Beatrice

B E A T R I C E

a new play by Wendy Biller

music by Caroline Hawthorne

Beatrice is a nuanced exploration of trauma, set against an operatic landscape, which veers from the comic to the absurd as Beatrice and her twin sister dive into their tortured memories of the Mengele experiments, helped along by a chorus of dancing Carmelite nuns.

featuring
Louise Heller,  Jorge Carrion Alvarez, Tiffani Grace, Nicole Borbone,  James Clements, Luke Couzens, Caroline Hawthorne, Hallie Chametzky, Macie Harris, Collin Hendley

Wendy Biller’s eclectic work ranges from choreography for Paul Simon's “You Can Call Me Al” to jazz musician Terumasa Hino’s dreamlike ballet with Japanese director Kazumi Kurigami to The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” to iconic Scottish artist Jesse Rae’s “Rusha” (which was part of a video installment at the Whitney Museum of Art). Her choreography for dance and theater has been staged in multiple venues in Europe and the USA, including the Public Theater, PS 1, New York Art Theatre, The Kitchen and New York/live arts/fresh tracks. Plays include Leaves Falling on a Brooklyn Girl (Forward Theater); Fragile (Know Theatre, Binghamton), An Intolerant Vaudeville part of The Inkwell Play Series at KGB Literary Bar and The Triad (Stage 72) as well as the Secret Theatre, The Refrigerator (Winner of the Andaluz jury prize, Fusion Theatre Company’s “The Seven,” Albuquerque, NM; also produced at Clark Center for the Arts, Worcester, Mass. as part of From the Hands of Strange Children). Her play Annette Funicello is Dead (Fountain Theatre, end of play readings under France Luce Benson and Jordan Stovall) was selected for inclusion in WE/US: Monologues for Gender Minority Characters (Smith & Krause), published in 2023. Other publications include “Dancer” (A&U magazine), which won the 2022 Christopher Hewitt Award in Fiction. Produced screenplays for film include projects for Showtime, TBS and Fox. Adaptations of literary IP include Cool Breeze on the Underground, based on the novel by Don Winslow (Fox Television) All It Takes Is Brains, based on the story by Cornell Woolrich (Freemantle Media). Directing work includes the independent film Mumsy as well as the music video Pleasure (Glass Beat Game). Upcoming projects include “Marjorie,” based on the life of Woody Guthrie’s widow, a dancer and pioneer for treatment of Huntington’s disease, and “Who is Magnus Hirschfeld?” based on the controversial Jewish sexologist for gay rights who lived during the rise of fascism and had his institute burned down.  Awards and honors include Writers Guild of America Award, National Endowment for the Arts Award, Emmy® Nomination. Member of the Dramatists Guild and Writers Guild Of America. Website: https://www.wendybiller.com/

Caroline Hawthorne is an actress, singer, comedian and composer born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Her one woman musical comedy "The Slutty Virgin" at its West Coast premiere at the Playground Solo Festival in San Francisco. She was also the company composer for the 24 Hour Play Nationals in New York. She wrote the music for "Beatrice" which will be apart of The Cell Theatre's Incubation series this fall. She is a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a BFA in acting, and of Los Angeles County High School of the Arts with an emphasis on classical voice.