The Bridge Initiative is an Arizona nonprofit that uses theater to amplify historically underrepresented voices and build community, leading with gender parity.
The group returns to Tempe Center for the Arts with "A Feminine Ending" and "just be" this month. Both offerings interrogate gender and identity in different and complementary ways and are being performed now through Saturday, Jan. 22.
In a regional premiere from Sarah Treem (TV’s "The Affair," "House of Cards," "In Treatment"), directed by Daniela Crispo, "A Feminine Ending" is a gentle, bittersweet comedy about a girl who knows what she wants, but not quite how to get it. Having recently graduated from a major conservatory, and with a rocker boyfriend on the brink of stardom, aspiring composer Amanda Blue’s “extraordinary life” seems to be all mapped out. But when she runs home to answer her mother’s distress call, Amanda’s grand plan starts to unravel. The play offers no easy answers for a woman's quest to find her voice.
Local theater artist Maybe Stewart and their ensemble of actors then ask: What does it mean to truly find yourself? What would it look like to let yourself just be? Using the playwright’s personal narrative as a jumping-off point, this interactive evening of poetry, movement, theater and conversation explores gender, trauma and identity in a unique, vulnerable and piercingly honest format. This world premiere staged workshop presentation is the second step in the piece's evolution from concept to full production. Content warning: mature themes, including trans/BIPOC trauma, child abuse and sexual assault.
"A Feminine Ending" and "just be" are partially funded by a City of Tempe Wavemaker Arts Grant. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and matinees are at 3 p.m. through Jan. 22 at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway.
Tickets: $12/$15 students/seniors; $15/30 general admission; $25 VIP seats (plus fees); discounts for the purchase of both shows. Buy tickets at https://www.tempecenterforthearts.com/events/resident-artists/the-bridge-initiative.
