Sep. 20 – Oct. 8     Gay City, Capitol Hill

Synopsis

Set in a world so far in the future it’s stupid, an ordinary dude named Doug suddenly finds himself intergalactically sex-trafficked and gifted to the princess of a strange world on her wedding day. Surrounded by people who speak a language he’s never heard, Doug struggles to return home while developing a complicated and fraught relationship with his captors. As the princess grows dangerously fond of him, Doug’s chances of escape become ever more remote. Chisa Hutchinson’s daring new play takes a hilarious and dangerous look at politics, class, race and religion.

Forward Flux Productions will be the second company in the world to present this daring new play, after it received its’ world premiere at the American Contemporary Theater Festival near DC in July, 2016.

Press

The Wedding Gift is “a sci-fi parable about slavery with a bright future on the national theater scene… Daring.” Full Article>>

The Wedding Gift is a staff pick for the fall 2016 season! Read More>>

Meet the Playwright

Chisa Hutchinson

Having never even seen a play until high school, Chisa caught up mighty fast by earning a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Vassar College and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has since been commissioned to write several plays and has even written a few just for kicks, including DIRT RICH (Summer Stage),SHE LIKE GIRLS (the Lark Play Development Center, Working Man’s Clothes Productions), THIS IS NOT THE PLAY (Mad Dog Theater Company, Cleveland Public Theater), SEX ON SUNDAY (the Lark Play Development Center, the BE Company),TUNDE’S TRUMPET (Summer Stage, BOOM Arts), THE SUBJECT (Atlantic Theater Company, Playwrights’ Foundation, Victory Gardens, Partial Comfort, and Rattlestick Theater), MAMA’S GONNA BUY YOU (Inge Center for the Arts), SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER (Cherry Lane, Second Stage), ALONDRA WAS HERE (the Wild Project), and DEAD & BREATHING (the Lark Play Development Center, Contemporary American Theater Festival, National Black Theater)

Chisa has been a Lark Fellow, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Resident at the William Inge Center for the Arts, a staff writer for the Blue Man Group and an ensemble member of the New York Neo Futurists. She’s won a GLAAD Award, a Lilly, a New York Innovative Theatre Award, the Paul Green Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and a Lanford Wilson Award. Currently, she is a Humanitas Fellow, and a proud member of New Dramatists.

Cast

Nazlah Black

as Nahlis

Bio

Charhys Bailey

as Kamsuh

Bio

Marquicia Dominguez

as Onjah

Bio

Alaji Marie

as Attendant

Bio

Varsha Raghavan

as Attendant

Bio

Andrew Shanks

as Doug

Bio

Tré Calhoun

as Beshrum

Bio

J Reese*

as Torosh

Bio

Lance Valdez

as Attendant

Bio

*Appearing courtesy Actors’ Equity Association

Creative Team

Director - Wesley Frugé

Wesley is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Forward Flux Productions. With Forward Flux he has produced and directed Green Whales (Best of Seattle, 2015 – Jetspace), Still Life, FriendAndy.com (HERE Arts Center, NYC – FringeNYC 2012), and over 10 staged readings for The Flux Salon series. He is the host and co-producer for the podcast Live from The Flux Salon, and was also the lead producer for the world premiere play, Robot Songs in NYC, directed by Patrick Pearson. In addition, he has conceived, developed and directed 7 cycles of the 21 day artist residency series collaborate:create (in NYC and Seattle). Elsewhere, Wesley has directed for 14/48’s Thunderdome at Cafe Nordo, Out of Time for The Grief Dialogues at Bainbridge Performing Arts, assistant directed Silence at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, worked as a teaching artist for the Alley Theatre, and directed Godspell and assistant directed Smokey Joe’s Cafe at Sam Houston State University. In addition, Wesley spent 5 consecutive years performing on stages around the country. Select credits include: Ryan in High School Musical (Jenny Wiley Theatre), Action in West Side Story (Little Theatre on the Square), Henry in Red Badge of Courage (Main Street Theatre), Guys and Dolls (Prather Entertainment Group – Tour), A Christmas Carol (National Tour), and Neither Heaven Nor Earth (Off-Broadway). He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University.

Co-Director - Pilar O’Connell

Pilar is performer and director from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the Casting Director and Associate Producer for Forward Flux. Locally she has worked with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Wooden O, Sandbox Collective, The Icicle Creek New Play Festival, Ese Teatro, ActLAB, Seattle Public Theatre, Forward Flux Productions, The 1448 Projects, Annex Theatre, Theater Schmeater, Live Girls and Playing in Progress. Pilar is a Latina Theatre artist who is constantly working for gender, racial and body equity on and off our stages. Thank you to the amazing Chisa, the most wonderful Wesley and Andy, this phenomenal cast and team for taking this journey. Up next she will be reprising the role of Holly Wonderland in Christmastown at Seattle Public Theater in December 2016. Love to Mom/Dad/SR.

Stage Manager - Andy Buffelen

Andy is a Producer, Director, Performer, and sometimes Writer for the stage. Andy has proudly worked with a breadth of companies in town including boom! Theatre Company, Annex Theatre, West of Lenin, Theatre Off Jackson, Solo Performance Festival, Seattle Fringe Festival, Pocket Theatre, Cabin Fever, The New Animals, AJnC, ACT Lab, the 14/48 Projects, Playing in Progress, Pacific Play Company, his alma mater, Cornish College of the Arts, and Forward Flux Productions where he’s Managing Director. This November, Andy is producing After Orlando with Forward Flux; A free night of short works reflecting the shootings in Orlando earlier this year. In the winter, he’ll be back at Annex Assistant Directing with Eddie DeHaise on Amy Escobar’s Scary Mary and the Nightmares Nine. Love and gratitude to my family and friends.

Dramaturg - Amontaine Aurore

Amontaine Aurore is a writer, actor, and performance artist. Her numerous self-penned solo plays have been performed at venues in Seattle, New York, and abroad. Amontaine’s solo play, Free Desiree toured throughout Washington, and had a run at the New York Fringe Festival where it was named a Fringe Best Bet, and is published by Indie Theater Now. Amontaine’s newest solo play, Love Letters Beyond the Veil, premiered at the Orcas Center Mainstage in 2015 and will make its New York premiere in November 2016 at the United Solo Theatre Festival. Amontaine was most recently seen playing dual roles in Avatar: Fanon and Decca, a video installation piece written and directed by C. Davida Ingram as part of the Genius Exhibit at Seattle’s Frye Museum, and in Annex Theater’s production of Eat Cake, written by Nelle Tankus.

Language Coach - Demene Hall

Demene E. Hall is a native of Saginaw, Michigan and a graduate of the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rochester, MI, with instructors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England. She’s toured Japan, Germany,Austria, Australia, and the United States as a stage performer, solo vocalist, dancer, choreographer, and has lectured on elocution and theatre arts.A resident of Seattle since 1987, she’s performed on many of our city’s main stages. She currently works closely with Nu Black Arts West Theatre as co-writer and performer of their hit show Dark Divas. Demene is most proud of being in the world premiere of The Kentucky Cycle, each performance lasted six hours and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, produced by Intiman Theatre, The list of professionals she has shared stage and screen time with is impressive and too extensive for today.s bio, She remains available for master classes and lectures for ages 12 to adult

Costume Design - Carolyn Hall

Seattle native, Carolyn R. Hall is a writer, artist, designer and photographer. Her novel, Rose Concannon, was released this summer. Carolyn is faculty at Cornish College of the Arts and Antioch University.

Lighting Design - Zanna Paulson

Zanna Paulson is thrilled to be joining Forward Flux Productions for another double feature, having lit Green Whales and Still Life last season. She has spent the previous 12 years lighting stages across the country and is particularly proud of her efforts in lighting original plays and musicals. Some of her other favorite collaborators include Bellevue College, Burien Actors Theatre, Orlando International Fringe Festival, Empty Spaces Theatre Co(llaboration) and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Zanna also enjoys volunteering her skills for companies such as Equity against Aids (Broadway across America), Phillips Lighting and local educational centers.

Sound Design - Kyle Thompson

Kyle has designed sound for over 35 productions in the Seattle area since 2010, and he is very excited to be making his debut with Forward Flux. His production history includes: Love’s Labor’s Lost (Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare Company); Annapurna, Water By The Spoonful (Theatre22); 4,000 Miles, Every Christmas Story Ever Told…and then some! (ArtsWest); Marisol (The Collision Project); Terre Haute (Bridges Stage Company, ACTLab); Oedipus el Rey (eSe Teatro, ACTLab); H.P. Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian!, Balconies, The Underneath, Undo, Kittens in a Cage (Annex Theatre). Kyle also plays trumpet in the Jazz Underground big band.

Props Master / Set Dressing - Rachel Delmar

ASM / Costume Assistant - Eva Zertuche

Theater has always been part of my life in some way for the past 12 years and I’ve been doing costumes for half of those years. Studying first at Cornish College of the Arts and now New York Fashion Academy. Some of my favorites have been Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre, Around the World in 80 Days, and Wendy and Peter.