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")

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Production History:

July 20-21, 2019:

Select scenes developed and presented as part of Rising Sun Performance Company's Laboratorium Artist Residency and New Works Incubator

Colonels Row, Building 407A,

Governors Island, NYC

Cast/Collaborators:
Lucy: Rora Brodwin
Izzy: Jes Davis
Madeline: Megan Smith
Mr. Boucher/Walter/Father/Therapist: Thomas Metelski
Lisa/Mother/Ensemble: Kendra Augustin, Emily Cordes
Irene/Ensemble: Joan Conklin
Directed by Anna Rebek

August 14, 2021:
Excerpts presented as part of The Assembly's "Pop-Up Assembly" showcase
Courtyard of Building 92, Brooklyn Navy Yard
63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Cast/Collaborators:
Izzy: Janel Koloski
Lisa: Arelis Torres
Lucy: Olivia Konteatis
Mr. Boucher: Terrence Christgau
Nurse/Waiter: Joan Conklin
Directed by Simha Toledano

November 20, 2021:
Full-length staged reading via Zoom
Presented by Tapestry Collective
Click here for the recording
(CW: suicide, self-harm, sexual assault, infanticide, medical abuse)

Cast/Collaborators:
Lucy: Aziza Gharib
Izzy: Manju Bangalore
Lisa: Wren Mitchell
Gabrielle: Ashley V. Scott
Diana: Emily Caffrey
Margaret/Nurse/Mrs. Prather: Saima Huq
Tim/Dr. Charcot/Young French Man/Pageant Coach: Dylan LaRay
Mr. Boucher/Doctor/Counselor/Father: Dave Rideout
Amanda Lorde/Ensemble 1: Melissa Melendez
Ensemble 2: Emily Cordes
Directed by Simha Toledano