged ensemble have worked professionally in theatre and film throughout the U.S. and abroad.