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Grapic by Tzipora Kaplan
National Premiere of A TROJAN WOMAN
Extends Run at Luna Stage
Luna Stage is
thrilled to announce the National Premiere of A Trojan Woman,
a searing solo performance adapted from Euripides by Maplewood resident Sara
Farrington, directed by Meghan Finn
and starring Drita
Kabashi.
Commissioned by the The Interbalkan Festival of Ancient
Drama, the play recently premiered at Theatro Attikou Aldous/Katina
Paxinou Attica Grove Theater in Greece. As Farrington said, “We we
had the great privilege of performing this piece as Euripides did, in
an open air amphitheater in Athens.”
WHEN: shows added on Friday, March 29 (8pm), Saturday, March 30
(8pm), and Sunday, March 31 (3pm).
WHERE: Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange
TICKETS: $10-$40 at lunastage.org/trojanwoman. Farrington adapted Euripides’ classic tragedy into a
searing contemporary solo performanc. In a flash of modern warfare
(Ukraine? Afghanistan? Vietnam? Poland? Hiroshima? Israel? Gaza?), a
mother loses her child. She becomes a Trojan woman, compelled to embody
every iconic character in Euripides’ classic play.
“I love the Greek tragedies and playwrights so much,”
said playwright Farrington.
Euripides’ The
Trojan Women “was the first ever anti-war play.
Everything Euripides was protesting in 415 BC still needs protesting
now.”
“My version, A
Trojan Woman, exists inside an act of modern warfare,
specifically, an early moment in the Russian war against Ukraine that
affected me deeply. Tetiana Perebyinis, 43 and her two kids, Mykyta,
18 and Alisa, 9, were killed as they fled on foot from their suburb
of Irpin to Kyiv. The moment was photographed by Lynsey Addario of The New York Times
and came to represent Russian brutality upon Ukrainian civilians,”
said Farrington. “The ancient Greek part of this play exists
inside that moment of attack and the performer's realization of it.”
A Trojan Woman performs in Luna’s intimate
50-seat studio theatre. It is directed by Meghan Finn,
stars Drita
Kabashi, and features lighting design by David Heguy.
It is produced in assocition with TankNYC. |
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Sara
Farrington
PLAYWRIGHT
NYC/NJ
playwright of traditional & nontraditional plays, co-founder Foxy
Films co. w/ Reid Farrington. MFA: Brooklyn College w/ Mac Wellman.
Publications: The Lost Conversation: Interviews with an Enduring
Avant Garde (53rd State Press/TCG), A Trojan Woman, Mickey & Sage
(both @ Broadway Play Publishing). Plays: A TROJAN WOMAN (tour:
Athens, Gr.), DORA MAAR (Mercury Store & Brick Aux), LUCKY BREAKS
(Brick & New Ohio), CASABLANCABOX (HARP @ HERE, 2 x Drama Desk
nom’d: Unique Theatrical Experience & Outstanding Projection),
LEISURE, LABOR, LUST (The Tank & The Mount), BRANDOCAPOTE (Tank),
THE RETURN (commissioned by/performed @ The Met Museum), HONDURAS
(Phoenix Ensemble), NEAR VICKSBURG (Incubator Arts Project), MICKEY
& SAGE (Incubator), THE RISE & FALL OF MILES & MILO
(FringeNYC ‘07, winner: Outstanding Playwriting). Film: MENDACITY,
dir: Reid Farrington, feat. Foxy Films (2023 NYC Indie Theater Film
Festival). Residencies: Mercury Store, HARP @ HERE Arts, The Tank,
Now-In-Process @ New Ohio, AFO Solo Collective. Sara’s an audiobook
narrator, fiercely anti-fascist, an original founder of Immigrant
Families Together, champion of #MeToo, Maplewood local & momma to
Jack & Levi.
Meghan Finn
DIRECTOR
The Artistic
Director of The Tank. Her directorial work has been seen at the Tank,
3LD Art & Technology Center, CSC, the V&A, Serpentine
Galleries London, The Wexner Center, SCAD, The Logan Center for the
Arts in Chicago, Museo Jumex Mexico City, Powerhouse Theater, The
Power Plant, Canadian Stage, Clubbed Thumb, HERE, The Brick, The
Bushwick Starr, Soho Gallery, PS122, Dixon Place, Soho Rep, Ars Nova,
Montclair State, New Georges, The Flea, The Brooklyn Army Terminal
for Creative Time, The Roes Theater Athens Greece, and the OnStage!
Festival in Rome and Milan. BA Theater USC, MFA Directing Brooklyn
College.
Drita Kabashi
PERFORMER
(IRINA)
Drita extends
her heartfelt gratitude to Meghan Finn, Sara Farrington, and the
entire Luna Stage team for this extraordinary experience. Recent
theatre credits- Irina in A Trojan Woman (Interbalkan Festival of
Ancient Drama, Greece/ Meghan Finn), Bethany in When We Went
Electronic (OnStage Festival, Rome/ Meghan Finn), Rasputin in Red
Emma & The Mad Monk (The Tank Theater/ NY Times Critic’s Pick/
Katie Lindsay), Bernadine Dohrn in Weatherman (La Jolla Playhouse/
Christopher Ashley), Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Downtown/
Geoffrey Horne), Film- Ana in A Cup of Coffee and New Shoes On
(Albania’s Official Entry for the 2023 Academy Awards/ Gentian Koçi),
Love in Fish Hook & Eye (Best in Show, Fusion Film Festival/
Chloe Aktas), Undergraduate Degree- New York University; Tisch School
of the Arts, BFA, Graduate Degree- University of Illinois Chicago,
MA, follow on Instagram @drita__kabashi
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ABOUT LUNA STAGE:
LUNA STAGE is a professional regional theatre dedicated
to developing and producing vibrant plays about local and global
experiences. Firmly rooted in New Jersey's Valley Arts District – a
crossroads of cultures – Luna brings its communities together for
artistic events that spark conversations and create understanding and
change.
Luna received the JerseyArts People's Choice Award for
Favorite Small Theatre in New Jersey and has contributed to the
development of over 100 new works for the stage, many of which
premiered at Luna and have gone on to be produced in New York,
regionally, and internationally.
As producer, innovator, and educator, Luna is dedicated
to eliminating barriers to participation and allowing all community
members to nurture their own creativity and vision. Luna offers
classes for children and adults, as well as opportunities for early-career
and established theatre artists to develop and incubate new work.
All programs at Luna are pay-what-you-choose to support
equity and access to professional arts experiences in our region.
For more information, visit lunastage.org or email info@lunastage.org.
Luna Stage | 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ 07052
http://www.facebook.com/LunaStage |
Instagram @luna.stage
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