Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre, Artistic Director Kira Simring with Megan Gillis present

SHELTERED

a new play by Cate Wiley

directed by Liz Peterson

featuring Almeria Campbell, Madelyn Chapman, Kassandra Cruz, Joyah Dominique, Kim Yancey-Moore, Jess Salgueiro, Monica Steuer,  Claudia Thiedmann, and Kimberlee Walker

Sheltered intertwines poetry and ancient Greek theatrical traditions to offer a haunting kaleidoscope centered on the realities of women experiencing homelessness. The play is grounded in the story of Martha, a volunteer at a homeless shelter, who must face her own anxieties about home and family, as she tries to reconnect with her missing mother, Helen. Weaving a tapestry of firsthand accounts as well as characters based on myth, this new play explores familial bonds, societal neglect, and the universal need for security.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and are finding the ticket price a barrier to entry, we are prepared to offer you a seat. Please contact thecelltheatre@gmail.com or speak to our House Manager when the house opens at 630p (Wed - Sat) or 230p (Sun). 

creative team includes Josh Barilla (Set Design) Nic Vincent (Lighting Design) Jasmine Lewis (Costume Design) Alana DeVito (Sound Design) Emily Owens PR (Press Agency) Ana Muñoz (Production Stage Manager) Lydia Funke (Assistant Stage Manager)

Cate Wiley (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose work explores complex social issues through powerful, human-centered narratives. Her play Sheltered, inspired by stories from women experiencing homelessness, was a finalist for the Fratti-Newman Political Play Award and will have its world premiere at the cell in 2025. Wiley’s recent work, including Take It Back and Like Horses, delves into the intricate dynamics of liberal white complicity in American racism. Her acclaimed play, Two Truths and a Lie, was selected to for publication in The Best Men’s Monologues from New Plays, 2020 (Applause Books). She has also created the devised theater piece Letters Home in addition to Hello, which was part of the 2020 “More Ways than Broad Ways” pop-up series. Her short play Note to Self is included in The Best Ten-Minute Plays 2020 (Smith and Krauss), was produced by the International Human Rights Arts Festival in New York, and The Liberation premiered in Seattle in 2018. Cate trained at the Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles and studied playwriting at the Kenyon Playwrights Conference. Her plays are also available on New Play Exchange.

Liz Peterson (Director) is a theatre director, multi-media performance-maker, producer and performer in her own solo works. Her perennial curiosities include alternate dimensions, mixed-race identities, and how live performance can elicit different qualities of attention. Born in Manchester, UK, to a Mancunian mother and Anglo-Indian/Burmese father, Liz has spent most of her life in St. John’s, Melipilla and Toronto. Since 2005 she has worked with Alex Wolfson, Aluna Theatre, Bad New Days, David Levine, EW&FCO, Jordan Tannahill, Life of A Craphead, Maryse Larivière, Melanie Gilligan, Oliver Husain, Peter Hinton, Philip McKee, Public Recordings, Sean O’Neill and Small Wooden Shoe among others. She is a former intern with the Ontological Hysteric (NYC ). Liz was an Associate Artist with Public Recordings from 2017-22 and was a 2021 Archive Fellow with Roundabout Theater. She holds a BA from the University of Toronto, and an MFA in theatre directing from Columbia University.

Sheltered was developed as a part of the cell’s 2023 Residency Program