FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
FIRST DATE
BEST BEWARE MY STING
A new feminist critique and sequel to Taming of the Shrew
Written by Donna Latham
WHEN & WHERE:
March 31, 2019
Shetler Studios, New York City
Presented by 5th Floor Theatre
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director – Jordan Westfall
Stage Manager – Michelle Israel
CAST:
Kate – Kelsey Martin
Ophelia – Tai Leshaun
Petruchio – Jeremy Madia
Grumio/Baptista – Thomas Prast
OTHER FEATURED WORKS:
Paid Off, by Robert Argen
Residue, by Stacey Lane
Tornadoland, by Ivan Faute
With This Ring, by Joe Minchik
OVERVIEW:
After 2015, I focused mostly on my acting, performing regionally and in NYC as often as humanly possible. It was during these adventures, that I discovered 5th Floor Theatre – a bona fide nonprofit, which seeks to elevate Non-Eq artists.
Having performed in their Dogfight as well as their production of Spelling Bee, I was entrusted by their board to direct a new play for their event, Readings on 5th Floor. There were five new plays in total – each roughly twenty minutes – and I was endeavored with the solitary Shakespeare. With only one rehearsal, the process was more than daunting – but it offered me the chance to really analyze the Bard, approaching his material with an inexorable sense of scrutiny, as is called for by the playwright. Latham boldly challenges Shrew’s biggest problems, ie Why does Katherina bend the knee to Petruchio? What happens after? Is their relationship healthy? Best Beware My Sting answers these questions fully, from the perspective of a woman – and a Black woman, at that.