Emily Cordes
Actress, New York, NY
Show Art by William F. Thacker, Jes Davis, and Adam Burns
#SoSadSoSexy
Drawing inspiration from contemporary Internet culture and narratives around mental illness, as well as accounts of Victorian insane asylums, “#SoSadSoSexy” is a devised play exploring Western culture’s ongoing fascination with, and misrepresentation of, depressed and unstable women. Through the overlapping stories of Lucy, a Victorian-era asylum patient, and Izzy, a modern-day “Internet sad girl," the piece crosses time and circumstance to reflect the parallels between each period’s approach to mental health, gender politics, and the personal and collective identities we create.
"#SoSadSoSexy" premiered in-person at NYC's The Tank on March 24 & 26, 2022, and via livestream as part of the Tank's CyberTank online programming series. The show will also soon be available as a video-on-demand. In addition to co-writing the play, I performed in various workshop showings throughout its production history, and co-produced/performed in the March 2022 production.
Select scenes from "#SoSadSoSexy" were presented on New York's Governor's Island in July 2019 as the culmination of a developmental residency with NYC-based theatre group Rising Sun Performance Company, and as part of The Assembly's "Pop-Up Assembly" at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in August 2021. The play had its first full-length reading via Zoom on November 20, 2021.
(Photos by Ezra Goh)
"#SoSadSoSexy"
Devised and Created by Emily Cordes, Alison Leaf, & Kendra Augustin
with Additional Contributions from Simha Toledano & Jes Davis
Directed by Simha Toledano
Produced by Tapestry Collective
Presented by The Tank, a Home for Emerging Artists
CAST
Lucy Prescott: Uma Paranjpe
Isabella “Izzy” Brooks: Jes Davis
Lisa: Lauren “Wren” Mitchell
Mr. Boucher/Counselor/Doctor: Dave Rideout
Margaret Brooks/Nurse/Voice of Mme Renault: Esra Dayani
Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot/Tim/Young French Man/Pageant Coach: Charles Kennedy IV
Gabrielle: Samia Omari
Diana: Emily Caffery
Amanda Lorde/Ensemble: Melissa Melendez
Ensemble: Emily Cordes
Voice of James Brooks: Rolls Andre
CREW/CREATIVES
Movement Direction: Ezra Goh
Intimacy Direction: Lauren K. DeLeon
Fight Choreography: Sara Minisquero
Technical Direction/Design: Leanna Keyes
Digital Media & Show Art: William F. Thacker, Jes Davis, & Adam Burns
Commissioned Paintings: Giselle Almonte
Production Stage Manager: Sara Minisquero
Special Thanks To:
PRESS & PRAISE:
“With strong female relationships, a few surprises, and a bit of balancing comedy, #SoSadSoSexy is both entertaining and effective. It's a forceful narrative that shines a much-needed spotlight on mental health issues, the dangers of social media, and the toxicity of the white male gaze. As such, it's bound to resonate.”—Erin Kahn, StageBuddy ("Caution: '#SoSadSoSexy' May Turn You Into Even More of a Feminist.")
"# SoSadSoSexy ...ask[s] several significant questions, including: Can a woman wield power from within a cage? And, more importantly, how can she break out of it?"--John R. Ziegler & Leah Richards, Thinking Theater NYC ("#SoSadSoSexy Turns A Troubling Gaze Back on Itself")